Tourism in contemporary cities. Proceedings of the International Tourism Studies Association Conference: University of Greenwich, London, UK 17–19 August 2016 Conference Proceedings

The 6th International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) Biennial conference was held at the University of Greenwich, London, England from 17‐19 August 2016. This was the first time that the conference had been held in Europe and it provided a unique opportunity to meet, hear from and network with tourism scholars and professionals from across Europe, Asia, Australasia, and North and South America. ITSA has a mission to encourage interaction and cooperation between developing and developed countries and the conference was successful in attracting 130 delegates from 29 countries. The main theme of the conference was 'Tourism in Contemporary Cities' with four conference sub‐themes of ‘Tourism Cities and Urban Tourism’, ‘The Chinese Market for European Tourism’, ‘River, Cruise and Maritime Tourism’, and ‘Heritage Tourism in Cities’, The subthemes were chosen to reflect the unique location of the conference on the UNESCO Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, and London which is Europe’s most visited tourist destination. The conference also presented ‘Dark Tourism and Cities’ and ‘Tourism and Communist Heritage’ as special sessions

Popular Culture Tourism: Conceptual Foundations and State of Play

Popular culture tourism encompasses a range of expressive practices that attract fans traveling to destinations associated with their fandom pursuit. However, scholarship on this multifaceted phenomenon is today over-fragmented and obscured by separate disciplinary agendas and priorities. We argue that the scope and breadth of popular culture tourism calls for its interdisciplinary treatment as a distinct field. Through a scoping literature review, this paper identifies the foundational elements of its conceptual and ontological roots, extracting key insights and discursive themes that can help establish a comprehensive perspective on the study and management of popular culture tourism. Our inquiry builds common ground that can shed light on the complexity of popular culture expressions and enable their strategic role as a destination placemaking tool. Thematic areas of convergence resulting in the emergent configuration of the field are delineated, and primary research questions for the comprehensive study of popular culture tourism are outlined.publishedVersio

UNDERSTANDING CASINO VISITORS\u27 DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES WITHIN THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING: AN APPLICATION OF THE MODEL OF GOAL-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR

There has been relatively little theory-based research focusing on casino visitors\u27 behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been criticized for not considering the effect of past behavior and for not incorporating emotional factors in its theoretical frame. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to examine casino visitors\u27 behavioral intention for casino gambling using the Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) as a new theoretical framework to understand visitors\u27 behavioral intentions to gamble in casinos. This study also aimed to not only compare the Extended MGB (EMGB) with the original MGB, TPB, and Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), but also to examine the role of responsible gambling strategy in the casino visitors\u27 decision-making processes for casino gambling by adding the concept to the original MGB. An onsite survey of casino visitors was conducted at Kangwon Land Casino in South Korea. Structural equation modeling was employed to identify the structural relationships between latent variables. The results of the EMGB indicated that \u27desire\u27 had the strongest relationship with casino visitors\u27 intentions to gamble, followed by positive anticipated emotion, perceived behavioral control, perceptions of a responsible gambling strategy, negative anticipated emotion, and attitude. The perception of a responsible gambling strategy was also a significant (direct) predictor of both desire and behavioral intention, as casino visitors had positive perceptions of casinos that implemented responsible gambling strategies. Casino managers should consider a responsible gambling strategy as an important long-term business activity to increase casino visitors\u27 intentions to gamble

Motivational Factors of Generation Z for Attending the Conferences: Business or Pleasure – why not Bleasure?

Student conferences are a significant segment of student life, providing additional education and professional development. They contribute to the increasingly necessary networking, dissemination of ideas, knowledge, skills and competencies. An important consideration in organizing student conferences to attract participants is to explore participants’ motivations for attending conferences. As student conferences are becoming increasingly important, this paper explores Generation Z’s motives for attending student conferences. The aim of this paper is to investigate or determine Generation Z’s motives for attending student conferences. To this end, the following hypotheses indicate that destination and conference program represent significant motivational factors for Generation Z to attend student conferences. The research was conducted with Generation Z students in Croatia and surrounding countries, with a sample of 206 respondents. The research results confirm this, as Generation Z emphasizes the program and content of the conference as the most important motives for attending conferences (although the student conference program differs from the program of scientific and professional conferences), as well as the attractiveness of the destination. The specificity of this generation lies in the fact that they are technologically literate and strive for new experiences, for something they cannot find on YouTube. The contribution of this paper is that it helps conference organizers to adapt to Generation Z, as it offers them some new insights into Generation Z’s motivating factors for attending conferences

Motivational Factors of Generation Z for Attending the Conferences: Business or Pleasure – why not Bleasure?

Student conferences are a significant segment of student life, providing additional education and professional development. They contribute to the increasingly necessary networking, dissemination of ideas, knowledge, skills and competencies. An important consideration in organizing student conferences to attract participants is to explore participants’ motivations for attending conferences. As student conferences are becoming increasingly important, this paper explores Generation Z’s motives for attending student conferences. The aim of this paper is to investigate or determine Generation Z’s motives for attending student conferences. To this end, the following hypotheses indicate that destination and conference program represent significant motivational factors for Generation Z to attend student conferences. The research was conducted with Generation Z students in Croatia and surrounding countries, with a sample of 206 respondents. The research results confirm this, as Generation Z emphasizes the program and content of the conference as the most important motives for attending conferences (although the student conference program differs from the program of scientific and professional conferences), as well as the attractiveness of the destination. The specificity of this generation lies in the fact that they are technologically literate and strive for new experiences, for something they cannot find on YouTube. The contribution of this paper is that it helps conference organizers to adapt to Generation Z, as it offers them some new insights into Generation Z’s motivating factors for attending conferences

Exploring the Supply Side of Food and Beverage Festivals in Saudi Arabia

Recently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) announced its intention to begin implementing a tourist visa regime to streamline entry of tourists into the country and, therefore, attract more international visitors. Food and Beverage festivals (F&B) are targeted as a crucial part of the events sector in Saudi Arabia as they align well with agricultural traditions and Middle East culture to attract both domestic and foreign tourist. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics, management, and goals of F&B festivals in Saudi Arabia. F&B event organizers were utilized to collect data regarding seven established F&B festivals that have been held for least the last 5 years. The results revealed that the size of the festivals ranged from 10,000 to 250,000 in annual attendance. While the length of the festivals averaged from 4 to as many as 35 days in length. Most of the festivals were held during peak vacation periods in Saudi Arabia when students have off from school, which coincided with the seasonal harvest of many of the festival themes. These festivals generally do not charge an entrance fee and attract all social categories of visitors. Some of the main activities provided to visitors are tasting products, viewing performances, and learning about regional agriculture traditions. The goal for these festivals were centered primarily on promoting regional agricultural products, attracting domestic and international tourists, in addition to providing educational programming for farmers and suppliers. In almost all of the festivals the primary organization and management is structured around governmental bodies that include national and regional organizations

Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2022

This open access book presents the proceedings of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT)’s 29th Annual International eTourism Conference, which assembles the latest research presented at the ENTER2022 conference, which will be held on January 11–14, 2022. The book provides an extensive overview of how information and communication technologies can be used to develop tourism and hospitality. It covers the latest research on various topics within the field, including augmented and virtual reality, website development, social media use, e-learning, big data, analytics, and recommendation systems. The readers will gain insights and ideas on how information and communication technologies can be used in tourism and hospitality. Academics working in the eTourism field, as well as students and practitioners, will find up-to-date information on the status of research