9 ISSN (PRINT): 1994 - 7658

ISSN (ONLINE): 1314 - 0817

3

European
Journal
of Tourism
Research
 European Journal of Tourism Research
http://ejtr.vumk.eu

Editor-in-chief:
Stanislav Ivanov, Varna University of Management, Bulgaria

Associate editors:
Basak Denizci, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, P. R. C.
Giacomo Del Chiappa, University of Sassari, Italy
Martina G. Gallarza, University of Valencia, Spain
Miroslava Dimitrova, Varna University of Management, Bulgaria

Associate editor (Doctoral Dissertation Summaries):

Faizan Ali, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, U. S. A.

Editorial assistant:
Maya Ivanova, Varna University of Management, Bulgaria

Advisory board:
Arie Reichel, Ben Gurion University, Israel
Craig Webster, Ball State University, U. S. A.
Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, U. K.
Ercan Sirakaya-Turk, University of South Carolina, U. S. A.
Muzaffer Uysal, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, U. S. A.
Philip Pearce, James Cook University, Australia
Stephen Wanhill, University of Limerick, Ireland

Editorial board:
Alastair Morrison, Purdue University, U. S. A.
Alexandru Nedelea, University Stefan cel Mare of Suceava, Romania
Astrid Kemperman, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Brendan T. Chen, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taiwan
Caroline Ritchie, Cardiff Metropolitan University, U.K.
Catriona Murphy, Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland
Chris Choi, University of Guelph, Canada
Elitza Iordanova, University of West London, U. K.
Elka Dogramadjieva, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", Sofia, Bulgaria
Evangelos Christou, Alexander Technological Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece
Harry Timmermans, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Harald Pechlaner, Catholic University, Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany
Haywantee Ramkissoon, Curtin University, Australia
Jamie Murphy, Australian School of Management, Perth, Australia
Jean Max Tavares, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Brazil
John Williams, University of New Orleans, U. S. A.
Joshua Fu, University of Tennessee, U. S. A.
Juan Ignacio Pulido Fernández, University of Jaén, Spain
Judy Siguaw, East Carolina University, U. S. A.
Larry Dwyer, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Lina Anastassova, Bourgas Free University, Bulgaria
Marianna Sigala, University of South Australia, Australia
Metin Kozak, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
Nicolas Peypoch, University of Perpignan, France
Paola Paniccia, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Italy
Paris Tsartas, University of the Aegean, Greece
Preslav Dimitrov, South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Bulgaria
Rachel Chen, University of Tennessee, U. S. A.
Renata Tomljenovic, Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia
Rob Law, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, P. R. C.
Roland Schegg, Institute of Economics & Tourism, Valais, Switzerland
Roya Rahimi, University of Wolverhampton, U. K.
Serdar Ongan, Istanbul University, Turkey
Seyhmus Baloglu, University of Nevada Las Vegas, U. S. A.
Sotiris Hji-Avgoustis, Ball State University, U. S. A.
Tamara Ratz, Kodolányi János University College, Szekesfehervar, Hungary
Tanja Mihaliè, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ulrike Gretzel, University of Southern California – Annenberg, U. S. A.
Wojciech Cynarski, University of Rzeszow, Poland
Yaniv Poria, Ben Gurion University, Israel
 Guest Editorial

Special Issue Section on „Tourism and Transition“

Andreas Kagermeier 1 and Werner Gronau 2

Received: 31/05/2019 Accepted: 01/06/2019

1 Leisure and Tourism Geography, Trier University, Universitätsring, D-54286 Trier, Germany. E-mail:
andreas@kagermeier.de
2 Tourism, Travel & Transport, Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, Zur Schwedenschanze 15, D-18435

Stralsund, Germany. E-mail: werner.gronau@hochschule-stralsund.de

Tourism is a driver of a multitude of different Whereas two of the contributions addressed

economic, societal, environmental and spatial
changes. At the same time, tourism is of course
itself driven by a huge number of other political,
economic, technological and social processes.
Recently, the multifaceted relationship between
the phenomena of “Tourism” and “Transition”
was the core element of the “Conference on
Tourism and Transition”, which was jointly
organized by the German Working Group on
Tourism Research of the German Society for
Geography (Arbeitskreis Tourismusforschung
e. V. in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für
Geographie) and the Southeast Europe
Association (Südosteuropagesellschaft) and
took place in Munich on 17 and 18 May 2018.
The Conference aimed to address technical,
social as well as spatial processes manifested
in today’s tourism development.
technical innovations and their impact on
tourism, namely the article of Ole Uphaus et. al.
outlining the tourists’ usage behaviour of
Location-Based Services (LBS) during their
vacation and the second one by Tetzlaff et. al
discussing the given opportunity of automatic
assessment of online reviews through a
customer feedback sentiment dictionary,
Andreas Kagermeier set the focus on social
changes taking place in the Moroccan tourism
sector. More detailed on the changes of
governance structurers and the complexity of
aligning administrative structures. Finally,
Tatjana Thimm et al. outlines the given impacts
of climate change on tourism industry while
concentrating on the local level in the regional
context of the German Black Forest.

This special issue section collects and

regroups four selected articles which evolved
from some of the presentations held at the
Conference, reflecting the range of the themes
discussed at the conference.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
GUEST EDITORIAL 5
 Location-based services in tourism:
An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour

Per Ole Uphaus 1, Annika Ehlers 2* and Harald Rau1

Received: 30/06/2018 Accepted: 23/03/2019

1Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences

2 OstfaliaUniversity of Applied Sciences, Karl-Scharfenberg-Straße 55/57, 38229 Salzgitter, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)5341 875 52390. E-mail: a.ehlers@ostfalia.de
* Corresponding author
Coordinating editors: Andreas Kagermeier and Werner Gronau

Abstract

This contribution focuses on tourists’ usage behaviour of Location-Based Services (LBS) during
their vacation. LBS represents technologies that localise a user’s mobile device (Turowski &
Pousttchi 2004: 73) to offer services and content based on the user’s current geographical location
(Egger & Jooss 2010: 21; Frey et al. 2015: 124). In vacation spots tourists find themselves in a
situation characterised by increased information and service needs (Link & Seidl 2008: 56). Given
that, LBS are considered to be promising services in the tourist industry (Egger & Jooss 2010: 21).
In order to make use of the entire potential of LBS in tourism, the following key question needs to be
answered: Which factors influence tourists’ usage behaviour of LBS and which possibilities can be
derived for tourism providers and destinations? To answer its research question, this empirical study
follows a deductive approach using UTAUT2, a popular technology acceptance model. The findings
show a high usage rate of LBS in vacation and indicate that especially performance expectancy,
effort expectancy as well as hedonic motivation influence the rate of usage. Considering these main
causes, we derive theoretical implications as well as valuable clues for tourism management in
practice.

Keywords: Location Based Services, Transition, Potentials for tourism providers, Localisation,
Technology Acceptance

Citation: Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) Location-based services in tourism: An empirical
analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27

Introduction usage of mobile devices has increased

In recent years, digitalisation has been the significantly (Lu, 2017; Parasuraman et al.
subject of some major changes; especially the 2017). The possibilities of mobile internet

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
6 RESEARCH PAPER
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
usage allow completely new kinds of
applications on smartphones. A prominent
example are apps tracking a user’s location.
These ‘Location-Based Services’ – in short
‘LBS’ – are technologies that enable the
consumption of content related to the user’s
current location (Egger & Jooss, 2010: 21).
This allows for various areas of application for
LBS, like real-time traffic, navigation, travel
services, emergency services, location-based
advertising and marketing (Jagoe, 2003: 3) as
well as gaming and entertainment (Xu, 2007:
5). LBS have spread rapidly in the last few
years (Scassa & Sattler, 2011: 107) and are
also expected to have a high future potential
(Basiri et al. 2015: 274, Bowen III et al. 2010:
208). They are considered to be a potential
“new means to promote and live the tourism
experience either before or during the
experience itself” (Pedrana, 2014: 753).
Therefore, we expect by investigating this
technology in the context of tourism, we will be
able to generate valuable insights for tourism
providers. Since LBS are a relatively new kind
of technology (Fronhofer & Lütters, 2012: 293),
few studies have so far analysed the
acceptance of LBS in tourism (Frey et al. 2015:
123), which is going to be the focus of this
contribution.
Objectives
This paper aims to investigate factors that
influence tourists’ usage behaviour of LBS and
to derive resulting possibilities for tourism
providers and destination managers. To reveal
the potential of LBS in this context, this
contribution aims to answer the following key
question: Which factors influence the tourists’
usage behaviour of LBS and which possibilities
can be derived for tourism providers and
destinations? Previous research in this field
has already examined LBS usage in the
tourism destination Wörthersee (Frey et al.
2015) and in Switzerland (Beier & Aebli, 2016).
In order to study the LBS usage behaviour, a
survey was conducted in the destination
Greetsiel, located right at North Sea shore in
Germany. This research is based on key
findings from the previously mentioned studies
and provides additional insight into tourists’
LBS usage behaviour by comparing LBS usage
during, and outside of vacations, and it is
based on a technology acceptance model,
which was adjusted specifically for the touristic
context in order to include and examine further
situational factors. This adjusted technology
acceptance model is a modified version of the
UTAUT2 (Venkatesh et al. 2012) which was
used here to investigate relevant influences of
the LBS usage intention in tourism.
Theoretical Background
To gather a basic understanding of the subject,
the tourists’ general electronic media usage
during vacations needs to be discussed and
the term ‚location-based service’ has to be
defined. Subsequently, the potential of location-
based services in tourism is going to be
addressed.
Electronic Media usage during vacation travel
The creation and further development of the
internet as well as its accessibility has been
transforming the tourism industry since the
early 1990’s (Xiang et al. 2015: 244).
Especially the new possibilities, that arise from
mobile media usage, have already been
subject to some research, since they allow for
new travel experiences which can add
significant value to the tourists’ holiday
activities (Beier & Aebli, 2016: 549),
culminating in an ontology-based matchmaking
to provide personalised recommendations for
tourists (Grün, et al. 2017; Kremer & Schlieder,
2014: 268), confronting with chat-based
recommendations (Nguyen & Ricci 2017: 17),
or with strategically created visitor flows using
mobile data for an analysis (Baggio &
Scaglione, 2017). For example, social media
usage during vacations leads to the new
situation of visitors becoming producers of
information (Parra-López et al. 2012:176f.), as
they “assist consumers in posting and sharing
their travel-related comments, opinions, and
personal experiences, which then serve as
information for others” (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010:
179). Consumer generated content – which
sometimes simply includes usable tracking
data as well (Asakura & Iryo, 2007: 684) – also
influences other potential tourists’ travel
planning (Parra-López et al. 2012: 176) and
therefore creates new possibilities for the
tourism industry. Another type of mobile
tourism service considered to be an important
factor transforming the tourism industry are
applications that generate value by location-
7
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.
awareness or provide interactive maps
(Schmidt-Belz et al. 2003). Given this
background geotagging inspires researchers all
over the world since the beginning of the
century (Forer & Simmons 2002: 173ff., cf. the
contributions to Arnberger, et al. 2002), for the
characteristics of geotagged data provide “a
new method for tourism and hospitality
researchers to analyse tourist movement and
behaviour” (Wong et al. 2017: 43), at which the
possibility of big data usage nowadays is of
special concern (Chareyron et al. 2014).
Several studies already focussed on geodata
concerning different destinations (cf. Dickinger
et al. 2008; cf. Crampton et. al. 2013) –
interestingly they often concentrate on photo-
sharing services in combination with
localisation (cf. Donaire et al. 2014; Da Rugna
et al. 2012: 347; cf. Crandall et al. 2009: 761;
Cao et al. 2010: 2274; Xu et al. 2015). A
current overview of all research topics and
approaches concerning geotagging research in
tourism is contributed by Wong and colleagues
(2017). Probably one of the most sophisticated
approaches coming with geotagging and
tourism is the use of finite Markov chains for
modelling spatio-temporal movement of tourists
– which could be used to enhance forecasts
(Xia et al. 2009: 1544).
This paper specifies on the tourists’ usage of
these location-based services during vacations.
What exactly classifies as LBS and how they
can be put to use will be clarified in the
following.
Location-Based Services
A uniform understanding of the term ‚location-
based service’ has not yet been established
(Bauer et al. 2008: 207; Basiri et al. 2015: 274).
For example, Turowski and Pousttchi (2004:
73) set the focus of LBS on the service’s
technological abilities to track a user’s current
location, while Spiekermann (2004: 10) and
Bauer et al. (2008: 207) define LBS pointing
out their purpose of providing an added value
for the user by providing information associated
with the position. Unni and Harmon (2003) with
reference to Jagoe (2003) and Mitchell and
Whitmore (2003) describe them as “services
that are enhanced by and depend on the user’s
position”, stressing the interdependency
between user-location and the related
8
information. Furthermore, some definitions
prioritise the location’s essentiality for the
service, while others only include services
using real-time location tracking (Basiri et al.
2015: 274). However, despite these different
emphases in their definitions, researchers
agree on certain substantial features that
characterise LBS (Bauer et al. 2008: 208).
Based on these, LBS can be defined as
services identifying the geographical position of
a user’s mobile device and providing the user
with personalized information based on this
position (Frey et al. 2015: 124; Martin et al.
2010: 3). These services are made available by
electronic communication technologies –
usually mobile networks (Turowski & Pousttchi,
2004: 73). By connecting the location with
associated information, LBS are generating an
added value for the user (Bauer, 2008:207;
Spiekermann, 2004: 10). Another characteristic
of LBS is their feature of personalisation by
associating localised information with the
context users are connected to (Jagoe, 2003:
82). This definition of LBS shall hereinafter
apply for this contribution.
The localisation of the mobile device is usually
determined through satellite-based networks or
cellular-based techniques (Christmann et al.
2012: 26). For satellite-based localisation the
GPS (Global Positioning System) technology
has become the standard due to its global
coverage (ibid. 26) and its integration into
smartphone electronics (Göll et al. 2010: 28).
GPS is especially suitable for accurate position
determination outside of closed rooms
(Turowski & Pousttchi, 2004: 74).
Another type of localisation technology are
small wireless transmitters, so-called beacons.
These can be attached to certain objects in the
environment and exchange information with
smartphones in a radius of up to 30 meters
(Altpeter, 2017: 11). Beacons are based on the
proximity specification in the network
technology ‘Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)’
(Gast, 2014: 9), and they “transmit identification
information that applications can use to identify
the type of space the beacon is installed in”
(ibid. 10). Therefore, beacons are particularly
suitable for indoor navigation solutions as in
shops, malls or museums for example.
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
LBS in tourism – a special potential
In tourism and hospitality – a worldwide
economically growing industry (Suárez Álvarez
et al. 2007: 453) – the importance of customer
satisfaction and loyalty has significantly
increased (Bogner, 2006: 1). Moreover, online
marketing is becoming a higher priority in
customer acquisition and customer loyalty for
tourism companies (Wasserek, 2011: 3; Pan &
Li, 2011). Due to the steady development of
internet technology allowing for personalisation
and analysis of the customers’ personal data, a
specific understanding of the tourism
destination image is becoming a more
important factor for online marketing in general
(Pan & Li, 2011: 150). The touristic distribution
landscape has always been subject to constant
changes, due to its business or industry
environment also undergoing a constant
change (Čavlek, 2013: 191). The increasing
number of smartphone users has been an
important part of this change (Frey et al. 2015:
123). In 2015 the worldwide number of
smartphone users already amounted 1,86
billion and in 2020 it is expected to reach 2,87
billion (internetdo.com 2015).
Nowadays the mobile internet can be accessed
from almost anywhere (Lehner, 2002: 19),
opening new possibilities for the usage of LBS.
This leads to potentials the tourism industry
could benefit from (Frey et al. 2015, 134).
According to Kramer and colleagues (2009:
123) LBS are capable of significantly
enhancing the tourists’ leisure experience,
while Egger and Jooss (2010: 21) call LBS
promising services for touristic relations.
Examples for the wide range of applications
using LBS in tourism include the planning and
booking of trips, guides for events and
museums, information on events and points of
interest, shopping, location-based marketing,
public transport and more services related to
an unfamiliar environment (Pedrana, 2014:
758; Wasserek, 2011: 14; Orehovački et al.
2009: 111). Apps that offer these kinds of
services for tourists are for example the hotel
booking and rating apps ‘Booking.com’,
‘Trivago’ and ‘TripAdvisor’, the car rental app
‘Sixt’, the ‘Louvre Museum Guide’, and to be
more specific concerning a selected destination
the ‘Innsbruck’-app, which offers several
location-based services for tourists combined in
one app.
To make use of the previously described
advantages of LBS in tourism, the key question
that needs to be answered is: How can tourism
providers use the potential of LBS for
themselves to stand out among other content
providers that they have to compete with
(Egger & Jooss, 2010: 22) and to eventually
generate an added value for users (Frey et al.
2015: 134)? Therefore, this contribution’s
research interest is to give tourism providers
valuable clues for the optimisation of LBS for
their needs
LBS in tourism – state of research
In the next section we want to give an overview
over previous studies in the field, that were
providing tourism suppliers with
recommendations for action regarding LBS.
In her study about possible implications of LBS
for tourism destinations, Pedrana (2014: 761)
comes to the conclusion that destination
management organisations need to offer “a
unique source of information” in order to be
effective. Furthermore, she points out that the
collection of data may cause problems due to
users’ privacy concerns but may also be very
valuable to create personalised services (ibid.
761). In order to further clarify the effects of
privacy concerns, they are investigated in our
study as well. Egger and Jooss (2010: 23)
conclude their investigation by stating that the
development of new business models is the
key to long-term success for tourism providers.
Further studies in this field have examined LBS
usage behaviour of tourists in the destination
Wörthersee in Austria (Frey et al. 2015) and
tourists’ usage of mobile applications in
Switzerland (Beier & Aebli, 2016). Some
essential findings of the study by Beier & Aebly
(2016) were as follows: Mobile applications are
perceived as a kind of information technology
by most tourists, which is why patterns of
information technology usage are expected to
also apply for mobile apps. Employment was
revealed to be positively related to the tourists’
frequent use of mobile applications, whereas
age was shown to be of negative influence.
Gender, however, did not turn out to be
9
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.
significantly influencing usage. They concluded
their study by stating, that “future studies
should analyse more detailed influences on the
use of concrete kinds of mobile apps in
tourism” (Beier & Aebli, 2016).
The study by Frey and colleagues (2015: 134)
concluded that the “successful use of LBS in
the Wörthersee region depends on the factors
that influence customer’s intention to use,
actual use and ultimately acceptance of LBS”.
Moreover, they pointed out, that tourism
institutions’ efforts for future improvements
should focus on improving networks and the
customised experience while using LBS (ibid.
134). Lastly, their study revealed the
technology acceptance model UTAUT2 to be
“the most suitable model in order to […] carry
out the empirical research about the
acceptance of LBS in tourism destinations”
(ibid. 134). Out of these previously mentioned
studies, only Frey and colleagues (2015) follow
an approach based on a technology
acceptance model as in our case.
Our research, which was conducted in a
different touristic region is taking these findings
and future research suggestions into account. It
Figure 1. UTAUT2 (own presentation based on Venkatesh et al. 2012, 160)
10
attempts to build upon these insights by using
an adjusted version of the UTAUT2 model, that
also covers the tourists’ data privacy concerns
while using LBS (Zhou et al. 2012: 140), and
furthermore includes other tourism-related
situational factors. In the following chapter, this
newly created research model will be described
in detail. Further new investigation of this study
includes the comparison of LBS usage
behaviour during and outside of vacations.
Research Model
A popular research approach regarding the
adoption of new technologies is to focus on the
user’s technology acceptance (Chuttur, 2009:1;
Venkatesh et al. 2003: 427). To visualise the
influences on the users’ technology
acceptance, the presentation as a model is well
suited. Over the years several different
technology acceptance models have been
developed, however the Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is
considered to be one of the most sophisticated
(Williams et al. 2015; Frey et al. 2015: 126). It
combines eight prominent models of the
acceptance research in information technology
and aims for a synthesis of these models to
establish a basis for a unified view of user
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27

acceptance (Venkatesh et al. 2003: 425f.). In
2012 an extended version of this model – the
UTAUT2 – was developed, which also focused
on consumers instead of organizations
(Venkatesh et al. 2012: 171). The following
figure illustrates the UTAUT2 model:
The UTAUT2 depicts behavioural intention and
use behaviour as dependent variables and the
constructs Performance Expectancy, Effort
Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating
Conditions, Hedonic Motivation, Price Value
and Habit as their determinants (Peris &
Nüttgens, 2011: 91; Venkatesh et al. 2012:
160). Venkatesh and colleagues (2003: 447ff.;
2012: 161) define the independent variables as
follows:
As shown in Figure 1, the influences of these
constructs on the dependent variables are
affected by the moderators age, gender and
experience.
The UTAUT2 was already proven to be suitable
in the case study conducted by Frey and
colleagues (2015: 134). It is also the basis for
the research of this paper, however slightly
modified to better fit the tourism context: Two
out of the seven independent variables were
removed, a new one added. The independent
variable price value is not part of this adjusted
model, because of the clear dominance of apps
financed by advertising (Bauer et al. 2008):
Most of the applications are free to download.
The percentage of free downloadable
applications that are related to tourism and
leisure management might even be higher,
since those apps are mainly provided due to
marketing reasons. The variable habit was
excluded from the model in the context of
tourism for the reason, that one would have to
address two kinds of habits: first the habits in
LBS and digital media use in everyday life,
second the habits while traveling and vacation.
These might differ in the intensity as well in the
quality. Since we also cannot be sure about
interactions, we exclude the construct to
prevent unnecessary complexity. The new
independent variable in this model is privacy
concern. In many cases the localisation can
lead to concerns about the users’ privacy
(Warwitz, 2016: 71) and may have a negative
impact on the trust in the service providers
(Zhou, 2012: 140). Especially the so-called
user profiling – the creation of a personal
profile, needed for personalisation functions of
LBS-apps – often raises privacy concerns
(Jagoe, 2003: 83). Hence, the variable privacy
concern shall be defined as the extent of the
user’s concern on personal information
disclosure while using the technology (Zhou,
2012: 140).
Furthermore, this adjusted model replaces the
moderator experience with formal education
due to education playing an important role in
the adoption of new systems (Lin et al. 2013:
1123), and being a demographic feature like
age and gender (Jung et al. 2012: 208). Two
additional moderators were incorporated in this

Table 1. Independent variables of the UTAUT2 (own presentation based on Venkatesh et al.
2003: 447ff.; 2012: 160)
Performance expectancy The degree to which an individual believes that using the system will help
him or her to attain gains in job performance.
Effort expectancy The degree of ease associated with the use of the system.

Social influence
Facilitating conditions
Hedonic motivation
The degree to which an individual perceives that important others believe
he or she should use the new system.
The degree to which an individual believes that an organisational and
technical infrastructure exists to support use of the system.
The fun or pleasure derived from using a technology.

Price value The price value is positive when the benefits of using a technology are
perceived to be greater than the monetary cost.
Habit The extent to which people tend to perform behaviours automatically
because of learning (Limayem et al. 2007: 705).

11
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.
adjusted version of the UTAUT2 to reflect on
the tourism subject matter: the length of
vacation which, according to Vitoratos (2015:
220), has an impact on the tourists’ LBS usage
and the accompaniment during the vacation,
which is often related to the demographic
feature ‘marital status’, as it may determine
whether an individual travels as a single,
couple or family (Freyer, 2011: 89), and is a
key criterion for tourist behaviour. The following
figure illustrates this modified version of the
UTAUT2:
To monitor whether the effects of age, gender,
education, length of vacation and
accompaniment on the influence intention and
behaviour, they are included in the model as
control variables. Their key feature is to prevent
distortions in the observed relationships by
extraneous variables not linked to the tested
hypotheses (Spector & Brannick, 2011: 288).
Assuming that there is a particularly high
demand for orientation during vacations (Link &
Seidl, 2008: 56) and LBS can help the user
with exactly this task (Christmann et al. 2010:
166), the following hypotheses were derived
from the modified UTAUT2 based on previous
studies and literature as well as definitions
given in table 1:
H1: The performance expectancy has a
significant positive influence on the LBS usage
12
intention in tourism. (Zhou, 2012; Christmann
et al. 2010)
H2: The effort expectancy has a significant
positive influence on the LBS usage intention in
tourism. (Xu & Gupta, 2009; Yun et al. 2011)
H3: The social influence has a significant
positive influence on the LBS usage intention in
tourism. (Venkatesh et al. 2003; Zhou, 2012)
H4: Technical facilitating conditions have a
significant positive influence on the LBS usage
intention in tourism. (Bauer et al. 2008;
Thompson et al. 1991: 129)
H5: The hedonic motivation has a significant
positive influence on the LBS usage intention in
tourism. (Venkatesh et al. 2012)
H6: Privacy concern has a significant negative
influence on the LBS usage intention in
tourism. (Zhou, 2012; Xu & Gupta, 2009)
H7: The usage intention has a significant
positive influence on the LBS use behaviour in
tourism. (Venkatesh et al. 2012)
Methodology
In order to examine the seven proposed
hypotheses and eventually gain insights into
the tourists’ LBS usage behaviour, an empirical
cross-sectional study is part of this research.
This study was carried out as a quantitative
survey with a questionnaire covering questions
to make all the model’s constructs measurable.
Empirical Setting
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
The area chosen for the data collection with a
questionnaire was the fishing village Greetsiel,
located at the coast in the north of Germany
close to the Dutch border. It is part of the
community of Krummhörn in the Aurich area of
Lower Saxony and known as a typical East
Frisian fishing village. Due to its original and
natural atmosphere Greetsiel is attracting many
tourists since ages. With nowadays about one
million day guests and 400.000 overnight stays
per year (Ubl, 2013), it proved to be an ideal
location for the survey. Greetsiel only has
1.500 inhabitants, however in summer the
number of people is about three times as large.
Greetsiel is heavily characterised by tourism
and therefore an ideal location for this study.
Due to the vast range of tourist offerings and
attractions in this area, including nature,
culture, sports and water (IHK, 2015: 20),
tourists with very different interests could be
interviewed. As a result, the survey’s findings
covered a particularly large number of aspects
regarding tourist interests. The centre of
Greetsiel also proved to be a suitable place for
the interviews, because its port and other
sights attract a particularly large number of
tourists. Further reasons why Greetsiel was a
suitable place for the chosen method are to be
found in chapter 5.3.
The questionnaire
The questionnaire served as this research’s
empirical data collection tool, querying relevant
items for every construct in order to make the
respective variables measurable. The majority
of the questionnaire consisted of closed
questions with answer possibilities given in the
form of five-point Likert-scales, ranging from
strongly agree to strongly disagree. Each item
was derived from existing literature to ensure
validity.
The Performance Expectancy was covered by
questions regarding three items: The user’s
perception of the app’s usefulness (Davis et al.
1989: 997; Venkatesh et al. 2003: 447), the
facilitation of the holiday (Beier & Aebli, 2016:
551) and the support with accomplishing a
personal goal (Bagozzi, 2007: 249). Examples
for these kinds of questions were “Do you
perceive LBS as generally useful?” and “Do
LBS make your holiday easier?” among others.
The Effort Expectancy was measured with
questions about the following items: The easy
learnability (Davis et al. 1989: 998; Venkatesh
et al. 2003: 451), the intuitive usability
(Venkatesh et al. 2003: 450) and potential
difficulties with the app (ibid. 450) with
questions like “Is the usage of LBS clear and
simple for you?” and “Do you consider the LBS
usage to be easy/intuitive?” among others.
The social influence was operationalised by
questions about the social environment’s grade
of influence on the usage (Gerpott & Berg,
2011: 268), as well as positive experiences and
favourable reviews by friends, family and media
articles regarding the service quality (Bauer et
al. 2008: 211). Exemplary questions for this
construct were “Are positive experiences of
related persons with LBS important to you?”,
“Do you seek advice in relevant media reports
before using LBS” and others.
In the field of technical facilitating conditions,
items characterising the user’s mobile device
were addressed. A mobile device is required
for the usage of LBS (Martin et al. 2010: 3).
Therefore, it firstly was important to clarify
whether the participant owns a mobile device.
Secondly, the participants had to specify the
operating system installed on it. Current
research revealed significant differences
between different operating systems’ user-
friendliness (Chien et al. 2014: 75), and also
indicated possible conflicts of interest between
the supplier of the operating system, the
smartphone manufacturer and the mobile
service provider, finally affecting user-
friendliness (Göll et al. 2010: 32). Other factors
that were queried for this item included the data
volume, phone reception and battery runtime
(Otieno et al. 2018: 7; Egger & Jooss, 2010:
15f.; Göll et al. 2010: 29).
The hedonic motivation is primarily determined
by the user’s emotional state (van der Heijden
2004) and the general happiness (Venkatesh et
al. 2012: 163) while using new technologies.
Questions regarding these two subjects
covered this item in the questionnaire.
Questions in this category were for example
“Do you perceive LBS as a burden?” and “Do
LBS improve your quality of life?”.
13
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.

Table 2. Measurement construction

Construct Cronbach’s Number Items
Alpha of Items
Performance 0.815 3 LBS are generally useful.
expectancy LBS help me accomplishing personal goals.
Using LBS makes my holiday easier.
Effort 0.820 5 Using LBS is clear and understandable.
expectancy I consider the LBS usage to be easy/ intuitive.
Using LBS is easy to learn.
Using LBS needs some effort.
Using LBS is complicated.
Social 0.710 3 Positive experiences of related persons are important to me.
influence I obtain information about LBS through experience reports in
the media.
I seek advice in relevant media reports before using LBS.
Facilitating 0.750 6 My data volume is sufficient for LBS usage.
conditions My mobile network is sufficient for LBS usage.
My device is fast enough to run LBS.
My battery runtime is sufficient for LBS usage.
I am able to download, install and use apps on my own.
I am able to change my device’s location settings.
Hedonic 0.727 6 I perceive using LBS as a burden.
motivation Using LBS gives me pleasure.
Using LBS gives me satisfaction.
Using LBS improves my quality of life.
Using LBS is indispensable for me.
I feel joy using new technologies.
Privacy 0.861 4 Too much personal data needs to be entered for LBS usage.
concern Third parties can easily get access to my personal data while
using LBS.
LBS providers can easily misuse my data.
LBS providers can’t be trusted.
Behavioural 0.854 3 I intent to use LBS in my next holiday.
intention I plan to use LBS in my next holiday.
I assume to use LBS in my next holiday.

The users’ attitude towards the data security of
LBS was measured with questions about the
following items: The handling of the users’
personal data, including possible abuse for
advertising and consumption purposes (Zhou,
2012: 140; Gerpott & Berg, 2011: 272), the
safety of personal data (Warwitz, 2016: 69) and
the overall trust in the app’s company (Jagoe,
2003: 83). For this construct, questions like “Do
you feel like you have to enter too much
personal data to use LBS?” and “Do you think
third parties can easily get access to your data,
while using LBS?”.
The behavioural intention was operationalised
with questions about future plans (Bratman,
2009: 411), and the estimated likelihood
regarding LBS usage during following
14
vacations, like “Do you intend to use LBS in
your next vacation?”.
Lastly, the dependent variable ‘use behaviour’
was covered by questions about the frequency
of use during vacations. The questions were
“How often do you use LBS while not on
vacation?”, “How often do you use LBS during
this vacation?”, “Have you been using LBS
during a previous vacation?” and “Where do
you use LBS during your vacation?” among
others.
Before answering questions about their
demographics as the final part of the survey,
the participants were also able to highlight
LBS-apps they were using from a list of sixteen
popular LBS-apps at the time and indicate
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
whether they use these during or outside of
vacations.
In order to test the reliability of the constructs’
data and results acquired by these
operationalised constructs, Cronbach’s alpha
was used. This coefficient measures the
internal consistency of a scale or test with a
number between 0 and 1 (Tavakol & Dennick,
2011: 53) where a value higher than 0.6 is
usually considered acceptable. The following
table depicts the used items as well as the
results of the applied Cronbach’s alpha test:
The constructs Performance expectancy, Effort
expectancy and Privacy concern have a high
consistency. The values for Hedonic motivation
and Behavioural intention are okay, while the
internal consistency of Social Influence and
Facilitating conditions is still acceptable. All
constructs meet the study’s requirement of a
satisfactory reliability.
Method of choice: interviews during vacation
The chosen method for the data collection was
a self-completed survey, in which tourists were
given questionnaires to fill out. In this form of
passer-by interview, the population of the
survey is related to the location of the interview
(Scholl, 2014: 29). This survey variant can be
conducted in a pedestrian passage (ibid. 29) as
in this case, where the participants could be
interviewed at the port of Greetsiel – the
village’s centre. Passer-by interviews focus on
persons being interviewed in public spaces
(Friedrichs & Wolf, 1990: 46). Since Greetsiel’s
port is the village centre, this is where the
interviews were conducted. During the main
Table 3. Characteristics of the sample
Sample Size 133
Gender
· Male 49.6%
· Female 45.9%
· no indication 4.5%
Age
· Mean 41.83 years
· ≤ 30 20.3%
· 31-40 24.1%
· 41-50 22.6%
· 51-60 19.5%
· 61-70 8.3%
· no indication 5.2%
tourist season, from August 7th to August 10th,
2017 the questionnaires were handed to
tourists in this area. In order to obtain a sample
as representative as possible, attempts were
made to only ask every third tourist to fill out a
questionnaire. This procedure was intended to
guarantee a similar chance for every element
of the reference population to get included in
the sample before the beginning of the
selection process (Kromrey, 2009: 282). It was
decided not to make a prior stratification of the
sample, due to tourism constantly being
affected by demographic change in an
unpredictable way (Bernini & Cracolici, 2015;
Metzler & Paesler, 2010: 70). While
approaching people in the chosen area for the
interview, we also asked them first, whether or
not they were a tourist. The first question of the
questionnaire – ‘Are you a tourist?’ – was also
supposed to ensure that only participants of the
relevant target group would fill out the
questionnaire.
Using this method, a sample of 133 tourists
was able to participate in the survey. To
calculate the minimum sample size, Tabachnik
and Fidell (2013: 159) as well as Green (1991:
499) suggest using the formula N ≥ 104 + m,
whereas m represents the number of
independent variables. Thus, the minimal
sample size N = 110 was exceeded, indicating
a sample large enough to investigate the
independent variables’ influences on the
dependent variable (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2013:
159).
Sample
Before the detailed data evaluation was carried
Possession of a smartphone
· Yes 87.2%
· No 9.8%
· no indication 3%
Possession of a tablet
· Yes 49.6%
· No 47.4%
· no indication 3%
15
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.

out with regression analyses, t-tests and Data analysis

variance analyses, several simple frequency
counts were made to get a better
understanding about demographic aspects of
the study’s participants. The following key
figures give an overview about the tourists’
demographic data:
The sample consisted of 48 percent women.
The participants had an average age of 41
years (SD=14,2) with an age range between 14
and 70 years. Most of them reported to be
short time visitors who stayed between one and
three days in Greetsiel.
LBS usage behaviour – frequency counts
The implemented frequency counts were also
able to reveal more specific aspects about the
tourists’ LBS usage during and outside of
vacations. The key figures below provide a
summary of the tourists’ demographic data,
technical equipment, LBS knowledge and
expectations of LBS as well as their overall
usage intention and frequency of LBS usage.
Table 5 and Table 6 show the distribution of the
usage intention and the frequency of the actual
usage behaviour. We can see, that the polled

Table 4. LBS usage behaviour and expectations

Previous knowledge about the term ‘LBS’ Place of LBS use during vacations
· Yes 27.1% (multiple answers possible)
· No 64.7% · outdoors 83.1%
· no indication 8.2% · holiday apartment 66.1%
Expectation of LBS usage during vacations (multiple · restaurants/cafés 26.3%
answers possible) · public transport 16.1%
· optimal information for 77.9% · stores 11.0%
the current location · events 5.9%
· always retrievable information 58.8% Previous LBS usage during a vacation
· information on offerings/ 51.9% · Yes 56.4%
events near me · No 38.3%
· information on offerings/ 51.9% · no indication 5.3%
events near me 40.5%
· comfort
· personal information 13.7%
· push messages 9.9%
· nothing of the above 5.3%

Table 5. LBS usage intention

strongly agree neutral disagree strongly no indi-
agree disagree cation
‘I could imagine using LBS 22.6% 42.1% 21.1% 5.3% 4.5% 4.4%
during my next vacation.’
‘I intend to use LBS during 18.8% 39.8% 20.3% 10.5% 6% 4.6%
my next vacation.’
‘LBS usage will affect my 12.8% 27.1% 26.3% 18.8% 9.8% 5.2%
future vacation activities.’

Table 6. Frequency of LBS usage

Frequency of LBS usage outside of vacation Frequency of LBS usage during vacation
· daily 9.8% · daily 27.8%
· several times a week 35.3% · several times a week 42.9%
· once a week 12% · once a week 8.3%
· several times a month 14.3% · less than once a week 6.8%
· once a month 8.3% · never 12%
· several times a year 8.3% · no indication 2.2%
· never 9.8%
· no indication 2.2%
16
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27

tourists are in general open to the idea of using
LBS in their vacation.
In addition, the table shows that nearly 60
percent use LBS at least once per week in their
everyday life. During vacation, this number
raises up to nearly 80% of the polled who say
that they use LBS at least once a week. This
finding is in line with the assumption, that there
is a special need for information during travel
and vacation.
Further findings concern individual apps used
by the tourists. Even though the questionnaire
provided 16 answer possibilities covering
popular LBS-apps, the majority of the
participants stated to use Google Maps and
several weather apps frequently. Both kind of
apps are used by about 90% during and 85%
outside of vacations. The location-sharing
feature of the WhatsApp messenger is used by
approximately 60% of the tourists both during
and outside of vacations, while Facebook’s
location-sharing feature is used by roughly 25%
during and outside of the vacation. 30% of the
participating tourists indicated to use the
‘Deutsche Bahn’-app during their vacations,
while only 18% of them stated to use it outside
the vacation in their everyday life. Other
queried apps were each used by less than 15%
of the tourists, which is why they will not be
discussed further here.
Influences on LBS-usage – multiple regression
The data evaluation was done using the
statistics software IBM SPSS Statistics 22 after
the questionnaires’ data was entered in a data
set and the sample was checked and cleaned
of outliers and values that did not seem
plausible. Moreover, questions that were
formulated negatively now had to be inverted,
to be able to appropriately include these
constructs as well (Kevala & Moosburger,
2012: 80). To analyse the relation of the
constructs’ data covered by the questionnaire
and the usage intention, a two-stage multiple
linear regression analysis was carried out.
Using this method, it was possible to include
the control variables in a first, the independent
variables in the second step. The following
table shows the results of this regression
analysis:
As shown in table 1, the UTAUT2 model is
suitable for this study. The adjusted R², a
measure of goodness of fit, indicates that the

Table 7. Overview of the influences on the usage intention of LBS in tourism

Predictors Usage Intention
Model 1 Model 2

b β b β
Age 0.006 0.086 0.002 0.036
Gender -0.007 -0.004 -0.035 -0.019
Education -0.074 -0.125 -0.025 -0.042
Length of vacation -0.082 -0.061 -0.017 -0.013
Accompaniment 0.166 0.131 0.044 0.034
Performance Expectancy 0.506*** 0.467***
Hedonic Motivation 0.296* 0.217*
Effort Expectancy 0.304* 0.207*
(Techn.) Facilitating Conditions 0.127 0.090
Privacy concern -0.106 -0.084
Social Influence 0.041 0.031
R²adj -0.010 0.538
Δ R² 0.548***
Basis N = 133; method: Multiple two-step regression (inclusion);
*p ≤ .05; **p ≤ .01; ***p ≤ .001;
age: metrical; gender: 0=female, 1=male; education: 1=lowest stage, 6=highest stage; length of vacation: 1=shortest,
3=longest; accompaniment: 1=lowest number; 5=highest number
Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, (Techn.) Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation,
Privacy concern: mean index: 1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree.
Model 1: F(5, 99) = 0,802; p = 0,551; Model 2: F(11, 93) = 12,007; p = 0,000
Durbin-Watson-test = 1,657; minimum tolerance = 0,488

17
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.
usage intention’s value can be calculated by
the independent variables by 53,8%. The
performance expectancy, effort expectancy and
hedonic motivation were proven to be
significant predictors of the usage intention of
LBS in tourism, with the performance
expectancy even being a highly significant
predictor. As expected, none of the control
variables turned out to have a direct influence
on the usage intention. The hypotheses H 1, H2
and H5 are supported, while H3, H4 and H6 in
turn are to be rejected.
In order to test hypothesis H7, a second
regression analysis had to be applied, verifying
the usage intention’s influence on the use
behaviour. This time the usage intention served
as an independent variable. The following table
depicts the results of the second regression
analysis:
Table 8. The usage intention’s influence on use
behaviour of LBS in tourism
Predictor Use Behaviour
Model 1
b β
Usage 0.843*** 0.654***
Intention
R² 0.428***
Basis N = 133; method: Simple one-step regression;
*p ≤ .05; **p ≤ .01; ***p ≤ .001;
Usage Intention: mean index: 1=strongly disagree,
5=strongly agree.
Model 1: F(1, 127) = 95,161; p = 0,000
The results of the second regression analysis
show that H7 is also supported. As proposed by
the UTAUT2-model, the usage intention turns
out to be a significant positive predictor of the
use behaviour in tourism.
The influence of previous LBS usage -
Comparisons between case groups
Additionally, comparisons between different
case groups were conducted as part of the
statistical evaluation, to reveal differences in
LBS usage behaviour in varying demographic
and touristic characteristics. These
comparisons were done using t-tests for
independent samples and single factor
variance analyses and are based on the
following assumptions derived from previous
18
research in this area and carried out using t-
tests for independent samples.
Our questionnaire included a yes/no question
about the LBS usage in previous vacations,
which was suitable for testing with the t-test.
This question can be assigned to the construct
‘habit’. Even though the adjusted UTAUT2
model for this study did not include this
construct, it is part of the original UTAUT2 as a
predictor of the usage intention (Venkatesh et
al. 2012: 158f.). An applied Welch’s t-test
between the two resulting samples revealed
that there was indeed a significant difference
between tourists who already have used LBS
during a previous vacation (M=2.249, SD=0.82)
and those who haven’t (M=2.86, SD=1.09);
t(85.02)=-3.41, p=0.001. Tourists who used
LBS before on a vacation have on average a
generally higher usage intention.
Furthermore, tourists’ usage intention,
classified by their LBS usage outside of
vacations, was compared, based on the
assumption that habit plays an important role
for the technology acceptance (Venkatesh et
al. 2012, 158f.). Indeed, a variance analysis
indicated highly significant differences between
these subsamples, F(6, 122)=8.16, p<0.001.
The Scheffé post hoc test revealed that these
differences exist on a significant level between
tourists who never use LBS outside of vacation
(M=3.73, SD=1.08) and tourists who use LBS
several times a month (M=2.48, SD=0.90) or
more often.
Different types of vacation were assumed to
cause significant differences in the tourists’
LBS usage intention, due to media in general
usage varying between different vacation types
(van Raajj & Francken, 1984). An analysis of
variance however did not prove the vacation
type to affect the usage intention significantly,
F(3, 125)=0.01, p=0.998.
Results and contributions
Using the conducted analyses, theoretical
model assumptions could be tested with
hypotheses and different subsamples were
compared regarding their LBS usage in
tourism.
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
With the first analysis, a multiple linear
regression analysis, the adjusted UTAUT2 was
proven to be a suitable model for this study.
The Usage Intention of LBS in tourism is
significantly influenced by the tourists’
performance expectancy, effort expectancy and
hedonic motivation in a positive way, since
hypotheses H1, H2 and H5 were supported. The
performance expectancy turned out to be the
strongest predictor with a highly significant
influence. Significantly positive influences of
the social influence and technical facilitating
conditions, as well as a significantly negative
influence by tourists’ privacy concerns however
could not be evidenced – hypotheses H3, H4
and H6 were not supported. Furthermore, a
direct influence of the control variables on the
usage intention was not detected, proving their
function as extraneous variables not directly
connected to the hypotheses (Spector &
Brannick, 2011: 288).
In a second regression analysis, the usage
intention was proven to be a strong positive
predictor of the actual usage of LBS in tourism,
as assumed in our adjusted UTAUT2 and
hypothesis H7, which was supported. All in all,
four out of the seven proposed hypotheses
were supported.
Furthermore, a comparison between different
case groups also gave insights into factors that
determine LBS usage in tourism. Using t-tests
for independent samples and single factor
variance analyses the following significant
differences were found out: Tourists who
already used LBS before during a vacation
have a higher LBS usage intention than those
who haven’t. Tourists who use LBS each day
outside of their vacation have a significantly
higher usage intention during vacations than
those who don’t.
Lastly several simple frequency counts
provided further insight in tourists’ LBS usage:
The most common expectation regarding LBS
turned out to be that optimal information should
be easily accessible at all times. The
personalisation feature was only relevant for a
remarkably low number of the interviewed
tourists. Tourists mainly seem to use LBS
outdoors, but also quite often in their holiday
flats. The most frequently used LBS-apps from
the queried list of apps were Google-Maps and
weather apps. Location-based features in
social networks and messenger services also
play an important role for many users in
tourism. There were no differences in the
number of users for the queried individual apps
worth mentioning. While 87% of all participants
stated to own a smartphone, only about 50% of
them stated that they own a tablet. Android
turned out to be the most widespread operating
system on both kinds of devices.
Discussion of theoretical implications
With these new insights, the question arises,
how the results are to be explained. Thus, an
interpretation based on existing literature
follows below:
The performance expectancy turned out to be
the most significant determinant of LBS usage
intention in tourism. The performance of the
service seems to be of particular importance for
tourists. On vacation, tourists find themselves
in a situation characterised by special needs for
certain information and services (Link & Seidl,
2008: 56). These special needs become
apparent in the study’s findings. Furthermore,
services in the tourism industry have to clearly
communicate their value, be easy to use,
should have a solid profit model and need to be
embedded in a web of relationships between
customer, service provider and destination
(Egger & Jooss, 2010: 23f.). These high
demands are reflected by the results of the
evaluation: The lower the perceived effort while
using LBS-apps, the higher the tourists’ usage
intention. Thus, the ease of use of LBS is
expected by tourists. Another interesting fact is
the tourists’ expectation of LBS usage being
associated with fun and pleasure. Due to the
previously mentioned situation-related
increased information and service needs in
tourism, one could assume a minor role of
hedonic motivation in this case. However,
tourism is an activity associated with pleasure-
seeking (Goossens, 2000) and is known to
promote and foster hedonic behaviour in
general (Gnoth, 1997: 285). Therefore, a
similar association with the use of LBS in
tourism is not surprising. The data security
concerns not being a determinant factor for the
usage intention in tourism on the other hand
was particularly remarkable, since privacy
19
 Location-based services in tourism: An empirical analysis of factors influencing usage behaviour.
concerns have been identified as important
factors having a negative impact on the overall
success of new technologies and LBS in
particular (Zhou, 2012: 140; Fritsch &
Muntermann, 2005: 156; Bowen III et al. 2010:
208). An interpretive approach for this non-
significant influence is yet again provided by
the special situation in which tourists find
themselves during vacation. According to
Mertens (2006: 416) the trend can be
observed, that in important areas of life a
conflict of objectives between data protection
and other interests often causes the privacy
concerns to get pushed back. A conflict of
objectives in tourism is often the case, due to
tourists being in an unknown environment but
still relying on features of LBS (Link & Seidl,
2006: 56). The expected consequence is
privacy concerns playing a subordinate role in
tourism, which is confirmed by this study’s
findings. Technical facilitating conditions not
being a significant factor for tourists’ LBS
usage can be explained the same way: The
special service needs seem to outweigh
expectations of perfect facilitating conditions
while using LBS in tourism. The social
influence’s non-significant influence on usage
intention on the other hand is expected to be
caused by distortions in the results, which are
described in detail in the section ‘limitations’.
Lastly, the LBS usage intention was proven to
be a strong predictor of the LBS use behaviour
in tourism.
As expected, direct influences of the control
variables age, gender, education, length of
vacation and accompaniment were not
indicated by the regression analysis. However,
comparisons of case groups with t-tests and
single factor variance analyses revealed some
interesting differences in LBS use behaviour:
Tourists who already used LBS before during a
vacation have a higher LBS usage intention
than those who haven’t. Tourists who use LBS
each day outside of their vacation have a
significantly higher usage intention during
vacations than those who don’t. Again, a
habitual behaviour seems to be the cause here,
since successful use of LBS in everyday life
situations will likely result in a repetition of this
usage (Limayem et al. 2007: 715).
20
Discussion of practical implications
LBS offer many potentials for the tourism
industry. The key to success for tourism
providers is to distinguish themselves from their
competition by generating added values for
potential customers (Frey et al. 2015: 134). To
achieve this, it is crucial for them to realise the
importance of tourists’ acceptance of LBS (ibid.
134).
According to this study’s findings, the usage
intention of LBS in tourism depends on three
essential conditions: The application has to
help the tourists simplify their activities during
vacation; it should be as easy to use as
possible and be considered user-friendly;
furthermore, using the application has to be
perceived as fun. These are basic expectations
of LBS users in tourism, which is why it should
be made sure that these three conditions apply
for new touristic location-based applications.
No attempts to focus on a specific gender or
tourists’ age, level of education, length of
vacation or accompaniment should be made,
though, since no differences regarding these
characteristics were found. Another practical
implication would be to try to directly increase
knowledge in tourism destinations, for tourists
who already used LBS before during a vacation
tend to have a higher LBS usage intention than
those who haven’t. In order to attract tourists as
users of specific LBS applications, exploring
ways to earn customer loyalty outside of
vacations is recommended, since LBS usage
intention in and outside the vacation were
revealed to show significant parallels. The
survey results also further confirmed Google
Maps’ clear market leader position among map
services (Haucap & Heimeshoff, 2013: 56).
Developers of applications characterised by
more than a navigation feature should therefore
consider not to rely on own interactive maps,
but to make use of the feature of ‘Google Maps
API’ to integrate Google Maps into their app
(Boulos, 2005: 3). In this context, another
approach for the success of LBS in tourism
becomes apparent: LBS applications
incorporating existing structures like Google
Maps’ layers, or simply merging other
information, can be particularly valuable for
tourists and also go hand in hand with the most
common expectation of LBS in tourism –
 Uphaus, P., A. Ehlers and H. Rau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 6-27
optimal information on the current location.
Lastly, referring to the findings of this study’s
frequency counts, some further conclusions
could be drawn: It should be taken into account
that tourists expect LBS to be comfortably
usable while walking around outdoors, which is
why it should be made sure, that the
applications meet these expectations. Further
findings of the survey suggest an integration of
social network features like location-sharing
functions via Facebook and WhatsApp. Due to
the dominance of Android operating systems,
closely followed by Apple’s iOS, it may be
advisable to release touristic LBS applications
first on Android systems and, if it proves to be
successful, for Apple devices next.
Limitations
Despite great diligence in the methodology,
data acquisition and evaluation, it should be
noted that this study had certain limitations.
First, a larger sample size would be preferable
for a stepwise regression (Tabachnik & Fidell,
2013: 159). Furthermore, the data for the
construct Social Influence indicates biased
results which can be traced back to the effects
of social desirability. Social desirability “refers
to the respondents’ tendency to admit to
socially desirable traits and behaviours and to
deny socially undesirable ones” (Krumpal,
2011: 2028). The UTAUT2 model was modified
to fit the scope of this research and therefore
the results may differ from a research design
using the original UTAUT2. In the field of the
chosen evaluation procedure, using a structural
equation model instead of conducting two
separate regression analyses might have
improved the accuracy of the results – a
previous study by Rau & Ehlers (2017)
however showed that these two methods’
results will only differ very slightly. A further
limitation results from this study’s rather
general approach: The usage intention can
differ between different various LBS
applications and depends on each application’s
individual usability. This factor could not be
further investigated, because it would have
gone beyond the scope of this research.
Conclusions and further research
This research was able to reveal important
determinants for the usage intention of LBS in
tourism and derive practical implications for
tourism providers.
Summarising this study’s findings, it can be
said that tourists expect LBS to find a balance
between delivering optimal information on their
current location and an easy usability. Next to
practical implications, this study was also able
to reveal further research approaches:
Research of Venkatesh and colleagues (2012),
and Limayem and colleagues (2007) show that
the construct ‘habit’ might play an important
role after all. Thus, future research might
address this part of the technology acceptance
model – in particular the difference between the
‘everyday habits’ and the ‘vacational habits’ in
terms of media and technology and the
interaction of these two.
Like the inclusion of ‘habit’, further future
research possibilities also result from this
study’s limitations: Future studies should
preferably be based on a larger sample size.
To capture additional interdependencies,
demographic and tourism aspects should be
included as moderators, rather than control
variables (Venkatesh et al. 2003: 432ff.). It
should also be a goal of further research to try
to reduce the effects causing biased results for
the construct ‘social influence’ by a more
cautious formulation of the appropriate
questions or an alternative examination of this
construct.
These many research approaches can be
traced back to LBS being a relatively new
technology (Fronhofer & Lütters, 2012: 293)
and due to the steady and rapid further
development of LBS (Raper et al. 2007: 6). A
result of this constant further development, LBS
can always only be optimised to the extent
depending on the current state of technology.
Therefore, research in this area can also be
expected to stay relevant in the future.
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27
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary:
Towards automatic assessment of online reviews

