Towards an improved typology approach to segmenting cultural tourists

This study aims to improve the cultural tourist typology methodology that uses cultural centrality and depth of cultural experience in its framework. Using a sample of Chinese tourists in Macau (n = 595) collected via questionnaire surveys, the study confirmed the determination effect of cultural centrality on depth of cultural experience. Subsequently, the study demonstrated an improved approach that eliminates such a determination effect in typology identification. Compared to McKercher\u27s () approach, the improved typology presents a balanced segmentation of cultural tourists and distinguishes the segments more clearly in their sociodemographic characteristics. The improved typology generated more meaningful practical implications

Chinese outbound travel: Understanding the socioeconomic drivers

This study used a national sample (N = 36,490) of Chinese urban residents to examine the relationship between outbound travel intention and some key demographic, economic, and geographic variables. Findings indicate that education, income, and paid vacation days significantly predicted outbound travel intention. Compared to residents in Tier-4 cities in China, those in Tier-1, -2, and -3 cities had higher probability of choosing outbound travel by 13.1%, 30.9%, and 15.3%, respectively. This study draws meaningful connections between Chinese outbound tourism and the social and economic realities in China and offers an alternative approach to understanding Chinese outbound tourism

COVID-19 two years on: A review of COVID-19-related empirical research in major tourism and hospitality journals

Purpose: This study aims to provide a timely review of the COVID-19-related empirical research published in 19 quartile one (Q1) and quartile two (Q2) tourism and hospitality journals in social science citation index (SSCI). Design/methodology/approach: A total of 407 COVID-19-related empirical papers were collected from the 19 SSCI Q1 and Q2 tourism and hospitality journals via Scopus database. Thematic content analysis was supplemented with Leximancer software to identify the research themes/subthemes, research methods and countries/regions of research. Findings: The study found studies of COVID-19’s impact on consumer behaviour predominate in number, followed by studies on response actions and recovery strategies, impact on industry or sectors and impact on workers and employees. Based on the research themes identified, a knowledge mapping framework was produced. Over 70 % of the studies used quantitative methods with quantitative survey as the dominant method of data collection. The USA and China were found to be the most studied countries. Research limitations/implications: The study reviewed empirical research papers until January 2022 and covered most of the COVID-19-related empirical works in the field. An overview of the current state of COVID-19-related empirical research was provided with some critical discussions and suggestions for future research topics. Originality/value: The findings give researchers a clear index for the current state of the art of COVID-19 research in hospitality and tourism. The paper provides practical implications for industry practitioners to retrieve relevant knowledge from the recent COVID-19-related literature in tourism and hospitality in coping with practical challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic

Offline versus online travel experience sharing: The national profile of China

Purpose: This study aims to examine the demographic differences of Chinese nationals’ travel experience sharing through different offline and online platforms. Design/methodology/approach: Cross-tabulation analysis was applied on a national sample of 6081 respondents in China. Findings: The study found that Chinese women tend to share travel experience more often than Chinese men; old people in China tend to use the face-to-face approach more than online or social media to share their travel experience. About 66.5 per cent of the survey sample used WeChat Moments to share their travel experience, highlighting WeChat as the dominating social media platform in China for travel sharing. In general, people who share via online platforms (WeChat, Weibo, QQ Space) tend to be young, single or unmarried, well-educated and earning a high monthly income. Originality/value: The study offers an in-depth understanding of travel experience sharing idiosyncrasies in China

Developing and validating a Chinese cultural value scale in tourism

Chinese cultural values are important in understanding Chinese tourists’ behaviour. However, the literature is void of a relevant scale measuring Chinese cultural values in tourism. This research aims to develop and validate a Chinese cultural values scale in tourism (abbreviated as CCV-T). Following a rigorous scale development procedure and applying multi-stage studies, the research identified a 5-factor measurement scale of CCV-T, composed of 17 items with sufficient reliability and validity. The five Chinese cultural value factors are Leisure and Life Enjoyment (LLE), Filial Piety and Relationship (FPR), Self-fulfilment, Righteousness, and Humanity. The CCV-T scale provides a simplified and holistic structure measuring tourism-related Chinese cultural values. This research provides a solid base to further understand the relationships between Chinese cultural values and tourist behaviour

