Tourism on a Scenic Byway: Destination Image and Economic Impacts of the Beartooth Highway

Many tourism destination managers know who their visitors are and how they are perceived by them. However, when new destinations begin to take shape, understanding these perceptions and meeting the expectations of visitors can be a difficult task. Destination image provides the ability to explore the perceptions of visitors at a tourism place. One such place the Beartooth Highway in south-central Montana and north-central Wyoming is a scenic byway that reaches nearly 11,000 feet in elevation. Previously, little to no research has been conducted regarding travelers that frequent this region. The purpose of this study was to understand the destination image and economic impacts of nonresident travelers on the Beartooth Highway. Nonresidents were travelers who did not live in the counties of the Beartooth Highway (Park County, MT, Carbon County, MT and Park County, WY). A two-part survey method was implemented. First, an on- site visitor survey was conducted for all travelers along the highway. Second, a mailback survey was given to all nonresidents travelers. The survey included statements about the Beartooth Highway, trip spending categories, motivations for traveling the highway, and activities participated in while visiting. Visitors were intercepted at the three exit points of the Beartooth Highway. In total, 4,285 nonresident visitors were intercepted along the highway. Of those, 3,251 nonresidents were given mailback surveys. The survey was completed and returned by 1,473 respondents for a response rate of 45 percent. Results from the study show that visitors perceive the Beartooth Highway in positive light. Forty-four percent of respondents stated they were first-time visitors. Moreover, visitors who had a higher degree of loyalty to the destination had significant differences in many of the cognitive and affective image variables. Nonresident spending contributed over $50 million in economic impacts to the local communities in the four month time period. Because visitors perceive the place as a destination rather than simply a highway, it is recommended that more collaborative management be implemented. The highway should also be marketed and managed with these results in mind to ensure the preservation of the unique characteristics and qualities of the region

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY OF NATURE-BASED TOURISTS: FORMATION OF PLACE ATTACHMENT AND INFLUENCES ON VISITOR BEHAVIOR

The National Park Service (NPS) is currently beginning the celebration of 100 years as a formal agency. Yellowstone National Park, the world’s 1st national park, catered to over 4 million visitors during 2015. Visitation is rising, but there are underlying issues that are highlighted in a recent guiding document; Revisiting Leopold (2012). Congressional budgets are decreasing, younger generations are losing interest in nature, and diverse populations have yet to become fully vested in the NPS. Realizing these pressing issues, Yellowstone sought to understand ways in which visitors can support the park and how to engage visitors to create long-lasting relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate how current park visitors support Yellowstone and the reasons they choose to do so. Using three primary constructs, visitors were asked to rate their opinions on place attachment, autobiographical memory, and park support. Autobiographical memory is a form of long-term memory that focuses on the personal recollections of specific experiences. Place attachment is an emotional bond between a person and a place. Finally, park support is a new concept and is defined as direct and indirect actions that sustain the ecological and social functions of national parks. Visitors were stopped at the five exit gates of Yellowstone and asked if they wished to participate in this study. In total, 2,216 visitors were given mail-back surveys with 802 surveys returned to the researchers for a response rate of 36 percent. It was hypothesized that autobiographical memory was significantly related to place attachment and that place attachment was significantly related to park support. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the scale used to measure autobiographical memory from psychology did not have the same structure as previously found. An alternative one-factor model of autobiographical memory salience was identified instead. Furthermore, autobiographical memory salience was found to be highly predictive of place attachment. Finally, the full structural equation model was found to be highly significant. Autobiographical memory directly predicted place attachment and indirect support. Place identity significantly predicted indirect support and place dependence significantly predicted direct support. Therefore, creating exceptional experiences leads to higher place attachment and higher support. Future research should focus on identifying what types of experiences lead to high memory salience. Managers can use these results to further attempt to identify methods of improving park support by providing transformative visitor experiences and targeting visitors memory triggers to entice visitation. The goal of this study is to provide a transferable framework for park scholars and managers to use into the future and help sustain America’s “best idea”

Using DMAs as a Marketing Tool: 2015 Nonresident Visitor Data

The purpose of this analysis was to extract zip code data from the 2015 nonresident visitor survey and compare the Designated Marketing Areas (DMA) represented to the 2010 nonresident visitor DMA for similarities and differences. Results indicate more similarities than differences in vacationer residencies, but some markets rose further up in ranking such as Spokane and Portland while Salt Lake City dropped in its visitor ranking. At the local CVB level, more differences between the two years emerged for Big Sky, Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish

Building Constituency at Yellowstone National Park: Predicting Visitor Support Now and Into the Future

The purpose of this study was to explore how visitors support Yellowstone National Park, differences in support among groups, and the relationships between support and various behavioral and psychological concepts. An on-site and mail-back survey was conducted. Results indicate that highly salient memories lead to place attachment and are significantly related to increasing park support. High park supporters tended to be older, more experienced with the park, have geotouristic tendencies, and are generally more involved in recreational activities. Practical implications from this research show a need to engage visitors and provide experiences that are likely to lead to park support

The Role of Social Science in Predicting Support for Yellowstone National Park

As an enduring icon in American history, Yellowstone National Park remains a unique and popular destination for travelers. Even today, visitation numbers continue to grow with over 3 million guests in 2014. However, public funding is decreasing and the changing demographics within the United States place the relevancy of national parks at risk in American society. Revisiting Leopold (2012), prepared by the National Park Service Advisory Board Science Committee, stated: Cultural and socioeconomic changes confronting the National Park Service are difficult to overstate. These include an increasingly diversified, urbanized, and aging population, a transforming US economy, and constrained public funding for parks

Bicycle Tourism: Providing Economic Development Opportunities for Montana

Bicycle tourism is gaining momentum in Montana, and not just on the downhill segment. In fact, it could be the new phenomenon in the travel industry. And it\u27s definitely an economic boon: Multi-day bicyclists take longer to get anywhere, thereby showering the communities they stop in with outside dollars

The Downtown Area of Jonestown, Texas.

The objective was to assess Jonestown's value and potential using the Quadruple Net Value metrics.Three projects are focused on the city of Jonestown. The first being a Quadruple Net Value Analysis report generated by undergraduate Land and Property Development students. The second is a public sewer feasibility study to generate creative solutions to septic and environmental conditions by undergraduate capstone Civil Engineering students. Finally, a graduate student will complete a transportation plan for the city to address connectivity and walkability.Texas Target Communitie

Transcription errors induce proteotoxic stress and shorten cellular lifespan

Transcription errors occur in all living cells; however, it is unknown how these errors affect cellular health. To answer this question, we monitored yeast cells that were genetically engineered to display error-prone transcription. We discovered that these cells suffer from a profound loss in proteostasis, which sensitizes them to the expression of genes that are associated with protein-folding diseases in humans; thus, transcription errors represent a new molecular mechanism by which cells can acquire disease. We further found that the error rate of transcription increases as cells age, suggesting that transcription errors affect proteostasis particularly in aging cells. Accordingly, transcription errors accelerate the aggregation of a peptide that is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, and shorten the lifespan of cells. These experiments reveal a novel, basic biological process that directly affects cellular health and aging

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

The genetics of the mood disorder spectrum:genome-wide association analyses of over 185,000 cases and 439,000 controls

Background Mood disorders (including major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder) affect 10-20% of the population. They range from brief, mild episodes to severe, incapacitating conditions that markedly impact lives. Despite their diagnostic distinction, multiple approaches have shown considerable sharing of risk factors across the mood disorders. Methods To clarify their shared molecular genetic basis, and to highlight disorder-specific associations, we meta-analysed data from the latest Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) genome-wide association studies of major depression (including data from 23andMe) and bipolar disorder, and an additional major depressive disorder cohort from UK Biobank (total: 185,285 cases, 439,741 controls; non-overlapping N = 609,424). Results Seventy-three loci reached genome-wide significance in the meta-analysis, including 15 that are novel for mood disorders. More genome-wide significant loci from the PGC analysis of major depression than bipolar disorder reached genome-wide significance. Genetic correlations revealed that type 2 bipolar disorder correlates strongly with recurrent and single episode major depressive disorder. Systems biology analyses highlight both similarities and differences between the mood disorders, particularly in the mouse brain cell-types implicated by the expression patterns of associated genes. The mood disorders also differ in their genetic correlation with educational attainment – positive in bipolar disorder but negative in major depressive disorder. Conclusions The mood disorders share several genetic associations, and can be combined effectively to increase variant discovery. However, we demonstrate several differences between these disorders. Analysing subtypes of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder provides evidence for a genetic mood disorders spectrum