The relationship between community sporting event participants and the media. The case of Abu Dhabi

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The present study proposes a combined effort of a theory of media portrayal implemented into the ‘Event-tourist career trajectory model’ developed by [Getz, D., & Andersson, T. D. (2010). The event-tourist career trajectory: A study of high-involvement amateur distance runners. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 10(4), 468–491]. The relation between sport and media has been mainly concentrated in studies of the history of sport, gender studies, cultural and leisure studies, but little is known about media influence on event-participating athletes. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from athletes at two community events organized in Abu Dhabi, Zayed Marathon and TriYas Triathlon in 2016. The questionnaire constituted 4 sections: motivational factors, media influence, travel style and behavioural changes, event and destination choice. Descriptive statistics (mean, SD and t-test) were calculated to understand statistically significant differences between runners and triathletes. Moreover, a factor analyses was performed for the 9 items measuring media influence in order to identify underlying dimensions of media items. Results show that athletes from different sport disciplines differ in some items, which confirm the fact that not all athletes have the same motivation, media preferences, travel styles and behaviour, but they may have a very similar attitude towards event and destination choices. Factor analyses also gives meaningful findings; it shows that active participants of community events participate more at sport events when they see a possibility to become popular via media. Theoretical and practical implementations are further researched

Drawing a destination logo from memory and its influence on the destination perception

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd The purpose of the present study is to understand whether people can recall a destination logo to the extent that they can draw it from memory. A sample of 307 tourists and 313 Emirati nationals were asked to draw the Abu Dhabi destination logo. After drawing the logo, the respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire about their recommendations for a logo for Abu Dhabi, as well as its importance and performance elements and perceptions. The collected drawings were classified by the correct colour and logo shape into five categories, from ‘totally wrong’ to ‘near perfect drawing’, and a path analysis was performed to understand whether better drawings from memory affect the place performance perception. The results show that people tend to draw the same symbol as the one they recommend for the destination logo, which was in this case a falcon. The research has limitations but is a novel method in testing a destination brand, and it opens up ideas for further research

Sustainable development of Socotra Archipelago. Application and reflexivity

When talking about developing tourism in places where nature has been untouched, strong criticism has emerged, especially from naturalists, ecologists, and environmentalists. These voices advocating for ‘keeping untouched places untouched’ often reach many people, who then echo that opinion without necessarily knowing the territory\u27s situation. This paper reflects the sustainable development theory and constitutes a reflective piece of writing about tourism development in the Socotra Archipelago, a place rich in biodiversity and human traditions, but geographically remote. Socotra Island, although relatively unknown, has received a great deal of attention from natural science researchers who have focused on understanding the many endemic species found on the island. However, information about Indigenous Socotri, their behaviors, traditions, and cultures—all components of a successful cultural tourism destination—is scarce. In this paper, the author reflects on current situation on the island and possibilities for future generations. Tourism may help create future possibilities for people from the island by considering a sustainable development theory

Distinction in locals\u27 support for a major and mega-event: Case of expo 2020 dubai and grand pri

© 2019 Cognizant, LLC. The purpose of the present research is to examine and explain any possible variance in the perception of local Emiratis towards hosting a major and a mega-event in the preevent phase. The Grand Prix Formula One was considered as a major event, which is organized yearly in Abu Dhabi. The EXPO Dubai 2020 was considered as an example of a one-time mega-event. Data of Emirati nationals living in UAE were collected in person in the fall 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was developed that consisted of tourism perception, negative and positive impacts of the events, and individual support for the events. The questionnaire was adjusted to each event and N = 360 were collected for EXPO 2020 Dubai and N = 533 were received for the Grand Prix F1 Abu Dhabi questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and t tests were used to identify differences in participants\u27 perception of the events. Results show that significant differences exist in locals\u27 perspectives towards a major and mega-event, especially in perceptions of positive impacts and individual support. UAE residents have never experienced a mega-event such as EXPO or Olympics organized on their soil, which means they do not know exactly what to expect. The perceived impacts of EXPO might be different after the first experience. Thus, the present research opens more questions, which may be considered for a future research. This work contributes to knowledge base and it confirms a need to specifically and independently approach by size different events

Tourism expenditure according to mode of transportation: A comparative study between 2009 and 2012