Understanding Chinese cultural tourists: typology and profile

This study aims to offer a clear and up-to-date typology and profile of Chinese cultural tourists in mainland China following the framework based on cultural centrality and depth of cultural experience. Using a sample of mainland Chinese tourists (n = 656) at three cultural attractions in Guangzhou, China, a typology of Chinese cultural tourists (namely casual, sightseeing, purposeful, serendipitous, and incidental) was developed and trip characteristics (e.g. prior knowledge, time spent to get to know the site before visit, change in knowledge, and on-site activities) and sociodemographics of each segment were also examined. In addition, slight differences are found between local day-trippers and tourists from outside Guangzhou in terms of their types and characteristics (prior knowledge, change in knowledge, and sociodemographics). Destination marketing and management implications are provided

Informational justice and employee knowledge hiding behaviours: Mediation of organizational identification and moderation of justice sensitivity

Purpose: This study examines the effects of information justice on employee knowledge hiding via the mediation of organizational identification, and further investigates how justice sensitivity moderates these effects. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a questionnaire survey with 250 working individuals in China. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the construct measurement. Regression analyses were then used for hypothesis tests. Findings: Informational justice is negatively associated with evasive hiding and playing dumb behaviours but positively associated with rationalized hiding behaviour through the mediation of organizational identification. In addition, justice sensitivity moderates the relationship between informational justice and organizational identification. Practical implications: Managers should deliver informational justice in their workplace interactions with subordinates in counteracting workplace knowledge hiding, and pay special attention to employees with higher justice sensitivity who possess critical knowledge to the organization. Originality/value: This study identified informational justice in the leader-follower exchange domain as a predictor of employee knowledge hiding, and examined specific mediation mechanism and boundary effects

Measuring Tourism motivation: Do Scales matter?

Measuring tourist motivation has always been a challenging task for tourism researchers. This paper aimed to increase the understanding of tourist motivation measurement by comparing two frequently adopted motivation measurement approaches: self-perception (SP) and importance-rating (IR) approaches. Results indicated that both SP and IR scales were highly reliable in terms of internal consistency. However, respondents tended to rate more positively in the SP scale than in the IR scale. Factor analyses extracted similar underlying structures from the two measurements, with each factor explaining almost the same amount of variances across the two scales. The study suggested that both scales could be regarded as appropriate instruments for measuring tourist motivation, because they seemed to measure the same underlying construct with high reliability

Backpacker identity: Scale development and validation

Backpacker identity has attracted growing attention in backpacker tourism research. However, there still lacks a valid scale to measure backpacker identity. Guided by Social Identity Theory (SIT), this study aims to develop and validate a scale to measure backpacker identity in the Chinese context. The study used two Chinese backpacker samples in two stages (Study 1, n=190; Study 2, n=323) to establish the psychometric properties of a backpacker identity scale (BIS). Following the process of scale development, a three-dimension (i.e., self-categorization, group self-value, and group self-evaluation) backpacker identity measurement model was identified. The refined scale with 16 measurement items was finally identified with sufficient reliability and validity. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed

How does destination social responsibility contribute to environmentally responsible behaviour? A destination resident perspective

Based on stakeholder theory and social exchange theory, this study developed an integrated model to demonstrate that destination social responsibility (DSR) influences tourism impacts (both positive and negative impacts), overall community satisfaction, and both directly and indirectly influences resident environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB). The model was examined using a sample of 453 residents living on the Gulangyu Island, a famous island tourism destination of Xiamen, China. Results show that DSR enhances residents’ perception of positive tourism impacts, improves overall community satisfaction and contributes to resident ERB. However, the effect of DSR on negative tourism impacts was not significant. Thus, positive tourism impacts and overall community satisfaction partially mediated the effect of DSR on resident ERB. The study findings offer both theoretical insights and practical implications on destination management and sustainable destination development