Laurens Tetzlaff 1*, Katrin Rulle 2, Gero Szepannek 3 and Werner Gronau 4

Received: 14/08/2018 Accepted: 03/03/2019

1 University Stralsund, Germany, Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, Zur Schwedenschanze 15 18435
Stralsund Germany, E-mail: laurens.m.tetzlaff@fh-stralsund.de. Tel: +49 171 555 333 2
2 University Stralsund, Germany, E-mail: katrin.rulle@fh-stralsund.de
3 University Stralsund, Germany, E-mail: gero.szepannek@hochschule-stralsund.de
4 University Stralsund, Germany, E-mail: werner.gronau@hochschule-stralsund.de

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Andreas Kagermeier

Abstract

This paper aims at creating a tool to automatically extract online customer reviews of hospitality
businesses and to assign a reliable score to them, based on a specifically created sentiment
dictionary for this purpose by means of a statistical learning method. The effect of the amount of
available training data and their resulting dictionaries is investigated. As such, a practical approach
for applying LASSO regression in the context of online hospitality reviews is presented resulting in a
sentiment dictionary of 778 terms with their associated weights trained on 20 000 reviews. It is
shown that the created dictionary is able to accurately predict online review scores set by
consumers, therefore highlighting the practical relevance of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Customer Reviews, Dictionary Creation, Hotel Online Reviews, LASSO, Sentiment
Analysis, Text Mining

Citation: Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) A customer feedback
sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews. European Journal of
Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39

Introduction role in our everyday life and are getting taken

The internet continues to be on the rise and the for granted. This is a development which
possibilities and tools it provides are numerous cannot be unseen or neglected by any
and still growing. Nowadays, digitalisation, big business sector but has to be taken advantage
data and online bookings are playing a crucial of. In the tourism industry, there are many ways

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

28 RESEARCH PAPER
 Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39
in which the internet enables customers and
providers alike to make use of the data given
and information available online.
Seen from a customer’s point of view, this may
happen in order to gather information about the
destination and accommodations prior to or
during the trip, to book the whole holiday or
single elements and to finally publicly evaluate
and share the experiences made (Schuckert,
Liu, & Law, 2015). Users of well-known online
review and booking platforms such as
‘TripAdvisor’ and ‘booking.com’ have a huge
interest in customer-generated content like
online reviews and blog entries whose numbers
have risen significantly during the last years
(eMarketer, 2013). The reason for this
enormous growth is given by the nature of its
content: It is based on (real) customer
experiences rather than promises made by the
providing company. Being transmitted from
customer to customer, this kind of information
is perceived as more reliable than the one
provided by the company itself by means of
website content or advertisement (Kitingan,
2016).
User-generated content is of high value for
potential customers when it comes to services
and products that are mostly based on
personal experiences. As those offers lack a
physical appearance that would allow
consumers to carefully examine them prior to
the purchase, the information provided by other
clients has found to be an important parameter
of quality and its price/performance ratio (Ye,
Law, & Gu, 2009). This applies especially in the
very much service-based tourism industry (Ye,
Law, Gu, & Chen, 2011). People hope to get an
honest, yet subjective impression of what they
can expect prior to making the experiences
themselves (Schuckert et al., 2015). According
to a study by Gretzel and Yoo (2008) reviews
published in virtual communities such as
‘TripAdvisor’ and those at online travel
agencies and booking platforms are the most
frequently used ones for this purpose. The
subjects of these touristic reviews are
numerous and can range from a whole country
to a specific tourist attraction to a small café.
By no means, the value of these online
customer-based reviews is only restricted to
new potential clients. It is the companies
themselves that can make great use of the
huge amount of data provided about their own
business and that of their competitors
(Kitingan, 2016).
Online reviews are a valuable source of
information for customers and providers alike.
They are full of first-hand information about
how the customers perceive and evaluate the
services provided which highlights the
strengths and possible weaknesses that may
not be detected by the company itself. This
valuable assessment from outside the business
allows for a profound evaluation and interesting
insights into customer satisfaction alongside
with possible areas for improvement (Schuckert
et al., 2015). A thorough and precise feedback
evaluation and management are of great
importance for companies not only in the
tourism sector. It enables a fast detection and
analysis of complaints which can then be
overcome by working on the deficits that were
pointed out by the clients (Barclays, 2016).
These complaints might address easily
detectable and changeable issues, like the
noise level in hotels rooms or the variety of
food at the breakfast buffet. Yet, they can also
refer to the ‘soft assets’ of a company which
are not always easy to detect from the inside.
The friendliness of the staff or the feeling of
being an appreciated and welcomed guest can
serve as examples. Due to their way of
distribution and publishing, online reviews are
easily accessible for both parties and can be
seen as a reliable, though subjective reflection
of a company’s performance. Those attributes
make online reviews an important basis for
evaluation. Still, the enormous amount of online
reviews and the information and data they
contain are not easy to handle and to utilize.
Working on the improvement of the company
may ultimately lead to a better overall review
score which can indeed affect the number of
new online bookings proportionally (Ye et al.,
2009). The influence of online reviews should
therefore not be neglected by tourism
businesses as they can have a serious effect
on the economic performance of a company
(Ye et al., 2011). In order to facilitate the
analysis of hundreds of online reviews, this
paper aims at providing a tool that creates a
compressed, yet in-depth insight into the
29
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews.
satisfaction of customers as well as the
company’s strengths and weaknesses. A
sentiment analysis of hotel reviews provides a
dictionary of words which are weighted accor-
ding to their positive or negative connotation.
The analysis is carried out by the statistical
software R (R Core Team, 2018). To create the
weighted dictionary, the written text of the
online reviews, as well as the score assigned to
them by the author of the review, are used.
With the help of such a tool for sentiment
analysis based on online reviews, companies
will get access to a competent, systematic and
objective yet fast evaluation of their products
and services as well as the customers’
emotions and attitude towards the company
(Gräbner, Zanker, Fliedl, & Fuchs, 2012). An
analysis of strengths and weaknesses can
entail and lead to an enhancement of the
company’s perception by its clients. In order to
ensure the reliability of the created dictionary
and the validation of the model, a sufficiently
large sample size of 25 118 reviews is used.
Literature Review
In the following sections, an overview shall be
provided over the related research that has
been done so far mainly within the domain of
online hotel reviews especially focussing on
sentiment analysis and text mining and
ultimately limiting the scope on dictionary
generation for this purpose.
Online Reviews in Hotel Context
As previously highlighted, online hotel reviews
need to be regarded as an important source of
value creation by consumers that can directly
be accessed by companies. In this context, the
typical consumer persona shifts towards the
figure of a value co-creator next to the
organisation (Rihova, Buhalis, Moital, &
Gouthro, 2015). Consequently, the generated
benefit of an online review should be paid
special attention to. Research has been done
not only on the relationship between online
reviews and online buying behaviour as well as
satisfaction but also on sentiment mining
approaches, i.e. sentiment analyses and
respectively sentiment classifications
(Govindarajan, 2014; Schuckert et al., 2015).
However, in order to keep up with the rapid
increase in the number of customer reviews,
scalable techniques are needed to perform
30
such analyses (Sarvabhotla, Pingali, & Varma,
2010; Shi & Li, 2011).
Sentiment Analysis and Text Mining
As online reviews are unstructured natural
language texts, the aim of a sentiment analysis
is to measure their subjective content
(Pröllochs, Feuerriegel, & Neumann, 2015) by
giving the components of the text and thereby
the whole review a sentiment orientation.
Respectively, research has been conducted to
further classify given reviews in terms of a
binary categorisation, positive and negative
opinions, or as multiclass classification, e.g.
when looking at star ratings from 1-5 or
including a class for neutral sentiment (Gräbner
et al., 2012; Kasper & Vela, 2011; Sarvabhotla
et al., 2010; Shi & Li, 2011).
Another aim of a sentiment analysis might
consist not only in predicting ratings by
classifying the reviews but also in discovering
patterns of key topics related to the domain
addressed within the consumers’ statements.
Berezina et al. (2016) investigated a topic
related analysis to derive insightful information
for management. However, subjectivity
detection in reviews is a challenging task,
especially since the terms in a dictionary can
possess different meanings depending on the
surrounding text (Calheiros, Moro, & Rita,
2017). Büschken and Allenby (2016) try to
bypass this problem by using sentence-
constrained Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA).
Several approaches to perform a sentiment
analysis have been evaluated so far. Mainly,
they can be divided into lexicon-based
approaches and machine learning based
approaches (Calheiros et al., 2017). When
referring to the former, an existing lexicon of
manually selected or rather predefined terms,
which are supposed to be of relevance for the
analysed domain, is used as a dictionary to
evaluate the review’s overall sentiment
orientation. Using this approach, the quality of
the lexicon is the key issue regarding the
quality of the resulting sentiment analysis
(Gräbner et al., 2012). Hence, research such
as Dang et. al (2010) investigates the
possibilities in improving the needed lexicon
towards the specific domain it is applied to by
combining dictionaries containing ex-ante
 Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39
selected words with both content-free as well
as content-specific features discovered via
machine learning techniques. Yet, using this
approach challenges may arise when
scalability is needed.
It has been concluded that machine learning
based approaches tend to give more accurate
predictions (Karsi, Zaim, & El Alami, 2017;
Pröllochs et al., 2015; Sarvabhotla et al., 2010).
A natural question based on these
observations concerns the amount of text data
that is needed for construction of a stable
model. Various machine learning methods
have been evaluated for Sentiment Analysis in
different contexts such as Genetic Algorithms,
Naïve Bayes, K-nearest neighbours (KNN) as
well as Logistic Regression and Support Vector
Machines (SVM) (Dang et al., 2010;
Govindarajan, 2014; Karsi et al., 2017;
Sarvabhotla et al., 2010). Shi and Li (2011) use
SVMs for a binary classification applying
different term weighting strategies. They
concluded that using term frequency-inverse
document frequency (TF-IDF) instead of term
frequency prior to the classification improves its
results. Other research such as Zhang and Yu
(2017) perform sentiment classification via
eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) while
investigating the possibilities of deep learning
in form of Word2Vec (Mikolov, Chen, Corrado,
& Dean, 2013) to derive word vectors and
further word clusters that can be fed to the
classification method.
Dictionary Generation
There have been several ways of constructing
or accessing dictionaries for sentiment
analysis. Many of the aforementioned studies
refer to already existing dictionaries containing
previously selected terms which serve as a
baseline and in the course of their work are
further edited (Calheiros et al., 2017; Kasper
& Vela, 2011). However, as Pröllochs et al.
(2015) point out, using dictionaries of ex-ante
selected terms can implicate two major
challenges. First, such dictionaries depend on
the domain-specific context they were created
for and consequently, the included terms can
have different connotations when put into a
different context. Second, within some
predefined dictionaries weighting the terms
according to their relevance is not accounted
for. Thus, the authors use various Bayesian
variable selection methods to construct
dictionaries adjusted to the financial context
their study focusses on. Others, such as
Leung et al. (2006) employ a relative frequency
based method to construct a sentiment
dictionary containing information about the
sentiment orientation of a term, meaning which
category (positive, negative or if star rating 1-5)
the term can be associated with, and its
strength, i.e. the power of influence the word
has on assigning a review to the respective
class of the word. Also other research aims at
constructing domain-specific dictionaries
(Gräbner et al., 2012). Yet, the dataset used in
this study consists of as few as 180 reviews for
dictionary construction which is quite small and
the approach of utilizing a POS-tagger is not
very scalable (Sarvabhotla et al., 2010).
Contribution of this Work
Our research relates to the one of Pröllochs et
al. (2015) by applying the least absolute
shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) as a
statistical method to the domain of online hotel
reviews. As a regression method, the algorithm
assigns domain specific weights to the terms
while at the same time performing an implicit
variable selection which supports the creation
of the dictionary. By transferring the
methodology of Pröllochs et al. (2015) it is
achieved to create a domain-specific dictionary
for the specific business application.
Further, in addition to existing research, terms
in the context of positive and negative feedback
are treated separately. Finally, as an extension
to the initial work of Pröllochs et al. (2015) a
systematic evaluation of the required amount of
data for dictionary creation based on a proper
training and validation subsetting has been
investigated. As a result, a dictionary for
customer hospitality online reviews has been
created that can be used for further
applications in the business context as well as
a basis for future research.
Methodology
In order to apply LASSO regression, the review
data has to be gathered and pre-processed.
Hence in this section, we introduce our general
approach and all steps related to creating the
final sentiment dictionary.
31
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews.
Framework
By use of the R package rvest (Wickham,
2016) and web-crawling, the online hotel
reviews of predefined websites are scraped as
represented in Figure 1. The data store
information for each review such as its title,
date, a positive and a negative feedback text
as well as an overall rating score. Finally, the
reviews are cleaned using standard pre-
processing steps of text mining to end up with
the common structured form of a document-
term matrix (DTM) which is typical for predictive
modelling in text mining (Feinerer, Hornik, &
Meyer, 2008). We include the following steps of
pre-processing:
 Removal of punctuation, numbers, and
emoticons.
 Removal of stop words. Stop words are
function words which are unimportant to the
sentiment orientation of a review and hence do
not add further information value to our
generated dictionary (Manning & Schütze,
2005). They were eliminated using a list of
words contained in the R package tm (Feinerer
et al., 2008).
 Stemming. This is a process that reduces
words in inflected forms to their actual word
stem by removing affixes (Manning & Schütze,
2005). However, it has to be noted that for
some cases this process can distort the
meaning of words or whole sentences in
morphology-rich languages such as German
which has to be considered during evaluation.
32
 Feedback Separation. In addition to former
research and in order to take into account
whether a term has been used in a positive or
negative context, the terms within both positive
and negative feedback are separated by
means of capitalisation. This approach extends
standard sentiment analysis and text mining
approaches and allows the same term to have
a different sentiment connotation depending on
the category it belongs to. Within this paper,
terms belonging to the negative context of a
review are capitalised.
 Weighting. Common term frequencies are
used as weights within the DTM.
Afterwards, the DTM is split up into training-
and validation data (20.3% of the total data
corresponding to 5118 reviews) for an
independent performance evaluation. In order
to obtain reliable results, the latter data are not
used for model training (i.e. sparsity reduction,
dictionary generation and assignment of
weights) but only the training data (of 20K
reviews) are used to create the dictionary. The
final document-term matrices (DTM) contain all
terms that appeared in the reviews with their
respective frequencies. As a supplement to the
work of Pröllochs et al. (2015) several
dictionaries are created based on subsamples
of the training data of different size. This allows
analysing the effect of the available amount of
text data on the performance of the resulting
sentiment score model.
 Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39
Dictionary Creation using LASSO
LASSO regression of the document-term matrix
as a method for dictionary creation provides
numerous advantages. Every term is a possible
regressor (Pröllochs et al., 2015) and,
moreover, it leads to an implicit variable
selection. Therefore, it is both a regularisation
and a variable selection method (Hastie,
Tibshirani, & Friedman, 2017) that, in addition,
provides an easily interpretable result (in our
case: the dictionary). The resulting dictionary
consists of terms assigned with a positive or
negative connotation in form of a numeric
weight. To create the dictionary, the score
rating of each review from the training dataset
is used as a target criterion for regression
which is predicted by the term frequencies
contained in the document-term matrix and the
following equation:
The regression minimizes the residual sum of
squares (RSS) as a trade-off with the -norm
penalisation term . The latter is used
to shrink the regression coefficients in order
to avoid overfitting of the training data (James,
Witten, Hastie, & Tibshirani, 2017). As a
consequence of the regularisation, some
coefficient estimates are shrunk to exactly zero,
leading to an implicit variable selection
(Tibshirani, 1996). By this kind of implicit
variable selection, non-informative noise
variables are removed from the dictionary,
reducing the complexity of the overall model
which is crucial in text mining as document-
term matrices typically consist of many
columns.
In our case, the full training corpus of 20 000
observations has 32 541 terms. For this
reason, a preceding sparsity removal of terms
that occur in less than a certain percentage of
the training data is necessary (cf. Section 4).
The size of the regularisation parameter λ is
automatically optimized by an internal 10-fold
cross validation loop on the training data
according to the common ’1-standard-error-
rule’: the simplest model (i.e. the one with the
largest parameter λ) is selected where the
performance is at maximum one standard error
above the best model. This approach
corresponds to common machine learning
practise to ensure parsimony and
generalizability of the resulting model
(Friedman, Hastie, & Tibshirani, 2010). The
resulting coefficients are the weights of
terms in the created dictionary.
In our study, samples of varying sizes are
drawn from the training data. For each training
size, several dictionaries are created at
different levels of sparsity removal. Thereby,
the different performances can be compared
and further inferences on the possibilities with
this method and the requirements for a suitable
dictionary concluded. Ultimately, the validation
data have to be used for an independent
performance evaluation with regards to several
statistical measures: correlation, root-mean-
squared-error (RMSE) and mean absolute error
(MAE).
Results
Overall, 25 118 reviews are scraped from an
online booking platform, namely booking.com,
for various large-sized hotels located in
different cities in Germany to avoid influences
of local language and characteristics. The
language of the statements is German. All
reviews were written during the period from
January 2013 to January 2018.
Each review consists of a positive and a
negative part in which customers can express
their opinions with respect to both sentiments
separately. Further, a total rating score is
assigned scaling from one to ten where a
higher score equals a better evaluation and
therefore a better experience by the customer.
The positive and negative feedbacks are not
equally distributed as some authors tend to
only give either one or the other. In total, the
review corpus contains 20 714 positive and 18
037 negative evaluations. The average rating
has a score of 7.9.
Performance of various Dictionaries on the
Validation Set
The total training corpus makes up 79.7% of
the reviews; the remaining 20.3% build the
validation corpus for assessing the predictive
power of the developed sentiment model
regarding the score. As mentioned, the training
33
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews.
set is further split up into samples containing
varying amounts of reviews:
Beyond, different sparsity levels are tested to
restrict the number of possible term candidates
which can be offered to the dictionary creation
and consequently passively limiting its size,
too. We test the following levels:
Hence, a word that appears in less than 2%,
1% etc. of the online reviews is not considered
as a regressor. The following table shows the
effect of sparsity-based term pre-filtering for the
largest training sample of 20 000 reviews:
Table 1. Influence of different sparsity levels on
number of terms in Document-Term-Matrix
sparsity 100% 99.9% 99.5% 99% 98%
(all terms)
terms 32,541 1775 473 229 92
As one can observe the major part of terms
occurs in less the 0.1% of the reviews. Further,
note that each term corresponds to one
34
regression coefficient and therefore impacts on
the degrees of freedom of the model. These
considerations emphasize the importance of
term pre-filtering using sparsity.
We conclude that the sparsity value should not
be chosen too small: unless given a very small
training data set, the best performance is
observed for a sparsity of 0.999.
As depicted in Figure 2, with an increasing size
of the training set the dictionary’s predictive
performance improves and it becomes more
robust towards new data – the correlation for
the training set aligns with the one of the
validation set. In particular, at a sample size of
10 000 reviews, the dataset can be considered
large enough to avoid overfitting. Thus as a
result of this study, 10 000 reviews are
sufficient to create a robust sentiment
dictionary. Nonetheless, it is still possible to
improve the correlation further by adding even
more reviews. Table 2 gives a general
overview of the performances of the best-
generated dictionaries for each training set
regarding correlation, mean absolute error and
root-mean-squared error.
Final Sentiment Dictionary
The final dictionary is generated based on the
largest training set of 20 000 reviews using a
 Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39

Table 2. Performance of created dictionaries on validation set evaluated on Cor, MAE, RMSE
Size of Training Dataset

Criterion 200 500 1000 2000 5000 10 000 20 000

correlation 0.421 0.479 0.516 0.558 0.599 0.612 0.625

mean absolute error 1.128 1.100 1.071 1.032 0.988 0.978 0.963
root-mean-squared error 1.432 1.385 1.348 1.302 1.256 1.242 1.225

Table 3. Most influential negative and positive terms in sentiment dictionary

Negative Terms Weight Positive Terms Weight

RENOVIERUNGSBEDURFT -1.187 phantast 0.745

DRECKIG -1.08 ZUGEWIES 0.617
JUGENDHERBERG -1.026 auf 0.548
UNSAUB -1.001 genial 0.494
ENTGEG -0.868 traumhaft 0.49
SCHIMMEL -0.86 VIELLEICHT 0.438
SAUBER -0.822 perfekt 0.431
HERUNTERGEKOMM -0.818 best 0.43
SCHMUTZIG -0.803 PERFEKT 0.423
KOMFORT -0.745 gepasst 0.415

sparsity of 0.999. It consists of 778 terms out of
which 428 are connoted with a negative weight
and respectively 350 with a positive one,
underlying the ability of the LASSO to perform
an implicit variable selection. Table 3
summarizes the ten strongest positive and
negative terms represented, highlighting that
such with a negative connotation have a higher
influence on the total rating. For instance, if the
term “RENOVIERUNGSBEDURFT” (meaning,
that an object needs to be renovated) appears
in a review, the predicted score already
decreases by negative 1.187 points on
average. As the term is taken from the negative
category of a review, it has been capitalised
during the initial text mining steps in order to
differentiate it from the positive one.
As counterintuitive seem terms such as
”JUGENDHERBERG” (Eng. youth hostel),
“SAUBER” (Eng. clean) or “KOMFORT” (Eng.
convenience). Taking a look at the
composition of the dataset can give a
reasonable explanation – the reviews originate
from evaluations for well-known hotels which is
why a resemblance to a youth hostel can be
regarded as a deficit. Additionally, the terms in
question are capitalized and thus part of the
negative category in a review which means,
that even positive words such as “clean” or
“convenience” can have a negative connotation
if given in a negative review. This result shows
the benefit of the chosen approach to separate
different feedback categories prior to further
text mining and regression.
Another aspect worth noticing are the positively
associated terms belonging to the negative
category of a review such as “VIELLEICHT”
(Eng. maybe) which can be explained by terms
having the function of relativizing negative
feedback. Finally, one can notice that the terms
“perfekt” and “PERFEKT” (Eng. perfect) have
quite similar effects independent of the context
(positive or negative) in which it is used.
35
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews.
Some of the positively connoted terms in
Figure 3 underline an occurring difficulty when
applying stemming during text mining,
particularly within the German language –
sometimes, the remaining word stem cannot be
traced back to its origin. “auf” as an example,
can be part of many expressions and now all of
those which are stemmed to this term can have
the same weight association. A manual
inspection of corresponding documents might
help to overcome this issue during dictionary
creation.
Finally, there are some terms directly linking
back to relevant factors of the hotels
influencing the evaluation such as
“SCHIMMEL” (Eng. mildew). This can give
decision-makers the necessary know-how on
which aspects they need to focus on in order to
improve the evaluations of their hotels and
thereby also customer satisfaction.
Despite all the mentioned restrictions and
issues that may arise when trying to draw
conclusions from the created Word Cloud and
Sentiment Dictionary, the two tools still are able
to provide a solid overview on positively and
negatively perceived elements of a business.
36
Especially the coloured Word Cloud allows the
beholder to quickly assess the analysed object,
as it immediately categorises the mentioned
aspects into negative and positive by making
use of a colour code to support the given
connotations visually.
The owner of a tourism entity, e.g. a hotel, can
thus gain a valuable outside view on his
business. It allows the hotel owner to retrieve
information from hundreds of independent
reviews, which provide important feedback, in a
compromised and compact manner. They can
then see which actions have to be taken in
order to improve the perception of their
business. This can include very practical
issues, such as “SCHIMMEL” (Eng. mildew)
which should initiate a renovation or a
reduction of humidity. It can also include issues
more related to soft skills (of the staff) such as
“UNFREUND” (Eng. unfriend(ly/liness). Here,
actions of another kind such as the training of
staff have to be taken. These rather soft skills
related reviews are of great importance to the
owner of a tourism entity, e.g. a hotel, since
they are difficult to assess from the inside.
 Tetzlaff, L., K. Rulle, G. Szepannek and W. Gronau (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 28-39
Therefore, a Sentiment Analysis and the
entailing Word Cloud can help a business
owner to see through the eyes of their clients
and to perceive their business the way his
clients do. This insight allows for problems to
be assessed and appropriate actions to be
taken in order to improve the perception of the
business. Overall, we conclude from our results
that accurately predicting the score of online
hotel reviews is possible by means of an
automatically created domain-specific
sentiment dictionary based on text mining and
LASSO regression.
Discussion
Our research follows up on the one done by
Pröllochs et al. (2015) in so far as we
implement LASSO regression on a different
domain to create a domain-specific dictionary.
However, our aim is to be able to predict review
rating scores and by doing so inferring on
possible factors driving such reviews which
may be disguised as terms within our
dictionary. Similarly to their research, LASSO
regression proved to be a successful method
for finding relevant terms in an unstructured big
dataset.
As previously mentioned, the limited number of
studies that exist within the domain of hotel
reviews in the context of sentiment analyses
mainly focus on binary or multiclass
classification but not on the prediction of ratings
on a numeric scale which adhere more detailed
information. Therefore, the research is an
extension to just classifying the reviews into a
positive or negative category. It allows an
insight into the relationship between words
used and customer individual rating scores.
Compared to studies using a lexicon with pre-
selected words the proposed methodology
holds the advantage of being able to adapt to
the specific domain as well as to the words
used in the online reviews and as a result
creates a non-static dictionary which can be
easily updated.
In contrast to Gräbner et al. (2012), the
proposed methodology in our work applies a
statistical learning approach in order to
optimize weights for each term as opposed to
using equal static predefined weights.
The size of 20 000 reviews used for training in
this study is comparatively large. The
conclusion from systematically testing
sentiment models trained on smaller data
indicate that the amount of data required for
stable dictionary creation of about 10 000
reviews has not been reached by all mentioned
studies. As Shi and Li (2011) have concluded
within their area of research, working with term
frequency-inverse document frequency instead
of term frequency to measure the importance of
words prior to performing the machine learning
method can lead to improved results. The
results are obtained using support vector
machines (which do not perform an implicit
variable selection and interpretable results as
LASSO does). Therefore, this conclusion may
not be directly transferable to our proposed
methodology but it is worth noticing and might
be a direction for future studies.
Conclusion
Hotels and other hospitality businesses are
permanently assessed and evaluated by their
customers via digital channels. It is crucial for
the businesses to know how to understand and
learn from those reviews in order to improve
and adapt to the customers’ wishes (Rihova et
al., 2015).
This paper shows that it is not necessary to
scan through every single entry, but that it is
possible to assess these entries with the help
of an automatically created sentiment
dictionary. A dictionary of this manner does not
only allow to evaluate which terms and in a
sense, therefore, features of a business are
connoted positively or negatively, but it also
assigns these written entries a numeric score
which is based on the expressions used and
feelings conveyed by the authors. As its main
contribution, this research provides a practical
approach for creating such a sentiment
dictionary for German organisations in the
hospitality business based on a Bayesian
learning method. Moreover, the necessary size
is investigated, i.e. the number of reviews of
the training dataset for a stable model,
deducing that 10 000 reviews are adequate.
The results of this paper are limited insofar as
the dataset consists only of reviews for large
hotels in Germany. Besides that, the reviews
37
 A customer feedback sentiment dictionary: Towards automatic assessment of online reviews.
are scraped from one specific online platform.
The large sample size compared to other
studies and its diversity are encouraging that it
is possible to transfer the sentiment model and
to predict the underlying sentiment of online
reviews also for other hotels and platforms
which might be an investigation topic for future
research, particularly for smaller and medium-
sized businesses.
In addition, future research may concern the
comparison of the performance while using
different modelling methodology such as
SVMs, random forests, boosting or neural
networks and further investigate the trade-off
between interpretability and performance of the
model.
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39
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in
Southern Morocco

Andreas Kagermeier 1*, Lahoucine Amzil 2 and Brahim Elfasskaoui 3

Received: 31/07/2018 Accepted: 13/08/2018

1 Freizeit- und Tourismusgeographie, Universität Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, Germany,

e-mail: andreas@kagermeier.de, Phone: +49-172-9600865

2 Centre d'Études et de Recherches Géographiques (CERGéo), Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences

Humaines, Université Mohammed V – Rabat, Avenue Mohamed Ben Abdellah Erregragui, 10000 Rabat,
Morocco, E-mail: houcine.amzil@gmail.com
3 Département de Géographie, Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Université Moulay Ismaïl,

Meknès, B.P. 11202, 50070 Meknès – Zitoune, Morocco, E-mail: elfasskaoui@yahoo.fr

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Werner Gronau

Abstract
In the Global South traditional hierarchical steering modes are still quite widespread. The
significantly changing conditions of competition in recent decades have boosted the need for
innovation in tourism. As such, the core challenge for tourism development in many countries of the
Global South has been to attain an innovation-based orientation by using stimuli from destination
governance. This article is an attempt to analyse the factors that might facilitate the diffusion of an
innovation-based orientation. As a basic hypothesis, the article adopts the “counter-flow principle”,
with exchange between different spheres as stimuli for innovation. Taking the Souss-Massa region
in Southern Morocco as a case study, the paper describes an analysis of the positions of public and
private stakeholders as well as civil society organisations. The main question is what kind of
relationship between the stakeholders would foster effective governance processes among local,
regional and (inter-)national stakeholders. One of the major constraints seems to be that existing
public governance conditions concerning the fostering of private activities limit the implementation of
an innovation-oriented range of rural tourism options. The paper then examines such limitations and
constraints of existing governance structures, which lead to the suboptimal performance and
effectiveness of (mainly) top-down approaches.

Keywords: destination governance, rural tourism, Morocco

Citation: Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) The transition of governance
approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp.
40-62

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
40 RESEARCH PAPER
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62

Tourism governance approaches in the predominance of large private actors. National

Global South and international hotel chains provide the
Since the turn of the century in many countries accommodation facilities in many coastal
of the Global South, rural tourism has become resorts, as well as at famous heritage sites and
a new product line, complementing traditional in metropolitan tourism destinations – often
coastal tourism resorts and cultural tourism with international hotel chains dominating the
opportunities (often as round-trip tourism). The market. In addition to the accommodation
innovative development of this new line of sector, the market has been characterised by
products and services has created a challenge the dominance of international tour operators
for traditional steering modes, which were as well as national and international flagship
developed with large national and international carriers.
players during the Fordist phase of mass
tourism. Nevertheless, specific results
concerning the development of successful,
innovative choices in rural tourism as well as
the implementation of substantial innovative
sustainability management strategies are rather
limited in most countries of the Global South.

The relationships and interactions between

governmental authorities and local and regional
stakeholders in the Global South have often
continued to be marked by post-colonial top-
down hierarchies. Moreover, the often-iterated
interaction procedures that are undertaken in
industrialised countries as a matter of course
(Revermann & Petermann, 2003, p. 98 et seq.)
are often lacking in countries of the Global
South (Mowforth & Munt, 2003, p. 255 et seq.).
Figure 1. Typology of governance structures
Approaches to tackling the diverging trade-offs
(Source: Own design following Hall, 2011, p.
between economic, social and ecological
443)
aspects – which are usually rather well
established in industrialised countries
In another typology classifying governance
(Biedenkamp & Garbe, 2002, p. 2) – are
approaches, Bodega, Cioccarelli & Denicolai
lacking in many countries of the Global South.
(2004) used two dimensions as well to
Major national and international tourism
characterise organisational structures in
professionals are often only interested in
destinations. Their “Centralisation” dimension
societal and environmental concerns outside
corresponds closely to Hall’s hierarchical/non-
their direct reach to a limited extent (see Burns
hierarchical axis (steering mode). They also
1999, 2004). At the same time, the need for
noted the relevance of the density of the
good governance in tourism is often acutely felt
interaction between the stakeholders, and
by the different stakeholders, who have been
made this their second dimension (Figure 2).
looking for new ways of interaction within the
Following this matrix, many tourism sectors in
“ecosystem” of the stakeholders involved.
the Global South (see, e.g. Kagermeier &
Kobs, 2013) can be characterised by the
According to a typology of governance
“Governed Model”, with a high degree of
structures posited by Michael Hall (2011,
centralisation among only a few large private
Figure 1) regarding steering modes and actors,
stakeholders and with a low degree of
the tourism sector of many countries in the
interaction between the different stakeholders.
Global South can be described by
The role of the public sector is often mainly
characteristics of the “Markets” mode. From a
limited to guaranteeing the quality of the
governance perspective, the structure of the
general conditions concerning infrastructure
tourism sector is characterised by a
and promoting the country as a whole in a
41
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
rather general way, using image campaigns
conducted by the national tourism marketing
organisations.
Figure 2. Matrix of organisational positioning
(Source: Own design following Bodega,
Cioccarelli & Denicolai 2004, p. 17)
This corresponds to what – from a governance
perspective of destination management –
Flagestad & Hope (2001; see Figure 3)
described as the “Corporate Model”. A
destination which is characterised by the
Corporate Model approach of governance is
dominated by few major international and
national private stakeholders (hotel chains and
tour operators), with only minor roles played by
local and regional tourist boards as well as by
Figure 3. Ideal types of organisational structures in Destination Management: The Community
Model and Corporate Model (Source: Own design following Flagestad & Hope, 2001, p. 452)
42
the public sector (in its governing capacity).
This stands in contrast to the “Community
Model”, where a multitude of small local and
regional private stakeholders need
comprehensive destination marketing and
management organisation, as well as public
stakeholders who can assume the leadership
role in a destination (see Beritelli & Bieger,
2014 or Kagermeier, 2014a). It has been
hypothesised that to foster rural tourism with a
multitude of small private stakeholders, the
Community Model would seem more
appropriate, by incorporating smaller
stakeholders with regard to their (often limited)
competences and resources (Kagermeier &
Kobs, 2013; Kagermeier, 2014a).
Up until now, discussions about the role of
governance modes on the destination level
have mainly been held in the Global North. A
core thread of the discussion has been
developed by Pechlaner and his network
partners. They focused on the importance of
delimitating regional entities, which, from the
perspective of post-Fordist tourists, meet the
criteria of a single individual destination and
which facilitate the active development of the
destination; here, destination management
organisations (DMOs) play a central role
(Pechlaner, Raich & Fischer, 2009, Pechlaner,
Volgger & Herntrei, 2012). The regional core
competencies (Pechlaner, Fischer &
Hammann, 2006b) are only developed to a
small extent. Stakeholders’ strategic
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
orientations can generally be described as
“defenders” and “reactors”. The role played by
leaders in fostering innovative approaches is
particularly noteworthy (Pechlaner, Hammann
& Fischer, 2005; Pechlaner, Fischer &
Hammann, 2006a; Pechlaner, Volgger &
Herntrei, 2012). Pechlaner & Volgger pointed
out “the importance of the structural and
procedural conditions” (2012: 926) for
successful local and regional cooperation. At
the same time, the role of regional DMOs could
be reinterpreted as that of facilitators and
mediators in cooperation, and cooperative
governance (Pechlaner, Raich & Kofink, 2011)
with private entrepreneurs working to achieve
innovative developments.
Another line of discussion has been developed
by the “St. Gallen School” of destination
management (see, e.g. Reinhold, Laesser &
Beritelli, 2017 or Reinhold, Beritelli & Grünig,
2018) with a primary focus on destination
management and organisational aspects in
Switzerland. So far, however, little emphasis
has been placed on the question of destination
governance aspects in the Global South (but
see, e.g. Kagermeier & Kobs, 2013).
In sum, it can be concluded that an innovation-
based orientation is seen as a means to
meeting the challenges of competitiveness in a
global tourism economy. Each tourism player
seeks productivity and quality through
innovation schemes. Nevertheless, an
integrated and coordinated approach among
actors is still missing in many places. Today,
good governance involves:
● a clear definition of actors’ roles and
responsibilities;
● collaborative networks to avoid gaps and
duplication of effort;
● the involvement of all actors;
● a medium-term and a long-term strategy.
The following section analyses the governance
structures in Moroccan tourism. However,
tourism policies cannot be understood
separately from general political conditions, so
the next step is to sketch the development of
general governance approaches in Morocco.
The development of governance
approaches in Morocco
The Kingdom of Morocco (which had never
been part of the Ottoman Empire) came under
the colonial influence of European nations at
the end of the 19th century. In 1912, Morocco
became a French protectorate until its
independence in 1956. As in France, the
protectoral government structures were quite
centralised and at the same time marked by
military conquest, with the so-called
“pacification” of the southern parts of the
country followed by the establishment of a
military administration (Kagermeier, 2012).
Apart from traditional tribal self-government, no
formal democratic structures with elected
representatives were introduced on the local or
regional level. In fact, the first democratic
elections on the local level only took place in
1976 (Rais, 2017). In the mid-1960s, the first
attempts to decentralise these government
structures were established. Decentralisation in
the Moroccan context meant that, by creating
new provinces as subdivisions of existing ones,
new provincial offices of the central
government in the new provincial capitals were
created, bringing the central power closer to
the people. The main motivation for this can be
seen as refining the structure of oversight. But
in addition to a provincial office of the Ministry
of the Interior as the central tutelage institution,
other offices were set up as well. These
included not only offices of the Ministry of
Agriculture and other ministries, but the
provincial delegations of the Tourism Ministry
as well. The number of provinces shot up from
16 in 1960 to 40 in 1985 (Kagermeier, 1990).
By 2015, the number rose further, to a total of
63 provinces and 10 prefectures (the
corresponding administrative level in
metropolitan areas), which are shown in
Figure 4.
A significant first step towards so-called
“regionalisation”, which can be seen as a
starting point to changing the governance
structures from top-down to counter-flow
principles, can be seen in the creation of 16
economic regions in 1997 (Benyahya, 1998).
These 16 regions (to a certain extent based on
the initial 16 provinces) were primarily ruled by
a new top-down oriented administrative level –
the so-called “Wilayas”. However, the first
elements of democratic regional bodies,
elected Regional Councils, were also
43
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.

established, though their range of action was
limited to a few certain economic aspects.
Nevertheless, for the first time, the regions
were acknowledged as “territorial collectivities”
(“collectivité territoriale”; Rais, 2017).
After the “Arab Spring”, the speed as well as
the intensity of the decentralisation and
democratisation process in Morocco
accelerated. In a speech on 9 March 2011,
King Mohamed VI launched a new step
towards a more comprehensive regionalisation
by announcing what he called “advanced
regionalisation” (régionalisation avancée; Rais,
2017). In the new constitution of 2011, the
regions were given the designation of
autonomous public bodies (Royaume du
Maroc, 2011, Article 135: “constituent des
personnes morales de droit public et gèrent
démocratiquement leurs affaires“).
Specifications defining the former economic
regions as well as a comprehensive
reorganisation of their tasks was presented by
a commission appointed by King Mohamed VI
at the end of 2011 (Royaume du Maroc,
Commission consultative de la regionalisation,
2011). After a protracted debate, 12 new
regions were established in 2015 (Figure 5);
they were given the task of dealing with
economic development, continuing education
and rural development (Rais, 2017, “le
développement économique, la formation

Figure 4. Provinces and prefectures in Morocco in 2015 (Source: Own design following Zaireg, 2015)

44
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62

continue et le développement rurale”). can be identified, even if these beginnings have

This short sketch shows that after
independence during the second half of the 20th
century – to a certain extent a legacy of the
colonial period as well – some basic aspects of
the political governance approaches in
Morocco were still marked by the top-down
orientation of a rather authoritarian governance
model. In recent years, however, some
tendencies towards a more counter-flow
oriented decentralisation governance model
still not yet been implemented to the full extent.
The next section analyses governance
approaches in the tourism sector specifically,
which naturally reflect the overall conditions of
the general political setting.
Development of tourism governance
approaches
Since its independence in 1956, the tourism
policy of the case study of Morocco has been
driven by the perception of tourism as a means

Figure 5. The “new” regions of Morocco, since 2015 (Source: Own design following Zaireg, 2015)

