Year 13, No. 2, December 2020, issn 2335-4194
Academica Turistica Tourism & Innovation Journal – Revija za turizem in inovativnost Year 13, No. 2, December 2020, issn 2335-4194 https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13_2
127 Virtual Reality in Tourism: Is it ‘Real’ Enough? Marion Rauscher, Andreas Humpe, and Lars Brehm
139 The Effects of Destination Image on Tourist Satisfaction: The Case of Don-Wai Floating Market in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand Napaporn Janchai, Glenn Baxter, and Panarat Srisaeng
153 Is International Tourism Growth Supported by Increased Tourism Receipts? Helena Nemec Rudež
157 Pillars of City Spatial Sensitivity and Their Integration into Sightseeing Routes Melita Rozman Cafuta and Boštjan Brumen
167 Spiritual Intelligence and Business Environments Fadil Mušinović
179 Professional and Organisational Commitment in the Hospitality Sector Marjetka Rangus, Srđan Milošević, Iva Škrbić, Bojana Radenković-Šošić, Jože Hočevar, and Mladen Knežević
193 Utilization Analysis of Slovenian Hotel Websites Mitja Petelin and Dejan Križaj
201 Travel Motivations as Criteria in the Wellness Tourism Market Segmentation Process Ana Težak Damijanić
215 Service Quality Measurement in Rural Tourism: Application of RURALQUAL Model Suzana Marković and Jelena Kljaić Šebrek
229 Abstracts in Slovene – Povzetki v slovenščini
235 Instructions for Authors
university of primorska press Executive Editor Marijana Sikošek Suosheng Wang, Indiana University-Purdue Editor-in-Chief Gorazd Sedmak University Indianapolis, usa Associate Editors Metod Šuligoj, Emil Juvan, Indexed in Scopus, Erih Plus, cab Abstracts, Helena Nemec Rudež, and Mitja Gorenak ciret, ebsco, and EconPapers. Technical Editors Mariana Rodela and Peter Kopić Published by University of Primorska Press Production Editor Alen Ježovnik University of Primorska Titov trg 4, si-6000 Koper Editorial Board E-mail: [email protected] Tanja Armenski, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Web: http://www.hippocampus.si Rodolfo Baggio, University di Bocconi, Italy Štefan Bojnec, University of Primorska, Slovenia Editorial Office Academica Turistica Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, uk Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica Alan Clarke, Pannonian University, Hungary Obala 11a, si-6320 Portorož, Slovenia Frederic Dimanche, Ryerson University, Canada E-mail: [email protected] Jesse Dixon, San Diego State University, usa Web: http://academica.turistica.si Johan Edelheim, Hokkaido University, Japan Subscriptions The journal is distributed free Felicite Fairer-Wessels, University of Pretoria, of charge. For information about postage South Africa and packaging prices, please contact us at Doris Gomezelj Omerzel, University of Primorska, [email protected]. Slovenia Sotiris Hji-Avgoustis, Ball State University, usa Copy Editor Terry Troy Jackson and Susan Cook Jafar Jafari, University of Wisconsin-Stout, usa, Cover Design Mateja Oblak University of Algarve, Portugal Cover Photo Alen Ježovnik Sandra Jankovič, University of Rijeka, Croatia Printed in Slovenia by Grafika 3000, Dob Anna Karlsdóttir, University of Iceland, Iceland Print Run 100 copies Maja Konečnik Ruzzier, University of Ljubljana, Academica Turistica – Revija za turizem in ino- Slovenia vativnost je znanstvena revija, namenjena med- Sonja Sibila Lebe, University of Maribor, Slovenia narodni znanstveni in strokovni javnosti; izhaja v Mara Manente, Cà Foscari University of Venice, Italy angleščini s povzetki v slovenščini. Izid publikacije Yo el Mansfeld, University of Haifa, Israel je finančno podprla Agencija za raziskovalno de- Tanja Mihalič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia javnost Republike Slovenije iz sredstev državnega Matjaž Mulej, University of Maribor, Slovenia proračunaiznaslovarazpisazasofinanciranjedo- Milena Peršič, University of Rijeka, Croatia mačih znanstvenih periodičnih publikacij. Jasna Potočnik Topler, University of Maribor, Slovenia Caroline Ritchie, University of Welsh Institute, uk issn 1855-3303 (printed) Vinod Sasidharan, San Diego State University, usa issn 2335-4194 (online) Regina Schlüter, National University of Quilmes, Argentina Marianna Sigala, University of the Aegean, Greece Cristina Roxana Tănăsescu, Lucian Blaga University, Romania Andreja Trdina, University of Maribor, Slovenia John K. Walton, Ikerbasque, Instituto Valentín de Foronda, University of the Basque Country, Spain
126 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Original Scientific Article
Virtual Reality in Tourism: Is it ‘Real’ Enough?
Marion Rauscher Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany [email protected] Andreas Humpe Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany [email protected] Lars Brehm Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany [email protected]
Virtual Reality Technology is increasingly becoming popular in the tourism sector. So far, the most researched application is the marketing of destinations. In contrast, the technology has also been mentioned as a means to limit or reduce the number of tourists at a specific sight or destination. In this respect vr is considered as asub- stitutefortheactualtrip.Thispaperaddressesthisissuebylookingatthepossibility to apply vr-technology to transfer the real-life experience into the digital world. In a qualitative research framework, visitor behaviour and experience are investigated when encountering vr sights in order to better understand items driving technol- ogy adoption. Structured content analysis is applied for data analysis where coding follows an adjusted Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model. For interpretation purposes a pure qualitative framework was chosen. We find that enjoyment is an important driver for vr technology acceptance, whereas facilitat- ing conditions and outcome expectations seem to be obstacles for it. Perceived use- fulness is evaluated controversially. While the technology is not acknowledged as a substitute for a regular holiday trip, especially for travellers who take pleasure in active holidays or appreciate social interaction, it was recognised as an alternative for special occasions such as brief getaways from everyday life or short city trips. Overall, when appropriately implemented the technology might not only be useful to decrease visitor concentration in touristic hotspots or to decrease negative aspects associated with frequent travel but could further be applied to sites where visitors do not engage physically because sites are too distant, expensive, inhospitable, unsafe or fragile. Keywords: virtual reality, tourism, travel substitute, technology adoption, utaut https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.127-138
Introduction est due to advancements in technology (Williams & Although virtual reality (vr) technology and research Hobson, 1995). The most commonly used definition thereof has been around for more than 20 years, it has of Guttentag (2010, p. 638) describes the term ‘virtual recently seen a renewed upsurge in academic inter- reality’ as ‘the use of computer-generated 3denviron-
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ment [...] that one can navigate and possibly interact both concepts are somewhat related. Highly physical with, resulting in a real-time simulation of one or more immersive technologies may lead to a high level of psy- of the user’s five senses.’ Whereas the ability to move chological presence. A lack of high immersion, on the around and explore the virtual environment is labelled other hand, does not necessarily lead to a low feeling of as a compulsory requirement, interaction is only facul- psychological presence. Subjective internal processes tative. According to this definition it is not straightfor- of an individual may indeed compensate for lacking ward to determine whether 360° videos or even aug- external stimuli (Ijsselsteijn & Riva, 2003). mented reality (ar) is part of vr or not. While both Empirical analyses of vr applications in tourism applications represent, for the most part, a mere pas- are a fairly new research area. Since technological sive consumption, some navigation or limited interac- progress has only recently led to an acceptable level, tion might nevertheless be possible. Apparently, lines such studies have not been on the rise until the last few are blurred and opinions differ in this regard. In fact, years. Nevertheless, empirical research on the adop- academia has been arguing about whether navigation tion of vr technology in a tourism context is still lim- is an optional component of vr or not (Yung & Khoo- ited (tom Dieck et al., 2018). This acknowledges Hine’s Lattimore, 2019). (2000) demand for more empirical research of user For the purpose of this paper, we follow the more experience rather than mere prophecies of ground- flexible point of view (Gibson & O’Rawe, 2018; Wilt- breaking vr applications in tourism. Yung and Khoo- shier & Clarke, 2017) and consider vr as a computer- Lattimore (2019) even observe that among those anal- generated 3denvironment where navigation and in- yses that exist, many are still not based on theoretical teraction are optional. concepts or frameworks which verifies Huang et al.’s Irrespective of the technology or device used to (2016) assessment, that more substantive and theory- create a vr experience, two main factors are nec- based research on vr and its application is neces- essary. The first one is physical immersion and the sary. second one psychological presence (Disztinger et al., This paper contributes to reducing this void by 2017;Tussyadiahetal.,2018).Themorethevruser analysing vr user acceptance based on a qualitative is detached from the real world the more physically empirical research approach. More precisely, partici- immersed he is. In light of this and the elaborated def- pants in two semi-immersive vr tourism experiences inition, on the one end of the vr spectrum there are in a cave Automated Virtual Environment were ob- semi-immersive virtual environments where the user served and questioned based on the Unified Theory is still in contact with the reality around him such as of Acceptance and Use of Technology (utaut). The 360° videos followed by ar experiences. The other aim is to better understand determinants for accep- end of the spectrum is determined by fully immersive tance and adoption willingness of vr technology as a environments created, for example, by Head Mounted substitute for a real trip. Display (hmd) devices, maybe accompanied by head- phones and gloves or other supporting tools to cre- VR Applications in Tourism ate virtual tactile sensations. When smell or further Applications of vr in tourism have been discussed in haptic stimuli are added the sensation of immersion various contexts. Suggested areas of use range from a increases even more (Gutiérrez et al., 2008). Psycho- planning and management instrument to better assess logical presence is the subjective feeling of the user tourists’ desires and needs through an entertainment of physically being in the virtual environment rather tool, deployed for example within a theme park, to a than in the place where the body is located. This fol- means for educational purposes, for instance in a mu- lows Wirth et al.’s (2007) definition of spatial presence. seum or at a historical site (Guttentag, 2010). The most An individual might reach a high psychological pres- frequently researched area is, however, the use of vr ence even in a physical semi-immersive environment as a promotional tool. Several papers have already de- while another may not. It has been found, though, that scriptively highlighted the marketing potential of the
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technology (Williams & Hobson, 1995; Cheong, 1995; and O’Rawe (2018) also observe a higher likelihood of Williams,2006;Guttentag,2010;Griffinetal.,2017). visiting the ‘real’ destination after experiencing it in a The hypothesis has been tested empirically within di- virtual environment. Tussyadiah et al. (2017) measure verse research settings. For example, one of the ear- spatial presence which was found to have a positive lier studies questioned test persons after showing them effect on post-vr attitude change toward the tourism 360° videos steerable by a regular pc mouse (Lee & destination. Oh,2007).PantanoandServidio(2011)usedwhatthey All of the aforementioned studies centre on the called a pervasive environment which was represented question whether vr can help to create awareness of by stereoscopic technology creating a 3dimage on a a destination and ultimately increase visitor numbers. screen. Both studies confirm the assumption that vr Yet, the opposite objective can also be of interest. It provides an efficient marketing tool for destinations. might, for example, be sensible to restrict the num- The reason is mainly attributable to the fact that vr ber of visitors at vulnerable natural or cultural spots can help reduce uncertainty associated with buying such as heavily visited heritage sites. Dewailly (1999) a touristic product. The ‘try-before-you-buy’ option adopts the specific perspective of sustainability in this helps the traveller to get a more realistic experience context.Toputitinabroaderperspective,vrmight of what to expect. This way it can reduce travel anx- be a beneficial instrument to tackle problems associ- iety (Lee & Oh, 2007) or increase motivation to visit ated with the current overtourism debate. The general places that were somewhat unfamiliar to the individ- idea behind it is, that by means of a virtual visit the site ual (Pantano & Servidio, 2011). is still accessible to everybody while at the same time, Empiricalvrresearchintourismgainedground the environment is not harmed. This rationale holds with the introduction of so-called virtual worlds. The for all destinations that might be too distant, inhos- most prominent example is Second Life from Linden pitable or unsafe. It also holds for travellers themselves Lab. In this Internet-based 3dinfrastructure users are who might be unable to visit a destination (Guttentag, able to develop and design the virtual environment 2010). Hence, vr can serve as a substitute for the ac- and interact with each other via avatars. Related re- tual trip (Cheong, 1995; Sussmann & Vanhegan, 2000) search focused on the question whether the virtual rather than a motivational factor for it. Wiltshier and visit and associated interaction possibilities would Clarke (2017) point out the opportunities of virtual positively contribute to destination marketing efforts cultural tourism but also address some challenges for (Guillet & Penfold, 2013; Huang et al., 2012; Huang et thefuture.Thepresentstudytakesonthisviewpoint al.2013;Huangetal.,2016;Mascho&Singh,2013). as well and explores the necessary prerequisites for the The studies generally confirm the hypothesis, find- tourist to accept a technology solution over a physical ing that users develop positive feelings and increased travel experience. awareness towards the respective destination. This is When investigating vr acceptance the sense of in line with later analyses in alternate research settings. presence plays an important role (Slater et al., 1994; For example, Tussyadiah et al. (2018) conclude that the Hyun & O’Keefe, 2012; Tussyadiah et al., 2018). Al- feeling of being in a virtual environment creates a pos- though not placed within a vr environment, empir- itive sensation for the potential tourist, which leads ical researches (Klein, 2003; Jacob et al., 2010) high- to a stronger preference for the destination and ulti- light the importance of media richness, i.e. number mately a higher likelihood of visiting it. McFee et al. and quality of sensory stimuli, as well as interaction (2019) compare 360° video information with a more possibility on the attitude towards and acceptance immersive vr experience and find that involvement of an envisioned product. vr-related studies support is a key aspect in image formation. Therefore, infor- this outcome by confirming that a high level of pres- mation transmission via immersive vr should be pre- ence can be achieved by addressing multiple senses ferred over 360° videos since it leads to a positive des- (Dinh et al., 1999; Feng et al., 2016; Rodrigues Mar- tination image which increases visit intention. Gibson tins et al., 2017). Apart from the user’s sensations, the
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aforementioned interaction possibility requires fur- was chosen in order to provide for a more interactive ther thought. Guttentag (2010) argues that acceptance and social environment. More precisely, participants of the vr tourism substitute is influenced by the indi- were sent into the cave in groups of 5–6 people, sim- vidual’s perception of authenticity as well as travelling ulating a travelling group. As pointed out earlier, indi- motivations. While the technology is able to closely viduals may nevertheless develop feelings of psycho- reconstruct objects and sites, social interaction is re- logical presence. The spatial area left room for motion strained. However, an individual’s motivation to travel in every direction enabling the group to change po- to a specific destination can be a friends or family visit sitions in order to show things to and talk with each regardless of the touristic surroundings. Furthermore, other. many tourists like to meet and exchange with locals In the cave they were shown two different set- and delve into their lifestyle to experience authen- tings. The first one was a 3dreconstruction of Christ ticity. Even the trip itself is oftentimes perceived as the Redeemer on Corcovado with a view down to Rio a social occasion. People usually do not travel alone de Janeiro, Brazil. The participants were able to change and individuals who do, enjoy the company of others. perspective as well as zoom in and out of the picture Those social interactions can influence the tourism with a handheld controller. This way involvement and experience as much as the destination itself. Thus, interaction was intensified, which may also increase each tourist becomes a co-creator of value. This does psychological presence for some individuals (Wirth not only apply to the producer-consumer relation- et al., 2007). The second setting was a guided tour ship such that the consumer enhances or degrades the through the Syrian ruined city of Palmyra, a digital value provided by the tourism producer (Binkhorst & 360° movie initiated by the tv station zdf/Terra X Den Dekker, 2009; Grissemann & Stokburger-Sauer, and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation show- 2012). It also holds for the consumer-consumer re- ing the reconstructed site. lation, since travellers influence each other in their As Guttentag (2010) elaborates, the acceptance of tourism experience (Rihova et al., 2015). Integrating a vr as a substitute for the real destination is subjective. social element is therefore vital when investigating a Not only is the tourist’s individual perception of the vr tourism experience, even though the technology substitute’s authenticity of importance but also his or can only provide for this aspect to a limited extent at her travel motivations and constraints. It is therefore the current stage. central to profoundly understand and question the vr user’s behaviour, perception and sensation on an indi- Methodology vidual basis. In light of this, and due to the exploratory Research Design character of the research, a non-participative observa- The present study deals with visitors to two vr tour- tion research framework of the groups in the cave ism sites who were observed and later questioned with was chosen as a first step. Two researchers were de- regard to their experiences and assessments. Partici- ployed to get a better view and align observations in pants in the researched group were 16 University stu- order to limit observation errors. Results were sub- dents of a Tourism Management programme. All of sequently backed and further elaborated. One week them had already encountered full or semi-immersive after the visit, semi-structured interviews took place virtual environments using vr hmddevices. For the with each participant, questioning them regarding purpose of this study they were sent into a cave Au- their general travel motivations, their virtual travel tomatic Virtual Environment (Cruz-Neira et al., 1992) experience and their technology adoption appraisal. 3 metres in diameter. Shutter glasses had to be put Contrary to Sussmann and Vanhegan (2000), by actu- on in order to create the 3dimage but no vr hmd ally sending sample groups into the cave, individuals was necessary. Although this implies a lower physical were able to more precisely verbalise their experience immersion this semi-immersive research framework, rather than answering what they think it would feel similar to the one used by Pantano and Servidio (2011), like.
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and observations. A few adjustments in accordance Performance withtheliteraturereviewedweremadetofittheneeds expectancy of the specific setting. First, Venkatesh et al.’s (2003) Behavioural intention study was tailored to the business environment as Effort Use opposed to the present analysis. The item ‘job-fit’ expectancy behaviour was therefore omitted to describe performance ex- Facilitating pectancy. However, a more hedonic-related item was conditions included to define performance expectancy in order to Social influence represent the interactive and social nature of the tech- nology (tom Dieck et al., 2018). More specifically, the Figure 1 utaut Model(adaptedfromVenkateshetal., item ‘perceived enjoyment’ was supplemented similar 2003) to Disztinger et al. (2017), who follow Holsapple and Wu’s (2007) proposition that vr is a hedonic rather than a utilitarian technology. Within the construct ef- Theoretical Background fort expectancy the item ‘perceived ease of use’ and The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Tech- ‘ease of use’ are very similar (Davis, 1989; Moore & nology (utaut) model (Venkatesh et al., 2003) pro- Benbasat, 1991; Venkatesh et al., 2003) and it is crit- vided the underlying theoretical basis for observations icised that statements are therefore not clearly allo- and semi-structured interviews. utaut is an empir- cable to either one. Additionally, participants were ically validated evolution of the Technology Accep- not questioned a second time after applying the tech- tance Model (tam). tam was introduced by Davis nology several times. Therefore, it was unlikely that (1989) and applied in several tourism-related vr stud- they were able to clearly assess ease of use. In order ies, partly with minor adaptions (Disztinger et al., to avoid distortions and ambiguities, both items were 2017; Huang et al., 2016, 2013; Mascho & Singh, 2013). grouped together to ‘perceived ease of use.’ The item utaut applications are not as widespread as some to ‘social factors’ in the original utaut model refers to be found in the vr-related segment of Augmented co-workers and supervisors who use the system, as Reality. For example, Hein et al. (2018) investigate well as to organisational support given to the individ- consumer assessment of opportunities and threats of ual. Again, this is not applicable for the present analy- smart glasses for society. Targeted towards the tourism sis. Consequently, the item was excluded. To sum up, industry is Paulo et al.’s (2018) research of influencing constructs and tantamount items used are shown in factors of mobile ar adoption in tourism. A specific Table 1 with respective anchoring statements from the case is studied by Kourouthanassis et al. (2015) who interviews. test a mobile ar travel guide in Corfu, Greece. Duetothesmallsamplesizewedidnotcontrol Variables impacting technology adoption accord- for gender. Neither was age and experience accounted ing to utaut are performance expectancy, effort ex- for since all of the participants were in the same age pectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions. group and had the same prior vr experience. Lastly, The first three drive the intention to use the respective the purpose of the technology employment is solely technology. Behavioural intention in turn, together for leisure activities and participation in the study was with facilitating conditions, motivate technology use. free of choice for the sample group. Therefore, volun- Additionally, utaut postulates that constructs are tariness of use was also not applicable in the present moderated by individual differences, i.e. gender, age setting. and experience, as well as by the voluntariness to use Structured content analysis (Mayring, 2014) was the technology. used to analyse and interpret data obtained by the ob- In the present research we adopted utaut cate- servations and interviews. Coding followed the previ- gories to formulate and evaluate interview questions ously described adjusted utaut constructs and items.
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Table 1 Adjusted Constructs and Anchoring Statements Construct Item Anchoring Statement Performance expectancy Perceived usefulness I had read before, that it’s an application to rebuild historical sites Extrinsic motivation When I start my travel plans, there is some outside influence Relative advantage A lot of things are missing – activities. This is why I travel Outcome Expectations I am looking for recuperation. To be away from everyday life Enjoyment Ithoughtitwascool Effort expectancy Perceived ease of use I would say, using the controller seemed to be relatively easy Complexity Itwasn’tcomplex,itwaseasytooperate Social influence Social norm I don’t travel alone, but together with a friend or in a small group Image Social Media is relevant for me when choosing a destination Facilitating conditions Facilitating conditions I didn’t find it too impressive from a technical point of view Compatibility Idon’tthinkitcanbeasubstituteforrealtravelexperiences
Table 2 Frequencies of Codings be important elements for the participants. It was Outcome expectations 142 found that the assessment of outcome expectations Perceived usefulness 80 strongly depends on the travel motive of the individ- ual interviewee. While travellers with motives such as Relative advantage 46 hiking, kite-surfing or two-week relax holidays were Enjoyment 52 less likely to imagine vr travel as a substitute at the Extrinsic motivation 31 current stage, those with motives like short-term city Perceived ease of use 42 breaks or sightseeing tours considered it more posi- Complexity 12 tively. Further investigations revealed that the first set Social norm 57 of motives are linked to certain feelings, emotions and Image 2 the search for authenticity in terms of getting into con- Facilitating conditions 108 tact with the local community, which cannot properly be transported via vr. For example, one person pri- Compatibility 29 marily looking for recovery from a demanding work- ing life mentioned: ‘I actually want to feel emotions. The intention with this approach is not to measure im- [. . .] Simply, that it was a good time.’ Another one pact on behavioural intention and use behaviour on a pointed out that the feeling of actually being on Corco- quantitative scale as this requires a large sample survey vado is different because ‘you have gone or driven up. methodology. Rather, the aim is to get a deeper un- You’ve already taken the path. You know “ok I’m here” derstanding of the relevant input parameters affecting and have a certain feeling. I didn’t get this feeling in the technology acceptance and adoption in the outlined cave.’ Regarding the search for authentic encounters travel context. with locals, one interviewee expressed: ‘So if it is really about travelling and not about city trips, then the peo- Results ple and their hospitality are always the most important Frequencies of coded observation results and inter- thing.’More generally, it was added that only authentic views are displayed in Table 2. experiences are able to create a positive attitude in the Within the construct performance expectancy,out- tourist, which he or she can live off in the weeks and come expectations and perceived usefulness seem to months to come. Even though the reasoning of many
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participants went in this direction, there were some sises the importance of hedonic elements when driv- exceptions, which imply a higher psychological pres- ing technology acceptance. It also hints towards the ence: ‘Nevertheless, I felt like I am walking through it supposition that intrinsic motives play a much greater [Palmyra]. You have to get involved, you have to tell role among the participants than extrinsic ones. Espe- yourself “ok, I’m really looking at this now.” And not cially when taking the circumstance into account that think of something else at the same time. You have to extrinsic motivation had no declared influence on us- get involved and then you can empathize.’ ing vr technology for travel purposes, even though it Usefulness of the technology in the travel indus- sometimes played a minor role in choosing a destina- try was saliently perceived to be very low. During the tion or holiday activity. observations, only one group started to develop ideas Both the observational as well as the interview for whom such a virtual travel would be suitable. In- analyses of effort expectancy indicate that participants terestingly, during the interviews, after reference to perceived the ease of use as very positive and were potential alternative uses (e.g. travel option for phys- comfortable in testing the equipment. Furthermore, ically disabled people) was made by the interviewer, they found it easy to operate the equipment and the almost all respondents revised their opinion and con- complexity was rated low. However, some mentioned firmed the suggested applications as being a relative that the controller needed a little practice and thus the advantage over the actual trip. Some even developed ease of use could be improved. further ideas subsequently. For example, as a conse- Social influence was rather negatively evaluated quence of watching the Palmyra video, some stated mainly because social norms play an important role the advantage of experiencing a destination that no for traveling. Almost none of the partakers travel alone longer exists. Few mentioned additionally, that there and meeting locals is relevant for most of them. In might be an advantage in the cultural tourism area, fact, in several cases it seemed like social norm was where vr technology could be used as an efficient ed- almost perceived as a facilitating condition, because ucational tool. In some instances, a potential economic the respective interviewees referred to the two items threat of vr travel for destinations and their service within the same text passages. Within this context, it providers was voiced mainly due to loss of revenues was striking that no one regarded experiencing the caused by shrinking visitor numbers. Besides these vrsitesinagroupasbeneficial,whichwasoriginally special-purpose applications, many interviewees were intended by the researchers. Obviously the social el- able to imagine vr to be a substitute for a short get- ement does not seem to be superficially present. In away from everyday life, for example as a two-hour contrast to this, observations pointed towards the fact vr travel experience to relax after work. The time and that it nevertheless is a valuable component because monetary savings potential supports a possible rel- participants started conversations as well as shared ative advantage over a real trip in that respect: ‘You impressions and encounters with each other after they have only little time and need a break, but you can’t familiarised themselves with the technology. Further- fly or drive anywhere at the moment because it takes more, although social media and recommendations too long. Then you might want to go to a vr studio of friends or family members are important when de- for a city trip and come back more relaxed.’ Or, as an- ciding which destination to visit, according to the in- other one put it: ‘I would consider it an experience. terview statements this external input does not seem Maybeitcanreplaceashortholiday.Likeavisittoan to be relevant for technology adoption. Thus, image amusement park.’ does not present a stimulus in the present study. Taken Enjoyment was a clear positive contributor to per- together with extrinsic motivation, outside factors in formance expectancy. In fact, all of the participants general do not appear to have any importance for the mentioned the ‘fun-factor’ and the pleasure that group respondents in their assessment of the technology. members experienced during the activity. This was Facilitating conditions were rated rather negatively also observable during the surveillances and empha- as most partakers mentioned technical shortcomings,
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specifically directed towards visual elements. More- cation for special purposes. This applies in particular over, some demanded additional stimuli of senses like to individuals who are not able to physically travel or temperature, wind, sound or smell to make the vr ex- to destinations that are simply not visitable anymore perience more real. However, the latter was often men- such as Palmyra, which is in line with Sussmann and tioned only after indicated by the interviewer. Finally, Vanhegan’s (2000) results. Summing up, the type of evaluation of compatibility can be related to the some- travel and specific motivation appear to be crucial for what negative appraisal already discussed in connec- technology acceptance. If technology adoption wants tion with relative advantage. to be achieved, the content of the vr offer therefore should reflect these customer needs. This conclusion is Discussion further backed by studies researching the application In our qualitative study we were not able to define a of ar in a cultural context (Dueholm & Smed, 2014; commutated tendency for items describing the con- Leue et al., 2015), which state that the suitable quality struct performance expectancy and consequently for of content emerged as one of the biggest requirements. behavioural intention. While some declared that they Reinforcing Disztinger et al.’s (2017) findings, per- felt to be ‘in an artificial space [. . .] because there is ceived enjoyment gave a positive impulse for all par- no impact from the environment around,’ others ac- ticipants. Hedonic benefits are, thus, an input param- knowledged that ‘the destination does not exist any eter that should not be neglected when promoting vr longer,sovrisbetterthannothing.’Apparently,the travel technology acceptance. absence of deeper emotions, which was criticised by Moreover, participants’ statements gave no indica- many interviewees, as well as lacking social encounters tion of the existence of any extrinsic motivators for with locals, seem to be a major obstacle for technol- technology adoption. This might be due to the fact ogy acceptance. Likewise, Mura et al. (2017) found that that the usage of vr technology in the given context is virtual tourism in its current form is being regarded leisure-related and purely voluntary. Additionally, in- as not authentic enough and thus not viable as a re- terviewees were students who might not yet be able to placement for corporeal tourism. ‘The journey itself is assess the professional benefits of the technology at the irreplaceable,’ as one respondent aptly expressed. Our time of the inquiry. Or, as a third explanation, the ap- research revealed, however, that more granular reflec- plication itself might still be too new which means that tionsareindeednecessaryinthisrespect. an external motive and image has yet to develop. To begin with, the assessment of outcome expecta- In terms of effort expectancy we find that perceived tions seems to depend on how strongly the individual ease of use was high among the respondents. The op- is able to get involved in the vr experience. This sup- eration of the technique in a cave setting is no note- ports the proposition that a person can feel psycho- worthy hurdle. When arguing in line with quantitative logical presence even though physical immersion is studies (tom Dieck et al., 2018) this would shape atti- rather low as Ijsselsteijn & Riva (2003) suggested. Also, tude and behavioural intention of vr technology in a answers relating to outcome expectations were con- positive way. nected to travel motives of the participants. In this re- Generally speaking, social interaction is a strong gard, most participants proactively perceived the tech- motivation for many tourists according to Guttentag nology as useful and advantageous for short getaways (2010). Our study supports this viewpoint and reveals or sightseeing tours. This points at least weakly to- the limitations of vr technology to achieve this mo- wards the findings of Disztinger et al. (2017), who re- tivational aspect. Although participants experienced port perceived usefulness or relative advantage to have the vr application in the cave in small groups, no apositiveeffectontheintentiontousevrtechnol- perceived social interaction was voiced even though ogy. In addition, after advocated by the interviewer, observations conveyed a somewhat different picture. respondents stated that although the vr experience Apparently, the setting could not provide the profound cannot replace the real visit, it might be a useful appli- social interaction that the partakers expect.
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Finally, facilitating conditions were negatively per- could consequently be feasible (Agapito et al., 2014) ceived mainly due to technical issues. It seems that when applying vr travel substitutes. technical aspects are still one of the most important aspects driving vr technology adoption. Especially, Conclusion the perceived low quality of the visual element was The findings of our study contribute to tourism-rela- one of the most frequent items mentioned to hin- tedvrliteraturebyofferingamoreprofoundanddif- der technology acceptance. However, these shortcom- ferentiated understanding of items influencing tech- ings might change in the future with more advanced nology acceptance and use intention. Generalisation, vr technology and eventually more social interac- however, is difficult due to some limitations. First of tion possibilities in vr applications. Even now, per- all, our approach is purely qualitative. While partici- ceived usefulness might be assessed more positively pants’ statements and comments give first indications with more cutting edge vr equipment, which then towards the willingness to accept and use the technol- offers technically viable substitutes for short getways ogy as a travel substitute, they are nevertheless subjec- or short-term sightseeing tours. Interestingly, moving tive individual opinions. As such they can only provide pictures (Palmyra) were evaluated better than the 3d the basis for a more detailed comprehensive analysis. (Christ the Redeemer) experience. On the one hand, Future research should therefore test our findings in a this might be due to the fact that more information quantitative model to derive robust results in terms of is transferred via the Palmyra tour which underlines behavioural intention and use behaviour as dependent the educational aspect of vr technology. On the other variables within the utaut model. hand, it could have to do with the controller handling The second limitation builds on this aspect, as of the still image of Corcovado since some partakers our sample is relatively small with 16 participants and experienced motion sickness while zooming through not representative because only students of a Tourism it. Managementbachelordegreeprogrammewereques- Contrasting, the absence of the naturally chang- tioned. They were mainly female students of the same ing environment, such as cloud or sunlight movement, age group (between 20 and 25 years). Furthermore, all wasnotperceivedasadisturbingfactor.Thisisanin- participants had similar previous experience with vr teresting finding since Chen et al. (2015) describe the technology and the time frame for observations was creation of dynamic geographic environments as one fairly short. Again, future research should verify our of the most difficult issues in moving away from asci- findings with larger and more representative samples entific setting to real virtual world research. To put within an extended time frame. it in other words, in order to generate a satisfactory Finally, outcome expectations and facilitating con- tourism experience, it might not be necessary to re- ditions have been evaluated rather negatively. One flect the real world in its entirety. The same might hold might get different outcomes with more high-end vr for other sensory stimuli. Although some participants technology currently and in the future, since vr tech- wished for more, it did not seem to impair the experi- nology is evolving rapidly. ence to a significant extent because the absence was Despite the limitations our research offers room not criticised for the most part. Possibly, some par- for further research questions. The researchers of the ticipants were missing something but were not able present study assumed a cave environment to pro- to identify or articulate what it is. In this case, lack vide for interaction possibilities. It was found, how- of additional inducements other than visual or audi- ever, that not all participants acknowledged this aspect tive would be subconscious deficiencies that limit the and results are likely to change in other vr environ- vr experience. Psychological presence might, thus, be ments. It would therefore be feasible to, for example, a more latent existing impression rather than that it focus on more immersive vr settings or even com- can be proactively expressed by the users. Customer pare findings within different vr environments. In segmentation according to their sensory preferences this context, participants’ preferences for settings are
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of interest as well. Moreover, in our research, the par- Dueholm, J., & Smed, K. M. (2014). Heritage authenticities: takers participated voluntarily in the study. In terms A case study of authenticity perceptions at a Danish her- of commercialisation, the willingness to pay for a vr itage site. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 9(4), 285–298. experience as well as the marginal price are further Feng, M., Dey, A., & Lindeman, R. (2016). An initial explo- questions worth noting. Customer segmentation may ration of a multi-sensory design space: Tactile support for walking in immersive virtual environments. Proceed- gain additional importance in this regard. Lastly, the ings of ieee 3d User Interfaces (pp. 95–104). ieee. content of the vr experience was not part of the dis- Gibson, A., & O’Rawe, M. (2018). Virtual reality as a travel cussioninthepresentanalysis.Participantswerenot promotional tool: Insights from a consumer travel fair. able to choose the type or subject of the experience. InT.Jung&M.C.tomDieck(Eds.),Augmented Reality As discussed and supported by our research results, and Virtual Reality (pp. 93–107). Springer. personal travel motivations and interests play an im- Griffin,T.,Giberson,J.,Lee,S.H.,Guttentag,D.,Kandau- portant role in the evaluation of the experience and rova,M.,Sergueeva,K.,&Dimanche,F.(2017,June).Vir- ultimately technology acceptance. Prospective studies tual reality and implications for destination marketing. could therefore look more deeply into the question of Paper presented at the International Conference of the stakeholders’ content preferences. Travel and Tourism Research Association, Quebec City, Canada Grissemann,U.S.,&Stokburger-Sauer,N.E.(2012).Cus- References tomer co-creation of travel services: The role of company Agapito,D.,Valle,P.,&Mendes,J.(2014).Thesensorydi- support and customer satisfaction with the co-creation mension of tourist experiences: Capturing meaning- performance. Tourism Management, 33(6), 1483–1492. ful sensory-informed themes in Southwest Portugal. Guillet, B. D., & Penfold, P. (2013). Conducting immersive Tourism Management, 42, 224–237. research in second life: A hotel co-branding case study. Binkhorst, E., & Den Dekker, T. (2009). Agenda for co- International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Adminis- creation tourism experience research. Journal of Hos- tration, 14(1), 23–49. pitality Marketing & Management, 18(2/3), 311–327. Chen,M.,Lin,H.,Kolditz,O.,&Chen,C.(2015).Developing Gutiérrez, M. A., Vexo, F., & Thalmann, D. (2008). Stepping dynamic virtual geographic environments (vges) for ge- into virtual reality. Springer. ographic research. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74(10), Guttentag,D.A.(2010).Virtualreality:Applicationsandim- 6975–6980. plications for tourism. Tourism Management, 31(5), 637– Cheong,R.(1995).Thevirtualthreattotravelandtourism. 651. Tourism Management, 16(6), 417–422. Hein,D.W.E.,Jodoin,J.L.,Rauschnabel,P.A.,&Ivens,B. Cruz-Neira,C.,Sandin,D.J.,DeFanti,T.A.,Kenyon,R.V., S. (2018). Are Wearables good or bad for society? An ex- & Hart, J. C. (1992). The cave: Audio visual experience ploration of societal benefits, risks, and consequences of automatic virtual environment. Communications of the augmented reality smart glasses. In Wearable technolo- acm, 35(6), 64–72. gies: concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. Davis, F. D. (1989). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of 1313–1337). igi Global. use, and user acceptance of information technology. mis Hine, C. (2000). Virtual ethnography. Sage. Quarterly, 13(3), 319–339. Holsapple, C. W., & Wu, J. (2007). User acceptance of vir- Dewailly, J. (1999). Sustainable tourist space: From reality to tual worlds: The Hedonic framework. sigmis Database, virtual reality? Tourism Geographies, 1(1), 41–55. 38(4), 86–89. Dinh,H.Q.,Walker,N.,Hodges,L.F.,Song,C.,&Kobayashi, Huang, Y. C., Backman, S. J., & Backman, K. F. (2012). Ex- A. (1999). Evaluating the importance of multi-sensory ploring the impacts of involvement and flow experiences input on memory and the sense of presence in virtual en- in Second Life on people’s travel intentions. Journal of vironments. In Proceedings of the 1999 ieee Virtual Re- Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 3(1), 4–23. ality (pp. 222–228). ieee. Huang, Y. C., Backman, K. F., Backman, S. J., & Chang, L. L. Disztinger, P., Schlögl, S., & Groth, A. (2017). Technology (2016). Exploring the implications of virtual reality tech- acceptance of virtual reality for travel planning. In R. nology in tourism marketing: An integrated research Schegg & B. Stangl (Eds.), Information and Communica- framework. International Journal of Tourism Research, tion Technologies in Tourism 2017 (pp. 255–268). Springer. 18(2), 116–128.
