Do mountain tourists demand ecotourism? Examining moderating influences in an Alpine tourism context

Ecotourists appreciate nature and are willing to learn about nature and ecology. Therefore ecotourism is often seen as a product package that supports sustainable tourism development. This study contributes to existing research in the field of ecotourism as it investigates how travel motives and environmental concern of mountain tourists influences their actual demand for ecotourism. A survey of mountain tourists in the Austrian Alps was conducted and reveals a positive relationship between environmental concern and ecotourism demand. The study measured travel motives, which are compatible and incompatible with ecotourism and showed how these motives influence actual demand of ecotourism. Furthermore it is postulated that education, income and the intention to revisit the destination moderate the relationship between environmental concern, mountain tourists’ motives and the tourists’ demand for ecotourism. For destination marketing it can be stated that higher educated mountain tourists with a high disposable income are a vital market segment, which should be targeted for ecotourism in the mountains. Research recommendations are highlighted and focus on loyal visitors, as it remains unclear whether loyalty with an ecotourism destination strengthens the demand for ecotourism

Single cell derived mRNA signals across human kidney tumors.

Funder: Department of HealthTumor cells may share some patterns of gene expression with their cell of origin, providing clues into the differentiation state and origin of cancer. Here, we study the differentiation state and cellular origin of 1300 childhood and adult kidney tumors. Using single cell mRNA reference maps of normal tissues, we quantify reference "cellular signals" in each tumor. Quantifying global differentiation, we find that childhood tumors exhibit fetal cellular signals, replacing the presumption of "fetalness" with a quantitative measure of immaturity. By contrast, in adult cancers our assessment refutes the suggestion of dedifferentiation towards a fetal state in most cases. We find an intimate connection between developmental mesenchymal populations and childhood renal tumors. We demonstrate the diagnostic potential of our approach with a case study of a cryptic renal tumor. Our findings provide a cellular definition of human renal tumors through an approach that is broadly applicable to human cancer

The effect of price on word of mouth:First time versus heavy repeat visitors

Many tourist destinations strongly focus and depend on repeat visitors. A central assumption thereby is that repeat visitors are more profitable (e.g. through lower marketing costs) and that their positive word of mouth (WOM) is essential to attract new guests. In this paper, we present a large-scale empirical study to investigate the effect of price for first time and heavy repeat visitors of ski resorts. Applying a hierarchical linear modelling approach, we show that price is negatively related to WOM for first time visitors and that price has no effect on WOM for repeat visitors. Thus, we show that the effect of price on WOM decreases for repeat visitors

Tell me where you come from and I know what makes you tick:Managing the consumer personality–satisfaction link in diverse cultures

Marketing programs that evoke high satisfaction and marketing success in one culture often fail in others, but the understanding of those cultural differences is insufficient. The question of how culture is linked to consumer satisfaction is still not answered satisfactorily. One promising paradigm for exploring such questions comes from progress in cross-cultural personality psychology. Thus, we examine the influence of individual-level cultural orientations on personality, and the role of personality and affect in satisfaction formation across cultures. Based on experimental data, we show that a high individualism orientation triggers higher levels of extraversion; a high uncertainty-avoidance orientation triggers higher levels of neuroticism. Based on field data from Japan, Spain, and the United States, we identify equivalent relationships amongst personality-related antecedent processes shaping satisfaction indicating universality across these cultures. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of cross-cultural personality psychology theory and methods for understanding and predicting consumer responses to marketing actions across cultures

Usage patterns of advanced analytical methods in tourism research 1988-2008: a six journal survey

Advanced analytical methods alone do not warrant progress in scientific discovery. But their frequency of use, whether individually or in combination, and their variation over time reflect the researchers' perceived benefit. This survey covers more than 4,600 articles with more than 2,000 applications of advanced (multivariate) methods. Regression-Based Methods and Exploratory Factor Analysis account for 45% of all applications. In third place and by far the fastest growing analytical instrument is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), followed by clustering techniques. Numerous other methods are in occasional use. Best practice examples, smart combinations of analytical methods, and underutilized methods with a promising application potential are identified. Typical pitfalls and shortcomings get diagnosed. Three of the most popular method classes and application areas, viz. scale development, SEM, and classification methods, are portrayed in greater detail and highlighted regarding their tourism-specific mode of employment

Advanced analytical methods in tourism marketing research: usage patterns and recommendations

[extract] When the American Marketing Association launched its Journal of Marketing Research in 1963, it triggered off what is nowadays called the \u27multivariate revolution\u27 in marketing. It took about a decade for marketing researchers to discover the intriguing application aea of tourism that poses plenty of challenges for advanced analytical methods