45
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
of generating foreign exchange, thereby
reducing the trade deficit as well as creating
employment opportunities. Therefore, the main
focus has been on incoming tourism from
abroad. Following the product lines already
implemented during the colonial period, the
tourism portfolio of Morocco has traditionally
been characterised by three relatively equal
pillars since its beginning:
1) Beach tourism (especially in the area of
Agadir);
2) Culture-oriented city tourism (especially in
the “Imperial Cities” such as Fes, Meknes and
Marrakesh);
3) Round-trip tourism (in the south of the
country along the “Road of the Kasbahs”,
Kagermeier, 2014b).
Tourism governance approaches until the end
of the 20th century
Even during the colonial era, the central
government played an important role in a
relatively hierarchic governance structure, and
this basic, primarily top-down, orientation
continued in the first decades of independence
until the 1980s. This was not only reflected by
the fact that both tourism-focused institutions
dating from the colonial period, the “Office
National Marocaine du Tourisme” (ONMT), a
marketing organisation for internationally
incoming tourism, and the “Crédit Immobilier et
Hôtelier” (CIH), a means of facilitating private
investments by offering loans at reduced
interest rates, continued to exist after
Figure 6. Governance-related stakeholders in Moroccan tourism until the 1980s
(Source: Own design)
46
independence. Just as at the beginning of
tourism development in the 1920s and 1930s
(Kagermeier, 2012), the central government
continued to act as a direct investor in state
and semi-state accommodation infrastructure –
partially via the national railway company (the
“Office National des Chemins de Fer” (ONCF))
as well as via the “Société Marocaine de
Développement touristique” (SOMADET). It
also provided financial means via the CDG
(“Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion”), a state-
owned financial institution providing long-term
loans. Since 1965 in particular, with the
creation of a tourism ministry (CRAM 1996,
p. 679), Morocco has recognised the
importance of tourism as an economic sector
for the country. Apart from the central
institutions in the capital, provincial offices of
the national ministry responsible for tourism
were established, mainly as tutelageand
oversight institutions to assure the observance
of technical norms and to collect data on the
occupancy of hotels (Figure 6).
The delegates in the provincial office were sent
by the central government for a certain period
of time. Like diplomats, they were usually
replaced after a few years and returned to the
central ministry, or were sent to other
provinces. This system meant that their role as
provincial promotors of tourism development
activities was quite limited due to their weak
local and regional rootedness. After the late
1970s, the state-owned hotels were
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
successively sold to international and national
private hotel chains, and the central
government began to withdraw from direct
operational activities (partially by its own will, in
light of the fact that the initial phase of tourism
development had been accomplished, and
partially as a result of the intervention of
international financial institutions and donors to
reduce debts and give way to privatisation).
The hotel market has been dominated by
national and international hotel chains and tour
operators ever since. Smaller private owner-led
hotels have played only a minor role (mainly in
the major cities).
With respect to the governance models
presented in Section 1, the traditional
Moroccan tourism product with beach tourism
and cultural urban tourism in the Imperial Cities
demonstrates – regarding steering mode and
actors – characteristics of the “Markets”
typology of Hall (2011, see Figure 1).
According to the two dimensions of “Density”
and “Centralisation” used by Bodega,
Cioccarelli & Denicolai (2004, see Figure 2),
the situation in Morocco demonstrates an
almost-ideal type of a “Governed Model”, with
destinations that represent more the “Corporate
Model” of Flagestad & Hope (2011, see
Figure 3).
Figure 7. Governance-related stakeholders in Moroccan tourism after 2000 (Source: Own design)
The first steps towards a more regional focus
during the middle of the 1990s were reflected in
the tourism sector by the establishment of
regional offices of the central tourism ministry
(with more or less the same objectives and
functions as the provincial offices; see Figure
7). Reflecting the first tentative steps towards
bottom-up representation of the overall
governance approaches in the tourism sector,
the regional tourism delegations created
“Groupements Régional d’Intérêt Touristique”
(GRITs) and invited representatives of hotels,
tour operators and tourism agencies to
participate in them. It was mainly
representatives of major national and
international chains and enterprises that were
represented in this circle. From the beginning,
a discussion within the GRITs had been that
they could not have access to sufficient funding
originating from a clearly defined source. This
has meant that their role has been quite limited,
because they have not been able to carry out
larger infrastructure projects or marketing
activities using their own resources. Later, the
GRITs were replaced by the “Conseils
Régional du Tourisme” (CRT) (Berrissoule,
2002), and thus are not shown in Figure 7. For
a long time, cooperation on international
development programmes focused on
agricultural projects. Since the 1990s, however,
more and more international donors
47
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
(symbolised by the representation of the
German GIZ in Figure 7) have turned their
activities towards tourism as an alternative
income-generating activity in rural areas. Most
of the time, these projects (such as the GIZ’s
Argan Project in the Souss-Massa region in
Morocco; GIZ, 2007; Hayer, 2006 or El
Fasskaoui, 2009; Amzil, 2009) were
undertaken in cooperation with the Ministry of
Agriculture (see Figure 7) or the Administration
for the Protection of the Natural Environment
(Haut Commissariat aux Eaux et Fôrets; see
Figure 9), and rarely in close interaction with
the Ministry of Tourism. As such, the
intervention of development agencies should
be understood as another stakeholder on the
stage, who is only partially involved and who
has adjusted to previously existing approaches.
By the end of the 20th century, Moroccan
tourism governance structures were still
marked by a traditional top-down orientation
coming from the centralised administration,
albeit with a view to tentative initiatives on the
regional level as well as by international
organisations.
Vision 2010
After the turn of the millennium, the tourism
sector was assigned a significantly greater
importance by political leaders. This is reflected
in the so-called “Vision 2010” (Royaume du
Maroc 2001, 2013b), a tourism strategy that
aimed to significantly increase the number of
tourists to 10 million by 2010 (Royaume du
Maroc 2001, p. 5). The driving forces for this
intensive reorientation towards tourism
development was neither particularly demand
nor supply-driven, but can be seen as a result
of the will to increase the overall economic
effects of tourism in the national economy, as
the most important contributor to
macroeconomic balances, the second-largest
contributor to national GDP and the second-
largest job creator (Royaume du Maroc,
2013b). This focus on the outcomes of the
tourism industry favoured large-scale
investments (under the name “Plan Azur”),
mainly in six beach resorts and the Imperial
Cities (for more details, see, e.g. Kagermeier,
2014b). The “Open Sky” EU-Morocco Aviation
Agreement, which came into force in 2006,
must be understood in the context of the
growth orientation of Vision 2010. The aim to
48
increase the number of tourists by facilitating
accessibility with more Moroccan and
European (low-cost) carriers offering flights to
Morocco was fulfilled, significantly increasing
arrivals (IATA, 2009, p. 27; Schlumberger &
Weisskopf 2012, p. 276 et seq.). Even though
the governance approach was not explicitly
mentioned in the original text of the Vision 2010
(Royaume du Maroc 2001), in a later, abridged
version of the tourism strategy, various
milestones of a new governance approach
became clear. These included:
• the modernisation of the ONMT,
• the creation of the Moroccan Society of
Tourism Engineering (SMIT) by the Ministry of
Tourism as its operational arm,
• the creation of the Tourism Observatory,
and
• the creation of the Regional Councils for
Tourism (Royaume du Maroc, 2013b).
Although the first tentative steps towards a
more decentralised and regionalised
governance approach had already been
undertaken at the overall political level at the
end of the 1990s, the governance-related
elements of the Vision 2010 tourism strategy
were still very much concentrated in agencies
of the central government. Apart from the
intended modernisation of the national tourism
marketing office (ONMT), two new institutions
on the national level were created. The smaller
one, the Tourism Observatory, was designed to
collect various statistics on tourism and
conduct corresponding analyses. The creation
of the SMIT (with its provincial offices) served
as an executive body, conducting feasibility
studies, guiding the development of regional
master plans, and attempting to facilitate
tourism investments (SMIT, 2018). In this way,
another stakeholder from the national level
began to intervene on the other spatial levels.
At the same time, a certain level of
disengagement by the public sector cannot be
overlooked. Even though the public sector
increased its structural presence, the
operational task of creating infrastructure and
promoting the Moroccan tourism product has to
a great extent been given to (mainly
international) investors. Since the turn of the
millennium, tourism development has been
characterised to a great extent by real estate
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
aspects (and sometimes even speculation;
Berriane, 2009, p. 267) in the coastal resorts
and the Imperial Cities.
Nevertheless, with the Regional Tourism
Councils (replacing the former GRIDs),
democratically legitimised bodies were created,
strengthening the bottom-up element in tourism
policy. However, the creation of new bodies did
not lead to any reduction in the responsibilities
or tasks of the top-down tutelage regional or
provincial tourism ministry offices. This was
quite typical for the steps that followed steps as
well. While the second half of the 20th century
had mainly been characterised by the
elaboration and installation of increasingly
refined and sophisticated tutelage structures,
the first two decades of the 21th century saw
the rise of democratic and more bottom-up
initiatives. But these new stakeholders did not
replace or reduce the top-down oriented
stakeholders; they were simply added to the
system of stakeholders. This often created
obstructions between the different types of
stakeholders, as no clear task sharing had
been implemented. As a consequence, parallel
structures were established, with different
stakeholders dealing with sometimes more or
less the same tasks and without any clear
assignments concerning their relationships.
In addition to the main orientation on coastal
resorts, the Imperial Cities and internal tourism,
Vision 2010 put a certain amount of focus on
the fostering of rural tourism. Therefore, the
establishment of destination management
organisations (DMOs) as a central steering
instrument was considered useful. Based on
the French model (Henry, 1995), the creation of
“Pays d'Accueil Touristiques” (PAT) was
proposed (Royaume du Maroc, 2002, p. 144 et
seq.). The basic principle behind the approach
was the fact that in rural areas, individual
attractions usually do not have enough
individual appeal to attract international tourists
in particular. Similar to Germany, for example,
it was also important in Morocco’s rural areas
that larger territorial units could join together in
a common product development and marketing
platform. One key aspect of a regional DMO is
that, within the framework of internal marketing,
all relevant actors are involved, so that both
private tourism service providers and the
relevant public institutions (e.g. nature or
national park administrations), as well as
political actors and the population in general all
share in the development of tourism on the
basis of a coordinated catalogue of objectives,
as characterised by Flagestad & Hope (2001;
see Figure 3).
A study commissioned by the Moroccan
Ministry of Tourism with the backing of the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation
(UNWTO) outlined the relevant and necessary
aspects of the field of activity of a DMO:
● The development of corresponding product
lines for active tourism, including the creation of
the necessary tourist infrastructure (e.g. hiking
trails, signage);
● The initiation of appropriate catering and
accommodation choices;
● Quality assurance or certification; and
● The transfer of destination-related market
communication (Royaume du Maroc, 2002,
p. 148 et seq.).
"Maisons de Pay" were also supposed be
created as a central nucleus for rural
destinations. On the one hand, these should
have served as a point of contact and
information for visitors, just as a national park
centre would, but on the other hand, they
should also have been a showcase for the
region and its regional products (Royaume du
Maroc, 2002, pp. 148 et seq.). In addition, the
need for “capacity building” to create the
necessary tourism-specific know-how among
the rural stakeholders was also made clear
(Royaume du Maroc 2002, pp. 185 et seq.), as
well as a stronger institutional presence with its
own agency (Royaume du Maroc, 2002,
pp. 175 et seq.). The study also made
reference to the need to provide adequate
financial resources (Royaume du Maroc 2002,
pp. 192 et seq.). In addition to the direct
promotion of infrastructure measures that
would not be immediately profitable, these
were also to be used to lend to small investors,
who, unlike large-scale hotel investors, had
only limited access to traditional capital
sources.
Even though the rural tourism strategy seemed
like some kind of appendix in Vison 2010, it
nevertheless induced quite a few activities
49
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
among small private stakeholders and local
civil society initiatives in different rural areas to
construct guesthouses or develop hiking
routes. Two Moroccan experts even spoke of a
certain “fever” (Berriane & Moizo, 2014, p. 21)
in rural regions. But almost 20 years after the
start of the rural tourism initiatives, the balance
has been quite disillusioning. The central
weaknesses of the attempt to stimulate rural
tourism in peripheral regions can be found on
the side of the public sector as well as among
the private stakeholders involved. On the side
of the public stakeholders, it is possible to
observe:
1) a traditional hierarchical attitude
characteristic of an authoritarian state,
2) an orientation towards major investors
from outside the region, and
3) a lack of awareness among public
stakeholders of the need for governance
structures.
Small private stakeholders attempting to
engage in rural tourism often demonstrate
4) a lack of the necessary capabilities to
successfully run a tourism business, and
5) the absence of any cooperative structures
to tackle their individual weaknesses.
This means that innovation-based approaches
that try to guide and facilitate the tasks of small
private accommodation owners have not really
been pursued by the central public institutions;
this in turn leaves certain weaknesses in the
rural tourism segment. Although NGOs have
attempted to intervene in some cases to
compensate for the deficits in the public
steering role, their effect has been quite limited
(for more details, see Berriane & Aderghal,
2012, Berriane & Moizo, 2014 or Kagermeier,
2014b). One of the few examples where a
grassroots NGO was established and has had
a significant impact is the “Réseau de
Développement du Tourisme Rural” (RDTR,
2012), which operates in the Souss-Massa(-
Drâa) region of the country (see Section 4).
Vision 2020
In light of the weak results of the PAT concept
(which to a great extent reflected the
governance weaknesses and the incomplete
cooperation of central tutelage institutions,
bottom-up regional organisations and private
stakeholders), the concept was not pursued
50
and was quietly abandoned after 2010, when
an updated version of the tourism development
plan was launched (Royaume du Maroc, 2011).
The central driving force of the “Vision 2020”
was more or less the same as its
predecessor’s: continue to make tourism one of
the engines of Morocco’s economic, social and
cultural development (“Engagement: Continuer
à faire du tourisme l’un des moteurs du
développement économique, social et culturel
du Maroc”, Royaume du Maroc, 2014) with the
central aim of doubling the role of the sector in
the national economy – so once again, the
tourism development approach is mainly
growth-oriented. To improve the position of the
country in a highly competitive market
environment, Vision 2020 has called for the
application of quality management approaches
as well as a focus on the diversity and
authenticity of the product.
Nevertheless, Vision 2020 designated a decent
demarcation of regional destinations
(“territoires touristiques”) for the first time. The
country was divided into eight tourism regions
(see Figure 8) and each destination was
assigned one of three specific product
orientations: seaside tourism, cultural tourism
or nature tourism.
These classifications aimed to develop a
consistent tourism segment and to create a
region that had the necessary critical mass to
achieve international visibility for the
destination as a whole (“présentant la
cohérence touristique, l’attractivité et la masse
critique nécessaires … pour disposer d’une
visibilité internationale et accéder au statut de
destination à part entière“ Royaume du Maroc,
2018b). Each destination would then (not totally
independently, but still under the guidance of
the national ministry) develop its own tourism
strategy to present itself on the market.
Although the principal concept must be
acknowledged as an attempt to foster (at least
partially) decentralised approaches, the
demarcation of these destinations does not
take into account the regional structure
established in 2015 (see Figure 8). This could
be accepted if the 16 administrative regions did
not represent a consistent type of destination.
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62

But a closer look at the demarcations of the
tourism regions and the administrative regions
(which affect other ministries) makes it clear
that, by overriding the administrative
boundaries, the aim of demarking consistent
destinations with a clear and common profile
has only partially been achieved. For example,
the pre-Saharan “Atlas & Vallées” could easily
be considered a tourism region with a rather
obvious profile. This rural tourism region,
covering the eastern parts of the High Atlas as
well as the river oases south of the High Atlas
and the eastern parts of the Moroccan desert,
with the sand dunes at Merzouga and Mhamid,
should focus on nature tourism. At the same
time, this tourism region corresponds to a great
extent to the Drâa-Tafilalet Administrative
Region. But the tourism region also comprises
parts north of the High Atlas, which belong to
the Beni Mellal – Khenifra Administrative
Region, where a quite different tourism product
is available, and thus does not really

Figure 8. Tourism territories according to the Vision 2020 tourism strategy

(Source: Own design following Royaume du Maroc. Ministère du Tourisme 2013a, p. 18, with
the Souss-Massa & Drâa-Tafilalet regions highlighted)
51
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
correspond to the pre-Saharan profile. On the
other side, the easternmost part of the Atlas &
Vallées Tourism Region (in Figuig Province,
see Figure 4) does not belong to the Drâa-
Tafilalet Administrative Region. In the
proposals by the Expert Commission on
Regionalisation (Royaume du Maroc, 2011:
37), Figuig Province has been – due to its
structural characteristics – proposed to become
part of the Drâa-Tafilalet region as well, thus
enabling a correspondence between
administrative and tourism regions. However –
perhaps for other political reasons – Figuig
Province ultimately became part of the Oriental
Administrative Region.
On the other side, the expert commission
proposed that Al Hoceima Province become
part of the Oriental Administrative Region, but
this province in the Rif mountains – marked
from time to time by political disturbances
(Schwarz, 2018) – has been put together with
other Rif provinces in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al
Hoceima Administrative Region, thus again
creating a gap between the tourism regions
and the administrative regions without any
discernible reason. This can be interpreted as
an indicator that the synergy between the two
central administrations dealing with
regionalisation aspects might still be
significantly optimised.
At the same time, the classification of tourism
products to each of the tourism regions seems
a little bit mechanistic and superficial. One of
the most striking cases is that of the Souss
Sahara Atlantique Tourism Region (see
Figure 8), comprising three administrative
regions. Even though the whole tourism region
is supposed to focus on seaside tourism, only
the Souss-Massa region (mainly around
Agadir) has decent coastal resorts available.
And even the Souss-Massa region includes the
southern slopes of the High Atlas and major
parts of the Anti-Atlas ranges, which are
characterised by rural tourism in the interior –
this has nothing in common with the seaside
resorts of Agadir. The two other administrative
regions – partly composed of the former
Spanish Sahara – only show very embryonic
tourism activities and most of the surface of
those two provinces is covered by desert –
marked more by the extraction of phosphate
52
than by desert tourism. Therefore, it seems that
the demarcation and product assignment of the
tourism regions might be more influenced by
political wishful thinking than by current or
potential tourism development realities.
Nevertheless, the tourism regions are intended
to play an important role in the tourism strategy
of Morocco. The Vision 2020 document states
that these will not only be subject to detailed
regional roadmaps, but also given their own
governance structures and dedicated financing
(“Chacun des territoires touristiques est doté
d’un positionnement et d’une ambition
spécifiques … qui feront l’objet de feuilles de
route régionales détaillées, portées par une
gouvernance propre et des moyens dédiés”
Royaume du Maroc, 2011: 11).
But again, this does not mean that the eight
tourism regions were meant to act on their own.
The national government has called for the
creation of a Tourism Development Agency
(Agences de Développement Touristique) for
each of the eight tourism regions, whose main
mission will be to guarantee the effective
execution of the regional roadmaps (Royaume
du Maroc, 2018a). Even though the Tourism
Development Agencies have not yet been
established as of 2018, they demonstrate the
will of the central government to continue to
intervene in regional activities as the leading
key institution. At the same time, the
relationships between the level of the tourism
regions and the different bodies at the
administrative level or with the SMIT is not yet
clear (Figure 9).
As one Moroccan colleague tentatively
concluded concerning the current situation of
regionalisation and the mitigation of top-down
approaches in Moroccan tourism policy as
reflected in Vision 2020: “Even though other
actors are able to participate in crafting tourism
policy, one has to state that the Ministry of
Tourism is still responsible for the entire
mission, up to the present day” (“Même si
d’autres acteurs peuvent être une partie
prenante dans la politique touristique, on
constate que c’est au ministère du tourisme
que revient, jusqu’à nos jours, la totalité de la
mission” Lazhar, 2015: 257). Official
approaches as articulated in Vision 2020 have
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
Figure 9. Governance- related stakeholders in Moroccan tourism 2018 (Source: Own design)
not accounted for the increasing number of
small private investors in rural tourism.
Local and regional bottom-up initiatives by
civil society
Even though the tendency to maintain a
centralised, hierarchical steering mode has
stayed strong on the national level despite all
the proclamations and a few tentative steps, in
recent years, bottom-up initiatives have
nevertheless arisen – especially since the Arab
Spring.
Activities by Civil Society: the RDTR
The most comprehensive and best-performing
example has been development in the Souss-
Massa-(Drâa) region. As the most advanced
example of good practices for rural tourism in
Morocco, it is important to discuss the activities
of different stakeholders in this region around
the regional capital Agadir in greater detail.
The region’s focus on rural tourism since the
turn of the millennium has meant that a rather
large number of small private stakeholders
have taken the initiative to establish
accommodation facilities in rural areas of
Morocco (see Figure 9). As discussed in
Section 1, the conditions for rural tourism differ
quite significantly from the Fordist “Markets”
type described by Hall (2011), the “Governed
Model” of Bodega, Cioccarelli & Denicolai
(2004) and the “Corporate Model” shaped by
Flagestad & Hope (2001). Rural tourism is
often characterised by a multitude of small
stakeholders, which – especially in the Global
South (Kagermeier & Kobs, 2013; Kagermeier,
El Fasskaoui & Amzil, 2018a) – often lack
market access, know-how and financial
resources. Insofar as the PAT approach for
rural tourism did not succeed in integrating
small-scale local stakeholders, and as the main
focus of the Vision 2010 and Vision 2020
tourism strategies was on traditional national
and international investors of hotels (and hotel
chains) in the Imperial Cities and the
development of beach resorts, the needs of
small rural stakeholders were only met
rudimentarily. In light of the lack of public
DMOs, caring for the needs of small
stakeholders in rural tourism and the need for
cooperation to promote the rural tourism
product, the feeble performance (especially
very low occupancy rates) documented by
Berriane & Moizo (2014: 12) has demonstrated
that the rural tourism product has not been a
“perpetual motion machine”, but needs
comprehensive and substantial framing and
backing by some kind of regional management
and marketing body. While the internet and
especially the different booking platforms
(including Airbnb) have significantly facilitated
the direct market access of small stakeholders
in the Long Tail (Anderson, 2006), improving
53
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
the direct marketing of small tourism
stakeholders in Morocco as well (Popp & El
Fasskaoui, 2013) with positive effects on the
value chain, this has only reduced the need for
comprehensive destination management
bodies slightly, because the rural tourism
product consists of a bundle of different
services, and the accommodation provided by
private stakeholders form only one aspect of
this (Kagermeier, El Fasskaoui & Amzil,
2018b).
To tackle this weakness, quite a few NGOs
were founded as associations in different parts
of Morocco (Berriane & Moizo, 2014: 5). Most
of them had only a limited local scope and
performance, even folding or becoming inactive
after a certain period of activity. The most
comprehensive and best-performing example
of an association has been the RDTR (Réseau
de Développement du Tourisme Rural) in the
Souss-Massa(-Drâa) region. This private
initiative was founded in 2011 by small-scale
tourism professionals and academics as a
reaction to the weaknesses of public
governance in rural tourism in the Souss-
Massa-Drâa Administrative Region. After the
reorganisation of the administrative regional
levels in 2015 (see Section 2), the RDTR
separated into a core Souss-Massa section as
well as a Drâa section (which is still searching
for an identity). At the same time, the network
received the backing of the democratic
Regional Council. The main goal of the RDTR
has been to bring together small-scale tourism
stakeholders in the rural areas of the region in
order to structure and organise the rural
tourism sector, organise and manage their
common interests, facilitate the practices of
rural tourism as an industry (promotion,
communication, marketing assistance), pro-
mote the exchange of good practices, ensure
the quality of rural tourism products, contribute
to the development of a sustainable and
responsible form of rural tourism and build
partnerships with other regional, national and
international tourism stakeholders (RDTR &
Afkar, 2013: 6). With its focus on small private
stakeholders, the RDTR has been able to
launch a comprehensive programme for an
unprecedented, innovation-based orientation to
rural tourism.
54
The RDTR realised that the only way to
improve the performance of small-scale private
tourism activities was to build a network that
focused on capacity building and that would
provide the service orientation necessary for
successfully participating in the global tourism
market. Therefore, the RDTR formulated five
strategic pillars:
1) The consolidation of the institutional
capacity of the RDTR itself;
2) The creation of comprehensive experiences
for tourists;
3) Supervision and training;
4) Eco-certification;
5) Promotion and marketing (RDTR, 2012: 5 et
seq.).
Immediately after its foundation, the RDTR had
already comprised about 70 members (RDTR,
2012: 4), including more than 40 tourism
professionals that owned their own
accommodation business (gîte, guesthouse,
campsite, etc.). During the first few years, a
wide range of activities were launched.
1) The consolidation of the institutional
capacity of the RDTR
The first goal was internal – to build up a
certain degree of institutional capacity.
Therefore, with the backing of the Regional
Council, the RDTR established their own office
in the centre of Agadir; it employs a General
Secretary who deals with routine tasks and
assists the elected office holders, who serve
voluntarily. Building institutional capacity
means fulfilling the classic tasks of a public
DMO according to the “Community Model” of
Bodega, Cioccarelli & Denicolai (2004). This
can be seen as a self-help, bottom-up reaction
to respond to a gap that has not been
adequately filled by the hierarchical public
bodies.
Another task that the RDTR has undertaken
has been to (co-)organise various workshops
and conferences (RDTR, 2012: 12). Obviously,
one main goal of this public relations effort has
been to stimulate support among the various
private and – especially – public stakeholders
in the region, and thus strengthen and bolster
the position of the association. At the same
time, these workshops and conferences have
been organised with the intention of
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
establishing a network with other national and
(especially) international actors from NGOs,
public bodies and academia. Last but not least,
another intention touches on other strategic
goals: raising awareness and developing
professional know-how among their members,
participating in workshops and conferences,
which can be seen as part of the training pillar
as well.
2) The creation of comprehensive experiences
for tourists
Rural tourism includes a wide variety of acti-
vities in natural areas; as such, the RDTR has
also focused on the development of hiking trails
and explanatory signage in the countryside. At
the same time, a complex rural tourism product
consists not only of natural and cultural
heritage (including the customs of everyday
life, and traditional arts and handicrafts), but
the culinary arts and sports activities as well.
For this reason, the conceptualisation and
internal communication of specific products and
services (which also falls under “Supervision
and training”) can be seen as part of the
product creation as well. This strategic pillar
demonstrates that the RDTR has been
focusing on another core task of a regional
DMO, and thus has been reacting to deficits of
the hierarchic public bodies, who – according to
the “Community Model” of Flagestad & Hope
(2001; see Figure 3) – should be taking the
lead in product development.
3) Supervision and training
One thing that the RDTR recognised was that
the skills and abilities of their members were
limited with respect to the tourism industry; this
is the case for many private actors in rural
tourism in Morocco. Many of the owners of
accommodation facilities (guesthouses and
lodges) have had no professional training in
tourism, but instead formerly worked in other
economic sectors (often as temporary working
emigrants in Europe). In addition to technical
and manual skills, a feel for the needs of
(international) tourists is necessary, so that
small private entrepreneurs are able to meet
the needs of visitors.
4) Eco-certification
As part of its external marketing, but as well as
some kind of internal communication strategy,
the RDTR even established its own eco-label
(RDTR, 2012, p. 5 et seq.; RDTR, 2013), which
includes quality aspects. The definition of
ecological and quality standards was part of a
PhD project (El Boudribili, 2014). Nevertheless,
it is necessary to point out that, since the
RDTR is de facto replacing a public DMO, the
classification scheme is only open to RDTR
members (and thus also functions as a point of
added value for members, and provides a
stimulus to join the network). Of the 48 RDTR
members owning an accommodation
establishment or a restaurant, 44 have been
evaluated for classification. Only two
establishments were excluded from the
classification outright (El Boudribili 2014, p.
127). However, another weakness of private
associations replacing public structures can be
seen in the fact that the continuity of activities
undertaken by voluntary actors cannot be
assured. In this case, after a first round of
certification undertaken by the PhD student in
2013, several years passed without adequate
follow-up.
5) Promotion and marketing
At the same time, a number of marketing
activities were started – especially via the
internet, using its own site, www.tourisme-
rural.ma, and other social media tools
(especially Facebook; see RDTR & Afkar,
2013); these are easily accessible, and thus
have low barriers to entry and do not result in
high monetary costs.
In spite of these various activities, the number
of members stagnated, so the optimistic hope
that membership would rise from 70 to an
estimated number of 200 by 2013 (RDTR,
2012: 4) was never fulfilled. It is difficult to
evaluate the reasons for the stagnation of
membership numbers. Perhaps the focus of the
key players exercising leadership in the
network had been somewhat too much oriented
towards the demonstrative function of
conferences. It also must be noted that the
spatial focal point of the network lay in the
immediate surroundings of Agadir, so perhaps
the intensity of interaction decreased
significantly with the distance from the spatial
(and functional) core node of the network, even
though officially each of the provinces in the
Souss-Massa-Drâa Region was supposed to
55
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
send an equal number of delegates. Moreover,
the idea of continuous quality and
sustainability-oriented training has also not
been carried out. A lack of human capacity as
well as other interests on the part of the leading
members might be a preliminary explanation
for the lack of continuity in the approach of the
RDTR.
Without reference to the bottom-up initiative of
an eco-certification by the RDTR, the German
federal enterprise for international cooperation,
the GIZ (2017), started a tourism-related
project in the Souss-Massa region in 2017 with
the goal of delivering a new kind of eco-
certification. The main partner of the GIZ was
not the RDTR, but the responsible public body
for natural protected areas, the “Haut
Commissariat aux Eaux et Forêts et à la lutte
contre la désertification“ (see Figure 9). This
example shows again that the multitude of
stakeholders dealing with tourism in rural areas
led to quite a jumble of powers, responsibilities
and activities which lack any decent
coordination. Often the uncoordinated
initiatives interfere with the intentions of other
stakeholders, and thus sometimes set the
different approaches against each other.
Even if NGOs and other actors of civil society
and academia have achieved some steps
toward an innovation-based approach to foster
tourism that is both sustainable and
competitive, the preliminary conclusion is that
they have not been fully able to fulfil the
leadership function alone. They do not seem to
be able to comprehensively compensate for
weaknesses of the public sector over the long
term. The public sector’s role as a governance
institution, providing assistance and support for
small-scale private stakeholders in developing
quality-based and innovation-based practices,
has not yet been taken over by other private
stakeholders. This leaves significant deficits in
implementing innovative ideas, especially
concerning capacity-building, among tourism
professionals.
The new emerging role of the Regional Council
However, recently, a new stakeholder has
begun to redefine its role as a key player in
rural tourism development. For the first time in
Morocco, changes in political conditions more
56
generally, assigning the Regional Council a
more comprehensive role, have deliberately
been interpreted in the Souss-Massa region in
a way that the responsibility for tourism
development might be taken over by
democratically legitimised regional bodies.
For the first time in the history of the ITB
(Internationale Tourismus Börse), the Souss-
Massa was the only administrative region (not
the official tourism region!) with its own stand in
Berlin in March 2018 (Région Souss Massa,
2018). All other tourism regions were still
represented as sub-presenters at the stand of
the ONMT.
During a fact-finding mission by the authors in
spring 2018, it became clear that this
presentation at the ITB was only the tip of the
iceberg, demonstrating that the Regional
Council has the will to engage more intensively
in tourism development. The (central body)
SMIT had intended to create a regional tourism
development agency (SDR – Société de
Développement Régional du tourisme) for the
(administrative) Souss-Massa region (not the
greater tourism region; Rial, 2016) in 2016.
Insofar as the Regional Councils were tasked
with the responsibility of economic
development after the launch of the “advanced
regionalisation” (see Section 2), this intention
was criticised by the regional bodies in the
Souss-Massa region. In late 2017 as the first
(administrative) region, Souss-Massa Regional
Council started the groundwork to create a
tourism SDR, with the Regional Council as the
primary responsible body. Contrary to the
intention of the SMIT to promote an
investment-oriented regional agency, the
intentions of the Regional Councils have been
more oriented towards a tourism management
agency, fulfilling the objectives typical of a
regional DMO.
To balance the interests of the public bodies of
the central government and the regional
bodies, it was planned that both would be
represented as shareholders of the SDR. In
autumn 2017, a proposal was presented with
six shareholders, three of them regional:
• The Souss-Massa Regional Council
(Conseil régional Souss-Massa, 34%),
 Kagermeier, A., L. Amzil and B. Elfasskaoui (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 40-62
• The Agadir Municipality (Commune urbaine
d’Agadir, 8%),
• The Handicraft Organisation (Maison de
l’artisan, 10%)
and three representing central government
bodies:
• The National Tourism Marketing
Organisation ONMT (30%),
• The executive arm of the tourism ministry,
the Moroccan Society of Tourism Engineering
(SMIT; 8%),
• A state-owned financial institution (CDG –
Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion; 10%) (Saber,
2017).
Even though the Regional Council would be the
biggest shareholder according to this model, it
would not possess a majority of the shares.
Nevertheless, the three regional shareholders
would represent a majority. This can therefore
be seen as an attempt to reconcile top-down
and bottom-up impulses. However, the creation
of the SDG has been shifted multiple times –
probably reflecting internal discussions among
the regional and central stakeholders on their
role in the SDR and the role of the SDR itself
(Nakhli, 2017). And even after the principle
decision of the Regional Council in April 2018
(Le Matin, 2018) to establish a SDR, discussion
among the different stakeholders involved
continued (Boursenews, 2018; LNT, 2018) and
are still ongoing (Conseil Régional Souss-
Massa, 2018).
At the same time, the RDTR has not been
officially integrated in the activities around the
SDR, even though some key players of the
RDTR have been involved in an indirect and
informal way. This means that one of the key
questions is to what extent the tourism
professionals will be integrated in these new
activities and to what extent the needs of small-
scale private owners of accommodation
facilities will be respected. The relationship
between the RDTR and the nascent SDR has
still not been clearly defined. However, the
strategy of the SDR at first sight seems to
include the role of small private tourism
investors in a comprehensive approach when
developing a decent regional DMO. In any
case, the RDTR’s approach, focusing on small
investors and trying to integrate them into
developing the destination by capacity-building
and fostering an innovative product orientation,
must be integrated into the SDR’s approach
one way or another. Only time will tell whether
stakeholders in the Souss-Massa region will
finally achieve the goal of developing a
comprehensive DMO, which is democratically
based in the region and can integrate the
various stakeholders from civil society.
Conclusion
For more than 20 years, the Kingdom of
Morocco has tried to develop democratically
based regional structures. This has especially
been the case since the “Arab Spring”, with the
king’s proclamation of advanced
regionalisation, with the transition from formerly
autocratic hierarchical governance structures
towards counter-flow oriented interactions
between the central state and regional
stakeholders gaining some momentum.
The governance structures and approaches in
the tourism sector reflect this general political
development. Nevertheless, it must be
emphasised that, for a long time, the central
state tried to maintain comprehensive control
over all relevant activities on the local and
regional level. Even with each step of
decentralisation, creating new bodies at the
regional or provincial level, there was a lack of
comprehensive reflection on redistribution of
responsibilities and tasks. Most of the creation
of new structures can be seen as a simple
addition of new structures, superimposing them
on existing ones and creating obstructions
between the different levels and institutions.
Only recently has the long-practised top-down
governance approach been counterbalanced
by bottom-up regional approaches to a certain
extent. Moreover, within the central institutions,
ambivalence between the traditional
supervisory/tutelage approach and a more
facilitating/coaching tendency is still quite
strong. Subsidiarity has not yet been clearly
developed, though it is increasingly put into
practice on the regional level, even as the
central institutions tend to persist with their
hierarchical approach. Therefore, in this
transitory phase double/parallel structures still
exist; these parallel structures reflect the
uneasy cohabitation of the traditional top-down
approach and the emerging bottom-up
initiatives from civil society and regional
57
 The transition of governance approaches to rural tourism in Southern Morocco.
democratic bodies. Nevertheless, the prospect
that the democratic regional level may become
too administratively oriented and might lose its
relation with NGOs (like the RDTR) and private
stakeholders cannot be ruled out.
Therefore, the goal of implementing
governance and leadership approaches that
might optimise an innovation-based orientation
of tourism in Morocco, which can only be
achieved by a cooperation of stakeholders from
different spheres (private, public and civil
society) as well as on different spatial levels
(national, regional, local), is still far away. The
synergies between the different stakeholders
from the public and private sector as well as
from civil society which might lead to an
optimised performance – where each actor
fulfils its respective role and promotes these
common strategic approaches amongst the
different stakeholders in order to stimulate a
governance change – has not yet been
achieved.
The inclusion of representatives from the
political sphere (local, regional and national) as
well as from the relevant central government
administration (on the national, regional and
provincial level) is a particularly crucial aspect
to reduce the current top-down administrative
approach, which seems only partially capable
of stimulating innovative approaches to rural
tourism, as it does not take into account
sufficiently the conditions of small private
investors in rural tourism.
Acknowledgment
The project underlying this report was funded
by the German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (Bundesministeriums für Bildung
und Forschung, BMBF) under the grant number
01OH18013. The responsibility for the content
of this publication lies with the authors.
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 Climate change in low mountain ranges: Opportunities in
sustainable Black Forest tourism

Tatjana Thimm 1*, Christine Bild 2 and Michael Kalff 3

Received: 30/06/2019 Accepted: 09/03/2019

1 Professor for Tourism Management at the Department of Business, Cultural and Legal Studies at Hochschule
Konstanz, University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Alfred-Wachtel-Str. 8, 78462 Konstanz, Germany, Phone
+49 7531 206-145. E-mail: Tatjana.Thimm@htwg-konstanz.de
2 Graduate Geographer, Junior Researcher in the Department of Business, Cultural and Legal Studies at

Hochschule Konstanz, University of Applied Sciences

3 PhD in Education for Sustainable Development, researcher in the Department of Business, Cultural and Legal

Studies at Hochschule Konstanz, University of Applied Sciences

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editors: Andreas Kagermeier and Werner Gronau

Abstract
The aim of this paper is to portray the risks of climate change for low mountain range tourism and to
develop sustainable business models as adaption strategy. A mixed-method-approach is applied
combining secondary analysis, a quantitative survey, and qualitative in-depth-interviews in a
transdisciplinary setting. Results show, that until now, climate change impacts on the snow situation
in the Black Forest – at least above 1,000 m – have been mild and compensated by artificial
snowmaking, and up to now have not had measurable effects on tourism demand. In general, the
Black Forest appears to be an attractive destination for more reasons than just snow. The climate
issue seems to be regarded as a rather incidental occurrence with little importance to current
business decisions. However, the authors present adaption strategies as alternatives for snow
tourism, e. g. the implementation of hiking hostels, since climate change will make winter tourism in
the Black Forest impossible in the long run.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, climate change, winter tourism

Citation: Thimm, T., C. Bild and M. Kalff (2019) Climate change in low mountain ranges:
Opportunities in sustainable Black Forest tourism. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp.
63-70

Introduction and Literature Review tourism is very vulnerable in this regard. The
Climate change and all its consequences affect heavily touristed Black Forest, a low mountain
the various tourism branches in different ways range in South-West Germany, is expected to
(Elsasser et al., 2000), especially nature-based be confronted with the effects of climate
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
RESEARCH PAPER 63
 Climate change in low mountain ranges: Opportunities in sustainable Black Forest tourism.
change, too. Especially winter tourism in the
Northern and Southern Black Forest areas will
face higher temperatures, more rainfall and
hence less snow during the winter season
(Roth et al., 2013).
However, according to Matzarakis & Lohmann
(2017), there will be no dramatic effects of
climate change in low mountain ranges in
Europe for the next three decades. The effects
will become more significant from the second
half of this century (ibid.). According to UM
(Ministerium für Umwelt, Klima und
Energiewirtschaft Baden-Württemberg, 2017)
winter sport will be impossible in low mountain
ranges by the end of the 21st century. To face
climate change, adaption strategies must be
implemented (Abegg & Elsasser, 1996;
Elsasser et al., 2000).
In the context of tourism and climate change,
both, the demand and supply sides are of
interest. According to Gössling et al. (2012) the
tourist has a fast adaptive capacity and
therefore is causing shifts in demands quickly
according to his perception and reaction
towards climate change.
Climate change in South-West Germany (i. e.
the state of Baden-Württemberg), as well as
connected subjects such as the long-term
behaviour of snow covers, has been analysed
by various studies, including: Gebhard &
Höpker, (2015); Hemberger & Utz, (2013);
KLIWA (2005); UM (2017). Concerning the
effects of climate change on summer tourism, it
is assumed that the interest in holidaying in
Germany is going to increase, since German
summers become warmer (RADOST, 2012).
Regarding winter tourism, it is expected that
Alpine winter sports will no longer be possible
in the low mountain ranges by the end of the
21st century. Therefore, the development of
year-round offers independent of snow is
recommended to adjust to climate change (UM,
2017).
Abegg & Elsasser (1996) and Elsasser et al.
(2000) distinguish between adaptation and
mitigation strategies with regard to the
approach to tourism to be taken. According to
Abegg & Elsasser (1996), the adaptation
strategies prevail, although mitigation
64
strategies are important too. Roth et al. (2013)
also see an increased need to act for the
Northern and Southern Black Forest, due to the
fact that winters will have less snow, also
recommending the (further) development of
winter sport alternatives. This is also reflected
in studies that explicitly deal with the subject of
winter tourism in the Black Forest or climate
change in the Black Forest include Hodeck &
Hoveman, 2017, Endler & Matzarakis, 2011,
Schneider et al., 2009 and Koesler, 2011. In
assessing the scope of consequences of
climate change for Baden-Württemberg, LUBW
(2013) compared and evaluated climate
projections. In spite of the uncertainty involved
in climate projections, there has been, and
probably will continue to be, a long-term
increase in the annual average temperature
and a clear reduction in the annual frost days.
Less rainfall in the hydrological winter half year
and increased rainfall in summer are expected
as well (LUBW, 2013).
Regarding the demand side, there are some
studies that deal with the reactions of tourism
demand to climate change (Gössling et al.,
2012). The ecological footprint of the tourism
sector has been subject to intense scrutiny
(Gössling, 2002 and Gössling et al., 2005) and
the variables of tourism and climate change
have been scientifically analysed as well (e.g.
Pröbstl-Haider et al., 2015). Yet, there has not
been any detailed analysis that deals with
adaptation or mitigation strategies of the Black
Forest tourism industry regarding climate
change, or the examination of changes to
tourist demand in the Black Forest in the scope
of climate change.
To fill this research gap the following research
questions can be derived:
 To what extent does climate change affect
the Black Forest as a tourist destination?
 How does the tourism industry in the Black
Forrest adapt to climate change so far?
 How important is snow for winter tourism
and recreational purposes in the Black Forest?
 What kind of sustainable post-snow era
tourism activities are possible?
Methodology
To systematically investigate these research
questions a mixed-methods-approach including
 Thimm, T., C. Bild and M. Kalff (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 63-70
a quantitative survey, in-depth-interviews, offer
analysis, secondary analysis and webpage
analysis was applied.
A focus was put on the analysis of the demand
side and the importance of snow for winter
tourism and recreational purposes in the Black
Forest, forming the main part of the empirical
analysis by conducting a quantitative survey
(Jacob et al., 2013; Kruse, 2014). The topic of
the survey was ‘Holiday and leisure behaviour
in the region Hochschwarzwald (Upper Black
Forrest) during winter’ and it was conducted in
cooperation with a Black Forest Tourism
Organisation, a Black Forest hotel operator and
an undergraduate student from another
university of applied sciences. For the face-to-
face interviews a standardised questionnaire
was used and this was based on another
questionnaire developed by the undergraduate
student for the written part of the survey. The
questionnaire contained 23 questions in total
and was divided into four parts asking
questions about the kind of stay, about winter
holidays in general, about the current winter
holiday in the Black Forest, or in the case of
locals, about their recreational behaviour in the
current winter at the Black Forest, and finally
about some personal information (e.g. age,
gender, origin).
The interviews were held by students of the
authors’ university and the undergraduate
student herself on three weekends in January
and March 2018 (January 5th-7th, 13th/14th and
March 17th/18th) at five different locations in the
Region ‘Hochschwarzwald’ in the southern part
of the Black Forest, namely in Titisee,
Feldberg, Hinterzarten, Todtnau and
Schluchsee. The respondents were randomly
chosen and of the 276 contacted people, 200
participated in the survey.
The survey focused on the differences between
locals and guests, and between respondents
participating in winter sport activities and those
who do not. Since this study is an exploratory
one, only a descriptive statistical analysis was
conducted. The sample size does not qualify
for a representative sample, but the tendencies
of the results are quite obvious and allow
certain conclusions.
Finally, after analysing the climate and tourism
situation and the demand side, the offer side
was examined in order to develop alternatives
for the post-snow era. The offer analysis
presents business models, services offered,
and pricing of 22 hostels in low mountain areas
in France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium
by interviewing the operators and/or examining
data from their webpages. The in-depth
interview participants formed a deliberate
sample, since they all form part of the
accommodation type of gîte d'etape, al low
budget hostel, especially for hikers, and
popular in French speaking regions of Europe.
The purpose of this offer analysis was to
examine its transferability to the Black Forest.
Results
Climate change and tourism in the Black Forest
Regarding climatic trends, the following has
been observed: shorter snow periods during
the winter season, particularly around
Christmas, as well as a shift of colder periods
with steady snow cover towards the end of the
winter. However, snow-related effects of
climate change are more acute in lower
regions, while areas above 1,000 m above sea
level thus far appear to be less affected. Yearly
weather changes are predominant over climate
change effects for snow situations (LUBW,
2017; UM & LUBW, 2016). Until now, climate
change impacts on the snow situation in the
Black Forest (at least above 1,000 m) have
been mild and compensated for by artificial
snowmaking, so far without measurable effects
on tourist demand. Winter tourism in the Black
Forest is increasing (+7.7% overnight stays
2011-2016) even more than summer tourism
(+4.7% overnight stays 2011-2016). This might
be a spill-over effect of an overall increase in
German tourism (mainly accounting for cities
and coasts) which also increases
disproportionately in winter (+13.3% vs. +9.3 %
overnight stays in 2011-2016, all statistics from
the Statistisches Bundesamt 2011-2017), or a
sign of good tourism management.
Despite decreasing snow-making potential due
to rising temperatures, tourism stakeholders in
winter tourism depend more and more on
artificial snow. This results in an increased
demand for energy and resources, thus further
damaging sensitive ecosystems in low
65
 Climate change in low mountain ranges: Opportunities in sustainable Black Forest tourism.
mountain ranges (Roth et al., 2005; Abegg,
2012). Contrary to climate projections
regarding worsening snow conditions, huge
investments in winter-related infrastructure
such as ski slopes and lifts have been made in
the recent past (Doering & Hamberger, 2015).
Businesses seem to view the climate issue as
rather incidental, having little impact on their
current business decisions. However, there are
several mitigating developments showing
environmental sensitivity in the Back Forrest.
For example, tourists are encouraged to use
public transportation by being offered a
corresponding regional ticket that is included in
the price of two overnight stays, thus reducing
each visitor´s carbon footprint (Schwarzwald
Tourismus GmbH, n. y.). The percentage of
hotels that have implemented environmental
management policies is unusually high in the
Black Forest (UGA, 2017), although the
numbers in total are still quite low.
Analysis of tourism demand in the face of
climate change
The analysis of the importance of snow for
tourists and for recreational purposes should
show, as mentioned above, whether there are
differences between locals and guests and
between respondents who take part in winter
sport activities and those who do not.
The 200 respondents include 175 (87.5%)
guests and 25 (12.5%) locals. The participants
who are residents of one of the following 16
communities (Breitnau, Eisenbach, Feldberg,
Friedenweiler, Hinterzarten, Lenzkirch,
Löffingen, Rothauser Land, Schluchsee, St.
Märgen, St. Peter, Titisee-Neustadt, Todtmoos,
Bergwelt Todtnau, Häusern and St. Blasien)
are considered locals of the Hochschwarzwald.
The participants who do not come from the
Hochschwarzwald are mainly from other parts
of the Black Forest (26.5%), Baden-
Württemberg (22.5%) or other German regions
(22.5%). 52% of the 175 guests are visitors on
day trips; 48% are overnight guests. Nearly half
of all respondents (n=199, about 49%)
participate in winter sport activities during their
stays (guests, n=174), or during the winter
season 2017/18 (locals, n=25). Amongst the
locals, 36% participate in winter sport activities.
The winter sport activities mentioned most
(n=96) are skiing (about 49%), snowboarding
66
(about 16%), sledding (about 14%) and cross-
country skiing (about 12%).
Given the first research aim of the survey,
namely to analyse the importance of snow for
winter tourism in the Hochschwarzwald, one
question asked respondents to evaluate the
importance of snow for their current stay
(guests), or the importance of snow for leisure
purposes during the winter season 2017/18
(locals).
The analysis of this question demonstrates that
the presence of snow is very important for the
majority of all respondents (n=199) (53.77 %).
However, over 20% stated that it is not
important at all. Snow seems to be more
important for guests (n=175) than for locals
(n=24) given that only 25% of the locals
evaluated snow as very important, while nearly
58% of the guests did (see figure 1).
Furthermore, not very surprisingly, snow is
more important for those who participate in
winter sport activities (n=98); almost 85% of
those doing winter sports consider snow very
important. Only for 24% of those who do not do
winter sports (n=100) snow is very important or
rather important for 11%.
The guests were also asked whether they
would come back to the Hochschwarzwald if
there were a lack of snow (no winter sport
activities possible). The respondents had to
choose between the answer possibilities ‘no, I
would visit another region’, ‘yes, I would come
back’ and ‘do not know’. Overall, about 69%
(n=166) would return to the Hochschwarzwald
even without snow. This positive response is
even more common among those who do not
do winter sports (n=84, approx. 87%), but even
50% of those doing winter sports (n=82) would
actually return to the Hochschwarzwald without
sufficient snow for winter sport activities.
Another goal of the survey was to find out
about guests’ and locals’ attitudes towards
climate change and its consequences for the
region’s tourism. When asked whether climate
change is having and will have impacts on
winter tourism in the region Hochschwarzwald
(‘no’, ‘yes’, ‘do not know’), the majority of
respondents (n=195) (about 84%) claimed that
 Thimm, T., C. Bild and M. Kalff (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 63-70
they believed that climate change would have
an impact on winter tourism in the
Hochschwarzwald (see figure 2). There are
hardly any differences between respondents
who participate in winter sport activities and
those who do not. The differences are also
minimal between locals and guests. According
to the survey, fewer locals (n=21, approx. 76%)
believe that climate change is having and will
have on winter tourism than guests do (n=174)
(85%).
Asked about the impacts of climate change
(n=127), more than 66% of the respondents
named ‘less snow’, about 25% named ‘warmer
temperatures’ and about 17% ‘negative effects
on winter sport activities.
Offer analysis – sustainable alternatives for
snow tourism
Hostels can improve sustainable accommo-
dation supply in the Black Forest, particularly
for young tourists and families. The evaluation
of interviews with 16 hostel operators and web
research about another six hostels in France,
Germany, Belgium and Switzerland resulted
into three typical models in lower mountain
ranges, due to situation, visitors and their
activities: sightseeing hostels (close to tourist
points of interest like old towns, peaks, lakes,
67
 Climate change in low mountain ranges: Opportunities in sustainable Black Forest tourism.
canyons), sport hostels (close to skiing,
climbing, biking, rafting, riding locations) and
hiking hostels (situated in lower mountains,
along rivers, lakes, or in small old towns). This
typology developed from the accommodation
type of gîte d'etape in French speaking areas in
Europe can serve as a blueprint for the Black
Forest, generating a year-round sustainable
hostel offer.
Discussion
Considering the empirical findings of this
research, it is surprising that climate change
has not encouraged tourism stakeholders to act
so far. Even though snow reliability is
decreasing in low mountain ranges and people
are aware of climate change effects, climate
neutrality does not seem to lead to an
adequate change in tourism behaviour. Climate
change mostly appears to be a natural
challenge for winter tourism. Although the
sustainable business models like hostels
exemplify how to broaden the offer of
sustainable tourism experience and
accommodation in the Black Forest, due to a
wide range of factors in the Black Forest
(altitude, traffic connections, population,
tourism intensity, local climate etc.) it will not be
easy to transfer this type of accommodation,
especially in terms of profitability.
The analysis of the demand side shows how
important snow is for winter tourism and
recreational purposes. Still, the Black Forest
appears to be an attractive destination for
reasons other than just snow, since tourists
intend to come back even in case of lack of
snow. This may seem contradictory at first, but
can be explained by the fact, that tourists are
flexible in choosing alternatives to snow
tourism and at the same time e. g. select other
areas for snow tourism like the Alps that are
rather close by. The strength of the Black
Forest region seems to be the wide range of
tourist offers and activities, which also may
lead the destination through changes due to
climate change and contribute to the
compensation of the fading snow tourism
possibilities in the long run. It is always
problematic to speak of climate change
adaption strategies since this implies, that the
effects of climate change are manageable
anyway. Indeed, climate change in the Black
68
Forest cannot be avoided any more, but
mitigation is also relevant. In the Black Forest
EMAS and VIABONO certification in a number
of companies are indeed existing. But overall,
the measures appear "too little and too late" in
relation to the 2-degree target (Paris
Agreement, UN 2015), or the federal
governments aims (-40% CO2 until 2020,
Bundesregierung 2010) or the regions’
greenhouse gas reduction targets (-25% by
2020, -50% by 2050, Climate Protection Bill
Baden-Württemberg from 2013; all reductions
related to year 1990).
Conclusion and Limitations
Adressing the first research question, it can be
concluded that climate change will affect the
Black Forest as a low mountain range with
reduced and vanishing winter sports offers.
There are – referring to the second research
question - occasional strategies for coping with
climate change (strengthening public transport
for guests, diversifying the tourism offer beyond
skiing, sustainability schemes), but these
cannot be seen as direct reactions on climate
change, they follow more a general trend of
sustainability. The effects of climate change
regarding winter tourism are still too far away in
time for tourism decision makers to take action.
Whether the diversification of tourist offerings
really reflects climate change adaption at all, or
whether it is primarily based on general market
strategies is difficult to determine
unequivocally.
As to the third research question, snow is
indeed an important factor in winter tourism,
especially for tourists interested in winter
sports, but also an emotional, atmospheric
“winter wonderland”, a white landscape as the
background for other tourism activities in
winter. However, since tourism numbers are
rising in the Black Forrest even in winter, this
may in future compensate for the loss of winter
sports tourists in the long run anyway.
Concluding with the fourth research question,
new accommodation types that are
sustainable, e. g. hostels, may be added as
year-round post-snow era tourism offers.
Regarding limitations of this paper, the limited
representativeness of all empirical work has to
be taken into consideration. Among hostel
 Thimm, T., C. Bild and M. Kalff (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 63-70
operators only the ones capable of speaking
English or German were willing to answer the
interview questions; with regard to the tourism
demand data, the sample size is quite small,
Also, the spatial and temporal limitation needs
to be taken into account, since the survey was
only conducted in the southern parts of the
Black Forest and only on three weekends.
Aknowledgements
The authors would like to thank two
anonymous reviewers for their comments. The
research was financed by Landesanstalt für
Umwelt Baden-Württemberg (LUBW).
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 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples
Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination

Giacomo Del Chiappa 1*, Marcello Atzeni 2, Jessica Mei Pung 3

and Marcello Risitano 4

Received: 26/09/2018 Accepted: 26/04/2019

1 Department of Economics and Business, University of Sassari, Via Muroni, 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy. Phone:
+39 (079) 20 17 313. Senior Research Fellow, School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of Johannesburg,
South Africa. Email: gdelchiappa@uniss.it
2 Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Viale Sant'Ignazio, 74, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.