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138 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Original Scientific Article
The Effects of Destination Image on Tourist Satisfaction: The Case of Don-Wai Floating Market in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
Napaporn Janchai Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand [email protected] Glenn Baxter Suan Dusit University, Thailand [email protected] Panarat Srisaeng Suan Dusit University, Thailand [email protected]
The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of a Floating Market’s destination image on tourist satisfaction. A closed-question questionnaire was prepared draw- ing from the attributes that influence tourist destination satisfaction in the literature. The sample in the study consisted of 200 tourists who visited Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Floating Market in January 2018. Multiple regression analyses were applied to empirically test the study’s four hypotheses. The results found that the uniqueness of nature, uniqueness of history, and uniqueness of tourist products are the most critical factors affecting the tourists’ satisfaction at the 95 percent significance level. However, the uniqueness of architecture factor did not have a significant effect on tourist satisfaction. The study for the first time established an empirical relationship between the uniqueness of nature, uniqueness of history, and uniqueness of tourist products of a floating market and tourist satisfaction with a Floating Market as a tourist destination. These insights may help other Floating Markets to better under- stand the factors that influence tourist satisfaction with such facilities. Keywords: destination image, floating market, tourism management, tourist satisfaction, Thailand https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.139-151
Introduction ment and pride within the community. Local people Cultural tourism plays a significant role in economic, can learn and increase awareness toward the value social and cultural aspects in terms of a source of in- of culture as a heritage and an essential resource for come for local communities and a source of cultural tourism (Tourism Collaborative Commerce, 2015). learning and recreation for tourists, as well as a source Floating markets are an essential resource of cul- of cultural conservation and community development tural tourism in Thailand that reflect the traditional (Boniface, 2012; Prideaux et al., 2008; Richards, 2010). ways of life and local culture of the Thai people who Moreover, cultural tourism also encourages involve- are connected to the river and canal. Rivers and canals
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were used for subsistence, consumption, agriculture, of a tourist destination (Garay, 2019; Guzman-Parra et and transportation (Tourism Authority of Thailand, al., 2016; Ksouri et al., 2015; Kim et al., 2019); the im- 2009). A floating market is a meeting place around a pact of tourist harassment on destination image (Al- river site where both buyers and sellers gather to trade rawadieh et al., 2019); the relationship between the in a variety of consumer goods, principally cooked and tourist imagery, the destination image and the brand raw food items, and household utensils (Din, 2008). image (Martins, 2015); the relationship between tourist In Thailand, canals were also used for trading var- destination image and consumer behaviour (Kim, ious goods by boat or floating houseboat. Floating 2018;Meloetal.,2017);andtheimpactofcountryim- markets were widespread in the Ayutthaya period un- age and destination image on tourists’ travel intention til the Ratanakosin era, especially, canals with many (Chaulangain et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2018). However, households living (Tourism Authority of Thailand, studies identifying what characteristics of destination 2009). At present, there are over 30 floating markets image have a positive effect on tourists’ satisfaction in Thailand, mainly located in various provinces in are quite limited. Understanding these characteristics the central region such as Bangkok, the capital city may lead to the development of a tourist destination, of Thailand, and nearby provinces, Nakhon Pathom, especially a key destination like a floating market, to Samut Songkram, and Ratchaburi provinces. Some of enhance the satisfaction of tourists and their intention them are in the east, the northeast, and the south of to visit and revisit the destination, and recommenda- the country (Tourism Authority of Thailand, 2009). tion to others. This study focused on the floating market at Wat Don Therefore,theaimofthestudyistoanalysethe Wai, which is located quite close to Wat Rai Khing, in level of perceived image and satisfaction of tourists in Nakhon Pathom province. The floating market has be- the case of Nakhon Pathom’s Don-Wai Floating Mar- come very popular for both Thai and foreign tourists. ket and analyse the effects of the Floating Market’s The floating market is located on Nakhon Chai Si destination image, which characteristics of destina- River, Nakhon Pathom province, and is around 30 km tion image influence tourist satisfaction, and to quan- from Bangkok. tify the degree of influence of each characteristic on The image of a destination is an essential compo- tourist satisfaction. nent of tourist attractions (Bowen & Clarke, 2009). The destination image is based on the perceptions of Literature Review tourists as an individual or a group concerning the Destination Image destination (Ksouri et al., 2015). There is a substantial From a tourism perspective, the image potential cus- volume of research that has concluded that destina- tomers have of a tourist destination is a very sig- tionimagehasapositiveeffectnotonlyontourists’ nificant issue. Indeed, images play an essential role satisfaction but also on destination loyalty (Chi & Qu, in destination choice matters (Sonnleitner, 2011). As 2008;Chiuetal.,2016;Martins,2015;Puh,2014;Ra- tourism services are intangible (Dwyer et al., 2010), jesh, 2013; Shafiee et al., 2016). Ksouri et al. (2015) have images are said to become even more important than suggested that the image can be used to add value to reality. The concepts of destination image and des- attract new visitors and retain loyal ones. Addition- tination marketing and branding have a very close ally, the destination image can be a strategic tool to at- inter-relationship. The ultimate aim of any destina- tract different types of tourists. Iordanova and Stylidis tion is to influence possible tourists’ travel-related de- (2019) note that direct destination experience plays a cision making and choice through marketing activities vital role in forming destination image. (Sonnleitner, 2011). The significance of the destination image empha- Destination image is an essential factor contribut- sises the need to study destination image from various ing to perceived value, satisfaction and tourist loy- perspectives. In addition, various research has been alty (Chankingthong, 2014; Hsu et al., 2008; Kakai & conducted focusing on the importance of the image Panchakachornsak, 2011; Kunrattanaporn, 2013; Pike,
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2008;Tsai,2015;Sangla-or&Kornpetpranee,2015; create a different image from other destinations and Sukphol, 2014). The image of a tourist destination is build awareness of the image of the tourist destination. an incentive for tourists to visit a place (Chaulagain et The image of a tourist destination can be communi- al., 2019; Murphy & Murphy, 2004). cated in several ways: the name of the tourist destina- AccordingtoMeloetal.(2017),althoughmany tion or brand, logo, and visible media such as photos scholars have developed concepts of the tourist desti- and animations. nation, its concept is still complicated and subjective, As Pike (2008) notes, in general, the image of and no consensus has been reached on its definition, the tourist attraction is based on the characteristics formation, and measurement. These conceptualisa- of tourist attractions or elements of tourism which tions are dependent on the factor of time and place. are unique, both the concrete and abstract nature of Ksouri et al. (2015) state that the measure of the des- the tourist attraction. According to Qu et al. (2011), tination image is a complex phenomenon; since the uniqueness is an important reason for tourists to cho- multiplicity of attributes and inferences characterises ose their destinations. Creating a unique destination the destination image, its creation and evolution de- image is in the focus for marketing the destination. pend on several factors. Unique and distinctive characteristics have been used The concept of image was initially applied in the to differentiate tourist destinations among similar des- area of tourism in the early 1970s by Hunt (1971). He tinations, to build the destination image in target conceptualises destination image as the set of impres- tourists’ minds, and to increase their attention to the sions that are perceived by a group or an individual destinations. Formation of positive image is based about a place where they do not live. Since then, desti- on strong, favourable and unique associations that nation image has been widely discussed in the tourism tourists hold. These associations help tourists dis- literature (Beerli & Martin, 2004; Govers et al., 2007; tinguish the destination from others. Various stud- Melo et al., 2017; Perpiña et al., 2017; Zhang et al., ies confirm that destination uniqueness has a signifi- 2014). According to Al-Azri and Morrison (2006), the cant effect on tourists’ behavioural intentions to visit destination image is a perception of tourists regarding the destination (Chen et al., 2007; Chunashvili, 2019; a tourist destination based on a combination of their Ramkissoon et al., 2011). beliefs, feelings, impression, ideas, and knowledge that However, the unique nature of the destination may people attach to a given place. Perception about a des- not be a competitive image. If the uniqueness cannot tination may be derived from various sources of in- meet the needs of the tourists, the image of the des- formation (Cavlak & Cop, 2019; Pike, 2008) and their tination can be divided into two types: organic im- own experience. This perception can be formed be- age and induced image. The organic image of a tourist fore, during, and after visiting a place (Ioradanova & destination is the tourist’s impressions of a destination Stylisdis, 2019). This study focuses on the perception without them physically visiting the place (Ispas et al., of tourists on destination image during or after visiting 2016). The tourist’s organic image of a destination is the destination (Nakhonpathom’s Don Wai Floating developed through their everyday assimilation of in- Market). In addition, the destination image is a com- formation, which come from a diversity of sources, bination of both cognitive and affective images (Birdir which include school history lessons, word of mouth, et al., 2018; Lin et al., 2007). The cognitive image in- social media posts, mass media, and actual visitation volves knowledge about the destination, while the af- (Pike, 2016). The image of a tourist attraction is closely fective image concerns the feelings and emotions of correlated with perceived value, satisfaction, and the people about the destination. loyalty of tourists. The image of a tourist attraction is Hsu et al. (2008) observe that destination image also influenced by the relationship between attitudes is what tourists imagine or receive information about about travel experience and future travel behaviour what they perceive that the tourist attractions look which consists of cognition, affect, and connotation like. Meanwhile, the tourist destination is trying to (Hsu et al., 2008; Khunrattanaporn, 2013; Pike, 2008).
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Tourist Satisfaction ple often feel uncomfortable or often unhappy (Kotler Satisfaction has been theoretically delineated as the & Keller, 2012). Cooper and Hall (2008) have stated tourist’s emotional state which has developed at the that the factors that affect satisfaction are the need of post-visitation stage, that is, where the tourist has ex- the tourist, price and value that are recognised, expec- perienced the visit to their desired destination (Horáv- tations and past experiences, the credibility of tourism th,2013;Umetal.,2006;Walters&Li,2017).Satisfac- resources and related businesses, quality of both phys- tion is the expression of overall pleasure perceived by ical and service environment, and staff and the people the tourist following their trip or visit (Chen & Tsai, involved are friendly and taking care of tourists. The 2007; Thiumsak & Ruangkanjanases, 2016). Satisfac- study undertaken by Quintal (2010) found that sat- tion is categorised as an affective attitude to a product isfaction with tourist attractions, and the quality and or service or a brand and is an important predictor of value of the tourist attraction has a positive influence frequent purchase behaviour, or loyalty by a customer on the return of tourists. to products and services that are functionally substi- Parasakul (2012) observes that satisfaction consists tutable (Olson, 2006). There is a wide body of liter- of a variety of dimensions. Each dimension is indi- ature that concludes that customer satisfaction influ- vidual in nature. Therefore, tourist satisfaction with ences consumer loyalty to a product and service. Fur- tourism activities is diversified satisfaction. Satisfac- thermore, satisfaction has been shown to have a posi- tion includes satisfying the various dimensions of the tive correlation to post-purchase behaviour, especially tourism experience, for example, satisfaction with the in the process of repurchase in the future by a con- natural environment (scenery, beauty, cleanliness, un- sumer (Thiumsak & Ruangkanjanases, 2016). spoiled), or satisfaction with the services. Satisfaction Satisfaction is an essential goal of business and in each dimension must be analysed separately. This tourism (Cooper & Hall, 2008). Customer satisfaction analysis will reveal what the tourists are satisfied with is a measure of how a firm’s total product performs in and what aspects they are not satisfied with because, relation to a set of customer requirements (Hill et al., in one trip, tourists may not be satisfied or dissatis- 2003). If things meet or exceed a consumer’s expecta- fied with everything. In summary, the satisfaction of tions, it will result in satisfaction. On the other hand, tourists from their tourism experience will affect their if something diminishes or does not meet the indi- loyalty to a tourist destination in the future. If tourists vidual’s expectation, then this will result in customer are satisfied with the tourism experience, they will re- dissatisfaction (Kotler & Keller, 2012). turntovisittheplaceandrecommendittoothers. In addition, satisfaction is an essential factor di- rectly affecting tourist loyalty (Alegre & Cladera, 2007; Research Methodologies Dasgupta, 2011; Kakai & Panchakachornsak, 2011; Lert- Research Instrument wannawit&Gulid,2004;Meechindaetal.,2008;Quin- A survey using close-ended questions (Mayo, 2014; tal, 2010; Sukphol, 2011; Tsai, 2015; Wongkangwan, Smith,2017) togatherdata onthe predictorsandcrite- 2013; Wang et al., 2009). According to Maignan et al. rion variable, as well as on specific demographic char- (1999), customer loyalty is the non-random tendency acteristics underpinned the research undertaken in displayed by many of a firm’s customers to keep pur- this study. Closed-end questions are typically used in chasing products from the same firm over time and confirmatory research, that is, when the researcher(s) to associate positive images with the firm’s products want to empirically examine specific hypotheses (John- and services. Satisfaction also creates a bond with the son & Christensen, 2008). product or company (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Cooper The questionnaire was developed based on pre- and Hall (2008) have observed that customer satisfac- vious research focusing on tourist satisfaction and tion can result in a profound relationship. tourism destination image (Bui & Le, 2016; Chiu et However, each tourist’s satisfaction rating is differ- al., 2016; Moon & Han, 2019). The self-administered ent. Some people are easily satisfied, while some peo- questionnaire was used to assess the Thai people’s
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perceived image and respondent’s satisfaction with Destination image Nakhon Pathom’s Don-Wai Floating Market. The ques- tionnaire was written in Thai. The questionnaire com- Nature prised five main sections: demographic information, the tourist’s views towards the image of the Float- History ing Market, the tourist’s perceived value of visiting Tourist the Floating Market, the tourist’s opinion on destina- Satisfaction Architecture tion image attributes, the tourist’s satisfaction with the Floating Market, and the level of tourist loyalty to the Floating Market. Products In this study, the tourist satisfaction attributes were in the categories of the images of the uniqueness of na- Figure 1 Proposed Research Framework ture, the uniqueness of the Floating Market’s history, the uniqueness of the Floating Market’s architecture, Research Framework and the uniqueness of the Floating Market’s products The tourism destination image of Nakhon Pathom’s offering. All four categories had single questions, ex- Don Wai Floating Market was identified based on past cept for the Floating Market’s products offering, which studies (Ahmad et al., 2014; Chittangwattana, 2005; had two questions. Jankingthong, 2013; Inkson & Minnaert, 2012; Kanwel The respondents were asked to indicate their level et al., 2019). Four independent variables, that is, the of satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale, a more re- image of tourism destination in the aspect of nature, liable tourist satisfaction assessment, which ranged the image of tourism destination in the aspect of his- from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree (Ánge- tory, the image of tourism destination in the aspect of les Oviedo-Garcíaa et al., 2019; Bui & Le, 2016; Chiu et architecture and the image of tourism destination in al., 2016; Huanga & Crottsb, 2020; Moon & Han, 2019). the aspect of products were considered to affect tourist The demographic characteristics of the respondents satisfaction. The research framework is shown in Fig- were measured using nominal and ordinal scales. ure 1.
Pilot Study Data Collection and Study Sampling Following the recommendations of Cargan (2007), Jo- The target population of this study were the Thai peo- hanson and Brooks (2010), and Ruel et al. (2016), a ple who visited Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Floating pilot study to test the efficacy of the survey instru- Market during January 2018. The questionnaire survey ment was conducted. Pilot studies are often recom- was conducted in both the morning and the evening. mended so that the researcher(s) can address a vari- The convenience sampling method was used to collect ety of issues. These include preliminary scale or instru- data (Lertputtarak, 2012). Field editing was also con- ment development. Specific concerns such as item dif- ducted at the market to check for the completeness of ficulty, item discrimination, internal consistency, re- the questionnaire (Gunturo & Hui, 2013). sponse rates, and parameter estimation in general are The sample in this study comprised 200 Thai visi- all viewed as being highly relevant for undertaking a tors travelling to Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Floating pilot study (Johanson & Brooks, 2010). The pilot study Market during January 2018. Blair and Blair (2015) and consisted of 30 Thai citizens. A convenience sampling Read (2011) have suggested that 200 is an ideal sample approach (Battaglia, 2008; Gravetter & Forzano, 2012) size for a survey. was used to conduct the pilot study. Following the con- clusion of the pilot, several minor changes were made Data Analysis to the survey instrument to address the feedback from To analyse the gathered data, this study utilised both the pilot study participants. descriptive and inferential statistics. The demographic
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variables were analysed using frequency and percent- h2 Theimageoftheuniquenessofhistoryata age. The mean score and standard deviation analysed tourism destination will affect tourists’ satisfac- each independent variable. Multiple regression analy- tion. sis was used to analyse the relationship between the h3 The image of the uniqueness of architecture of a tourism destination image (independent variables) tourism destination will affect tourists’ satisfac- and the tourist satisfaction dependent variable. tion. h4 The image of the product’s uniqueness offered by Hypothesis Development a tourism destination will affect tourists’ satis- The destination image consists of three main elements: faction. the image of organisation, the image of products and services, and the image of attractions (Jankingthomg, Findings 2013). According to Chittangwattana (2005), the des- Don-Wai Floating Market: A Brief Overview tination image can be divided into 5 elements. They The Don-Wai Floating Market is located near Wat are physical, cultural and historical, economic, con- Don Wai, Sam Pran District, Nakhon Pathom Provin- struction or built environment, and flora and fauna. ce. The market is around 32 kilometres west of Bang- Historical sites now feature strongly as sites for tourist kok. The market is mainly patronised by the Thai peo- visitation (Austin, 2002). Belton (n.d.) states that key ple, but tourists also visit the market as well. Food, elements of a destination consist of 5 As: Access, Ac- cooking utensils, cosmetics and furniture is sold at commodation, Attractions, Activities, and Amenities. the market. There are food stalls and restaurants, with In the tourism industry, a tourist’s decision to travel the restaurants primarily being located on the river is influenced by both push and pull factors (Dann, (Liedtke, 2012). 1977). Push and pull factors distinguish between the reasons why individuals participate in tourism, and Demographic Profile of the Respondents the reasons why they travel to a particular destination. Table 1 (p. 145) presents the demographic profile of the Push factors are the personal drivers that encourage a respondents. Out of the 200 participants, the major- tourist to travel, for example a need to escape the daily ity were female (57), and 43 were male. Most of routine, a need to spend quality time with family, or the age group were respondents with an age of 31–40 the demand for adventure. And Pull factors are the el- years(31.5).Thiswasfollowedwithrespondentswith ements that attract a tourist to a specific destination in an age between 21–30 years old (23.5). The majority order to satisfy the push factors. Pull factors could be of respondents (58) held a Bachelor’s degree. Thirty- natural environment, festival, tradition, tourism activ- one percent of the respondents were government offi- ities, and attractions (Inkson & Minnaert, 2012). cers, followed by students (21 ). Most of the respon- InthecaseofNakhonPathom’sDon-WaiFloating dents (28) had income in the range of 15,000–25,000 Market, the present study examined four elements of Thai Baht. the destination image that represent the uniqueness Most of the visitors (44) lived in Bangkok and and identity of the floating markets and have a strong most respondents (47.5) had visited the Don Wai link to tourist demand. The uniqueness of nature, the Floating Market more than three times. Nineteen per uniqueness of history, the uniqueness of architecture cent of the respondents had visited the Floating Mar- of a tourism destination, and the product’s uniqueness ket on three occasions. A further eighteen and a half offered by a tourism destination were selected to de- per cent had visited the market on two occasions, termine how these attributes will affect a tourist’s sat- whilst 15 of the respondents were making their first isfaction with the tourist attraction. The following hy- visit to the Floating Market. potheses were empirically tested in this study. Most of the respondents resided in Bangkok (44.5) h1 Theimageoftheuniquenessofnatureasatour- and Nakhonpathom (24). The smallest number of ism destination will affect tourists’ satisfaction. respondents lived in the Southern Region (2).
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Table 1 Demographic Characteristics of the Study’s Table 1 Continued from the previous column Respondents Item Category ff Item Category ff Respondents’ Nakhonpathom . Gender Male . hometown Bangkok . Female . Central Region . Age group Less than . Northern Region . – . Eastern Region . – . Western Region . – . Northeastern Region . – . Southern Region . > . Past First Time visit . Education High school or lower . Experience Second Time visit . Bachelor degree . Third time visit . Postgraduate or higher . Over three times visit . Occupation Student . Housewife . Table 2 Tourists’ Opinion toward the Destination Image Attributes Employee . Destination image attributes Mean sdRank Government officer . Private business owner . The uniqueness of nature . . Others . The uniqueness of history . . The uniqueness of architecture . . Income/ Less than , . The uniqueness of products . . Month ,–, . (thb) ,–, . Table 3 Tourists’ Satisfaction on Visiting Don Wai ,–, . Floating Market ,–, . Tourists’ satisfaction Mean sdRank > , . I really enjoyed the visit . . Continued in the next column I have gained great experience . . Visiting was better than expected . . Descriptive Statistics As mentioned earlier, destination image attributes on visiting Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Floating Mar- of Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Floating Market were ket. The results are presented in Table 3. It was found composed of nature, history, architecture and prod- that the tourists who enjoyed their visit to Don Wai ucts. The respondents were asked to express their Floating Market has the highest mean score of 4.02, opinion toward the destination image attributes of the followed by the tourists who gained a great experience Don Wai Floating Market. The mean and standard de- (4.00) and the visit was better than expected (3.90). viation (sd) scores for the destination image are pre- sented in Table 2. The uniqueness of nature has the Hypothesis Testing highest mean score (3.81), followed by the uniqueness The data that was obtained from the 200 respondents of products (3.78), the unique nature of history (3.47) through the questionnaire was used to analyse and ex- and the uniqueness of the architecture (3.44). plorehowtheimpactsoftheuniquenessofnature,his- Tourists were also required to rate their satisfaction tory, building architecture and tourism products at a
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Table 4 Multiple Regression Results between Destination Image and Satisfaction Destination image β Tourism Destination Image β tp Nature =0.345 Nature . . .* β =0.231 History . . .* History Tourist Architecture . . . Satisfaction Products . . .* Architecture β =0.075 Notes R2 =0.467,adjustedR2 =0.456,F =42.638,sig.= 0.000. *p < 0.05. Products β =0.200 tourist destination affect tourists’ satisfaction. In pre- Figure 2 The Effects of Destination Image of Don Wai dicting the relationship between the factors and tourist Floating Market on Tourist Satisfaction satisfaction with the tourist destination, multiple re- gression analysis was used to test the four hypotheses. 0.168; these statistical results suggest that uniqueness of a tourist destination’s architecture was insignificant Regression Analysis to the tourists’ satisfaction with the Don Wai Floating As previously noted, multiple regression was perfor- Market. Thus, hypotheses h1, h2 and h4 were sup- med to test the research’s hypotheses and to quantify ported whilst h3 was not accepted. The image of the the effects of the tourism destination image, includ- uniqueness of nature of a tourism destination was the ing the four factors nature, history, architecture, and most important predictor of tourist satisfaction t = products on the tourists’ satisfaction. The four factors 4.658, while the second and the third most essential or the independent variables were regressed with the predictors are the image of uniqueness of the history dependent variable, the tourist satisfaction. The mul- of a tourism destination t = 3.344, and the image of the tipleregressionresultsareshowninTable4.Accord- product’s uniqueness offered by a tourism destination ing to the regression analysis, the F value is 42.638 (sig. t = 2.983. The effects of the destination image of Don = 0.000), and the significance test of the regression Wai Floating Market on tourist satisfaction is depicted equation shows that there is a linear correlation be- in Figure 2. tween three independent variables nature, history, and products, and the dependent variable. All independent Discussion variables, except the image of the uniqueness of the As previously noted, the elements of a tourist desti- tourism destination’s architecture, were significant in nation in general consist of 5 As: Access, Accommo- the model at a significance level of 0.05 (95). The Ad- dation, Attractions, Activities, and Amenities (Belton, justed R2 value is 0.456, indicating that the closeness n.d.). Chittangwattana (2005) argues that the destina- of the relationship between tourism destination image tion image can be divided into five elements; they are attribution and the satisfaction degree is 45.60. physical, cultural and historical, economic, construc- The results found that all independent variables tion or built environment, and flora and fauna. Ac- have a positive relationship with tourist satisfaction. cording to a study by Jankingthong (2013), the image Theimageoftheuniquenessofnatureofatourism of Thailand can be measured in three elements: the destination was β =0.345,p = 0.000. The image of the image of organisation, the image of products and ser- uniqueness of history of a tourism destination was β vices, and the image of attractions. In terms of floating =0.231,p = 0.001. The image of the product’s unique- markets, influential elements of a destination image on ness offered by a tourism destination was β = 0.200, p tourist satisfaction include the uniqueness of nature, = 0.003. However, the image of the uniqueness of ar- the uniqueness of history and the uniqueness of prod- chitecture of a tourism destination was β =0.075,p = ucts provided by the floating market.
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The finding of the uniqueness of nature is a key nificant effect on tourist satisfaction. The most impor- componentofatouristdestinationimagewhichstron- tant factor affecting tourists’ satisfaction was the image gly influences tourist decision making, similar to var- oftheuniquenatureofDonWaiFloatingMarketas ious previous studies which show that natural envi- a tourism destination, while the second and the third ronment is a major attraction for tourists (Belton, most essential predictors are the image of the unique- n.d.; Chittangwattana, 2005; Jankingthong, 2013). The ness of history of the Don Wai Floating Market as a uniqueness of history which adds more value to a des- tourism destination, and finally the image of the prod- tination is now a feature as sites for tourist visitation uct’s uniqueness offered at the Don Wai Floating Mar- (Austin, 2002). Finally, the uniqueness of products is ket. However, the image of the uniqueness of the Don also significant for tourists to choose the destination Wai Floating Market architecture was not significant (Jankingthong, 2013). The three elements of a desti- to the study’s regression model, and thus, this hypoth- nation image of a floating market may be pull factors esis was not proven. to attract tourists to the destination and an influence Destination image becomes a critical factor for on satisfaction of tourists and intention to revisit the the success or failure of tourism management (Lopes, destination. 2011). The image of tourist destination involves cog- In the tourism literature, the role of behavioural nitive and affective conditions of tourists (Birdir et intention is viewed as being the most powerful force al., 2018; Lin et al., 2007) which may then contribute for the sustainability of tourism products including to a negative or positive image of the tourist destina- tourist destinations (Ahmad et al., 2014). Behavioural tion (Jankingthong, 2013). If the organic image cannot intention shows how frequent visitors decide to revisit meet the tourist demand, induced image should be the destination at some point in the future (George built or developed to satisfy tourists. This study pro- & George, 2004). Tourists’ satisfaction plays a vital vides insights into the influence of destination image role, being the primary precursor of post-purchase on tourist satisfaction in the case of a Floating Mar- behavioural intentions (Kanwel et al., 2019). This is ket. Tourism managers and marketing executives may because it positively develops the insight of tourists adapt and apply this insight from the present study to towards the service, brand, or product. Furthermore, build or develop the image of a tourist destination in it may also heighten the conscious attempt of tourists the right dimensions since the image of a tourist at- to return to the destination again in the future (Oliver, traction is closely correlated with perceived value, sat- 1980). isfaction, and the loyalty of tourists (Hsu et al., 2008; Khunrattanaporn, 2013; Pike, 2008). Conclusions and Implication This research aimed to analyse the effects of the des- Suggestions for Further Study tination image of Nakhon Pathom’s Don Wai Float- A limitation of the present study was that the sam- ing Market on tourist satisfaction. The sample in this ple was based on Thai citizens. Future research could study consisted of 200 tourists who visited Don Wai explore the effects of destination image of a Floating Floating Market in January 2018. Data was collected Market on international tourists and further test the and analysed using multiple regression analysis. Four effect of destination image on tourist loyalty. The sur- aspects of tourism destination image were identified, vey undertaken in the present study was conducted which included the image of uniqueness of nature of during Thailand’s high tourism season. Thus, a sug- a tourism destination, the image of the uniqueness gestionforafuturestudywouldbetoreplicatethe of history of a tourism destination, the image of the survey during the non-peak season of tourism. In ad- uniqueness of architecture of a tourism destination, dition, investigation of model variability should be and the image of the product’s uniqueness offered by added by studying a group of tourists who visited the a tourism destination. floating market for the first time and a group of tourists It was found that the destination image had a sig- who visited the floating market many times.
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Research Note
Is International Tourism Growth Supported by Increased Tourism Receipts?
