An Exploratory Study of Residents’ Perception of Place Image: The Case of Kavala

Studies on place image have predominantly focused on the tourists’ destination image and have given limited attention to other stakeholders’ perspectives. This study aims to address this gap by focusing on the notion of residents’ place image, whereby it reviews existing literature on residents’ place image in terms of whether common attributes can be identified, and examines the role of community-focused attributes in its measurement. Data collected from a sample of 481 Kavala residents (Greece) were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The study reveals that the existing measurement tools have typically emphasized destination-focused attributes and neglected community-focused attributes. This study contributes to the residents’ place image research by proposing a more holistic measurement, which consisted of four dimensions: physical appearance, community services, social environment, and entertainment opportunities. The study also offers practical insights for developing and promoting a tourist place while simultaneously enhancing its residents’ quality of life

Sexual harassment: Overlooked and under-researched

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the gap between the very high prevalence of sexual harassment in the tourism and hospitality industry (the phenomenon) and the limited academic discussion about it (academic knowledge), and suggests ways to bridge this gap. Design/methodology/approach The gap between phenomenon and knowledge is identified by comparing official data regarding sexual harassment in the tourism and hospitality industry with a content analysis of the academic literature. Tribe’s (2006) knowledge force-field model is used to analyze this gap. Findings The five truth barriers identified by Tribe (2006), namely, person, rules, position, ends and ideology, are confirmed by the data. Five counter-forces – triangulation, interdisciplinary, collaboration, humanism and critical praxis – are developed to counter these truth barriers. Practical implications The five counter-forces offer practical solutions for research, higher education programs and the tourism industry. They demonstrate ways to reduce the high prevalence of sexual harassment in the industry and improve the working conditions of employees. Originality/value Underpinned by Tribe’s conceptual model, the paper identifies and analyzes a relative silence regarding sexual harassment in the tourism and hospitality academy in contrast to its prevalence in the industry. Additionally, it advances Tribe’s model by identifying five truth-facilitating forces. Further, it offers a research agenda for revealing hidden topics and/or biased knowledge by understanding the relationship between tourism and hospitality phenomena and academic knowledge

Residents’ Place Image: A Meaningful Psychographic Variable for Tourism Segmentation?

While there has been a considerable body of research on tourists’ place image, there remains limited attention on residents’ place image, specifically, in relation to its segmentation utility. This study seeks to address this oversight by a) clustering the local residents based on the image held of a tourism place, and b) exploring the extent to which the identified image-based resident clusters share similar (dissimilar) demographic characteristics and attitude towards tourism development. Empirical analysis was based on a sample of 481 residents of a Greek city. The findings support the utility of residents’ place image as a psychographic segmentation variable revealing the existence of three distinct resident groups - termed “Nature Loving”, “Apathetic” and “Advocate.” Results also suggest that these resident groups exhibit dissimilar demographic characteristics and dissimilar attitude towards tourism. In comparison with other segments, the Apathetic exhibits the least favourable image and the least supportive attitude towards tourism

Consuming post-disaster destinations: The case of Sichuan, China

Addressing the call for a better understanding of tourist behavior in relation to post-disaster destinations, this study explores the motivations and intentions of potential domestic tourists (from non-hit areas) to visit Sichuan, China in the aftermath of an earthquake. Drawing on dark tourism theories, this study offers a more comprehensive insight into the consumption of post-disaster destinations, aiming to capture the impact of the changes to the destination’s attributes on tourist behavior. The findings move beyond the common approach to tourism recovery, which solely focuses on reviving the traditional ‘‘non-dark’’ products. This study reveals the importance of newly formed dark attributes that emerge from the disaster as another means to destination recovery, reflected in the emergence of new tourist segments

Residents' support for tourism development: The role of residents' place image and perceived tourism impacts

Drawing on the triple bottom line approach for tourism impacts (economic, socio-cultural and environmental) and adopting a non-forced approach for measuring residents' perception of these impacts, this study explores the role of residents' place image in shaping their support for tourism development. The tested model proposes that residents' place image affects their perceptions of tourism impacts and in turn their support for tourism development. The results stress the need for a more flexible and resident oriented measurement of tourism impacts, revealing that more favorable perceptions of the economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts lead to greater support. Moreover, while residents' place image has been largely neglected by tourism development studies, the findings of this study reveal its significance in shaping residents' perception of tourism impacts as well as their level of support. The practical implications of the findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed

Unravelling Fear of Death Motives in Dark Tourism

The relative simplicity of the term ‘dark tourism’, which has achieved a broad if not contested acceptance within academia and industry alike, is in contrast to the multifaceted nature of the phenomenon. Embedded in this complexity is the association dark tourism makes between the presentation and consumption of death in the context of tourism, as well as the complex relationships humans have with death and mortality—as individuals as well as societies. Tourism has been traditionally explored from a hedonistic perspective and, subsequently, has assumed that consumption of tourism products and destinations predominately serve the purpose of experiencing fun and pleasure (Gnoth, 1997; Malone et al., 2014). Death, conflict, and atrocity sites which elicit sadness, distress, and an inherent sense of danger have been predominately considered deterring factors for tourists (Biran et al., 2014; Buda, 2015a). An important aspect of dark tourism—that of human suffering—has made it difficult to apply traditional tourism motivational theories to its study (Dunkley et al., 2011). Moreover, with the seemingly pleasure-oriented consumption of tourism in places connected to death and tragedy, visits to such sites have been often portrayed as immoral, deviant, or a social pathology (Biran and Poria, 2012; Stone and Sharpley, 2013; also see Chap. 7)