Phone: +39 (070) 67 53 361. Email: marcelloatzeni@icloud.com

3 Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Viale Sant'Ignazio, 74, 09123 Cagliari, Italy.

Email: jm.pung@unica.it
4 Department of Management and Quantitative Studies, University ‘Parthenope’ of Naples, Via Gen. Parisi, 13,

80132 Naples (Italy). Phone: +39 (081) 54 74 125. Email: marcello.risitano@uniparthenope.it

* Corresponding author
Abstract
This study aims at profiling a quota sample of 600 residents in Naples, a home port in the Campania
Region (Southern Italy), based on their perceptions and attitudes toward the development of cruise
tourism, and their willingness to support different tourism types. To achieve this aim, a factor-cluster
analysis was applied and five clusters were identified, namely ‘indifferent’, ‘moderate lovers’,
‘moderate critics’, and ‘cautious’. Significant differences emerged between the identified groups
based on their prior experience with cruise vacation and their relatives’ economic reliance on cruise
activity. On the contrary, no significant differences exist based on gender, age, employment status,
economic reliance on cruise tourism, education level, length of residence, geographical proximity to
cruise port area. Furthermore, no significant differences between clusters were found based on
residents’ attitude towards cruise tourism and their support to its further development. Hence,
theoretical contributions and managerial implications are addressed, including recommendations for
future research.

Keywords: Community-based tourism; Cluster analysis; Cruise development; Homeport; Italy

Citation: Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) Residents’ views on cruise
tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination. European
Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
RESEARCH PAPER 71
 Examining the effects of personal factors and travel characteristics on tourists’ perceived crowding.
Introduction
In the last few decades, the cruise sector has
been growing exponentially. From 2003 to
2016, the international demand for cruising
increased from 12.0 to 24.7 million passengers
(CLIA, 2018a). In 2016, the 129.4 million
passengers and crews’ onshore visits raised
$57.9 billion in direct expenditures at source
markets and destinations, thus producing a
total economic output of $125.96 billion, as well
as the employment of 1,021,681 people around
the world (BREA, 2017). According to the
Cruise Lines International Association (2018b),
in 2017 the cruise sector in Italy generated
€5,463 million direct expenditures and 119,052
jobs.
Prior to 2000, few publications regarding cruise
tourism existed (Wild and Dearing, 2000).
Despite the fact that over the last decade the
number of articles devoted to this topic has
been considerably increasing, it could be
argued that further research is required to
expand the academic debate on cruise activity
(Papathanassis and Beckman, 2011).
In this scenario, recent studies have also
focused on the residents’ perceptions and
attitudes towards cruise tourism and have
mostly analysed cruising destinations situated
in the Caribbean, Arctic and the polar areas
(e.g. Hritz and Cecil 2008; Diedrich 2010; Klein
2010; Stewart et al., 2013; Heeney, 2015;
Stewart et al., 2015; Jordan and Vogt, 2017).
Mediterranean destinations have also raised
interest among tourism researchers, although
to a lesser extent, with interesting papers on
residents’ attitudes toward cruise tourism in
Croatian (e.g. Marušić et al., 2008; Peručić and
Puh, 2012) and Spanish destinations (Del
Chiappa, Lorenzo-Romero, & Gallarza, 2018)
or Italian islands, namely Sardinia and Sicily
(e.g. Brida et al., 2012a; Pulina et al., 2013; Del
Chiappa and Abbate 2016; Del Chiappa, Atzeni
& Ghasemi, 2018), mainly focusing on port-of-
call cruise destinations. However, since the
impacts of cruising on Mediterranean regions
and on their home ports are expected to be
higher (Brida and Zapata 2010), further
knowledge on this area is needed to be
developed.
72
This study was, therefore, carried out through a
quota sample of 600 individuals residing in
Naples, a home port in the Italian region of
Campania. Specifically, it aims to identify
typologies of residents according to their
perceptions and attitudes towards the impacts
of cruise tourism, and to ascertain whether
there are significant differences among the
clusters formed around socio-demographic
traits of respondents (e.g. age, gender,
education level, employment status, spatial
proximity to the port, dependence of residents’
and their family circle’s income on cruise
activity, length of residency, prior experience
with cruise vacations).
Literature review
Over the last few decades, it has been
established that while planning the outlook of
any tourism destination, it is necessary to
consider the residents’ perceptions,
expectations and attitudes towards the impact
of a prospective tourism development model
(e.g. Mowforth and Munt, 2003; Sharpley,
2014); such aspect has been defined as one of
the staples of the notion of sustainability, and a
necessary component to ensure the community
members’ support for tourism projects (Fredline
and Faulkner, 2000; Pérez and Nadal, 2005;
Vargas-Sánchez et al., 2009).
Community-based research showed that
several factors can affect residents’
perceptions and attitudes towards tourism. As
Faulkner and Tideswell (1997) note, such
tourism-related attitudes can be characterised
by a range of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
On the one hand, intrinsic factors refer to the
residents’ individual traits and aspects, such
as: socio-demographic characteristics (e.g.
age, gender, levl of education, grographical
proximity to the tourist area, etc.), their
economic reliance on tourism activity, their
environmental beliefs, their perceived balance
between positive and negative impacts
generated by the tourism phenomenon (e.g.
Del Chiappa, Atzeni & Ghasemi 2018). As far
as this latter point is concerned, social
exchange theory argues that if locals perceive
that the benefits of development are greater
than the costs, they are more inclined to
support its further expansion (Ap, 1992).
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85
On the other hand, extrinsic factors refer to the
destination characteristics, such as: stage of
tourism development, tourist-guest ratio,
tourism seasonality, the type of tourist visiting
the destination (e.g. Fredline and Faulkner,
2000; Nyaupane et al., 2006). As far as these
factors are considered, according to the Tourist
Area Life Cycle theory (Butler, 1980), there is a
correlation between residents’ attitudes and the
different tourism life cycle phases (i.e.
exploration, involvement, development,
consolidation, stagnation and decline).
Specifically, the author suggests that initially
residents may have a positive attitude towards
visitors but, as their number increases, locals
start to be concerned about the impacts of the
tourism phenomenon. Hence, as suggested by
the Doxey’s Irridex “irritation” index (1976), as
the number of tourists increase, resident would
experience four main stages, namely: euphoria,
apathy, irritation and antagonism. Furthermore,
since existing cruise-related research has
clearly shown that the overall economic impact
for a homeport destination is higher than for
ports of call (e.g. Brida and Zapata, 2010), one
could expect residents holding more favourable
views on the impacts of cruise tourism, when
homeport destinations are considered. Quite
surprisingly, no published paper exists
empirically addressing this aspect, and this
theoretical assumption still remains to be
investigated.
In Papathanassis and Beckmann (2011)’s
review of the research on cruise tourism, four
main agents emerged (namely, cruise staff,
cruise passengers, cruise operators and cruise
vessels, and destinations), while the role of the
community has been implicitly considered or
completely lacking. Hence, recent studies have
moved to analyse the perceptions and attitudes
of residents towards the implementation of
cruise tourism (e.g. Diedrich, 2010; Hritz and
Cecil, 2008; Klein, 2010; Brida et al., 2011;
Stewart et al., 2013; Brida et al., 2012a; Brida
et al., 2014; Heeney, 2015; Stewart et al.,
2015; Del Chiappa and Abbate, 2016; Jordan
and Vogt, 2017; Del Chiappa et al., 2017), thus
expanding the understanding of the cruising
context, which was recently uncovered.
However, it could be argued that research on
this topic is still in its infancy. Existing research
highlights that local residents may not support
cruise ships, as in the case of Key West,
Florida (Hritz and Cecil 2008) and Dubrovnik
(Marušić et al., 2008; Peručić and Puh, 2012),
even representing a source of stress for the
community of Falmouth, Jamaica (Jordan and
Vogt, 2017); of course, there are also
communities presenting an overall positive
attitude towards cruise activity, as in the cases
of Messina (Del Chiappa and Abbate, 2016)
and Cagliari (Del Chiappa et al., 2017) in Italy,
Falmouth in England (Gibson and Bentley,
2013), Esperance in Western Australia
(McCaughey et al., 2018) and Tyrell Bay in
Grenada (Heeney, 2015). Further, academic
research evaluating the moderator effect of
intrinsic factors (namely socio-demographic
characteristics) on residents' perceptions and
attitudes towards cruise activity provide results
that are somehow contradictory; this latter
circumstance could be explained by the fact
that the researched locations are highly site-
specific (in terms of local culture, residents'
values, etc.) and hardly generalizable
(Sharpley, 2014; Almeida et al., 2015).
A relatively recent study conducted in Messina
(on the island of Sicily, Italy) showed that the
residents with higher positive perceptions and
attitudes towards cruise tourism are in their
midlife, hold a high school or university degree,
reside near the tourism area, have been living
in the city for less than five years, and have
had social contact with tourists (Del Chiappa
and Abbate, 2016). Del Chiappa et al., (2013)
and Brida et al., (2012a) have found similar
results with regard to the city and port of call of
Olbia, in the north-east of Sardinia, Italy. While
significant differences in the socio-demographic
traits of community members were also found
in the city of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), contrary
to Del Chiappa and Abbate’s (2016) findings,
Del Chiappa and Melis’ study (2015) did not
report a significant role of the level of education
and geographical proximity to the port in the
extent of the residents’ approval of further
cruise tourism development. Interestingly,
previous studies also found that the attitudes
toward further cruise development are more
positive when the respondents reported to have
had a cruise trip experience in the past;
surprisingly, residents with relatives employed
in activities related to cruise tourism may prefer
a low or very low degree of investment in cruise
73
 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination.
tourism (Brida et al., 2012b). Del Chiappa et al.
(2013), in their study in the context of Olbia,
confirmed that residents with a prior experience
of cruising have different perceptions and
attitudes toward cruise tourism; specifically,
respondents who had taken a cruise trip were
seen to have a greater awareness of the
positive externalities and to be more perceptive
of the negative economic externalities. Further,
Brida et al. (2014) compared residents’
perceptions and attitudes towards cruise
activity in Messina and Olbia and found that
they were similar despite being in different
phases in their cruise tourism development life
cycle, thus indirectly providing some evidence
that a correlation between the tourism life cycle
stage and the residents' perceptions and
attitudes does not necessarily exist as prior
studies suggested (Doxey, 1976; Butler, 1980;
Madrigal, 1993). Recently, researchers have
also begun to compare residents’ attitudes
towards cruise tourism, to the community
perceptions of other tourism development
segments. For example, Del Chiappa and
Abbate (2016) have discovered that residents
of Messina would prefer the implementation of
cultural and heritage tourism and beach
tourism, followed by cruise tourism and sport
tourism respectively; similar results have been
recently found in a study in Cagliari (Del
Chiappa and Melis, 2015).
Among the various methodologies and
approaches that have been used to ascertain
residents' perceptions and attitudes towards
tourism development, it is very common to
employ cluster analysis (e.g. Aguiló and
Roselló, 2005; Brida et al., 2010; Sinclair-
Maragh et al., 2014). This could be explained
by the fact that cluster analysis allows us to
gain better understanding of each segment’s
relationship among the perception variables
(Gursoy et al., 2010), and to provide more
useful information to practitioners than that can
be obtained using other approaches (Fredline
and Faulkner, 2000).
Despite this, according to the authors’
investigation, only few papers have been found
to apply cluster analysis to residents’ attitudes
towards the implementation of cruise tourism.
In this vein, Brida et al. (2011) conducted an
empirical investigation in Cartagena and found
74
four different clusters, namely the: ‘opposites’,
‘neutrals’, ‘developers’, and ‘tourism workers’.
The ‘opposites’ were mainly female, older
residents, with a high level of education, living
close to the cruise passengers’ visited areas
and not employed in the tourism sector. Most
‘neutrals’ were men, under 45, not working in
the cruise industry. The majority of the
‘developers’ are not employed in a cruise-
related sector and earn the lowest income
among the groups. Lastly, most ‘tourism
workers’ are employed in the tourism industry
and present frequent interchange with cruise
passengers. Del Chiappa, Lorenzo-Romero &
Gallarza (2018) carried out an empirical
investigation in the city of Valencia and found
three different clusters (i.e. ‘pessimists’,
‘cautious supporters’ and ‘optimists’) with
significant differences among them just based
on age and geographical proximity to the tourist
area and port.
While these two studies tend to highlight that
residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards
cruise tourism are not homogeneous, additional
research is needed to further prove and
generalise this finding (Del Chiappa, Lorenzo-
Romero, & Gallarza, 2018), especially when
homeport tourism destinations in the context of
Italy are considered. The present paper sets
out to empirically analyse a quota sample of
600 individuals residing in the city of Naples, a
homeport in the Campania Region (Italy).
Specifically, the following research questions
guided this study:
RQ1: Are residents’ perceptions and
attitudes toward tourism cruise tourism
development homogeneous?
RQ2: Do clusters show significant differences
among them based on the respondents’ socio-
demographic characteristics, their overall
attitude and support to cruise tourism activity?
Based on the findings of our empirical study,
theoretical contributions and managerial
implications are addressed, including
recommendations for future research.
Methods
This research took place in the city of Naples.
According to Risposte Turismo (2018), in 2017
Naples ranked third as most visited cruise
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85
tourism destination in Italy (927,458 cruise
passengers), after Civitavecchia (2,200,328
cruise passengers) and Venice (1,427,812
cruise passengers). For the purposes of this
study, a quota sampling technique was
adopted. According to literature (e.g. Saunders
et al., 2012), quota samples are normally used
for large populations and are a type of stratified
sample that ensures that the variability in the
sample for various quota variables is the same
as the one in the observed population. Its main
peculiarity is that the selection of cases within
each strata is non-random (e.g. Saunders et
al., 2012). Quota sampling can be categorized
in controlled (i.e. certain restrictions to limit the
researchers’ choice of samples are introduced)
or uncontrolled (i.e. researchers are free to
choose group members at their will) (Foreman,
1991). That said, our study specifically used an
uncontrolled quota sample of individuals
residing in Naples. Building on the official
figures provided by the Italian National Institute
of Statistics (ISTAT) website regarding the
socio-demographic characteristics of the
residents in Naples, the quotas were set on
gender and age (three ranges were
considered: 16-40, 41-65, and over 65). The
quota sample was based on only two of the
local population’s demographic characteristics
as the authors could not find more socio-
economic data such as the level of education
and income, financial dependence on tourism,
and so on, for the city of Naples.
The questionnaire was divided in three
sections. The first section contains socio-
demographic information about the
interviewees. The second part required the
respondents to express their level of
agreement or disagreement with 29 items
chosen to investigate their perceptions toward
the effects generated by cruise activity and,
hence, their attitudes towards potential plans to
further develop cruise tourism. The items were
sourced from previous studies (i.e. Brida et al.,
2014; Del Chiappa and Abbate 2016), and
employed a five-point Likert scale (1 =
completely agree; 5 = completely disagree) to
represent the participants’ answers. The final
section required the respondents to assess the
level of rpiority by which they would express
their level of preference of different tourism
types (cruise tourism, cultural tourism, sport
tourism, and sea, sun and sand tourism) on a
five-point Likert scale (1 = minimum; 5 =
maximum).
The data collection consisted of face-to-face
interviews conducted by 10 trained interviewers
who were instructed on the area in which they
should have conducted the questionnaire. At
the end of the data collection (December 2012
–January 2013), 600 completed questionnaires
were obtained and used to run the cluster
analysis.
Findings
Table 1 shows the sociodemographic
characteristics of the sample. The majority of
the participants were female (53.35%), in the
age bracket 46-60 (28.3%) or over 60 (24.6%),
employed (25.3%) in the service sector
(66.3%), holding a high school (54.3%) or
bachelor degree (18.4%). The majority of
interviewees reported a length of residency
greater than 31 years (58%), and living 5 km
away or less from the port (58.4% under 5 km).
Finally, most of respondents reported not
having an economic reliance on cruise activity
(92%) and never having experienced a cruise
vacation (57.50%).
On the whole (see table 3), findings indicate
that respondents showed low to neutral
responses (M ≤ 3) in relation to most of the
statements assessing their view on the
negative and positive effects caused by cruise
tourism implementation. Furthermore, they
reveal that residents do not agree with the
statement: ‘Generally, cruise tourism has
generated more benefits than costs’ (M=2.69).
Interestingly, the level of agreement toward this
statement is even lower than that previously
found in ports of call such as Olbia (M=3.43)
(Del Chiappa and Abbate, 2013) or Cagliari
(M=3.54) (Del Chiappa and Melis, 2015). This
occurs even if one supposes that home port
residents should perceive the higher economic
impacts that home ports generated, compared
to ports of call (Brida and Zapata, 2010). The
fact that residents in Naples think that cruise
tourism did not generate more benefits than
costs appears to be attributable to the lack of
effectiveness they think characterised the
management of cruise tourism development
(“Cruise tourism development is effectively
managed”: M=1.87). This would explain why
75
 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination.

Table 1. The sociodemographic characteristics ofprincipal components method has been used
the sample
Variables % Variables %
Gender Education
Male 46.70 No qualification 2.20
Female 53.30 Elementary school 6.70
Age Secondary/high school 16.70
18-25 23.40 Diploma/trade 54.30
26-35 11.20 University degree 18.40
36-45 12.50 post graduate degree 1.70
46-60 28.30 How many years residing in the city of Napoli?
> 60 24.60 ≤5 2.00
Employment 6-10 2.50
Employee 27.80 11-20 14.40
Self-employed 13.40 21-30 23.10
Retired 19.70 More than 31 58.00
Unemployed 13.70 Distance from home to cruise port
Student 19.90 ≤2 23.10
Other 5.50 3-5 35.30
Does your job relate to cruise
6-10 32.60
tourism?
Yes 8.00 11- 20 8.00
No 92.00 More than 21 1.00
Does your relative's job relate
to cruise tourism? Have you ever done a cruise vacation?
Yes 20.40 Yes 42.50
No 79.60 No 57.50

respondents appear to be supporting any extensively in prior studies aimed at

initiatives local institutions could run to attract
more cruise tourism (i.e. “Revitalization of retail
facilities in the city center”: (M=4.25) -
“Revitalization of retail facilities outside the city
center”: M=4.14 – “Subsidies, tax cuts, etc.”:
M=4.04). Despite this, when respondents were
asked to assess to what extent they would
support four different types of tourism, cruise
tourism was not the favourite. In particular,
results showed that the local community would
rather see the development of historic/cultural
tourism (M=4.21) followed by sea, sun and
sand tourism (M=3.44), cruise tourism
(M=3.13) and sport tourism (M=2.71), thus
highlighing the same preference order
expressed by residents living in the cities of
Cagliari and Messina (Del Chiappa and Melis,
2015; Del Chiappa and Abbate, 2016).
A Factor-cluster analysis (Hair et al., 2013)
involving exploratory factor analysis with
76
underlying patterns and non-homogeneity
of group attitudes within communities (e.g.
Fredline and Faulkner, 2000; Williams and
Lawson, 2001; Andriotis and Vaughan, 2003;
Pérez and Nadal, 2005; Sinclair-Maragh et al.,
2015; Del Chiappa, Atzeni, & Ghasemi, 2018).
The preference for an exploratory factor
analysis, rather than a confirmatory one, can
be also justified by the fact the existing studies
aimed at applying factor analysis to reveal
underliying factors describing residents’
perceptions and attitudes toward cruise tourism
activity are still relatively few and highly site-
specific. Hence, any effort aimed at further
investigating the phenomenon by adopting an
exploratory approach, appears to be
reasonable and useful; similarly, such an
approach is useful to retain richer and more
meaningful information that destination
marketers and policy makers in Naples can
employ to adopt a focused approach in
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85
planning, managing and developing tourism in
specific areas.
Seven factors explaining the 49.51% of total
variance were identified (Table 2). The KMO-
index (Kaiser-Myer-Olkin = 0.820) and the
Bartlett's test of sphericity (chi-square =
4853.06, p-value <0.0001) indicated the
suitability of the factor analysis in explaining the
data (Hair et al., 2013). Turning to test the
reliability of the extracted factors, Cronbach's
alpha was calculated. According to Nunnally
(1978), Cronbach’s coefficients should be
higher than 0.7. However, Nunnally (1978)
argues that Cronbach’s coefficients can be also
lower than 0.7 (but higher than 0.6) when there
are a small number of items in the scale (fewer
than 10). Further, as suggested by literature
(e.g. Hair et al., 2013; Hatcher, 1994), and
according to prior research analysing residents’
perceptions and attitudes toward tourism (e.g.
Brida et al., 2012a), items are deleted just
when their factor loadings is lower than 0.4.
That said, all the factors identified in our study
can be considered as being reliable.
Based on the nature of the items included in
each factor, for the purposes of our study the
factors were defined as follow: ‘positive
economic-environmental impacts’, ‘positive
social impacts’, ‘negative socio-environmental
impacts’, ‘positive economic impacts’, ‘negative
social impacts’, ‘overall attitude toward cruise
tourism development’ and ‘support to cruise
tourism development’.
‘Positive economic-environmental impacts’
(16.96% of total variance) is correlated with
items describing the enhancement in
infrastructure, services, cultural and
environmental settings. ‘Positive social impacts’
(8.04% of total variance) is correlated with
items that describe benefits related to the
opportunities of encountering new cultures and
to enhance/exploit the local tradition,
authenticity and culture. ‘Negative socio-
environmental impacts’ (7.13% of total
variance) describes the negative social and
environmental impacts, such as an increase in
waste/refuse, crimes and crowding out effects.
As far as the latter point is concerned, existing
studies suggest that crowding out effect can be
either considered to be an economic negative
externality (e.g. Del Chiappa, Lorenzo-Romero
& Gallarza, 2018) or a social negative
externality, with this second view referring to
the negative impact that crowding effects can
generate on social capital and welfare of local
community (Van Oorschot and Arts, 2005;
Sheng and Tsui, 2009). In this direction, the
fact that the factor labelled as “negative socio-
environmental impacts” includes an item
measuring the perceived crowding out effects
generated by cruise activity is considered to be
appropriate in this study.
‘Positive economic impacts’ (5.73% of total
variance) corresponds to the positive impacts
arising from cruise tourism such as job
opportunities, increase in available income and
improvement in public/private infrastructures.
‘Negative social impacts’ (4.18% of total
variance) includes items related to how cruise
activity can negatively affect the way local
communities can manage their daily life.
‘Overall attitude toward cruise tourism
development’ (3.93% of total variance)
comprises items assessing residents' opinions
about the level of effectiveness by which cruise
tourism development is managed, and the
overall balance between the positive and nega-
tive impacts that it generates. Finally, ‘Support
to cruise tourism development’ (3.52% of total
variance) describes the extent to which
residents are willing to be supportive of further
cruise tourism development in their city and the
type of activities that should be realised to
achieve this goal.
The scores of the first five factors were subject
to a cluster analysis to profile residents based
on their perception of cruise tourism impacts.
Following Hair et al. (2013), this involved the
performance of a hierarchical cluster (Ward
method – Manhattan distances), with the
resulting formation of four groups. A non-
hierarchical method (k-means) was then
performed to factor scores in defining the four
distinct residents’ clusters. The interpretation of
each cluster was done by analysing the factor
scores related to each cluster. Further, in order
to understand better the characteristics of each
cluster, we calculated and analysed the means
value of each item for each cluster (Table 3).
77
 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination.

Table 2. Factors’ names extracted using the principal components method

A B C D E F G
O4. Enhances the physical and socio-cultural settings 0.69
O6. Incentivizes the preservation of the environment 0.68
O5. Improves the safety and security of the city 0.65
O3. Allows to preserve and to exploit the local cultural
0.61
heritage
O2. Enhance the quality of public services 0.59
O1. Incentivizes better infrastructures (roads, water supply,
0.55
etc.)
O9. Makes the best of this location’s identity and authenticity 0.73
O8. Enhances the local offer of cultural entertainment
0.68
activities and attractions
O7. Allows to meet new people and to experience new culture 0.61
O10. Enhances the quality of restaurants, hotels and retail
0.56
facilities
O11. Enhances the quality of social and cultural life for local
0.49
community
O16. Increases air and marine pollution 0.75
O15. Alters the ecosystem (sand erosion, flora and fauna are
0.70
damaged, etc.)
O14. Produces significant levels of waste/garbage 0.56
O12. Produces benefits that go to external business investors
0.53
for the most part ("crowding out effects")
O13. Increase the number of minor crimes 0.43
O20. Increases the income of local people 0.61
O18. Increases public investments and infrastructures 0.59
O17. Increases job opportunities 0.52
O21. Enhances the quality of life 0.51
O19. Increases private investments and infrastructures 0.50
O23. Increases the cost of living 0.68
O22. Forces me to change the way I manage my daily life 0.61
O24. Makes local entertainment facilities and public area
0.48
overcrowded
O26. Overall cruise tourism brought more benefits than costs 0.71
O25. Cruise tourism development is effectively managed 0.47
O29. Local institutions should attract (trough subsidies, tax
0.71
cuts, etc) cruise ships
O28. The revitalization of retail facilities outside the city center
0.68
would be useful to attract more cruise tourism
O27. The revitalization of retail facilities in the city center
0.62
would be useful to attract more cruise tourism
Eigenvalues 5.6 2.65 2.35 1.89 1.38 1.29 1.16
% of variance 16.96 8.04 7.13 5.73 4.18 3.93 3.52
% cumulate 16.96 25.01 32.14 37.88 42.06 45.99 49.51
Cronbach’s alpha 0.79 0.76 0.71 0.70 0.73 0.66 0.63
A = Positive economic-environmental impacts; B = Positive social impacts; C = Negative socio-environmental impacts; D
= Positive economic impacts; E = Negative social impacts; F = Overall attitude toward cruise tourism; G = Support to
cruise tourism development

‘Indifferent’ resulted to be the largest cluster
(N=190), preceding ‘moderate lovers’ (N=162),
‘moderate critics’ (N=129), and ‘cautious’
(N=119). ‘Indifferent’ are mostly female
(56.8%), aged less than 25 years old (27.4%)
78
or more than 60 years old (26.3%), employed
(23.2%) in the service sector (63.20%) or
retired (22.1%), holding a high school degree
(55.3%).
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85

They have been living in Naples for over 31 cruise tourism. Further, they have never had a
years (48.4%) and reside close to the cruise cruise trip in their life (63.2%). ‘Indifferent’
port area (59.6% under 5 km); their job (96.2%) score low or very low in all the positive and
or their relatives’ job (80.2%) is not related to negative impact statements. However, they are

Table 3. Comparative analysis of the degree of agreement for groups of respondents (means)
Moderate Moderate
Cautious Indifferents
Critics Lovers Total
N=119 N=190
N=129 N=162
FA: Positive economic-environmental impacts -0.80 0.19 -0.74 0.74
FB: Positive social impacts 1.13 -0.12 0.09 0.56
FC: Negative socio-environmental impacts -0.16 -0.99 -0.60 -0.56
FD: Positive economic impacts 0.18 0.35 0.75 -0.19
FE: Negative social impacts -0.43 0.57 0.55 -0.62
O1. Incentivizes better infrastructures (roads, water supply,
2.6
etc.) 2.83 2.06 2.21 3.37
O2. Enhance the quality of public services 2.83 1.89 2.09 3.35 2.52
O3. Allows to preserve and to exploit the local cultural
3.54 2.49 3.03 3.85 3.18
heritage
O4. Enhances the physical and socio-cultural settings 3.33 2.11 2.39 3.69 2.84
O5. Improves the safety and security of the city 2.90 1.82 2.46 3.38 2.6
O6. Incentivizes the preservation of the environment 2.83 1.80 1.98 3.15 2.41
O7. Allows to meet new people and to experience new culture 3.81 3.04 3.98 3.88 3.62
O8. Enhances the local offer of cultural entertainment
3.85 2.95 3.78 3.59 3.48
activities and attractions
O9. Makes the best of this location’s identity and authenticity 4.07 3.06 4.05 3.52 3.6
O10. Enhances the quality of restaurants, hotels and retail
3.76 3.22 3.91 3.62 3.58
facilities
O11. Enhances the quality of social and cultural life for local
3.57 2.79 3.03 3.58 2.68
community
O12. Produces benefits that go to external business investors
3.03 2.50 4.04 2.94 3.05
for the most part ("crowding out effects")
O13. Increase the number of minor crimes 2.8 2.82 4.21 3.19 3.21
O14. Produces significant levels of waste/garbage 2.66 1.75 2.98 3.18 2.58
O15. Alters the ecosystem (sand erosion, flora and fauna are
2.62 1.42 3.20 1.94 2.18
damaged, etc.)
O16. Increases air and marine pollution 3.22 1.74 3.94 2.39 2.68
O17 Increases job opportunities 3.02 2.43 3.15 2.91 2.83
O18. Increases public investments and infrastructures 2.49 1.97 2.52 2.48 2.33
O19. Increases private investments and infrastructures 2.73 2.59 3.69 3.13 3
O20. Increases the income of local people 2.59 2.71 2.69 3.52 2.9
O21. Enhances the quality of life 2.50 2.33 2.43 3.44 2.68
O22. Forces me to change the way I manage my daily life 2.00 2.04 1.54 2.99 2.18
O23. Increases the cost of living 3.46 2.57 2.99 2.77 2.89
O24. Makes local entertainment facilities and public area
2.55 2.01 3.24 3.07 2.67
overcrowded
O25. Cruise tourism development is effectively managed 2.08 1.89 1.36 2.08 1.87
O26. Overall cruise tourism brought more benefits than costs 2.29 2.68 2.93 2.83 2.69
O27. The revitalization of retail facilities in the city center
3.89 4.12 4.54 4.43 4.25
would be useful to attract more cruise tourism
O28. The revitalization of retail facilities outside the city center
3.67 4.01 4.50 4.37 4.14
would be useful to attract more cruise tourism
O29. Local institutions should attract (trough subsidies, tax
3.06 4.03 4.41 4.48 4.04
cuts, etc) cruise ships
Willingness to invest in cruise tourism 2.96 3.08 3.34 3.13 3.13
Willingness to invest in sport tourism 2.91 2.64 3.43 2.71 2.88
Willingness to invest in sun & sand tourism 3.55 3.13 3.96 3.32 3.44
Willingness to invest in cultural tourism 3.97 4.17 4.48 4.22 4.21

79
 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination.
somehow supportive of further cruise tourism
development; specifically, the indifferent
believe that local institutions should favour
cruise ships (M=4.03) (through tax cuts,
subsidies etc.), and that a revitalization of retail
facilities would be desirable both in (M=4.12)
and out of the town centre (M=4.01). Despite
this, cruise tourism development does not
represent the tourism type they would prefer;
they would rather host cultural tourism
(M=4.17).
‘Moderate lovers’ are mostly males (50.6%),
aged under 30 (24.7%), employed (29.6%) in
the service sector (74.4%), or students (19.1%)
with a high school degree (58.0%), residing
more than 31 years in Naples (63.6%) and less
than 2 kilometres from the cruise port area
(62.3%); 9.4% of them have family members
involved in business activities related to cruise
activity and 10.5% have a cruise-related job.
Overall, they score relatively high on the
economic, environmental and socio-cultural
positive impacts arising from cruise tourism and
they believe that local institution should attract
cruise ships (M=4.48).
‘Moderate critics’ are mostly females (55.90%),
more than 56 years old (32.2%), in retirement
(22.0%) or employed (28,3%), mostly in the
service sector (63.5%), with high school
degrees (52.8%). The majority of individuals
within this cluster do not economically depend
on cruise activity (88.8%). However, 71.9%
were reported to have relatives whose income
is not cruise-related. They have been living in
Naples for more than 31 years (65.4%), reside
close to the cruise port area (57.5% under 5
km) and have never had a cruise trip in their life
(55.9%). They think that cruise tourism
development in the city is not well managed
(M=1.36); specifically, they express some
concerns about the marine pollution (M=3.94),
the micro-crimes (M=4.21) and the crowding
effects (M=4.04) that cruise tourism can
generate. This certainly explains why cruise
tourism may represent the least favoured
tourism type (M=3.34).
‘Cautious’ are mostly women (50.4%), over 56
years old (30.3%), with high school degrees
(49.6%), employed (31.9%) in the service
sector (60.3%) or retired (20.2%). They were
80
reported living in Naples for more than 31 years
(58.0%), residing close to the cruise port area
(52.0%), and without an economic reliance on
cruise tourism (90.8%). They positively
perceive, even if only slightly, the positive
social impacts arising from cruise activity,
whilst they seem not to be concerned about the
negative ones; for example, they agree that
cruise tourism makes the best of the city’s
identity and authenticity (M=4.07), allowing
meeting new people and experiencing new
culture (M=3.81). Further, they are relatively
cautious as regards to the positive economic
impacts; for example, they think cruise activity
does not increase the income of local people
(M=2.59) or public investments in infrastructure
(M=2.49). Cruise tourism is not viewed by them
as the preferred tourism development option
(M=2.96).
Finally, a series of statistical tests (chi-squared
and ANOVA) were run to test the existence of
differences between the four clusters based on
socio-economic and demographic
characteristics of respondents (age, gender,
education, etc.) and based on their overall
attitude toward cruise tourism and their support
for cruise tourism development (Hair et al.,
2013). Findings reveal that differences exist
based on prior experience with cruise vacation
(X2=8.595, p=0.035) and relatives’ economic
reliance on cruise activity (X 2=10.594,
p=0.014). On the contrary, no significant
differences exist based on gender (X 2=2.699,
p=0.440), age (X2=39.137, p=0.062),
employment status (X2=32.966, p=0.198),
economic reliance on cruise tourism (X 2=6.938,
p=0.074), education level (X2=19.521,
p=0.191), length of residence (X2=16.852,
p=0.155) and geographical proximity to the
cruise port area (X2=36.626, p=0.630).
Furthermore, no significant differences
between clusters were found based on
residents’ overall attitude towards cruise
tourism (F=2.463, p=0.062) and their support
for cruise tourism development (F=2.463,
p=0.836).
Conclusion
Current research adopting a community
perspective towards cruise activity has
analysed a number of destination types, with a
relatively recent attention to the Mediterranean
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni, J. Pung and M. Risitano (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 71-85
area (e.g. Croatia, the islands of Sicily and
Sardinia in Italy). However, Mediterranean-
based studies have mainly considered port-of-
call cruise destinations, thus calling for further
research aiming at further expanding the
academic knowledge for homeport cruise
destinations. This study was therefore
developed to expand the scientific debate
around this still somewhat under-investigated
research area.
Overall, our findings revealed that residents in
Naples believe that, compared to costs, cruise
activity is not generating a greater number of
benefits, and that on the item “Generally, cruise
tourism has generated more benefits than
costs” the local community in the city scored
even lower than communities in ports of call
such as Olbia (Brida et al., 2014) and Cagliari
(Del Chiappa and Melis, 2015). Since Naples is
a homeport, residents would have been
expected to be more favourable towards the
cruise tourism impacts, especially when
compared to what happens in a port-of-call. In
fact, previous studies have proved that a
homeport destination has an overall greater
economic impact compared to ports of call (e.g.
Brida and Zapata, 2010). In line with prior
studies (e.g. Del Chiappa et al., 2016), our
findings call for future research aimed at
simultaneously evaluating and comparing the
objective impacts that cruise activity generates
on the destination (such as passengers and
crew expenditures, employment opportunities
created by cruise tourism development, etc.)
with the subjective ones (i.e. according to the
residents’ viewpoint). This would help to
understand whether residents can be
considered to be “myopic”, unable to
consciously perceive the benefits of cruise
activity in the city (Del Chiappa et al., 2016).
Furthermore, the fact that our findings revealed
that residents in Naples are prone to support a
further cruise tourism development despite
believing that cruise activity is not generating
greater benefits when compared to costs,
seems to contradict social exchange theory,
which would assume that locals should be
more inclined to support further expansion of
cruise activity only when they perceive that the
benefits of cruise tourism development are
greater than its related costs (Ap, 1992). In our
study, this could be explained withthe fact that
residents do not appear to be “sceptical” about
the potential benefits that cruise activity could
bring to their city, they rather seem to attribute
the lower benefits to the lack of effectiveness
they think characterises the way cruise tourism
development is managed in their city.
That said, residents in Naples express a
relatively neutral position toward cruise impacts
and that they would prefer investment in
cultural tourism over cruise tourism, thus
confirming prior studies (e.g. Del Chiappa and
Abbate, 2016; Del Chiappa and Melis, 2015).
Further, they show that, on average, cruise
activity is perceived to mostly benefit non-local
firms, thus causing a crowding-out effect that
has also been found in prior studies devoted to
analysing residents’ perceptions and attitude
toward cruise tourism development (e.g. Brida
et al., 2014).
When factor-cluster analysis was applied,
results showed that the perceptions and
attitudes of community members in the area
are different. Four groups were identified
(‘indifferent’, ‘moderate lovers’, ‘moderate
critics’ and ‘cautious’) to significantly differ
according to prior experience with cruise
vacation and relatives’ economic reliance on
cruise activity. No significant differences were
found based on gender, age, employment
status, economic reliance on cruise tourism,
education level, length of residence and
geographical proximity to cruise port area.
Further, no significant differences emerged
based on residents’ overall attitude towards
cruise tourism and their support for cruise
tourism development.
Comparing findings with previous studies, our
research reveals a number of contradictory
results. For example, they confirm prior studies
(e.g. Del Chiappa et al., 2013) reporting
residents with a prior cruise vacation to express
significantly different perceptions and attitudes
toward cruise tourism compared to their
counterparts. However, our findings revealed
that no significant differences among clusters
exist based on gender, thus contrasting
existing studies (e.g. Tosun, 2002; Brida et al.,
2011; Nunkoo and Gursoy, 2012). Our results
also did not confirm prior studies by finding that
the local community may not promptly perceive
81
 Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination.
the positive effects of cruise activity when they
live close to ports (Belisle and Hoy, 1980).
From a managerial perspective, the study
provides relevant insights for policymakers and
destination marketers willing to develop cruise
tourism. Specifically, findings suggest that
destination marketers and policymakers should
implement internal marketing operations to
more effectively deliver messages highlighting
the beneficial balance between positive and
negative impacts of tourism (e.g. Brida et al.,
2014), by mostly drawing upon objective
measures (e.g. passengers’ average
expenditure), and involving unbiased sources
of knowledge (e.g. research centres,
universities, etc.), or organisations not
belonging to the destination community which
would less likely be questioned by residents
(Litvin et al., 2013). The fact that clusters based
on certain socio-demographic characteristics
present significant differences does suggest
that these variables should be taken into
account by internal marketing and
communication operations. In this vein, our
findings reported significant differences among
clusters only based on residents’ prior
experience with cruise vacation and their
relatives’ economic reliance on cruise activity,
with individuals not reporting any prior
experience with a cruise vacation and having
relatives who do not have an economic reliance
on cruise tourism being more critics when
compared to their counterparts. Hence, in an
effort to increase the favourableness of
residents’ attitudes towards cruise tourism,
policy-makers and destination marketers
should deliver messages which better focus on
and highlight the positive balance between the
positive and negative impacts of tourism to
these individuals. Finally, our findings suggest
that policy makers and destination marketers
should better convey the extent to which the
local community is involved and benefits from
the cruise activity, and/or they could create
activities and projects aiming at developing
cruise tourism in a more endogenous and
sustainable manner (Del Chiappa, 2012;
Papathanassis, 2017), thus avoiding residents’
perceptions of a crowding effect occurring in
their city.
82
Although this study contributes in filling a gap in
the present literature and presents specific
implications for practitioners, it is highly site-
specific (Naples city) and does not use an area
sample but rather a quota sample, so that the
findings can be hardly generalised at the city
level. The fact that this study found some
contradictory findings with prior studies,
confirms the highly site-specific and not
generalisable nature of the research on
residents' perceptions and attitudes toward
tourism (Sharpley, 2014; Almeida et al., 2015)
and that further research is needed combining
a broader set of characteristics, both intrinsic
(e.g. values, pro-environmentalism behaviour,
etc.) and extrinsic (e.g. tourism seasonality,
guest-passengers ratio, etc), as well as cross-
comparing different cruise tourism destinations
(port-of-call and/or homeports) to verify
whether findings can be generalised or not. For
example, repeating the study combining a
broader set of intrinsic, extrinsic and
psychographics variables factors (e.g.
community attachment, pro-environmentalism,
post-materialism, etc.) could help to explain
why the residents' perception about the cost-
benefit balance rising from cruise tourism is
lower in Naples (home port) compared to Olbia
and Cagliari (ports of call). Finally, it would be
interesting to develop future studies aimed at
investigating the locals’ views and reactions to
sustainability policies implemented by
policymakers, destination marketers, port
authorities and cruise lines in order to make
cruise activity more sustainable.
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85
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the
Tourism Satellite Account

Brandon Sacco 1* and Ian P. Cassar 2

Received: 16/10/2018 Accepted: 19/03/2019

1 Senior Analyst at the National Statistics Office of Malta. National Statistics Office, Valletta, Malta; email:
brandon.sacco@gov.mt; Phone +356 79459674
2 Senior Lecturer in the Economics Department of the University of Malta. email: ian.p.cassar@um.edu.mt.

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Stanislav Ivanov

Abstract
This article puts forward an analysis of the first Tourism Satellite Account compiled for the Maltese
economy. The resulting Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) compiled for Malta adheres to the
European System of Accounts (2010) and is based on the reference year of 2010. It reveals that
tourism’s direct contribution to Malta’s GDP is around 6.1% and that the tourism sector directly
employs 8.0% of the total population of gainfully occupied persons (employed or self-employed).
Both the symmetrical approach and a variant of the net ratio approach are utilised to derive the
tourism value added and tourism gross domestic product. The contribution of tourism to the local
economy during 2010 is on par with that of what are generally considered to be the key sectors in
Malta, however, the direct contribution to GDP is significantly lower than the estimates presented
from past studies. The results presented in the article can be of significant use to further understand
the various dimensions of both tourism demand and the tourism supply chain.

