Analysis of the impact of length of stay on the quality of service experience, satisfaction and loyalty

Although length of stay is a relevant variable in destination management, little research has been produced connecting it with tourists' post-consumption behaviour. This research compares the post-consumption behaviour of same-day visitors with overnight tourists in a sample of 398 domestic vacationers at two Mediterranean heritage-and-beach destinations. Although economic research on length of stay posits that there are destination benefits in longer stays, same-day visitors score higher in most of the post-consumption variables under study. Significant differences arise in hedonic aspects of the tourist experience and destination loyalty. Thus, we propose that length of stay can be used as a segmentation variable. Furthermore, destination management organisations need to consider length of stay when designing tourism policies. The tourist product and communication strategies might be adapted to different vacation durations

Visitor satisfaction analysis as a tool for park managers: a review and case study

Visitor satisfaction has been an important area for leisure research since the 1960s and more recently for park management. A number of approaches have been adapted from consumer research including importance-performance analyses, gap analyses, threshold performance targets and overall satisfaction. This paper reviews these approaches with respect to park management. It then draws on focus group research with protected area agency staff to obtain their views on the usefulness and robustness of the analyses associated with these approaches. Yanchep National Park (Western Australia) was used as a case study, with the results from a recent visitor survey providing the data for satisfaction analyses. To provide a more accurate summary of the range in results, confidence intervals accompanied the results to illustrate the variation in responses. The analyses emphasize the importance for park managers of accessible, usable data on visitor satisfaction

Challenging the business case logic for sustainability as an instrument of CSR: Do consumer attitudes in Germany support a business case?

Abstract Purpose: The overall goal of this paper is to critique the purported business case for CSR and sustainability, which persists as a major contentious force in convincing companies to become more sustainable. Extant literature on sustainability, CSR and Socially Responsible Investments (SRIs) generally tends to focus on company perspectives decision-making and approaches. This paper considers an alternative and under-developed perspective and examines CSR from a consumer/ public perspective situ-ated in a German context. Methodology/approach: This paper builds a comprehensive literature review and employs a research philo-sophical point of view underpinned by a social constructionist stance. It examines indicators and attitudes towards sustainability and sustainable consumption together with socially responsible investments and considers whether the buying patterns of German consumers may serve as a rationalisation for a potential business case for CSR and sustainability. Findings: While the awareness of consumers of CSR in Germany towards sustainability tends to be generally relatively prima facie high, it is nevertheless noticeable that German consumers are predominately reluctant to pay a price premium for product possessing a superior sustainability performance. From the alternative lens of SRIs, rather than being a replete and widespread phenomenon, they are still largely a niche market.. For these reasons, the potential for the existence of a business case for sustainability, CSR and SRIs tends, in reality to be low, in spite of some populist or survey reports and perceptions. Originality/value of paper: The paper links a consumer perspective with the business case for CSR. Moreover, it focuses on the German context with tends to be underrepresented in international research. Keywords: Business Case, CSR, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Consump-tion, SRIs, German