Helena Nemec Rudež University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica, Slovenia [email protected]
Tourism demand growth during the period between 2000 and 2016 in 25 European countries is calculated using different tourism indicators. It is shown that the number of tourist arrivals and aggregate tourism receipts increase during the period. Tourism receipts per arrival at current prices show a slight increase in the majority of selected countries, while tourism receipts per arrival at constant prices more or less stagnate, ranging from –2 to +2, and even exhibit sharper decrease in some countries of Southern and Eastern Europe. It can be concluded that tourism growth is predom- inantly fueled by the increasing number of tourist arrivals and not by receipts per tourist arrival. Keywords: international tourism, demand growth, European countries https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.153-156
Introduction facilities. As tourism receipts are important for the There are plenty of data reports highlighting the re- country’s economy, tourist receipts per arrival give markable growth of tourism demand worldwide and additional information on tourists’ spending during discussing the challenges and issues related to tourism their stay and price level. expansion. Since there is plenty of literature in the field Sheldon (1993 in Song et al., 2010) and Garcia- of tourism demand (for instance, Dogru et al., 2017; Ferrer and Queralt (1997 in Song et al., 2010) high- Peng et al., 2014; Song et al., 2012) and the tourism in- lighted the difference between the growth in interna- dustry is one of the most important industries nowa- tional tourist arrivals and the growth in international days, generating an important share of gdp and ex- tourism receipts. Looking at quantitative tourism in- port in many countries, the concept of tourism de- dicators (World Tourism Organization, 2018), fluc- mand growth should be understood properly. There tuations in their values are expressed in short-term are various indicators used to measure it in the liter- periods, while steady long-term growth is observed. ature (for instance, Crouch, 1994; Lim, 1997; Li et al., The increase in physical indicators (number of arrivals 2005; Song et al., 2010), finding that the number of and overnight stays) that is higher than the increase in tourist arrivals is the most-used indicator of tourism tourism receipts in the long-run period underlies ori- demand in academic papers, followed by tourism re- entation of tourism demand towards low cost products ceipts; on the other hand, the average length of stay (such as budget accommodations and low-cost travel) and the number of overnight stays are rarely used. along with the boost of sharing economy providers, Indeed, from the suppliers’ viewpoint, the number promotion sales and sharp competition causing the of tourist arrivals is relevant for transport suppliers prices to drop. and tourist attractions, while the number of overnight There arises a question why tourism demand is in- stays is obviously more relevant for accommodation creasing – is the reason only in the higher number of
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tourist arrivals or do tourists really spend more? In value in year n ri = , (1) times when academics, managers and tourism plan- value in year n − 1 ners are discussing tourism growth at length, the paper where n represents 2, 3, ...,17. attempts to assess the quantitative changes in tourism Based on sixteen annual growth rate coefficients growth in 25 selected countries across Europe which (ri), the average annual growth rate coefficientr ( )was still has the highest share of international tourists in compounded for each of the four indicators for 25 the world. countries separately. The following equation was used: 16 Methodology and Data Sources r = r2 × r3 ×···×r17.(2) The research deals with 25 selected European coun- tries during the 17-year period between 2000 and 2016 Findings in order to research average annual growth rates of Looking at Table 1, the number of international tourist tourism indicators. For this reason the following an- arrivals has increased the most in Iceland (11.8) dur- nual data for the 25 European countries were gathered ing the period between 2000 and 2016 whereas in separately: (a) the number of international arrivals, (b) Poland it has remained more or less at the same level. international tourism receipts for travel items (in usd, Thus, average annual growth rate was positive in all current prices) (see http://dataworldbank.org) and, (c) 25 countries. Besides Poland, very low average annual gdp deflator (2010 = 100) for usd (see http://www growth rate in the number of tourist arrivals is found .imf.org), in order to get changes in tourism export at in mature destinations, like France (0.4) and Bel- constant prices. Based on these data, the following in- gium (0.9). Higher growth rate, around 1 on aver- dicators were used for further analysis for each coun- age, is detected in Western countries, like Denmark try: (1.1) and Italy (1.5). In contrast, average annual • The number of international arrivals; growth rate of international tourist arrivals is higher • Tourism export (at current prices)1 represented in Turkey (7.5) and in some Eastern European coun- by international tourism receipts for travel items tries that represent emerging markets, like Estonia (in usd, current prices); (6.1), Latvia (8.2) and Slovenia (6.6). Since these • Tourism export per international arrival (at cur- are countries with lower purchasing power along with rent prices) which is calculated by dividing tour- lower price levels compared to the Western European ism export (in usd, current prices) by the num- countries, we can assume that price competitiveness ber of international arrivals; of Turkey and Eastern European countries might have played a vital role in attracting tourists. • Tourism export per international arrival (at con- Receipts of foreign tourists are measured by tour- stant prices) which is calculated by dividing tour- ism export. The average annual growth rates of tour- ism export (in usd, constant prices)2 by the num- ism export by selected country are shown in Table 1. ber of international arrivals. The lowest growth rate of tourism receipts is found Sixteen annual growth rate coefficientsr ( i;wherei in a mature destination – France (1.6). The high- stands for 2, 3, ...,17)werecalculatedforeachofthe est ones were found in Iceland (15.9) and two East- four indicators for each country as follows: ern European countries. In addition, compared to the growth rate of international tourist arrivals, interna- 1 Data for international arrivals for Denmark between 2000 tional tourism receipts have grown faster in the ma- and 2004 are adapted using average annual growth rate be- jority of countries researched (with the exception of tween 2005 and 2016. 2 Tourism export at constant prices in usd(tereal) is cal- Slovenia, Hungary, Greece and Turkey). culated using tourism export at current prices in usd Besides aggregate measures, the tourism demand (tenominal) and usdgdp deflator (2010 = 100) as follows: per arrival gives better information about an aver- tereal =tenominal/(usdgdpdeflator/100). age tourist’s consumption behaviour. International
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Table 1 Average Annual Growth Rate Coefficients of and 2016. The highest one is perceived in Slovakia International Tourist Arrivals, Tourism Export at with an average annual increase of 7.8, followed by Current Prices, Tourism Export per Arrival at Luxemburg,PolandandLatviawithanincreasebe- Current and Constant Prices in Selected European tween 4.0 and 4.3. In Slovenia, Turkey, Greece and Countries during the Period between 2000–2016 Hungary average annual growth rate of international Country () () () () tourism receipts per arrival is less than 1, confirming Austria . . . . that receipts per arrival have been decreasing in four Belgium . . . . out of 25 countries during this period. Czech Republic . . . . By removing the impact of price changes, interna- tional tourism receipts per arrival at constant prices Denmark . . . . reveal real changes in tourism receipts per arrival Estonia . . . . over time. It has ranged between 2 to + 2 in the Finland . . . . majority of 25 countries. Further, Greece, Hungary France . . . . and Slovenia were confronted with a negative average Germany . . . . annual growth rate of international tourism receipts Greece . . . . per arrival at constant prices between –2 and –3, Hungary . . . . whereas Luxemburg, Latvia and Poland have reached Iceland . . . . the one between +2 and +2.3. The strongest nega- tive growth rate in receipts per tourist arrival in real Ireland . . . . terms was found in Turkey (below 3) and the highest Italy . . . . positive one in Slovakia (above 5). Latvia . . . . Luxembourg . . . . Concluding Remarks Netherlands . . . . International tourism growth is fueled by the increas- Norway . . . . ing number of foreign tourist arrivals as well as by in- Poland . . . . ternational tourism receipts, but tourism receipts per Portugal . . . . arrival more or less stagnate. However, there are dif- ferences between countries. The highest difference be- Slovakia . . . . tweentheaverageannualgrowthrateofthenumber of Slovenia . . . . tourist arrivals and the average annual growth rate of Spain . . . . tourismreceiptsatconstantpricesisfoundinTurkey, Sweden . . . . followed by Iceland and Slovenia. On the other hand, Turkey . . . . Poland, Slovakia and Luxemburg have had an even uk . . . . slightly higher average annual rate of tourism receipts Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) average annual at constant prices than that of tourist arrivals; both av- growth rate coefficient of international tourist arrivals, (2) erage annual growth rates are also practically equal in average annual growth rate coefficient of tourism export Denmark. (current prices), (3) average annual growth rate coefficient It can be derived from this that some countries of tourism export per international arrival (current prices), have not succeeded in attracting tourists who spend (4) average annual growth rate coefficient of tourism export more money during their stay, probably due to the per international arrival (constant prices 2010 = 100). increased level of competition. In other words, the in- creased number of international tourist arrivals re- tourism receipts per arrival (at current prices) perform lated to mass tourism is not reflected in substantive a positive but modest average annual growth rate in 21 additional receipts per tourist. It can be explained in out of 25 countries during the period between 2000 two ways. Firstly, low-cost business models (such as
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low-cost airlines, budget accommodation) and fierce References competition among traditional suppliers as well as Crouch, G. I. (1994). The study of international tourism de- the sharing economy suppliers (in the field of accom- mand: A survey of practice. JournalofTravelResearch, modation, dining, travel guiding, transport) lead to a 32(4), 41–55. price decrease and, in turn, a decline in international Dogru,T.,Sirakaya-Turk,E.,&Crouch,G.I.(2017).Remod- eling international tourism demand: Old theory and new tourism receipts per arrival. Secondly, the decreasing evidence. Tourism Management, 60, 47–55. average length of overnight stays in line with the trend Garcia-Ferrer, A., & Queralt, R. A. (1997). A note on fore- of travelling more times a year for a shorter period of casting international tourism demand in Spain. Interna- time has probably had an impact on the growth rate of tional Journal of Forecasting, 13(4), 539–549. international tourism receipts per tourist arrival. Li,G.,Song,H.,&Witt,S.,F.(2005).Recentdevelopmentsin Further research could identify the reasons why econometric modeling and forecasting. Journal of Travel thegrowthrateofinternationaltouristarrivalsout- Research, 44(1), 82–99. paces the growth rate of international tourism receipts Lim, C. (1997). Review of international tourism demand. An- per tourist in real terms, how is it related to pric- nals of Tourism Research, 24(4), 835–849. Peng, B., Song, H., & Crouch, G. I. (2014). A meta-analysis ing strategies and what, consequently, are the percep- of international demand forecasting and implications for tions and attitudes of residents towards tourists. Ad- practice. Tourism Management, 45(1), 181–193. ditional research could be extended to the overnight Sheldon, P. J. (1993). Forecasting tourism: Expenditures ver- stays’ growth rate in order to give additional knowl- sus arrivals. JournalofTravelResearch,32(1), 13–20. edge about how international tourism receipts per Song,H.,Dwyer,L.,Li,G.,&Cao,Z.(2012).Tourismeco- overnight stay change. nomics research: A review and assessment. Annals of The limitation of the study is that the growth of in- Tourism Research, 39(3), 1653–1682. ternational tourism receipts is calculated per arrival as Song,H.,Li,G.,Witt,S.H.,&Fei,B.(2010).Tourismde- a unit and not per overnight stay, giving somewhat dif- mand modeling and forecast: How should demand be measured? Tourism Economics, 16(1), 63–81. ferent results, especially for countries with a longer av- World Tourism Organization. (2018). unwto TourismHigh- erage period of stay. An additional limitation is that lights. only international tourism is analysed. Moreover, it is worth noting that tourism export data use usd, en- abling some exchange rate distortions in time series due to exchange rate fluctuations. The analysis is ori- ented towards demand in the European region where tourism demand is growing slower than in other re- gions, so the findings cannot be generalised world- wide.
156 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Original Scientific Article
Pillars of City Spatial Sensitivity and Their Integration into Sightseeing Routes
Melita Rozman Cafuta University of Maribor, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture, Slovenia [email protected] Boštjan Brumen University of Maribor, Faculty of Tourism, Slovenia [email protected]
Worldwide, many cities have appropriate and necessary conditions for the devel- opment of urban tourism. Some locations, although considered important for local tourist destinations as part of a standard repertoire, do not comply with modern standards. For tourism organisations, it is very important to plan the best possible sightseeing routes with the best sightseeing locations. Using the intuitive approach only, is not enough in the modern tourism industry. The focus of the presented re- search is an innovative approach to identify the most prosperous urban places that should be included in urban tourist offers. Empirical research was conducted, based on the analytical method of mental mapping. For the research location, Maribor city (Slovenia, eu) has been chosen. A sample of 200 respondents was taken. They were asked to draw a city map twice, once for the daytime city and once for the nighttime city. Graphical results obtained reflect a subjective mental spatial idea of individual thinking mode. Some locations in the city seem to be particularly important and vis- ible. They were named ‘Pillars of Spatial Sensitivity’ or, pss locations. pss locations are extremely suitable to be integrated in a tourist offer as building blocks of sightsee- ing routes. When processing the research results, 34 pss locations were more or less frequently detected in Maribor city. 32 of them had different appearance frequency between day and night. Based on these results, it is possible to conclude that mod- ified spatial circumstances affect the perception and utilisation of urban space. The research results make it obvious that spatial sensitivity of tourists depends on time. It is possible to design sightseeing routes adapted to the time component. Keywords: urban tourism, pillars of spatial sensitivity, mental map, sightseeing location https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.157-166
Introduction for many different reasons as long-stay or short-stay Urban tourism is ‘a complex phenomenon, which is tourists (Ashworth & Page, 2011). Planning appropri- heavily involved in the local, regional and national en- ate sightseeing routes has become a challenging task vironment’ (Rangus et al., 2017, p. 167). Nowadays, it for tourist guides as well as for individuals visiting un- is rapidly expanding because people visit foreign cities familiar urban destinations. The whole city represents
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the physical place in which the tourist’s desire is ac- are under-researched in the tourism field (Younghee complished. Today, most cities aim to promote them- Lee et al., 2018). selves as tourist destinations to increase their compet- The focus of the presented research is to reveal ur- itiveness, while tourism is seldom studied as an intru- ban places with a great perception value and to iden- sive activity because of its indisputable positive eco- tify the most favourable areas that should be integrated nomic effects (Fistola et al., 2019). into sightseeing routes. To ensure tourists’ well-being Visits to museums, galleries, and religious and ar- and high environmental perception sensitivity are pri- chaeological sites are a usual part of the tourist’s rou- orities. We assumed that, if some places trigger posi- tine in urban destinations. Points of Interests should tive emotions for dwellers, they have the same positive be narrowed down, and aligned with personal inter- impact on tourists. Although public preferences on en- ests and trip constraints (Gavalas et al., 2016). How- vironment are shaped by many different factors, such ever, field studies have revealed that tourists seek to as age, gender, social and economic status, etc., there maximize the time spent wandering around an ur- are also some common preferences on urban types, ban space, engaging all their body senses while ‘on the especially for people with similar educational back- move’ (Larsen, 2001; Shoval & Isaacson, 2007). They ground and environmental viewpoints. appreciate observing everyday life activities and dis- Today’sstandard repertoire of sightseeing locations covering different scenic values as much as they care may not comply with modern standards. Therefore, about the cultural and architectural elements of a his- it is essential to seek new locations to keep sightsee- torical district. ing routes attractive. Locations with high environmen- Tourists today have become increasingly depen- tal perception sensitivity should be included. What is dent on mobile city guides or tourist guide companies seen and what is remembered? After a while, tourists to locate tourist services and retrieve informative con- do not perceive every architectural and environmental tent (opening hours, entrance fees, etc.) about nearby detail. But they perceive well-being as a combination points of interest. The main aim is planning the best of environmental settings, people and service at the lo- possible sightseeing routes with the best sightseeing cation. Tourists’ spatial sensitivity changes over time. points. Ad hoc spatial decisions are no longer accept- Dotheappropriatesightseeinglocationschangetoo? able. The human dimension in the form of scenic route In this context, the following is crucial: (a) to iden- planning environmental perception sensitivity is not tify locations that have high spatial sensitivity and (b) included. to know when these locations can be integrated into Previous research on tour planning problems is sightseeing routes. broadly divided into several directions. Some stud- The research concentrates on a scientific approach ies are devoted to solving the mathematical program- basedonananalyticalmethodofmentalmappingas ming problems. Other studies are devoted to dynam- an assessment tool. There is a tendency to answer all ically planning an optimal itinerary which is related raised questions using the following hypothesis: to designing intelligent tour planning systems (Ha- h1 Spatial sensitivity of tourists depends on time. suike et al., 2014). There is also research on various tour planning problems such as the tourist trip design h2 Based on the value of spatial sensitivity, it is pos- problem (Souffriau et al., 2008), and the tour planning sible to design sightseeing routes adapted to the problem in a multimodal and time-scheduled urban time component. public transport network (Zografos & Androutsopou- los, 2008). However, existing mathematical models for Tourists’ Cognitive Experience of the City sightseeing do not include subjective perception val- and Spatial Sensitivity ues of sightseeing places. Mental mapping is a useful The structure of the city is not permanent. It changes method for revealing how visitors spatially perceive over time. Urban development is guided by social tourism destinations. However, studies of this kind progress and technological capabilities (Rozman Ca-
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futa & Brumen, 2016). The city of tomorrow strikes a balance among social, environmental and economic Psychological needs (Rozman Cafuta, 2015). Urban tourism can con- Factor tribute substantial economic benefits to certain city ar- eas with a large and varied economic base. These gain the most from tourism but are the least dependent upon it (Ashworth & Page, 2011). The challenge comes Sightseeing with lesser-known parts of the city with a low level of tourist infrastructure. How to seek for opportunities Integration Tourists’ in such areas, especially if the economic base is weak? Spatial Sensitivity How to define potential places that are appropriate to Aesthetic- be developed and integrated into sightseeing routes? Sociological Routes Functional Generally, the environment should create a good Factor Factor personal feeling. To ensure satisfied tourists, envi- ronmental circumstances should be adjusted. To es- tablish interaction between the urban environment Figure 1 TheTriangularSchemeofTourists’Spatial and its users (tourists), it is necessary to understand Sensitivity Factors and Indicators how they perceive their surroundings. Spatial circum- stances are not only material reality, but are also men- tal structures that result in subjective perception. Spa- tion selection, way of movement, visual preferences tial sensitivity is always subjective because it relies on and general place arrangement. The quality of service individual response. It is dependent upon the individ- depends on it. Therefore, it is justified to explore how ual’s gender, age, time, experience, and culture (Roz- the time component and physical surroundings affect man Cafuta, 2015). Visual perception dominates over tourists’ environmental sensation. hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Eyesight provides the largest amount of information to explain what hap- Spatial Analysis by the Mental Mapping Method pens around us. We are supplied with a large amount As already mentioned, environmental sensation is a of information such as: distance, colours, shapes, tex- complex process. Spatial sensitivity means recognis- tures, and contrasts (Gregory, 1998). ing, collecting and organising received information. Environment defines a cognitive image of a spe- Through this procedure it is possible to be aware of cific location, like any human performance that in- our relative spatial position in relation to existing lim- cludes physical and mental links between an observed itations. According to Canter (1977), the concept of location and its surroundings (Canter, 1977). Using in- space is based on individual cognitive experience and formation obtained by different authors, a triangular designated by the composite conceptual system. We scheme was created using a method of inductive con- are informed about a place through ‘what behaviour clusion in order to determine what influences tourists’ is associated with, or is anticipated to be housed in spatial sensitivity (Figure 1). Tourists’ spatial sensation it, what physical parameters of the settings are, and depends on factors such as psychological, sociological, the description, or conceptions, which people hold of and aesthetic-functional. All of them are equal and their behaviour in that physical environment’ (p. 159). connected. Tourists respond and act in accordance A place is set with a specific physical location and ac- with them. tivities taking place in it. It is humans’ cognitive ex- The scheme represents the most important factors perience of the material world and offers a concrete and their indicators that must be taken into account visual metaphor. The message of space ultimately de- when planning and arranging sightseeing routes, such pends on individual interpretation decomposing and as: sense of safety, orientation ability, path and loca- recomposing its cryptic meanings (Šerman, 1997).
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Figure 2 Mental Map of Maribor City (Slovenia, Europe); First During the Daytime and Second During the Nighttime (Graphical Output of Test Person)
In the sixties and seventies, urban theorists began mapping has developed over the years. Today it has studying the relationship between the reality and the theoretical and practical potential to understand hu- idea of the space (Evans 1980; Liben et al., 1981; Lynch, man environmental exchange. It comprises a subjec- 1960). Lynch’s (1960) and Golledge’s (1978) early stud- tive awareness of the surroundings and provides an ies have shown that our space perception can be artic- insight into an individual’s spatial sensitivity. ulated, evaluated and categorised. Tolman (1984) was the first who introduced the idea of cognitive map- Case Study: Maribor City ping. Later, Downs and Stea (1973) upgraded his be- In the presented research we upgraded the already- havioural approach as a process composed of psycho- known mental mapping method. In the previous prac- logical transformations strings by which an individual tices, residents draw a map, from memory, of their city acquires, codes, stores, recalls, and decodes informa- or some other research area. This allows the researcher tion about the relative location and its attributes. togetasenseofwhichpartsofthecityaremoresub- Today, cognitive mapping is the mental structuring stantial or imaginable. Tourists quickly developed cog- process leading to the formation of a cognitive map. nitive images that are influenced by experience and A cognitive map is a set of mental images. Environ- the time spent in the area (Walmsley & Jenkins, 1992). mental sensing enables identification of objects or ar- Similar use of mental maps is also applied in the pre- eas, and determination of the distance between vari- sented research in order to identify specific points of ous points or patterns. Spatial visualization enables ev- interest that are sufficiently perceived and have enough eryday movement, route planning, understanding the potential to be included in sightseeing routes. Loca- route descriptions and map reading. In more general tions with high values of spatial sensitivity are gener- terms, a cognitive map may be defined ‘as an overall ally the gathering sites of tourist spots. The research mental image or representation of the space and lay- focus relied on a spatial impression of the city. It was out of a setting’ (Arthur & Passini, 1992). attempted to give sensible form to the moods, feelings, Cognitive maps are a spatial representation of the and rhythms of functional life. outside world that is kept within the mind, until an The conducted experiment was based on a sample actual manifestation (a drawing) of this perceived of 200 respondents, 100 men and 100 women. All par- knowledge is generated, and a mental map is put down ticipants were students at the University of Maribor on paper. Cognitive mapping is the implicit, men- in Slovenia. The respondents can be equated as long- tal mapping the explicit, part of the process. Mental term tourists (they do not live at the research loca-
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Table 1 Occurrence Frequency of pss Locations Table 1 Continued from the previous column on Mental Maps 2 pss location Day Night χ p χ2 pss location Day Night p ffff ffff Medical Faculty . . . . River Drava . . . . Shopping Centre . . . . Gosposka Street . . . . City Poštna Street . . . . Hall Štuk . . . . Koroška Street . . . . Main Rail Station . . . . L. Štukelj Square . . . . Medical Centre . . . . Castle Square . . . . Movie Theatre . . . . Main Square . . . . Kolosej A. M. Slomšek . . . . Student Hostel . . . . Square Monument nob . . . . Lent, Old City . . . . Plague Monument . . . . City Park . . . . Engineering Facul- . . . . Ski slope Mari- . . . . ties borsko Pohorje Franciscan Church . . . . Hills . . . . Theatre . . . . Footbridge . . . . Old Bridge . . . . time city and once for the nighttime city. They had 10 Main Bridge . . . . minutes to complete each drawing (20 minutes alto- Koroška Bridge . . . . gether). University . . . . Results and Discussions Town Hall . . . . The obtained drawings were analysed according to Main Post Office . . . . the included or excluded elements. Spatial sensitivity Town Market . . . . is the respondents’ mental image reflection. Already, Football Stadium . . . . every element that appears on a respondent’s map is Shopping Centre . . . . a spatial sensitivity carrier. When graphical outputs Europark were analysed, 36 elements, more or less frequently de- Continued in the next column tected, were exposed, such as: streets, squares, parks, morphological features, architectural attractions, and tion, they come and go like visitors) or dwellers (while urban furniture. All exposed elements appear at least studying, they live at the research location). For the re- 10 times or more during daytime; the detected fre- search location Maribor city has been chosen. Maribor quency is at least 5 or more (Table 1). The results is a vibrant, and the second largest, Slovenian city. It is show that the responders noticed most of the locations a centre of the Styrian region and a semi-important lying in the city centre, but only a few points in the tourist destination with medieval historical value. wider surroundings. Such location distribution con- The experiment was based on a memorised draw- firms the assumption that locations in the city centre ing of a city map and elements within it during differ- are very noticeable and have a high value of spatial sen- ent time sequences. Respondents were asked to imag- sitivity. It is not surprising that most of the sightseeing ine the city and put down a map of it. They were en- routes already take place in the city centre. However, couraged to create two drawings, once for the day- expanding the sightseeing routes on selected locations
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in the wider surroundings should also be considered. firmed. Spatial sensitivity of tourists depends on time. In the second phase, obtained graphical data were If we want to plan the best possible sightseeing statistically processed and analysed using the spss routes, it is necessary to identify the specific locations Windows computer program. Methods of descriptive that make the observed city distinctive. Locations with statistics (frequency and numerical analysis, the arith- a high noticed frequency should be part of a sightsee- metic mean of the difference between the mean, and ing route. Obviously, they trigger positive emotions. standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test for Locations with a low noticed frequency should be ex- dependent samples, and Pearson’s correlation coeffi- cluded. The emotions could be negative or simply not cient r) were used. The results in Table 1 show that al- strong enough. Sometimes a location is suitable just most all listed locations have different occurrence fre- for a specific time sequence. Generally, there are the quency. All exposed locations have specific character- following possible scenarios: istics that differentiate them from their surroundings. 1. The location has high spatial sensitivity value. Their common qualities are good visibility, good ac- Noticed frequency is high regardless of time se- cessibility, transportation network involvement, high quence. The location should be included in sight- usage frequency, high quality of spatial arrangement, seeing routes. higher property and rental values, etc. These are spa- 2. The location has low spatial sensitivity value. tial qualities that are strictly necessary for tourist lo- Noticed frequency is low regardless of time se- cations. In the presented research such locations are quence. The location should be excluded from named Pillars of Spatial Sensitivity (pss locations). sightseeing routes or it should undergo a com- pss locations have high spatial sensitivity value. They plete architectural renovation of the location to are spatial identity carriers and they stay in tourists’ be more functional. minds for a long time. Occurrence frequency is a cri- 3. The location has variable spatial sensitivity value. terion of importance. Noticed frequency is low or high depending on During the day the most often noticed locations are thetimesequence.Thelocationshouldbein- the River Drava (160 times), Old Bridge (133 times), cluded in sightseeing routes only at a certain Main Bridge (92 times), A. M. Slomšek Square (92 time. times), Shopping Centre Europark (87 times), Main Square (84 times) and so on. During the night the most By presenting possible scenarios hypothesis two is often noticed locations are the River Drava (147 times), also confirmed. Based on the value of spatial sensitiv- Old Bridge (115 times), Shopping Centre Europark ity, it is possible to design sightseeing routes adapted to (87 times), Main Square (84 times), Main Bridge (84 the time component. Application in practice is shown times), and A. M. Slomšek Square (73 times). It can be in three cases in Maribor City. concluded that some locations are in the group of the most often noticed ones in nearly everyone’s mind, re- Example 1: Location Gosposka Street gardless of the time period. Such locations are suitable (Variable Spatial Sensitivity Value) to be a part of sightseeing routes. Gosposka Street is one of the oldest streets, shaped in Locations are less noticeable at night except for the the 17th century. Today it is a part of a wider pedestrian following locations: 7 (Leon Štukelj Square), 22 (The- zone and well-known market street. Buildings’ ground atre), 30 (Hall Štuk), 31 (Main Bus station), 34 (Movie floors are occupied by shops or services, while upper Theatre Kolosej), and 38 (Plague Monument). The re- floors are residential flats. The street is well accessible sults of the χ2-test confirm that spatial sensitivity de- from various directions. At night, buildings’ verticals pends on time. In the majority of cases we reach a are not visible. Illuminated shop windows are accen- statistically characteristic difference in the incidence tuated. General street brightness is uneven. of elements between day and night at the statisti- The location belongs to the standard repertoire of cally significant level p < 0.05. Hypothesis one is con- most existing sightseeing routes. It has high noticed
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Figure 3 Gosposka Street During Daytime (left) and Gosposka Street During Nighttime (right)
Figure 4 Old City Lent During Daytime (left) and Old City Lent During Nighttime (right)
frequency at daytime, so it seems to be very appro- some parts are completely dark. The lights are placed priate for daytime routes. But the location is not ap- on the sidewalk. The traffic area is minimally lighted. propriate for organising nighttime sightseeing routes. Lack of illumination at night makes walking freely Noticed frequency is low. Shops are closed and the en- more difficult. There are also several lights mounted vironment seems not to be inviting enough. on the buildings’ walls. It is not sufficient because the open space remains in darkness. Example 2: Location Old City Lent The location belongs to the standard repertoire of (Low Spatial Sensitivity Value) most existing sightseeing routes. But the research re- Itissituatedontheedgeofthemedievalcitynextto sults categorise the location as less attractive for inclu- the river bank. The place is occupied by local streets sion in sightseeing routes because noticed frequency and a sidewalk. Buildings are various typologies and for day and night is low. The logical consequences ages. There are bars on ground floors and flats on up- wouldbetoreplacethelocationwithanotherone. per floors. Illumination of the location is not sufficient; In this case such a recommendation is not the best
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Figure 5 Leon Štukelj Square During Daytime (left) and Leon Štukelj Square During Nighttime (right)
option. The location has historical value and architec- ner and Ritchie (2006) describe urban tourism as a tural renovation would be a better option. complex phenomenon and extremely difficult to be described adequately. Any given location is primarily Example 3: Location Leon Štukelj Square characterised by its natural environment, architecture (High Spatial Sensitivity Value) and people. New opportunities must be sought in or- Thesquareissituatedinthecitypedestrianzone.Re- dertokeeportomakeallcityareasattractive.Nowa- designed, it was opened in 2011. The square is sur- days, tourists seek to maximize their environment rounded by public buildings. The central part of the with all the senses and appreciate observing everyday square is devoted to public events and is therefore life. Social innovation needs to be constantly in place. only occasionally occupied. Trees, benches, and bins This is even more important for occasionally visited are lined on both sides of the square. Hanging lamps places than for well-known tourists spots. Nowadays are stretched across the area. Floor lamps are installed modern management companies and organisations throughout the place. The square has a pleasant, un- must incorporate a psychological approach into their obtrusive illuminated atmosphere. At night, artificial operations. It is a big challenge to satisfy tourists, be- light colour is changing and creates different ambi- cause societal expectations are high. What do tourists ences. Hanging lamps illuminate the paved area. Fa- remember and take home? What makes them come cades are not illuminated. back and visit the same place again? Tourists certainly The research results show high noticed frequency do not remember every architectural detail and his- forbothdaytimeandnighttime.Obviously,tourists torical fact. After a while, just a positive attitude and noticed it and perceive a pleasant atmosphere during well-being remain. Sightseeing locations should be both time sequences. Based on the results, the location attractive, pleasant, safe, and should relax tourists at is very appropriate to be included in daytime as well as the same time. It is very important to plan the best nighttime sightseeing routes. The tourist can sit, rest possible sightseeing routes with the best sightseeing and enjoy the atmosphere. locations. After analytical research work it is confirmed that Conclusions modified spatial circumstances affect the perception Emerging tourism destinations can play a significant and utilisation of urban space. Spatial sensitivity is role in championing the adoption of sustainable tour- subjective mental image reflection influenced by psy- ism development (Sasidharan & Križaj, 2018). Goeld- chological, sociological and aesthetic-functional fac-
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tors. It provides an indication of a person’s ability to Recent progress and current paradoxes. Tourism Man- perceive and remember visual information about a agement, 32(1), 1–15. certain environment. It depends on time and changes Canter, D. (1977). The psychology of place. Architectural as soon as spatial circumstances change, for example, Press. day and night. Spatial sensitivity value is not always Downs,R.M.,&Stea,D.(1973).Image and environment: equal. The higher the value, the more important the Cognitive mapping and spatial behaviour. Aldine. Evans, G. W.(1980). Environmental Cognition. Psychological location, the more it is suitable for integration into Bulletin, 88(2), 259–287. sightseeing routes. Summarising the graphical results Fistola,R.,Gargiulo,C.,Battarra,R.,&LaRocca,L.A. obtained by the mental mapping method, it can be (2019). Sustainability of urban functions: Dealing with concluded that from the number of 34 exposed loca- tourism activity. Sustainability, 11(4), 1071. tions, 32 have different appearance frequency between Gavalas, D., Kasapakis, V., Konstantopoulos, C., Pantziou, day and night. Based on the value of spatial sensitivity, G.,&Vathis,N.(2017).Scenicrouteplanningfortourists. it is possible to design sightseeing routes adapted? to Pers Ubiquit Comput, 21, 137–155. the time component. Some locations, although con- Goeldner,C.R.,&Ritchie,J.R.B.(2006).Tourism: Princi- sidered as important local tourist destinations, are not ples, practices, philosophies. Wiley. appropriate to be included in sightseeing routes. Only Golledge, R. G. (1978). Learning about urban environments. locations with high spatial sensitivity value in certain In T. Carlstein, D. Parkes, & N. Thrift (Eds.), Timing space and spacing time: Volume 1. Making sense of time time sequences should become a part of sightseeing (pp. 76–98). Edward Arnold. routes. Gregory, R. L. (1998). Eyeandbrain,thepsychologyofseeing. Obtained research results: (1) new definition of Pil- Oxford University Press. lars of Spatial Sensitivity (pss locations) set for the lo- Hasuike,T.,Katagiri,H.,Tsubaki,H.,&Tsuda,H.(2014). cations with high spatial sensitivity value, (2) the use Sightseeing route planning responding various condi- of the already-known method of mental mapping for a tions with fuzzy random satisfactions dependent on new purpose (to identify pss locations and their spa- tourist’s tiredness. In S. I. Ao, O. Castillo, C. Douglas, tial sensitivity value), and (3) hypothesis confirmation D. D. Feng, & J.-A. Lee (Eds.), Proceedings of the Interna- are original scientific contributions presented in this tional Multiconference of Engineers and Computer Scien- paper. tists 2014 (pp. 1232–1236). Newswood. It is very important to plan the best possible sight- Larsen,J.(2001).Tourismmobilitiesandthetravelglance: Experiences of being on the move. Scandinavian Journal seeing routes, but the proposed scientific approach of Hospitality and Tourism, 1(2), 80–98. cannot help the tourist organisation to make a loca- Liben,L.S.,Patterson,A.H.,&Newcombe,N.(1981).Spa- tion more attractive. Obtained research results provide tial representation and behavior across the life span. Aca- insight into the spatial situation of Maribor city (Slove- demic Press. nia, Europe) and could support tourism development Lynch, K. (1960). Image of the city. Institute of Technology. in a specific city area. The presented approach could Rangus, M., Brumen, B., & Potočnik Topler, J. (2017). Sus- be integrated as good practice in any other city world- tainable tourism development in rural areas: The role of wide. It supports identification of suitable sightseeing stakeholders. Academica Turistica, 10(2), 167–173. locations that are memorable and can be inherited by RozmanCafuta,M.(2015).Openspaceevaluationmethod- mobile city guides or used by tourist guides. Of course, ology and three dimensions evaluation model as a base other fields, such as tourist infrastructure and service for sustainable development tracking. Sustainability, 7 (10), 13690–13712. quality, should also be considered. RozmanCafuta,M.,&Brumen,B.(2016).Theinnovative methodology of recognition the most appropriate places References with a great potential for tourist satisfaction. In D. F. Ko- Arthur,P.,&Passini,R.(1992).Wayfinding: People, signs, and caoglu, (Ed.), picmet 2016: Technology managementfor architecture. Hill Ryerson. social innovation (pp. 1824–1829). Portland International Ashworth, G., & Page, S. J. (2011). Urban tourism research: Center for Management of Engineering and Technology.
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Sasidharan, V., & Križaj, D. (2018). Tourism ecolabels and Tolman,E.C.(1984).Cognitivemapsinratsandmen.Psy- social sustainability: Challenges and innovations from chological review, 55(4), 189–208. Slovene perspective. Academica Turistica, 11(1), 19–29. Walmsley,D.J.,&Jenkins,J.M.(1992).Tourismcognitive Shoval,N.,&Isaacson,M.(2007).Trackingtouristsinthe mapping of unfamiliar environments. Annals of Tourism digital age. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), 141–159. research, 19(2), 268–286. Souffriau, W., Vansteenwegen, P., Vertommen, J., Berghe, G. Younghee Lee, M., Hitchcock, M., & Wengsi, L. (2018). Men- V., & Oudheusden, D. V. (2008). A personalized tourist tal mapping and heritage visitors’ spatial perceptions. trip design algorithm for mobile tourist guides. Applied Journal of Heritage Tourism, 13(4), 305–319. Artificial Intelligence, 22(10), 964–985. Zografos, K. G., & Androutsopoulos, K. N. (2008). Algo- Šerman,K.(1997).Obîtiiprostoru–BehrensiLoos*. rithms for itinerary planning in multimodal transporta- Prostor: znanstveni časopis za arhitekturu i urbanizam, tion networks. ieee Transactions on Intelligent Trans- 5(2(14)), 201–238. portation System, 9(1), 175–184.
166 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Research Note
Spiritual Intelligence and Business Environments
Fadil Mušinović Faculty of Commercial and Business Sciences, Slovenia [email protected]
The article combines two development-oriented concepts, spiritual intelligence and business systems, composed of four elements. Spiritual intelligence, according to King (2008), consists of critical existential thinking, production of personal mean- ing, transcendental awareness, and conscious state expansion. Business systems, ac- cording to Bulc (2006), evolve evolutionarily in four stages, from the working envi- ronment, through the learning and thinking environments, to the conscious envi- ronment. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the factors of spiritual intelligence are related to the developmental stages of business systems and whether they differ in the various developmental stages of business systems. The empirical data was collected electronically, using a composite questionnaire in different busi- ness environments. 601 employees participated in the study. The results showed pos- itive correlations between the factors of spiritual intelligence and learning, thinking, and the conscious environment, but no correlation to the working environment. In various development stages of business systems, certain differences have been re- vealed between the factors of spiritual intelligence. Regarding spiritual intelligence and business environments, the research has also shown differences based on gender, work experience, and the level of education. Keywords: spiritual intelligence, evolution, business environments, individual, development https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.167-177
Introduction suring a child’s intelligence, while the development in Intelligence has been evolving as a discipline through this direction led to Terman’s adaptation of the test different milestones. The beginnings of research date and the use of the iq. In comparison to the individual back to the age of Plato and Aristotle (see http://www tests, the Army alpha and Army beta group tests can .intelltheory.com), while the one of the first scien- also be considered as milestones (Detterman, 2009). tific definitions dates back to the end of the 18th cen- The consequence of such a long period of study tury. That is when Galton tried to measure the ba- is an abundance of definitions, in which each offers sic abilities of the mind through sensory discrimi- their own aspect (e.g. the classical aspect, the biolog- nation and reaction times (Jensen, 2002). Later on, ical aspect) in defining the intelligence of a person in James Cattell broadened Galton’s work with psycho- a slightly different way. For Gottfredson (1998), intel- logical testing and by using surveys and question- ligence is an individual’s ability to deal with cogni- naires, targeted at studying intelligence (Cianciolo & tive complexity, for Sternberg and Salter (1982), intel- Sternberg, 2004). The next milestone was the work of ligence is goal-oriented and environmentally-adjust- twoFrenchpsychologists,AlfredBinetandTheodore able behaviour, while the Merriam Webster Dictionary Simon, who have developed an objective test for mea- (https://www.merriam-webster.com) states that intel-
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ligence is the ability to learn and understand or work Spiritual intelligence, as defined in this paper, is or try to work in new situations; skillful use of reason- not spiritually inspirational or religious identity and ing; the ability to use knowledge to manage one’s en- practice. If we possess spiritual intelligence, we do not vironment; or abstract thinking, as is measured with require a belief system linked to religion, and we are objective criteria (e.g. tests). Different reasoning and not required to identify ourselves as a spiritual person arguments of what intelligence is and is not has gone (King, 2008). so far, that a group of 52 scientists signed a statement Spiritual intelligence is, just like general intelli- in December 1994, declaring what intelligence is and gence (where we measure the person’s iq), differently what it is not (Gottfredson, 1997). defined.AccordingtoEmmons(2003,p.176),spiritual The spirituality of an individual has also been re- intelligence is ‘an adaptive use of spiritual information searched relatively well, as it has been studied since the with the purpose of easing daily problem solving and time of William James (1902), who believed that our reaching set goals.’It is composed of the ability to tran- spiritual experiences have the potential to broaden and scend the physical and material, the experience of a deepen our lives. However, there are more definitions heightened state of consciousness, dedication to daily of what spirituality is. Some authors define spirituality experiences, and the use of spiritual resources to solve as an inner instinct (Emmons, 2000), while others de- problems. fine it as a sequence of topmost experiences and tran- Vaughan (2002) states that spiritual intelligence, scendent moments (MacDonald, 2000). But some au- along with self-awareness, also means that we are thors believe that spirituality is represented as an inte- aware of our own relationship to the excess in regards gration of both the inner instinct as well as topmost ex- to the Earth and to all living beings. periences (Coyle, 2002; George et al., 2000; Vaughan, On the other hand, Zohar and Marshall (2000, p. 2002). 3) believe that spiritual intelligence ‘enables people to Historically, spirituality was not separate from re- becreative,tochangetherules,andtochangetheirsit- ligious experiences, but nevertheless some theorists uations. It enables us to play with boundaries, it gives believe that key differences between religion and spir- us moral meaning, it enables us to confront the ques- ituality do exist (Del Rio & White, 2012). The thought tions of good and evil, and enables us to imagine the that spirituality could be a form of intelligence was unrealized possibilities.’ developed with the theory of multiple intelligences Wolman (2001, p. 84) established that spiritual in- (Gardner, 1995). In this theory, intelligence is a series telligence is ‘a human capacity for asking final ques- of connected and, at the same time, separate cogni- tions about the purpose of life and, at the same time, tive processes and abilities that allow us to under- a capacity to embrace these questions in experiencing stand the world, our development, and our improve- seamless connections between all of us and the world, ments. It is also the ability to solve problems in differ- in which we live in.’ ent fields of human activity. In his own theory, Gard- KingandDeCicco(2009,p.69)havedefinedspir- ner (1995) speaks of multiple intelligences: the lingual, itual intelligence as ‘a collection of mental capacities, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, motor, inter- which contribute to awareness, integration, and ad- personal, and inner personal intelligence. The author justment of immaterial and transcendent aspects of firstthoughtthatspiritualitycannotbeaformofintel- an individual’s existence, which lead to consequences, ligence, but later changed his mind. He added a new such as: critical existential thinking, producing per- type of intelligence, the existential or moral intelli- sonal meaning, transcendent awareness, and conscious gence (Gardner, 2000), which has the characteristics state expansion.’Reaching and experiencing these spir- of spiritual intelligence (Emmons, 2000; King, 2008; itual abilities is supposed to – while taking into ac- King&DeCicco,2009;Vaughan,2002).Itincludes count Gardner’s criteria for measuring and determin- different development processes and adapts to a hu- ing the field of intelligence – strengthen the quality of man’s life (Gardner, 1995). an individual’s life (Gardner, 1995; 2000).