Keywords: Tourism Satellite Account, Tourism Industry, Tourism Contribution

Citation: Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using
the Tourism Satellite Account. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

Introduction development in tourism statistical

Unlike other intermittent key industries in the
Maltese economy, tourism has perpetually
been considered an important beacon for the
economic well-being of the country and its
prosperity for economic growth (E-Cubed,
2015; Briguglio, 2002). Despite the ample
infrastructure, the Maltese tourism industry
stakeholders and policy makers have little
access to statistical information on the
economic impact of tourism. The existence of
several statistical focal points on a number of
tourism facets has, over the years, provided

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86 RESEARCH PAPER
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
only a limited view on the actual significance of
the economic aspect of tourism as an industry.
The measurement of the economic dimension
of tourism may have often been limited to
simply the total expenditure of tourists for a trip
in Malta reported in surveys. Such data may
provide insufficient information to discriminate
between national earnings and other
exogenous supply of tourism services. In
response to the statistical vacuum surrounding
this phenomenon, the Tourism Satellite
Accounts (TSA) framework (UNSD et al., 2008)
emerges as an ideal tool which enables
tourism, in its entirety as a satellite industry, to
be compared with traditional industries as well
as providing a better and deeper understanding
of the effective role of tourism in the Maltese
economy.
Malta features as the state with the highest
tourism intensity in the European Union
(Eurostat, 2017a), and such a social aspect is
certainly felt and acknowledged by the resident
population. The tangible nature of the tourism
phenomenon especially in a small geographical
area such as the Maltese islands makes it
prone to the amplification of its economic
significance, possibly due to its social impact
on the society. The number of tourism arrivals
is, in general, a primary cause for
overestimating the economic dimension of
tourism. Behind the millions of tourist arrivals
reported annually in tourism surveys, which
may sound extraordinary relative to the local
population, nights spent in Malta are an
important indicator which allows the derivation
of tourism population – a numerical value which
could be compared with the resident
population. Tourism population is a concept
used mainly for analytical purposes and is
linked to the intensity of tourism activity by
neutralising the large numbers of tourism
arrivals and overnights to population
equivalents. This is generally achieved by
dividing the number of overnights by the
amount of days in the reference period. Such
computation yields the average number of
tourists present on a particular geographical
area at any point in time during the reference
period.
Moreover, the tiny geographical scale of the
Maltese islands impedes domestic tourism from
reaching significant influence on Maltese
internal tourism as in other EU countries and
consequently such tourism type may
sometimes be omitted from particular tourism
economic impact assessments. Although the
majority of tourism in Malta is accounted for by
inbound tourism, domestic tourism is an
integral part of internal tourism consumption.
The TSA exercise ensures that the notion of
domestic tourism is accounted for as an
essential element. Moreover, the concept of
‘tourism volume’ may vary significantly from
one stakeholder to another, each according to
the respective perception and main field of
interest. For instance, on the one hand, a group
of hotels may measure tourism through the
utilisation of nights in collective accommodation
as this type of consumption would typically
reflect in their respective occupancy rate and
earnings. Hotels operators typically have little
or no interest in same-day visitors arriving by a
cruise ship or tourists staying at private
accommodation. On the other hand, the Malta
International Airport has limited interest in the
duration of a tourist’s visit but is more likely to
show interest in the head count of their arrivals
and departures, while an airline operator is
interested in the passenger traffic on routes
which is currently operating or viable for the
future.
The TSA framework provides a solution to one
of the primary challenges faced by tourism
analysts, that of measuring the tourism activity
in a form which is comparable with other
industries using the widely-recognised Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) approach. Tourism
activity is, in essence, recognized as a
consumption kind of activity – thus
acknowledged when the consumption is
effectuated by a specific type of consumer.
Contemporary statistical instruments such as
the Travel item in the balance of payments
current account and the total final consumption
expenditure in the form of exports within the
national accounts statistical framework does
not provide a sufficient set of aggregates which
allow for an appropriate comparison with other
economic activities or indeed the economic
performance of tourism in other countries or
regions.
87
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
The major challenge confronting the cross-
industry comparison is mainly the concept of
fitting a final demand ‘satellite industry’ notion
into a system which suits the production side
approach of GDP measurement. Meantime,
tourism may be logically looked at as a final
demand concept and thus, its economic
significance may not be sufficiently measured
up to merely its direct economic effects. In turn,
however, such prospect exposes the inability of
tourism as an industrial sector to be compared
on a level playing field with other traditional
industries outlined by the European Statistical
Classification of Economic Activates (NACE),
as there is no such classification for Tourism as
a production activity.
Although, a TSA may be considered as the
approach closest to measuring tourism in a
form which is comparable with the classical
‘production-side’ economic industries, a tourism
satellite industry is still conceptually separate to
the core national accounts and thus cannot be
tallied up with the conventional industries to
derive the total economy GVA as it represents
a collection of tourism-related industries which
do not belong to the tourism domain in their
entirety. This means that despite the
convenient bridge which the TSA provides
between the expenditure approach and the
production approach to GDP, tourism as an
autonomous economic activity still has to be
regarded as a ‘satellite industry’ as its
components implicitly contain various elements
from conventional industries such as the
accommodation and air passenger transport
industries. For this reason, the Tourism Gross
Value Added (TGVA), derived as a main
aggregate from the TSA does not explicitly add
up with the rest of the industries to the total
GVA and GDP. Nonetheless, the influence of
the TSA as a tool is not directly connected to
economic modelling or as an instrument for
economic impact assessment (Song, Dwyer, Li,
& Cao, 2012) and thus, it should be regarded
as a statistical instrument which retrospectively
records in substantial detail the influence of
tourism on the economy in terms of direct
economic effects. As such, a TSA may be
considered as a national accounts sub-system
or an implied extension to the core framework
rather than an instrument for forecasting. The
publication of the results of the first TSA for
88
Malta (NSO, 2017) demonstrates that tourism
as an autonomous industry in national
accounts is not merely an abstract idea simply
used for rhetoric. Furthermore, these results
demonstrate that the actual direct contribution
of tourism to the Maltese economy is different
to what has traditionally been perceived.
Several studies have been undertaken to
estimate the economic contribution of tourism
to the Maltese economy with significantly
different estimates between them. Briguglio
(2002), estimates that the economic
contribution of tourism ranges between 15 to
20%; using a crude import content assumption.
The WTTC claims that tourism accounts for
14.2% in direct impact to GDP (WTTC, 2018)
while other studies have estimated that tourism
accounts for 30% (Hoti, S., McAleer, M., &
Shareef, R., 2007) and 25% (Blake, 2003) of
total Maltese GDP. The inconsistency in
declared tourism importance on the national
economy also coincided with the global
challenges and varied developments in the
measurement of the economic aspect of
tourism. The absence of an official position in
Malta regarding the economic contribution of
tourism to the economy paved way for
speculation and various different
interpretations, each based on distinct
viewpoints. The latter is particularly highlighted
by Cassar et al. (2016) which puts forward a
critical assessment of the key studies which
present empirical estimates for the contribution
of the tourism sector to the Maltese economy.
This variation in the results of the mentioned
empirical studies further highlights the need for
a tourism satellite account (TSA) as a tool to
undertake a holistic economic measurement of
the direct impact of tourism in terms of
consumption, GDP and employment. This
study shall utilise the TSA to generate
estimates for TGVA and TGDP (Tourism Gross
Domestic Product) based on two common
approaches, as well as to undertake a brief
assessment of the impact of tourism demand
on employment based on an analysis of TSA
Table 7.
Data and Methodology
The TSA framework is regarded as the
contemporary standard approach for gauging
the economic influence of tourism with a
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
specific focus on the direct impact of tourism
spending and its immediate effects. The metho-
dological design strictly adheres to the national
accounts concepts and dimensions of SNA
(2008) and ESA (2010) in the process of
deriving the main economic aggregates and is
supported by a number of international
organisations which include the World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO), Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), and Eurostat. This framework puts
forward the guidelines to tourism economic
analysts in measuring every layer of tourism
consumption in a harmonised and consistent
manner which is comparable both across
industries as well as across different nations.
Since the standard TSA specifically measures
the direct contribution of tourism to GDP, it
does not account for other indirect and induced
effects which are generated in the economy in
response to tourism final demand.
The application of the TSA to the Maltese
Economy
The methodology of the TSA for the Maltese
economy follows the aforementioned frame-
work’s guidelines for the construction of
Demand-side TSA-Tables (1 to 4), as well as
for the derivation of the TGVA and TGDP in
table 6, including the conceptual transformation
of package tours in TSA Table 51 .
Within the context of this study, both the
symmetric approach and the net ratio approach
to TGDP are applied to the main tourism
consumption values to obtain the main tourism
economic aggregates. This will allow a
comparison to be made between the two
methods being applied on the same reference
period and country. Although no ad-hoc
surveys were carried out specifically for the
construction of the TSA, all the essential values
related to TSA Tables 1, 2 and 4 were
generated from a broad set of collected data
available from a number of surveys carried out
by various organisations contributing to a
strong tourism statistical infrastructure at a
number of entry/exit points to/from the Maltese
islands.
The consumption boundaries of domestic
tourism are generally defined according to
country-specific criteria based on the
interpretation of ‘usual environment’ adopted by
local statisticians. The interpretation of domes-
tic tourism adopted for the Maltese islands for
the purpose of TSA and national tourism
statistics is delimited to the Maltese residents
visiting Gozo for leisure-related purposes. The
‘usual environment’ application for the Maltese
islands adopted for the TSA is in sync with the
interpretation adopted by the NSO (Malta) in
related surveys, such as the National Tourism
Survey (NSO, 2017). This interpretation of
usual environment has been defined in this
manner in order to avoid overestimating the
extent of domestic tourism in Malta and to be
compliant with similar interpretations of usual
environment and domestic tourism adopted by
countries across Europe in terms of distance.
In addition to the country-specific interpretation
of ‘usual-environment’, the classification of
products ‘predominately used for tourism con-
sumption’ allows different countries to specify a
number of country-niche products which may
not be considered tourism-specific products in
other geographical locations. The country-
specific product considered specific to Malta
(other than the conventional ten tourism
products defined in the TSA Framework) during
2010, is ‘English-language Education’.
The Methods towards achieving TGVA and
TGDP
The tabulation of consumption data from
various sources into a TSA structure com-
parable with National Accounts is able to
generate a spectrum of indicators related to the
tourism related industries and the flow of goods
and services involved to meet tourism demand.
The derivation and analysis of both the TGVA
and TGDP is key to understand the effective
direct contribution of Tourism to the overall
economy and are amongst the most important
tourism economic instruments available in the
TSA.
The data required to implement the two
approaches used to measure the direct
economic contribution of tourism in Malta is
gathered directly from the data within the TSA
tables. Several countries which maintain the
calculation of TSA on a regular basis typically
approach the calculation of TGVA by applying
the symmetrical approach (Eurostat, 2009) to
distribute the value of internal tourism
89
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
consumption among the suppliers in the
domestic economy. For this reason, the sym-
metrical approach to TGVA and TGDP will also
be applied in this paper to allow relative
comparisons between the TSA of Malta and
those of other countries. This method dis-
tributes the value of derived internal tourism
consumption by product generated from in-
bound and domestic tourism consumption,
including domestic expenditure for outbound
trips, across the industries of the reference
economy according to the respective weight of
the particular industry in supplying the specific
product. This method is a convenient solution
in absence of accurate data by industry directly
related to tourism demand on each particular
product supplied. The latter is understood to be
a very difficult type of data to obtain, not only
as it requires further collection of data by
industry but also as it is very impractical for
suppliers of goods and services to keep a
detailed account of their related consumer
groups.
The symmetrical approach to the main tourism
economic aggregates generates tourism output
shares by industry in proportion to the
industry’s weight on the supply of each
particular tourism-related product and
connected products and may be summarised
as follows:
[1]
Where: TVAj = Tourism value added for the jth
industry, n = Number of product categories
analysed, GOij = Gross output of the ith
commodity of the jth industry, GOj = Gross
output of the jth industry, IIj = Intermediate
inputs for the jth industry and TSi = Tourism
share of the output of the ith commodity.
This approach generates industry-based TGVA
shares using the same intermediate
consumption to output ratio of the overall
industry. Consequently, it relies on two key
assumptions; firstly, it assumes that the
consumption of goods and services used up by
visitors strictly follows the cross-industry and
import pattern of supply and, secondly, it
assumes that any product supplied by a
90
particular industry requires as much
intermediate inputs as the overall industry,
whose output is generally dominated by a
single product. The former assumption’s draw-
back is that certain industries, despite
producing a particular tourist-characteristic
service in the domestic economy, may do so
specifically to non-visitors. This means that if
for instance, the tourism ratio of a particular
product is 50%, the symmetrical approach
assumes that 50% of any industry supplying
the corresponding product was consumed by
visitors, however, this is not always the case.
Examples of such services include, for
instance, sports and recreational complexes
which provide accommodation services to non-
visitors as a secondary activity. Moreover, from
a product point of view, an air carrier supplying
air passenger transport services strictly extra-
territorial, for instance, may create additional
statistical noise in the derivation of intermediate
costs required in the supply chain.
This may therefore interfere with a particular
product’s allocation of internal tourism
consumption among industries and may risk
providing an odd picture about the origin of
tourism-characteristic products being supplied.
On the other hand, the second assumption is
pivotal in determining the level of TGVA as it
assumes that the production process to supply
secondary activities are generated using the
identical industry overall costs’ ratio, even if
certain products require significantly different
inputs to produce and a totally different supply-
chain. For instance, the value of costs incurred
by hotels to serve a meal costing 100 euro may
not be the same as supplying 100 euro worth of
accommodation services or 100 euro of spa
services (or any other service) within the hotel.
Consequently, different services supplied by
the same industry are assumed to incur the
same level of costs. However, the costs
structure of each service offered may vary
significantly and this may contribute to marginal
errors which reflect directly in the TGVA. For
this reason, the convenient mechanism of the
symmetric approach is able to produce
industry-based analysis vis-à-vis TGVA,
however may be quite inaccurate as a result of
the implied a priori structure of the intermediate
inputs, especially in an economic environment
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
which has plenty of complex industries
supplying an abundance of secondary acti-
vities. Despite being straightforward due to its
symmetrical distribution, this approach to
TGVA may also be inaccurate in individual
components, especially in terms of the import
content and taxes on products. Having the
same tourism percentage share on all the
components for an entire tourism-related
product may be considered as a very simplistic
manner to model the pattern of tourism-related
transactions.
A second methodological framework towards
deriving the TGVA which is adopted by various
countries around the world is that of the net
ratio approach (TSA: RMF 2008). This
approach allows for the reduction in the level of
assumptions being employed particularly in
cases where the specialisation ratios of the
main tourism industries are not close to 100%
in one particular product, or when the coverage
ratio of the main tourism products are not close
to 100% by one particular industry. The net
ratio approach to derive the main tourism
economic aggregates seeks to repel the
implied errors emanating as a result of the
second aforementioned assumption and apply
more detail vis-à-vis the composition of the
intermediate costs for producing each particular
commodity by different industries. The net ratio
methodology applied in this study will consist of
a variant to the method defined by the OECD
(2000). This paper attempts to derive GVA-
based ratios from the primary industry of each
product and apply them to the value of tourism-
induced output. The allocation of intermediate
consumption to the tourism share of output will
follow an approach synonymous to similar
assumptions adopted in the application of
Input-Output Tables (IOT). Tourism charac-
teristic products which are produced by more
than just their respective main characteristic
industry (i.e. activity) are allocated an
intermediate consumption value derived from
the intermediate consumption to output ratio of
the respective main characteristic industry. For
instance, food and beverage services provided
by hotels are not allocated an intermediate
consumption to output ratio derived from the
hotel industry, but rather the compatible ratio of
the restaurant industry. This procedure is
based on the assumption that food and
beverage services within hotels are more likely
to accumulate costs similar to those
accumulated by the restaurant industry rather
than the costs accumulated by the hotel
industry which are mainly involved in supplying
accommodation services. This distinction
ultimately affects TGVA. For instance, in the
case of Malta, accommodation services incur
fewer costs per 100 euro of services produced
than food and beverage serving services.
[2]
Where: TVAi = Tourism value added for the ith
commodity, GOjp= Gross output of the jth
industry for which the respective product is
primary, IIjp = Intermediate inputs of the jth
industry for which the respective product is
primary, TSi = Tourism share of the domestic
output of the ith commodity.
The above equation outlines the
methodological practice of using the value
added ratio at commodity level derived from the
intermediate costs to output ratio of the industry
for which the commodity is primary
(simultaneously deriving commodity-based
TGVA). Using this procedure, the TGVA gene-
rated from a particular commodity is the
balance between the output and the
intermediate costs required to produce it
(referring to the inputs of the main industry
producing it) multiplied by the proportion of
output acquired by visitors.
While the TGVA takes a holistic approach to
the levels of output and intermediate uses and
is considered the main aggregate which allows
the tourism industry to be compared to other
fellow industries in the economy, the TGDP
supplements the TGVA amount with the
tourism share of taxes (less subsidies) on
products gathered by the government from the
consumption of products by visitors. It should
be noted that the degree of adherence to a
single TGVA methodological standard is still
significantly low across the EU nations and
therefore there is a constant need for
establishing a uniform treatment (Eurostat,
2009). The purpose of generating TGVA results
using both the symmetrical approach and a
91
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
variant of the net ratio approach to TGVA in
this paper (using the above notation) is to
determine if such differing methodologies yield
considerable dissimilarities and to highlight the
main discrepancies. Ultimately, the analysis will
be mainly based on the symmetrical approach
to TGVA as this technique is generally
favoured across EU nations (Eurostat, 2009c)
and is able to provide a breakdown structure of
TGVA by industry.
Methodological limitations of the TSA
It should be noted that both methods described
are prone to inaccuracies emanating from the
simplicity of accounting procedures utilised for
a number of tourism products which may be
produced by several industries. The limitations
related to the compilation of the first tourism
satellite account for Malta can be classified in
three main typologies: Those related to the
data gathered; limitations associated with the
completeness of the all the TSA tables; and
limitations based on the methodological
structure of the TSA.
The TSA is based on the reconciliation
between supply and demand data. Supply
data, despite being often challenging to collect
at a detailed product level (especially those
related to tour operator services and the
composition of package tours), is often
supported by compulsory reporting, such as
audited financial statements and tax returns.
However, demand data is often subject to non-
sampling errors, most notably those linked to
respondents’ willingness to provide accurate
information. In addition to the quality of data
gathered, other limitations relate to the vacuum
in expenditure information, such as information
on the expenditure of same-day visitors
(SDVs). The absence of EU legislations
imposing mandatory SDV measurement un-
veils a transversal data gap exposure and
Malta, just like other EU countries do not have
the statistical infrastructure in place to measure
the expenditure of such visitor typology and this
data vacuum call for estimations based on a
limited set of indicators.
The second type of limitations of the first TSA
for Malta relates to the number of tables
completed. The core tables (Table 1 to Table 6)
and the table related to employment (Table 7)
92
have been completed for the first exercise,
however, the additional tables related to non-
monetary indicators (Table 10), tourism
collective consumption (Table 9) and the
valuable table on Tourism Gross Fixed Capital
Formation (Table 8) will all be future
supplements which will embellish the statistical
picture of Tourism activity in the economy.
The fixed methodological structure of the TSA
can also be considered a limitation for the most
accurate result of the TGVA and TGDP. This is
particularly evident in TSA Tables six and
seven. The manner in which the internal
tourism expenditure is distributed symmetrically
among the supplying industries may not reflect
the actual chronicle of events. On a different
note, the official table related to tourism
employment (Table 7) is structured in a format
which records the employment in tourism
industries rather than the direct employment
generated to cater for tourism demand. The
former calculation is comparable and corres-
ponds with Gross Value Added of Tourism
Industries (GVATI) rather than TGVA.
Moreover, the fact that the TSA relies almost
exclusively on the availability of the Supply and
Use Tables (SUT) limits the timeliness of data
being produced for analysis and creates
methodological discrepancies between the TSA
and ESA (those related to the net treatment of
package tours)2. It should be noted that some
SUT components may not fully satisfy the
requirements of the TSA in terms of detailed
tourism-related elements. Most prominently the
lack of firm heterogeneity in the conventional
SUT for tourism industries may significantly
influence the results of the TSA. The issue of
firm heterogeneity refers to the different
economic performance of firms being bundled
up together and classified in the same narrow
industry but which may operate in a very
different environment. The production inputs
and/or the client base may be totally different
and in the case of tourism, some firms
operating in a tourism-related industry may not
be catering for tourism demand at all. The
issue of firm heterogeneity further manifests
itself in situations where there is vast regional
disparity in tourism demand. Different firms
may have a very distinct client base (for
instance tourism-intensive regions as opposed
to regions with low tourism intensity) and
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
potentially a divergent cost structure and
pricing mechanism despite being correctly
classified in the same tourism-related
industries.
One further notes that since the TSA measures
only the direct economic effects, the usage of
the TSA by policy makers may to an extent be
limited (Smeral, 2006) given that the
measurement of the generated estimate for the
economic importance will implicitly omit the
potentially significant indirect and induced
effects on production which may be generated
by the tourism sector. This TSA characteristic
may also present a challenge to economic
analysts trying to gauge the efficiency of the
direct tourism satellite industry as firms
operating in the tourism-related industries may
artificially fluctuate the balance between the
direct and indirect economic effects from one
year to another depending on the degree of
sub-contracting outsourced.
In an attempt to put forward a plausible range
of the total impact of tourism activities on the
Maltese economy, Cassar et al. (2016)
presents a critical survey of applied empirical
literature. The discussion put forward evaluates
resulting estimates derived from both the
analysis of input-output multipliers obtained
from the Leontief demand driven model (Miller
and Blair, 2009), as well as from the application
of a computable general equilibrium models
applied to the Maltese economy. On the basis
of the assessment put forward by Cassar et al.
(2016), it is suggested that the contribution of
tourism activities to the Maltese economy
potentially accounts for approximately 12% of
total gross value added when taking account of
both direct and indirect effects and roughly
17% accounting also for the induced effects on
production.
Results and discussion
The results of the first TSA for Malta are
statistically consistent with the ESA 2010
methodology which is used by national
accounts to determine the GDP level of the
Maltese economy and other related
macroeconomic indicators. This particular
national accounting framework was first
published by the Malta National Statistics
Office (NSO) during 2014 (NSO, 2014). The
first TSA for Malta is based on the performance
of the Maltese economy during 2010,
represented by the economic architecture
outlined in the Supply, Use and Input-Output
Tables (SUIOT) for the reference year of 2010
(NSO, 2016). The SUIOT is a statistical output
of national accounts which holds the highest
amount of integrated information about the
supply and use of goods and services in the
entire economy. This, in turn is used to extract
significant details about tourism’s substance in
the national economy during that year.
The first four tables of the TSA prepare the
foundations of the internal tourism expenditure
data which feed into Table 6 – which is the core
table reconciling tourism demand and tourism-
related supply from various industries outlined
in TSA Table 53. The shares of tourism output
in the tourism-related industries calculated in
TSA table 6 are consequently used to derive a
set of direct tourism employment values in TSA
Table 7.
For the purpose of this paper, the analysis of
the TSA results will be mainly based on the
results of the TSA generated using the
symmetric approach. As described in section 2,
the symmetrical approach to TGVA is the
technique generally favoured across EU
nations and thus, any legitimate like for like
comparison would have to be carried out using
the same compilation method.
TSA Table 6 presents a synthesis of domestic
supply for each of the tourism-characteristic
products confronted by the consumption of
visitors for each of the listed products. This
table may be viewed as the core table of TSA
given that the ratios of tourism consumption on
total supply of the tourism industries can be
defined at a product level of detail. The upper
part of TSA-Table 6 is supplemented with
columns relating to the tourism share of total
production of tourism and other industries.
More importantly, the compilation of this TSA
table implicitly generates the ‘tourism ratio on
supply’ by product and undertakes the explicit
calculations of ‘Tourism Gross Value Added’
(TGVA) and ‘Tourism Gross Domestic Product’
(TGDP). The two latter variables are the
fundamental elements of the scope of this
analysis and thus the importance of this TSA-
93
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.

Table 1. TSA Table 6, symmetric approach (at purchasers’ prices):2010

94
Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

Table 1. TSA Table 6, symmetric approach (at purchasers’ prices):2010 (continuation)

95
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.

Table 1. TSA Table 6, symmetric approach (at purchasers’ prices) :2010 (continuation)

96
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
table is even more pronounced. TGVA is
derived as a balancing item from the tourism
share of output less than the tourism share of
intermediate consumption.
As is evident in this core TSA table, tourism as
an industry intertwines within a multitude of
different auxiliary industries and its overall
income effect extends over the tourism
characteristic industries. When the focus is
shifted towards the value added component of
the tourism industries, i.e. the value added of
all establishments for which the principal
activity is related to supplying a tourism
characteristic product, the GVATI reaches
958.9 million (16.6% of total economy GVA).
This aggregate is often of little importance to
the scope of this analysis as the tourism-
related supply may be quite sizable to cater for
non-tourism demand of residents during their
regular course of life. This supply of such
goods and services was not entirely consumed
by tourists and thus, in order to accurately
identify tourism related supply, it is necessary
to derive estimates of the share of tourism
consumption from the total supply of each
product category. These are referred to as
tourism ratios and are calculated by dividing
total supply of each product category by the
internal tourism consumption expenditure of
each corresponding product.
Tourism characteristic products are typically
expected to bear a higher tourism ratio to total
supply; some of which may be close to 100%
(such as accommodation, air passenger
transport and travel agencies). This table is
sustained by TSA Tables 4 and 5 and
supplemented through the extensive detail
provided from the SUT. TSA Table 6 shows the
import content of domestic supply which by
nature does not form part of domestic GDP.
Since the economic importance of a production
activity is typically measured by the share of
value added in the reference country, the
portion of GVA generated from visitors has to
be derived. The visitor-induced production of
tourism-related industries is derived through
the respective tourism-characteristic products,
in some cases for more than one product per
industry, and the tourism direct GVA is
calculated by deducting the intermediate
consumption (which includes the secondary
import content) for every industry.
The intermediate consumption ratios
attributable to visitors are often the same
proportions derived for total output (Eurostat,
2009). It is customary for TSA compilers,
especially during early compilation attempts, to
distribute the consumption of a particular
product evenly across producing industries
(using a pro-rata of their respective volume of
production). In an optimal TSA scenario,
different tourism shares for each particular
product at each industry level would be
available – i.e. a different tourism share for
every cell; however, such detail is often too
subtle to achieve.
The symmetric approach which was utilised to
generate the TGVA and TGDP as presented in
Table 1 applies a major assumption as product-
specific internal tourism shares on supply are
made equal across all industries producing a
particular product. Despite this general
practice, some countries opt to approach a
number of products with more integrity by
estimating specific tourism shares by product
for each industry producing it (Eurostat, 2009).
It should be noted that on the other hand,
applying the net-ratio approach would not
generate different values of output of domestic
producers but may impact the TGVA and
TGDP aggregates due to the varying levels of
intermediate costs among different industries.
As depicted in TSA Table 6, the computations
based on the symmetric approach show that
during 2010 internal tourism consumption used
up 5.8% of the economy’s total supply of goods
and services. The latter is obtained as the
share of internal tourism consumption from
total domestic supply at purchasers’ prices.
When equating the tourism ratio to supply for
each of the tourism consumption products
which visitors have consumed, this time
focusing solely on the domestic producers,
7.5% of the domestic output was derived to
match the demand of visitors (tourists and
same day visitors). When compared to other
European countries, Malta’s proportion of
internal tourism consumption to domestic
supply is amongst the highest – i.e. visitors
consume a considerable chunk of goods and
services supplied by domestic producers
(Eurostat, 2017b).
97
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
Figure 1. Comparison of GVA shares of different economic activities in Malta, 2010
When discounting the value of implied tourism
output by the proportional amount of
intermediate costs of the respective industry
using the symmetric approach to TGVA, the
total TGVA in 2010 amounted to 331.1 million
euro, equivalent to 5.7% of the total GVA of
Maltese industries. TGDP, which is achieved
as a function of TGVA and the tourism share of
‘taxes less subsidies’ over the respective totals
of the economy, amounted to 404.5 million
euro, equivalent to 6.1% of the total GDP of
Malta during 2010. When compared with other
activities of the Maltese economy, such a result
ranks the tourism satellite industry among the
largest industries of Malta during 2010 as may
be observed from Figure 1 above.
The main drawback of the symmetric approach
to TGVA is that the summation of the tourism
output values of all the products consumed by
tourists from a particular industry are
collectively applied an intermediate costs ratio
of the overall industry. Consequently, different
services supplied by the same industry are
assumed to incur the same level of costs.
However, the costs structure of each service
offered may vary significantly and this
98
phenomenon may contribute to marginal errors
which reflect directly in the TGVA. For instance,
the value of costs incurred by hotels to serve a
meal costing 100 euro may not be the same as
supplying 100 euro worth of accommodation
services or 100 euro of spa services (or any
other service) within the hotel. This
shortcoming occurs predominantly in situations
where a sizable secondary activity is produced
by a tourism-related industry. In such a case,
the secondary activity produced by a particular
industry has to be large enough to significantly
affect the specialisation ratio of the respective
industry. In the context of the TSA, the
specialisation ratio is a measure of the extent
to which observations contained within a
category are representatives of the population
of those observations as a whole. Therefore,
the specialisation ratio of an industry is the
output by that industry of goods and services
characteristic to that industry in proportion to its
total output (UN, 1990). As highlighted in the
previous section, this particular deficiency
related to the symmetric approach is
significantly reduced when using the net ratio
approach to TGVA.
Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

Table 2. TSA Table 6 using the ‘net ratio’ approach

99
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
This variant of net ratio approach to TGVA, due
to its technical structure, produces product-
based TGVA values rather than industry-based
TGVA values. When comparing the values of
TGVA produced at product level with those
produced at industry level by the symmetrical
approach, it is clear that both methods point to
approximately the same level of TGVA. The
most glaring discrepancies between the
symmetric and the net ratio methods illustrated
in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively occur in the
Accommodation and Food and beverage
serving services.
Table 3. TSA Table 7: Employment in the tourism industries
100
The significantly large secondary activities
(food and beverage serving services) produced
by the accommodation industry renders its
specialisation ratio to be less focused and
specialised on providing accommodation
services only, since over 18% of the output of
the accommodation industry is in fact, services
related to bars and restaurants. This feature is
the primary cause for the disparity between the
two approaches to TGVA. Although in the TSA
for Malta, the main discrepancy between the
two approaches was primarily triggered by the
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
accommodation industry, such type of
divergence may become more widespread in
situations where there are complex output
structures in other tourism-related industries
which are less focused on producing their main
related product.
In addition to the core table which illustrates a
reconciliation of the supply and demand data to
determine the value added in the economy
from tourism activity, TSA Table 7 provides an
outline of employment related to tourism
activity. This TSA Table is calculated by having
the industry ratios from TSA Table 6 applied to
the total employment of the tourism-related
industries. Employment numbers are typically
not straightforward to segment between those
involved in providing services to visitors and
those which provide services to non-residents
as employees engaged in tourism industries
typically provide services to all types of
customers. The design of this TSA table
attempts to segment the number of employees
actually involved in supporting the volume of
tourism demand according to the total output
consumed by tourists in the respective industry.
The main observations from TSA Table 7 are
the numbers of employees in each industry
directly related to tourism. During 2010, the
amount of employees directly employed to
cater specifically for tourism demand amounted
to 17,083 or 8.0% of the total gainfully
occupied.
TSA Table 7 demonstrates that during 2010,
12,571 full time equivalents were directly
involved in providing their services to the 1.34
million tourists spending a total of 11.1 million
nights in Malta4. When converting the number
of tourist nights spent in Malta to tourist
population, by dividing the number of nights by
the number of days in a calendar year, the
number of tourists present in Malta along the
12 months of 2010 averaged 30,542 individuals
(Sacco, 2015). Consequently, this reveals that
during 2010, on an annual average, around 41
employees were required to cater for the
demand of every 100 tourists visiting Malta.
An analysis of the first set of TSA tables for
Malta reveals that that during 2010:
 Internal tourism consumption amounted to
€1,148 million. This value represents 5.8% of
the supply of goods and services in the Maltese
economy during 2010;
 Tourism generated around €331.1 million of
added value (TGVA) or 5.7% of the total
economy (excluding taxes);
 Taxes and subsidies from and for Tourism
amounted to €73.4 million or 9.1% of total
taxes less subsidies on products;
 The amount of TGVA plus net taxes from
Tourism amounted to €404.5 million or 6.1% of
the Maltese GDP during 2010;
 The direct import content of internal tourism
consumption (mainly tourism services)
amounted to around €133.8 million or 12.5%;
 The significance of Tourism vis-à-vis the
exports of goods and services is highlighted by
the magnitude of receipts from inbound tourism
to total Exports. Exports generated through
inbound tourism amounted to €1,033 million or
17.5% of total Exports.
 At the same time, imports of tourism
(Maltese residents on outbound tourism trips)
amounted to €190.0 million. Thus, the net
exports of tourism from Malta amounted to
€843 million during 2010.
 At €112.2 million, domestic spending for
tourism represents just 9.8% of total tourism
consumption. The majority (65.2%) of domestic
tourism spending consisted of domestic tourism
expenditure for outbound trips.
 Being a labour intensive sector, the number
of employees directly related to cater
specifically for tourism demand amounted to
17,083. This value amounts to 8.0% of the total
gainfully occupied and is disproportionally
higher when compared to the TGDP.
The results of the TSA for Malta in the context
of the results of other EU countries reflect the
notable characteristics of tourism in small
states. The very low contribution of domestic
tourism consumption to internal tourism
consumption compared to the dominance of
inbound tourism consumption (90.2% of
internal tourism consumption) reflects a typical
trait of small island states, followed by Cyprus,
a similar small island state, with a share of 84%
(UNWTO, 2010). Similarly, the very high
proportion of total inbound tourism expenditure
accounted for by overnight visitors (98.7%) in
101
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
Malta is among the highest of the reporting
countries. (UNWTO, 2010)
Furthermore, an analysis of the full set of TSA
tables highlights various issues relating to the
level of economic efficiency attributable to the
tourism sector. Generally, the economic impact
of a sector depends on the ability of the
domestic economy to assimilate its value
added and avoid economic leaks (Singh &
Wright, 2011). As a rule of thumb, tourism
economic leakages decline by preventing
imports from replacing domestic output of
goods and services. Economic impacts other
than those influenced directly by the final
suppliers are normally enhanced by giving
priority to this sector’s income distribution
structure and its value added in the economy
by encouraging a more internal use of
resources in an efficient and holistic manner
and not least by addressing the seasonality
issues.
Tourism is a service-oriented activity and while
this fact substantially limits the probability of
direct economic leakages given that most
services are more likely to be provided during
the trip in the target destination (except for
services such as air and sea transport services
as well as services provided by foreign travel
agencies), the same cannot be said for the
underlying indirect economic leakages exposed
in the tourism supply-chain. The supply-chain
of any industry is normally acknowledged by
the value of intermediate consumption. This
value represents the amount of goods and
services required by the particular industry from
other suppliers to produce its output. During
2010, the Maltese economy’s intermediate
costs to output ratio was around 56%, which
means that when considering all industries in
the Maltese economy, 56 euro were needed for
every 100 euro of output produced. This image
evolves quite differently when the focus is
filtered for the cluster of tourism-related
industries.
Assessing TSA Table 5 (Appendix Table 8) it
may be inferred that the intermediate costs
required by the tourism sector to produce the
output needed to satisfy the internal tourism
consumption aggregate is around 66 euro for
every 100 euro worth of goods and services
102
produced. The latter differs from the average of
the Maltese economy and thus, at prima facie,
the tourism sector seems, on average, to be
relatively inefficient. When analysed at the
industry level, TSA Tables 5 and 6 reveal that
the air and water transport industry is the main
catalyst for such a high cost to output ratio. In
light of this, however, industries having
relatively high inputs to the respective output
ratio do not automatically translate as being
inefficient. This occurrence may also be the
result of highly specialised operations by
industries in developed economic structures.
Conclusion
The TSA has over the recent decades become
a key statistical framework within the context of
the economic measurement of tourism
activities which ensures comparability with
other economic industries and with the
performance of tourism in other countries or
regions. The benefits of the TSA have thus
been long recognised and used for policy
design in a number of countries over the past
few years (Bederoff, 2005). This article
presented an analysis of the first TSA compiled
for the Maltese economy adhering to the ESA
2010 and based on the reference year of 2010.
The results of the TSA for Malta for 2010
provide the first estimates of the level of direct
tourism employment, TGVA and TGDP strictly
based on the production boundary of the
Maltese national accounts. On the basis of the
first TSA for the Maltese economy which was
constructed for the reference year of 2010
tourism related actives account directly for 5.7
% of total TGVA, 6.1% of TGDP and 8.0% of
the total gainfully occupied. It should further be
noted that although the results obtained
capture solely the direct effects on the
economy generated from tourism related
activities thus omitting indirect and induced
effects, the estimates generated from the TSA
are however not bound by the numerous robust
assumptions employed by respective
methodological frameworks applied to generate
these indirect and induced effects.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that based on
Cassar et al. (2016), these direct and induced
effects may indeed be substantial with tourism
activities potentially contributing approximately
12% of total gross value added when taking
 Sacco, B., I. P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111
account of both direct and indirect effects and
around 17% when induced effects are also
accounted for.
A key contribution of this article pertains to the
fact that the results obtained from both the
symmetrical approach and the net ratio
approach were indeed very similar in terms of
the derived TGVA and TGDP, even though the
compilation mechanisms adopt a separate set
of implicit assumptions. This implies that the
estimates produced by both methods resulted
to approximately a consistent account of the
economic contribution generated from tourism
consumption activities. The main highlight
drawn out from the comparison between the
two methods is that these two approaches
used to calculate TGVA tend to diverge
essentially in cases where the main tourism-
related industries generate substantial
secondary activity output.
The TSA tables provide a suitable instrument to
policy makers for identifying activities which
add trivial value to the economy despite the
large cash flows channelled from visitors
through such industries. The cause for such
occurrence may potentially be either due to
GVA flowing to other domestic industries or
leaking out of the domestic economy. The latter
situation, occurring in a number of industries,
has to be acknowledged by policy makers as
economic areas which effectively shrink the
economic significance of tourism away from the
widely publicised tourism expenditure values.
Despite being a valid tool for analysis and
policy design, the TSA is often criticised for its
most influential limitation – the lack of
timeliness. For this reason, one has to be
aware that the general public might not be very
interested in the economic performance of
tourism of several years before, or any
technicalities but contemporary outline
numbers. Moreover, the concept of economic
efficiency in tourism-specific industries, i.e.
derived from the country-specific SUTs and
applied to the tourism-portion of output, is also
highlighted as a TSA limitation and an area of
attention for further refinement, multilaterally
across countries producing TSAs. The OECD
(2010) has recognised that TSA results are still
largely underused and in order to overcome
this issue, the TSA results could be used as a
further platform for economic forecasting of the
tourism industry using additional models
(Ahlert, 2008, Blake, Durbarry, Sinclair, &
Sugiyarto, 2001).
Nonetheless, it should be noted that the TSA
can be used as an important tool by different
stakeholders ranging from policy makers to
research institutes to evaluate multiple aspects
of tourism activity (Cooper, 2008). The results
of this TSA for Malta provide a suitable platform
for further analysis on the adequacy of the
employment level in the tourism industry and
the quality of service provided. One kind of
focal point could be the diagnosis of the main
reasons of tourism economic leaks from the
economy and its effect of the economic
efficiency of the industry. Other types of TSA
use for policy design could be applied and
extended through CGE modelling techniques
which allows users to estimate the impact on
the GDP and other main macroeconomic
aggregates from, for instance, a specific
increase in inbound tourism demand (WTO,
2014, Meng & Siriwardana, 2017, Dwyer,
2015).
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper
are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect those of the National Statistics Office of
Malta.
Endnotes:
1
Further details related to the construction of the
first Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for the
Maltese islands are illustrated by Sacco (2015).
2
The legal act Regulation (EC) No 1392/2007 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 13
November 2007 amending Council Regulation
(EC) No 2223/96 with respect to the transmission
of national accounts stipulates that Supply and
Use Tables (SUT) of European Nations should be
disseminated not later than 3 years after the
reference period. The frequency of the SUT for
the Maltese economy has not always been
regular and by 2017, Maltese SUTs covered
reference periods 2010 and 2011 in-line with ESA
2010 framework.
3
TSA Tables 1 to 5 are presented in Appendix A.
4
Figures include only data collected from Tourstat
– thus excluding expenditure from cruise
passengers and other transport means.
103
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.
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 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.

Appendices
Appendix Table 1. TSA Table 1: Inbound Tourism expenditure by products and
visitor classes
Type of Visitor

Products Tourists (overnight Excursionists (same- Total Visitors

visitors) day visitors)

Computational
(1.1) (1.2) (1.3) = (1.1) + (1.2)
Code

A Consumption products (*)

A.1 Tourism characteristic products 854 981 3 667 858 647
A.1.1 Accommodation services for visitors 231 599 X 231 599
Accommodation services for visitors (other
A.1.1a
than 1b) 228 081 X 228 081
Accommodation services associated w ith all
A.1.1b
types of vacation home ow nership 3 518 X 3 518
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 257 455 887 258 341
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 23 844 707 24 551
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 229 955 1 028 230 982
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services 18 972 3 18 976
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 36 151 36 151
A.1.9 Cultural services 11 901 600 12 501
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services 22 564 442 23 006
A.1.11 Language school services 22 539 22 539

A.2 Tourism Connected products 165 729 8 459 174 187

A.2.1 Wearing apparel and leather products 32 841 1 777 34 618
A.2.2 Food products 41 360 2 238 43 598
A.2.3 Beverages 24 893 1 087 25 980
A.2.4 Other goods and services 66 634 3 356 69 991

Total expenditure by inbound visitors 1 020 709 12 125 1 032 835

X does not apply

(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport services have been merged with water passenger transport services due to confidentiality flags.
Source: NSO (2016).

106
 107
Appendix Table 2. TSA Table 2: Domestic tourism expenditure by products, classes of

Domestic tourism expenditure (***)

Domestic trips Outbound trips All types of trips
Sacco, B., P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

Products Tourists Excursionists Tourists Excursionists Tourists Excursionists

Visitors on Visitors on
(overnight (same-day Visitors (overnight (same-day (overnight (same-day
domestic trips domestic trips
visitors) visitors) visitors) visitors) visitors) visitors)
Computational (2.3) = (2.1) + (2.6) = (2.4) + (2.7) = (2.1) + (2.8) = (2.2) + (2.9) = (2.3) +
(2.1) (2.2) (2.4) (2.5)
Code (2.2) (2.5) 2.4) (2.5) (2.6)
A Consumption products (*)
A.1 Tourism characteristic products 15 746 14 372 30 118 69 215 69 215 84 961 14 372 99 332
A.1.1 Accommodation services for visitors 5 621 X 5 621 1 247 X 1 247 6 869 X 6 869
Accommodation services for visitors (other
A.1.1a
than 1b) 5 621 X 5 621 1 247 X 1 247 6 869 X 6 869
Accommodation services associated w ith all
A.1.1b
types of vacation home ow nership X X X
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 7 576 9 558 17 135 7 576 9 558 17 135
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 788 982 1 770 788 982 1 770
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 1 760 3 831 5 591 23 821 23 821 25 581 3 831 29 413
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 44 146 44 146 44 146 44 146
A.1.9 Cultural services
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services
A.2 Tourism Connected products 7 702 1 267 8 970 3 849 3 849 11 552 1 267 12 819
A.2.1 Wearing apparel and leather products 740 122 862 740 122 862
A.2.2 Food products 1 967 324 2 291 1 967 324 2 291
visitors and type of trips

A.2.3 Beverages 319 52 371 319 52 371

A.2.4 Other goods and services 4 676 769 5 446 3 849 3 849 8 526 769 9 295
Total expenditure by domestic visitors 23 448 15 639 39 087 73 064 73 064 96 512 15 639 112 151
X does not apply
(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport services have been merged with water passenger transport services due to confidentiality flags.
(***) Domestic tourism comprises the activities of a resident visitor within the country of reference either as part of a domestic trip or part of an outbound trip.
Source: NSO (2016).
 Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.

Appendix Table 3. TSA Table 3: Outbound tourism expenditure by products and

visitor classes

Type of Visitor

Products Tourists (overnight Excursionists (same- Total Visitors

visitors) day visitors)

Computational
(1.1) (1.2) (1.3) = (1.1) + (1.2)
Code

A Consumption products (*)

A.1 Tourism characteristic products 130 281 130 281
A.1.1 Accommodation services for visitors 49 860 X 49 860
Accommodation services for visitors (other
A.1.1a
than 1b) 49 839 X 49 839
Accommodation services associated w ith all
A.1.1b
types of vacation home ow nership 22 X 22
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 50 307 50 307
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services 12 460 12 460
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 69 69
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 2 832 2 832
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services 8 087 8 087
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 141 141
A.1.9 Cultural services 373 373
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services 6 152 6 152

A.2 Tourism Connected products 59 755 59 755

A.2.1 Wearing apparel and leather products 1 845 1 845
A.2.2 Food products 8 962 8 962
A.2.3 Beverages 5 580 5 580
A.2.4 Other goods and services 43 369 43 369

Total expenditure by onbound visitors 190 037 190 037

X does not apply

(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport services have been merged with water passenger transport services due to confidentiality flags.
Source: NSO (2016).

108
 Sacco, B., P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

Appendix Table 4. TSA Table 4: Internal tourism consumption by products

Visitors final consumption expenditure in cash

Other
Internal
Domestic Internal tourism components
Inbound tourism tourism
tourism consumption in of visitors'
Products expenditure consumption
expenditure cash consumption

Computational (1.3) + (2.9) = (4.3) = (4.1) +

(1.3) (2.9) (4.2)
Code (4.1) (4.2)

A Consumption products (*)

A.1 Tourism characteristic products 858,647.3 99,332.4 957,979.7 4,547.2 962,527.0
A.1.1 Accommodation services for visitors 231,599.2 6,868.7 238,467.9 4,547.2 243,015.1
Accommodation services for visitors (other
A.1.1a
than 1b) 228,081.1 6,868.7 234,949.8 234,949.8
Accommodation services associated w ith all
A.1.1b
types of vacation home ow nership 3,518.1 - 3,518.1 4,547.2 8,065.3
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 258,341.5 17,134.8 275,476.2 275,476.2
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services - - - 0.0
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 24,551.2 1,770.1 26,321.4 26,321.4
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 230,982.5 29,412.6 260,395.1 260,395.1
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services 18,975.8 0.0 18,975.8 18,975.8
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 36,151.1 44,146.3 80,297.4 80,297.4
A.1.9 Cultural services 12,500.5 0.0 12,500.5 12,500.5
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services 23,006.5 0.0 23,006.5 23,006.5
A.1.11 Language school services 22,539.0 X 22,539.0 22,539.0

A.2 Tourism Connected products 174,187.4 12,818.8 187,006.3 187,006.3

A.2.1 Wearing apparel and leather products 34,618.3 862.2 35,480.5 35,480.5
A.2.2 Food products 43,598.5 2,290.7 45,889.2 45,889.2
A.2.3 Beverages 25,980.1 371.1 26,351.2 26,351.2
A.2.4 Other goods and services 69,990.5 9,294.9 79,285.4 79,285.4

Total expenditure by domestic visitors 1,032,834.7 112,151.3 1,144,986.0 4,547.2 1,149,533.3

X does not apply

(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport services have been merged with water passenger transport services due to confidentiality flags.
Source: NSO (2016).

109
 Appendix Table 5. TSA Table 5: Production accounts of tourism industries and other industries.

Industries
Accommodation
services
Products Accommodation Food and Railw ay Air and w ater
Accommodation associated w ith Road passenger
f or visitors (other beverage passenger passenger
f or visitors all types of transport
than 1b) serving transport transport (**)
vacation home
ow nership
Computational
Measuring the economic impact of tourism in Malta using the Tourism Satellite Account.

(5.1) (5.1a) (5.1a) (5.2) (5.3) (5.4) (5.5)

Code
A Consumption products (*)
A.1 Tourism characteristic products
A.1.1 Accommodation services f or visitors 329,592.6 245,418.1 84,174.5 2,242.3 0.0 175.1 600.0
A.1.1a Accommodation services f or visitors (other than 1b) 235,552.6 235,552.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Accommodation services associated w ith all types of vacation
A.1.1b
home ow nership 94,039.9 9,865.4 84,174.5 2,242.3 0.0 175.1 600.0
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 78,632.2 78,632.2 0.0 289,605.2 0.0 0.0 184.8
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 26.6 26.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 45,482.2 0.0
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 258,715.5
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 1,223.5 1,223.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.1.9 Cultural services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services 13,292.9 13,292.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.1.11 Language school services 242.9 242.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.2 Tourism Connected products
A.2.1 Retail trade margin on goods 6,126.4 6,126.4 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 2.3
A.2.2 Wearing apparel and leather products 27.4 25.6 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.8
A.2.3 Food products 0.0 0.0 0.0 252.6 0.0 0.1 0.0
A.2.4 Beverages 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0
A.2.5 Other goods and services 3,763.4 3,545.9 217.5 13.3 0.0 2,710.0 12,783.9
B Non-specif ic products (***)
B.1.1 Other margins 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
B.1.2 All other products 388,643.7 12,071.8 376,571.9 55,299.1 0.0 65,861.6 86,654.7
Total output (at basic prices) 821,571.6 360,606.0 460,965.6 347,415.0 0.0 114,229.4 358,942.0
Total interm ediate consum ption (at purchasers' prices) 313,009.2 199,117.4 113,891.8 236,464.9 0.0 65,320.1 301,537.7
Total gross value added 508,562.5 161,488.7 347,073.8 110,950.1 0.0 48,909.3 57,404.3

110
(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport has been merged with water passenger transport due to confidentiality flags.
(***) Includes all other goods and services that circulate in the economy of reference.
Source: NSO (2016).
 Output of
Travel agencies Other industries dom estic
Products Transport Sports and Total
and other Cultural Education (***) producers (at

111
equipment rental recreational basic prices)
reservation
Appendix Table 5. TSA Table 5: Production accounts of tourism industries and

Computational (5.15) = (5.13) +

(5.7) (5.8) (5.9) (5.10) (5.11) (5.13) (5.14)
Code (5.14)
Sacco, B., P. Cassar (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 86-111

A Consumption products (*)

A.1 Tourism characteristic products
A.1.1 Accommodation services for visitors 230.1 304.8 123.0 48.1 4,658.0 337,974.1 88,157.8 426,131.8
A.1.1a Accommodation services for visitors (other than 1b) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3,406.7 238,959.3 1.2 238,960.5
Accommodation services associated w ith all types of vacation
A.1.1b
home ow nership 230.1 304.8 123.0 48.1 1,251.4 99,014.7 88,156.6 187,171.3
A.1.2 Food and beverage serving services 0.0 547.9 5.1 0.0 0.0 368,975.3 1,350.0 370,325.3
A.1.3 Railw ay passenger transport services 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - - -
A.1.4 Road passenger transport services 2,059.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 90.8 47,658.6 1,558.1 49,216.7
A.1.5 Air and w ater passenger transport services (**) 894.0 987.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 260,597.1 - 260,597.1
A.1.7 Transport equipment rental services 40,777.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 40,777.3 39.4 40,816.7
A.1.8 Travel agencies and other reservation services 0.0 120,468.6 0.0 0.0 108.7 121,800.8 630.5 122,431.3
A.1.9 Cultural services 0.0 0.0 18,409.5 0.0 0.0 18,409.5 105.3 18,514.8
A.1.10 Sports and recreational services 0.0 0.0 0.0 94,492.6 0.0 107,785.4 1,514.2 109,299.7
A.1.11 Language school services 0.0 283.4 0.0 0.0 21,860.6 22,386.9 291.8 22,678.7
A.2 Tourism Connected products
A.2.1 Retail trade margin on goods 903.8 1,070.6 0.0 0.0 220.8 8,324.9 791,548.9 799,873.8
A.2.2 Wearing apparel and leather products 0.0 0.4 0.0 3.9 0.0 32.8 12,261.8 12,294.6
A.2.3 Food products 0.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 256.2 419,616.8 419,873.0
A.2.4 Beverages 0.0 11.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.4 75,722.0 75,734.4
A.2.5 Other goods and services 4,428.1 1,496.5 29.8 69.2 24,817.4 50,111.7 2,919,515.5 2,969,627.2
B Non-specific products (***)
B.1.1 Other margins 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 - 90,081.8 90,081.8
B.1.2 All other products 70,807.0 1,036.1 14,530.0 19,106.2 54,383.8 756,322.1 6,824,294.5 7,580,616.7
Total output (at basic prices) 120,099.4 126,210.4 33,097.4 113,720.0 106,140.3 2,141,425.3 11,226,688.5 13,368,113.8
other industries

Total interm ediate consum ption (at purchasers' prices) 75,764.9 81,983.9 11,077.1 60,723.5 36,599.3 1,182,480.6 6,394,878.8 7,577,359.4
Total gross value added 44,334.5 44,226.5 22,020.3 52,996.4 69,540.9 958,944.7 4,831,809.6 5,790,754.4
(*) The value of A. Consumption products, is net of the gross service charges paid to travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation services.
(**) Air passenger transport has been merged with water passenger transport due to confidentiality flags.
(***) Includes all other goods and services that circulate in the economy of reference.
Source: NSO (2016).
 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) –
a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context

Mats Carlbäck 1*

Received: 25/10/2018 Accepted: 04/06/2019

1School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science, Örebro Universitet/Örebro University, Sörälgsvägen 1, S-
712 60 Grythyttan, Sweden. E-mail: mats.carlback@oru.se, Tel: +46 (0)19 302 023
* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Stanislav Ivanov

Abstract
Hotel affiliation is a debated issue in the hospitality industry. The question is primarily if it adds any
financial advantages, and secondly to what extent an intangible asset value is created. Intangibles
are per definition difficult both to define and to calculate and the aim with this article is to develop a
method, based on earlier studies, to facilitate calculations in a consortium context. This is the least
researched affiliation format, but at the same time the preferred option for independent hotel owners
seeking strategic advantages for the future.

By identifying the contribution associated with an affiliation as well as incremental costs and
including the investment for adapting the property in accordance with the stipulated standards for
the affiliation, a method to compute the brand value attributable to affiliation (BVAA) is developed.
This study, by using a constructive approach, produces an indicative valuation method (the BVAA
calculation method) usable both to assess the financial effect of the brand value associated with a
specific brand and for separating intangibles (in this case the BVAA) from the market value.

