An Investigation of Selected Factors on Golfer Attachment

While little change has occurred in the total number of golfers in the United States, the total number of golf courses is rapidly increasing (3). This increase in market competition has made it vital for resort owners and managers to examine the variables which influence golfers to use and return to their facilities. A relationship that appears to form between golfers and golf courses which has been neglected is place attachment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not place attachment actually occurs on a golf course. A second purpose was to investigate the relationship between attachment and a golfer\u27s proximity to the course, gender, age, frequency of play, handicap and income. A third purpose was to examine the relationship between attachment to course and overall satisfaction and perceived value. Subjects (N=1,397) were randomly selected by tee times stratified by weekday and weekend and season of the year at six different Cleveland Metro Parks golf courses. Of the golfers that participated, the average age was 49.9, 70.2% were married, 79.9% were male, and the median household income was $50,000 to$59,999. Results show that a distinct variable of attachment emerged from golfers\u27 perceptions. Further, age, frequency of play, perceived value and overall satisfaction were all found to have strong relationships to attachment. Managerial implications and applicability are discussed

Developing the Optimal Korean Performing Arts Tourism Product for Japanese Tourists

This study investigated Japanese tourist’s preferences when choosing a Korean performance and then found the optimal Korean performing arts tourism product for Japanese tourists using a conjoint analysis. On-site surveys were conducted with self-completed questionnaires to collect data with a convenience sampling procedure. The resultant optimal Korean performing arts tourism product would have the following attributes: less than 5,000 yen ($50) admission fee, open-run theater, Korean concert, and Seoul metropolitan tourism district as location of theater. The results revealed that Japanese tourists are sensitive to price when selecting Korean performing arts. Understanding tourists’ opinions and behavior is important for the places where international performances are held

Investigating the role of motivation, opportunity and ability (MOA) on travel intentions: An application of the MOA model in cruise tourism

Decision-making has been studied extensively in tourism literature. Different models and theories have been proposed to explain travel decision-making. Taking another approach, this study applies the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) model in cruise tourism to study the influential factors of travel intentions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted. The study results indicate that the MOA model is an acceptable model for explaining travel intentions

Does Disappointment in the Evaluation of a Sporting Event Reduce Sport Consumption?

Sukjoon (SJ) Yoon, a second-year Ph.D. student in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Sciences (RPTS) at Texas A&M University, is working as a research assistant with his advisor, Dr. James Petrick. He earned his B.A. from Kyung-Hee University in South Korea in Golf Management and Business and his M.A. from Clemson University in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management (PRTM). His concentration fields are Sport Tourism, Sport Marketing, and Sport Communication. A more focused studies are sport tourists/ fans behavior, sport events tourism, and sport events’ impacts. Prior to graduate school, he worked as a golf instructor. He has four certificates in terms of U.S. teaching golf, tour pro, golf club fitting, and golf course management.Student Colloquiu

Developing a Measurement Scale for Cruising Motivations

Although motivation has been extensively studied in the tourism literature, the discussion of motivation has not been expanded to cruise tourism. Following Churchill’s (1979) recommended measurement scale development procedures, this study seeks to develop a measurement scale for cruising motivation. The final scale was deemed to be both reliable and valid. It is suggested that this study will serve as a stepping stone to further investigations on cruising motivations

INTERNAL BRANDING OF TOURISM DESTINATION: THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL PEOPLE\u27S BRAND IDENTIFICATION ON THEIR VISITOR SATISFACTION ACTIVITIES TOWARD VISITORS, THEIR INTENTION OF WORD-OF-MOUTH, AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN TOURISM AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

The application of branding to tourism is has been widely explored, but most are confined to tourism products in spite of the multidimensional nature of tourism destination branding. In fact, brands pervade almost all aspects of tourism products and services, tourist behaviors and choice, and destination images, and should be promoted via both internal and external marketing efforts. This is particularly important in service industries, where customers\u27 experiences are created by interaction with employees and local customers. Tourism is unique in that when visitors come to a tourism destination, they encounter not only specifically designated service employees, but also the general local population. From the internal marketing standpoint, destination marketers need to take into account the role of local people in two distinctive ways. They should examine how to lead local people appropriate perception and behavior toward visitors, and they also need to motivate local people to use and participate in tourism and leisure activities to make a more salient tourism segment for many tourism destinations particularly in the post-September 11 environment of the economic downturn and decreasing number of tourists. Indeed, in terms of tourism destination branding, the role of local people in tourism destinations is essential, but has not yet been explored in tourism research

Vacation Recovery Experiences on Life Satisfaction

This research examined the role of vacations as a stress reliever, particularly focusing on the underlying psychological experiences associated with recovery. Building on the Effect-Recovery Theory, the Conservation of Resources Theory, and research on mood regulation, this research investigated the effects of vacation recovery experiences on overall life satisfaction, and further tested whether the proposed effects are moderated by vacation length. The study results indicated that life satisfaction after vacation is positively influenced by perceived control, psychological detachment from work, relaxation experience, and mastery experience during vacation. The results also revealed that longer vacations might provide more opportunities for detachment and mastery experiences. It is thus concluded that taking a vacation (even a weekend getaway) can help individuals to recover from stressful work, while individuals can benefit more from longer vacations

WHY PEOPLE TRAVEL? EXAMINING PERCEIVED BENEFITS OF TOURISM

This research attempted to examine the effects of perceived tourism benefits on travel behavior based on the model of attitude importance. The results showed that the three factors of perceived tourism benefits – experiential, health, and relaxation benefits, had positive albeit weak effects on travel behavior through attitude importance, while the direct effects of the three benefit factors on travel behavior were not supported, which indicates that the tourism industry can encourage people to travel more by convincing them taking vacations is beneficial

Reflections on Learning from Domestic Travel

Matthew Stone is Assistant Professor in recreation, hospitality and parks management at California State University, Chico, where his research focuses on tourist consumer behavior and educational outcomes of travel. Matthew holds a PhD in recreation, park, and tourism sciences from Texas A&M University. Jim Petrick is a Full Professor, Research Fellow and the Associate Department Head for Graduate Studies in the Department of RPTS at Texas A&M University. His research interest focuses on applying marketing and psychology principles in the context of tourism services to assist tourism entities in better marketing to their clientele.</p