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The quality of an individual’s life can be strength- tem is created with diligent work, which results in cre- ened within different contexts. We can, for example, ating a product as the key part of the working process. strengthen it at home, in a business environment or in Work is conducted through manufacture; it is partly other social systems in which we are included in our automated and computerised. Methods for systematic life,asthesesocialsystemsinfluenceourlivesandour cost management are developed to some extent, in- spiritual intelligence (Yang & Wu, 2009). The influ- cluding the optimisation of support services. The key ence can differ. For example, Schneider (1987) states competitive advantage is the productivity and its con- that the influence between the social system and the stant increase. individual is mutual. According to the theory (model) The second developmental stage – the learning of asa – Attraction – Selection – Attrition, social sys- stage – is characterised by added value that is cre- tems attract certain types of people, in which, if they ated with knowledge. Diligence, which posed as added get along with the system or organisation, they stay value in the previous stage, does not suffice anymore based on selection, or leave it later on. in this stage. It needs to be upgraded with knowledge, Business systems are also social systems. In these which is accumulated in ever more accessible liter- systems we conduct our work and go about our busi- ature that, through in-depth studies, enables bigger ness. Structurally they are diverse; they can be, for ex- productivity management. As a consequence, the dif- ample, hierarchical (e.g. the police, the military, the ference in productivity between individual companies fire brigade), or they can be flatter (e.g. Google), but gets smaller, which by itself demands a different type of compared to personal, family, and leisure social sys- added value or a different competitive advantage. The tems, they are different. People, with whom we so- latter is seen in this stage in knowledge, which also cialise there, are different. The way of thinking and be- manifests itself in the quality of the product. In this having is different. Even goals that we follow with the developmental period the key observed item is not context of business systems are different. the product or the emotional attachments of workers Business systems can be understood as living be- and managers to the product, but the customers, who ings, or at least they have some characteristics of living think the product is interesting and, later on, buy it. beings: they have their own evolutional dynamic, his- Or they decide not to buy it. In relation to this – com- tory, present, and future; they are independent organ- paratively with the working environment – the work isms with feelings, fears, and dreams; they have their processes also change. These are based on knowledge own mission, goals, and life span. They differ among and change through time or circle through constant eachotherandatthesametimetheyareconnected, improvements. In consequence, the management pro- because ‘for each new phase [stage] it is absolutely nec- cess, interpersonal relations, work organisation, val- essary to possess the vital forces of its predecessors’ ues, etc. also comparatively change or develop. (Bulc, 2006, p. 20). Creativity brings added value into the thinking en- According to Bulc (2006), the development of busi- vironment, while the key element is innovation. Qual- ness systems encompasses four development stages: ity is improving comparatively with the learning en- the working environment, the learning environment, vironment, while the improvements are based on cre- the thinking environment, and the conscious environ- ative innovations, which are unknown and different. ment. These stages run in sequence, by business rules, A growing emphasis is given to the individual and resources, and leverages. Between the stages there are the inter-functional teams, which can only function transitional transformational periods of conduct, in in relaxed and dynamic environments, where there is which it comes to disorders or dialectical fights be- enough time to think and get creative ideas. It is also tween the old and the new (e.g. dialectical fight be- important to collaborate with the environment, where, tween the working and the learning environment). in a mix of hard work, knowledge, and thinking, new The working environment is the first developmen- ideas and innovative processes arise, which the market tal stage of business systems. Added value in this sys- or the environment need.
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The conscious environment is the last develop- carded from the survey, as they were either blank or mental stage. It represents a growing humanisation participants answered every question with the same of work; added value is represented by intuitiveness values, therefore, they were useless for the purposes of in deep connection with spirituality. The key factor is the survey. the life energy of the individual, group, or company, 601 questionnaires were used in the survey. 227 values and informal forms of collaboration with the (37.8 of the sample) men and 372 (61.9) women environment. participated. Two participants did not mark their gen- The researched topic is in our opinion scientifically ders. This represented 0.3 of all included question- relevant, because spiritual intelligence is an interest- naires. ing and poorly researched concept, especially in the Participants were 18 to 70 years old. The average context of developmental stages of business systems, age was 40 years. Five individuals did not disclose their which was the main purpose and goal of this paper. We age. Age data was divided into categories of 10 years. wanted to determine whether there is a connection be- The categories were: under 20 years, 20–30 years, 30– tween spiritual intelligence and developmental stages 40 years, 40–50 years, 50–60 years, and 60–70 years. of business environments, what kind of connection it Due to the fact that there were only 4 participants un- is and also, whether spiritual intelligence is different in der the age of 20, we put them into the category 20–30 various stages of business systems and, if it is, what are years. There were 132 (22) individuals in this cate- the differences. gory. The category 20–30 years included 207 (34.4) Given that such research has not been conducted individuals. The category 40–50 years included 163 yet, we based the logic of establishing hypotheses from (27.1) individuals. The category 50–60 years included links in the content of cited papers. We checked two 76 (12.6) individuals. The last category included 18 hypotheses: (3) participants. h1 In higher developmental stages of business sys- Years of work experience of participants varied tems employees have a more developed spiritual from 0 to 47 years. 13 participants did not disclose intelligence. this information. The data was divided into categories h2 Spiritual intelligence is significantly different in of 10 years; from 0 to 10, from 11 to 20, from 21 to 30, individual developmental stages of business sys- from 31 to 40, and from 41 to 50 years. The first cat- tems. egory included 192 (31.9) participants. The category 11–20 included 184 (30.6) individuals. The category Method 21–30 included 134 (22.3) participants. The following The research was done through the usual steps; the category was 31–40. This category included 70 (11.6) first part was theoretical and intended for reviewing individuals. The last category included 8 (1.3) partic- literature and previous research, and forming theoret- ipants. ical fundamentals based on known concepts. Descrip- Based on education, the participants were divided tive, compilation, comparative, and analysis and syn- into these groups: 3 (0.5) participants had primary thesis methods were used in this part. education, 102 (17) had secondary education, 178 In the second – the empirical part, validity, relia- (29.6) participants had the first Bologna level of bility, objectivity, and other measurable characteristics education, 252 (41.9) participants had the second of the tools used were introduced. Later, results were Bologna level of education, while 60 (10) individ- introduced and explained, after which discussion fol- ualshadthethirdBolognalevelofeducation.6(1) lows. participants did not disclose their education level. 523 (87 of the sample) participants were em- Respondents ployed, 40 (6.7) were students, 20 (3.3) were re- The sample was opportunistic and self-selective. 615 tired, while 16 (2.7) were unemployed. 2 (0.3) par- people chose to participate. 14 questionnaires were dis- ticipants did not disclose their employment status.
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Tools recipients participate in the survey and share the in- Weused a questionnaire in our survey and have named vitation to the survey through their social networks – it Spiritual intelligence (sq) in business environments their friends, acquaintances, coworkers, etc. (po). It was composed of two different sources. We The gathered forms were then exported to the rel- used the Spiritual intelligence self-report inventory – evant format for later processing in the spss software sisri-24 (King, 2008; King & DeCicco, 2009) for the (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). The database part regarding spiritual intelligence, while for the part was also refined in order to obtain more stable re- regarding business environments we used our own sults for processing. First, we discarded the 9 blank four items that were produced based on Bulc’s (2006) questionnaires. After that structural analysis followed. statements. The questionnaire included 28 items and Based on this analysis, we also removed 5 question- demographic data. The Cronbach alpha for the 50 naires that had the same value filled out in all the ques- stated items was 0.908. tions (e.g. all the items had the value 3). The remaining The Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory – 601 were then included in the statistical analysis. sisri-24 (King, 2008; King & DeCicco, 2009) mea- The statistical analysis was then conducted accord- sures two kinds of abilities and skills: critical existen- ing to the instructions for each concept. So, for the tial thinking, personal meaning production, transcen- analysis regarding spiritual intelligence it was taken dent awareness, and conscious state expansion. For into account that the overall result, after the reverse this we used the 5-point Likert scale with 1 meaning ‘is coding of the 6th item is done, is the sum of all an- not true at all’ and 5 meaning ‘absolutely true.’ The swers on the items. We named it Spiritual intelligence Cronbach alpha for all 24 items was 0.944; for the and marked it with sq. We have also taken into ac- 7-item factor ‘critical existential thinking’ the Cron- count that the higher the result, the higher is the level bach alpha was 0.874, for the 5-item factor ‘personal of spiritual intelligence or individual capacities (King, meaning production’ it was 0.817, for the 7-item ‘tran- 2008). The items in Spiritual intelligence were divided scendent awareness’ it was 0.736, and for the 5-item into 4 factors based on factor analysis (King, 2008), ‘conscious state expansion’ it was 0.888. namely: The following were four items of our own designed 1. The factor critical existential thinking – abbre- questionnaire for measuring the evolutionary devel- viated as cet – was calculated by summing the opmental stage of business environments, which was seven items which, according to King (2008), fall designed based on the theory (Bulc, 2006). The ques- into this category. These items are 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 17, tionnaire is composed of four items: the working envi- and 21. ronment, the learning environment, the thinking en- 2. The factor personal meaning production – abbre- vironment, and the conscious environment. We used viated as pmp – was calculated by summing the a 3-point scale, where 1 means ‘does not apply to us,’ 2 five items which, according to King (2008), fall means ‘partly applies to us,’ and 3 means ‘it applies to into this category. These items are 7, 11, 15, 19, and us almost entirely.’ The Cronbach alpha for the above- 23. mentioned items was 0.630. 3. The factor transcendent awareness – abbreviated Procedures as ta – was calculated by summing the seven Data was collected with an electronic questionnaire items which, according to King (2008), fall into with the help of Google docs tools. For data gathering this category. These items are 2, 6 (reverse cod- we used snowball non-random sampling (Biernacki ing),10,14,18,20,and22. & Waldorf, 1981; Faugier & Sergeant, 1997) that took 4. The factor conscious state expansion – abbrevi- place via various organisation managements. ated as cse – was calculated by summing the five The link to the questionnaire was sent to various e- items which, according to King (2008), fall into mail addresses with included requests that the e-mail this category. These items are 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24.
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The evolutionary development of business envi- Table 1 Correlation between Spiritual Intelligence ronments – abbreviated as pok – is covered in one and Developmental Stages of Business Systems item that was designed based on the questionnaire Item () () () () results. It was done so that from a collection of four sq –. .** .* .* evolutionary development stages we added up the raw cet –. .** . . results and divided them into individual categories or pmp –. .** .** .** stages of the evolutionary development. Consequently, thevalues4and5wereclassifiedintotheworkbusi- ta –. .** .* . ness environment, 6 and 7 into the learning business cse . .** .* .** environment, 8 and 9 into the thinking business envi- Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) working envi- ronment, and 10, 11, and 12 were classified into the ronment, (2) learning environment, (3) thinking environ- conscious business environment. The evolutionary ment, (4) conscious environment. N =601.Displayedarethe development of business environments is also defined derived variables sq – spiritual intelligence, cet – critical existential thinking, pmp – personal meaning production, through individual developmental stages of business ta – transcendent awareness, cse – conscious state expan- systems, namely 4 variables, named after the develop- sion and individual developmental stages of the business en- mental stages: the working environment, the learning vironment; the working, learning, thinking, and conscious environment, the thinking environment, and the con- environment. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. scious environment.
Results lation between the working environment and spiritual Table 1 shows the correlation between spiritual intelli- intelligence and its three factors are mostly negative gence (sq) and its factors critical existential thinking and are not statistically significant. (cet), personal meaning production (pmp), transcen- Table 2 shows the results of the one-way variance dent awareness (ta), conscious state expansion (cse), analysis, carried out by dependent variables spiritual and the evolutionary developmental stages of business intelligence (sq), critical existential thinking (cet), systems – work, learning, thinking, and conscious en- personal meaning production (pmp), transcendent vironment. awareness (ta), conscious state expansion (cse), and The table also shows a statistically significant posi- by the independent variable business environment tive correlation between the learning environment and (pok). spiritual intelligence (sq) and its factors critical exis- Results show statistically significant differences be- tential thinking (cet), personal meaning production tween the evolutionary developmental stages of busi- (pmp), transcendent awareness (ta) and conscious ness systems, namely by spiritual intelligence (sq), state expansion (cse). A statistically significant pos- personal meaning production (pmp), and conscious itive correlation is also shown between the learning state expansion (cse). The Tukey hsdpost hoc test environment and spiritual intelligence (sq) and its showed that the differences are statistically signifi- factors critical existential thinking (cet), personal cant between the working environment and the learn- meaning production (pmp), transcendent awareness ing environment, and between the learning environ- (ta) and conscious state expansion (cse). There is ment and the conscious environment at spiritual in- also a statistically significant positive correlation be- telligence (sq), personal meaning production (pmp), tween the conscious environment and spiritual intel- and conscious state expansion (cse). There were no ligence (sq) and its factors critical existential thinking differences between the averages of critical existential (cet), personal meaning production (pmp), transcen- thinking (cet) and transcendent awareness (ta). dent awareness (ta) and conscious state expansion Table 3 shows correlations between spiritual intel- (cse). ligence (sq) and its factors critical existential think- In the first column the table shows that the corre- ing (cet), personal meaning production (pmp), tran-
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Table 2 One-Way anova – Differences in Spiritual Table 3 Correlations between the Variable Business Intelligence by Work Environments Environments and Spiritual Intelligence Item () () () () () Item pok sq cet pmp ta cse sq (a) . . pok – (b) . . sq .** – (c) . . cet . .** – (d) . . pmp .** .** .** – Sum . . .* –, – ta .* .** .** .** – cet (a) . . cse .** .** .** .** .** – (b) . . Notes N = 601. Displayed are the derived variables sq (c) . . – spiritual intelligence, cet – critical existential thinking, pmp – personal meaning production, ta – transcendent (d) . . awareness, cse – conscious state expansion, and pok – Sum . . ns business environments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. pmp (a) . . (b) . . scendent awareness (ta) and conscious state expan- (c) . . sion (cse), and the derived variable business environ- (d) . . ments (pok). Sum . . .***–, – Results show a statistically significant positive cor- ta (a) . . relation between the derived variable business envi- ronment (pok) and spiritual intelligence (sq) and (b) . . its factors personal meaning production (pmp), tran- (c) . . scendent awareness (ta), and conscious state expan- (d) . . sion (cse). Sum . . ns Visible are also positive intercorrelations between cse (a) . . spiritual intelligence (sq) and its factors critical exis- (b) . . tential thinking (cet), personal meaning production (c) . . (pmp), transcendent awareness (ta), and conscious (d) . . state expansion (cse). Table 4 shows the results of the one-way variance Sum . . .** –, – analysis, namely the statistically significant differences Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) sample size, between genders. The table shows that by spiritual in- (2) average, (3) standard deviance, (4) variance ratio, telligence (sq), critical existential thinking (cet), per- (5) – differences between categories after post hoc anal- ysis. Row headings are as follows: (a) working envi- sonal meaning production (pmp), and by transcen- ronment, (b) learning environment, (c) thinking envi- dent awareness (ta) women had statistically signifi- ronment, (d) conscious environment. Displayed are the cantly higher average scores, except by the last vari- dependent derived variables sq – spiritual intelligence, able, namely the business environment (pok), where cet – critical existential thinking, pmp – personal mean- men had higher scores on average. ing production, ta – transcendent awareness, cse – con- Table 5 shows the results of the one-way variance scious state expansion and the independent variable pok analysis, namely between the levels of education. The – business environments, which has four values: work- table shows that there are statistically significant dif- ing environment, learning environment, thinking environ- ferences between levels of education by spiritual in- ment, and conscious environment. The Tukey hsdtest was used for the post hoc analysis. *p < 0.05, **p < telligence (sq), personal meaning production (pmp), 0.01, *** p < 0.001, ns – no statistically significant differ- conscious state expansion (cse), and by business en- ences.
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Table 4 One-Way anova – Differences by Variables Table 5 One-Way anova – Differences Based on between Genders Achieved Level of Education Item () () () () Item () () () () () sq Male . . sq (a) . . Female . . (b) . . Sum . . .*** (c) . . cet Male . . (d) . . Female . . (e) . . Sum . . .*** Sum . . .* –, –, pmp Male . . – Female . . pmp (a) . . Sum . . .** (b) . . ta Male . . (c) . . Female . . (d) . . Sum . . .*** (e) . . pok Male . . Sum . . .* –, –, –, – Female . . cse (a) . . Sum . . .*** (b) . . Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) sample size, (2) (c) . . average, (3) standard deviance, (4) variance ratio. Displayed are only the items where statistically significant differences (d) . . were found. Displayed are the variables sq – spiritual in- (e) . . telligence, cet – critical existential thinking, pmp – per- Sum . . .* –, –, sonal meaning production, ta – transcendent awareness, – cse – conscious state expansion, and pok – business envi- ronments. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. pok (a) . . (b) . . vironment(pok).Inthetablewecanseethatthepar- (c) . . ticipants who scored the highest average spiritual in- (d) . . telligence had also achieved the third Bologna level of (e) . . education.Thesameappliestothevariablepersonal Sum . . .***–, –, meaning production (pmp) and to conscious state ex- –, –, pansion (cse). These are the variables that refer to –, – spiritual intelligence. The results also show that the Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) sample size, highest average score by depersonalization (dep) were (2) average, (3) standard deviance, (4) variance ratio, (5) achieved by those with a secondary level of education, – differences between categories after post hoc analysis. while those with the first level of education scored the Row headings are as follows: (a) primary, (b) secondary, (c) first Bologna, (d) second Bologna, (e) third Bologna. Dis- highest on average by business environment. played are only the variables where statistically significant Table 6 shows the correlation between spiritual in- differences were found, namely sq – spiritual intelligence, telligence (sq) and its factors critical existential think- cet – critical existential thinking, pmp – personal mean- ing (cet), personal meaning production (pmp), tran- ing production, ta – transcendent awareness, cse – con- scendent awareness (ta), conscious state expansion scious state expansion, and pok – business environments. (cse), and two dimensions of business environments. The lsdtest was used for post hoc analysis. * p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001
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Table 6 Correlation between Two Dimensions of Business hypotheses that relate to the connections between the Environments and Spiritual Intelligence factors of spiritual intelligence that, according to King Item d d and DeCicco (2009), are critical existential thinking sq .** .** (cet), personal meaning production (pmp), transcen- dent awareness (ta), conscious state expansion (cse), cet . . and the developmental stages of business systems, pmp .* .** which are: working environment, learning environ- ta .* .* ment, thinking environment, and conscious environ- cse .* .** ment (Bulc, 2006). Notes N = 601. Displayed are the derived variables sq Obtained data shows that spiritual intelligence is – spiritual intelligence, cet – critical existential thinking, connected with various developmental stages of busi- pmp – personal meaning production, ta – transcendent ness environments. The data also shows that through awareness, cse – conscious state expansion, d1 – first di- developmental stages of business systems the intensity mension of business environments, and d2 – second di- of spiritual intelligence differs. mension of business environments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. The first hypothesis predicted that the connection between spiritual intelligence and business systems is In the first dimension we have the work and learning positive. A higher average level of spiritual intelligence environments and in the second we have the thinking would therefore be in higher developmental stages of and conscious environments. business systems. This can mean two things. One, ac- The table also shows statistically significant pos- cording to the asa theory (Schneider, 1987), the more itive correlations between spiritual intelligence (sq) spiritually intelligent people attract each other and stay and both dimensions of business environments. in developmentally higher business systems, or two, Also statistically significant and positive are corre- the developmental stage of a business system has an lations between personal meaning production (pmp), effectonanemployee’saveragelevelofspiritualintel- transcendent awareness (ta) and conscious state ex- ligence. Results showed that the lowest developmen- pansion (cse) and both dimensions of business envi- tal stage of business systems – the working environ- ronments. ment – does not correlate with spiritual intelligence and its factors. The correlation between spiritual intel- Discussion ligence and its factors are first evident with the learn- The paper shows two separate concepts, which at first ing environment and then continue in the next two de- sight have nothing in common. But if we look closely, velopmental stages – the thinking and the conscious we can see that they have at least one common denom- environment. But the results are not consistent in a inator – the human. The human is the one who asks sense that the higher developmental stages of the busi- himself whether there is only one type of intelligence ness system would point to higher average develop- builtintohim,oraretheremore,andwhetherornot mental stages of spiritual intelligence. This is shown by he is more or less spiritually intelligent. And the hu- the correlation between spiritual intelligence and the man is the one who enabled us to be asking ourselves learning business environment, which is also statisti- about different developmental stages of business sys- cally more reliable than correlation of spiritual intel- temsandbeabletoresearchthem. ligence with the thinking and the conscious business With the survey we wanted to research the poten- environments. Extra evidence for this can be found in tial relationship between a human’s spiritual intelli- the factor critical existential thinking, where the statis- gence and the developmental stages of business sys- tically significant correlation was evident only by the tems. We wanted to know whether spiritual intelli- learning business environment (Table 1). gence is different regarding the developmental stages The answer to this question is given to us in Table of business systems. That is why we established two 2, where it can be clearly seen that, on one hand, the
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second hypothesis must be partly confirmed, because telligence is actually valid, reliable, objective, and in spiritual intelligence significantly differs by individ- accordance with King’s (2008) published data. Never- ual developmental stages of business systems. On the theless, a word on executing random sampling with other hand, the differences can be attributed to only big-enough samples is in order. two dimensions. In one we have the work and learning Future surveys on the topic should also address environments and in the second we have the thinking limitation of the sample being opportunistic and self- and conscious environments (Table 6). selective. In this context also, a distribution of demo- The results also showed statistically significant dif- graphic data of the sample does not allow generalisa- ferences in the level of spiritual intelligence (sq) by tions – we recommend at least a poststratification of individual developmental stages of business systems – gathered data. F(3.540) = 3.415, p = 0.017. Differences can also be seen We see the limitation of our research in the ele- by individual factors of spiritual intelligence (see Table ments which are based on electronic data collection. 2), by certain variables, between genders (see Table 4), But the electronic data collection is also an advantage, and between the achieved levels of education (see Ta- as it is more economic in regards to saving money and ble 5). time. Such research has not been done yet, which is why This contribution is therefore a theoretical and em- there is no comparable data. But we can say that, pirical upgrade to the concept of spiritual intelligence roughly, our findings are in compliance with King’s within the evolutionary development of business sys- (2008) and King’s and DeCicco’s (2009) findings, as tems. It took place in the Slovenian cultural space, well as with the findings of Yang and Wu (2009). The which, in the sense of international comparison, rep- latter two also state that social systems have an influ- resents a contribution to science. ence on spiritual intelligence. The research has limitations. Therefore, we can Both the above-mentioned concepts – spiritual in- summarise that the results are mostly indicative – they telligence and development of business systems – are point to connections of spiritual intelligence with busi- individually important for the human being, which we ness systems and indicate that the spiritual intelligence proved in a broad sense in this paper. of participants in different business environments is, As with every research, even this one has room for indeed, different. improvement. It is based on the assumption that we Our set research problem could therefore be ex- will get enough information with the snowball method panded in ways by connecting with stress, burnout, that will, on the one hand, be useful for understand- and other negative consequences of life and working ing and concluding and, on the other hand, that this in business systems. In this context it would be sensi- data will reflect the actual state of the spirit, beliefs, and ble to research whether stress has an influence on spir- the aspects of the surveyed phenomenon. Of course, itual intelligence, is spiritual intelligence a catalyst for the number of participants can be understood in two stress, and how are these relations in context with in- ways, especially in a time of saturation, with more or dividual developmental stages of business systems. less felicitous and more or less professionally evaluated Despite the limitations mentioned, our research is questionnaires, which are everything but a contribu- important. Not only for the individuals but also for tion to the already known. On one hand, there are peo- business systems and leaders of these systems. ple who wanted to participate and, on the other, there As Zohar and Marshall (2000) state, spiritual intel- are people who are interested in the topic. ligence is the highest level of human intelligence and It is different with our questionnaire. We have as such also combines classical intelligence and emo- meticulously designed in accordance with the the- tional intelligence. Positive influences of classical and ory. We also done a pilot survey on a sample of stu- emotional intelligence are well established in literature dents, which showed that we are on the right path (e.g.Goleman,1995;Ciarrochietal.,2001;Shenetal., and that the instrument for measuring spiritual in- 2008; Mayer et al., 2008); in addition we could learn
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some aspects of spiritual intelligence (Zareei & Sedr- Gottfredson, L. (1997). Mainstream science on intelligence: pooshan, 2015). If that is true, then leaders in all busi- An editorial with 52 signatories, history and bibliogra- ness systems should train to heighten their spiritual phy. Intelligence, 24(1), 13–23. intelligence and consequently be better leaders, which Gottfredson, L. (1998). The general intelligence factor. Sci- will in addition change interpersonal relationships be- entific American,(4), 9 24–29. James, W. (1902). The varieties of religious experience: A study tween employees and between employees and leaders of human nature. https://csrs.nd.edu/assets/59930/ andthatshouldleadintwodirections.Firstinmore williams_1902.pdf advanced business systems, and second in a higher de- Jensen,A.R.(2002).Galton’slegacytoresearchonintelli- gree of spiritual intelligence of working individuals. gence. Journal of Biosocial Science, 34(2), 145–172. King,D.(2008).Rethinking claims of spiritual intelligence: References A definition, model, and measure [Unpublished Master’s Biernacki, P., & Waldorf, D. (1981). Snowball sampling: Prob- thesis]. Trent University, Peretborough. lems and techniques of chain referral sampling. Sociolog- King, D., & DeCicco, T. L. (2009). A viable model and self- ical Methods & Research, 10(2), 141–163. report measure of spiritual intelligence. International Bulc,V.(2006).Ritmi poslovne evolucije. Vibacom. Journal of transpersonal Studies, 28(1), 68–85. Cianciolo, A. T., & Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Intelligence: A brief MacDonald, D. A. (2000). Spirituality: Description, mea- history. Wiley-Blackwell. surement, and relation to the five factor model of per- Ciarrochi, J., Forgas, J. P., & Mayer, J. D. (2001). Emotional in- sonality. Journal of Personality, 68(1), 153–197. telligence in everyday life: A scientific inquiry. Psychology Mayer,J.D.,Roberts,R.D,&Barasade,S.G.(2008).Hu- Press. man abilities: Emotional intelligence. Annual Review of Coyle, J. (2002). Spirituality and health: Towards a frame- Psychology, 59(1), 507–536. work for exploring the relationship between spirituality Schneider, B. (1987). The people make the place. Personnel and health. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 37(6), 589–597. Psychology, 40(3), 437–453. Detterman, D. K. (2009). Intelligence. In Microsoft Student Shen,W.,Groves,K.S.,&McEnrue,P.M.(2008).Develop- 2009 [dvd]. Microsoft. ing and measuring the emotional intelligence of leaders. Emmons, R. A. (2000). Is spirituality an intelligence? Mo- Journal of Management Development, 27(2), 225–250. tivation, cognition and the psychology of the ultimate Sternberg, R. J., & Salter, W. (1982). Handbook of human in- concern. The International Journal of Psychology and Re- telligence. Cambridge University Press. ligion, 10(1), 3–26. Vaughan, F. (2002). What is spiritual intelligence? Journal of Faugier, J., & Sargeant M. (1997). Sampling hard to reach Humanistic Psychology, 42(2), 16–32. populations. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26(4), 790– Wolman, R. N. (2001). Thinking with your soul: Spiritual in- 797. telligence and why it matters. Harmony Books. Gardner, H. (1995). Razsežnosti uma: teorija o več inteligen- Yang,K.P.,&Wu,X.J.(2009).Spiritualintelligenceofnurses cah. Tangram. in two Chinese social systems: A cross-sectional compar- Gardner, H. (2000). A case against spiritual intelligence. In- ison study. Journal of nursing research, 17(3), 189–197. ternational Journal for Psychology of Religion, 10(1), 27– Zareei,M.H.,&Sedrpooshan,N.(2015).Therelation- 34. ship between spiritual intelligence and components of George,L.K.,Larson,D.B.,Koenig,H.G.,&McCullough, burnout in female teachers. Occupational Medicine, 6(4), M. E. (2000). Spirituality and health: What we know, 66–74. what we need to know. Journal of Social and Clinical Psy- Zohar, D., & Marshall, I. (2000). Duhovna inteligenca. Učila chology, 19(1), 102–116. International. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can mat- ter more than iq. Bantam.