Keywords: Brand Value, Affiliations, Hotels, Consortium, Assessment

Citation: Carlbäck, M. (2019) Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for
Measurement in a Consortium Context. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126

Introduction answer to the question; “What are the three

In the hotel industry, the concept of brand value
is becoming increasingly important in the
marketing and strategy contexts. The well-
established axiom “location, location, location”
is to an increasing extent being replaced by the
axiom “flag, flag, flag” (Taylor, 1995) as an
most important factors for a successful hotel
operation?” In an era with tremendous growth,
international expansion and new and innovative
business models the foundations for business
decisions need to be specific, applicable and
user-friendly- where the phenomena of brand

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
112 RESEARCH PAPER
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126
and branding is one crucial aspect. During the
last quarter of a century, the flag (brand)
associated with hotel affiliation companies has
become one of the most important strategic
issues in the hotel industry (Ivanova & Ivanov,
2015, 2016; Manthiou, Kang, Sumarjan, &
Tang, 2015; O'Neill & Mattila, 2010). A more
complete understanding of, for example the
nature, the determinants, the measurement,
and the valuation of brand value, would be
useful in various context, such as taxation
(O'Neill & Xiao, 2006), strategic decision
making (Bailey, 2007; Cai & Hobson, 2004;
Carlbäck, 2010; Carlbäck, 2016; O'Neill &
Belfrage, 2005; Roper, 2018. Rushmore,
O'Neill, & Rushmore, 2013), marketing (Dev,
Brown, & Zhou, 2007; O'Neill & Mattila, 2010,
Seric, Gil-Saura & Eugenia Ruiz-Molina, 2014),
brand management (Prasad & Dev, 2000), and
the concept of trust and affective commitment
related to the guests (Seric, Mikulić & Gil
Saura, 2018; Hasni, Salo, Naeem & Abbasi,
2018). This would be of utmost importance to
several categories of users such as owners of
hotel properties, management companies,
investors, and managers at executive levels in
hotel companies.
The vast majority of extant research on hotel
and hospitality focuses on affiliation
arrangements, such as company owned
brands, managements companies, hotel
property companies, and franchise companies,
with limited focus on the consortium
arrangement. Consortium companies currently
have a significant and growing market share in
the hotel and hospitality market, which is
expected to increase even more in the future
(Ayazlar, 2016, Martorell Cunill, 2006; Rivet,
2011). The world’s largest hotel chain, Best
Western, is likely the most well-known
consortium company (see
http://www.bestwestern.com). A consortium
company is a group of independent hotels,
often referred to as marketing organisations or
referral chains, joined together to improve
certain aspects of operations, pinpointed by
Seric et al. (2014) as relevant factors. It could
be the development of a loyalty card system, a
central reservation system, a central
purchasing system, or pooled marketing and
sales activities (Seric et al. 2014). In this
arrangement, the independent hotels will retain
their operational freedom, while at the same
time enhance their presence on the market by
the added strength associated with collective
resources, knowledge, know-how etc. Another
characteristic of the consortium arrangement is
that its affiliated members are not required to
adhere to standardised operating procedures in
the same ways as the business format of
franchising.
An important task of hotel management is to
assess the financial value associated with
consortium company affiliation. However, a
literature review showed that there is a lack of
methods for evaluating the financial value in
this context. The main objective of this study is
- drawing on principles of financial
management - to develop a method for
calculating the financial value of belonging to a
consortium company for an individual hotel to
be used as one part of the assessment
process.
The remainder of the paper is organised as
follows. The next section discusses the
framework/principles used for developing the
method. The research method is described in
the third section. The fourth section explains
the practical usability of the method developed.
In the concluding section the results are
discussed, highlight the research contribution
and practical relevance, and present
suggestions for further research.
Framework for method development
This section presents the framework the study
uses to develop a method, which draws on the
financial management literature, for calculating
the financial value of belonging to a consortium
company for an individual hotel.
Hotel affiliation in the consortium context and
motivational factors
With the growing importance of different types
of affiliations, there is a trend in the hotel
market in that independent hotels are being
incorporated in larger organisations. From the
individual hotel’s perspective, the motivations
for this trend is linked to factors such as growth
and strategic development, or just to cope with
increasing competitive pressure (Ivanova &
Ivanov, 2015b).
113
 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
In many advanced economies, affiliations are
taking a larger part of the hotel market.
Statistics from Euromonitor (2010) show that
only 15% of the world’s hotels are considered
to be affiliated (owner-operated, management
companies, franchise organisations), leaving
85% as independent hotels. The 15% does,
however, not include hotels affiliated with
consortium companies. Surveys have shown
that there are major differences in affiliation
between geographical regions. The U.S.
market, where the affiliation process appears to
have developed most, is according to AH&LA
(American Hotel & Lodging Association, 2011)
split between 51% affiliated and 49%
independent hotels of the hotels registered with
AH&LA. These figures only make a distinction
between chain hotels or independent hotels,
while hotels affiliated to consortium companies
are treated as chain hotels in these reports.
As the consortium company offers a less rigid
form of affiliation, where the hotel owner retains
much of the control, it suits many
entrepreneurs and family owned hotels who
value the quality of being independent
(Carlbäck, 2012). The degree of involvement
varies between the different consortium
companies, but often the focal point is the sales
and marketing efforts, such as central
reservations systems, brand related
advertising, and loyalty cards (Lee & Jeong,
(2014). According to earlier studies (Carlbäck
2012), this is the essence of what the
independent hotel owners are seeking, but they
are at the same time unwilling to give up their
independence to be controlled by a remote
head office. That would contradict their main
objectives with their business ventures, like
building something for the family or “a way of
life” (Andersson et al. 2002).
Foundations for method development
Most hotels have a brand, whether the hotel is
affiliated or not. The small, completely
independent family hotel will have a brand to
nourish in the same way as the Waldorf Astoria
in New York. As this paper is focusing on
consortium companies, the perspective here
will be on the financial value directly linkable to
brand affiliation or not, i.e. the financial benefits
a hotel will gain from affiliate with a specific
brand, in terms of both added market value and
114
performance boosting.A method for assessing
the financial value should use a net present
value (NPV) approach to determine the present
value of affiliation (brand) by the discounted
(net) sum of cash inflows and cash outflows
directly linked to affiliation (brand).
Previous attempts to measure this value have
typically ignored the initial investment required
for an individual hotel to become affiliation
ready. Rushmore (2001) touches on this issue
when he highlights the often substantial initial
fee payable to the organisation as an entrance
fee. This fee could be significant, but is typically
discussed only in the context of management
contracts and franchise organisations. In the
case of a consortium company, there is seldom
an initial membership fee payable to the
affiliation and therefore this is of no concern for
the hotel owner interested in affiliating.
Carlbäck (2012) found that the yearly payments
payable to the affiliation for the membership
were not a major concern for the hotel owners.
More important were the initial cash-outlays to
fulfil the requirements set out by the consortium
company, i.e. to live up to the standards
necessary to become a member. Two hotels in
Carlbäck's study opted to stay independent
based on too high investments to get the
property “affiliation-ready”. Any attempts to
calculate the financial value attributable to the
affiliation ought to include initial investments,
such as (Martorell Cunill, 2006; Rushmore,
2001b): Adapting the property (increase
standards, size of rooms, standard of bath
rooms, etc.), addition of facilities and functions
(bar, restaurant, spa, etc.), signage and
postage, contracts, legal works, lawyers’ fees,
uniforms, stationary, contracts with suppliers,
systems and applications (new computer
systems, new management control system,
etc.). Several of these investments fall outside
the ongoing cash outlays (i.e. cash flows
related to already existing operations) and
should therefore be treated as investments
directly attributable to the membership in the
consortium company.
Characteristics of existing methods in the area
Within the field of measuring and evaluating the
financial value of affiliation there are a limited
number of existing methods available, mainly
developed within academia. The inclusion
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126
criteria here will be a focus on measuring the
value of belonging to an affiliation from a hotel
perspective. Most studies of hotel or brand
related valuations indicate that apart from the
real estate - the building in which the hotel is
operating – the brand represents a significant
part of the remaining value (Bailey & Ball,
2006; O'Neill & Belfrage, 2005; Tiwari, 2010;
Tollington, 2002). The Rushmore method
(Häggström, 2012; O'Neill & Belfrage, 2005;
Rushmore, 2004) is based on the assumption
that the cost of belonging to an affiliation
reflects the market value of that specific
affiliation. From the individual hotel owner’s
perspective this will not suffice, as the affiliation
should generate higher revenues than costs, as
this is the reason to affiliate and pay fees. In
some cases the value associated with the
affiliation could be negative, as the costs
associated with the affiliation is exceeding the
revenues received. This may be due to
improper contracts, wrong affiliation for a
particular property or other similar erroneous
managerial decisions. A negative value
associated with the brand is equally important
to measure in order to be able to take
corrective decisions.
O’Neill & Belfrage (2005) identified and
calculated the financial value of affiliating
based on the notion of incremental revenues
attributable to affiliating should exceed
attributable incremental costs related to the
membership in an affiliation. By identifying all
incremental revenue, such as rooms sold
through central reservation systems, online
booking systems, loyalty cards, etc. and
deducting all affiliation associated incremental
costs (variable cost such as management fees,
royalties, and reservation fees) they were able
to calculate the financial value of the affiliation.
However, O’Neill & Belfrage (2005) do not
include the affiliation imposed adaptation cost
(adapt the hotel to the standards required by
the affiliation), and this method may therefore
be less suitable in a consortium company
context, as the adaptation cost could be
substantial for the individual hotel seeking the
option of affiliating.
A method introduced by Ailawadi, Lehman &
Neslin (2003) measures brand value as brand
equity. Their method measures the brand value
for a large group of primarily products using the
revenue premium approach, i.e. the idea that
the brand should produce superior revenue
compared to an unbranded product or service.
The same approach could then be transferable
to services, and also to organisations and
affiliations. Ailawadi et al (2003) argue that the
revenue premium approach is better than other
approaches as it includes future potential and
excludes customer surveys. This concept has a
lot of bearing for the attempts to create a
method for the hotel industry as the revenue
premium approach is developed to a
contribution premium approach, where the cost
behaviour is included as well. A useful method
for the aim with this project needs to contain a
premium concept, i.e. the contribution
attributable to the affiliation and also, as this is
seen as important, the outlay connected to the
adaptation of the affiliation standards for the
hotel.
Comparison of requirements of relevant
method and existing methods
The definition of the concept of financial value
associated with a brand varies between
sources (Bailey 2007, Dev et al., 2007; O'Neill
& Mattila, 2004). Brand value, i.e. the financial
value attributable to the brand, and brand
equity are two different, yet closely linked,
concepts. Tiwari (2010) explains the
differences as follows: brand value is the net
present value of future cash flows from a
branded product minus the net present value of
future cash flows from a similar unbranded
product - or, in simpler terms, what the brand is
worth to management and shareholders
(Tiwari, 2010), while brand equity is a set of
perceptions, knowledge and behaviour on the
part of customers that creates demand and
possibly a price premium for a branded product
- i.e. what the brand is worth to the company
based on the customer’s perception (Tiwari,
2010).
The current study uses Tiwari’s definition
above and focuses on the financial value of the
brand, i.e. the affiliation – the financial value for
the hotel owner and for other stakeholders
calculated on a NPV basis (Tollington, 2002).
It is uncommon to measure the financial value
of the actual brand (as sales or replacement
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 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
value) in an affiliation or chain situation, i.e. try
to establish the value of the brand for a
business owner or manager – primarily as a
strategic tool. It could stem from the issue of
not clearly defining brand vs. equity, as the two
concepts are used to describe more or less the
same functions. Attempts made are often
associated with the hotel industry, where
chains, consortium companies, and affiliations
are important and noticeable factors.
As noted above, the main issue is to calculate
the financial value attributable to the affiliation
from the individual hotel’s perspective, i.e. the
discounted (net) sum of cash inflows and cash
outflows directly linked to affiliation (brand). It is
important to separate the brand value linked to
the affiliation from the market value in a
consortium company context, as this will be the
vital point for consortium company
management and for independent hotel
owners.
Any hotel contemplating to join an affiliation
would anticipate additional incremental revenue
flow as a result. An incremental revenue flow
that would exceed any incremental costs
traceable to the membership, consequently
produce a positive value related to the
affiliation membership. The possibility of
additional incremental revenue leading to
financial value creation would be the core
concern for the hotel owner, who would be less
interested in separating the financial value
associated with the affiliation from the property.
By O’Neill and Belfrage´s method, which is
focused on calculating the intangible asset
value with the inclusion of attributable
incremental revenue and costs, the intended
method is developed further, where the
financial value attributable to the affiliation is
calculated from a contribution attributable to the
affiliation. But as previous research has
indicated, the initial investment related to the
adaptation process (to become affiliation ready)
is a major concern and needs to be included in
the method in order to fulfil its purpose. If not, it
becomes less usable in a consortium company
context where the initial investment to fulfil the
standards is of great importance, even if the
contribution aspect is similar to the method
developed by O’Neill and Belfrage. By
116
integrating elements from the Rushmore
method and the O’Neill and Belfrage method,
with support from Tiwari’s´ definition of brand
value, a method could be developed. Extraction
of values and illustrations of the calculations
will be presented below.
Method
Based on the nature of this work, which falls
within management accounting – a constructive
approach is used. Kasanen, Lukka & Siitonen
(1993) describe the process of a constructive
approach as follows:
1. Find a practical relevant problem which also
has a research potential.
2. Obtain a general and comprehensive
understanding of the topic.
3. Innovate, i.e. construct a solution idea.
4. Demonstrate that the solution works.
5. Show the theoretical connections and the
research contribution of the solution concept.
6. Examine the scope of applicability of the
solution.
The development of the method follows all the
points above and can be classified as
constructive research as it is a combination of
problem solving and demonstration of a
theoretical connection. A practical and relevant
problem was identified – the lack of a method
to measure BVAA in the hotel industry. This
research project is divided into two parts; a
construction of the method based on existing
methods and influences from the literature, and
an illustrative test, constructed on actual figures
from income statements from two hotels in
Sweden. The two parts are performed
simultaneously in order to identify and extract
the necessary information and valid
parameters.
Data
Two hotels in Sweden were selected to
participate and contribute with income
statement data to demonstrate that the solution
works. The selection was based on finding
properties of considerable size and with a
strong market presence on different locations.
Selection criteria also included membership in
one of the larger or more well-known sales and
marketing organisations in the region. It was
also important to ensure full compliance from
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126

the hotel owners, as the project requires full
transparency, i.e. all figures and reports need
to be available for the researcher. This could
create a barrier for many hotel owners, as
some of this information is considered
sensitive. The participants in this project
complied fully, but also required anonymity
both from an individual hotel perspective and
from the affiliations perspective.
The data gathering process presented larger
obstacles than initially envisaged, which should
be taken into consideration for any future
studies. Even though all accounting and paper
work were up to standard and the owners were
fully engaged in their businesses, the
identification of incremental revenue and
incremental cost associated with the affiliation
proved a challenge to identify and extract. For
a more detailed description of the participating
hotels see Table 1.
Consequently, the BVAA (brand value
attributable to affiliation) method was
developed based on the following factors and
input data:
The incremental revenue and cost directly
attributable to each hotel's affiliation on an
ongoing basis were identified and summarized
to a gross profit figure attributable to the
affiliation. Detailed income statements for each
site were used to identify related incremental
revenue and cost. Each post was analysed and
evaluated by the manager and the researcher
as to its relevance and connection to the
affiliation. Any questions or uncertainties were
analysed and discussed with respective
manager in order to establish if the post should
be treated as an incremental revenue or cost
related to affiliation. Income statements for
three consecutive years were used for each
hotel.

Table 1. Participating hotels and general facts For illustrative purposes the key performance
Hotel A Hotel B
indicators (KPI’s) for the hotels were also
collected as presented in Table 1. The key
Rooms 51 74 performance indicators could in this context be
Built 1971 1983 used to analyse the reasons to variation in
BVAA and possibly to identify corrective
Rating 3* 3*
actions.
Employees 12 19
Affiliated/year 2009 2005
The incremental revenue attributable to
affiliating is the gross profit which could be
Location City centre Outskirts of city directly traceable to the affiliation belonging, i.e.
F&B Facilities* 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 it would not exist without the flag related to the
brand. This could be both the additional
NOI/room/year 6,045 20,249
revenue relating to the increased flow of
ADR** 608 919 business thanks to the increased market
Occupancy % 63% 58% presence due to increased and pooled sales
and marketing activities and the premium rates
RevPAR*** 383 583 resulting from representing a well-known brand.
* F&B facilities = *1= breakfast, 2 = lunch, 3 = dinner, 4 =
bar By representing a nationally or internationally
**ADR = Average Daily Rate in SEK (average for 3-year known brand the rate structure could be
period Year 1 -Year 3) enhanced as the potential guests’ willingness
*** RevPAR = Revenue per Available Room in SEK to pay would increase. The central reservation
(average for 3-year period Year 1-Year 3)
systems and negotiation power connected to
consortium companies should also affect the
BVAA – the method
incremental revenue stream in a positive way.
The BVAA method has been developed from
factors identified above with the addition of
Incremental cost attributable to affiliation was
previously studied factor of importance relating
identified and calculated based on the gross
to the specific challenges facing hoteliers
profit (GP) attributable to the affiliation. As the
contemplating the affiliation format consortium,
affiliation revenue streams in consortium are
i.e. the cost associated with adapting affiliation
logged independently, it forms a base for fees
standards.
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 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
paid to the affiliation as a fee per booking or
reservation made through their channels. The
incremental cost is made up of all related
incremental costs attributable to the brand, i.e.
fees and royalties, but also for reservation
systems, marketing material, PR, use of central
reservation systems and commission on
bookings made. By subtracting the direct costs
attributable from the gross profit attributable to
the brand, the result produced is an annual
gross profit attributable to the affiliation.
The investment associated with the adaption
process was identified. The hotel owners were
asked to present a summary of estimated posts
relevant for the adaptation process at the time
of the actual adaptation. The summaries
presented were detailed and in the process
each item was evaluated as to its direct link to
the affiliation. Direct traceable items such as
new signage, uniforms, stationary, menus,
marketing material were singled out directly as
relevant. The same process was carried out for
hardware and software necessary for the
adaptation in a straight forward manner. In
cases where the initial investments were less
uniquely related to the affiliation and could
carry a residual value even without or after an
affiliation period, the sums were evaluated on
its individual merit and based on economic life
cycle. This could include upgrading of
amenities, rooms, bathrooms and other vital
parts of a hotel operation and in cases of
doubt, the economic life cycle has been
evaluated to find out if a residual value will exist
after a possible termination of the contract with
the affiliation creating a value regardless of the
site being affiliated or not. See Table 4 for
detailed information regarding factors included
herein.
118
Results
Calculations of the net contribution attributable
to the affiliations are displayed in Table 3,
where the gross profit and cost attributable to
the affiliation are used. These figures derive
directly from the income statement for each
hotel respectively and as a part of the rules and
regulations associated with the affiliation
process, all items directly related to the
affiliation are presented as individual items in
the statement. The affiliation related gross
profit is presented as coming from the affiliation
and the affiliation related incremental costs are
itemised in the same manner – albeit under
different topics based on affiliation.
Reservation fees are posted only for directly
related reservations and loyalty night are
posted as “free rooms” given to the affiliation in
order to be provided to guests who have
earned points within the affiliation to qualify for
complimentary accommodation. These two are
posted on different accounts.
Direct, variable costs (cleaning, laundry, etc.)
connected to the “sale” of redeemed loyalty
rooms, is deducted from the amount presented
in Table 2, to produce a gross profit figure
attributable to the affiliation.
Based on the fact that the participating hotels
are members of different affiliations, the
indicated fees and costs associated with the
affiliations are presented differently, mainly due
to the agreements signed with the affiliations.
The costs presented in Table 2 are all variable
from a zero base, and the cost drivers are
amounts of rooms sold, bookings achieved,
etc.
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126

Table 2. Calculation of net contribution attributable to the affiliation for hotel A & B, Year 1 – Year 3
Hotel A Hotel B
Yr1 Yr2 Yr3 Yr1 Yr2 Yr3
GP attributable to affiliation
(revenue – direct cost) 177,940 82,705 142,88 1,219,191 1,153,986 1,570,710
F&B (revenue – directs costs) 10,332 5,004 8,460 134,558 178,729 182,769
Total GP attributable to
affiliation 188,272 87,709 151,34 1,353,749 1,332,715 1,753,479
Incremental cost attributable to
affiliation
Royalties 20,000 24,000 24,000
Marketing 42,000 35,000 42,000
Fees 274,000 307,000 303,000
Reservation fees* 18,831 11,148 20,734 584,000 566,000 550,000
Loyalty nights** 92,900 54,021 57,267 32,184 33,592 24,672
Total cost attributable to
affiliation 173,731 124,169 144,001 890,238 906,66 877,72
Contribution attributable to
affiliation 14,541 -36,460 7,339 463,511 426,055 875,759
Contribution attributable to
affiliation/room 251 -629 127 6,264 5,758 11,835
Values in SEK
* Fees or commission payable to affiliation for reservations made through organisation
** Free rooms provided free of charge to affiliation. Used by guests who have earned loyalty points through participation
in loyalty schemes. Limited offer during periods of high occupancy. Priced at average daily rate (ADR).

In Table 2 it is possible to identify the figures
used in the Rushmore-method, i.e. the costs
associated with the affiliation. Grouped
together they average SEK 147,000 (173 731,
124 169 and 144 000 respectively) per year for
hotel A during the three years and SEK
891,000 per year for Hotel B. The actual
ongoing cost for the membership varies
significantly. In the Rushmore-method, these
figures would represent the value of affiliation
(which will never be negative) and be deducted
from the operating cash flow in order to extract
the value of the real estate.
Notable is the negative contribution attributable
to the affiliation for Hotel A for Yr2, where the
contribution dropped considerably from Yr1.
This is partly explained by a slow demand on a
regional level in combination with limited
response from the affiliation to react to these
problems. Still, the amount of loyalty nights
given away is high, which increases the costs
attributable to the affiliation even if the revenue
decreases.
The results produced in Table 2 are
contribution attributable to affiliation for each
hotel for the three years respectively. In order
to calculate the BVAA, a further step is
necessary. The contribution attributable to
affiliation needs to be divided by the prevailing
capitalization rate (cap rates), based on similar
investment grades (O'Neill & Belfrage, 2005).
This presents an obstacle as cap rates for
intangibles (as BVAA) are not available to the
same extent as cap rates for real estate, where
these figures are presented in various reports
and statistical information (O'Neill & Belfrage,
2005). We will use O’Neill and Belfrage’s
(2005) extraction of intangible asset cap rate,
based on figures presented in Lloyd-Jones’
(2010) report on cap rates in the hotel industry
(Lloyd-Jones, 2010).
Cap rate (capitalization rate) is commonly used
when calculating property prices and property
values. A widely used definition for cap rate is
presented by Lloyd-Jones (2010) “An income
rate for a total real property interest that reflects
the relationship between a single year’s net
operating income expectancy and the total
property price or value; used to convert net
operating income into an indication of overall
property value.” Lloyd-Jones uses historical
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 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
(previous years) operating income figures to
establish the cap rate (Lloyd-Jones, 2010). The
equation for deriving at property value is
expressed as follows:
Cap rate = Net profit / Property value
→ Property value = Net profit / Cap rate
Cap rates are primarily based and used on real
estate, but for this purpose the Yr2 figures from
the hospitality consulting firm HVS's (see
www.hvs.com) data base will be used,
grounded on figures for hotels of similar
investment grade. Lloyd-Jones (2010) makes a
distinction between major transaction, i.e.
hotels with value in excess of 10 MUSD and all
transactions. As the two hotels in this study are
smaller than the threshold, the cap rate for all
transactions will be used. The report (Lloyd-
Jones, 2010) indicates a decline in cap rate
during the last decade and the comparable
figure is 9.9% (this could be compared to a cap
rate of 7.5% for major transactions).
The calculation is based on previous research
indicating the following breakdown of a hotel's
enterprise value (O'Neill & Belfrage, 2005), with
the inclusion of the latest available cap rate
from Lloyd-Jones survey (2010), both for real
estate (8.5%) and personal property (15.0%):
Table 3. Cape rate
Position Percent Cap rate
of value
Real Estate 70% 8.5%
Personal Property 10% 15.0%
Intangibles 20% X BVAA (gross), it is possible to calculate BVAA
Total 100% 9.9%
The following calculation is used:
X=(9.9%-8.5%x70%-15%x10%)/20%
→X=12% (rounded)
We can then calculate the gross BVAA from
the contribution attributable to affiliation for both
hotels:
BVAA (gross) = Contribution/Cap rate =
Contribution/0.12
Table 4 presents the brand value in the same
manner to O'Neill & Belfrage’s (2005)
120
calculation of an intangible asset value for
company-operated hotels. We find significant
variations between the two brands. While the
brand connected to Hotel A in this case is
merely worth SEK 61,158 based on
contribution Yr3, the brand used by Hotel B is
worth over MSEK 7 based on contribution Yr3.
This would constitute a substantial part of the
hotels market value, even if such a valuation is
outside the scope of this paper.
These calculations do not include the initial
investments. The limitation with O’Neill &
Belfrage’s technique in a consortium context is
the omission of costs associated with the initial
investment in the calculations. And as this
clearly is affecting the decisions making for the
hotel owners it could add further to the
usability.
To include the actual initial investment in the
calculation of the BVAA in order to establish
the feasibility of affiliation, the initial investment
directly attributable to the membership needs to
be computed. The discount rate used is the
9.9% from Lloyds and Jones (2012) statistic
mentioned previously.
The above initial investments, Table 5, have
been identified for the participating hotels
related to the adaptation and consequently
presented as discounted value to facilitate a
calculation at present values, Table 6.
By then deducting the discounted value of the
initial investment from the previously computed
for each hotel, i.e. how much the brand is worth
in total at a specific year.
From the previously calculated BVAA (gross)
the discounted value of the initial investment is
deducted to produce the BVAA for each brand
respectively, which is presented in Table 7 as
Total BVAA. It is worth observing here that the
discounted value is computed for each year,
and is only valid for that year and should not be
summarized for the whole time period. The
BVAA (gross and total) value is consequently
measured for individual years and the value
would only be valid for that specific year in a
similar manner as a balance statement.
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126

Table 4. Calculation of BVAA (gross) based contribution attributable to affiliation. In SEK.

Hotel A Hotel B
Yr1 Yr2 Yr3 Yr1 Yr2 Yr3
Contribution attributable to affiliation 14,541 -36,460 7,339 463,511 426,055 875,759
Cap rate 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12
BVAA (gross) 121,175 -303,833 61,158 3,862,591 3,550,458 7,297,991

Table 5. Affiliation induced adaptation factors in SEK (investment according to affiliation

requirements)
Hotel A Hotel B
Signage 26 000 72 000
Uniforms 18 000 22 000
Stationary 35 000 8 000
Computer systems 44 000 72 000
Printing Matters 35 000 2 000
Marketing material 17 000 27 000
Refurbishment lobby 102 000 12 000
Upgrading rooms 83 000 210 000
Upgrading hall ways 0 87 000
Upgrading bar 0 32 000
Upgrading kitchen 0 47 000
Upgrading conference 0 72 000
IT installations 0 7 000
Total 360 000 670 000

Table 6. Discounted value of initial investment (at 12%) to fulfil affiliation standard as a one-off
sum in SEK.
Hotel A Hotel B
Initial investment (2009) 360,000 (2005) 670,000
NPV 2005 670,000
NPV 2006 736,330
NPV 2007 809,227
NPV 2008 889,340
NPV 2009 360,000 977,384
NPV 2010 395,640 1,074,145
NPV 2011 434,808 1,180,486

Table 7. BVAA computed including discounted value of the initial investment. In SEK.
Hotel A Hotel B
Yr1 Yr2 Yr3 Yr1 Yr2 Yr3
BVAA (gross) 121,175 -303,833 61,158 3,862,591 3,550,458 7,297,991
Investment(discounted) -360,000 -395,640 -477,854 -977,384 -1,074,145 -1,180,486
Total BVAA -238,825 -699,473 -416,606 2,885,207 2,476,313 6,117,505

The results, presented as illustrative examples,
clearly indicate substantial differences, as Hotel
A presents a negative BVAA for all three years,
while Hotel B could report a substantial BVAA
for the same three years. The initial investment
in the case of Hotel A is resulting in a negative
BVAA, even if the gross BVAA excluding this
figure is positive in Yr1 and Yr3. Consequently,
the inclusion of the initial investment produces
quite different results.
Discussion
The complexity of calculating the brand value in
relation to the market value has stopped
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 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
several managers and owners from trying to
calculate the value of affiliating (Carlbäck,
2012, O´Neill, 2004). This would not only be
the case in the selection process of potential
partner, but also in circumstances of taxation
(separating real estate from intangible assets),
financing, mergers, and acquisitions
(Rushmore et al., 2013). In all these conditions
a method of separating the intangible asset
value from the real estate would affect the
business, something which could be done with
the BVAA-method. The method uses Tiwari’s
(2012) definition on brand value and focuses
on the financial value of the brand, i.e. the
affiliation and calculates the financial value for
the hotel owner and for other stakeholders
calculated on a NPV basis in accordance with
Tollington (2002).
The results from the BVAA method will here be
compared to previously used methods (O´Neill,
2004, Rushmore, 2001b). Since the investment
costs associated with the adaptation are of
importance in a consortium context (Carlbäck,
2012), the BVAA-method will give more
comprehensive information regarding the
financial issues connected to affiliating into a
consortium. In Table 8 below, the different
results for the two hotels for the three years are
presented. The variation between the
computed values is substantial. As the
Rushmore-method (Rushmore, 2001b)
primarily is used to extract the real estate value
from the enterprise value, the intentions with
the method is not the same as the O’Neill-
method (O´Neill, 2004) and the BVAA
calculation method. The Rushmore method is
based on the assumption that the fees reflect
the value of affiliation. Thus the value of
affiliation will always be positive (as long as the
fees are positive) according to the Rushmore
method.
Table 8. Differences between three methods, based on separating the brand affiliation value
from the market value (in SEK)
Hotel A
Year/ Method Yr1 Yr2
Rushmore (per year) 173,371 124,169
Rushmore (Overall value) 1,444,758 1,034,742
O’Neill(= gross BVAA) 121,175 -303,833
BVAA -238,825 -699,473
122
All valuations in Table 8 are annual, i.e. they
are based on figures relating to one specific
year and consequently valid for that specific
moment in time. For the O’Neill-method and the
BVAA- calculation method the values are
calculated with use of the cap rate. The overall
value for the Rushmore-method has be
computed using the cap rate as shown in Table
8.
The differences in brand value, as presented in
Table 8, could certainly affect strategic decision
making. The calculations for each method are
based on the figures presented in Table 5. The
brand value in Hotel A Yr1 fluctuates from SEK
-238,825 (BVAA method) to SEK 1444,758
(Rushmore overall value) with the O’Neill-
method in between. The differences between
the O’Neill results and the BVAA results are
substantially smaller.
As the Rushmore method does not take the
incremental revenue generated by the brand
into consideration, it will produce a result which
is usable mainly in a context where the
objective is to separate real estate value from
the total market value. For all three years the
Rushmore method therefore produces positive
results, which it is intended to do. The results
will be relatively stable and predictable, based
on contract stipulated royalties and fees, over
the years compared to the other methods,
where several factor will affect the outcome.
These positive results are highly relevant for
the affiliation, which could envisage a positive
result, i.e. royalty payments from the affiliated
hotel. The method does not focus on the
performance of the hotel, nor the value created.
Hotel B receives great value from its affiliation,
more than MSEK 6, based on contribution Yr3,
and is producing a substantial return on the
Hotel B
Yr3 Yr1 Yr2 Yr3
144,001 890,238 906,66 877,72
1,200,008 7,418,650 7,555,500 7,314,333
61,158 3,862,591 3,550,458 7,297,991
-416,606 2,885,207 2,476,313 6,177,505
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126
investment. Interestingly, the initial inves-
tments, which are of concern for independent
hotel owners seeking alternatives, is affecting
less than the hotel owners anticipated.
Although the present value of Hotel B's
investment is SEK 1,180,000 compared to SEK
434,000 for Hotel A in Yr3, the former is
creating a far higher BVAA.
As shown in Table 8, the cost related to
affiliating (such as royalty and booking fees)
used in the Rushmore-method is moderate in
the case of Hotel A (SEK 144,000) and
considerably higher in the case of Hotel B
(887,000) for Yr3. At the same time, the
benefits produced are very different – in the
case of Hotel B the cost is only 13% of the
value created. As the intention here is to create
a method to calculate a BVAA for a hotel in a
consortium, the treatment of the membership
fees will not suffice, it is clearly necessary to
look at the contribution created as well. A value
is created and this value will be of utmost
importance for any hotelier contemplating
affiliating. The initial investment is affecting the
end result, and as the aim is to calculate the
BVAA in a way which makes it possible for the
hotel owner to evaluate the options, or current
situation, this needs to be included in order to
produce valid results.
A method especially developed for the
consortium is the main contribution from this
study. Primarily as very little research is done
on consortium companies and consortium
members (Carlbäck, 2012). This is achieved by
including the initial investment associated with
the adaptation process. Another factor is to add
this to the NPV of the contribution achieved
from affiliating. The individual hotel owners will
now be able to measure the contribution and
value created. The hotel will buy into a brand
and the adaptation process could be costly and
therefore affect the overall feasibility of the
project.
Even if it primarily is a matter of matching a
hotel to an affiliation, from various
perspectives, the method presented here could
produce figures which indicate major
discrepancies between what the hotel owner
pays and what they get from the money
invested in such a venture. As an illustration,
for Hotel A, alternative routes would be
advisable as the membership is producing a
negative BVAA. Could the money spent on the
affiliation possibly be used more productively in
another way – marketing efforts, up-grading of
facilities, new management or a change to a,
for this property, more suitable affiliation?
By looking at the key performance indicators
for each hotel presented in Table 1, it is
possible to identify the affects these will have
on the BVAA. Significant are the substantial
improvements in the key performance
indicators and NOI for Hotel B during the
period. This could be identified as attributable
to the contribution associated with the brand,
which consequently produces a positive BVAA.
In this case it is evident that the key
performance indicators are affecting the
valuations for the BVAA. A better ADR
(average daily rate) for hotel B generates a
positive contribution attributable to affiliation for
all three years. This stresses the importance
the affiliation will have on the business,
primarily as a revenue generator and as a
value driver, i.e. the affiliation should be able to
produce better figures for the participating
hotels. If not, they cannot justify the fees and
royalties payable. This is in line with previous
research, a study by O'Neill & Carlbäck (2011)
covering 51,000 hotels in the US, where
affiliated hotels produced better NOI and
occupancy rate than independent hotels.
As positive key performance indicators are
results of a membership in a consortium and
will affect the BVAA-value, it would be
advisable to take this into consideration when
choosing an affiliation. What do I, as an
hotelier, need to improve in my business, and
can this affiliation, with its business plan, fulfil
this? The method could be used to simulate
different scenarios in the decision making
process as the degree of involvement varies
between the different consortium companies
(Lee & Jeong, 2014).
It is possible to calculate the BVAA for hotels in
a consortium context. The contribution of this
study is the inclusion of investment relating to
the adaptation process, i.e. get the hotel up to
the affiliation’s requested standards –
something perceived by independent hotel
123
 Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) – a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context.
owners as a major obstacle to affiliating
(Carlbäck, 2012).
This article is focusing more on issues which
are relevant for the independent hotel owners
seeking strategic alternatives for the future
(Ivanova & Ivanov, 2015b). By using the BVAA
method, the foundations for important decision
could be enhanced. It gives the opportunity to
evaluate a membership in a consortium from a
financial perspective – to evaluate if the
invested money (fees, royalties and initial
investment) are producing a fair return.
The results also support Tiwari’s (2010)
definition of brand value, which this method is
based on. The measurement is the net present
value of future cash flows from a branded
product minus the net present value of future
cash flows from a similar unbranded product -
what the brand is worth to management and
shareholders (Tiwari, 2010).
Managerial Applications
The BVAA-method offers managers, owners or
decision makers a method to better understand
the pros and cons of affiliating. In both hotels
presented in this article, the owners or
managers expressed only a vague knowledge
as to what benefits the membership produced.
It is apparent that the BVAA can vary
considerably between different affiliations.
While the membership for hotel A is producing
a negative BVAA, the case for hotel B is the
reverse. There would be several factors to take
into consideration before one can draw any
major conclusions as to why this is the case.
Based on the results, using the BVAA method,
hotel A would have to consider alternative
strategic possibilities, as the money invested in
a membership is not producing an acceptable
return (and during all three years the
membership is costing money). As hotel A is a
well-known business with a clear market
presence, a first suggestion for an alternative
future would be to discontinue the agreement
with the affiliation, or alternatively look for a
better suited affiliation. This would partly
depend on the affiliations ability to create a
positive BVAA and partly on how well the two
entities match in a business perspective.
124
The method will also aid hoteliers and
managers in their strategic business planning
as different alternatives could be compared
before any decisions are made. This would
then constitute one aspect, the financial, which
could be used in connection with several other
aspects of importance in the decision process.
Membership in an affiliation could also improve
marketing activities, add economies of scale in
purchasing hotel supplies and recruitment
processes etc. Expected results could further
be compared to financial outcomes in order to
facilitate more efficient corrective actions. The
industry professionals could measure as to
what extent affiliation would be a performance
booster or if it would add market value to their
business in the event of refinancing,
disinvesting, mergers and acquisitions. The
affiliation stakeholders could benefit from a
method suitable to adjust their offering to
independent hotels and therefore be more
attractive and enhance their performance and
growth.
Methods would both be beneficial for the hotel
owners searching for information to enhance
the strategic decision making, and for the
consortium trying to attract new members. A
greatly improved BVAA would produce a better
market value for the hotel owner. By
communicating this, the affiliations would have
better possibilities to attract new members to a
consortium and in a long term also be able to
adjust the fees and royalty payments
accordingly.
A more solid knowledge of BVAA-creation
within organisations would open up the
discussion regarding new ways to compute the
royalties and membership fees. A higher
BVAA-value created, based on the brand,
could impose higher royalty payments and
produce incentives for both the organisation
and the individual hotels, not to mention the
argumentation for actually joining a consortium.
Limitations and Directions for Further
Research
The results from this study should be
interpreted with caution, and the method should
be tested and evaluated in more circumstances
before one can draw conclusions. Even if the
method in itself would be universal,
 Carlbäck, M. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 112-126
considerations must be taken to the fact that
the hotels used as illustrations are based in the
Swedish market and the results may vary
between different markets as well as various
affiliations. One of the affiliations is Sweden-
based and will operate in accordance with
Swedish standards and practices. But as the
hotel scene is homogenised, the results
produced with the BVAA-method should be
indicative for similar markets in other
economies. Further, it should be taken into
consideration that the illustration is based on
two hotels with their own individual features
and functions. And as it previously has been
discovered (O’Neill & Carlbäck, 2011) the
general economic climate will affect, not only
the hotels’ result, but also the value of the
brand. A similar study over a prolonged period
of time (including a recession and an economic
upturn) would also produce relevant results,
better indicating the possible value of a
membership under certain economic
conditions.
The use of income statements for the two
hotels, where entries related to the affiliation
are clearly presented, facilitates a straight
forward identification of gross profit and
incremental cost attributable to the affiliation.
The figures related to the historic adaptation
process present a different challenge, as some
of the items, such as upgrading of certain
facilities, i.e. bath rooms could have a residual
value even in a case of a termination of the
affiliation-contract.
One way to further test the method and
enhance the knowledge would be similar
studies in other markets, with larger selections
or based on a selection within one
organisation. This could provide more
information regarding the actual BVAA within a
specific organisation and the means to
compare between organisations. It might well
be that the BVAA greatly varies in any given
chain, and factors such as location, size and
amenities play an important role as to the
magnitude of BVAA.
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 The influence of airport security procedures
on the intention to re-travel

Saad Al-Saad 1*, Abdelkader Ababneh 2 and Mohammad M. Alazaizeh 3

Received: 06/12/2018 Accepted: 10/04/2019

1 Associate Professor, Department of Travel and Tourism, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan
Tel. (+962) 2 7211111 Ex. 2267. Mobile: (+962) 791537701, Email: saed@yu.edu.jo
2 Associate Professor, Department of Travel and Tourism, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan

Tel. (+962) 2 7211111 Ex. 2287. Mobile: (+962) 776424670, Email: abdelkader@yu.edu.jo
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Management, The University of Jordan, Aqaba 77110, Jordan,

Tel. (+962) 3 2090450 Ex. 35133. Mobile: (+962) 791453155, Email: m.alazaizeh@ju.edu.jo
* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Martina González-Gallarza Granizo

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to examine empirically the relationships between, on the one side,
awareness, feeling of comfort, of Jordanian international travellers towards airport security
procedures, and on the other, their intention to re-travel. Three levels of airport security procedures
were examined: standard, elevated and racial profiling/human treatment independently in one single
model. A quantitative survey based on a convenience sample was conducted in Jordan.
Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis have been conducted to test the
research hypotheses. The findings revealed that travellers' awareness and feeling of comfort toward
standard and elevated procedures positively influence their intention to re-travel. Whenever the
awareness and feeling of comfort decreased, travellers intend to re-travel less through airports. It
was also found that travellers' awareness and feeling of comfort toward racial profiling do not
influence their intention to re-travel. Suggested recommendations and policy implications for airport
security procedures and airports administrations are discussed.

Keywords: Terrorism, Airport Security, Air Passengers, Intention to Re-travel, Jordan.

Citation: Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) The influence of airport security
procedures on the intention to re-travel. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141