Understanding how tourists move through time and space has become especially important since tourist has become more attentive to prices. This paper explores the issue of changing expenditures as part of understanding tourist’s travel patterns and their role in booking accommodation. The State tourism survey containing information from a sample of 497,466 foreign tourists who visited Slovenia in 2009 and 639,756 who visited in 2012 was used to ensure the representativeness. Analysis of variance was used to test the differences in expenditure made by foreign tourists traveling to Slovenian in 2009 and 2012. The results show that transportation expenditure has increased dramatically, but tourism expenditures on accommodation showed a significant downtrend. Beside the fuel prices other causes of these trends and future implications are discussed. Planners may use data presented here to understand how economic trends will affect future transport activity in relation to booking options

Art tourism: definitions, opportunities, and discussions based on a case study from Abu Dhabi

By presenting the case of Abu Dhabi, with newly opened Louvre, the position of art tourism in the context of cultural tourism is discussed in this paper. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, aims to position the city as the region’s arts and culture hub. Emirati artists and art-related projects play an important role in up-scaling the art experience for tourists in the region. To understand the views of Emirati artists, thirteen e-interviews were conducted to study the current role of art tourism and the levels of optimism observed among local artists. Interview questions focused on perceptions of art tourism, on the role of artists, and on the relation between art and culture in this fifty years old country. Findings exhibit a sense of optimism especially in relation to the newly opened Louvre, which has boosted art tourism in the UAE. However, the real art market is neglected and under-researched, but the predictions are generally auspicious

Word-of-art: contribution of artists-in-residence to a creative tourism destination

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of artists-in-residence in building a tourism destination’s image for creative tourism. It is proposed that artists with an art-residence experience develop a career path that can be measured in terms of four dimensions: art involvement, inspiration, creativity and post-residence activities. Artists in art-residence at the Abu Dhabi Art Hub in the United Arab Emirates were surveyed. Factor loadings as a result of the factor analysis were used as independent variables to perform several multiple regressions, the results of which are presented in a path analysis model. The destination factor particularly strongly affects future artwork creation, which can promote the residence destination. As such, word-of-art can be seen as a new promotional tool for creative tourism

The role of expats, local residents and tourists in defining a destination: A branding case study for Abu Dhabi tourism

© 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. This study seeks to contribute to understanding of destination branding literature by exploring the differences in destination brand perceptions for groups of people who on one hand, have a role in its creation and on the other, use the destination brand as a tool in attracting new visitors. Specifically, it looks at awareness of Abu Dhabi destination brand among three segments: Emirate\u27s local residents, expat residents and international tourists in the process of visiting Abu Dhabi. The study was conducted using a quantitative survey method for data collection. The results for the three groups were compared using Pearson Chi-square tests, and differences among the three segments were compared and statistically tested. Significant differences between locals, expats and tourists were confirmed for both brand and slogan recognition. Previous studies have confirmed that locals represent a destination brand, but in a sustainable society expatriates should also be considered

Tourism expenditure according to mode of transportation: A comparative study between 2009 and 2012

Understanding how tourists move through time and space has become especially important since tourist has become more attentive to prices. This paper explores the issue of changing expenditures as part of understanding tourist’s travel patterns and their role in booking accommodation. The State tourism survey containing information from a sample of 497,466 foreign tourists who visited Slovenia in 2009 and 639,756 who visited in 2012 was used to ensure the representativeness. Analysis of variance was used to test the differences in expenditure made by foreign tourists traveling to Slovenian in 2009 and 2012. The results show that transportation expenditure has increased dramatically, but tourism expenditures on accommodation showed a significant downtrend. Beside the fuel prices other causes of these trends and future implications are discussed. Planners may use data presented here to understand how economic trends will affect future transport activity in relation to booking options

Art and tourism – a systematic review of the literature

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present a review of published academic work on art and tourism. A distinction between papers researching tourism and mentioning art just as one of tourism activities and papers covering “art tourism” specifically is proposed. Design/methodology/approach: The review is grounded on a content analysis of studies containing the words “art” and “tourism” published in the Scopus database. Moreover, to analyze papers specifically consisting of the term “art tourism” a theory‐context‐characteristics‐methods structure was used – the authors call these papers art–tourism-specific papers. Findings: While the number of “art and tourism” papers has been increasing in the past 40 years, little is known about “art tourism” as an independent form of tourism. This study finds limited work on art tourists’ characteristics, preferences and behaviors as costumers. No art-based research and little research with visual representations was found. Artists are very rarely participants of art tourism research. Research limitations/implications: Most research is conceptual, and little applied research can be identified. Importantly, besides synthesizing and critically assessing the current corpus of knowledge on art tourism, this review presents a final roadmap with directions for future research. One of the limitations of this review is that only studies included in the Scopus database and published in English were considered. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive systematic review of published academic research on art and tourism in the past 40 years. The results of this study offer directions to future art tourism researchers