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Original Scientific Article
Professional and Organisational Commitment in the Hospitality Sector
Marjetka Rangus Bojana Radenković-Šošić University of Maribor, Educons University, Faculty of Tourism, Slovenia Faculty of Sport and Tourism, Serbia [email protected] [email protected] Srđan Milošević Jože Hočevar Educons University, Terme Čatež d.d, Slovenia Faculty of Sport and Tourism, Serbia [email protected] [email protected] Mladen Knežević Iva Škrbić Libertas International University, Educons University, Faculty for International Relations Faculty of Sport and Tourism, Serbia and Diplomacy, Croatia [email protected] [email protected]
The purpose of the study is to examine whether two different work commitment pro- files influence service quality in the hospitality sector in Slovenia and Serbia and how the implications of the differences can be used in the tourism and hospitality indus- try. Combining a qualitative and quantitative approach, two new instruments were developed for this study. The first instrument was created on the basis of short, struc- tured interviews with employees. Two factors explaining the two different commit- ment profiles were determined with statistical analysis and with the method of clus- tering, four dimensions of commitment profiles forming were extracted. The second instrument was developed on the basis of existing evaluation forms for employees in the tourism industry and interviews with leading and middle managers of hotels. The findings of the study show that there is a small proportion of professionally- oriented employees in the tourism sector, and the difference among employees is evident in the ranking of working values. These results could be useful for managers in planning and organising their human resources and also in planning further de- velopment of their companies’ human resource policies. The original contribution of the article is the ranking of working values and the perception of quality work by employees in the hospitality sector. The study also reveals new evidence on different types of commitment profiles. Keywords: tourism, hospitality, organisational commitment, professional commitment, human resources management https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.179-191
Introduction sector does not provide an optimum environment for There is a widely-accepted opinion in academic and successful career building and professional growth. professional circles that the tourism and hospitality Research in the field of hospitality offers different ex-
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planations for this phenomenon. The tourism and sonalnatureofthejobsexplainsthehighturnover hospitality industry records high employee turnover rate in the sector. It is important to point out that high rates (Iverson & Deery, 1997; Hjalager & Andersen, turnover rates and lack of professionalism are not only 2001; Baum & Thompson, 2007; Hussey et al., 2010; confined to developing countries or countries in tran- Karatepe & Shahriari, 2014; Kim, 2014), such that sition (Baum, 2007). turnover is often acceptable and is understood to be Previous research in the field also shows that em- the norm (Iverson & Deery, 1997). One reason for the ployees who have had professional tourism education lack of good, stable careers in the sector is that tourism tend to change jobs less frequently than those who and hospitality jobs involve long working hours, espe- have not or have different qualifications (Hjalager & cially during weekends and holidays, sometimes ex- Anderson,2001).Moreover,peoplewithpreviousjob treme working and weather conditions, stress and de- experience in the sector tend to develop a more pro- mands, as well as special attitudinal norms, which are fessional attitude towards their jobs (Kim, 2014). in the domain of personal character traits rather than Employees with elevated levels of turnover inten- skills and knowledge (see Hussey et al., 2010; Hussey et tions have low morale, deliver poor service and erode al., 2011; Mackenzie & Kerr, 2013; Lee, 2014). Employ- service recovery efforts, which in the end have an im- ment in the hospitality industry is expected to grow pact on guests and can result in bad reviews, com- more slowly in the coming years (Baum, 2015; Dogru plaints and finally loss of guests (Ap & Wong, 2001; et al., 2019). Karatepe & Shahriari, 2014). Satisfied, stimulated and Research (Ap & Wong, 2001; Brown et al., 2011; professional employees in the service sector are thus Kim, 2014) shows that good working conditions and crucial to all service industries and should be a main career opportunities are crucial for building stable em- concern of hospitality management (Brown et al., 2011; ployment and the development of professionalism. Ineson et al., 2013; Karatepe & Shahriari, 2014). Employees respond to high levels of organisational To assure high quality of service, tourism compa- support with high levels of organisational commit- nies should be aware of the importance of human re- ment and psychological attachment, obligation, and sources management and should strive for optimal loyalty (Brougham & Haar, 2018). These also play a employee profiles in the business. In order to deter- part in the execution of excellent tourism service, mine what type of work commitment profiles predict resulting in keeping customer loyalty. Also, organi- quality of service, we set up two hypotheses: sational culture and values are an important part of h1 Employees who have high professional commit- career development perceptions and employee struc- ment will perform their tasks better. ture, since they attract people with similar values, be- liefs, knowledge, skills and abilities (Gorenak & Fer- h2 Employees who have high professional commit- jan, 2015). Human potential is increasingly recognized mentaremorelikelytohavehadaproperedu- as an essential asset for organisations (Silva & Mar- cation relevant to the job they are doing. tins, 2016). However, Hjalager and Andersen (2001) suggest that, because of the high fluctuation of work- Theory ers in the industry, low-skilled jobs and low rates of Research in the field suggests that employees have dif- relevant tourism education among tourism employ- ferent types or profiles of work commitment. The lat- ees, the tourism sector is a border market for human est research on employee commitment profiles shows resources that shares a pool of possible employees with that commitment profiles have substantial temporal many other sectors that offer better salaries and career stability and do not change easily over time (Kam et opportunities. According to Hjalager and Andersen al., 2016). Research indicates that different forms of (2001), tourism jobs tend to be temporary solutions work commitment are connected to job involvement for new employees in the workforce or in times of and quality of service (Gouldner, 1957; 1958; Carson et economic crisis, which together with the often sea- al., 1999; Cohen, 1999; Sinclair et al., 2005; Kam et al.,
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2016). In his pioneer study on different types of loy- Carson et al., 1999), terms like ‘career commitment,’ alty, Gouldner established that over the years employ- ‘professional commitment’ and ‘occupational com- eesinanorganisationdevelopdifferenttypesofloyalty mitment’ are used to explain commitment to voca- or commitment to their work (Gouldner, 1957; 1958). tion, career or profession. Morrow (see Cohen, 1999) Gouldner’s research suggests that employees have two connected career commitment to the Protestant work types of loyalty orientation. The first group of employ- ethic, suggesting that this is the most stable commit- ees (locals) tend to be more committed to organisa- ment form, because it is learned through the social- tions they work in and their local subgroup in the or- isation process and is less related to characteristics ganisation. They are high on loyalty to the employing of the work setting (Morrow, 1993, in Cohen, 1999) organisation and low on commitment to specialized where one is more narrowly focused on one’s own ca- skills (Gouldner, 1957). The second group (cosmopoli- reer or vocation. In other research, career commit- tans) of employees tend to be high on commitment to ment is connected to high job withdrawal cognitions, specialized role skills, low on loyalty to employing or- feelings of self-efficacy, ongoing training and continu- ganisations and likely to use an outer reference group ing education (Carson et al., 1999). Although the def- orientation (Gouldner, 1957), thus they are more likely initions have some commonalities and are sometimes to be mobile and pursue their careers in other organi- used in all contexts, they should not be interchanged. sations. According to Blau (1985), career commitment can be Later research on work commitment has resulted defined as one’s attitude towards one’s profession or in different models of commitment forms (see Randal vocation, whereas professional commitment can be & Cote, 1991; Meyer & Allen, 1997; Carson et al., 1999). operationalised in terms of the individual’s reluctance In accordance with Gouldner, four committed (Car- to leave his/her professional role (Thornton in Blau, son et al., 1999) profiles of workers have been identi- 1985), i.e. commitment to his/her vocation or profes- fied, thus answering Gouldner’s dilemma of whether sion. In theory, professionalism and professional com- both types of loyalty can be recognised in one person mitment is related to outer reference groups, i.e. pro- (Carson et al., 1999). Morrow (1993), in her research, fessional associations (Gouldner, 1957; 1958), reading determines five universal forms of work commitment, journals, attending meetings and joining associations which are relevant to many employees. These foci of (Price & Mueller, 1981). In the tourism sector, pro- work commitment are affective commitment to or- fessionalism is based on many dimensions, not all of ganisation, continuance commitment to organisation, which can be learned or trained. Hussey et al. (2011) career commitment, work ethic and job involvement argue that professionalism in tourism can be concep- (see Cohen, 1999). Morrow’s study suggests the pos- tualised by the following ten dimensions: profession sible interrelationships among the five commitment as a referent group, altruism, belief in self-regulation, forms. Cohen’s (1999) research on Morrows’ theory sense of calling, autonomy, body of knowledge, con- has determined that it is only a presumption that each cern for service quality, code of ethics, special skills of the five forms is an independent construct. Cohen’s and expertise, and professional identity. research further shows that job involvement seems to Organisational commitment refers to the predom- be the key mediating variable in the interrelationships inance of one’s attachment to the organisation in one’s among work commitment constructs (Cohen, 1999). work commitment profile (Ellemers et al., 1998, pp. In other scholarly literature on work commitment, 717–718). Affective organisational commitment is re- professionalism is defined as the predominance of ca- lated to employees’ emotional attachment to an organ- reer commitment in an employee’s commitment pro- isation, the match of personal values and the values file compared to other work commitment profiles (e.g. of the organisation and identification with the com- Blau, 1985; Ellemers et al., 1998; Cohen, 1999). In ty- pany (Ellemers et al., 1998; Cohen, 1999; Sinclair et al., pologies where professional commitment is not de- 2005; Kam et al., 2016). Continuance commitment, on fined(e.g.Gouldner,1957;1958;Randall&Cote,1991; the other hand, is defined as the perception that the
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cost of leaving exceeds the cost of remaining (Elle- an organisation in which he or she is employed or to mers et al., 1998; Cohen, 1999; Sinclair et al., 2005; his/her profession. We assumed that employees would Kam et al., 2016). Organisational commitment has a either be typically committed to their organisation significant direct influence on job performance (Youn (both affective and continuance) or to professional- et al., 2018). According to Dhar (2015) organisational ism.Thesecondinstrumentwasdevelopedtoevaluate commitment strongly influences the quality of guest the quality of work of employees who participated in services. Perceived organisational support, such as the the project. value of contributions and caring about the well-being To establish the two commitment profiles, a new of the employee, significantly affects organisational instrument was designed especially for this project. commitment (Kim et al., 2016). To make the instrument as comprehensible as possi- For the purpose of our research, we needed to de- ble, we made certain that the use of words and defi- velop a new kind of instrument that would differ- nitions were from the employees’ points of view. Ac- entiate the two types of work commitment profiles cordingly, definitions of the two commitment profiles of employees in tourism as extreme poles in work as explained by the participating employees were used. commitment profile categorisations. This distinction In the first stage of creating the instrument, we was first set up by Gouldner (1957). Later, Ellemers employed a qualitative methodology. Researchers in et al. (1998) polarised career oriented-commitment thefieldwerestudentsfromtheFacultyofTourism to team-oriented commitment, of which the latter of the University of Maribor, Slovenia, and young as- proved to be closely related to organisational com- sociates and teaching assistants from the Faculty of mitment. Their research has shown that organisa- Sport and Tourism in Novi Sad, Serbia. In this way, tional commitment is stronger among respondents we assured the results from culturally diverse back- with longer job tenure and greater work satisfaction grounds in order to avoid local determination of the (Ellemers et al., 1998). They have also shown that em- results. All interviewers, before conducting fieldwork, ployees who are more career oriented are less likely to were educated in techniques of conducting interviews help their team colleagues at the expense of their own and how to take notes from the interviews – they were work and that those committed to the organisation are informed that they had to take completely verbatim more likely to work overtime (Ellemers et al., 1998). notes. Each group was supervised in the field by one Another very important finding from their research is of the researchers. No one needed the intervention of that a certain type of work commitment profile does the researchers. not predict task performance ratings (Ellemers et al., The interviewers visited various hospitality organi- 1998). sations and asked employees to answer two structured This study set out to analyse whether there is a dif- questions: (1) What are the characteristics of someone ference in the quality of work (performance) between whoiscommittedtoher/hisprofession?and(2)What two groups of employees (those who are more com- are the characteristics of someone who is committed mitted to the organisation and those who are more to the organisation in which she/he is employed? Re- committed to the profession). searchers worked in pairs, with one asking questions and the other recording the answers verbatim. We did Materials and Methods not want to record conversations for reasons of con- In order to realise the objectives of our research, we fidentiality between the interviewers and the employ- used two instruments. In spite of all the provided def- ees. We were aware that some employees might con- initions, we decided to take an emic approach to this sider the questions and their responses to be threat- research and to establish definitions which would be ening to both their relationships with their superiors understandable and unified to employees participat- and their careers. To minimise any kind of influence ing in the research. The first instrument was created or the interviewees’ discomfort with the process, we to assess whether an individual is more committed to asked students to do the interviews. Interviews were
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Table 1 Dimensions of Indexes Explaining the Factors Commitment to organisation Commitment to professionalism Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards guests Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards knowledge conducted with a total of 60 employees. Researchers achieved more than 0.50 communality. Thus, all the recorded a total of 314 responses to our questions. components explained 59.67 per cent of the variance. Next, a panel of researchers was organised where The remaining 32 were deployed into two predicting researchers from the universities, as well as practition- factors (commitment to the profession and commit- ers, professionals employed in the hospitality and ho- ment to the organisation). tel industry, were engaged. Out of the total collected To achieve the highest internal consistency, each statements, we first isolated the ones that were repeti- individual factor was adjusted until we achieved a sat- tions. In the next step, statements that did not meet the isfactory value for Cronbach’salpha coefficient. For the purposes of the research were isolated. The remaining scale ‘commitment to the profession,’ Cronbach’s al- total of 103 claims was prepared for further process- pha coefficient was 0.878. The scale consisted of nine ing. Of this number, there were 45 statements related to statements. The scale of ‘commitment to the organi- commitmenttotheprofessionand58tocommitment sation’ also contained nine statements and Cronbach’s totheorganisationinwhichtheintervieweeswereem- alpha was 0.904. These internal consistencies are satis- ployed. The statements were formulated in sentences factory for an instrument of this kind (Table 1). Thus, and an instrument with a 5-point Likert scale was cre- through our research, the two types of commitment ated. The sentences were formulated in the first per- were determined by two clusters of indexes. The com- son: ‘I am aware of the importance of team-work.’ mitment to the organisation profile was explained by To create the final form of the questionnaire, we dimensions of ‘attitude towards house rules’ and ‘at- offered the instrument to students of various facul- titude towards co-workers,’ while the commitment to ties at the University of Maribor (Slovenia), Libertas professionalism profile was explained by the dimen- Business School of Zagreb (Croatia) and the Univer- sions of ‘attitude towards guest’ and ‘attitude towards sity Educons in Novi Sad (Serbia). The research in- knowledge.’ cluded a total of 867 male and female students. All stu- To assess the quality of employees’ performance, we dents participated voluntarily. The research was con- used an improved instrument, routinely used for this ducted in groups of up to 50 students. Before each purpose, in one of the largest Slovenian hotel compa- group of students filled in the questionnaires, a re- nies. Standard instruments for assessing the quality of searcher from the team gave instructions on how to service were not included, since they only assess the use the instrument and each student filled out a ques- service from the guests’ points of view and do not give tionnaire individually. any information on employees’ attitudes in an organ- Inthefirststepoftheinstrumentdesign,wemade isation or they are too complex to be used in such a a correlation analysis of all statements in the question- study. The basic instrument was supplemented with naire. We decided to exclude all claims that did not the criteria suggested by the groups of managers in reach the value of Pearson’s correlation coefficient of various tourist organisations. The instrument evalu- 0.50. In this way, we excluded another 64 statements ated the following categories on a Likert scale from 1 from further procedures. The remaining 39 statements to 5 (Table 2). were analysed using principal components analysis. The final instrument for employees consisted of Four principal components explained 57.35 per cent of 18 statements and some demographic questions. The the variance. Following that, we excluded from fur- statements were put in random order to minimise the ther analysis another seven statements that had not influence of previous statements on the rating of the
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Table 2 Categories Evaluated by the Managers Table 3 Employees’ Education 1 Communication Type of education f 2 The ability to participate in a team Unknown . 3Respectforcolleagues High school . 4 Ingenuity, continuous search for solutions College education . 5 Ability to innovate University or equal professional education . 6 Compliance with superiors Master of Science or higher . 7 Organisational skills Total . 8 Self-initiative 9 The ability to transfer problems to their superiors – are able to propose solutions slightly more women than men, but this fact did not 10 Flexibility affect the general statistical impression. 11 Loyalty to the company, identify with the vision of the Most employees had secondary education (Table company 3). The number of employees with college or university education was relatively high. This result differs from 12 Tidiness and accuracy the educational structure that is typical for this sector, 13 Knowledge of complete range of businesses offered which has been shown to have a relatively lower edu- 14 Professionalism on the job cational level. As stated, in our sample, the proportion 15 Care for the guests (kindness, knowledge of service, of employees with higher levels of education was un- potential appeals to service expectedly high. There are probably two explanations for this situation. First, in the participating countries, participants’ next statements. The instrument was of- in the past 10 years, there has been a great stimulation fered to 249 employees in hotels in Serbia and Slove- of education by the government, especially of higher nia. Of all, 66 of them refused to participate. It was education. This expansion has occurred in both the explained to employees that the survey could not be private and public education sectors. The second rea- anonymous, because their performance in the work- son could be attributed to the period of economic cri- place would be assessed by their direct superiors. In sis, which is why many highly educated people work order to be able to connect both types of data, the em- in jobs that are far below their educational qualifica- ployees had to agree to put their names on the ques- tions. This is particularly evident in the fact that 66 tionnaires. Employees were assured that the results of per cent of employees with secondary education and their answers would not be available to their managers. 44 per cent of employees with higher levels of educa- Once employees agreed on the method of the research tion do not work in the professions they are educated and responded to the questionnaires, the names of the for. Exceptions are employees with college education participating employees were submitted to their man- who work mostly as managers. Only 27.3 per cent of agers. Managers were asked to rate each employee ac- them work in jobs that they are not educated for. cording to the scale presented above. Managers were In our study, 54.6 per cent of the respondents were presented with special evaluation forms for each em- currently working in jobs for which they were not ployee. properly educated. In the Slovenian and Serbian ed- ucation system, the field of hospitality is inflexible and Results and Discussion students are educated in only a few very traditional oc- The vast majority of our respondents were female, cupations. There is little variability and therefore stu- which approximates the situation in the tourism sec- dents are not trained to adapt to business conditions tor in Slovenia and Serbia. This industry is dominated that are dynamically changing. On the other hand, by the female population. In our sample, there were the hospitality industry has never set standards and
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demands for specific forms of education in the sec- respondents that they had the possibility of advancing tor, which leaves the question of professionalism in in their companies. This idea was rejected by the re- tourism open. Closely related to this argument is the maining nearly 40 per cent of respondents (38. 8 per case of the private sector and small tourism businesses cent). In contrast to this view, almost half of the re- that avoid hiring educated employees because, accord- spondents (46 per cent) claimed that they were think- ing to state work legislation, employers should provide ing about leaving their companies. The share of those them with better salaries. respondents with families was fully equal to those who The average age of the participants, 37.65 years, in- were single or divorced. When it came to thinking dicated a relatively low level of employment dynamics. about leaving their current companies, there were an The average number of companies where they were equal proportion of those who were employed for an employed was 2.48, which is another proof of the rel- indefinite period and those who were employed for a ative immobility of the workforce in the sector. The limited time. youngest participant in our research was 19 years old Results of the assessment of the level of commit- and the oldest 62 years. Almost 76 per cent of the em- ment to the profession and commitment to the organ- ployees had worked for 3 or even fewer organisations, isation were more than surprising. In many studies of which indicates low turnover rates. This fact, not com- the labour force in this profession, it has been pointed monly referred to in the tourism sector, can be at- out that people working in the tourism sector are those tributed to a specific working culture and ethic stim- who prefer social contact and who therefore tend to be ulated by the previous socialist regime. Kalleberg and more professionally oriented. In our study, only 17 re- Stark’s (1993) research shows that employees in social- spondentsor9.3percentweresomewhattoagreater ist economies are not primarily concerned with their extent committed to their profession than to the or- careers, compared to their us colleagues. Vodopivec ganisation in which they were employed. Thus, asym- (2014), in her interviews with workers and directors of metric data makes further statistical analysis more or a textile company in the socialist regime in Slovenia, less meaningless. reports on the importance and intentional building of Nearly 60 per cent had completed high school, company loyalty and solidarity among co-workers. which was completely in line with the educational Low labour mobility has proved to be related to tra- structure of the respondents in the sample. Most of ditionalism in family relationships. Thus, in our study, them were in the between 29 and 36 years age group. among employees who had 5 years’ working experi- Inthisagegroup,wefoundthat41percentofthose ence, 71 per cent of those were not married and stated were more committed to their professions than the their marital status as ‘single.’ In the group where em- organisations. So this was a group with solid life expe- ployeeshad5–10yearsofexperience,thenumberof rience, and also solid work experience, who obviously unmarried employees was 31 per cent and the num- had a strong desire to advance in their professional de- ber of employees who were married was 59 per cent. velopment. Among them, there were an equal number Changes of employment in small communities with who had families and those who did not yet have them, these conditions can be highly complicated and risky, which is surprising to some extent. because there are many factors that are sometimes im- Although the theory states that commitment to possible to reconcile with each other. Small commu- profession has different roots, it also suggests that em- nities offer very limited employment opportunities, ployees with higher levels of professional orientation as there are only a small number of companies and will place a primacy on work in their lives (Blau, 1985). therefore low dynamics of the workforce. For example, This is also related to the belief that individuals can unfavourable working hours and childcare is a partic- influence or control their careers. More than half of ularly important factor. However, what is probably an them said that their companies did not provide for equally important contributor to relatively low labour systematic additional professional education. Again, mobility is the conviction of almost 60 per cent of our awareness of the importance of life-long learning ex-
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periences and additional professional qualifications is to be somewhat more committed to their professions expected from those employees who rank higher on than to the companies, there was almost no one who professional commitment, since they are looking for had not changed companies (only 1 person). Members something more than just a job. Almost 60 per cent of of all age groups were equally prone to move from one them had already considered leaving their companies company to another. This tendency changes a little and wanted to find a good grounding for their profes- bitmoreintensivelyinthesecondquartilewiththose sional ambitions elsewhere, which is also in line with members of the group who had an average of between previous research in the field, suggesting that with- 8 and 15 years of work experience. Although on the drawal cognition predicts career or professional com- basis of our results we cannot make generalisations, mitment (Price & Mueller, 1981; Blau, 1985; Ellemers et it seems that mobility is statistically slightly higher al., 1998; Carson et al., 1999). with those who were more committed to their profes- Results of the research confirmed some previous sions than to the organisations in which they work. hypotheses on work commitment profiles. When po- This is again in accordance with previous findings, larising work commitment types, according to Gould- because commitment to a profession also means seek- ner’s division, only 9.3 percent of employees could be ing the best possible conditions for professional devel- defined as clearly high on professional commitment opment. and more than 90 percent were high on organisational As previously mentioned, this can be explained by commitment. Since we did not analyse all other types, the specific historical influence of the socialism regime namely dually committed and uncommitted, we can ideology, as ethics lie in organisational loyalty and only assume that there was also a large proportion of community solidarity and not in the endeavour for those among those interviewed. Results also suggest individual and successful careers. that there were only a handful of those who were really Research also shows the need for a more structural dedicated to their professions in the hospitality sector, and strategic approach to the system of formal educa- which perhaps has alarming implications for quality of tion for tourism professions, as already pointed out by service in Slovenia and Serbia. Hussey et al. (2011). In spite of high overall levels of Along with the studies of Price and Mueller (1981), education, there is still an evident lack of proper ed- Blau (1985), Ellemers et al. (1998) and Carson et al. ucation for tourism vocations at all levels. According (1999), we found that in the tourism sector organisa- to our findings, more than half of employees also re- tional commitment is related to job tenure and age. ported that tourism companies themselves do not pro- But, surprisingly, the tourism sector in Slovenia and vide for additional training, i.e. they do not express Serbia does not report high turnover rates, as seems to very much interest in additional training for their em- be the case all over the world, since the participants in ployees and are not yet aware of the importance of pro- the research worked in fewer than 3 companies on av- fessional knowledge and skills for their front-line em- erage and many of them had worked in the same com- ployees. pany all their work life. Nearly 20 per cent of respon- Data on individual performance ranking bring dents (18.8 per cent) had remained with their original some other interesting evidence to consider. Due to companies. the extreme asymmetry of distribution, there is no When the participants were divided into groups ac- justification for the statistical comparison of the two cording to the quintiles, the majority of those who had groups.Butiftheitemfromthestructuredquestion- never changed companies were from the oldest group naire is treated as the value associated with the work, of respondents. 84 per cent of the members of the old- it makes sense to analyse the hierarchy of these val- est group had changed a maximum of 2 companies or ues. Average values and their standard deviations are had not changed companies at all. This again indicates showninTable4. verylowlabourmobilityinthissector.Here,itisworth Both groups of employees, those who were com- mentioning that in the group of those who appeared mitted to their companies and those who were com-
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Table 4 Comparison among the ranks of Some Items Item Organisation Profession () () () () () () I do my work fairly. . . . . . . I try to be friendly and kind to the guests. . . . . . . I am aware of the importance of good team work. . . . . . . I try to be good at my work. . . . . . . The company can rely on me. . . . . . . I try to do my work with utmost quality. . . . . . . At work, I try to be in a good mood. . . . . . . I am always neat at work. . . . . . . My attitude is the same in the pres. of sup. and when they are not around. . . . . . . I believe I know how to serve a guest. . . . . . . I respect the instructions of superiors. . . . . . . I have good relations with my colleagues. . . . . . . I strive for improvements of work organisation and work processes. . . . . . . I work in my profession with enthusiasm. . . . . . . I enjoy my work. . . . . . . I constantly train for my profession. . . . . . . I invest in my knowledge in my free time. . . . . . . I work together with students on their res. papers and practical education. . . . . . . Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) mean, (3) standard deviation.
mitted to their professions, put the same two values on ganisation. The organisation clearly represents a col- the first two places. These are the values of fairness at lective identity in which it is necessary to respect the work and kind and friendly attitudes towards guests, rules of the collective. which in a way are universal values in the hospital- Occupation, on the other hand, represents a per- ity industry. In general, we can say that those groups sonalrelationshiptowork,andtheconstantimprove- who were more committed to their companies ranked ment of knowledge and skills reflects the relationship higher in values associated with respect for the rules towards oneself and one’s profession. As a result, the of the company, while the groups of dedicated profes- latter group may neglect teamwork, ignoring the im- sionals highlighted individual values showing enjoy- portance of collective rules. For them, the general rules ment of the work being performed and education for of the profession are more important than the partic- the job. Thus, for example, the item ‘I enjoy my work’ ular rules of their company. Those who are more com- was ranked in 15th place by those who were dedicated mitted to the profession assign less importance to the to their organisations, but 5th by those who were ded- instructions of superiors, but at the same time behave icated to their professions. It is important to note that the same whether superiors are present or not. It is a constant training for the job was essentially assessed good reflection of their relationship to the profession differently by the two groups. Those who were more in which they work. committed to their profession put far more value on If we list the items according to the four dimensions education than those who were committed to the or- presented in Table 1, we see another interesting distri-
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Table 5 List of Dimensions of the Items Rated by Employees Commitment to the organisation Commitment to the profession Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards guests Attitude towards guests Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards guests Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards guests Attitude towards guests Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards guests Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards respecting the house rules Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards co-workers Attitude towards knowledge Attitude towards respecting the house rules
bution of values connected to the work. In the group Testing the Hypotheses of employees who tend to be more committed to the Our first hypothesis, that employees who are higher on organisation, all the items connected to attitudes to- professional commitment will get better performance wardsknowledgeareputinthelast6places(seeTa- ratings, must also be rejected. As indicated by Elle- ble 5). In the first half of the values, only two, those mers et al. (1998), our research shows no relationship connected to attitudes towards guests, can be found. toanytypeofworkcommitment.Thus,wecansaythat Similarly, concerning the first half of the items of em- the type of work commitment does not predict per- ployees who tend to be more committed to the profes- formance ratings. There were few differences between sion, only two items connected with attitudes towards the two types of commitment, according to specific di- respecting the house rules and co-workers are found. mensions of the measure. Also, it is evident that employees who tend to be more The only difference between the two types of work committedtotheprofessionratethevaluesconnected commitment was seen in the category of innovative- to knowledge and guests higher than the other group. ness, where employees with higher levels of profes- They also put all three items, which express attitudes sional commitment were rated statistically better than towards guests, in the first half of the values. Again, it the others. This result seems logical but is again sur- is important to stress that both groups rate the same prisingly different from Ellemers et al.’s research where items as the majority and consider them to be of the they report that contextual performance, which they same importance. Of the two, one is connected to at- understand to be initiative or enthusiasm, is related to titudes towards respecting house rules and the other the dimension of commitment to teams of co-workers with attitudes towards guests. (Ellemers et al., 1998). The latter has been exposed as
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a dimension of commitment to organisation in our committed to their organisations. Furthermore, there study. is also the same proportion of those who have families Related to our second hypothesis on relationship in both groups of employees. between the type of commitment and proper educa- The most interesting information on the two types tion for tourism we can hardly draw any conclusion of commitment profiles is the ranks of values con- because the distribution of data is asymmetrical. It is nected to the work. Those employees who are more interesting that of those who were more committed to professionally oriented ranked the items on the list the profession, 13 of them are women. As many as 16 more carefully and there is a smaller difference be- of them had more than 5 years of experience, so these tween the highest and the lowest rank of items than in were people who had good insights into the profession. the group of more organisationally-oriented employ- About half of them were educated in a profession in ees. The least important work values for this group which they work, which made them virtually indistin- proved to be respecting instructions and having good guishable from the majority of respondents. Accord- relationships with colleagues, while items connected ing to this result, we can reject our hypothesis that em- with high quality of work (being in a good mood ployees who are higher on professional commitment and constant training in the profession) were ranked are more likely to have the proper education for the 3rd and 4th place. These results could be useful for job in which they work. managers in planning and organising their human re- sources and also in planning further development of Conclusion their companies’ human resource policies. On the ba- Research on different forms of work commitment pro- sis of the results of the research, we can assume that files shows that characteristics of profiles are not uni- the type of work commitment profile that is more ded- form all over the world. The study demonstrates that icated to an organisation is better suited for big organ- cultural and societal dimensions on the micro level of isations or hotel resorts where respect for rules and the globalised hospitality sector influence work com- strict organisation is necessary for providing high lev- mitment profiles, which, as in the case of Slovenia and els of service. On the other hand, we can assume that Serbia, may differ from work commitment profiles in employeeswhoaremoreprofessionallyorientedcan other parts of the world. The study also points out the better perform in working environments where they relatively modest number of those employees in the can express their creativity and where deviation from hospitality sector who are more committed to their specific arrangements is even desirable. The instru- professions than to the organisations. However, the ment for assessing the individual level of work com- only statistically proven difference between the two mitment profile could be used in the process of a cadre profilesinthisresearchisthecategoryofinnovative- selection, helping managers find optimal work posi- ness,sowecansaythatemployeeswhorankhighly tions for their employees and vice versa. on professional commitment are slightly more inno- The research, however, leaves room for further vative than those who are more committed to the or- study on differences between the profiles and the char- ganisation. Research also shows that instruments and acteristics of both profiles. Also, there is another field criteria usually used for assessing the quality of work open for research, namely assessing the quality of of employees do not necessarily apply to all profes- work performance. The instrument used in this study sionally oriented employees. Further development of proved to be inadequate for measuring all the cate- assessment criteria is needed. gories of work quality and thus more research needs Another point that is evident from the results of to be done in order to develop new measures. the research is the fact that professionals in the hos- pitality sector differ to some extent from profession- References alsinotherfieldsinthattheyhavethesameeduca- Ap, J., & Wong, K. K. F. (2001). Case study on tour guiding. tional background as those employees who are more Tourism Management, 22(5), 551–563.