Introduction years from 4805 in 2008 to 10900 in 2017

Tourism is the most susceptible industry to (Global Terrorism Database, 2018). Tourism
numerous terrorism threats and other criminal has suffered from frequent terrorist’s attacks
acts. The number of total terrorist incidents in (e.g., attacks on the World Trade Center and
the world has been doubled in the last ten the Pentagon 2001), wars (e.g., Iraq 2003), and
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
RESEARCH PAPER 127
 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.
political instability (e.g., Tunisia, Syria, Iraq,
Yemen, Libya and Bahrain), which adversely
impacted tourism performance, and contributed
to some uncertainty, some hesitation, and the
increase of doubtful perception of different
destinations (Al-Saad & Ababneh, 2017).
According to the 2016 Global Terrorism Index,
the contribution of the tourism industry to Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is twice as large in a
county that has not suffered recently from
terrorist attacks (Institute for Economics and
Peace, 2016). Due to the perseverance and
diversity in the implementation of the terrorist
attacks, air transportation system has
increasingly become more vulnerable for
terrorist attacks than other systems, however,
airport security must also adapt in line to
protect the aviation industry and increase air
passengers' safety. Consequently, demand for
high-level security standards over the past two
decades has witnessed a noticeable increase.
In response to such terrorist attacks, many
countries modified their regulations and
tightened significantly airport security
procedures. Routinely, all passengers and flight
crews are subject to standardized security
procedures, which include baggage X-ray,
body X-ray, metal detector scan, and passport
control. In the wake of 11 September 2001
attacks, security procedures have become
much stricter all over the world. For instance,
on 19 November 2001, the United States
Congress enacted the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which
mandated several important changes in civil
aviation security procedures (Blalock et al.
2007). Such changes and amendments came
as a response to high elevated risks. O’Malley
(2006) indicated that security procedures have
become more commonplace when there are
elevated risks or suspicious behaviours like
perspiration or fidgeting. They might include
bodily pat-downs, bag searches and explosive
trace detection scans (as cited in Alards-
Tomalin, 2014), as well as sniffing passengers
by dogs and inspecting the contents of their
laptops and cameras.
In some suspicious cases, passengers are
singled out based on name, nationality, race,
religion, ethnicity or physical appearance and
subject them to an extreme vetting process and
128
very long interrogation. After the appearance of
the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) and its
continuous terrorist attacks on different places
around the world, some countries started to
consider racial profiling as part of the
counterterrorism plans. For example, on 27
July 2017, Executive Order 13769, titled
‘Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist
Entry into the United States’, has been signed
to deny visitors from 6 Muslim countries from
entering the United States for 120 days (The
New York Times, 2017). Halter (2002) found
that Arab Americans, people of Middle Eastern
descent, and Muslims are being targeted for
more tightened security measures at airports.
Furthermore, according to a USA Today-Gallup
Poll (2006), Americans favour more tightened
security measures with Muslims. Nearly more
than one third, 31%, expressed that they would
feel nervous if they see a Muslim flying on the
same flight as themselves (Saad, 2006).
The relationship between airport security and
travel and tourism industry is considered
recently one of the most important areas for
research. “Concerns for safety and security
remain an important issue for the travel and
tourism industry” is one of the ten important
world tourism issues for 2018 (Edgell, 2018).
Although airport security procedures and racial
profiling enhanced the safety of passengers
worldwide, they have made passengers feel
uncomfortable, especially those suspected or
targeted based on a stereotype on their
ethnicity or race. Hasisi et al. (2012) found that
Arab Israelis hold a significantly negative
attitude towards the treatment of the security
staff they perceived, while Jewish Israeli hold a
positive one. Only 61.2% of Arab passengers
reported that the security inspectors treated
them like any other passenger compared with
90.3% among Jewish passengers. Hernandez
(2007) has also found that Afro-Americans and
Hispanics are more likely selected for security
checks than whites. Middle Easterners, on the
other hand, are often felt less likely to be
selected. Blackwood et al. (2013) argued that
such treatment can raise a painful question
about how they are seen and positioned by
other passengers. These findings indicate that
indignity incurred during security procedures by
Arab passengers may made them feel
uncomfortable, which subsequently had a
 Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141
negative impact on their return intention,
particularly if their principal purpose of travel is
tourism.
Although different studies have been
conducted in different countries of the world to
examine tourists’ perception of security and
associated experience at airports (Arana &
Leon, 2008), investigating perceptions toward
airport security and its influences on the
behavioural intention to re-travel in the Middle
East suffers from a limited academic studies
and lack of careful attention. The national
aviation and airports authorities have put in
place different security measures designed to
protect both airport terminals and travellers
from any terrorist incidents (Blalock et al. 2007,
Alards-Tomalin et al. 2014). However, there is
a paucity of perception studies on the security
process at the national airports. There is a
growing interest of published research on
tourism in the Middle East especially with
reference to tourism in conflict areas (Buda,
2016). Most of literature on tourism in the
Middle East focus on issues such as political
instability and their negative impacts (Buda,
2016), the influence of terrorist incidents on the
tourism activities and calling for developing
security measures with no prior research
attention paid to safety at airports and how
travellers perceive these security procedures
regarding air travel. In addition, some prior
researches conducted about security and
safety at airports focused on the awareness,
threat to dignity, and enplanement intentions
(Alards-Tomalin et al. 2014; Turtugulov, 2009)
but no one included all these variables
(awareness, feeling of comfort and intention to
re-travel) in one research. Therefore, this
research has come up with new knowledge in
this field of study to fill the gap on literature by
understanding the perceptions of Jordanian
international travellers toward airport security
procedures (whether standard, elevated or
racial profiling) and how that influence their
intention to re-travel. In addition, this research
attempts to examine the differences of
international travellers, according to their sex,
marital status, age, educational level,
employment status, household income,
frequency of travel, and length of airport
security check.
Literature Review
The concepts of security and safety have been
defined in numerous ways in the literature.
Generally, the word ‘security’ means freedom
from danger, risk, doubt, or threat (Boholm,
Möller, & Hansson, 2016; Wilks, 2006).
Sadatsafavi et al. (2019) defined security as a
protection from terrorism, piracy and/or
organised crime. The word safety is defined in
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
(2007) as the state of being safe and protected
from danger and harm. Within the realm of
tourism, security and safety encompass the
protection of people physically and the image
of the environment of a tourist destination
(Cadavez, 2016; Tarlow, 2009; Costea,
Hapenciuc & Stanciu, 2017).
Perceived feeling of comfort towards
destination’s security in general and airports is
a significant factor influencing the choice of a
destination (Peters & Papathanassis, 2019; Chi
& Qu, 2008; Quintal & Polczynski, 2010).
Several studies have suggested different
factors that have an important influence on the
perceived feeling of comfort toward a
destination and airports. Tourist based
attributes such as visitor’s previous experience,
exposure to previous crime incident, and
demographic characteristics are playing a
relatively important role in perceptions of risks
(Adeloye & Brown, 2018; Carballo, León &
Carballo, 2017; Garg, 2015; Batra, 2008;
George, 2003). For instance, it was found that
variables such as nationality, gender, age have
major influence on the international tourists’
perceptions and concern for safety, security
and risks (Garg, 2015; Batra, 2008).
Lack of awareness about security issues is
considered one of the most important factors
leading to security incidents (Nilsen,
Albrechtsen & Nyheim, 2018; Furnell, 2007). In
many cases, tourists may have not taken part
in any tourism activities or even return to a
tourist destination if they feel unsafe (Adeloye
& Brown, 2018; George, 2003). In a research
conducted to investigate the perceptions of
American and European travellers towards the
security and safety in air travel, the findings
revealed that respondents are aware of the
importance of safety and security in air travel.
70% of respondents strongly agreed that
129
 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.
airport security procedures are important today
because of previous terrorist attacks. The
majority of Americans (74%) and Europeans
(76%) agreed that introducing improved
screening technology would ease concerns
over safety, however, some of them (55%)
stated that this introduction would increase wait
time at checkpoints and cause possible delays
(Essays, UK, 2015).
Nevertheless, in a quantitative based study
looking at Malaysian nationality and
passengers with non-Malaysian nationality
awareness and perception on airport safety
and security measures and procedures,
Turtugulov (2009) found that perception of
Malaysian passengers regarding airport safety
and security measures and procedures is
higher than non-Malaysian. The study found
that factors of age group, ethnicity and previous
experience played an important role. Reisinger
and Mavodno (2005) concluded that travellers
from countries such as the USA, Australia and
Hong Kong, were likely to perceive more
international travel associated risk and treats.
Thus, as part of national tourism development
strategy, countries such as Germany and
Australia have developed national visitor
programs aiming at improving visitor safety
awareness (Destination NSW, 2016).
Hypotheses Development
As mentioned earlier, several studies have
been published on the context of security and
safety at airports. Most of the researchers
focus on safety incidents impacts, while little
attention has been given to understand
travellers’ awareness and perceived feeling of
comfort toward airport security. In terms of
awareness toward airport security procedures,
a study conducted after the events of
September 11, 2001; American and British
travellers showed that they are concerned with
and aware of airport security procedures and
issues, although they indicated that they are
little worried about air travel (Frederick-
Recascino et al. 2003). However, to date, the
relationships between the awareness of
international travellers towards airport security
procedures and their intention to re-travel is still
unexamined in the literature. Therefore, the
present research is an attempt to fill the gap in
knowledge about how awareness might
130
influence travellers’ intention to re-travel.
Hence, this research hypothesized that
awareness towards airport security procedures
positively influence travellers’ intention to re-
travel (H1). Secondly, it hypothesized that
awareness toward standard airport security
procedures positively influence travellers’
intention to re-travel (H1a). Thirdly, it
hypothesized, that awareness toward elevated
airport security procedures positively influence
travellers’ intention to re-travel (H1b). Lastly, it
hypothesized that awareness toward racial
profiling airport security procedures positively
influence travellers’ intention to re-travel (H1c).
However, in tourism research different factors
were identified as drivers of intention to re-
travel to a specific destination (Kozak, 2001).
Those factors are for example quality of service
(Chen, 2008), tourism operator performance
(Oh, 1999) consumer’s needs (Chen &
Paliwoda, 2004) perceived risk (Quintal &
Polczynski, 2010) and personal values (Ekinci
& Chen, 2001).
Beck et al. (2017) have recently examined the
perceptions of how safe airline travel is and the
respondents’ level of concern over privacy and
trust of authorities. They found that people who
trust authorities are more likely to travel
internationally, while those with low feelings of
safety are inclined not to travel. Also, Barros
and Assaf (2012) found that different
destination-based attributes such overall
quality; reputation and safety have a positive
impact on the returning intention. The security
at airports has a major impact on the intention
to return of travellers. The impact of the airport
security procedures and associated staff on
passengers while travelling was shown to be
crucial variable of airport performance and
noteworthy topic for passengers’ satisfaction.
The inconvenience of security procedures
reduces passenger demand for air travel. In a
study conducted by Blalock et al. (2007) about
the impact of post 9/11 airport security
measures on the demand for air travel in the
United States, it was found that tightened
airport security, in response to 9/11 attacks,
had the unintended consequence of reducing
the convenience of air travel, which in turn
caused a decline in the demand for air travel.
 Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141
Security screening reduced passenger volume
by about 5% on all flights, and by about 8% on
flights departing from the nation's fifty busiest
airports which comprise more than 80% of the
total passenger volume in the U.S.
Moreover, a few researchers in the field of
tourism argue that airport security procedures
have an important impact on the intention to re-
travel. However, travellers correlate some
disrespect and humiliation practices by security
personnel at airports. In their study, Alards-
Tomalin et al. (2014) examined the perceptions
of leisure travellers attending a Canadian
university towards the influence of airport
security measures on enplanement intentions.
Based on their findings, in which the perceived
dignity threat for both standard and elevated
security procedures exhibit significant negative
relationships with intentions to use commercial
air carriers in the future, we hypothesized that
travellers’ feeling of comfort toward airport
security procedures positively influence their
intention to re-travel (H2). Secondly, we
hypothesized that travellers’ feeling of comfort
toward standard airport security procedures
positively influence their intention to re-travel
(H2a). Thirdly, we hypothesized that travellers’
feeling of comfort toward elevated airport
security procedures positively influence their
intention to re-travel (H2b). On the other hand,
racial profiling appears to be more
uncomfortable airport security procedures. For
instance, the analysis made by Blackwood et
al. (2013) regarding Scottish Muslims
concerning their encounters at airports showed
that airports were considered as places of
humiliation, distress and, in some cases fear.
Based on this finding, we hypothesized that
travellers’ feeling of comfort toward racial
profiling airport security procedures positively
influence their intention to re-travel (H2c).
Methodology
Quantitative research method was used to
understand the Jordanian international
travellers’ awareness and feeling of comfort
towards airport security procedures (standard,
elevated and racial profiling/human treatment)
and how they influence their intention to re-
travel. A sample of Jordanian travellers were
asked to complete a self-administrated
questionnaire inquiring about their awareness
and feeling of comfort towards the airport
security procedures (standard, elevated, and
racial profiling/human treatment), and their
intention to re-travel. The responses were
collected and analysed to understand how
these perceptions may influence their intention
to re-travel. Originally, the questionnaire was
developed in English, and then translated into
the national language of the country (Arabic) by
a translation specialist.
Data Collection
Individuals over the age of 18 years and who
have travelled in at least one international flight
were the target population. Using convenience
sampling technique, a total number of 400
questionnaires were delivered and 320 usable
cases were obtained, resulting in a response
rate of 80%.
The data collection for this research included
primary and secondary sources of data. The
research began with collecting secondary
information from different written and published
sources, such as: books, journals, official
documents, and online resources. The primary
data were collected by asking Jordanians in
key public areas to complete a self-
administrated questionnaire that included two
parts with 48 items. The first part was designed
to measure how respondents’ awareness and
feeling of comfort towards airport security
procedures influence their intention to re-travel,
while the second was to find out the socio-
demographic characteristics of respondents
such as sex, marital status, age, level of
education, employment status, income, travel
frequency, airport location and time length of
security check.
Measurement scales
Gathering information on targeted variables is
maximized by using six or seven response
categories, allowing for greater differentiation in
responses (Willits, Theodori, and Luloff, 2016).
Although there has been noticeable scientific
debate for decades over reliabilities of scales
with two, three, five, seven, and nine response
categories, many researchers argued that
reliability of results is maximized by using
seven-point scales (Cohen, Manion, and
Morrison, 2000; Finstad, 2010).
131
 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.
In addition to some personal information
questions, the questionnaire included another
three questions. The first question aimed to
understand the travellers’ level of awareness
toward different types of airport security
procedures (standard, elevated, and racial
profiling/human treatment). By using 7-point
Likert scaled question ranged from 1 (Not at all
important) to 7 (Extremely important),
respondents were asked to rate the degree of
importance of different airport security
procedures (standard, elevated, and racial
profiling/human treatment). The second
question of the questionnaire aimed to
measure travellers’ feeling of comfort toward
the same airport security procedures.
Respondents were asked to indicate to what
extent they feel comfort with the airport security
procedures. Respondents evaluated each
security procedure on a 7-point Likert scaled
questions ranging from 1 (very uncomfortable)
to 7 (very comfortable). Questionnaire items for
these two questions were adapted from Alards-
Tomalin (2014), Turtugulov (2009), Reisig et al.
(2007), Colquitt (2001), Hasisi et al. (2012),
Blackwood (2015), Johnson, et al. (2011), and
Tyler and Wakslak (2004).
The third question included a group of
statements to measure respondent’s intention
to re-travel again after experiencing the airport
security procedures. Item responses were
obtained on a 7-point Likert scale, responses
ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree), respondents were asked to rate how
much they agree with these statements.
Questionnaire items for this question were
adapted from Cole and Chancellor (2009),
Prosser (1998), Huang and Hsu (2009), Shonk
(2006), and Goeldner and Ritchie (2012). After
conducting a Pilot Test with 30 passengers
who had experience in international air travel,
including business, visiting friends or relatives
(VFR), other personal business, and pleasure,
some of the questionnaire items were modified
to be clearer and culturally valid.
Data analysis
The approach adopted in the current research
included two types of data analysis:
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Multiple
Regression Analysis. A confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) was used to analyse the
132
statistical reliability and validity of the
measurement models using EQS 6.1. Multiple
Regression Analysis (MRA) was used to
understand how awareness and feeling of
comfort towards airport security procedures
may influence travellers’ intention to re-travel,
and then conclude in the research hypotheses.
The suggested model was then tested for
goodness of fit (GOF).
Using IBM Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0, statistical
analyses were conducted to test the research
hypotheses, which were developed based on
the planned research framework. Data were
scanned and examined for outliers, missing
values, and normality issues that could
influence the results. 51 cases were identified
and removed from the analysis as outliers.
These outliers were removed because the data
distribution was not normal. Maximum
Likelihood Imputation with the Expectation
maximization (EM) algorithm was used to
impute missing values (Tabchnick & Fidell,
2007).
Results
The quantitative findings of this research
derived from questionnaire-based surveys
distributed to Jordanian international travellers.
The questionnaire allowed participants to
express their viewpoints and perceptions of
airport security procedures, and how they
influence participants’ intention to re-travel.
Furthermore, the data was correlated and
analysed based on several variables including
sex, marital status, age, education level,
employment status, household income,
travelling frequency, airport location, duration of
airport security check, and travel purpose.
Using Cronbach’s alpha, the total reliability for
the summated scales was found to be above
0.85 (Awareness, 0.823; Feeling of comfort,
0.837; Intention to re-travel, 0.947) which was
considered reliable (Churchill, 1979).
Descriptive Analysis
Firstly, a straightforward descriptive analysis
was conducted on the personal information
variables. As shown in Table 1, of the 269
surveys completed by the travellers, the largest
group of respondents (62.5%) were males.
Regarding the age and marital status education
 Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141

of the sampled respondents, more than three- racial profiling / human treatment, “Singling out
quarters of them (79.9%) were between the some passengers based on their ethnicity or
ages of 18-39, with 56.5% being married. This race and sniffing them by dogs” was
came in line with the General Population and considered the least important item (M= 2.25,
Housing Census conducted by the Jordan’s SD= 1.59), followed by “Singling out some
Department of Statistics. It found that Jordan is passengers based on their ethnicity or race for
a young society (population age 15-64 years strip-search” (M= 1.96, SD= 1.45), while the
62.0%) in 2017 (Department of Statistics, item “Singling out some passengers based on
2017). For educational attainment, the largest their ethnicity or race and sniffing them by
proportion of the sample (60.2%) had dogs” was also considered the most
undergraduate degree. More than half of the uncomfortable (M= 2.03, SD= 1.49), followed
respondents (67.3%) were employed, with by “Singling out some passengers based on
monthly income less than JOD 1000 (68.1%). their ethnicity or race for strip-search” (M= 1.84,
As for the number of times they have travelled SD= 1.41).
by air for the last five years, the results showed
that approximately two thirds of the Table 1. Descriptive statistics of respondents
respondents (60.9%) have travelled more than Item N Percentages
three times, and 60.6% of the respondent Gender
showed that time to complete airport security Male 168 62.5
check was reasonable. Concerning travel Female 101 37.5
Marital status
purpose, 42.8% of the respondents have
Single 114 42.4
travelled for business, 25.7% for visiting family Married 152 56.5
and friends, 15.2% for personal business, and Divorced 3 1.1
16.4% for pleasure. In terms of the location Age
(continent) of airports which reflect 18-28 103 38.3
respondents’ perspectives toward airport 29-39 112 41.6
security procedures, most of the respondents 40-50 41 15.2
travelled through airports located in Asia 50-60 10 3.7
(45.0%), followed by Europe (37.5%). Above 60 3 1.1
Education
High school 14 5.2
As shown in Table 2 and 3, respondents Two-year college 15 5.6
indicated that standard procedures are very Undergraduate 162 60.2
important (M=5.88, SD=1.22), and they feel Graduate 78 29.0
comfort with them (M= 5.38, SD= 1.50), while Employment
elevated and racial profiling are low to slightly Employed 181 67.3
important (M= 3.13 SD= 1.60; M= 2.09, SD= Unemployed 74 27.5
1.67) and uncomfortable (M= 2.76, SD= 1.51; Retired 13 4.8
M= 2.18, SD= 1.55). “Scanning bags by X-ray” Missing 1 0.4
Income (JD)
(M= 6.46, SD= 0.91) and “Controlling passport”
Less than 500 104 38.7
(M= 6.19, SD=1.02) were considered the most 501-1000 79 29.4
important procedures for travellers. Scanning 1001-1500 45 16.7
bags and body by X-ray was also considered Above 1500 39 14.5
the most comfortable (M= 6.14, SD= 1.09, Missing 2 0.8
M=5.70, SD=1.47). Number of flights last five
years 57 21.2
Concerning the elevated procedures, “Strip- One time 48 17.8
search” was considered the least important Two times 36 13.4
item (M= 1.99, SD= 1.42), followed by “Sniffing Three times 128 47.5
Four times or more
passengers by dogs” (M= 2.61, SD= 1.60), and Airport location
the item “Sniffing passengers by dogs” was Asia 121 45.0
also considered the most uncomfortable Africa 7 2.6
procedure (M= 2.33, SD= 1.45), followed by Europe 101 37.5
“Strip-search” (M= 1.88, SD= 1.30). In terms of Australia 5 1.9

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 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.

Antarctica 6 2.2 security procedures, they intend to re-travel

North America 26 9.7 again (M=6.02, SD=1.01) (Table 3).
South America 3 1.1
Time to complete airport
Multiple regression analysis was used to
security check 12 4.5
Very short time 49 18.2
understand the effects of travellers’ awareness
Short time 163 60.6 and their feeling of comfort toward airport
Reasonable time 38 14.1 security procedures on their intention to re-
Long time 7 2.6 travel. As shown in Table 4, respondents’
Very long time scores on the awareness and feeling of comfort
Purpose of travel toward the three levels of airport security
Business 115 42.8 procedures were used as independent
Visiting friends and relatives 69 25.7 variables (IVs), and respondents’ scores on the
Personal business 41 15.2 intention to re-travel were used as dependent
Pleasure 44 16.4
variable (DV).
Total 269 100
The results revealed that, in general, there is
no significant relationship between travellers’
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) awareness toward airport security procedures,
Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using EQS and their intention to re-travel (F=0.004;
6.1 was used to examine the dimensionality p<0.05). This result does not support
and reliability of the items, and to identify the Hypothesis 1. At the same time, the results
representative items. According to Kline (2011), indicated that travellers’ awareness toward
the following goodness-of-fit indices were used standard and elevated airport security
to evaluate the model fit: Sattorra-Bentler Chi- procedures have significant positive effects on
Square (SB χ2), Standardized Root Mean their intention to re-travel, with beta 0.174
Square Residual (SRMR), Root Mean Square (p<0.05), and 0.181 (p<0.05), that support the
Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and Hypotheses 1(a) and 1(b). This means that
Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Non-Normed Fit whenever the awareness toward the standard
Index (NNFI). The initial models including all and elevated airport security procedures
items produced unsatisfactory results because increased, travellers’ intent to travel more. The
of unacceptable fit indices. A number of results also showed that there is no significant
multidimensional and potentially poor items relationship between the awareness toward
were removed according to the Lagrance racial profiling airport security procedures and
Multiplier Test (LM-Test). The indices for the the intention to re-travel. Therefore, Hypothesis
initial and final models are shown in Table 2 1(c) was not supported.
and 3. The fit indices for the final models were
all within acceptable ranges (Kline, 2011). Regarding travellers’ feeling of comfort toward
airport security procedures, the results showed
The Relationship between Awareness, Feeling that generally, there is no significant
of Comfort, and Intention to Re-travel relationship between travellers’ feeling of
Generally, the results showed in Table 2 that comfort and their intention to re-travel
travellers indicated that standard airport (F=0.015; p<0.05). This does not support
security procedures are very important Hypothesis (2). However, the results indicated
(M=5.88, SD=1.22). However, elevated and that feeling of comfort toward standard and
racial profiling procedures are low to slightly elevated airport security procedures positively
important (M= 3.13 SD= 1.60; M= 2.09, SD= affect travellers’ intention to re-travel, with beta
1.67). In addition, travellers indicated that they 0.316 (p<0.05) and 0.238 (p<0.05). Therefore,
feel comfort with the standard airport security Hypotheses 2(a) and 2(b) were accepted.
procedures (M=5.38, SD=1.50), and Hypothesis 2(c) was rejected because the
uncomfortable with elevated and racial profiling results indicated that there is no significant
procedures (M=2.76, SD=1.51; M=2.18, relationship between feelings of comfort toward
SD=1.55). Travelers also indicated that after racial profiling airport security procedures and
experiencing the different levels of airport the intention to re-travel. In addition, no signify-
134
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135
 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.

cant relationship was found between the IVs studies on intention to re-travel. In addition, it is
and the DV when the general and personal the first one conducted in a region of political
variables (shown in Table 1) were considered. instability.

Discussion and Conclusion Examining overall perceptions of travellers

The present research makes a distinct and toward airport security procedures, it was found
significant contribution to knowledge and that there is agreement that standard
literature in that it is the first to examine three procedures are important and comfortable.
levels of airport security procedures: standard, Jordanian travellers believe that these
elevated and racial profiling/human treatment procedures can protect them from
independently in one single model. Racial accidental/malicious harm, explosions,
profiling was not considered by previous hijacking and other threats without causing
136
 Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141
inconvenience. It can be noticed that the least
important elevated security procedures and
racial profiling procedures were the most
uncomfortable. This is due to that after the 9/11
attacks, Arab passengers are more likely to be
inspected by airport security staff than
passengers from other nations. These findings
contradict with the previous research in general
because it has been indicated that after the
9/11 attacks, the passengers feel that the
tightened airport security procedures become
significantly more important (Hernandez, 2007).
This contradiction may be attributed to that the
cases of the two studies are American people
who worry a lot about terrorism, support efforts
to counter and prevent any possible future
attacks. Their negative experience and
structurally mapped cognition about terrorism
and hijacking increased their awareness about
the importance of higher and tighter airport
security procedures.
Although air passengers consider safety is of
ultimate importance as they pay not only for
airplanes but also for the cost of the security
procedures (Sakano et al. 2016), these
procedures make passengers less convenient
and cause assault on their dignity.
Consequently, passengers currently consider
airport security checkpoints as the most critical
and stressful phase of their trip
(AviationFacts.eu, 2017). It has been found in
the literature that inconvenience and dignity
assault influence demand of air travel (Alards-
Tomalin et al. 2014; Hasisi et al. 2012;
Blackwood, 2015). In a model tested by Alards-
Tomalin et al. (2014), the perceived dignity
threat caused by elevated airport security
measures has much stronger negative
relationships with enplanement intentions of
travellers. In a related context, the model of the
current research is the first to understand how
travellers’ awareness and their feeling of
comfort toward airport security procedures
influence their intention to re-travel. The results
contradict with the previous research in
general, as travellers indicated that after
experiencing the different levels of airport
security procedures (particularly racial profiling
/ human treatment), they intend to re-travel
again (M= 6.02, SD= 1.01).
In terms of awareness, the findings revealed
that, in general, travellers’ awareness toward
airport security procedures does not influence
their intention to re-travel. However, the results
indicated that travellers’ awareness toward
standard and elevated airport security
procedures influence their intention to re-travel.
So, whenever the awareness toward the
standard and elevated security procedures
decreased, travellers’ intention to re-travel less
through airports, as they think these
procedures are not necessary. This comes in
line with the results of the study conducted by
Beck et al. (2017). It was found that travellers
who trust airport authorities more, intend to
travel more internationally, while those who
have relatively lower levels of overall safety
while flying are inclined to not travel. Tightened
security procedures do not only influence
passengers but also influence airports and
airlines. Blalock et al. (2007) confirmed that the
6% reduction of the number of air passengers
in the United States is attributed to the new
tighter baggage inspection after the 9/11
attacks. As a result, airlines’ profits fell
significantly, as some prospective passengers
opted to not travel by air (AviationFacts.eu,
2017). On the other hand, it was also found
that travellers’ awareness toward racial profiling
at airports does not influence their intention to
travel through airports. While people from most
of the Arab and Islamic countries need to apply
for visas in advance, some other nationalities
can obtain visas on arrival. Because of the
money they pay to get a visa, difficult
procedures and many documents required, and
time spent waiting for a visa, they are forced to
afford the racial profiling procedures at airports.
Dignity save would cost them much more
money, tiredness and time.
Concerning travellers’ feeling of comfort, the
results showed that generally, travellers’ feeling
of comfort does not influence their intention to
re-travel. Nevertheless, the results indicated
that feeling of comfort toward standard and
elevated airport security procedures positively
affect travellers’ intention to re-travel. Thus,
whenever travellers feel less comfortable
toward the standard and elevated security
procedures, they intend to re-travel less
through airports. As stated by Alards-Tomalin
et al. (2014), elevated procedures introduce
137
 The influence of airport security procedures on the intention to re-travel.
added concerns regarding the invasion of
personal privacy, and the increasing probability
for indignity and humiliation, which cause
stronger negative relationship with
enplanement intention. The research findings
conclude that standard and elevated airport
security procedures are important and
uncomfortable today, as a reaction to the
previous terrorist events, so low awareness of
their importance and feeling uncomfortable
toward the standard and elevated procedures
would decrease travellers’ intention to re-travel.
In contrast, it was found that travellers’ feeling
of comfort toward racial profiling procedures
does not influence their intention to re-travel.
Therefore, it can be said that although
travellers believe that racial profiling
procedures are unimportant and uncomfortable
at all, they would intend to travel again by air.
As mentioned earlier, that this is attributed to
that most of the respondents are business
travellers. Travelling for business is assigned to
them and they have no choice, even they were
singled out for differential human treatment or
tighter scrutiny based on their ethnicity, race,
religion or country of origin. Free trip is another
possible explanation for our findings, because
usually the costs of the business trips (flight
tickets and accommodation services) as well as
employees' allowances are paid by a second
party, often the institutions or organizations
employing them.
Recommendations and Future Research
With the accelerated increase of passengers’
number and continuous terrorist threats all over
the world, the administrations of airports
enhanced the level of security and tightened
scrutiny procedures. Those changes have
negative impacts on the travel and tourism
industry in general, and in particular, on
passengers. Although passengers accept
airport security procedures to ensure their
safety from any attack, they are still the most
inconvenient part during their travel. A number
of studies stated that there is a permanent
reduction in air travel attributed to the higher
level of passengers screening. The findings of
the research revealed to be important, as they
demonstrate the opposite of what the previous
literature found. In addition, it is the first to
understand how travellers’ awareness and their
138
feeling of comfort toward airport security
procedures (standard, elevated, and racial
profiling) influence their intention to re-travel.
Racial profiling was not considered by previous
studies on intention to re-travel. Furthermore, it
is the first one conducted in a region of political
instability.
The results showed that travellers see that
standard procedures are very important, and
they feel comfort with them, while elevated and
racial profiling are low to slightly important and
uncomfortable. What makes a travel through
airport problematic is the sense of indignity and
injustice. Singling out some passengers based
on their ethnicity or race for further inspection
under the gaze of their fellow passengers
would make their travel experience humiliating.
This recommends that analysis of the sense of
humiliation and indignity caused by elevated
and/or racial profiling procedures need to pay
more attention. Furthermore, the findings
revealed that, whenever the awareness and
feeling of comfort toward the standard and
elevated security procedures decreased,
travellers intend to re-travel less through
airports. At this time, the administrations of
airports should be aware that it is perceived
that elevated and racial profiling cause dignity
threat to passengers, and so influence the
demand for air transport. Likewise,
psychological and social statuses of people
have been used to effectively predict overt
behavioural intentions (Ajzen and Fishbein,
1980). Consequently, behavioural intention to
re-travel is an essential indicator of flight ticket
procurement behaviours, so, this needs to be
further addressed. The administrations of
airports should take this finding into considera-
tion and change their daily orders and actions.
In terms of subjectivity of the airport security
personnel in inspecting passengers and their
baggage, a recent study revealed that some
airport security staff tend to be biased in
treating some passengers differently and
singling them out for additional scrutiny checks
(Blackwood et al. 2013), which negatively
increased their feelings of humiliation, or dignity
threat. What make it worse is that this happens
in front of their fellow passengers. This study
suggests that security officials should pay more
attention to the analysis of identity dynamics
 Al-Saad, S., A. Ababneh and M. Alazaizeh (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 127-141
and the experience of humiliation. On the other
hand, airport security personnel should be
better trained on the global ethics of travel and
tourism in order to inspect passengers without
threatening one’s sense of dignity. They should
also develop new programs that could maintain
their focus on suspicious people regardless of
their religion, race, ethnicity, or nationality. After
all, their mission is to protect passengers and
airports not to make them stressful or fearful
when they travel.
The current research showed two main
limitations. Firstly, the sample of this research
consists of Jordanian international travellers.
These people have a similar culture and beliefs
to some extent, and nationality which makes
the sample relatively homogeneous.
Consequently, their findings could be
generalized on the Arab and/or Islamic
countries but could not be generalized
internationally. Secondly, there were some
other variables that were not included into the
model of the current research that may also
influence the travellers’ intention to re-travel,
like the economic situation of countries,
inflation, disposable income of individuals, and
change in flight ticket prices. Therefore, future
research related to this topic should take these
variables into consideration, which would
noticeably influence intention to re-travel.
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141
 Does Quality Standards Certification Truly Matter on Operational
and Business Performances of Firms?
Evidence from Resort Hotels
Feridun Duman 1, Ozgur Ozer 2, Mehmet Ali Koseoglu 3*, Mehmet Altin 4
and Fevzi Okumus 5
Received: 11/12/2018 Accepted: 25/02/2019

1 School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Batman University, Batman, Turkey. E-mail:
feridun_duman@hotmail.com
2 Faculty of Tourism, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey. E-mail: ozgurozer64@gmail.com
3 School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-

mails: MehmetAli.Koseoglu@polyu.edu.hk; trmaliktr@yahoo.com

4 Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA. E-mail:
mehmet.altin@ucf.edu
5 Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA. E-mail:
fevzi.okumus@ucf.edu
* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Stanislav Ivanov

Abstract
This study aims to determine the effects of ISO 9001:2015 quality certification on the firm
performance. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 241 resort hotels in Turkey. The
EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and Cronbach alpha were used in order to test the
unidimensionality and reliability of the scales. The difference between the ISO 9001 non/certified
resort hotels was determined by t-test in order to test the hypothesis. As one of the first study
focusing on how ISO 9001:2015 quality certification influence organizational and business
performances of resort hotels in an emerging economy. The results show a significant relationship
between the ISO 9001 quality certification and the operational performance, but not a positive one.
However, the study does not show any significant relationship between the ISO 9001 quality
certification and business performance. Finally, this study provides theoretical and practical
implications with limitations and suggestions for potential future studies.

Keywords: ISO 9001; quality certification; operational and business performance; hotels

Citation: Duman, F., O. Ozer, M. Koseoglu, M. Altin and F. Okumus (2019) Does Quality Standards
Certification Truly Matter on Operational and Business Performances of Firms? Evidence from
Resort Hotels. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 142-155

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
142 RESEARCH PAPER
 Examining the effects of personal factors and travel characteristics on tourists’ perceived crowding.
Introduction
One of the major topics investigated in strategic
management is why some firms outperform
others. There have been many determinants
investigated previously to understand
reasoning behind high performers (Altin,
Koseoglu, Yu, & Riasi, 2018; Sainaghi,
Köseoglu, d’Angella, & Tehheh, 2019;
Sainaghi, 2010; Sainaghi, Phillips, & Corti,
2013; Sainaghi, Phillips, Baggio, & Mauri,
2018). One of the topics discussed is the
relationship between quality management level
and the firm’s performance (Samson &
Terziovski, 1999; Flynn, Schroeder &
Sakakibara, 1995; Kaynak, 2003). While some
studies examined the quality management and
performance relationship by employing survey
methods, others utilized secondary data
measurement methods such as quality
management certifications. There are as many
as 60 quality standards certifications that are
available for both manufacturing and service
firms around the world. These certifications
have been used to compete in quality globally,
and, in turn, to improve firms’ operational and
business performance (Aba and Badar, 2013).
ISO (International Standardization for
Organization) 9001 quality programs, for
example, certified over one million companies
in 2016 (ISO, 2017). Many firms, in general, opt
for ISO 9001 quality management certification
to improve quality standards and to maintain
these quality standards across their
organizations (White et al., 2009).
The ISO 9001 quality management system is
easily adopted to many different sectors with
varying sizes of firms (Zeng et al., 2007; Al-
Rawahi and Bashir, 2011), however, this
quality certification provides a set of principles
and procedures leading towards establishing a
set of quality standards to be followed by firms
and does not guarantee quality assurance.
While the notion of being certified does not
guarantee a better quality assurance, the
purpose of many firms adopting ISO 9001
quality management certification is to establish
a superior organizational performance.
Adopting ISO 9001 quality certification serves
to convey the quality standards to their
customers for manufacturing and service firms.
For example, Su et al. (2008) state that a
quality management system could improve
143
products and reduce costs, and, in turn,
generate more satisfaction amongst customers
and better organizational performance. There
are many studies published with conflicting
results regarding whether a quality
management certification supports the
improvement of both operational and business
performance of firms (Alic and Rusjan, 2010;
Sampaio et al., 2011). Therefore, this study
addresses how adopting a quality management
system, such as ISO 9001, could improve
operational and business performance of resort
hotels in a climate of intense competition.
Turkey is an important destination for many
international visitors. However, recent problems
associated with multiple wars around the region
and Turkish/Russian conflict has created
issues within the Turkish hotel sector. Since the
competition amongst hotels has become
fiercer, performance enhancement is becoming
more important to the success of these hotels.
Given that quality management system can be
an important strategic option, hotels are
adopting these systems to enhance
performance and gain an edge over their
competitors (Trigueros Pina and Sansalvador
Sells, 2008). To the best of authors knowledge,
there are limited studies on quality
management certifications, the effect of ISO
9000 on quality management practices (Rao et
al., 1997), the benefits of ISO 9000 (Nield and
Kozak, 1999), and the environmental
certification on hotel guest ratings (Piero-
Signes et al., 2014). Thus, there is a recent
need in the literature to expand prior work on
whether ISO 9001: 2015 quality certification
affects the organizational performance in
service firms. Therefore, this study specifically
attempts to compare ISO 9001: 2015 certified
hotels to non-certified hotels focusing on
performance measures from both operational
and business perspectives in the Turkish hotel
sector.
This paper first discusses the current literature
on ISO 9001:2015 quality management system
and its effects on the firms’ performances.
Following this, the research hypotheses are
formulated. Secondly, research methodology is
explained including questionnaire development,
sampling and data analysis. Thirdly, results of
the study are presented and the findings are
 Does Quality Standards Certification Truly Matter on Operational and Business Performances of Firms?
Evidence from Resort Hotels.
discussed. Finally, conclusions are presented
along with study limitations and future studies
opportunities.
Literature review
In order to earn a quality management
certification, companies must commit to
important responsibilities to change or adapt
their current organizational structure and their
processes and management philosophy. Many
of these companies are under the assumption
that if they have a quality management
certification, they will become more attractive
for guests, which may then increase the
demand on their property. Therefore, receiving
these certifications should help them to
increase their performance. This assumption
opens up a great opportunity for researchers to
answer if and how a quality management
certification impacts companies’ performance.
Currently, many studies (Aba et al., 2016; Al
Refaie et al., 2012; Chatzoglou et al., 2015;
Chow-Chua, et al., 2003; Feng et al., 2008;
Jang and Lin, 2008; Naser et al., 2004; Nicolau
and Sellers, 2002; Mokthar and Muda, 2012;
Psomas and Kafetzopoulus, 2014; Wu and
Chen, 2011) indicated that having quality
management certification, particularly ISO
9000, positively impacts business performance.
However, contrasting studies (Aarts and Vos,
2001; Beirao and Cabral, 2002; Dimara et al.,
2004; Dunu and Ayokanmbi, 2008; Haversjo,
2000; Heras et al., 2002; Heras-Saizarbitoria et
al., 2015; Ilkay and Aslan, 2012; Islam et al.,
2016; Kusumah and Fabianto 2016; Lima et al.,
2000; Martinez-Costa and Martinez-Lorente,
2003; Naveh and Marcus, 2005; Ochieng et al.,
2015; Sampaio et al., 2011) demonstrated that
there is no economic effect of having a quality
management certification such as ISO 9000 on
business performance. In this respect,
Tsekouras et al., (2002) and Wayhan et al.,
(2002) suggested that adopting the ISO 9000
quality system in the short-term might not
reveal the expected return on performance. In
addition to both the supporting and
contradictory literature produced by the ISO
9001 quality system on performance studies
discussed above, other researchers
demonstrated that some certified firms are
generally more profitable than those that are
144
not, and these researchers suggested that the
firms in question were more profitable before
their quality certification (Haversjo, 2000; Heras
et al., 2002; Naveh and Marcus, 2005). This
difference in profitability of the certified firms
might suggest that these types of firms have a
focus towards being certified rather than
implementing the ISO 9001 quality system
(Chow-Chua et al., 2003). Furthermore, the
discrepancies in the performance findings of
ISO 9001 quality system studies indicated that
the firms adopting this certification are more
homogenous and better internalize the quality
standards. To summarize, the different levels of
internalization in implementing the quality
certification affect the financial and non-
financial performances of the firms.
In the literature there are a number of studies
developing performance models for firms,
including financial and non-financial
performances’ indicators (see Altin et al.,
2018). For hotels Sainaghi (2010) suggested a
performance model including i) qualitative
clients’ indicators; ii) operational performance;
iii) business (or financial performance), iv)
organizational (or institutional) performance.
Qualitative clients’ indicators measure the
satisfaction of clients and more generally the
image. The characteristics of this first group is
their link with subjective measures related to
the demand approach (client). Operational
performance includes indicators related to the
operating activity but excluding the economic
margins. These metrics are objective, and they
include occupancy, revenues (sales), market
share. They are based on revenues (variously
operationalized) or on quantitative deter-
minants of sales (as occupancy). Business or
financial indicators are based on economic
margins and therefore they include not only
revenues (or sales) and the determinants of
revenues (as the second group), but they
include also costs. Finally, organizational or
institutional performance focuses on different
stakeholders. For our study we condense these
groups as two groups as seen Table 1 since
some measures may generate overlaps among
the groups and some measures may not
measure sufficiently and not identified clearly
by managers.
Duman, F., O. Ozer, M. Koseoglu, M. Altin and F. Okumus (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 142-155

Table 1. Literature pertinent to ISO 9001 and performance measures

Performance measures
Operational performance
Business performance
Performance variables
Employee satisfaction
Low cost in production
Customer satisfaction
Customer loyalty
Corporate image
Market share
Occupancy
Revenues (Sales)
Profitability
Supporting literature
Feng et al., (2008); Jang and Lin (2008); Wu
and Chen (2011); Al-Refaie et al., (2012);
Psomas and Kafetzopoulus (2012); Chatzoglou
et al., (2015).
Nicolau and Sellers (2002); Chow-Chua et al.,
(2003); Naser et al., (2004); Feng et al.,
(2008); Wu and Chen (2011); Al-Refaie et al.,
(2012); Mokthar and Muda (2012); Psomas et
al., (2012); Chatzoglou et al., (2015); Aba et
al., (2016).

Business performance holistically measures
market and financial performance of firms (see
Table 1). Specifically, market performance
measures the competence of companies to
increase their share on domestic and overseas
markets (White et al., 2009). Within this
context, ISO 9001 would give an essential
benefit for the companies to grow and expand
domestically and internationally. In the quality
management literature, particularly the
measures of market performance, the company
image and market share have received much
attention as to show the relationship between
quality management and market performance
(Gonzalez-Benito, 2005; Skrinjar et al., 2008;
Agus and Hajinoor, 2012). However, not many
empirical studies have been conducted on the
specific relationship between ISO 9001 quality
system and market performance (Jang and Lin,
2008; Psomas et al., 2012; Chatzoglou et al.,
2015). As for the financial perspective of the
performance, revenues (sales) and profitability
are the main proxies measured in order to
determine the financial performance in the
manufacturing and service businesses. With
this perspective, adopting a quality
management system is utilized with the
intention to outperform their competitors by
gaining a better financial outcome for their
businesses. Therefore, the adoption of a quality
management system such as ISO 9001 should
be evaluated whether it indicates a positive
effect on the revenues (sales) and profitability
as the proxies of the resort hotels’ financial
performance. Findings in the current empirical
literature are not consistent and are even
contradictory when identifying a positive
relationship between ISO 9001 quality
management system and financial performance
(Feng et al., 2008; Lo et al., 2014; Kusumah
and Fabianto, 2016). These contradictory
findings show that there is a need for further
research on the effects of the ISO 9001 quality
system on the financial performance. However,
more specifically, Nava Carballido and Rivas-
Tovar (2008), Rubio-Andrada et al. (2011), and
Tarí et al. (2009) showed that implementing
quality programs improves hotels’ performance.
Therefore, Hypothesis (H) 1 is proposed:
H1: ISO 9001 certified resort hotels
outperform the non-certified resort hotels in
terms of business performance.
Although the literature has intensely focused on
business or firm performance, studies related
to how specific quality management systems
influence operational performance from a
holistic perspective are rare. Operational
performance, including employee satisfaction,
low cost in production, customer satisfaction,
and customer loyalty (see Table 1) in quality
management systems are key subjects
investigated in the empirical studies
emphasizing a cause-effect relationship
between ISO 9001 and the internal processes
of the manufacturing and service companies, in
which the operational performance is
considered to measure the effectiveness of the
quality management systems such as ISO
9001, EFQM, MBNQA, the Malcolm Baldrige,
Six Sigma etc. ISO 9001 quality standards
system requires all the procedures of a firm’s
processes to be systematically organized and
implemented. All of the outcomes through this
quality standards system are controlled, and
variations caused in production by the
processes of receiving supplies and the
145
 Does Quality Standards Certification Truly Matter on Operational and Business Performances of Firms?
Evidence from Resort Hotels.
complaints of the customers are reduced in
order to achieve the organizational goals within
a given timeframe. Various studies showed the
application of ISO 9001 quality standards
directly and positively affected the operational
performances in manufacturing and service
companies (Jang and Lin, 2008; Psomas et al.,
2012). This stipulates a business situation in
which all businesses are required to stay close
to their customers in order to determine their
customers’ constantly changing wants and
needs over time. Although the relationship
between the quality management practices,
customer satisfaction, and loyalty are very well-
researched in the total quality management
literature (e.g. Ahire and O’Saughnessy, 1998;
Dow et al., 1999; Samson and Terziovski,
1999; Rahman and Bullock, 2005; Feng et al.,
2006; Lakhal, 2009), very few studies looked
into the relationship between the ISO 9001
quality system and customer satisfaction and
loyalty (Al-Refaie et al., 2012; Wu and Chen,
2011; Psomas et al., 2012; Chatzoglou et al. ,
2015). More specifically for the hotel industry,
while Claver et al. (2006), Minazzi (2006), Tarí
et al. (2010), and Tarí et al. (2014) found that
implementation of quality systems (ISO 9001)
increases customer satisfaction, Alonso-
Almeida & Rodríguez-Antón (2011) highlighted
that customer satisfaction is not increased with
the implementation of quality systems (ISO
9001). Also, Tarí et al. (2010) demonstrated
that quality systems help hotels improve their
hotel’s image and service quality. Therefore,
H2 is proposed:
H2: ISO 9001 certified resort hotels
outperform the non-certified resort hotels in
terms of operational performance.
Methodology
Survey instruments and measures
The study questionnaire was developed by
specifically reviewing the measures of the
empirical ISO 9001 performance dimensions in
the literature. After the literature review, the
performance dimensions for the study were
holistically considered in order to measure the
operational and business performances of the
resort hotels (see Table 1). Before the
questionnaire was sent out to the resort hotels,
it was examined by the authors, other
academics, and was pilot tested using 15 ISO
146
9001 registered resort hotel managers
(Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007).
The questionnaire consisted of two sections.
The first section required information about the
resort hotels’ backgrounds. In the second
section, the questions were asked to the ISO
9001 certified and non-certified resort hotel
companies about their operational and
business performances. In this section, the
performance dimensions were constructed
through the specific literature review as follows:
operational performance (Feng et al., 2008;
Jang and Lin, 2008; Wu and Chen, 2011; Al-
Refaie et al., 2012; Psomas et al., 2012;
Chatzoglou et al., 2015) and business
performance (Nicolau and Sellers, 2002; Chow-
Chua et al., 2003; Naser et al., 2004; Feng et
al., 2008; Wu and Chen, 2011; Al-Refaie et al.,
2012; Mokthar and Muda, 2012; Psomas et al.,
2012; Chatzoglou et al., 2015; Aba et al.,
2016). A five-point Likert scale with items
comprising the performance dimensions was
presented to the resort hotel general
managers, where 1 represented “strongly
disagree” and 5 represented “strongly agree”.
Data Collection
The population of this study consisted of four
and five-star hotels located in Turkey since
these hotels as large size companies may
consider adopting quality systems more
seriously and proactively than small and
medium size hotels. The study employed a
questionnaire technique to measure both
operational and business performance of these
resort hotels, and their certification status in
Turkey. A list of hotels and their email
addresses were obtained from the Turkish
Ministry of Culture and Tourism. All of the
hotels in Turkey are required to register with
the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism
(2016), however, they are not required to report
their certification status. The targeted
population list (1142 hotels) for the study
consisting of four (657) and five (485) star
hotels was obtained. It was not possible to find
the exact number of the four and five-star
resort hotels that were certified with ISO 9001.
Therefore, the main issue was access to
certified resort hotels. This was managed by
contacting each sample hotel to find out
whether they had the ISO: 2015 quality
Duman, F., O. Ozer, M. Koseoglu, M. Altin and F. Okumus (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 142-155
management system. With this approach, the
research sample made sure that the certified
and non-certified resort hotel managers equally
filled up the questionnaires. Among 1142
hotels, 241 resort hotels (57 four stars and 184
five stars) participated in this study. Of these
resort hotel companies, the ISO 9001 certified
resort hotels were 120 and the remaining 121
were the non-certified resort hotel companies.
The questionnaire survey took place from June
2017 to October 2017. Initially, 142
questionnaires were completed after one
month, which was enough time to wait for the
returns of the questionnaires (Cooper and
Schilinder, 1998). The rest of the 104
questionnaires were obtained later by
contacting the resort hotel managers and
reminding them to fill out the questionnaires
that had been sent to them by email one month
earlier. Five questionnaires were omitted due to
missing information, and 241 questionnaires
were included to be analyzed for this study.
Data analysis
The EFA (Exploratory Factor Analysis) and
Cronbach alpha were employed in order to test
the unidimensionality and reliability of the
scales for performance measures. EFA helps
to extract the best possible latent factors to
describe the correlations of performance
measuring variables (Pallant, 2007). Therefore,
the most common technique to apply EFA in
order to extract the latent factors of the study’s
data was the principal components analysis.
Then, the orthogonal varimax rotation method
was used for the factor rotation for the study
(Tabachnick and Fidell, 2007). The outcome of
the EFA provided two distinctive measures,
business and operational performances, that
could be further tested. The study employed a
t-test in order to compare certified and non-
certified resort hotels’ operational and business
performances in the study.
Results
The profiles of the sample hotels
The studied resort hotels were categorized
according to their size (number of bedrooms),
quality rating (number of stars), and the
affiliation of the hotels (franchising,
management contracts and independent
hotels). This information is summarized
separately under the headings of ISO 9001
certified and non-ISO 9001 certified resort
hotels at Table 2.
The first characteristic of the resort hotels
studied was their size, which is presented
according to the number of rooms. The size of
the resort hotels is categorized into three
groups: “Up to 200 rooms”, “Between 201 and
400 rooms”, and “401 and over rooms”. By
examining the sample hotels, one will see that
the resort hotels with the ISO 9001 certification
(“401 and over rooms”, 40%) are more than the
non-certified ones (23%). While the size of
“between 201 and 400 rooms” is well
distributed amongst themselves, the ISO 9001
certified hotels with up to 200 rooms (26.6%)
are less than the non-ISO 9001 certified ones
(41.3%).
For quality ratings, the Turkish Ministry of
Culture and Tourism hotel quality qualification
was chosen, and only four-star resort hotels
(30%) and five-star resort hotels (70%) were
selected for this study. These resort hotels with
the ISO 9001 certification and non-ISO 9001
certification are distributed in proportion so that
the results of the study are to be statistically
significant. By looking at Table 2 below, 18.3%
of four star and 81.7% of five-star resort hotels
are certified. On the other hand, 28.9% of four
star and 71.1% of five- star resort hotels are
non-certified respectively. Therefore, the ISO
9001 certified and non-certified resort hotels
are almost equally distributed.
The last characteristic of the study sample was
the affiliation (franchising, management
contracts and independents) of the resort
hotels. Both independent ISO 9001 certified
and independent non-ISO 9001 certified hotels
comprise 62% of the sample. The categories of
franchising (18.3% certified and 10.8% non-
certified hotels respectively) and management
contracts (20% certified and 26.4% non-
certified hotels respectively) are well-distributed
across the sample studied.
Exploratory Factor Analysis for Performance
Measures
Having examined the profiles of the sample,
this study used the identified performance
factors based on the ISO 9001 quality
certification and performance literature mentio-
147
 Does Quality Standards Certification Truly Matter on Operational and Business Performances of Firms?
Evidence from Resort Hotels.

