21 research outputs found
Tourism and spaces of anonymity: An Israeli lesbian woman\u27s travel experience
This study examines an Israeli lesbian woman\u27s travel experience based on the
analysis of her published diary. The comparison of her experience and attitudes
towards various spaces (e.g. her apartment, open spaces near her home, and
locations in which she is involved in tourist activity) suggests that her
perception of the space as \u27free from people she knows\u27 allows her and her
partner to benefit from anonymity, live a lesbian lifestyle and benefit from sense
of existential authenticity. The only space in which she experiences this feeling
and feels freedom of self-expression is in the accommodation used during a
tourist experience. It is argued that Israeli culture and social norms play a key
role in understanding the tourist experience and its associated meanings. The
implications, including the utilization of \u27real\u27 diaries as a source of information,
are discussed
Occupational Self-Perceptions of Hotel Employees: An Exploratory Study
This study aimed to reveal the occupational self-perceptions of rank-and-file employees in the Israeli hotel industry. Due to the exploratory nature of the study a qualitative research approach was adopted. The findings are based on 40 semistructured interviews with current and former Israeli hotel employees. The results revealed that almost all participants had disconcerting negative perceptions of rank-and-file occupations in the Israeli hotel industry. The themes emerged as relevant to the understanding of employees\u27 occupational self-perception were classified into four groups: working conditions, occupational profile, job characteristics and requirements, and moderating factors linked with the reputation of the hotel and hospitality industry as a work environment
Tourism, religion and religiosity : a holy mess
Although religion and religiosity are well-known factors for influencing behaviour in different social settings, there is very limited research that explores the links between them and visitation patterns of tourists. In this study tourists' visitation patterns to a heritage site of religious significance (the Wailing Wall, Israel) are explored. Differences are found between tourists based on their religious affiliation and religiosity. The findings also reveal that the tourists' religiosity has different effects on those with different religious affiliations. It is argued that the actual relationships between a tourist's religion and strength of religious belief need to be understood in relation to the site visited, the tourist's perception of it and the meaning he or she attaches to it. The implications for tourism management and the theoretical investigation of heritage tourism are discussed
Tourist perceptions of heritage exhibits: a comparative study from Israel
It is common in tourism and leisure literature to define and approach tourism subgroups in terms of the presence of the tourists in certain spaces. This approach is challenged in the present paper. It is argued that the understanding of heritage tourism should be based on the link between the individual and the space, namely tourist perceptions of a site relative to their own heritage. Based on a study dealing with visitation patterns to places where historic artefacts are presented, it is suggested that tourist perception is key to the understanding of visitation patterns. It is not so much the artefacts the tourists see or observe, but the meaning they ascribe to them. The theoretical implications of this argument are discussed in terms of tourism in general and heritage tourism in particular, as well as the practical applications to cultural heritage management
Links between tourists, heritage, and reasons for visiting heritage sites
This article clarifies heritage tourism by identifying and segmenting reasons for visiting heritage sites. In doing so, it shows that the links between a site's attributes and the tourists themselves are essential to understanding tourists' motivations to visit heritage places. The sample was composed of English-speaking international tourists leaving Israel through Ben-Gurion airport. The research was implemented by the use of structured questionnaires using face-to-face interviews. Responses were grouped using an interpretability approach to exploratory factor analysis. Reasons for visiting heritage sites were classified into three groups: 'heritage experience,' 'learning experience,' and 'recreational experience.' Reasons for visiting heritage sites were linked to the tourists' perception of the site in relation to their own heritage and their willingness to be exposed to an emotional experience. The results lead to a better understanding of reasons for visiting heritage places and provide further insight into heritage tourism in general. The findings are relevant to the operational management of spaces presenting history-related artifacts and to the marketing of these sites
Revising Mieczkowski's conceptualisation of tourism
Mieczkowski's work (1981), has been used by scholars and educators in the field of tourism to describe the relationships between recreation, leisure and tourism to provide a theoretical framework for tourism. The aim of this paper is to illustrate that another element needs to be added, namely the tourists' perception of time as 'free' or 'non-free'. It is suggested that tourists' perception of the time-frame in which their experience takes place, whether the time is viewed as 'leisure' and 'free time' or 'non-free time', is of key importance in understanding tourism as a social phenomenon. It is also argued that improved understanding of the tourists' perception of this time-frame provides a new basis for segmenting tourists and identifying tourism subgroups. This, in turn, can contribute to the body of theory related to tourism and to the management of tourist-related organizations
Sexual behavior in women's tourist experiences: Motivations, behaviors, and meanings
h i g h l i g h t s < The study focused on sex in tourism as opposed to commercial sex tourism. < Grounded theory of women's sexual behaviors, motivations and meanings was conducted. < Taxonomy of women's sexual behaviors in various forms of tourism is offered. < Sex is an important motivator for engaging in certain tourist experiences. < Women's perceptions of time and space are at the core of understanding sexual behaviors. a r t i c l e i n f o b s t r a c t The research literature has traditionally focused on commercial sex tourism between tourists and locals but virtually ignored sexual behavior among tourists themselves. This exploratory study aspires to fill this gap by creating a taxonomy of non-commercial sex for women who engage in various forms of tourism. The analysis of in-depth interviews with Israeli self-defined heterosexual women reveals that different forms of tourism involve various types of sexual behavior as follows: (1) 'Practicing Sex' referring to sex on rest and relaxation vacations; (2) 'Must Have Sex' relating to sex on city break vacations; (3) 'Sexual Adventure' describing casual sex on backpacking trips; (4) 'Controlled Sexual Desire' referring to work related trips and vacations with children. The study findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to the research area of sex in tourism