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Baum,T,(2007).Humanresourcesintourism:Stillwaiting Hussey,J.,Holden,M.T.,&Lynch,P.(2010,15–17June). for change. Tourism Management, 28(6), 1383–1399. Defining professionalism in the tourism context. Paper Baum, T. (2015). Human resources in tourism: Still waiting presented at the Tourism and Hospitality Research in for change? A 2015 reprise. Tourism Management, 50(6), Ireland Conference (thric). 204–212. Hussey,J.,Holden,M.T.,&Lynch,P.(2011,19–22October). Baum, T., & Thompson, K. (2007). Skills and labour markets A concept of professionalism in tourism. Paper presented in transition: A tourism skills inventory of Kyrgyzstan, at the 29th eurochrie Conference. Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Iverson, R. D., & Deery, M. (1997). Turnover culture in Resources, 45(2), 235–255. the hospitality industry. Human Resources Management Blau,G.J.(1985).Themeasurementandpredictionofcareer Journal, 7(4), 71–82. commitment. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 58(4), Kalleberg, L. A., & Stark, D. (1993). Career strategies in capi- 277–288. talism and socialism: Work values and job rewards in the Brougham, D., & Haar, J. (2018). Smart technology, artificial United States and Hungary. Social Forces, 72(1), 181–198. intelligence, robotics, and Algorithms (stara). Journal Kam,C.,Morin,A.J.S.,Meyer,J.,&Topolnytsky,L.(2016). of Management & Organization, 24(2), 239–257. Are commitment profiles stable and predictable? A latent Brown, S., McHardy, J., McNabb, R., & Taylor, K. (2011). transition analysis. Journal of Management, 42(6), 1462– Workplace performance, worker commitment, and loy- 1490. alty. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Karatepe, O. M., & Shahriari, S. (2014). Job embeddedness 20(3), 925–955. as a moderator of the impacts of organisational justice in Carson,K.D.,Carson,P.P.,Roe,C.W.,Birkenmaier,B.J., turnover intention: A study in Iran. International Journal & Phillips, J. S. (1999). Four commitment profiles and of Tourism Research, 16(1), 22–32. their relationships to empowerment, service recovery, Kim, N. (2014). Employee turnover intention among new- and work attitudes. Public Personnel Management, 28(1), comers in travel industry. International Journal of Tour- 1–13. ism Research, 16(1), 56–64. Cohen, A. (1999). Relationship among five forms of com- Kim,J.S.,Song,H.J.,&Lee,C.K.(2016).Effectsofcorporate mitment: An empirical assessment. Journal of Organiza- social responsibility and internal marketing on organi- tional Behaviour, 20(3), 285–308. zational commitment and turnover intentions. Interna- Dhar,R.L.(2015).Servicequalityandthetrainingofemploy- tional Journal of Hospitality Management, 55, 25–32. ees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Lee, K.-J. (2014). Attitudinal dimensions of professionalism Tourism Management, 46, 419–430. and service quality efficacy of frontline employees in ho- Dogru,T.,McGinley,S.,Line,N.,&Szende,P.(2019).Em- tels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, ployee earnings growth in the leisure and hospitality in- 140–148. dustry. Tourism Management, 74, 1–11. MacKenzie,S.H.,&Kerr,J.H.(2013).Stressandemo- Ellemers, N., de Gilder, D., and van den Heuvel, H. (1998). tion at work: An adventure tourism guide’s experiences. Career-oriented versus team-oriented commitment and Tourism Management, 36, 3–14. behaviour at work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(5), Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the work- 717–713. place: Theory, research and application. Sage. Gorenak,M.,&Ferjan,M.(2015).Theinfluenceoforgani- Morrow, P. C. (1993). The theory and measurement of work zational values on competencies of managers. Business commitment. jai Press. Administration and Management, 18(1), 67–83. Price, J. L., & Mueller, C. W. (1981). A causal model of Gouldner,A.W.(1957).Cosmopolitansandlocals:Toward turnover for nurses. The Academy of Management Jour- an analysis of latent social roles 1. Administrative Science nal, 24(3), 543–565. Quarterly, 2(3), 281–306. Randall,D.M.,&Cote,J.A.(1991).Interrelationshipsof Gouldner,A.W.(1958).Cosmopolitansandlocals:Toward work commitment constructs. Work and Occupation, and analysis of latent social roles 2. Administrative Sci- 18(2), 194–211. ence Quarterly, 2(4), 444–480. Silva,S.,&Martins,D.(2016).Humanresourcemanagement Hjalager, A-M., & Andersen, S. (2001). Tourism employ- in hotel units: The Portuguese case. Academica Turistica, ment: Contingent work or professional career? Employee 9(1), 5–18. Relations, 23(2), 115–129. Sinclair,R.S.,Tucker,J.S.,&Cullen,J.C.(2005).Perfor-
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Original Scientific Article
Utilization Analysis of Slovenian Hotel Websites
Mitja Petelin Vocational College of Hospitality and Tourism Maribor, Slovenia [email protected] Dejan Križaj University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies Turistica, Slovenia [email protected]
The purpose of the article is to get an insight into the content of the websites of Slove- nian four- and five-star hotels and, based on the set criteria, to determine which web- sites are more utilized than others. We defined the utilization criteria and analysed all four and five-star hotels in Slovenia using data clustering analysis. The content of the websites, analysed in 2017, at the first glance seems diverse, but when com- paring their content, we concluded that there are no major statistical differences. An important discovery of the research falls on the security of most of the analysed web- sites – it is very flawed and sometimes misleading. The potential for interactivity and gamification remains untapped despite the various recommendations of experts and academics. Keywords: website, hotel, Slovenian hotel websites, security https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.193-200
Introduction tronic surveys) that the website quality is an impor- The consumer decision-making process in hotel se- tant antecedent of information satisfaction. The re- lection is compromised by many different factors; one search results suggested that hoteliers should adopt of them is how the consumer receives information a more strategic approach to the Internet, preparing (Zabukovec & Čivre, 2012). The latter remains a great the ground for direct contact with customers. Under- challenge for the hospitality industry and we can per- standing hotel websites via strategies pursued by hotel ceive it as a hotel website among other things. websites in correlation of the hotel size and the website Website research is widespread and there are sev- proved that significant relationships were not identi- eral different approaches focusing on hotel character- fied (Escobar-Rodríguez & Carvajal-Trujillo, 2013). istics and utilization, benchmarks of website design Focusing on performance among the luxurious, and marketing, conceptualising website quality, devel- mid-priced, and budget hotel websites revealed signif- oping a performance indicator of hotel websites, us- icant differences among them (Chung & Law, 2003), ability and evaluation, etc. which was further supported with research in web- Website characteristics as an important factor of site attribute utilization and effectiveness for hotels of measurement and development of appropriate in- various class levels (using the Star Rating system ap- struments (leveraging structural equation modelling) proach) (Musante et al., 2009). were discussed in detail by Schmidt et al. (2008). More Research with a focus on marketing showed that revealing was an article of Jeong et al. (2003) which hotels are not utilizing the internet to its full potential came to the conclusion (data was collected using elec- and effectively e-marketing their hotels regardless of
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the hotel type (Baloglu & Peckan, 2006). Approach- scientific article ‘A Tool for Measurement of Innova- ing the problem via benchmarking and analyzation tion Newness and Adoption and Tourism Firms,’com- (over 200 different websites criteria) revealed signif- bining a quantitative and qualitative methodological icant differences in website tools across hotel category approach. The model combines three research prob- and size, but no differences across geographic or lin- lems, (1) measuring newness levels and the adoption of guistic region (Schegg et al., 2002). The geographical tourism innovations, (2) developing taxonomy allow- aspect could be further discussed since Ping-Ho et al. ing the calculation of correct innovation newness lev- (2013) used content analysis and the eMica model, re- els and (3) statistical analysis of innovation adoption alising that hotels in Asia had more features than those in tourism destinations. The advantage of the model on other continents. is its flexibility and architecture, which enables the ad- Usability as a very important factor of a hotel web- dition of various elements of a tourist company, in our site was researched using a heuristic technique and example, of a website. showed no significant difference among luxury, mid- Their basic mechanism originates from the in- priced, and economy hotels (Yeung & Law, 2006), but troduction of all the necessary descriptive attributes this does not mean that mid-priced and economy ho- of innovation in tourism companies. They created a tels are more informative than luxury ones, since class database of the adopted innovations and classified and cluster analysis, bivariate analysis and the Chi-Square calculated similarities between companies through a methodological approach proved otherwise (Díaz and data clustering approach. Clusters were represented by Koutra, 2013). a dendrogram in which individual companies stood Establishing a link between quality and profitabil- out based on their more innovative products and pro- ity of websites was established by Yang et al. (2014) cesses. The authors collected the data of 351 tourist via two stage dea (ccr and bcc) methodology, but companiesinSloveniainthetwomostwidelyspread it was concluded that it is difficult to obtain detailed fi- daily Slovenian newspapers, the most widely read nancial information from individual companies, there- weekly business newspaper, five professional tourism fore such a research approach should be reserved to journals, three portals managed by the Slovenian Tour- organisations that have direct access to financial data. ist Board, and the national tv web portal. Data col- The presented theoretical and practical insights lection covered publications from 1 January 2007 to 1 have enabled us to consider an appropriate model and June 2010. The first step in the processing of data was taxonomy for evaluating websites of Slovenian four (1) an appropriate description of the tourist compa- and five-star hotels. Our goal was to get insights into nies’ adopted innovations, by means of which (2) the the websites and to determine which websites are more differences between the companies were defined, fol- utilized than others on the basis of the set criteria. We lowed by (3) calculating, displaying and analysing the were also looking for research outcomes that would differences. give useful insights for practitioners. For achieving Taxonomy was an important part of the research those goals, we had to: model since it is the key to the correct calculation of the differences between the adopted innovations in • create the utilization taxonomy, tourism companies. The flexible development of the collect information about all Slovenian four- and • research information input interface allowed ongoing five-stars hotels and their websites, reorganisation or reclassification of the innovation at- • try to determine which Slovenian hotels have the tributes they have used and eventually changed during most utilized websites. the taxonomy scheme optimisation process and data entry. The data, organised with the help of the devel- Methodology oped taxonomy, enabled the statistical analysis of the We decided to use and adapt a methodological ap- introduction of innovations in tourist companies. proachdevelopedby Križajetal. (2014)asa partofthe The presented approach was reused in our paper in
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Table 1 Website Utilization Taxonomy Category Subcategory Further subcategories Experience Fulfilment On-line booking, sliding photos, high quality photos, hotel video, 3dpanoramic view, brochure, website search, etc. Personalisation Changingthe colour of the website,costumisationof the website. Gamification Games, sweepstakes, quiz, etc. Information Feedback and Confirmation messages, calendar of hotel activities, faq, live chat, check-in and support for users check-out information, web forums, history of the hotel, newsletter, etc. Contact information E-mail, telephone, location, fax, contact form, Google Maps or similar, Skype Security Safe payment systems (https). Multimedia and Attractive graphics, sounds, videos, gifs, animations, smart devices applications, etc. interactivity Multilingualism en, de, ru, it, hr, etc. Marketing Advertising ‘Best Price’ guarantee, Green Globe Certificate, Congress Star, Zlati sejalec 2010, Trip Advisor Travelers Choice 2015, special hotel offers and packages, etc. Social media Share page option, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, blog, etc. Loyalty programmes Kempinski discovery, ihg rewards club, le club accord hotels, best western awards, etc. ota’s Booking.com,Tripadvisor,Expedia,Agoda,Hotels.com,etc. Destination Weather Weather forecast, temperature, extraordinary weather conditions Events Festivals, conferences, symposium, visits of important persons, calendar of local events, etc. Transport Road conditions, public transport, nearby airports, taxi, other forms of transport Sights History and or description of destinations, attractions, natural and cultural specialties Local products Gastronomic local specialties, special crafts, special products and services
order to determine which websites of Slovenian four- to use intuition to narrow down the possible choices and five-stars hotels are more utilized than others. The and options as recommended by Ferligoj (1988). main difference in our case is the different content we We used a hierarchical joining method in order were analysing: adoption of different types of websites’ to present the groups in the dendrogram (Ferligoj, content.AsinthecaseofKrižajetal.(2014),wealso 1988), created based on the Jaccard index matrix of used a cluster analysis technique (Ferligoj, 1988). Clus- differences between the websites. The Jaccard’s index ter analysis is a task of grouping a set of objects in such (sometimes called the Jaccard similarity coefficient) a way that objects in the same group are more similar compares the similarity and variety of data sets (in to those in other groups (Gan et al., 2007). our case, tree leaves, since every website is presented Our taxonomy consists of nominal variables or uti- as a tree of its utilization categories and subcategories). lization categories, which we defined in Table 1. We Jaccard’s index is the ratio of the number of common merged some of them into groups based on similarity. tree leaves divided by the number of all common leaves Each category can have several levels of subcategories. and all the different leaves on two trees (Jaccard, 1912). We have chosen the ones that we can objectively mea- By calculating the distances between all pairs of hotel sure. In solving the problem of grouping we also had websites, we got a matrix of distances (a comparison
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of sequences) that shows the levels of similarities be- cial media presence, different loyalty programmes and tween the trees. presence on different Online Travel Agencies (book- To determine the taxonomy for website utilization ing.com, hotels.com, etc.). categories and subcategories, we have largely used The destination category is more focused on the the article ‘A hybrid multi-criteria decision-making destination itself including weather, events, transport, model to evaluate the hotel website’ of the authors Ak- sightseeing opportunities and local products. incilar and Dagdeviren from 2014. They created an advisory board composed of academics, businessmen Results and experts to determine categories. The purpose of We obtained a list of 346 Slovenian hotels, as available the board was to identify and evaluate categories col- on June 4, 2017, from the eCategorization web registry lected from various publications that affect the quality (www.slovenia.info). Out of 130 four- and five-star ho- of the website. Academics were selected from a variety tels we found in the list we excluded four hotels that of disciplines such as tourism, engineering, manage- were closed or their website was not working on the ment, and the economy, and experts from successful selected day. The survey sample therefore covers 126 hotels were added to the mix. hotels (n = 126), of which 116 are four-star hotels and Akincilar and Dagdeviren (2014) identified cate- 10 are five-star hotels. gories focusing on (A) user, (B) technology, (C) mar- A more in-depth presentation of the sample is as keting, (D) security, and (E) other, where they in- follows: cluded everything they could not include in the cat- egories A–D. After reviewing Akincilar and Dagde- • Number of hotels in each of the Slovenian statis- viren’s categories for the purpose of our research, we tical regions: 23 Gorenjska, 5 Goriška, 10 South- have made some modifications to reflect the actual East Slovenia, 1 Koroška, 23 Obalno-Kraška, 16 website content in our study dataset. Osrednjeslovenska, 10 Podravska, 8 Pomurska, 4 The categories in Table 1, representing our web- Posavska, 2 Primorsko-Notranjska, 24 Savinjska. site utilization taxonomy approach, are based on the • Superior: 32 yes, 93 no. mbsc (‘modified balanced scorecard’) scheme and • Hotel type: 20 mountain, 7 castle/mansion/estate, Akincilar and Dagdeviren’s (2014) categories, enhan- 6gaming,1cave,10lake,29city,20seaside,34 ced with insights and findings from Yeung and Law spa/thermal. (2004), Ping-Ho et al. (2013), Yang et al. (2014), Díaz Hotel chains: 3 Best Western Premier, 2 Euro- and Koutra (2013) and Bastida and Huan (2014). • tas hoteli, 1 Marriott Four Points by Sheraton, 7 The category experience is based on how the user hit/hit Alpinea, 1 Hotel Lek, 2 Hotel Sava Ro- experiences the hotel website and consists of three sub- gaška, 3 Hoteli Bernardin, 1 ihg/Intercontinental categories (fulfilment, personalisation and gamifica- Hotels & Resorts, 6 Istrabenz turizem, 3 jgz tion). Fulfilment is seen as the option of online book- Brdo, 2 Relais & Châteaux, 2 Remisens Hotels & ing, sliding photos and their quality, panoramic and Villas, 3 Rimske terme, 9 Sava turizem, 2 Terme 3dviews, brochure, website search features and other Dobrna, 9 Terme Krka, 5 Terme Maribor, 2 Terme similar aspects. Olimia, 2 Thermana, 4 Union hoteli, 4 Unior. The information category is directed towards how hotel information is presented and how detailed it ac- After categorisation of all 126 hotels and running tually is (does it include feedback and support, contact data clustering analysis we got one statistically signif- information, security in terms of online payment and icant cluster and two trees that do not belong to it. https protocol, language support and interactivity). These two websites had the least characteristics or fea- The marketing category compromises features that tures that we have categorised (Hotel 002 had 20 and could be described as advertising (different certifi- hotel 054 had 9 characteristics. The average of charac- cates, recognitions, special offers and packages), so- teristics of all hotels is 30.7). Despite the high level of
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similarity of all other hotels in the statistically signifi- websites are very similar in spite of their diverse own- cant cluster, we looked more closely into the five most ership. diverse sub-clusters 1–5. Cluster 5 Cluster 1 Cluster 5 sites belong to two hotel chains: The cluster 1 websites are Grand Hotel Toplice Bled, • Istrabenz Turizem (Hotel Apollo, Mind Hotel Hotel Park, Hotel Golf, Grand Hotel Primus, Ho- Slovenia, Hotel Mirna, Hotel Neptun, Grand Ho- tel Izvir, Hotel Radin, Hotel Livada Prestige, Hotel tel Portorož, Hotel Riviera), Ajda and Hotel Termal. All hotels are owned by the • Terme Olimia (Hotel Breza, Hotel Sotelia). company Sava Turizem, d. d., which has a general website template for all of their hotels. There are no Again, there are no major differences between them. It significant differences between these websites, only is more than obvious that hotel chains have standard- minor alterations (for example a special offer or a ised websites when it comes to content. prize/recognition that a hotel in the chain has, and not others), which is no surprise. Discussion We have selected a set of criteria that define the uti- Cluster 2 lization of hotel websites through various sources and The websites of cluster 2 are Hotel Krka, Hotel Šmar- literature and prepared an extensive list of four- and jeta,HotelSvoboda,HotelKristal,HotelVital,Hotel five-star Slovenian hotels and their websites, and pro- Sport, Hotel Balnea and Hotel Vitarium. All of the ho- cessed data using developed taxonomy and existing telsareownedbythecompanyTermeKrka,which, data clustering methodology, which, at the end, pro- similartoSavaTurizem,d.d.,hasageneralwebsitefor vided us with relatively generic data. Hotel websites all of their hotels except Grand Hotel Otočec, which seem much different at first, but after comprehensive has its own website structure and content. Neverthe- research and in-depth analysis, we can draw a con- less, the calculated difference was small. clusion that they are very similar. There are no ma- Cluster 3 jor and statistically significant differences between the Cluster 3 sites belong to three different hotel chains: analysed websites. The presented research was exten- sive since taxonomy development and categorisation • Hotel Sava Rogaška (Hotel Zagreb, Grand Hotel of 126 hotels was time-consuming. Sava), Although the initial quest gave no other statistically • Rimske terme (Hotel Zdraviliški dvor, Hotel Rim- significant answer than that the hotels’ website utiliza- ski dvor, Hotel Natura, Hotel Sofijin dvor), tion in Slovenia is very uniform, several other findings • Unior (Hotel Vital, Hotel Atrij, Hotel Planja). were gathered through the analysis and categorisation The reason is the considerable generic characteris- oftheused(andmissing)websites’functionsdivided tic of their chosen websites’ structure. into three areas: security, gamification, and interactiv- ity and multimedia. Cluster 4 Cluster 4 sites belong to two hotel chains: Security The biggest and most interesting conclusion is the hit/hit Alpinea (Hotel Kompas, Ramada Hotel • challenging security of Slovenian four- and five-star &Suites,RamadaResort), hotel websites. Security is a big part of tourism and • Terme Maribor (Hotel Piramida, Hotel Habakuk, must be upheld on all levels, not to mention the sen- Hotel Bolfenk, Hotel Arena, Hotel Bellevue). sitivity of the relationship between security, human There is also no major difference between the abo- rights, pleasure, discretion, and integrity (Mekinc & ve-mentioned hotel websites. It again seems that hotel Bončina, 2006, p. 14).
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When booking a room, tourists submit a lot of per- on a monthly basis, encouraging them to share their sonal information (name, surname, contact, address, experience and advice, thereby increasing their virality phone number, gender, bank details, etc.). The https (Mashable, 2011). In 2011, the InterContinental Hotels url address gives us much more security than http. Group (ihg) introduced the gamification approach Our research showed that, in the time window of our with the ‘Win It in a Minute’ incentive, allowing users research from 26 June 2017 to 2 October 2017, 62 ho- to compete for free points for ihg’s Priority Club. In tels (49 of all analysed hotels) did not use the https the first two weeks, users played the game 100,000 protocol. The situation is serious and one would ex- times and earned more than 100 million points. In the pect that this kind of security malfunction would be game, there were five questions related to travel, which spotted in smaller private hotels. But it is the opposite. hadtobeansweredinalimitedtime(InterContinen- Smaller hotels often use booking systems for online tal Hotels Group, 2011). Both presented examples are travel agencies (for example, booking.com) that are in- considered to be very successful, as they have achieved stalledasplug-insonthesiteandhavestate-of-the-art very good results and have increased brand loyalty and security protocols. Bigger Slovenian hotel chains, that visibility. were mostly included in our research, develop their Gamification features on Slovenian four- and five- own booking engines that, as shown, lacked appropri- star hotel websites were totally ignored during the atesecurityinalmosthalfofthecasesin2018. time of the presented research. Even the simple fea- OnthepositivesideandduetotheEuropeanData tures such as sweepstakes were rare, not to mention Protection Regulation (gdpr), effective from 25 May more elaborate approaches. There were only 36 four- 2018, and the Slovenian Personal Data Protection Act and five-star hotel websites (28.5) that had some sort (Jadek & Pensa, 2019), the security situation has chan- of sweepstakes. We must emphasise that these were ged a few months after our research. On 14 April 2018, very simple approaches that can be understood as a we re-checked most of the analysed hotel websites and very simple gamification process (for example: send foundthat they have changed their booking sites to an email address and participate in a prize game). Per- https, confirming the need for systematic and regu- haps we can connect the lack of the gamification func- larly updated safety and security legislation in highly tions in the analysed hotel websites with the smaller digitalised tourism. size of the Slovenian hospitality market. Reviewing the security of hotel website booking systems showed that on 29 May 2020 the vast majority Interactivity and Multimedia of the analysed websites were using https protocol The definition of interactivity can be understood as when making a reservation but approximately 18 of the extent to which users can participate in changing the hotel websites landing pages (some of the websites the shape and content in real time (Steuer, 1992). Im- are not accessible any more) are still using the vulner- portant elements of interactivity are two-way commu- able and outdated http protocol. nication, simultaneity and control (Mollen & Wilson, 2010). The consistency refers primarily to the ability of Gamification thesitetoquicklyprovideresponseorfeedback(Yoo Gamification can be understood as an activity that et al., 2010). The possibility of control is understood as combines the mechanisms of games and prizes in or- the possibility that the user can choose the time, con- dertomotivateusersandthusincreasethecustomers’ tent and sequence of communication (Dholakia et al., interest in the hotel and consequent loyalty (Lucassen 2000). In addition to the above-mentioned basic fea- & Jansen, 2014). A good example is Starwood Hotels tures of interactivity, there is also a possibility of socia- and Resorts, which linked its loyalty programme with bility, which allows users to connect with other peo- Foursquare. In this way, the guests collected points ple (chat channels, blogs, online social networks, etc.) that could be redeemed for special services. Addition- (Macias, 2003). ally, the ‘ambassador’ (‘the spg Mayor’) was selected Ourtaxonomycategoriescoveredtheusageofmul-
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timedia and interactivity of Slovenian four- and five- gdpr (General Data Protection Regulation) require- star hotel websites. We found that most hotel websites ments. Another research opportunity could be more have plug-ins for various online social networks (some detailed analysis of website interactivity. more, others less), and some also used blogs, which Further recommendations to the Slovenian hotel largely acted as marketing announcements of various industry would be to focus more on digital transfor- campaigns. We analysed which websites have attrac- mation (blending physical and digital), mobile appli- tive graphics, sounds, videos, gifs, animations, web cations and data driven customer experience. The lat- applications for mobile devices and videos. We found ter could be described as a transformation trend and that only a few websites included sounds or music, unavoidable future of the hotel industry and customer and attractive animation. 21 hotels had a virtual tour experience. of the premises and only one had a bird’s eye perspec- tive of the whole property facilities allowing visitors References interactivity (Pule Estate). gifs and animations were Akincilar, A., & Dagdeviren, M. (2014). A hybrid multi- not found on any hotel website, and only 7 hotels had criteria decision making model to evaluate hotel web- videos portraying more than just the hotel’s property. site. International Journal of Hospitality Management, The development of applications for hotel mobile 36, 263–271. devices demands a high level of experience person- Baloglu, S., in Peckan, Y. A. (2006). The website design and alisation, conducting effective dialogue and providing internet site marketing practices of upscale and luxury sufficient resources to customers in order to facilitate hotels in Turkey. Tourism Management, 27(1), 171–176. Bastida,U.,&Huan,T.C.,(2014).Performanceevaluation their value creation process (Lei et al., 2019). Such a of tourism websites information quality of four global process could be a very expensive endeavour, so it is destinations brands: Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and understandable that only hotels of major international Taipei. Journal of Business Research, 67(2), 167–170. chains can usually afford it, which was confirmed in Chung, T., & Law, R. (2003). Developing a performance in- the study (only one hotel in Ljubljana had it). Another dicator for hotel websites. International Journal of Hospi- special feature found in our dataset was a hotel with tality Management, 22(1), 199–125. their own application informing guests about the ski Dholakia, R. R., Zhao, M., Dholakia, N., & Fortin, D. (2000). slopes situation in the vicinity. With all the presented Interactivity and revisits to websites: A theoretical frame- Interactivity and Multimedia findings we can conclude work (Working Paper). Research Institute for Telecom- that the area of interactivity of the hotel website in munication and Internet Marketing. Díaz, E., & Koutra, C. (2014). Evaluation of the persuasive Slovenia has a lot of development potential. features of hotel chains websites: A latent class segmen- tation analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Man- Conclusion agement, 34(1), 338–347. Our research provides an overview of Slovenian four Escobar-Rodríguez, T., & Carvajal-Trujillo, E. (2013) An and five-star hotels’ characteristics and contents of evaluation of Spanish hotel websites: Informational vs. their websites for the year 2017. The methodology and relational strategies. International Journal of Hospitality sample of 126 hotel websites provided us with little sta- Management, 33, 228–239. tistically significant differences, but revealed a lack of Ferligoj,A.(1988).Razvrščanje v skupine: teorija in uporaba interactivity and multimedia, gamification leverages vdružboslovju.Fakulteta za sociologijo, politične vede in and, foremost, weak protection of user personal data. novinarstvo. Gan,A.,Ma,C.,&Wu,J.(2007).Data clustering: Theory, The latter seems to be the biggest revelation. Results algorithms, and applications. Society for Industrial and of this study are therefore a valuable resource of infor- Applied Mathematics. mation for Slovenian hoteliers in order to review the InterContinental Hotels Group. (2011, 2 February). ihg most common weakness and opportunities. Further launches online rewards game. https://www research could reassess the condition of the sample .meetingstoday.com/Magazines/ArticleDetails/ in order to see if hoteliers acted accordingly with the RegionID/0/ArticleID/15242
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Jaccard, P. (1912). The distribution of the flora in the alpine Musante,M.D.,Bojanic,D.C.,&Zhang,J.(2009).Aneval- zone. New Phytologist, 11(2), 37–50. uation of hotel website attribute utilization and effective- Jadek & Pensa. (2019). Slovenian personal data protection ness by hotel class. JournalofVacationMarketing,15(3), Act (zvop-2) proposal – overstepping the gdpr bound- 203–215. aries? https://www.jadek-pensa.si/en/the-slovenian Ping-Ho, T., Shu-Tai, W., Dong-Yih, B. & Miai-Lingl C. -personal-data-protection-act-zvop-2-proposal (2013). Website evaluation of the top 100 hotels using -overstepping-the-gdpr-boundaries advanced content analysis and emica model. Cornell Jeong,M.,Oh,H.,&Gregoire,M.(2003).Conceptualizing Hospitality Quarterly, 54(3), 284–293. web site quality and its consequences in the lodging in- Schegg,R.,Steiner,T.,Frey,S.,&Murphey,J.(2002).Bench- dustry. Hospitality Management, 22(2), 161–175. marks of website design and marketing by Swiss Hotels. Križaj,D.,Brodnik,A.,&Bukovec,B.(2014).Atoolfor Information Technology & Tourism, 5(1), 73–89. measurement of innovation newness and adoption in Schmidt. S., Cantallops, A. S., & Dos Santos, C. P. (2008). tourism firms. International Journal of Tourism Research, The characteristics of hotel websites and their implica- 16(2), 113–125. tions for website effectiveness. International Journal of Lei,L.S.,Wang,D.,&Law,R.(2019).Perceivedtechnology Hospitality Management, 27(4), 504–516. affordance and value of hotel mobile apps: A compari- Steuer, J. (1992). Defining virtual reality: Dimensions deter- son of hoteliers and customers. Journal of Hospitality and mining telepresence. Journal of Communication, 42(4), Tourism Management, 39, 201–211. 73–93. Lucassen, G., & Jansen, S. (2014). Gamification in consumer Yang, Z. F., Shi, Y. Wang, B., in Yan, H. (2014) Website qual- marketing: Future or fallacy? Procedia: Social and Behav- ity and profitability evaluation in ecommerce firms using ioral Sciences, 148, 194–202. two-stage dea. In Procedia Computer Science, 30, 4–13. Macias, W. (2003). A preliminary structural equation model Yeung, T., & Law, R. (2004). Extending the modified heuris- of comprehension and persuasion of interactive adver- tic usability evaluation technique to chain and indepen- tising brand web sites. Journal of Interactive Advertising, dent hotel websites. International Journal of Hospitality 3(2), 36–48. Management, 23(3), 307–313. Mashable. (2011). Starwood Hotels adds Foursquare to loy- Yeung, T., in Law, R. (2006). Evaluation of usability: A study alty program. https://mashable.com/2011/05/10/ of hotel web sites in Hong Kong. Journal of Hospitality & starwood-and-foursquare/?europe=true Tourism Research, 30(4), 452–479. Mekinc, J., & Bončina, I. (2006). Safety and security in space Yoo,W.-S.,Lee,Y.,&Park,J.(2010).Theroleofinteractivity tourism. Academica Turistica, 9(2), 13–24. in e-tailing: Creating value and increasing satisfaction. Mollen, A., & Wilson, H. (2010). Engagement, telepresence Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 17(2), 89–96. and interactivity in online consumer experience: Recon- Zabukovec, P., & Čivre, Ž. (2012). How do guests choose a ciling scholastic and managerial perspectives. Journal of hotel? Academica Turistica, 5(1), 75–84. Business Research, 63(9/10), 919–925.
200 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Original Scientific Article
Travel Motivations as Criteria in the Wellness Tourism Market Segmentation Process
Ana Težak Damijanić Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Croatia [email protected]
The purpose of this paper is to explore travel motivations as criteria in the segmen- tation process of wellness tourists. Data was collected through a self-complete ques- tionnaire on a sample of tourists staying in one out of 15 wellness hotels situated in four wellness tourism regions of the Republic of Croatia. Research was conducted from May through June in 2013. The data were processed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistics. Univariate statistics was used for a general description of the sample; bivariate analysis was applied to examine the differences among the clusters, while multivariate statistics was employed in order to determine the factors underlying the travel motivation construct and to discover the clusters. A total of nine travel motivation factors were identified by applying the theory of the push and pull travel motivations (three push motivation factors, and six pull motivation fac- tors). Push travel motivation factors were labelled as Health trend, Relaxation and reward, and Novelty; pull motivation factors related to a wellness tourist product were labelled as Basic wellness, Intangible wellness, and Extra wellness, while pull motivation factors related to tourist destination were labelled as Cultural and natu- ral heritage, Entertainment and recreation, and Landscape. Three clusters emerged by using travel motivation factors as segmentation criteria (high wellness, imma- terial wellness, and low wellness clusters). Relaxation, wellness infrastructure and natural resources are important factors in wellness tourism research. However, both push and pull motivation factors are important variables in distinguishing among the segments. Keywords: travel motives, market segmentation, wellness tourists, segmentation criteria https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.201-213
Introduction fields, e.g. retailing (Segal & Giacobbe, 1994), and the Duetothecompetitivenatureoftourism,touristdes- online game industry (Lee et al., 2004); and different tinations and tourism providers must focus their ef- segmentation methodologies are applied, like ratings fortsondevelopinganadequatestrategicplanforthe of proposed product design (Sewall, 1978), cost bene- wellness tourism market (Sheldon & Park, 2008). In fit approach (Winter, 1979), purchased-based market order to achieve this, it is necessary to get deeper in- segmentation methodology (Tsai & Chiu, 2004), etc. sights into this market. Market segmentation may aid It is also widely applied in tourism settings, mostly in the process of developing an adequate strategic plan. with the purpose of determining the profile of tourists In general, market segmentation is used in different (Tkaczynski, 2009) and often focusing on different
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tourists’ special interests like food (Su et al., 2020), market segmentation is to achieve the segments where recreation experience (Lee et al., 2018), and wine (Gu members of one segment are as similar as possible to et al., 2018). However, to achieve appropriate results each other and where members of different segments adequate segmentation criteria need to be selected are as different as possible (Dolnicar, 2008), thus selec- (Dolnicar, 2008; Tkaczynski, 2009). tion of the appropriate variables used as segmentation Selection of the segmentation criteria or base is the criteria is crucial. first step in the market segmentation process (Dol- The market segmentation procedure in tourism nicar,2008;Yankelovich,1964).Differentcriteriaare does not differ compared to other industries, how- used for segmentation purposes (Tkaczynski, 2009) ever, due to certain peculiarities of the tourism mar- and this problem is evident even in wellness tourism ket, the main difference is evident in the segmenta- (Dryglas & Salamaga, 2018; Mueller & Lanz Kauf- tion criteria variables. Variables used as segmenta- mann, 2001; Voigt et al., 2011; Mak et al., 2009; Hallab tion criteria are often divided into different categories et al., 2003; Konu, 2010; Kim & Batra, 2009). Namely, (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2007) like geographical (e.g. criteria like travel motives (Dryglas & Salamaga, 2018; region), socioeconomic (e.g. occupation, income), Huh et al., 2019), emotions (Sharma & Nayak, 2019), demographic (e.g. age, gender, nationality), psycho- lifestyle (Konu, 2010; Kucukusta & Denizci Guillet, graphic (e.g. lifestyle, attitudes, opinions and person- 2016) and benefits (Koh et al., 2010; Pesonen et al., ality) and behaviouristic (e.g. loyalty, purchase occa- 2011) are often used for segmentation purposes. sion, benefits, user status, attitude). Although these Wellness tourism is a form of special interest tour- variables are used in tourism settings as well, an addi- ism and is considered as a certain niche market. How- tional category emerged, i.e. tourism specific segmen- ever, different wellness tourist segments are detected tation criteria (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2007). (Dimitrovski & Todorović, 2015; Dryglas & Salam- Tourism-specific segmentation criteria includes aga, 2017; Koh et al., 2010; Mueller & Lanz Kaufmann, variables like purpose of travel, travel motivations, 2001)duetotheusageofdifferentvariablesassegmen- and benefits received from the travel (Dimitrovski tation criteria. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to &Todorović,2015;Kohetal.,2010).Althoughtravel explore travel motivations as criteria in the segmenta- motivation is often used for segmentation purposes tion process of wellness tourists. With this in mind, the (Bieger & Laesser, 2002; Boksberger & Laesser, 2008; goalsofthispaperaremainlytwofold:(1)todetermine Heung et al., 2001; Jönsson & Devonish, 2008; Kozak, travel motives dimensions of wellness tourists; and (2) 2002; Sangpikul, 2008), variables in ‘classical’ segmen- to classify wellness tourists based on their travel mo- tation criteria categories, like age, gender, education tives. Therefore, this research contributes to theory level, and income, are very often used for segmenting and practice by analysing travel motives as criteria in the tourist market (Tkaczynski, 2009). Therefore, to the segmentation process of one special interest tourist gain better understanding of tourist market segments, segment. Furthermore, it highlights the most com- more frequent usage of tourism-specific segmentation monly identified travel motivations related to wellness criteria is desired, like travel motivations. tourists. Travel motivations are inner drives that cause peo- pletotakeactiontosatisfytheirneeds(Hudson,2008). Theoretical Background In tourism settings they are either analysed by group- Market segmentation was first introduced in litera- ing them considering different types of travel that ture in order to make a clear distinction between mar- share some common characteristics or by using a be- ket segmentation and product differentiation (Smith, havioural marketing approach (Middleton & Clarke, 1956). It includes selection of the segmentation crite- 2001). The former is a more simplistic approach to rion/base, grouping of respondents, and profiling and travel motivations because travel motivations are pre- managerial assessment of the usefulness of the mar- sented in a very straightforward way. In contrast, the ket segments (Dibb, 1998; Dolnicar, 2008). The aim of latter approach is a more complex one and it encom-
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passes different theories like behavioural theory of & Ouyang, 2020; Smith & Puczkó, 2009) and different travel motivation, theory of classified purpose, the- segmentations basis (Chen et al., 2013, Dimitrovski ory of personal and/or interpersonal experiences in & Todorović, 2015; Dryglas & Salamaga, 2017; Hal- destination settings, theory of personal and/or in- lab, 2006; Kucukusta & Denizci-Guillet, 2016; Mueller terpersonal experiences in destination settings, etc. & Lanz Kaufmann, 2001). Different wellness tourist (Awaritefe, 2004; Chang, 2007). However, the theory product elements like natural agents, exercise, anti- of push and pull motivations is the most widely applied stress programmes, therapy, beauty programmes (An- motivation theory within the behavioural approach drijašević & Bartoluci, 2004) may result in different and it will be examined in this paper. sub-segments, e.g. demanding health guests, and in- The theory of push and pull motivations distin- dependent infrastructure users (Mueller & Lanz Kauf- guishes between two main groups of factors that mo- mann, 2001). Chi et al. (2020) have proposed a con- tivate tourists to travel: push factors and pull factors. ceptual framework for wellness hotels that focuses Push factors refer to internal forces that motivate or on three main domains: physical wellness (fitness fa- create a desire to satisfy a need to travel, while pull fac- cilities and workout opportunities), mind wellness tors are recognised as destination attributes (Kozak, (mind wellness activities and education programmes), 2002;Lubbe,2003).Bothgroupsofmotivationfac- and environmental wellness (clean environment and tors are delineated by various dimensions, e.g. escape healthy environment). Additionally, usage of different (Crompton, 1979; McGehee et al., 1996; Uysal & Ju- variables, e.g. lifestyle, travel motivations, and benefits, rowski, 1993; Yoon & Uysal, 2005), relaxation (Cromp- also yields different sub-segments (Azman & Chan, ton,1979;Kozak,2002;McGeheeetal.,1996;Suni 2010; Hallab, 2006; Konu & Laukkanen, 2009; Mak et & Pesonen, 2019), education (Crompton, 1979; Yoon al., 2009). & Uysal, 2005), heritage and culture (Kozak, 2002; The push and pull motivation theory is also used McGehee et al., 1996; Uysal & Jurowski, 1993), and for analysing the travel motivation of wellness tourists comfort (McGehee et al., 1996). Health preservation in general (Bennett et al., 2004; Hallab, 2006; Konu and promotion may also be a travel motivation di- & Laukkanen, 2009; Mak et al., 2009; Mueller & Lanz mension. Additionally, preservation and promotion of Kaufmann, 2001), examining the link between travel one’s health is one of the oldest motivators in tourism motives, and satisfaction and behaviour intentions (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2007). (Kim et al., 2017; Lim et al., 2016) and for determin- Health as a travel motivation resulted in the cre- ing different sub-segments (Dimitrovski & Todorović, ation of health tourism. Wellness tourism is regarded 2015; Dryglas & Salamaga, 2017; 2018; Huh et al., 2019). as a subcategory of health tourism and tourists whose In analysis of travel motivation in wellness tourism, prime aim is preserving or promoting their health certain scholars have examined both the push and are labelled as wellness tourists (Kim & Batra, 2009; the pull travel motivation factors (Azman & Chan, Mueller & Lanz Kaufmann, 2001). Wellness tourists 2010; Hallab, 2006), only push travel motivation fac- are usually interested in various programmes and tors (Dimitrovski & Todorović, 2015; Dryglas & Sala- treatments centred on health preservation and pro- maga, 2018; Huh et al., 2019; Koh et al., 2010; Konu & motion, e.g. natural agents, exercise, anti-stress pro- Laukkanen, 2009; Lim et al., 2016; Mak et al., 2009; grammes, therapy, and beauty programmes (Andri- Voigt et al., 2011) or only pull travel motivation factors jašević & Bartoluci, 2004), although they may also (Chen et al., 2013; Dryglas & Salamaga, 2017; Mueller include aspects like spirituality, and social interac- & Lanz Kaufmann, 2001). tion (Smith & Puczkó, 2009). Therefore, the wellness By examining both push and pull travel motiva- tourist segment can be very heterogeneous. tions, Hallab (2006) found five push motivation fac- The two main reasons why the wellness tourist seg- tors (healthy living, excitement, education, indulgence ment is so heterogeneous are the numerous elements and escape) and five pull motives (health and fitness, that can constitute a wellness tourist product (Chi, Chi hygieneandtheenvironment,historyandnature,vig-
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ilance and health, and arts and urban luxury), while evident in the detection of different wellness tourists Azman and Chan (2010) identified three push motiva- segments, e.g. demanding health guests, independent tion factors (escape – relay and pamper, destress/time infrastructure users, care-intensive cure guests and out, and regeneration) and two pull motivation factors undemanding recreation guests (Mueller & Lanz Kauf- (tangible resources and marketing image). Focusing mann, 2001); escapists, neutralists and hedonists (Koh exclusively on pull travel motivation, Chen et al. (2013) et al., 2010); socially active tourists, and self-focused identified eight pull motivation factors (Personnel ser- tourists (Dimitrovski & Todorović, 2015); nature and vices, Health promotion treatments, Environments, culture seekers, spa/wellness seekers, and social con- Healthy diet, Relaxation, Social activities, Experience tact seekers (Dryglas & Salamaga, 2017): pleasure pur- of unique tourism resources, Mental learning), and suers, healing pursuers and relaxation pursuers (Dry- Dryglas and Salamaga (2017) found four pull motiva- glas and Salamaga, 2018); and wellness and treatment tion factors: Natural resources, Cultural and natural seekers, treatment seekers, and tourism, treatment and environment, Spa/Wellness infrastructure and Social wellness seekers (Huh et al., 2019). and political environment. However, most of the research regarding travel mo- Methodology tivation of wellness tourists focused on push motiva- The target population included those tourists who vis- tion.Withpushmotivationinmind,Maketal.(2009) ited hotels offering wellness as an additional tourist discovered five push motivation factors (friendship product. This study focused on guests staying in well- andkinship,healthandbeauty,self-rewardandindul- ness hotels because it was a part of a larger research gence, relaxation and relief, and escape); Konu and linking health, travel motives and customer value. The Laukkanen (2009) determined seven push motiva- survey was conducted from May to June in 2013 in 15 tion factors (self-development, healthy and physical hotels situated in a coastal part of Croatia. For the pur- activity, relaxation and escape, isolation and nostalgia, pose of sampling, a list of hotels that were members of nature, autonomy and stimulation, and social status); the Croatian Wellness Tourism Association was ob- Koh et al. (2010) found four push motivation factors tained. In 2012, a total of 65 hotels in Croatia were (Social, Relaxing, Healthy, and Rejuvenating); Voigt members of this Association, and Croatia was divided et al. (2011) uncovered six push travel motivations into 10 regions (Table 1). Most of the hotels were situ- (Transcendence, Physical health and appearance, Es- ated in the Istria and Kvarner regions (16 hotels in each cape and relaxation, Important others and novelty, Re- region), while the Dubrovnik and Split regions were establish self-esteem, Indulgence); Dimitrovski and second (9 hotels in each region). Hotels were mostly Todorović (2015) detected six push motivation fac- categorised as four-star hotels (40 hotels), while only tors (Rejuvenating, Socialization and excitement, He- 17 hotels had five stars. Therefore, regional dispersion donism, Obsession with health and beauty, Relax- and hotel category were used in designing the sam- ation, Escape); and Lim et al. (2016) determined four ple. Hotels situated in four wellness regions, namely push motivation factors (Relaxation and rest, Self- the Istria, Kvarner, Split, and Dubrovnik regions were exploration, Accessibility, and Novelty). In their fur- taken into account because they had hotels with well- ther work regarding wellness travel motivation, Dry- ness centres categorised as three-star, four-star and glas and Salamaga (2018) focused on push travel mo- five-star hotels. tives and have determined four factors (spiritual and In the process of onsite data collection, the re- medical care, entertainment and networking, relax- searcher was stationary while the responders were mo- ation, and aesthetics). Huh et al. (2019) suggest three bile (Veal, 2006). Hotel guests were approached by the new wellness push motivations, namely tourism fac- researcher and asked to participate in the survey. The tor, prevention factor and treatment factor. researcher explained the purpose of the survey, stated In summary, there is no consensus related to the that the survey was anonymous, and handed out a travel motivation dimensions, and the main result is questionnaire in the appropriate language. Data was
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Table 1 Accommodation Facilities with Wellness Centres an mcmc method for item imputation. Exploratory in Croatia in 2012 factor analysis was done using maximum likelihood Region () () () () () factor analysis and promax rotation with an eigenvalue Istria of 1.00 or more being used to identify potential fac- tors. Internal reliability was determined by computing Kvarner Cronbach’s alpha. Travel motivation factors were cal- Dalmatia–Zadar culated as a mean value for each respondent (DiSte- Dalmatia–Šibenik fano et al., 2009). Dalmatia–Split The responders were a posteriori grouped based Dalmatia–Dubrovnikon the importance they placed on various travel mo- Lika(Karlovac) tivations factors. The number of clusters was deter- CentralCroatia mined by splitting the sample and using the hierarchi- Zagreb cal clustering technique. A hundred observations were randomlyselected.TheWardmethod,withsquared Slavonia Euclidean distance, was used to establish the prelimi- Total nary number of clusters. A three-cluster solution was Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) number of well- selected on the basis of the largest and most plausi- ness community members, (2) total number of hotels with ble proportionate change. A non-hierarchical cluster wellness centres, (3) three-star hotels, (4) four-star hotels, (5) analysis procedure (k-means) was utilised to finalise five-star hotels. the cluster solutions using the a priori determined number of clusters. Cluster validation was done us- collected through a self-complete questionnaire. The ing a one-way anova analysis and five measures that questionnaire consisted of 15 questions that were di- were not included as travel motivation items (Hair et videdintofoursections:(1)wellness-relatedlifestyle, al., 2010). (2) perceived value, (3) motivational factors and (4) re- Afive-pointLikertscale(rangingfrom1–to- spondents’ characteristics. It was originally designed tally not important to 5 – totally important) was used in Croatian and then back-translated into English, to measure the travel motivation factors’ perceived German, Italian, Russian, French, Spanish, and Slove- importance. Items measuring travel motivation fac- nian. No changes were made to the original transla- tors were divided into two main groups based on tions because the only detected differences were in the the theory of push and pull motivation factors and usage of different synonyms. As a self-complete ques- were adopted from general travel motivation liter- tionnaire was administered, the minimal number of ature (tourist destination pull factors) and wellness 300 responders was set to satisfy the requirement for tourism motivation literature (push factors and well- performingadataanalysis(Hairetal.,2010). ness tourist product pull factors). A total of 18 items The data were processed using statistical methods were used for measuring push factors (Bennett et consisting of descriptive statistics, bivariate and mul- al.,2004;Kim&Batra,2009;Kohetal.,2010;Konu tivariate. Descriptive statistics was used to provide a & Laukkanen, 2009; Mak et al., 2009; Monteson & general description of the sample; bivariate statistics Singer, 2004; Pesonen et al., 2011; Voigt et al., 2011). was applied to examine the differences among the clus- Pull factors were divided into two sub-groups: well- ters, while multivariate statistics was employed in or- ness tourist product and tourist destination. A total der to determine the factors underlying the travel mo- of 24 items were used for measuring the first group of tivation construct and to discover the clusters. The in- pull factors (Andrijašević & Bartoluci, 2004; Bennett dividual items were examined through checks for ac- et al., 2004; Mak et al., 2009; Mueller & Lanz Kauf- curacy of data entry, missing data and distribution. mann, 2001; Pesonen et al., 2011), while 20 items were The cases with the missing values were replaced using used for measuring the second group (Awaritefe, 2004;
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Table 2 Descriptive Statistics and Results of Explanatory Factor Analysis of Push Travel Motivations Variables Mean sdFactor Factor Factor Get in better shape . . . Health improvement . . . Feel younger . . . Weight control interest . . . Practice healthy lifestyle . . . Feel healthier . . . Visit trendy place . . . Stress release . . . Escape from everyday life . . . Reward for hard work . . . Stay in quiet and peaceful place . . . Interest in landscape . . –. Get to know other cultures . . –. Try new things . . –. Eigenvalues . . . Percentage of variance . . . Percentage of cumulative variance . . . Cronbach’s α . . .
Crompton, 1979; Heung et al., 2001; Jönsson & Devon- ders came to the hotel with their partner. About 2/3 of ish,2008;Kozak,2002;McGeheeetal.,1996;Yoon& the responders visited the hotel for the first time, but Uysal, 2005). This list was examined by four tourism most of them (57) had already visited the region. Half experts to achieve content adequacy (Hinkin et al., of the responders obtained information about the ho- 1997). tel using the Internet, travel agencies were the second source of information (35), while recommendation Results and Discussion from friends and relatives was the third information In all, 548 responders were used in the analysis. Most of source (20). the responders stayed in four-star hotels in the Istria or To identify dimensions of push and pull travel mo- Kvarner region. The proportion of female responders tivation, three exploratory factor analyses were done. (56) was slightly higher than that of males (44). Items with loading below 0.04 and cross-loadings were A majority of the responders were between 35 and 54 deleted, resulting in retention of 14 push travel moti- years of age (48). Most of them had obtained higher vations items (Table 2), 17 pull travel motivations for education (68). In general, the responders were em- wellness tourist product items (Table 3), and 15 pull ployees (45), 16 were self-employed and approxi- travel motivations for tourist destination items (Ta- mately 14 were managers. Most of them were from ble 4). Austria (23) and Germany (23), almost 11 were Thepushtravelmotivationsmeans(Table2)var- from the uk, and about 10 originated from Italy. ied from 2.26 (‘Weight control interest’) to 4.26 (‘Stress The most frequent monthly net income was between release’). Initially five factors were detected, however, €1,000 and €2,000 (38). Almost 65 of the respon- after purifying the scale, three factors representing
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Table 3 Descriptive Statistics and Results of Explanatory Factor Analysis of Pull Travel Motivations: Wellness Tourist Product Variables Mean sdFactor Factor Factor Sauna . . . Steam bath . . . Solarium . . . Massage (traditional) . . . Range of health amenities . . . Massage (alternative) . . . Beauty treatments . . . Atmosphere . . . Relaxation . . . Surroundings . . . Competence . . . Tips for back home . . –. Understanding special needs . . –. Supervised Sport . . –. Detoxification . . –. Tai Chi, Yoga and similar activities . . –. Mud baths/wraps . . –. Eigenvalues . . . Percentage of variance . . . Percentage of cumulative variance . . . Cronbach’s α . . .
push travel motivations formed clear factor structures. The detection of these three push travel motivation Jointly, they accounted for 51.11 of accumulated vari- factors are partially supported by the findings of Hal- ance, and most of the factor loadings were greater than lab (2006), Mak et al. (2009), Konu and Laukkanen 0.60. They were labelled as Health trend, Relaxation (2009), Koh et al. (2010), Voigt et al. (2011), Dimitro- and reward, and Novelty. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients vski and Todorović (2015), Lim et al. (2016), Dryglas were between 0.733 and 0.888. Health trend was com- and Salamaga (2018), and Huh et al. (2019). Relax- prised of different items related to getting healthier ation as a push motivation factor was the factor most andinbettershape.Relaxationandrewardincluded commonly identified in research regarding wellness items like stress release, escape from everyday prob- tourists (Dimitrovski & Todorović, 2015; Koh et al., lems, and the feeling of being rewarded. Novelty en- 2010; Konu & Laukkanen, 2009; Lim et al., 2016; Mak compassed various items regarding learning about et al., 2009; Voigt et al., 2011). new things. In general, push travel motivations re- The pull travelmotivationsmeans relatedto a well- latedtohealthaspectsandluxuryweremostlyunim- ness tourist product (Table 3) varied from 2.02 (‘So- portant, while those push travel motivations that em- larium’) to 4.44 (‘Atmosphere’). Originally four factors phasise interest in learning new things, and relaxation were detected, however, after purifying the scale, three and reward were mostly important to the responders. factors representing pull travel motivations for a well-
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Table 4 Descriptive Statistics and Results of Explanatory Factor Analysis of Pull Travel Motivations: Tourist Destination Variables Mean sdFactor Factor Factor Variety of architectural styles . . . Theatre and performances . . . Cultural heritage . . . Diversity of attractions . . . Natural protected areas . . . Variety of entertainment activities . . . Entertainment possibilities . . . Shopping possibilities . . . Local events . . . Sports and recreation . . . Variety of cultural events . . . Beautiful nature . . . Ecological preservation of the destination . . . Climate . . . Picturesqueness and tidiness of the place . . . Eigenvalues . . . Percentage of variance . . . Percentage of cumulative variance . . . Cronbach’s α . . .
Table 5 Results of Cluster Analysis ance, and most of the factor loadings were greater than Measures () () () () 0.60. They were labelled as Basic wellness, Intangible wellness, and Extra wellness. Cronbach’s alpha coef- Health trend . . . .*** ficients were between 0.800 and 0.912. Basic wellness Relaxation and reward . . . .*** included aspects like massage and sauna; intangible Novelty . . . .*** wellness encompassed various items that correspond Basic wellness . . . .*** to intangible aspects of a tourist product e.g. atmo- Extra wellness . . . .*** sphere and interactions, while extra wellness included Intangible wellness . . . .*** attributes like detoxification, Tai Chi, etc. In general, Cult. and nat. heritage . . . .*** pull travel motivations related to tangible aspects of Enter. and recreat. . . . .*** a wellness tourist product, like Sauna, Solarium, Mas- sages and Steam bath, were mostly unimportant, while Landscape . . . .*** theintangibleaspectsofawellnesstouristproduct Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) cluster 1 – im- (competence, relaxation and atmosphere) were mostly material wellness, (2) cluster 2 – high wellness, (3) cluster 3 important to the responders. The detection of these –lowwellness,(4)F-value. *** Significant at 0.001. three pull travel motivation factors are partially sup- ported by the findings of Azman and Chan (2010), and ness tourist product formed clear factor structures. Chen et al. (2013). Jointly, they accounted for 58.85 of accumulated vari- The pull travelmotivations means relatedto tourist
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destination (Table 4) varied from 2.49 (‘Theatre and represented 37.4 of the guests staying in wellness ho- performances’) to 4.24 (‘Beautiful nature’). At first, tels. Although the clusters differed statistically in all four factors were detected, however, after purifying the nine measures, dimensions that may be considered as scale, three factors representing pull travel motivations more of an intangible kind stood out, i.e. push moti- for tourist destination formed clear factor structures. vation factors (Relaxation and reward, and Novelty), Jointly, they accounted for 53.95 of accumulated vari- pull motivation factors (Intangible wellness, as well ance, and most of the factor loadings were greater than as Cultural and natural heritage, Entertainment and 0.60. They were labelled as Cultural and natural her- recreation, and Landscape). Thus, the clusters were itage, Entertainment and recreation, and Landscape. subsequently named taking into account these vari- Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were between 0.767 and ables. 0.877. Cultural and natural heritage was comprised of The guests staying in wellness hotels in Cluster 3 different items like theatre, architectural styles, and expressed a very low level of importance, or rather natural protected area. Entertainment and recreation unimportance, related to travel motives in general, encompassed various activities and objects regarding therefore this cluster was labelled as ‘Low wellness.’ In entertainment, shopping, and sports. Landscape was contrast, the guests staying in wellness hotels in Clus- composed of items referring to geographical features ter 2 expressed the highest importance on all travel of the tourist destination. The pull travel motivations motivation dimensions; hence, this cluster was la- were mainly important to responders. However, cer- belled ‘High wellness.’ Intangible travel motivation di- tain cultural activities (e.g. museums and exhibitions, mensions were the variables that differentiated Cluster and theatre and performances) and activities related 1 from the other two clusters, consequently labelling to tourists’ special interests (like shopping and events) this cluster as ‘Immaterial wellness.’ The application were marked as rather unimportant. The detection of of travel motivations in wellness tourism settings re- these three pull travel motivation factors is partially sulted in three clusters (high wellness, immaterial supported by the findings of Hallab (2006), Chen et wellness, and low wellness clusters). The number of al. (2013), and Dryglas and Salamaga (2017). Natural identified clusters is in accordance with the findings resources were identified as a pull travel motivation in of Koh et al. (2010), Dryglas and Salamaga (2017), all three cases. Dryglas and Salamaga (2018) and Huh et al. (2019), The travel motivations dimensions were cluster whoalsouncoveredthreeclusters.However,thechar- analysed. The number of clusters was determined by acteristicsofclustersisonlypartiallysupportedby splitting the sample and using the hierarchical cluster- the findings of Mueller and Lanz Kaufmann (2001), ing technique. A hundred observations were randomly Koh et al. (2010), Dimitrovski and Todorović (2015), selected. The Ward method, with squared Euclidean Dryglas and Salamaga (2017), Dryglas and Salamaga distance, was used to establish the preliminary num- (2018) and Huh et al. (2019). ber of clusters. A three-cluster solution was selected on In all, 5 measures related to travel motivations that the basis of the largest and most plausible proportion- were not included in previous analyses were used to ate change. A non-hierarchical cluster analysis proce- validate the clusters. All of them were significant, veri- dure (k-means) was utilised to finalise the cluster solu- fying the statistical differences among the clusters and tions using the a priori determined number of clusters. providing support for the criterion validity of the items The latter procedure confirmed the three-cluster solu- (Table 6). tion (Table 5 and Table 6). The identified clusters were named according to the cluster centroids. Cluster 2 Conclusion (N = 210), being the largest, represented 38.3 of the This paper explores travel motivations as criteria in guests staying in wellness hotels, while Cluster 3 (N the segmentation process of one market niche, more = 133) was the smallest and represented 24.3 of the precisely wellness tourism. A total of nine travel moti- guests staying in wellness hotels. Cluster 1 (N = 205) vation factors were identified by applying the theory
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Table 6 anova Results for Cluster Validation Measures Cluster Cluster Cluster F-value Mean sdMean sdMean sd Enjoy being pampered . . . . . . .*** Want to have fun . . . . . . .*** Organised short time trips . . . . . . .*** Personalised service . . . . . . .*** Healthy diet . . . . . . .*** Notes *** Significant at 0.001. of the push and pull travel motivations. Three push ness tourist product were important in distinguish- motivation factors of wellness tourists emerged. They ing between the high wellness segment, and immate- were labelled as Health trend, Relaxation and reward, rial and low wellness segments, while pull factors re- and Novelty. A group of motivations related to inter- lated to the destination provided differences between est in learning new things, and relaxation and reward immaterial and high wellness segments, and the low stood out as important motives to wellness tourists wellness segment. In contrast, push travel motivations in general, while items related to health aspects and were mostly important to all three segments, with only luxury were mostly unimportant. A total of six pull health trend being the motivation factor that stood out travel motivation factors were established; three moti- in differentiating between the high wellness segment, vation factors related to a wellness tourist product and and the other two. three motivation factors related to tourist destination. This paper suggests that both push and pull moti- Motivation factors related to a wellness tourist prod- vation factors are crucial in the market segmentation uct were labelled as Basic wellness, Intangible well- process of wellness tourism as a form of niche market. ness, and Extra wellness, while those motivation fac- Relaxation as push motivation, wellness infrastructure tors related to tourist destination were labelled as Cul- and natural resources as pull motivation factors are tural and natural heritage, Entertainment and recre- important factors in wellness tourism research. How- ation, and Landscape. Pull travel motivations related ever, push travel motivations related to health issues to tangible aspects of a wellness tourist product, pre- are vital in differentiation between segments that are sented through basic and extra wellness factors, were highly wellness-oriented and those who are less well- mostly unimportant, while items measuring the intan- ness oriented, i.e. who are more oriented on achieving gible wellness factor were mostly important to the re- well-being. The findings have certain implications for sponders. The pull travel motivation factors related to tourism managers. This research provides deeper in- tourist destination were mainly important to respon- sights into sub-segments of wellness tourists. Thus, in ders. However, certain cultural activities (e.g. muse- hotels where a wellness tourist product is an additional ums and exhibitions, and theatre and performances) tourist product, and not the main focus, there may be and activities related to tourists’ special interest (like a certain number of guests who are more interested shopping and events) were marked as rather unimpor- in intangible wellness aspects like atmosphere, relax- tant. By using travel motivation as segmentation crite- ation, and surroundings, compared to tangible well- ria in wellness tourism settings three clusters were de- ness aspects. Thus, they do not place importance on tected.Theywerelabelledashighwellness,immaterial tangible wellness aspects and are not likely to use ser- wellness, and low wellness clusters. The high wellness vices like massage, sauna, mud baths/wraps, etc. The cluster placed high importance on all nine travel moti- findings also suggest that tourist destination attributes vation factors. Pull motivation factors related to a well- play an important role for hotel guests who are inter-
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ested in a wellness tourist product as well as for those Chen, K. H., Liu, H. H., & Chang, F. H. (2013). Essential cus- guests who are more interested in immaterial aspects tomer service factors and the segmentation of older visi- provided by the wellness concept. tors within wellness tourism based on hot springs hotels. There are certain limitations of this study. This International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, 122– study included guests staying in wellness hotels that 132. Crompton, J. L. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacations. offer wellness as an additional tourist product. There- Annals of Tourism Research, 6(4), 408–424. fore, future research could include hotels and resorts Dimitrovski, D., & Todorović, A. (2015). Clustering wellness that are exclusively focused on wellness. This study tourists in spa environment. Tourism Management Per- was focused on wellness travel motivation and its suit- spectives, 16, 259–265. ability as segmentation criteria. Therefore, future re- DiStefano,C.,Zhu,M.,&Mîndrilă,D.(2009).Understand- search may focus on other variables used for segmen- ing and using factor scores: Considerations for the ap- tation purposes like lifestyle. This research did not plied research. Practical Assessment Research & Evalua- include tourists with disabilities or other medical con- tion, 14(20), 1–11. ditions; therefore, future research might focus on these Dolnicar, S. (2008). Market segmentation in tourism. In A. segments as well. The research was conducted in 2013 G. Woodside & D. Martin (Eds.), Tourism management: and since then certain strategic changes may have in- Analysis, behaviour and strategy (pp. 129–150). cabi. Dryglas, D., & Salamaga, M. (2017). Applying destination at- fluenced wellness tourism. Therefore, a similar type of tributesegmentationtohealthtourists:Acasestudyof research would be useful to investigate the national Polish spa resorts. JournalofTravelandTourismMar- tourism strategies’ impact on wellness tourism, i.e. keting, 34(4), 503–514. wellness hotels. Dryglas, D., & Salamaga, M. (2018). Segmentation by push motives in health tourism destinations: A case study of References Polish spa resorts. Journal of Destination Marketing & Andrijašević,M.,&Bartoluci,M.(2004)Theroleofwellness Management, 9, 234–246. in contemporary tourism. Acta Turistica, 16(2), 125–142. Gu,Q.,Zhang,H.Q.,King,B.,&Huang,S.(2018).Wine Awaritefe, O. D. (2004). Motivations and other considera- tourism involvement: A segmentation of Chinese tour- tions in tourism destination choice: A case study of Nige- ists. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(5), 633– ria. Tourism Geographies, 6(3), 303–330. 648. Azman,I.,&Chan,K.L.J.(2010).Healthandspatourism Hair,J.F.,Black,W.C.,Babin,B.J.,&Anderson,A.E.(2010). business: Tourists’ profiles and motivational factors, he- Multivariate data analysis. Pearson Prentice Hall. alth, wellness and tourism: Healthy tourists, healthy Hallab, Z. (2006). Catering to the healthy-living vacationer. business? In Proceedings of the Travel and Tourism Re- Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(1), 71–91. search Association Europe 2010 Annual Conference, (pp. Hallab,Z.A.A.,YoonY.,&Uysal,M.(2003).Aniden- 9–24). http://pc.parnu.ee/∼htooman/ tification of market segments based on healthy-living Proceedingnyomdanak.pdf attitude. Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, Bennett,M.,King,B.,&Milner,L.M.(2004).Thehealth 10(3/4), 185–198. resort sector in Australia: A positioning study. Journal of Heung, V. C. S., Qu, H., & Chu, R. (2001). The relationship Vacation Marketing, 10(2), 122–137. between vacation factors and socio-demographic and Bieger, T., & Laesser, C. (2002). Market segmentation by mo- travelling characteristics: The case of Japanese leisure tivation: The case of Switzerland. JournalofTravelRe- travellers. Tourism Management, 22(3), 259–269. search, 41(1), 68–76. Hinkin,T.R.,Tracey,J.B.,&Enz,C.A.,(1997).Scalecon- Boksberger, P., & Laesser, C. (2008). Segmenting the senior struction: Developing reliable and valid measurement travel market by means of travel motivation – Insights instruments. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, from a mature market (Switzerland). http://ro.uow.edu 21(1), 100–120. .au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3489&context Hudson, S. (2008). Tourism and hospitality marketing: A =commpapers global perspective. Sage. Chang, J. C. (2007). Travel motivation of package tour trav- Huh,C.,Lee,M.J.,&Lee,S.(2019).Aprofileofspa-goersin ellers. Tourism, 55(2), 157–176. the U.S. luxury hotels and resorts: A posteriori market
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Original Scientific Article
Service Quality Measurement in Rural Tourism: Application of RURALQUAL Model
Suzana Marković University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Croatia [email protected] Jelena Kljaić Šebrek wyg Consulting Ltd, Croatia [email protected]
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate service quality and its relation to customer satisfaction, trust, and behavioural intentions of rural tourism by applying the mod- ified ruralqual model derived from the original servqual model. The survey was conducted on a sample of 307 rural tourists in Croatia. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (pls-sem) was applied in order to analyse the rela- tionship between the measured constructs. The modified ruralqual model has been proven as a reliable and valid multidimensional scale that includes 27 items divided into 5 dimensions. Results indicate that there is a significant positive rela- tionship between Service quality and Satisfaction as antecedents to Loyalty. The role of Trust as a mediator between Satisfaction and Loyalty has been proven, but its me- diation power is rather small. Research results indicate that rural tourism managers and owners paid more attention to the tangible service quality elements, but in order to improve overall tourist experience in the future, they should pay more attention totheintangibleservicequalityelements.Themodifiedruralqualinstrument should be periodically used as a tool by practitioners and managers for the future development of rural tourism. Keywords: service quality, satisfaction, loyalty, rural tourism, ruralqual, pls sem https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.13.215-227
Introduction powerful development strategy for rural underdevel- The importance of rural tourism, which has come un- oped areas as it generates new jobs and increases local der the focus of many researchers, has significantly in- incomes (Choi et al., 2018). The development potential creased in the last decades (Hurst et al., 2009; Osman of rural tourism is huge, but in order to stay compet- &Sentosa,2013b).Ruraltourismmaybeananswerto itive and sustainable in the long term, rural tourism the redundant sun and sea concept and an extension must provide a high level of service quality and sat- of the main tourist season for many tourist economies isfaction (Chatzigeorgiou & Simeli, 2017). According (Grgić et al., 2017). Furthermore, the urban acceler- to Rozman et al. (2009), service quality is important ated lifestyle has become very stressful, causing many for survival in a competitive market. Satisfied tourists tourists to seek calm, rural places surrounded by na- aremorelikelytorecommendandreturntotheru- ture (Kastenholz et al., 2018). Rural tourism presents a ral tourist object. Service quality is a widely researched
Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 |215 Suzana Markovi andJelena Kljai Šebrek Service Quality Measurement in Rural Tourism
concept in the tourism industry, but only a few studies 2011; Katircioglu et al., 2012; Setó-Pamies, 2012; Ra- have measured service quality in rural tourism using jesh, 2018), hotels (Marković, 2004; Ladhari, 2009; Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling Marković & Raspor, 2010; Marković & Raspor Janko- (pls-sem), including Loureiro and Kastenholz (2011), vić,2013;Kim-Soonetal.,2014;Ounsri&Thawesaeng- Osman and Sentosa (2013a, 2013b, and Kastenholz et skulthai, 2019), and restaurants (Marković et al., 2010; al. (2018). Nam & Lee, 2011; Hansen, 2014; Saneva & Chortoseva, Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to determine 2018). servqual was also used to measure the qual- service quality in rural tourism. The main research ob- ity of rural tourism. For that purpose, a ruralqual jectives of this study are: (a) to assess Service quality, model was developed by Loureiro and Gonzalez (2008). Satisfaction and Loyalty in rural tourism, (b) to eval- The model assesses only perceptions as proposed by uate the relationship between Service quality, Satisfac- Cronin and Taylor (1994) and consists of 22 variables tion and Loyalty, (c) to estimate the role of Trust as a divided into 6 factors (Professionalism, Reservations, mediator between the concepts Satisfaction and Loy- Tangibility, Complementary benefits, Rural and cul- alty, and (d) to test the reliability of the modified ru- tural environment and Basic benefits). Research on a ralqual model. sample of 198 rural tourists was conducted in 2008 in The paper is organised in four sections. The fol- Portugal. The research proved that the lowest-rated lowingsectionprovidesanoverviewoftherecentlit- service quality dimension is Rural and cultural envi- erature dealing with the concepts and measurement ronment, and the highest-rated dimensions are Pro- of service quality, tourist satisfaction and loyalty, pri- fessionalism, Reservations, Tangibility and Basic ben- marily in rural tourism. The next section lays out the efits. methodology and is followed by the results of the re- Satisfaction is also a very frequently-researched search. The final section discusses main conclusions, concept in tourism due to its importance for the suc- limitations, and future research proposals. cess of tourism business, as a satisfied tourist is more likely to recommend or rebuy the service (Baker & Literature Review Crompton, 2000; Su & Fan, 2011). Satisfaction is, by Although there is no unique definition of the term ‘ser- most authors, defined as an emotion that a tourist feels vice quality,’ most researchers agree that the term de- after service consumption or an affective response to fines fulfilment of tourists’ expectations in the focus a service (Oliver, 1999; Baker & Crompton, 2000; Zei- of service quality (Gronroos, 1984; Parasuraman et al., thaml & Bitner, 2003; Um et al., 2006). Tourist satisfac- 1985; Lewis & Mitchell, 1990). According to many au- tion depends on the level of fulfilment of expectations thors, service quality is a multidimensional concept, and desires (Chen & Tsai, 2007; Osman & Sentosa, but service quality dimensions should be adapted to 2013a). If a perceived service did not meet expecta- the specific features of a measured service (Babakus & tions, a tourist may feel dissatisfied. Boller, 1992). Loyalty presents the ultimate objective for many So far, a wide range of research has been con- companies as it reduces costs and increases profit ducted on service quality and a variety of different (Almeida-Santana & Moreno Gil, 2018). Most authors measurement models has been developed and tested, emphasise that loyalty is a positive attitude towards a butoneofthemostpopularandfrequentlyusedis destination, a company, or a service (Oliver, 1999; Kim the servqual model. servqual was developed by & Brown, 2012; Setó-Pamies, 2012; Osman & Sentosa, Parasuraman et al. in 1985. It consists of 22 items 2013b). The concept of loyalty can be approached from which measure five service quality dimensions: Tangi- two different directions: attitudinal or behavioural bles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Em- (Zeithaml, 2000). Behavioural loyalty results in repet- pathy. The servqual instrument was widely used itive purchasing behaviour while attitudinal includes for measuring service quality in the tourism industry: recommending a service or company to others (Zei- travel agencies (Bigne et al., 2003; Shahin & Janatyan, thaml, 2000; Cheng, 2011).
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The concept of Trust has been defined as a tourist’s ‘willingness to rely on tourist attraction operator’s abil- Trust ity to deliver what has been promised and meet or ex- H3 H3 ceed the expectation of the tourists which has been Service H1 H2 built around of the knowledge about the tourist attrac- Satisfaction Loyalty Quality tion’ (Osman & Sentosa, 2013a, p. 14.). Many studies emphasize that Trust reduces risk and effects future in- tentions, especially in long-term, strong relationships Figure 1 Theoretical Framework with the company (Sirdeshmukh et al., 2002; Yieh et al., 2007; Loureiro & Gonzalez, 2008). firmed that the concepts Service quality, Satisfaction Studies carried out by different authors have proven and Loyalty are related and interdependent. More that Service quality, Satisfaction and Loyalty are re- specifically, Loureiro and Kastenholz (2011) and Su lated concepts. High quality of service effects tourists’ and Fan (2011) found that high service quality sig- positive emotions and generates high tourist satis- nificantly increases tourist satisfaction and confirmed faction. Satisfaction, enhanced by Trust, contributes that satisfaction is the key antecedent to loyalty. Also, to Loyalty. Service quality and Tourist satisfaction the study of Su and Fan (2011) has proven that there have been proven to be the key antecedents to cus- is no direct relationship between service quality and tomer Loyalty by different studies (Loureiro & Kas- loyalty, but only mediated by tourist satisfaction and tenholz, 2011; Oh & Kim, 2017). The mediating effect trust. Also, this study confirmed that satisfaction is an of Trust on Loyalty in rural tourism has been proven antecedent to trust, not the opposite. A study of Peãa et by Loureiro and Gonzalez (2008). al. (2012), conducted in Spain, emphasises the positive The review of selected recent researches on service effect of the perceived value on tourist satisfaction. Os- quality and related concepts in rural tourism is given man and Sentosa (2013b) conducted research on ser- in Table 1. The data show that Service quality, Satisfac- vice quality in rural tourism in Malaysia that proved a tion and Loyalty in rural tourism are measured glob- strong direct relationship between service quality and ally in different tourist countries (usa, Spain, Greece, satisfaction and service quality and loyalty. The same Slovenia, Portugal, Malaysia). The authors used quite study confirmed that satisfaction and trust could have large samples, ranging from 103 to 632 respondents. a mediating role between service quality and loyalty. Most of the researches followed the servqual model The findings of the study carried out in Greece by modified to the needs of the services measured, where Chatzigeorgiou and Simeli (2017) confirmed the pred- the number of factors varied from the original 5 to 8 icative power of overall service quality and satisfaction factors and 22 to 36 variables. The applied statistical on loyalty. Rajaratnam et al. (2015), in their study on methods primarily include factor analysis and struc- 334 rural tourists in Malaysia, have found that satisfac- tural modelling. The observed studies reported a high tion is positively and significantly correlated to loyalty. level of reliability (>0.70) of applied models. The find- Although there is no consensus on service qual- ings of the research conducted by Choi et al. (2018) in- ity attributes, most of the authors agree that initial dicate that performance exceeds expectations, mean- servqual dimensions should be adapted to specific ing that rural tourists’ needs are met for all the ob- needsofawiderangeofruraltourismactivities. served variables. On the other hand, Albacete-Saez et. Based on the literature review the following hy- al. (2007) proved a negative gap between perception potheses were tested (Figure 1): and expectation in 4 of 5 service quality dimensions. A positive gap is proved for the dimension Empathy, h1 There is a positive relationship between service and the largest negative gap is recorded for the dimen- quality and customer satisfaction. sion Complementary offer. h2 There is a positive relationship between cus- Furthermore, the previously analysed studies con- tomer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
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Table 1 Literature Review of Measuring Service Quality, Satisfaction and Loyalty in Rural Tourism () () () () () () () Albacete-Saez et al. Spain Service quality factors, efa* . () items Hurst et al. () usa Service quality, satisfaction, factors, efa .–. loyalty items Rozman et al. () Slovenia Service quality service quality dex – dim., items Fotiadis & Vassiliadis Greece Satisfaction items ipa – () Loureiro & Kastenholz Portugal Service quality, corporate repu- factors, cfa, . () tation, satisfaction, loyalty items pls-sem Su & Fan () China Service quality, satisfaction, factors sem .–. trust, loyalty Peña et al. () Spain Perceived value, satisfaction, –sem>. loyalty Osman & Sentosa Malaysia Service quality, satisfaction, factors, pls-sem .–. (a) loyalty items in total Rajaratnam et al. Malaysia Destination quality, satisfac- factors pls-sem .–. () tion, loyalty Rozkee et al. () India Service quality, satisfaction factors, regression – items Chatzigeorgiou & Greece Service quality, satisfaction, factors, sem – Simeli () future behavioural intentions items Kastenholz et al. () Portugal Tourists’ arousal, memory, –pls-sem– satisfaction Choi et al. () South Service quality items ipa** . Korea Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) author, (2) country, (3) sample size, (4) measured concepts, (5) number of ser- vice quality items and factors, (6) methods used, (7) reliability. * Exploratory Factor Analysis, ** Importance Performance Analysis.
h3 There is a positive mediating effect of trust on Methodology the satisfaction and loyalty relationship. The perceived quality of the rural tourism was mea- sured using a modified ruralqual model based on A literature review indicates that pls sem is an the servqual and the original ruralqual model often-used method in research in service quality in (Loureiro & González, 2008) and modified by the tourism. According to the results of a study conducted items used in the study of Albacete-Saez et al. (2007). by Ali et al. (2017), during the period between 2001 Modifications include adaptation of the items to the and 2015 there were 29 empirical articles published specific features of rural tourism in Istria. The dimen- that applied pls-sem. Out of 29 articles, only 7 were sion Safety was added from the model of Albacete- published up until 2012, and 22 articles were published Saez et al. (2007). Safety was identified as a very im- from 2013 to 2015, indicating an increasing popularity portant service quality aspect during the consultation of pls sem in recent years. process with key tourist stakeholders in Istria (tour-
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ist board and rural tourism managers and owners). (Henseler et al., 2009). pls-sem relies on a nonpara- The scale contains 27 items divided into 5 factors metric bootstrap procedure to test coefficients for their measured on a 7-point Likert-type ordinal scale. The significance. In bootstrapping, a large number of sub- research conducted in this work used measurement samples are drawn from the original sample and used of perception only as proposed by Cronin and Taylor to evaluate the model (Hair et al., 2013). (1994). This paper presents an evaluation of the structural The survey was conducted from June to September model including the relationship between constructs 2017 in central Istria as one of the most developed ru- of service quality, satisfaction, trust and loyalty. ral tourism destinations in Croatia. There were 1,400 Since pls sem is considered more appropriate for paper questionnaires in 4 languages distributed to prediction than covariance-based techniques (Lourei- tourists staying in 22 rural accommodations. 307 valid ro & Kastenholz, 2011), it has been chosen for the anal- questionnaires were returned (return rate 21.93) us- ysis of future behaviour intentions. Adequacy of mea- ing a convenient sample, meaning that only tourists surement was assessed by evaluating the reliability and who were available and willing to participate in re- the discriminant validity of the scale. The Partial Least search filled in the questionnaires. Descriptive statis- Squares (pls) approach was employed to estimate the tics, factor analysis and Partial Least Squares Struc- structural paths coefficients, R2 for evaluation of pre- tural Equation Modelling (pls-sem) methods were dictive power of the model and Q2 for assessment of performed using spss 20.0 and Smart pls 2.0 soft- predictive relevance, and the Bootstrap technique to ware to test the research hypotheses. test the hypotheses. pls sem became the preferred technique due to its advantages: accuracy for small sample size, absence of Research Results distributional assumptions and a high degree of statis- The data analysis of socio-demographic data indicates tical power (Hair et al., 2019). It is an appropriate tech- that there was an almost equal number of female and nique in the case of complex structural models that male respondents. Out of 307 respondents, 68.32 are include many constructs, indicators, and model rela- foreign tourists. The majority of respondents are be- tionships (Hair et al., 2019). tween 30 and 49 years old (58.17) with a middle or pls sem is based on an iterative combination of high school level of education (84.97) and dominant principal components analysis and regression, aim- marital status ‘married’ (48.36). Most of the respon- ing at explaining the variance of the constructs in the dents were visiting the rural destination facility for model (Chin, 1998; Peng, 2012). The advantage of pls the first time (72.04) and travelling with a partner or sem lies in simultaneously estimating all relationships friends (55.88). The main tourist motives for visiting in the model including path coefficients and individ- the rural facility are spending time with friends and ual item loadings of the model, eliminating concerns family (51.14) and relaxing (40.39). Other motives about multicollinearity (Henseler et al., 2009). include tasting local food, learning about tradition and The model consists of two parts (Hair et al., 2013): culture, and escaping from stress and city noise. The the structural model analysing the relationships be- results of the socio-demographic profile of respon- tween the constructs (inner model) and the measure- dentsisshowninTable2. ment models displaying the relationships between the The results of the principal components analysis constructs and the indicator variables (outer model). andPromaxrotationmethodwereusedtoreduce27 The application of pls sem is a multi-stage approach variables to 5 factors (Safety, tourist relations and rural that involves three main stages: model specification, surrounding, Tangibility and basic demand, Price and outer model evaluation and inner model evaluation reservation, Professionalism, and Empathy). The com- (Hairetal.,2014).Theinnermodelevaluationas munality values of the observed variables are above a last stage is implemented only after the previous 0.5, indicating suitability of the items for performing stage proves the reliability and validity of the model factor analysis.
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Table 2 Respondents Socio-Demographic Profile Table 2 Continued from the previous column Item Group f Item Group f Gender Female . Country Croatia . Male . Germany . Total . Austria . Age Less than . uk . – . Italy . – . Slovenia . – . Netherlands . – . Ireland . and above . Switzerland . Total . usa . Educational Elementary school or less . Hungary . level Secondary school . Canada . University . Slovakia . Master or PhD . Denmark . Total . San Marino . Marital Single . Australia . status Married . Russia . In relationship . Spain . Other . Luxemburg . Total . Total . Travelling Alone . Number of First time . group Partner . arrivals to times . Partner and children . More than times . Friends . Total . Work colleagues . Continued in the next column Other . Total . ing. The second factor, Tangibility and basic demand, Continued in the next column includes attributes like rural facility location, state of rural facilities, and external and internal decora- tion. The third factor, Price and reservations, describes Total variance explained in factor analysis is 65.17; reservation possibilities and accordance of price and the majority of total variance is explained by the first services. The fourth factor, Professionalism, refers to factor 42.98 followed by the second factor 9.79, employees’ appearance and treatment of tourists. The thirdfactor5.09,fourthfactor3.85andfifthfactor last factor, named Empathy, includes items regarding 3.56. employees’ knowledge of foreign languages and indi- The first factor, Safety, tourist relations and rural vidual approach to the tourists. The number of items surrounding, refers to the usage of safety measures, in- varies from 3 to 10 per factor. Factor mean scores range tegration of tourists into the local lifestyle, and offer of from 5.46 to 6.05 with the highest mean score for the additional activities and events in the rural surround- factor Tangibility and basic demand and the lowest
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Table 2 Continued from the previous column good internal consistency of the constructs. The re- Item Group f sults of quantitative analysis for the concepts Satisfac- tion, Trust and Loyalty are shown in Table 4. Travel Spending time with friends . motives and family The Cronbach alpha value for all measured con- structs is between 0.762 and 0.951 and indicates a good Relaxing . reliability or internal consistency of the modified ru- Tasting local food . ralqual model (Table 5). Convergent validity has Learning about local tradi- . also been confirmed as factor loadings prove a strong tion/culture connection of items to the factors, given that the aver- Escape from stress and city . age variance extracted by the constructs (ave) was at noise 2 least 0.5. The results of R provemoderatepredictive Beautiful nature . power of the model since the values exceed 0.50. The Searching for tranquillity . literature suggests that R2 values of 0.67, 0.33, and 0.19 Beauty of a place . are substantial, moderate, and weak (Chin, 1998; Peng, 2 Affordable prices . 2012). The values for Q are all positive, meaning that Pleasant atmosphere . the model has predictive relevance. Learning new skills . plssemwasusedtoassesspathcoefficientsbe- tween the observed constructs. The results prove a Other . strong direct positive relationship between Service Quality and Satisfaction (0.763) and Between Satis- faction and Loyalty (0.652). Also, Satisfaction has been mean score for the factor Safety, tourist relations and proven to be strongly related to Trust, but the relation- rural surrounding. An overall average mean score for ship between Trust and Loyalty is rather weak (0.146). Perceived service quality is 5.79. The highest mean The path coefficient analysis of the service quality di- score was given to the item The lodging is located in a mensions indicates that the most important dimen- calm place (6.28, St. dev 0.89), and the lowest to the sion in forming service quality is Safety, tourist rela- item The Rural establishment observes safety measures tions and rural surrounding (43), while the dimen- during excursions and complementary activities offered sion Empathy has the lowest impact on forming the (5.20,St.dev.1.53).Theoverallaverageservicequality Service Quality construct (13). The results of Path score is relatively high (5.79). The highest score was coefficient analysis are shown in Figure 2. given to the dimension Tangibility and basic demand The Bootstrap technique in pls sem was applied (6.05) that refers to infrastructure, equipment and dec- for the assessment of the significance level of the path oration. The lowest score was given to the dimen- coefficients in order to test the hypothesis. Accord- sion Safety, tourist relations and rural surrounding ing to the results all the relations between the con- (5.46). structs have been proven to be significant at the 0.001 Allfactorloadingsforservicequalityitemsare level, except for the relation between Trust and Loyalty significant with the value above 0.5 and the overall that is positive, but weak and significant at the 0.005 Cronbach alpha 0.952 indicating good reliability of level (Table 6). The path coefficient between Satisfac- the scale. The statistical calculations were performed tion and Loyalty decreased when the mediator Trust using spss 20.0. The factor structure of modified ru- was introduced, proving the existence of the media- ralqualmodelisshowninTable3. tion role of Trust. An overall mean score for Satisfaction is 5.82, Trust ThestrengthofthemediatingroleofTrustwas 5.98 and Loyalty 5.15. All factor loadings are signifi- evaluated by calculating vaf (Variance accounted for), cant since they are greater than 0.5. The Cronbach al- as suggested by Hair et al. (2013). A vaf value below pha coefficient ranges from 0.865 to 0.910, proving a 20 means that the role of the mediator is small. Since
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Table 3 Factor Structure of Modified ruralqual Model Factor Item () () Safety, tourist The rural establishment is fitted with all necessary safety measures. . (.) . relations and The re observes safety measures during excursions and complementary activities . (.) . rural offered. surrounding Staff give us good advice regarding the gastronomy of the place. . (.) . All areas are well indicated with signs. . (.) . The communication (access) routes are well indicated with signs. . (.) . The clients are integrated in the region’s rural lifestyle. . (.) . Staff give us good advice regarding complementary activities that are available. . (.) . Typical gastronomy of the region is included on the menu. . (.) . In the surrounding region there are fairs, local festivities, and other aspects of . (.) . cultural interest. Staff at our disposal know the traditions, celebrations and history of the place. . (.) . Tangibility The lodging is placed in a calm place. . (.) . and basic Internal decoration (furniture, ceilings, lighting, floors, etc.) is pleasant, simple, . (.) . demand homey and in harmony with the rural surroundings. External decoration (facade, gardens, etc.) is attractive and in harmony with the . (.) . rural surroundings. The rural lodging facilities are in a good state. . (.) . The lodging architecture has the regional style. . (.) . The lodging is placed in the area of great natural beauty. . (.) . Price and Room reservation is easy to do. . (.) . reservations The reservations are confirmed in the most convenient way for client, other . (.) . information of interest is sent back too (e.g. access map). Arrival schedules are established but they are quite flexible. . (.) . Price is in accordance with the service provided. . (.) . Professionalism The clients are treated cordially and affably. . (.) . The rural lodging foods are well presented and flavoursome. . (.) . Personalized attention is provided to each client. . (.) . The rural lodging employees have a clean, neat appearance. . (.) . Empathy The rural establishment has staff that speak other languages. . (.) . Staff go out of their way to make sure customers understand them. . (.) . The rural establishment attends to customers individually (not as a group). . (.) . Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) mean (standard deviation), (2) factor loading. thecalculatedvafvaluewas14.21itcanbecon- customer satisfaction, h2 There is a positive relation- cluded that the mediator part of the relation between ship between customer satisfaction and customer loy- satisfaction and loyalty is very small. alty, and h3 There is a positive mediating effect of trust Based on the given results, the Hypothesis h1 The- on the satisfaction and loyalty relationship are sup- re is a positive relationship between service quality and ported.
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Table 4 The Results of Quantitative Analysis of the Constructs Satisfaction, Trust and Loyalty Construct Item () () Satisfaction The stay here has been very satisfactory. . (.) . The rural lodging satisfies my necessities. . (.) . The rural lodging facilities are worthy of highlighting. . (.) . I find the lodging personnel pleasant. . (.) . I am happy with cultural, sport and recreational activities provided by the lodging . (.) . and surrounding region. The rural lodging delivers the service that I expected to receive. . (.) . The rural lodging delivers an excellent service. . (.) . In general, my experience here is positive. . (.) . Trust Here the promise is fulfilled. . (.) . I trust the service delivered by the rural lodging. . (.) . Here exists a real concern for my well-being. . (.) . Loyalty I will speak well about this lodging service to other people. . (.) . I will recommend the lodging if someone asks for my advice. . (.) . I will encourage my friends and relatives to visit this rural lodging. . (.) . In my next vacation I intend to return to this lodging. . (.) . I would come continually even if the lodging price increases. . (.) . I prefer to pay a bigger price here than in other rural lodgings for the advantages . (.) . that I receive in this rural lodging. Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) mean (standard deviation), (2) factor loading.
Table 5 Reliability, Validity and Prediction Attributes of the Modified ruralqual Model Construct () () () () () () Service quality . . – . . . . Professionalism . . . – . . Price and reservations . . . – . . Tangibility and basic demand . . . – . . Empathy . . . – . . Safety, tourist relations and rural surrounding . . . – . Satisfaction . . . . . . Trust . . . . . . Loyalty . . . . . . Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) reliability Cronbach Alpha, (2) composite reliability, (3) average variance ex- tracted, (4) R2 (predictive power of the model), (5) Q2 (predictive relevance of the model), (6) latent variable index.
Conclusions, Limitations, and Further Research rural tourism requires continuous improvement of Rural tourism has been proven to be a very success- service quality and integration of different local re- ful development strategy for rural areas. Competitive sources and activities. However, in some cases, this is
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Professionalism 0.00 Trust 0.548 0.172 0.146 Price and reservations 0.00 0.208 0.740
Service Qual. 0.763 Satisfaction 0.652 Loyalty Tangibility and basic demand 0.00 0.260 0.997 0.583 0.588 0.130
Empathy 0.00 0.434
Safety, tourist relations and rural surrounding 0.00
Figure 2 Structural Equation Results
Table 6 Hypothesis Test Relation () () () () Direct Empathy → Service quality . . *** . Professionalism → Service quality . . *** . Price and reservationa → Service quality . . *** . Safety, tourist relations and rural surrounding → Service quality . . *** . Tangibility and basic demand → Service quality . . *** . Service quality → Satisfaction . . *** . Satisfaction → Loyalty (direct relation) . . *** . Indirect Satisfaction → Trust . . *** . Trust → Loyalty . . ** . Satisfaction → Loyalty . . *** . Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) path coeff., (2) t-value, (3) significance level (** p < 0.05, *** p <0.01),(4)p-value. not sufficiently addressed as most of the rural tourism fer to safety measures, including tourists in the local businesses are small, family-managed rural units of- lifestyle, and integration of local activities and events ten lacking a professional management approach and in the tourist offer. Generally, results lead to the con- strategic marketing activities. Better understanding of clusions that rural tourism managers and owners paid thekeyservicequalityattributescouldincreasetourist more attention to the technical service quality ele- satisfactionandleadtotouristloyaltythatmanifests ments, but in the future, they need to pay more at- as an intention to recommend, to return, and even to tention to the soft service quality elements in order to pay more. improve overall tourist experience. The results of this study have confirmed that the Although the mean scores for the Service quality, perceived service quality is formed by 5 dimensions: Satisfaction and Trust are quite high, the mean score Professionalism, Price and reservations, Tangibility for Loyalty as a consequent is lower. This can partly and basic demand, Empathy, and Safety, tourist re- be explained by the motive of novelty where tourists lations and rural surrounding. The overall average like to visit different tourist destinations rather than to service quality score is relatively high. Research re- return to the same one. On the other hand, this can sults indicate that rural tourism managers should pay serve as useful information to rural tourism managers more attention to the service quality attributes that re- in rethinking marketing strategies.
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The focus of this study was to examine the relation- regions and in other selective forms of rural tourism. ship between Service quality, Satisfaction and Loyalty It would be useful to measure service quality solely, in andtoassesstheroleofTrustasamediator.Theresults particular rural tourist destinations, in order to obtain of the pls sem analysis show that there is a strong sig- more specific results. Since rural tourism is broadly nificant positive relationship between Service quality defined and encompasses a wide range of activities, fu- and Satisfaction. A similar conclusion has been proven ture research should be conducted for specific activ- by the study of Loureiro and Kastenholz (2011) and ities or accommodation types such as diffuse hotels. Loureiro and Gonzalez (2008) who applied the ru- Also, some other constructs should be considered for ralqual model in Portugal. inclusion in the model, like, for example, Destination Furthermore, it is proven that Satisfaction is an an- Image or Tourist Experience. tecedent of Loyalty, although the strength of that re- lationship is a bit lower than between Service qual- References ity and Satisfaction. Due to novelty, not all satisfied Albacete-Saez, C. A., Fuentes-Fuentes, M. M., & Lloréns- Montes, F. J. (2007). Service quality measurement in ru- tourists tend to return to the same rural tourism unit. ral accommodation. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(1), The conclusion follows the conceptual background of 45–65. the relationship Service Quality–Satisfaction–Loyalty. Ali, F., Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & ThepositiveandsignificantrelationshipbetweenSer- Ryu, K. (2018). An assessment of the use of partial least vice quality, Satisfaction and Loyalty in rural tourism squares structural equation modeling (pls-sem) in hos- was also confirmed by Loureiro and Gonzalez (2008) pitality research. International Journal of Contemporary and Loureiro and Kastenholz (2011). Hospitality Management, 30(1), 514–538. The evaluation of the role of Trust as a media- Almeida-Santana, A., & Moreno-Gil, S. (2018). Understand- tor shows that the mediating role of Trust on the ing tourism loyalty: Horizontal vs. destination loyalty. Tourism Management, 65, 245–255. Satisfaction–Loyalty relationship is positive and sig- Babakus, E., & Boller, G. W.(1992). An empirical assessment nificant but rather small. Therefore, the hypothesis h3 of the servqual scale. Journal of Business research, is supported. The same results have been proven by the 24(3), 253–268. study of Loureiro and Gonzalez (2008), Setó-Pamies Baker, D. A., & Crompton, J. L. (2000). Quality, satisfaction (2012), and Lin et al. (2018). The study of Loureiro and behavioural intentions. Annals of Tourism Research, (2013), conducted on banking services, did not con- 27(3), 785–804. firm the existence of a relationship between Trust and Bigne,J.E.,Martinez,C.,Miquel,M.J.,&Andreu,L.(2003). Loyalty. servqual reliability and validity in travel agencies. An- In order to understand and meet tourists’ expecta- nals of Tourism Research, 30(1), 258–262. Chatzigeorgiou, C., & Simeli, I. (2017). Perception of ser- tions and provide a high level of service quality and vice quality in agrotourism accommodations: Impact on tourist satisfaction, and finally to increase the rate of guest loyalty and re-visit intentions. Journal of Tourism, loyal tourists, rural tourism managers should period- 3(1), 33–41. ically use the modified ruralqual instrument as a Chen,C.F.,&Tsai,D.(2007).Howdestinationimageand guide for future development actions. evaluative factors affect behavioural intentions? Tourism There are some limitations of this study that should management, 28(4), 1115–1122. be considered in future studies. The main limitation Cheng, S. (2011). Comparisons of competing models be- of the research is a relatively small sample size that af- tween attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. Inter- fects the generalisation of research results. This study national Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(10), 149–166. included only the actual tourists, but in the follow- Choi,H.,Ann,S.,Lee,K.W.,&Park,D.B.(2018).Measuring ing studies it would be useful to evaluate statements service quality of rural accommodations. Sustainability, of potential tourists. Also, this study was conducted 10(2), 443. in a geographically limited tourist destination. Future Cronin Jr, J. J., & Taylor, S. A. (1994). servperf versus studies could be conducted in different rural tourist servqual: Reconciling performance-based and per-
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Navidezna resničnost v turizmu: je dovolj »resnična«? Marion Rauscher, Andreas Humpe in Lars Brehm Tehnologija navidezne resničnosti v turističnem sektorju postaja vse bolj prilju- bljena. Do sedaj se je tehnologija raziskovala predvsem pri uporabi za trženja de- stinacij. Obratno se navidezna resničnost omenja tudi kot sredstvo za omejevanje ali zmanjševanje števila turistov na določeni znamenitosti ali destinaciji. V tem po- gledu se navidezna resničnost obravnava kot nadomestilo dejanskega potovanja in ravno to vprašanje obravnava članek, in sicer vidik možnosti uporabe tehnologije za prenos resničnih življenjskih izkušenj v digitalni svet. S kvalitativno metodo smo raziskovali vedenje in izkustvo uporabnikov ob srečanju s potovanji oz. z obiskom znamenitosti v navidezni resničnosti, da bi bolje razumeli značilnosti, ki vplivajo na sprejemanje tehnologije. Uporabljena je bila strukturna analiza podatkov, kodiranje pa je bilo izvedeno na podlagi t. i. »združene teorije sprejetosti in uporabe tehnolo- gij« (angl. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology –utaut).Interpre- tacija rezultatov poteka v kvalitativnem okviru. Ugotavljamo, da je dojemanje užitka pomemben dejavnik pri sprejemanju tehnologije navidezne resničnosti, medtem ko se zdi, da so olajševalne okoliščine in pričakovani izidi zanjo ovira. Dojeta uporab- nost je kot taka ocenjena precej sporno. Čeprav tehnologija ni sprejeta kot nado- mestilo za običajno počitniško potovanje, zlasti za popotnike, ki uživajo v aktivnih počitnicah ali cenijo družabne interakcije, pa je bila prepoznana kot alternativa za posebne priložnosti, kot so kratki oddihi od vsakdanjega življenja ali krajši mestni izleti. Na splošno ugotavljamo, da ob ustrezni implementaciji tehnologija ni koristna le za zmanjšanje koncentracije obiskovalcev na turističnih točkah ali za zmanjšanje negativnih vidikov zaradi pogostih potovanj, ampak bi se lahko nadalje uporabila tudi za znamenitosti in kraje, ki jih obiskovalci ne dosežejo oz. obiščejo, ker so pre- daleč, predragi, nedostopni, nevarni ali preobčutljivi za obisk. Ključne besede: virtualna resničnost, turizem, nadomestitev potovanj, sprejetje tehnologije, model utaut Academica Turistica, 13(2), 127–138
Učinki imidža destinacije na turistično zadovoljstvo: Primer plavajoče tržnice Don-Wai v mestu Nakhon Pathom na Tajskem Napaporn Janchai, Glenn Baxter, and Panarat Srisaeng Cilj te študije je bil analizirati vpliv imidža plavajoče tržnice kot destinacije na zado- voljstvo turistov. Jedro vprašalnika zaprtega tipa so tvorili atributi, ki so bili identifi- cirani v literaturi o dejavnikih zadovoljstva obiskovalcev turistične destinacije. Vzo- rec je obsegal 200 turistov, ki so januarja 2018 obiskali plavajočo tržnico Don Wai Nakhon Pathoma. Za empirično preverbo štirih hipotez je bila uporabljena regre- sijska analiza. Rezultati so pokazali, da so najpomembnejši dejavniki, ki vplivajo na zadovoljstvo turistov: edinstvenost narave, edinstvenost zgodovine in edinstvenost turističnih proizvodov. Arhitekturni dejavnik ni izkazal statistično značilnega vpliva na zadovoljstvo turistov. To je prva študija, ki je empirično obravnavala vplive ome- njenih dejavnikov na zadovoljstvo turistov ob obisku plavajoče tržnice kot turistične
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destinacije. Prikazana spoznanja lahko sorodnim destinacijam pridejo prav za boljše razumevanje pomena posameznih dejavnikov zadovoljstva turistov. Ključne besede: imidž destinacije, plavajoča tržnica, menedžment v turizmu, zadovoljstvo turistov, Tajska Academica Turistica, 13(2), 139–151
Ali je mednarodna rast turizma podprta z rastjo turistične potrošnje? Helena Nemec Rudež Rast turističnega povpraševanja v obdobju med letoma 2000 in 2016 je izračunana za 25 evropskih držav ob uporabi različnih kazalcev turizma. Število prihodov turi- stov in skupna turistična potrošnja se v tem obdobju povečujeta. Turistični prilivi na prihod turista v tekočih cenah kažejo na blago rast v večini preučevanih držav, medtem ko turistični prilivi na prihod turista v stalnih cenah bolj ali manj stagni- rajo v razponu med –2 in +2 in izkazujejo še močnejši upad v nekaterih državah južne in vzhodne Evrope. Zaključimo, da rast turizma pretežno poganja naraščajoče število prihodov turistov in ne potrošnja na prihod turista. Ključne besede: mednarodni turizem, rast povpraševanja, evropske države Academica Turistica, 13(2), 153–156
Stebri mestne prostorske občutljivosti in njihova integracija turističnih poti Melita Rozman Cafuta in Boštjan Brumen Veliko mest širom sveta ima ustrezne osnovne pogoje za razvoj urbanega turizma. Nekatere lokacije, ki so del standardne ponudbe, so sicer navidezno pomembne za lokalno turistično ponudbo, a niso v skladu s sodobnimi zahtevami sektorja. Zato si turistične organizacije prizadevajo za načrtovanje najboljših možnih turističnih poti z ogledi znamenitosti, ki so tretirane kot najboljše turistične točke. V današnji sodobniturističniindustrijiuporabazgoljintuitivnegapristopanezadostujeveč.V prispevku je predstavljen inovativen pristop, ki omogoča prepoznavanje pomemb- nih urbanih območij in lokacij, ki jih je smotrno vključiti v turistično ponudbo me- sta. Izvedena empirična raziskava je temeljila na analitični metodi mentalnega karti- ranja. Vzorec anketiranja je obsegal 200 oseb, za lokacijo raziskave pa je bilo izbrano mesto Maribor (Slovenija, eu). Anketiranci so po spominu risali zemljevid mesta. Zemljevid so risali dvakrat, kot zemljevid mesta podnevi in kot zemljevid mesta po- noči. Pridobljeni grafični rezultati odražajo posameznikovo subjektivno prostorsko predstavo in način mišljenja. Ugotovili smo, da so nekatere točke oz. lokacije v me- stu še posebej pomembne in opažene. Te točke smo poimenovali »stebri prostorske občutljivosti« (angl. Pillars of Spatial Sensitivity) – pss-lokacije. Te lokacije so pre- poznane kot ustrezne za integracijo v turistične poti z ogledi urbanih znamenitosti. Pri obdelavi rezultatov je bilo izpostavljenih 34 bolj ali manj pogosto opaženih pss- lokacij. 32 lokacij je imelo različno stopnjo pojavnosti med dnevom in nočjo. Tako se je potrdila domneva, da spreminjanje prostorskih okoliščin vpliva na zaznavanje
230 | Academica Turistica, Year 13, No. 2, December 2020 Abstracts in Slovene Povzetki v slovenšini
in uporabo mestnega prostora. Rezultati pričujoče raziskave kažejo, da je prostor- ska občutljivost turistov odvisna od časovne komponente. Turistične oglede urbanih znamenitosti lahko planiramo v skladu s časom. Ključne besede: urbani turizem, stebri prostorske občutljivosti, mentalni zemljevidi, lokacije turističnih znamenitosti Academica Turistica, 13(2), 157–166
Duhovna inteligenca in poslovno okolje Fadil Mušinović Prispevek poveže dva razvojno naravnana koncepta, duhovno inteligentnost in po- slovne sisteme, ki sta sestavljena iz štirih elementov. Duhovno inteligentnost po Kingu (2008) sestavljajo faktorji kritično eksistenčno razmišljanje, ustvarjanje oseb- nega pomena, transcendentno zavedanje in širitev stanj zavesti. Poslovni sistemi se po V. Bulc (2006) razvijajo preko štirih stopenj, in sicer od delovnega okolja prek učečega in mislečega okolja do ozaveščenega okolja. Namen raziskave je bil ugo- toviti, ali so faktorji duhovne inteligentnosti povezani z razvojnimi stopnjami po- slovnih sistemov in ali se v različnih razvojnih stopnjah poslovnih sistemov faktorji duhovne inteligentnosti razlikujejo. Zbiranje empiričnih podatkov je bilo izvedeno elektronsko, s pomočjo sestavljenega vprašalnika, ki je bil razdeljen v različna po- slovna okolja. Sodeloval je 601 zaposlen posameznik. Rezultati so pokazali pozitivne korelacije med faktorji duhovne inteligentnosti ter učečim, mislečim in ozaveščenim okoljem, ne pa tudi korelacij z delovnim okoljem. V različnih razvojnih stopnjah poslovnihsistemovsosepokazaledoločenerazlikemedfaktorjiduhovneinteligen- tnosti. Raziskava je še pokazala, da glede duhovne inteligentnosti in poslovnih okolij obstajajo razlike med spoloma, razlike po delovnih izkušnjah in razlike po stopnji iz- obrazbe. Ključne besede: duhovna inteligentnost, evolucija, poslovna okolja, posameznik, razvoj Academica Turistica, 13(2), 167–177
Poklicna in organizacijska pripadnost v sektorju gostoljubnosti Marjetka Rangus, Srđan Milošević, Iva Škrbić, Bojana Radenković-Šošić, JožeHočevarinMladenKnežević Namen raziskave je preveriti, ali dva različna profila pripadnosti zaposlenih vplivata na kakovost storitev v turistični industriji v Sloveniji in v Srbiji ter kako se lahko ugotovljene razlike prenašajo v delovanje v sektorju gostoljubja in turizma. Za po- trebe študije smo z uporabo kombinacijo kvalitativnega in kvantitativnega pristopa razvili dva nova instrumenta za merjenje pripadnosti zaposlenih. Prvi instrument smo razvili na podlagi kratkih strukturiranih intervjujev z zaposlenimi v turistični industriji. Na podlagi statistične metode smo določili dva faktorja, ki določata dva različna profila pripadnosti, z metodo grozdenja pa smo ugotovili štiri dimenzije, ki
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vplivajo na oblikovanje profilov pripadnosti. Drugi instrument smo razvili na pod- lagi obstoječih ocenjevalnih obrazcev za zaposlene v sektorju gostoljubnosti in tu- rizma ter s pomočjo vodilnega in srednjega menedžmenta v hotelih. Ugotovitve raz- iskave kažejo, da v sektorju gostoljubnosti in turizma obstaja majhen delež poklične pripadnosti med zaposlenimi, razlike med zaposlenimi pa so opazne pri razvrščanju vrednot, povezanih z delom. Ugotovitve lahko pomagajo menedžerjem pri načrto- vanju in organiziranju človeških virov ter tudi pri načrtovanju nadaljnjega razvoja politik na področju menedžmenta človeških virov v podjetjih. Izvirni prispevek štu- dije predstavlja novo znanje o razvrščanju vrednot, povezanih z delom, in znanje o percepciji kakovosti dela med zaposlenimi v sektorju gostoljubnosti. Ugotovitve študije so uporabne pri načrtovanju in organiziranju človeških virov in tudi pri na- črtovanju nadaljnjega razvoja politik na področju menedžmenta človeških virov v podjetjih. Študija prinaša tudi nova spoznanja o različnih tipih pripadnosti med za- poslenimi. Ključne besede: turizem, sektor gostoljubnosti, organizacijska pripadnost, poklicna pripadnost, menedžment človeških virov Academica Turistica, 13(2), 179–191
Analiza uporabe slovenskih hotelskih spletnih strani Mitja Petelin in Dejan Križaj Namen raziskave je dobiti vpogled v opremljenost spletnih mest slovenskih hotelov in na podlagi zastavljenih kriterijev ugotoviti, katera spletna mesta so bolj izpopol- njena kot druga. Določili smo kriterije, pripravili seznam vseh štiri- in petzvezdič- nih hotelov v Sloveniji in jih segmentirali s pomočjo multivariantne analize. Spletna mesta hotelov, ki smo jih analizirali leta 2017, se na prvi pogled sicer razlikujejo, s pri- merjavo njihovih vsebin pa smo prišli do zaključka, da večjih statistično pomembnih razlik ni. Pomembno odkritje raziskave spada na področje varnosti večine analizi- ranih spletnih mest – le-ta je namreč zelo pomanjkljiva, navedbe o njej pa so včasih tudi zavajajoče. Potencial interaktivnosti in igrifikacije spletnih mest pri veliki večini kljub različnim priporočilom strokovnjakov in znanstvenikov ostaja neizkoriščen. Ključne besede: spletno mesto, hotel, spletna mesta slovenskih hotelov, varnost Academica Turistica, 13(2), 193–200
Motivacije za potovanje kot merilo v procesu segmentacije trga wellness turizma Ana Težak Damijanić Namen prispevka je raziskati potovalne motivacije kot merila v procesu segmenta- cije wellness turistov. Podatki so bili zbrani prek vprašalnika na vzorcu turistov, ki so se nastanili v enem od 15 wellness hotelov, ki se nahajajo v štirih regijah wellness turizma Republike Hrvaške. Raziskava je potekala od maja do junija 2013. Podatki so bili obdelani z uporabo enovariatne, bivariatne in multivariatne statistike. Za splo- šen opis vzorca je bila uporabljena univariatna statistika. Za preučevanje razlik med
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vzorci smo uporabili bivariativno analizo, za določitev dejavnikov, ki temeljijo na konstrukciji motivacije potovanja, in odkrivanje vzorcev pa smo uporabili multiva- riatno statistiko. Skupno je bilo ugotovljenih devet dejavnikov motivacije potovanja z uporabo teorije potovalnih motivov push in pull (trije dejavniki motivacije push in šest dejavnikov motivacije pull). Dejavniki motivacije push za potovanja so bili označeni kot zdravstveni trendi, sprostitev in nagrada ter novost; dejavniki moti- vacije pull, ki so povezani z wellness turističnim produktom, so bili označeni kot osnovni wellness, nematerialni wellness in ekstra wellness, medtem ko so dejavniki motivacije pull, povezani s turistično destinacijo, označeni kot kulturna in naravna dediščina, zabava in rekreacija ter pokrajina. Trije vzorci so se pojavili z uporabo dejavnikov motivacije za potovanja kot meril segmentacije (visoki wellness, nema- terialni wellness in manjši wellness vzorci). Sprostitev, infrastruktura wellnessa in naravni viri so pomembni dejavniki pri raziskavah wellness turizma. Kljub temu so dejavniki motivacije push in pull pomembne spremenljivke pri razlikovanju med se- gmenti. Ključne besede: motivacija za potovanja, segmentacija trga, wellness turisti, kriteriji za segmentacijo Academica Turistica, 13(2), 201–213
Merjenje kakovosti storitev v podeželskem turizmu: uporaba modela RURALQUAL Suzana Marković and Jelena Kljaić Šebrek Namen prispevka je oceniti kakovost storitev in njen vpliv na zadovoljstvo strank, njihovo zaupanje in nakupne namene v kontekstu podeželskega turizma z uporabo prilagojenegamodela ruralqual,kijebilrazvitizmodela servqual.Raziskava je bila izvedena na vzorcu 307 podeželskih turistov na Hrvaškem. Za analizo razme- rij med konstrukti je bil uporabljen model strukturnih enačb z delnimi najmanjšimi kvadrati (pls-sem). Prilagojeni model ruralqual se je izkazal kot zanesljiv in ve- ljaven večdimenzionalen merski instrument, ki vključuje 27 postavk, porazdeljenih v 5 dimenzij. Rezultati kažejo na statistično značilno pozitivno povezanost med ka- kovostjo storitve in zadovoljstvom kot dejavnikom lojalnosti. Dokazan je tudi šibek pomen zaupanja kot posrednika med zadovoljstvom in lojalnostjo. Rezultati razi- skave kažejo, da ponudniki v podeželskem turizmu več pozornosti posvečajo oti- pljivim elementom kakovosti storitev, v prihodnje bi pa morali za izboljšanje celotne turistične izkušnje več pozornosti posvetiti tudi nematerialnim elementom kakovo- sti storitev. Smiselno je, da se prilagojen instrument ruralqual občasno uporabi kot orodje za uspešnejši razvoj podeželskega turizma. Ključne besede: kakovost storitev, zadovoljstvo, zvestoba, podeželski turizem, ruralqual, pls-sem Academica Turistica, 13(2), 215–227
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Academica Turistica Instructions for Authors
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Citing References in Text Chapters in Books One author. Tourism innovation specific is mentioned Poirier, R. A. (2001). A dynamic tourism develop- (Brooks, 2010). Thomas (1992) had concluded . . . ment model in Tunisia: Policies and prospects. In Two authors. This result was later contradicted (Swar- Y. Aposotolopoulos, P. Loukissas, & L. Leontidou brooke & Horner, 2007). Price and Murphy (2000) (Eds.), Mediterranean tourism (pp. 197–210). Rou- pointedout... tledge. Threeormoreauthors.Wolchik et al. (1999) or (Wol- chik et al., 1999). Conference Proceedings Price, G., & Murphy, P. (2000). The relationship be- If two references with three or more authors shor- tween ecotourism and sustainable development: A ten to the same form, cite the surnames of the first critical examination. In M. Ewen (Ed.), cauthe author and of as many of the subsequent authors as 2000: Peak performance in tourism and hospitality necessary to distinguish the two references, followed research; Proceedings of the Tenth Australian Tou- by a coma and et al. rism and Hospitality Research Conference (pp. 189– List several authors for the same thought or idea 202). La Trobe University. with separation by using a semicolon: (Kalthof et al., 1999; Biegern & Roberts, 2005). Paper Presentation Thomas,J.(1992,July).Tourism and the environment: Examples of Reference List An exploration of the willingness to pay of the ave- rage visitor. Paper presented at the conference To- Books urism in Europe, Durham, England. American Psychological Association. (2019). Publica- Theses and Dissertations tion manual of the American Psychological Associ- ation (7th ed.). Sedmak, G. (2006). Pomen avtentičnosti turističnega Swarbrooke, J., & Horner, S. (2007). Consumer behavi- proizvoda: primer destinacije Piran (Unpublished our in tourism. Butterworth-Heinemann. doctoral dissertation). University of Ljubljana. Working Papers Journals Salamon,L.M.,Sokolowski,S.W.,Haddock,M.A.,& Laroche,M.,Bergeron,J.,&Barbaro-Forleo,G.(2001). Tice,H.S.(2013).The state of global civil society vo- Targeting consumers who are willing to pay more lunteering: Latest findings from the implementation for environmentally friendly products. Journal of of the un nonprofitt handbook (Comparative Non- Consumer Marketing, 18(6), 503–520. profit Sector Working Paper No. 49). Johns Hop- Wolchik,S.A.,West,S.G.,Sandler,I.N.,Tein,J.– kins University. Y.,Coatsworth,D.,Lengua,L.,...Griffin,W.A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of theory- Web Pages based mother and mother-child programs for chil- Croatian Bureau of Statistics. (2001). Census of popu- dren of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical lation, households and dwellings. http://www.dzs Psychology, 68, 843–856. .hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/census.htm
Newspapers Manuscript Submission Brooks, A. (2010, 7 July). Building craze threatens The main manuscript document should be in Micro- to end Lanzarote’s biosphere status. Independent. soft Word document format and the article should be http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/ submitted to http://academica.turistica.si/index.php/ nature/building-craze-threatens-to-end AT-TIJ/about/submissions -lanzarotes-biosphere-status-2020064.html
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