Table 2. Profiles of Sample Resort Hotels (n=241)

ISO 9001:2015 Non-ISO 9001:2015
Hotel Profiles certified hotels certified hotels Total
(n1=120) (n2=121) (n=241)
Number of Rooms f % f % f %
Up to 200 32 26.6 50 41.3 82 34.0
Between 201 and 400 40 33.4 43 35.5 83 34.4
401 and over 48 40 28 23.2 76 31.5
Total 120 100 121 100 241 100.0

Staring f % f %
4 star 22 18.3 35 28.9 57 23.7
5 star 98 81.7 86 71.1 184 76.3
Total 120 100 121 100 241 100.0

Types of Affiliation f % f %
Franchising 22 18.3 13 10.8 35 14.5
Management contract 24 20 32 26.4 56 23.2
Independent hotels 74 61.7 76 62.8 150 62.2
Total 120 100 121 100 241 100.0

Table 3. Exploratory Factor Analysis for Performance Measures

Measured Variables Factor 1 Factor 2 Cronbach’s Alpha
Business Operational
Performance Performance
Factor Loadings
Revenues 0.848
Corporate Image 0.818 0.691
Market Share 0.811
Occupancy 0.779
Customer Loyalty 0.822
Customer Satisfaction 0.722
Employee Satisfaction 0.721 0.850
Low Cost in Production 0.583
Profitability 0.515
Eigenvalue 3,735 1,714
Variance explained % 41.497 19,042
Cumulative variance % 60,539
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) 0.723
p 0.000
Note: Principal component factor extraction method and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization.

ned above as the basis for EFA. The EFA
produced two latent factors which had been
identified initially from the literature: operational
performance and business performance (see
Table 3). In looking at Table 3, one will see that
the operational and business performance
factors were merged under the same variables
stated in the literature, except for the
profitability variable, which was categorized into
the factor of operational performance.
Furthermore, both of the latent factor loadings
are above 0.515, and this indicates the factor
loadings are statistically significant (Hair et al.,
148
2005). Furthermore, the cumulative variances
explained (60.53 %) for the latent factors are
satisfactory for the study (See Table 3).
Testing Hypothesis
After comparing the ISO 9001 certified resort
hotels (120) and the non-certified ISO 9001
resort hotels (121) regarding their operational
and business performances (t-test), a
statistically significant difference was observed
only in the operational performance between
the ISO 9001 certified resort hotels and the
non- ISO 9001 certified resort hotels, which is
Duman, F., O. Ozer, M. Koseoglu, M. Altin and F. Okumus (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 142-155

Table 4. T-test for performance measures: ISO 9001 vs Non-ISO 9001certified resort hotels
(N=241)
Performance Groups N Mean Standard t df p
Factors Deviation

ISO 9001 120 4.3625 0.61992 -0.171 229,696 0.864

Business Certified Hotels
Performance
Non-ISO 9001 121 4.3471 0.76674
Certified Hotels

ISO 9001 120 3.8167 0.53927

Operational Certified Hotels 7,094 233,034 0.000
Performance
Non-ISO 9001 121 4.2760 0.46279
Certified Hotels

Note: Statistically significant difference at p=0.000

evident from the mean values of the ISO 9001
certified resort hotels (Mean=3.8167) and the
non-ISO 9001 certified resort hotels
(Mean=4.3471) (see Table 4 above).
Specifically, it appears that the operational
performance measure of the ISO 9001 certified
resort hotels is statistically significant.
However, it negatively affects operational
performance of the ISO 9001 certified resort
hotels when comparing the mean values.
Discussion
The findings present the profiles of the resort
hotels and show that the ISO 9001 certified
resort hotels are larger than the non-ISO 9001
certified resort hotels with the category of “401
and over rooms”. This finding is consistent with
the manufacturing samples studied by Psomas
et al. (2011) and Psomas and Kafetzopoulos
(2014). The other characteristics of the profiles,
quality-starring and types of affiliation,
produced what was expected from the resort
hotels, meaning that five-star resort hotels and
the type of franchising affiliation are higher than
those that are non-ISO 9001 certified resort
hotels. The authors suggest that the issues of
being larger in size, higher in quality-starring,
and franchising affiliation in service
organizations, such as the resort hotels in this
case, become more important in adopting the
ISO 9001 quality certification for their service
delivery consistency leading to increased
customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Comparison of certified and non-certified resort
hotels based upon the business and
operational measures shows that neither
sample of resort hotels produced any
statistically significant differences in business
performance comprising of revenues, corporate
image, market share, and occupancy. The
performance measures used show that the
implementation of the ISO 9001 certification
does not specifically result in a statistically
significant and positive relationship with the
business performance (t = -0.171; p = 0.864).
Therefore, H1 is rejected.
The t-test showing the variation between the
ISO 9001 certified and non-certified resort
hotels on the operational performance as seen
in Table 4 indicates a significant association
with the hypothesized direction (t = 7,094; p =
0.000). However, this significant association
with the operational performance is lower for
the ISO 9001 certified resort hotels
(Mean=3.8167) than the non-ISO 9001 certified
resort hotels (Mean=4.3471). In summation,
there is a statistically significant but negative
association with the ISO 9001 quality certi-
fication. Therefore, H2 is partially accepted.
Comparing this study to the literature
associated with the ISO 9001 certification and
business performance shows a contradictory
relationship. Contrary to what is typically
expected for the positive contribution from the
149
 Does Quality Standards Certification Truly Matter on Operational and Business Performances of Firms?
Evidence from Resort Hotels.
ISO 9001 quality certification in service
organizations, this study did not produce a
significant and positive association between the
implementation of the ISO 9001 certification
and business performance. Because, this
finding was assumed that the sample hotels did
not internalize ISO 9001 quality system into
their organizations as they focused more upon
solving the low occupancy rates and reduced
room prices caused by the Russian crisis
occurred in November 2016. Thus, the
outcome of this study contradicts a number of
the studies that produced significant and
positive associations. However, it supports
other studies that did not find any significant
and positive relationship on business
performance (Haversjo, 2000; Lima et al.,
2000; Aarts and Vos, 2001; Dunu et al., 2002;
Heras et al., 2002; Martinez-Costa and
Martinez-Lorente, 2003; Dimara et al., 2004;
Naveh and Marcus, 2005; Sampaio et al.,
2011; Ilkay and Aslan, 2012; Heras-
Saizarbitoria et al., 2015; Ochieng et al., 2015;
Kusumah and Fabianto (2016); Islam et al.,
2016).
Similar to the present study, the relationship
between the ISO 9001 quality certification and
operational performance is supported by a
number of studies (Feng et al., 2008; Jang and
Lin, 2008; Wu and Chen, 2011; Al-Refaie et al.,
2012; Psomas et al., 2012; Chatzoglou et al.,
2015). However, it should be noted that this
study resulted in a statistically significant
variance, but a negative one. Overall, these
findings suggest that the ISO 9001 certified
resort hotels should have a clear objective
when implementing a quality certification. Then,
adopting and implementing the ISO 9001
quality certification should be internalized from
the top to the bottom of any service
organizations, such as the resort hotels. This
would be supported by providing extensive staff
training on implementation of the ISO 9001
quality standards (Brisco et al., 2005). In turn,
the staff training should cover the skills needed
to effectively and efficiently implement the
quality initiatives in question, and the staff
training should be a part of the medium to long-
term strategy for the certified resort hotels.
Conclusions
The main finding of the study is that ISO
9001:2015 quality standards certification has
150
statistically significant but negative effect on the
operational performance of resort hotels. To a
certain extent, the negative relationship
between ISO 9001 certification and operational
performance for resort hotels is somewhat
surprising, as ISO 9001 holistically focuses on
the processes and continuous improvement to
manage risks in advance in order to increase
customer satisfaction and loyalty, employee
satisfaction, and low cost in production. What is
mainly understood from this finding is that
adopting ISO 9001 quality certification in and of
itself does not guarantee any improvement on
the operational performance. Moreover, this
study demonstrates no relationship between
ISO 9001 quality certification and business
performance (corporate image, market share,
occupancy and revenues) in resort hotels. This
is a notable finding that adopting ISO 9001
quality standards certification does not
guarantee any improvements in the business
performance of the resort hotels. However, ISO
9001 quality certification holistically focuses on
the processes and continuous improvement
leading to both customer satisfaction and low
cost in production covering the whole
operational system, which would then result in
some positive contribution toward business
performance (e.g. increase in occupancy and
revenues). In short, one might conclude that
the resort hotels should adopt ISO 9001:2015
quality system for more internal motivations
(continuous improvements for customer and
employee satisfaction leading to better service
offerings and increase in profitability) rather
than external motivations (i.e. marketing
advantages).
Managerial implications
It is important to consider the fact that Turkish
resort hotels operate under a distinct seasonal
effect caused by international demand, which is
high in the months of July and August, coupled
with political situations with international
markets (e.g. the Turkish-Russian conflict in
2015 and 2016). In addition, the study findings
were obtained shortly after the aforementioned
conflict ended in 2017. Even with resort hotels
operating under the decreasing international
demand in certain time periods, they should
consider ISO 9001:2015 quality standards a
dynamic quality management tool for
performance improvement. Thus, the
Duman, F., O. Ozer, M. Koseoglu, M. Altin and F. Okumus (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 142-155
management of the resort hotels should
incorporate quality management systems, and,
more specifically, they should focus on ISO
9001 quality certification. By doing this, when
harmful macro-environmental events occur in
the international markets, the resort hotels
would benefit from ISO 9001 quality standard
procedures in order to improve their
performance measures. The ISO 9001 quality
system structure could be laid for the resort
hotels to withstand the decrease in demand,
survive, and be more competitive (Psomas and
Kafetzopoulos, 2014).
Another implication for the resort hotel
managers is the significant, but negative,
relationship between ISO 9001 quality
certification and operational performance. It is
believed that when the ISO 9001 quality
management system is well-established and
implemented from the top down in the resort
hotels, the significant but negative operational
performance relationship of ISO 9001 quality
certification would evolve into a positive
relationship with operational performance. In
turn, it would positively contribute to the
business performance in resort hotels, as well.
On the operational side, resort hotels should
take ISO 9001:2015 quality system as the
performance benchmark (Asrofah et al., 2010).
Resort hotels as service-producing companies
should be consistent with their offerings to
customers in order to maintain customer
satisfaction and loyalty as the main principle of
their operations. In doing so, the resort hotels
would survive and be competitive in today’s
competitive environment.
Limitations and future research
This study has some limitations. The sample
only covered the four and five-star ISO 9001
and non-ISO 9001 certified resort hotels in
Turkey. Thus, the SMEs (hotels) are not
represented in this study. Further research is
suggested in order to cover both the city and
resort hotel samples of ISO 9001 certified and
non-certified hotels in order to see differences
in the operational and business performances.
Second, we used firm performance with two
components including operational performance
and business performance. Future research
should consider other performance
measurement models such as Sainaghi (2010)’
s model including qualitative clients’ indicators,
operational performance indicators, business or
financial performance indicators, and
organizational or institutional indicators. Finally,
the effects of ISO 9001 on performance should
be studied on a longitudinal basis as the
Turkish tourism industry is affected by macro-
environmental issues (e.g. the recent Russian-
Turkish post crisis relations). A similar style of
research could be carried out in a country
facing similar macro-environmental pressure
such as Egypt and Greece.
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155
 The relationship between personality, customer participation,
customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service

Cedric Hsi-Jui Wu 1 and Ali Mursid 2*

Received: 01/02/2019 Accepted: 17/06/2019

1 Department of Business Administration, National Dong Hwa University, No. 1, Section 2, Da-Hsueh Road,
Shou-Feng, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China
2 Ph.D. Candidate in Department of Business Administration, National Dong Hwa University, No. 1, Section 2,

Da-Hsueh Road, Shou-Feng, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China and Senior Lecturer in Department of
Management, Bank BPD Jateng School of Economics and Business, Pemuda Street 4A, Semarang, Central
Java, Indonesia. Email ali.mursyid14@gmail.com
* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Giacomo del Chiappa

Abstract
This study discusses the effects of the Big Five personality traits, namely extraversion, openness,
agreeableness, consciousness, and neuroticism, on customer participation in tourism service.
Moreover, it verifies the relationship between customer participation, functional value, emotional
value and customer satisfaction. The data analysis employs confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and
structural equation modeling with a total sample of 496 tour participants. The results show the
personality traits of extraversion, openness, and agreeableness significantly affect customer
participation, while consciousness and neuroticism insignificantly affect customer participation.
Customer participation directly affects customer satisfaction. In addition, customer participation has
positive effects on functional value and emotional value, and, subsequently, functional value and
emotional value affect customer satisfaction.

Keywords: personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction

Citation: Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) The relationship between personality, customer participation,
customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service. European Journal of Tourism
Research 23, pp. 156-171

Introduction with their family. The Indonesia Minister of

Traveling has become a primary need for every Tourism reported that the total number of
family in Indonesia. People join tour activities domestic tourists from January to November
not only to take a break from their daily routines 2016 reached more than 288 million (Kompas,
and relieve stress but also to spend quality time 2016). The above annual phenomena has

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
156 RESEARCH PAPER
 Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171
encouraged this study to further explore tourist
behavior and outcomes, particularly for family
vacationers.
The theory of service-dominant logic developed
by Vargo and Lusch (2004) suggests that
customers are not only passive receivers, but
also active participants in determining value.
The interaction between the service provider
and customer offers a form of collaboration in
the process of value creation building upon the
position of customers as partners (Vargo and
Lusch, 2008). Yi and Gong (2013) proposed a
multi-dimensional approach to measuring
customer value co-creation by distinguishing
between customer participation (in role
behaviour) and voluntary customer activities
(extra-role behaviour). Following the
recommendation from Prebensen and Xie
(2017) to adopt a more comprehensive
measurement of value co-creation, this study
focuses on customer participation in tourism
services by adapting the measurement scale
from Yi and Gong (2013).
Scholars have elucidated the antecedents of
customer participation in value co-creation in
the context of hospitality and tourism from the
customers’ perspective. Grisseman and
Stokburger-Sauer (2012) explored company
support for customers to identify the level of
customer co-creation value. Moreover, Im and
Qu (2017) investigated perceived physical
environment and perceived support for
customers to identify customer value co-
creation. Other studies have examined the
antecedents of customer participation based on
psychological factors such as mood regulatory
process (Taheri et al., 2017) and emotions
(Malone et al., 2018). Though the determining
factors of customer participation in value co-
creation have been elucidated by many
researchers, previous studies have never
included customer personality traits. Therefore,
this study intends to fill the research gap by
exploring the relationship between the Big Five
personality traits and customer participation in
tour agency services.
The subsequent contributions elucidate the
relationship between customer participation
and customer satisfaction. Some authors have
found that customer participation directly
impacts customer satisfaction in tourism
settings (Grissemann and Stokburger-Sauer,
2012; Lu et al., 2015). Conversely, Wu (2011)
failed to demonstrate the direct effect of
customer participation on customer satisfaction
in tourist destinations. Therefore, this study
attempted to revisit this relation by exploring
the functional value and emotional value
emerging in the relationship between customer
participation and customer satisfaction.
More precisely this study aims to shed light on
customer participation in tourism services
based on the Big Five personality traits, which
include extraversion, openness,
agreeableness, consciousness, and
neuroticism. Furthermore, we examine the
direct effect of customer participation on
customer satisfaction. Finally, this framework
verifies the relationship of customer
participation with functional value and
emotional value and in turn the effects of
functional value and emotional value on
customer satisfaction.
Literature Review and Hypotheses
Development
The big five personality traits and customer
participation in value co-creation
Scholars have explored the influence of
personality traits on employee behaviour e.g.
the relationship between personality traits and
organizational citizenship behaviour (Helle,
Deshong, Lengel, Meyer, Butler, and Mullins-
Sweatt, 2018; Bourdage, Goupal, Neilson,
Lukacik, and Lee, 2018) or personality traits
and job performance (Judge and Zapata,
2015). Moreover, another study examined
personality traits impact on customer attitude in
self-production (Huynh and Olsen, 2015). The
above researches inspire this study to verify
how personality traits affect customer
participation in value co-creation of tourists in
Indonesia.
Personality refers to distinctive individual
thought, behaviour, and emotions to adapt to
certain situations in life (Jani, 2011). Moreover,
Ying and Norman (2017) showed that the Big
Five personality traits have been recognized
and commonly used in the psychology and
tourism literature. Moreover, in the tourism
business, it is necessary to consider how
service employees with different personalities
157
 The relationship between personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service.
perform network tasks. This study adopted the
Big Five personality traits proposed by Barrick
and Mount (1991), including extraversion,
openness, agreeableness, consciousness, and
neuroticism, which have been widely accepted
in previous studies.
Extraversion is defined as the personality trait
of being outgoing, extroverted, emphatic,
conversational, and energetic (Barrick and
Mount, 1991). Another study described this
character as the degree to which an individual
is confident, dominant, dynamic, talkative and
passionate (Zhao and Seibert, 2006). A person
who has an extraverted character prefers being
around many people to being alone (LePine
and Dyne, 2001). Extraversion is associated
with the extent to which a person is active,
emphatic and sociable (Fayombo, 2010).
Openness refers to the characteristics of a
person who has curiosity about improving their
knowledge, enjoying new challenges and
expressing innovative ideas (Zhao and Seibert,
2006). A person who possesses a high level of
openness tends to be innovative, imaginative,
inquisitive and unconventional (George and
Zhou, 2001, McCrae and Costa, 1985, McCrae
and John, 1992, Costa and McCrae, 1992,
Fayombo, 2010). Such a person thinks
philosophically and loves art (McCrae and
John, 1992). On the contrary, a person who
has a low degree of openness has a tendency
to be conservative and uncritical and lack
interest and comfort (McCrae and Costa,
1987).
Agreeableness is the orientation to having
positive and cooperative relationships (Digman,
1990, Zhao and Seibert, 2006). Kuo et al.
(2015) pointed out that agreeable individuals
can be described are credulous, harmonious,
generous and kind. Agreeable people tend to
conform to social consensus and have high
quality relationships; they also tend to be
accommodating, believing, sympathetic,
moderate, kind, tolerant, and cooperative
(Barrick and Mount, 1991, Costa and McCrae,
1992). Conversely, a person who has a low
level of agreeableness is likely to be egoistic,
distrustful, and antagonistic (Feist, 1998).
Conscientious people tend to be systematized,
diligent, persistent, and motivated in pursuing
158
an objective achievement (Zhao and Seibert,
2006). This kind of person is detail-oriented,
well organized, inclined to respect regulation,
consistent and responsible (Fayombo, 2010). A
person who has a high level of
conscientiousness displays dependability, self-
discipline, and achievement motivation (Mount
and Barrick, 1995); this kind of person prefers
to arrange a good systematic, plan rather than
taking impulsive actions (Barrick et al., 2001a).
Neuroticism is defined as a negative emotional
trait representing emotional uncertainty (Myers
et al., 2010). A neurotic person demonstrates
unstable emotional change and negative
effects such as nervousness, self-doubt, and
resentment (Judge et al., 2002). Moreover, a
person who has a high level of neuroticism has
negative manners, is uneasy and poorly
socialized (LePine and Dyne, 2001). This kind
of person is often unbalanced, miserable, and
worried (Yoo and Gretzel, 2011). Contradictory
to neuroticism, a person with emotional stability
is peaceful, tolerant, secure, and familiar (Feist,
1998, McCrae and Costa, 1987).
Value co-creation refers to a collaboration
between a company and customers to
communicate intensively in providing quality
products or services in the process of
consumption (Prahalad and Ramaswamy,
2004). The concept of value co-creation can
guide firms to understand customer needs and
wants (Lusch and Vargo, 2006). Payne et al.
(2008) suggested that the process of value co-
creation includes procedures, tasks,
mechanisms, activities, and interactions.
Customer participation refers to the level of
customer involvement in effort, preference, and
knowledge as well as other contributions to
provide and deliver a service (Chan et al.,
2010).
Previous studies investigating the Big Five
personality traits and pro-environmental
behavior stimulated this study to propose some
hypotheses related to the Big Five personality
traits and customer participation. Fraj and
Martinez (2006) reported that personality
positively and significantly influences ecological
behavior. Moreover, Hirsh (2010) found that
high rating of agreeableness and openness
enhance environmental concern. Conversely, a
 Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171
greater level of neuroticism and consciousness
reduce environmental concern. Another study
conducted by Kvasova (2015) showed that
agreeableness, conscientiousness,
extraversion, and neuroticism positively affect
pro-environmental behaviour, while openness
insignificantly affects ecological action. Milfont
and Sibley (2012) presented that
agreeableness, consciousness, and openness
to experience have a close relationship to
environmental engagement.
In a tourism setting, a previous study showed
that tourists’ personality traits affect tour
motivation and interest in different ways (Scott
and Mowen, 2007). Lin et al. (2014) described
how personality leads to fluctuations of
emotions among visitors on their vacation.
Furthermore, personality affects the degree of
anxiety and unhappiness and moderately
impacts disgust throughout tourists’ vacations,
while, openness has a direct effect on traveller
attitudes regarding tourism phenomena (Ong
and Musa, 2012). Malone, McKechnie, and
Tynan (2018) described in qualitative study
related to how emotions contribute to the
process of customer value co-creation in the
context of tourism. Another study showed that
various customer personality characteristics
positively and negatively affect customer
engagement behaviour (Chen et al., 2017).
Moreover, Taheri, Coelho, Sousa, and
Evanschitzky (2017) reported that mood
monitoring and mood repair directly affect the
customer participation of hotel customers;
therefore, this study proposes the following
hypotheses.
H1: Extraversion positively affects customer
participation.
H2: Openness positively affects customer
participation.
H3: Agreeableness positively affects customer
participation.
H4: Consciousness positively affects customer
participation.
H5: Neuroticism negatively affects customer
participation.
Customer Participation and Customer
Satisfaction
The term of customer satisfaction denotes the
evaluation of an outcome that confirms
expected rewards or the comparison between
cost and expected benefit (Churchill and
Surprenant, 1982). Researchers have yet to
clearly show direct interaction between
customer participation and customer
satisfaction. Wu (2011) could not prove that
customer participation predicts customer
satisfaction directly and positively in the context
of tourism. Conversely, Grissemann and
Stokburger-Sauer (2012) pointed out that the
degree of value co-creation impacts customer
satisfaction with a tourism service company.
Similarly, Lu et al. (2015) reported customer
involvement affects customer satisfaction with
a tourist destination. A more recent study
informed the calculation model of customer
value co-creation behaviour include customer
participation and customer voluntary behaviour
impact on customer satisfaction (Clauss,
Kesting, and Naskrent, 2018). Therefore, this
study purposes the following hypothesis.
H6: Customer participation positively and
significantly impacts customer satisfaction.
Customer Participation, Functional Value and
Emotional Value
Zeithaml (1988) defined customers’ perceived
value as customers’ overall evaluation of a
product in relation to what is obtained and what
is given. Some factors determine customer
perception, including both monetary and non-
monetary factors, customer tastes, and
customer characteristics (Bolton and Drew,
1991). The concept of customer value has
been described in various terms and through
different methods, and has thus become
challenging to revisit (Gallarza et al., 2011). A
current study conducted by Liu (2017)
explained that value in a tourism setting
consists of conservation, education, recreation
and research. Moreover, Gudem et al. (2013)
stated that customer value changes
dynamically depending upon the attributes of a
product, corporate image, market issues, and
customer experience.
This study attempts to include functional value
and emotional value to verify the relationship
between customer participation and customer
satisfaction. Functional value refers to the
function, useful as well as the physical
performance of the product perceived by a
consumer (Sheth et al., 1991). In tourism,
159
 The relationship between personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service.
functional value often indicates the amount of
attraction that can be seen, speed of service
performance, comfort of seat facilities, price
and security (Williams and Soutar, 2005).
Moreover, emotional value indicates the
customer’s feeling toward a product based on
the aspect of social psychology (Sheth et al.,
1991). Emotional value has been considered
as an important factor in evaluation of customer
satisfaction (Otto and Ritchie, 1996).
Oh (1999) recommended combining customer
value to mediate service quality and customer
satisfaction. Furthermore, firms use dynamic
value perceptions, comprised of values,
desired value, and value judgment, to describe
the emergence of customer wants, value, and
satisfaction (Flint et al., 1997). The traveller’s
emotion partially mediates between the
relationship of physical environments and
customer satisfaction (Moon et al., 2016).
Zainuddin and Russel-Bennett (2013) found
that co-production, as a construct customer
participation, does not affect functional value in
health care service. On the contrary the current
study conducted by Hau et al. (2017) reported
the significant effect of customer participation
on customers’ perceived value. Moreover,
Prebensen and Xie (2017) demonstrated that
both physical and psychological co-creation in
tourism settings significantly impact perceived
value. Therefore, this study offers the following
hypotheses.
H7: Customer participation positively
significantly impacts functional value.
H8: Customer participation positively
significantly impacts emotional value.
Functional Value, Emotional Value and
Customer Satisfaction
Lee et al. (2012) pointed out that social value
signficantly impacts disclose information,
behavioral, and attitudinal loyalty, while
economic value only affects behavioral loyalty
in a restaurant context. Moreover, exploring
customer response on a travel website, Wu et
al. (2014) reported that utilitarian value
significantly affects attitude and purchasing
intention. Yang and Peterson (2004) testified
that a customer’s perceived value affects
customer satisfaction. Similarly, Wang et al.
(2004) showed that customer value comprises
160
emotional value, functional value, social value
and perceived sacrifice, all of which
significantly impact customer satisfaction.
Another study conducted by Flint et al. (2011)
stated that customer value perception is
dynamic and constantly changing. Thus, this
type of perception must be anticipated. This
study found that customer value affects
customer satisfaction and loyalty. In tourism
setting, Castellanos-Verdugo et al. (2017)
reported that shopping value affects souvenir
shopping satisfaction. Focusing on functional
value and emotional value, Zainuddin and
Russel-Bennett (2013) found that functional
value and emotional value significantly affect
customer satisfaction in the social marketing of
health care service. Likewise, Williams and
Soutar (2009) reported that in adventure
tourism, functional value and emotional value
significantly affect customer satisfaction. A
current study conducted by Choi, Lawry, and
Kim (2019) identified that economic value,
emotional value, and relational value impact
customer satisfaction. Therefore, we purpose
the following hypotheses.
H9: Functional value positively and significantly
affects customer satisfaction.
H10: Emotional value positively and
significantly affects customer satisfaction.
Study Framework
This study verifies the Big Five personality
and traits (extraversion, openness, agreeableness,
consciousness and neuroticism) as the
and determinant factors of customer participation in
tour service. Moreover, this framework
investigates the direct influence of customer
participation and customer satisfaction. Finally,
it examines the impact of customer
participation on functional value and emotional
value and then investigates the effects of these
two values on customer satisfaction. Figure 1
depicts the research framework.
Methodology
Sample and Data Collection
This study collected data to test a model
associated with customer participation in a tour
agency service in Semarang City, Indonesia.
The questionnaires were distributed to eight
tour agencies that offer tours taking several
 Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171
days to interesting tourist destinations in
Indonesia such as Bali, Bandung, Malang, and
Lombok during the summer vacation of 2016.
In regard to participants’ gender, we found a
higher number of females than males; thus, our
data collection used quota sampling (60 %
female and 40% male). Sixteen undergraduate
students assisted the respondents in filling out
the questionnaires and one junior lecturer
supervised and coordinated the distribution of
all of the questionnaires. Eight tour agencies
helped the process of data collection with 800
questionnaires. Each tour agency was given
100 questionnaires to distribute to the tour
participants and the respondents completed the
questionnaires after finishing the tour.
Approximately 537 questionnaires returned
with a response rate of 67%. This study
analysed the data from 496 completed
questionnaires to verify the framework.
Measurement
This study used measurement scales
developed by previous research and then we
modified the items scale to match with
responses of tour participants and translated
them into the Indonesian language. The
dimensions of the Big Five personality traits
were modified from those used by Yoo and
Gretzel (2011) to include extraversion,
openness, agreeableness, consciousness, and
neuroticism. Furthermore, the customer
participation measurement was considered
more complete and the dimensions were kept
brief, following Yi and Gong (2013). This scale
treated customer participation as a second-
order measurement consisting of four sub-
measurements, namely information seeking,
information sharing, responsible behaviour, and
personal interaction. Customer value includes
both functional value and emotional value;
thus, the measurement used here followed the
approach of Sweeney, while the last variable of
customer satisfaction was borrowed from
Gremler and Gwinner (2000). The
questionnaires were answered based on a 7-
point scale from 1 = very strongly disagree to 7
= very strongly agree. This study also
presented socio-demographics of respondents’
profiles such as age, gender, marital status,
income and level of education.
Results
The analysis of the measurement scale of this
study reported that all dimensions possessed
Cronbach’s alphas of greater than 0.7 as
161
 The relationship between personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service.
recommended (Nunnaly, 1978). The
dimensions of the Big Five customer
personality traits resulted the Cronbach’s
alphas of each trait exceeding 0.7 for
Extraversion (0.707), Openness (0.778),
Agreeableness (0.846), Consciousness
(0.765), and Neuroticism (0.782). The items
scale of customer participation as a second-
order measurement consisting of four sub-
measurements (information seeking,
information sharing, responsible behavior, and
personal interaction) resulted in Cronbach's
alphas of 0.724, 0.767, 0.770, and 0.837,
respectively. Customer value includes
functional value with a Cronbach's alpha of
0.751 and emotional value with a Cronbach's
alpha of 0.754. The last variable of customer
satisfaction achieved a Cronbach's alpha of
0.783.
Descriptive Statistics
The profile of respondents’ socio-demographics
showed that the proportion of females is higher
than that of males and data collection almost
reached the total number of target respondents
(60% female and 40% male). Female
participants in this study achieved 58.9% and
male respondents reached 41.1%. Moreover,
the average age was dominated by 31 to 40
year olds (61.3%), followed by those between
41 and 50 years old (33.3%). The majority of
the respondents received a monthly income of
more than IDR 5000.000 and less than IDR
162
15.000.000 (94.4 %), were married (87.9%)
and pursued undergraduate education (86.1%).
A detailed description of this profile is depicted
in Table 1.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
The analysis used the confirmatory factor in
structural equation modeling with two-step
analysis including measurement and structural
equational modeling (Anderson and Gerbing,
1988). Bagozzi and Yi (1988) recommended
the meaningful criteria, i.e. the entire factor
loading should not be too low (< 0.5) or too
high (> 0.95). Moreover, the values of average
variance extracted (AVE) in every construct
were above the threshold of 0.5 and composite
reliabilities (CR) were all greater than 0.7. All
items fulfilled the criteria with AVE reaching
between 0.502 and 0.725 and CR ranging from
0.720 to 0.879. The analysis tested reliability
and validity of the measurement analysis are
shown in Table 2.
Finally, to demonstrate the consistency of the
measurement item, we show that every
construct reached a squared root of AVE
higher than the correlation estimate (Table 3),
thus confirming discriminant validity.
The result of the measurement scale showed a
good model fit as recommended by Anderson
and Gerbing (1988), with chi-square = 824.559,
a degree of freedom (DF) = 412, and CMIN/DF
Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171

163
 The relationship between personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service.

= 2.001. Moreover, the goodness of fit (GFI) =
0.906, IFI = 0.934, Tucker Lewis index (TLI) =
0.920, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.934, root
mean square error of approximately (RMSEA)
= 0.045 and standard RMR (SRMR) = 0.047.
Bagozzi and Yi (1988) recommended that IFI
and GFI of above 0.9 are acceptable.
Moreover, approximate model fit of less than
0.05 for RMSEA and SRMR < 0.08 are
considered indicative of close fit, thus, the
analysis can be continued to the structural
model (Hu and Bentler, 1998).
(Hypothesis 4 and 5). Furthermore, customer
participation directly affects customer
satisfaction (Hypothesis 6). The relationship
between customer participation and customer
satisfaction also becomes effective through
customer value. The result indicates that
customer participation has direct effects on
functional and emotional value (Hypothesis 7
and 8) and in turn, functional value and
emotional value affect customer satisfaction
(Hypothesis 9 and Hypothesis 10). The detailed
results are shown in Table 4.

The results of reliability and validity on the Conclusion

structural model show good model fit. The
entire factor loading was greater than 0.5 and
less than 0.95, AVE was higher than 0.5 and
CR surpassed 0.7. The value of AVE reached
between 0.503 and 0.722; moreover the value
of CR ranged from 0.719 to 0.874 (Bagozzi and
Yi, 1988). The analysis of the structural model
also indicated model fit fulfillment with chi
square = 894.292, DF =428, and CMIN/DF =
2.089. Furthermore, GFI = 0.901, IFI = 0.926,
TLI = 0.913, and CFI = 0.925. The value of IFI,
TLI, CFI and GFI were greater than 0.9,
indicating the model fit (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988).
Moreover, RMSEA = 0.047, thus fulfilling the
recommended model fit of less than 0.05 and
SRMR = 0.055 with a meaningful value < 0.08
(Hu and Bentler, 1998).
The hypotheses testing showed that three
factors of customer personality, namely
extraversion, openness and agreeableness,
positively and significantly affect customer
participation (Hypothesis 1, 2 and 3), while the
two factors of consciousness and neuroticism
insignificantly affect customer participation
This study verifies the Big Five personality
traits, including extraversion, openness,
agreeableness, consciousness, neuroticism,
predict customer participation in a tour agency
service. Moreover, it examines the direct effect
of customer participation on customer
satisfaction. Lastly, this framework examines
the functional value and emotional value
evolving in the relationship between customer
participation and customer satisfaction.
The result reported that three personality traits,
namely extraversion, openness, and
agreeableness, significantly affect customer
participation, while consciousness and
neuroticism insignificantly influence customer
participation. The findings also confirm that
customer participation has a direct effect on
customer satisfaction. Examining the functional
value and emotional value emerging in the
relationship between customer participation
and customer satisfaction in this framework is
fruitful. It shows that customer participation
significantly affects both functional value and
emotional value, and in turn, functional value

Table 3. Discriminant validity

Dimension EX OP AG CN NR CPT FV EV CST
EX 0.715
OP 0.081 0.841
AG -0.034 0.586 0.811
CN 0.032 0.517 0.749 0.747
NR -0.310 -0.229 -0.293 -0.365 0.708
CPT 0.224 0.499 0.485 0.443 -0.271 0.798
FV 0.175 0.217 0.216 0.189 -0.055 0.438 0.721
EV 0.252 0.311 0.215 0.174 -0.129 0.477 0.593 0.718
CST 0.217 0.260 0.152 0.150 -0.140 0.510 0.446 0.534 0.775
Note: main diagonals display the square root of AVE value and the off-diagonals indicate the correlation estimates
between two variables.

164
 Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171

Table 4. Result of hypothesis testing

Hypotheses Estimate S.E. C.R. Result

H1 (Extraversion → Customer 0.020 0.046 4.394 Supported

Participation)
H2 (Openness → Customer 0.203 0.050 4.027 Supported
Participation)
H3 (Agreeableness → Customer 0.155 0.070 2.232 Supported
Participation)
H4 (Consciousness → Customer 0.034 0.059 0.580 Not Supported
Participation)
H5 (Neuroticism → Customer -0.002 0.042 -0.053 Not supported
Participation)
H6 (Customer Participation → Customer 0.498 0.146 3.405 Supported
Satisfaction)
H7 (Customer Participation → Functional 0.535 0.119 7.203 Supported
Value)
H8 (Customer Participation → Emotional 0.597 0.117 7.241 Supported
Value)
H9 (Functional Value → Customer 0.135 0.062 2.160 Supported
Satisfaction)
H10 (Emotional Value → Customer 0.282 0.080 3.980 Supported
Satisfaction)

and emotional value significantly impact
customer satisfaction.
This finding contributes to the body of
knowledge of customer participation in value
co-creation stimulated by Vargo and Lusch
(2004) and Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004),
especially in articulating three positive factors
among the Big Five personality traits, namely
extraversion, agreeableness and openness, as
the determinant factors of customer
participation. This study clarifies the
relationship between customer participation
and customer satisfaction in two ways. First,
customer participation has a direct effect on
customer satisfaction and secondly, customer
participation impacts functional value and
emotional value and subsequently, functional
value and emotional value influence customer
satisfaction.
Discussion
The results of this study confirms that three
personality traits, namely extraversion,
agreeableness, and openness, affect customer
participation. These results are consistent with
previous studies showing that agreeableness
and extraversion positively impact pro-
environmental behaviour (Kvasova, 2015). The
findings also support prior research revealing
that a high rating of agreeableness and
openness enhance environmental concern
(Hirsh, 2010); agreeableness and openness to
experience are closely related to environmental
engagement (Milfont and Sibley, 2012). In the
tourist context, the personality trait of openness
is supported in the study by Ong and Musa
(2012) who stated that openness has a direct
effect on traveller attitudes regarding tourism
phenomena and Taheri et al (2017), who
reported that mood monitoring and mood repair
impact customer participation. This finding
strengthens the notion that extraversion,
agreeableness, and openness directly affect
behaviour in the form of customer participation,
especially in tourism service.
Two of the customer personality traits, namely
consciousness and neuroticism, did not affect
customer participation as expected. A potential
explanation, referring to Barrick et al. (2001), is
that three aspects of personality including
extraversion, agreeableness and openness are
effective in determining performance for a
particular job with several criteria. For instance,
to accomplish a job, many communication
characteristics such as being friendly,
expressive, emphatic, creative, imaginative,
active, and motivated are included in
extraversion and openness. Agreeableness is
165
 The relationship between personality, customer participation, customer value and customer satisfaction in tourism service.
also essential to engaging in serving,
collaborating and fostering others. Based on
the above reasons, this study focused on tour
services whose services involve high levels of
interaction so that three of the factors are more
dominant, while consciousness and
neuroticism do not appear.
Regarding the relationship between customer
participation and customer satisfaction, the
results agree with the majority of previous
works that have reported the direct interaction
between customer participation and customer
satisfaction (Grissemann and Stokburger-
Sauer, 2012, Lu et al., 2015, Clauss et al.
2018). The result shows that customer
participation has a strong direct effect on
customer satisfaction, even in tourism.
However, this finding does not agree with the
study by Wu (2011), which could not verify the
influence of customer participation and
customer satisfaction in the tourism setting.
The result strengthens the finding that
customer participation directly affects customer
satisfaction.
Adding the construct of customer value in the
relationship between customer participation
and customer satisfaction is also revealing
since this framework found a clearer
interaction. The analysis of this relationship
showed that customer participation affects
functional value and emotional value. The
result supports the recent investigation from
Hau et al. (2017) who reported the significant
effect between customer participation and
customer value. The result of this study shows
the importance of perceived value as the
consequences of customer participation is
consistent with the findings of Prebensen and
Xie (2017) in the tourism context.
The effects of functional value and emotional
value on customer satisfaction are also
consistent with previous studies showing that
customer perceived value affects customer
satisfaction (Yang and Peterson, 2004, Flint et
al., 2011). Moreover, Wang et al. (2004)
showed that all aspects of customer value,
including emotional value, functional value,
social value and perceived sacrifice,
significantly impact customer satisfaction. This
finding also supports the recent study
166
conducted by Choi, et al. (2019) that reported
economic value, emotional value, and relational
value affect customer satisfaction. Focusing on
functional value and emotional value, the result
is consistent with Zainuddin and Russel-
Bennett (2013), who explained that functional
value and emotional value significantly affect
customer satisfaction, and Williams and Soutar
(2009) showed that functional value and
emotional value significantly affect customer
satisfaction in adventure tourism.
Based on the results, the direct effect of
customer participation on customer satisfaction
is lower than the effect of customer
participation on customer satisfaction through
customer value. The finding shows that the
total effect of customer participation on
customer satisfaction is 0.498, while the effect
of customer participation on functional value is
0.535, the effect of functional value on
customer satisfaction is 0.135 (the total effect is
0.660), the effect of customer participation on
emotional value is 0.597, and, in turn, the effect
of emotional value on customer satisfaction is
0.282 (the total effect is 0.879). Although
customer participation directly affects customer
participation in tourism services, the
relationship between customer participation
and customer satisfaction through functional
value and emotional value is more effective.
Practical Implications
Based on these findings related to the big five
personality traits and customer participation,
service firms like tour agencies should
emphasize several factors to stimulate
customer participation in value co-creation.
Considering customer personality traits such as
extraversion, openness, and agreeableness is
crucial in encouraging customers to participate
in value co-creation. The service employees of
tour agency services can identify the
participants who tend to have certain
personality traits, notably extraversion,
openness, and agreeableness, to collaborate in
value co-creation in order to provide excellent
service during tour activities. In this case, the
role of the tour leader in building harmonious
communication and displaying exciting
performance during the tour is of the utmost
importance. The management of tour agencies
can train employees deliver superior service
 Wu, C., A. Mursid (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 156-171
and serve customers with different kinds of
personality traits.
The direct effect of customer participation on
customer satisfaction or through functional and
emotional value give two alternatives for tour
agency services to build customer satisfaction.
First, the service employees of tour agencies
can motivate tour participants to participate in
the service process, and second, tour agencies
can offer functional value or emotional value to
enhance their satisfaction. It is important for
managers of tour agencies to build media to
promote communication between customers
and service employee. Such media can
improve customer participation and satisfy the
customer by creating both functional value,
such as quality of the service, and emotional
value, like enjoyment and pleasure.
Limitations and Suggestions for Future
Research
This study has attempted to examine the Big
Five personality traits as antecedents of
customer participation and the effects of
customer participation on customer satisfaction
through customer value. However, we have
encountered some limiting factors. The
framework focuses on customer participation in
tour agencies so that the findings cannot be
generalized. We recommend that future
research explore different samples from other
tourism industries such as hotels, airlines,
restaurants, etc., to examine how the Big Five
traits affect customer participation. Moreover,
another measurement of personality traits can
be explored to predict customer participation.
Extending customer participation in value co-
creation in the context of green tourism with
green value co-creation and in religious tourism
settings such as spiritual tourist co-creation
value and so on would be exciting topics for
future study.
A recommendation for future research is to
identify consequences beyond customer
satisfaction such as those related to customer
loyalty. This would elicit an even more
comprehensive explanation. In such cases,
scholars could explore customer participation
to predict customer loyalty by extending
perceived value beyond functional and
emotional value. Finally, investigating the
relationship quality between customer
satisfaction, customer trust, and customer
commitment emerging in the relationship
between customer participation and customer
loyalty would also be useful in future studies.
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Profiling airport travellers based on their perceptions, satisfaction
and intention to recommend food and beverage services

Giacomo Del Chiappa 1*, Marcello Atzeni 2 and Salvatore Loriga 3

Received: 28/09/2018 Accepted: 23/03/2019

1 Department of Economics and Business, University of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy. Via Muroni, 25, 07100 Sassari,
Italy. Phone: +39 0789 64 21 84, Senior Research Fellow, School of Tourism & Hospitality, University of
Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: gdelchiappa@uniss.it
2 Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.
3 Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Stanislav Ivanov

Abstract
Consuming Food and Beverage is one of the most frequent non-aeronautical activities that
passengers enjoy at airports and that significantly contributes to airport profitability. Despite this,
there is still limited research aimed at analysing passengers’ consumption behaviour of F&B. With
the aim to contribute to this somewhat under investigated research area, this study applies a factor-
cluster analysis on a sample of 1,139 airport travellers. Results from factor analysis reveal four
underlying dimensions of F&B perceptions (i.e. atmospherics, staff quality, value of money, product
quality) and one dimension related to satisfaction and intention to recommend airport-based F&B
services (i.e. “satisfaction and intention to recommend”). Cluster analysis applied to the scores of
the five factors reveal that three clusters exist (i.e. “enthusiastics”, “neutrals” and “price sensitives”).
Chi-squared analysis tests show that significant differences exist based on socio-demographics (i.e.
age, education level, employment status), travel-related variables (i.e. frequency of travelling) and
flight-related variables (i.e. flying and check-in modality). Contributions to the theory, managerial
implications and limitations to the study are discussed, and suggestions for further research are
made.

Keywords: Socio-demographics, travel-related variables, flight-related variables, food and

beverage services, airport, factor-cluster analysis.

Citation: Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni and S. Loriga (2019) Profiling airport travellers based on their
perceptions, satisfaction and intention to recommend food and beverage services. European
Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
Introduction international arrivals rate has displayed an
In the last two decades, the size of the tourism upward tendency, reaching a value of 6.8% in
sector has been steadily increasing and the 2017 (WTTC, 2018). Tourism forecasts reveal
that international arrivals are expected to reach
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172 RESEARCH PAPER
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni,and S. Loriga (2019) /. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
1.8 billion by 2030 (UNWTO, 2017). Tourism
development is intrinsically linked with
transportation, the airport system in particular.
In 2017, the number of airport passengers
worldwide increased by 7.9% (WTTC, 2018)
and by the year 2040 it is estimated that the
figure will reach 22.2 billion, from which one
may determine a potential increase in airport
food and beverage (F&B) consumption along
with that of retail services (ACI, 2017).
In the last few decades, airports have proven
new proactive and marketing-driven
approaches, with airports more often
representing leisure, retail, and entertainment
contexts (Jarach, 2001; Lin and Chen, 2013)
pleasing the needs of different market
segments (i.e. passengers and air trans-
portation employees, tourists, residents, etc.)
with an array of different value propositions,
among which F&B services are surely the most
relevant (e.g. Doganis, 1992; Jarach, 2001).
This metamorphosis has given rise to a
situation where profitability of airports depends
largely on non-aviation related activities (e.g.
Graham, 2009; Fasone, Kofler and Scuderi,
2016; Yokomi, Wheat and Mizutani, 2017).
According to ACI (2015), non-aeronautical
revenue represented over 40% of airports’
global profits. In 2010, non-aviation-related
revenues accounted for $35 billion, of which
$10 billion was generated by food and
beverage services (hereafter, F&B) (The
Moodie Report, 2014). Consuming F&B is one
of the most frequent non-aeronautical activities
that passengers enjoy at airports (Castillo-
Manzano and López-Valpuesta, 2013;
Echevarne, 2008). Lu (2014) reported that
40.7% of airport travellers buy food and
beverages. By 2040, total annual airport
passengers may reach 22.2 billion which will
likely increase airports’ F&B and retail services’
revenues (ACI, 2017).
This said, and as also stated by recent
research (Halpern and Graham, 2003), it has
become pivotal for both academics and
practitioners to deepen their understanding
about passengers’ needs, their shopping
behaviours and their satisfaction towards the
different features of F&B airport-based retail
services (i.e. atmospherics, staff quality,
product quality and value for money: Lo and
Qu; 2015; Sweeney and Soutar; 2001; Turley
and Milliman, 2000). While current tourism-
related literature concurs that shopping is one
of the most pervasive leisure activities that
tourists enjoy while on their holidays (e.g.
Correia and Kozack, 2016), limited research
has analysed tourist behaviour with respect to
retailing services (e.g. Choi, Law and Heo,
2018; Sirakaya-Turk, Ekinci and Martin, 2015);
even less has been carried out to examine
passengers’ behaviours towards airport-based
F&B retailers (Del Chiappa, Martin and Román,
2016). Furthermore, academic research
applying cluster analysis in order to profile
consumers based on their level of satisfaction
with different attributes of the F&B services in
airports is still – surprisingly - limited (Geuens,
Vantomme and Brengman, 2004; Martinelli,
2012; Del Chiappa, Gimenez and Zapata-
Aguirre, 2017), especially when considering
their socio-demographic (e.g. age, gender,
level of education, etc.) and travel-related
characteristics (e.g. prior experience, length of
stay, etc.). Quite surprisingly, no published
papers exist examining the influence of flight-
related variables (e.g. check-in modality,
frequency of flight, arrival time at the airport
before departure). Hence, more studies on
airports and on passenger consumer and
expenditure behaviour at airports are needed
(Moon, Yoon and Han, 2017).
This study was therefore carried out to widen
the scientific debate devoted to investigate
passengers’ consumption behaviours per-
taining to F&B services in airport areas
(Crawford and Melewar, 2003; Doong, Wang
and Law, 2012). Thus, our findings contribute
to deepen the scientific debate about this
somewhat under-investigated research area
considering a wider array of service attributes
and of variables (sociodemographic, travel-
related and flight-related) potentially able to
moderate the passengers’ perceptions,
satisfaction and intention to recommend. By
doing so, the study provides useful information
to airport managers attempting to increase the
effectiveness of their retail marketing strategies
aimed at fulfilling travellers’ expectations
(Shamma and Hassan, 2013).
The Olbia-Costa Smeralda International
Airport, located in the northern part of Sardinia
173
 Profiling airport travellers based on their perceptions, satisfaction and intention to recommend food and beverage services.
(due west of Rome and Naples), was selected
as the research site to collect data. This airport
is considered the main gateway to the Emerald
Coast, one of Italy’s most well-known and well-
established luxury tourism destinations.
Specifically, the study applies a factor-cluster
approach to profile a sample of 1,139 travellers
of Olbia with the aim to answer the following
research questions:
RQ1: Are passengers homogeneous in term of
their perceptions toward F&B services at the
Airport?
RQ2: Are passengers homogeneous in term of
their satisfaction with F&B services at the
Airport and their intention to recommend them
to others?
RQ3: Do clusters differ among them based on
the socio-demographics of respondents (i.e.
age, gender, marital status, level of education,
employment status, monthly household income
and place of residence), travel-related
characteristics (i.e. frequency of travel,
frequency of flying) and flight-related variables
(i.e. check-in modality, arrival time at the airport
before departure)?
Literature review
According to Popovic, Kraal and Kirk (2010),
overall airport experience can be defined as the
wide array of activities and interactions that
passengers have at the airport; these activities
and interactions can be classified into two main
categories: those needed to board the flight
(the so-called necessary activities) and those
that are discretionary in nature, such as
shopping and dining.
Based on the utilitarian versus hedonic value
dichotomy (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982), a
cornerstone of the retailing literature that needs
to be considered when investigating any type of
shopping behaviour is the distinction between
hedonic and utilitarian motivations (e.g. Babin,
Darden and Griffin, 1994; Sweeney and Soutar,
2001), and tourist shopping (i.e. the activity in
which tourists participate while on holidays) is
no exception (Gallarza et al., 2017). In fact,
tourist shopping can be surely considered a
holistic experience in which utilitarian, hedonic,
social and emotional aspects simultaneously
exist, providing tourists with a unique and
entertaining local experience (e.g. Murphy et
174
al., 2011). However, this experience has been
less investigated in the context of airports
despite the relevant role that non-aviation-
related revenues have in terms of airport
profitability (e.g. Torres et al, 2005), with
airports nowadays more frequently featuring
leisure, experiential and retail contexts (e.g.
Crawford and Melewar, 2003; Rowley and
Slack, 1999; Wattanacharoensil et al., 2016;
Wattanacharoensil et al., 2017).
According to Wattanacharoensil et al. (2017),
airports are able to significantly influence
travellers’ experiences for several reasons.
First, airports are a relevant tourism-related
service encounter for people travelling to tourist
destinations, with airport-based F&B retailers
symbolising and promoting the local identity
and authenticity (e.g. Appold and Kasarda,
2006). Second, a good variety of food choices
is considered the strongest predictor of overall
passenger satisfaction (Bogicevic et al., 2013)
and of the intention to revisit airport lounges
(Han et al., 2012). According to Bogicevic et al.
(2013), dining and shopping options are key
dissatisfying factors in one’s airport experience,
meaning that poorly executed options cause
dissatisfaction and complaints. However, they
do not result in any compliments when
performed well (e.g. Johnston, 1995). Third,
airports are perceived by travellers as the first
and last impression of a destination for visitors,
the interpretative location of destination slogan
and image, and integral part of their travelling
experience (Wattanacharoensil et al., 2017).
In this scenario, commercial and retail outlets
are more often cornerstones of the overall
airport experience and crucial elements for any
airport manager attempting to stimulate the
hedonic experience and excitement of
travellers (Ballantine, Jack and Parsons, 2010),
to mitigate their travel-related stress and to
generate a feeling of passengers’ delight
(Rowley and Slack, 1999). Chung (2015), for
example, used a structural equation model to
investigate the extent to which utilitarian and
hedonic values are exerted on airport shopping
behaviour (i.e. satisfaction and intention to
recommend to others), and they found that the
hedonic shopping values exert a stronger
effect, suggesting that airport shopping
involves more multisensory decisions than
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni,and S. Loriga (2019) /. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
cognitive decisions. However, the hedonic and
aesthetic aspect of the airport experience
impresses air travellers only after fundamental
experiences (i.e. functional experience and
service personnel) reach a satisfactory level
(Wattanacharoensil et al., 2017).
Studies on marketing concur that measuring
customer satisfaction and behavioural
intentions is certainly a fundamental criterion
for companies in any sector, and hospitality
and tourism are no exceptions (e.g. Pizam and
Ellis, 1999; Torres, 2014). Airport travellers’
satisfaction and behavioural intentions can be
influenced by socio-demographic variables
(e.g. age and gender), travel-related charac-
teristics (e.g. purpose and frequency of travel,
travel party size), flight-related variables (e.g.
frequency of flying, wait time prior to embar-
kation), the airport and retailers’ atmospherics
and layout, service quality and value for money
(Castillo-Manzano, 2010; Chen, Batchuluun
and Batnasan, 2015; Chung, 2015; Del
Chiappa, Martin and Román, 2016; Del
Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, 2017;
Entwistle, 2007; Geuens, Vantomme and
Brengman et al., 2004; Han, Yu and Kim, 2018;
Lin and Chen, 2013; Moon, Yoon and Han,
2017; Namin, 2017; Newman and Lloyd Jones,
1999; Omar and Kent, 2001; Perng, Chow and
Liao, 2010; Sacerdote, 2009). In particular, the
airport and retailers’ atmospherics, wayfinding
and layout are relevant given their influence on
the ease of passengers’ orientation within the
airport and their ability to identify the different
facilities without feeling lost and disoriented,
which in turn influence their actual likelihood to
use facilities and to be satisfied (e.g. Lam et al.,
2003).
The factors affecting customer satisfaction and
behavioural intentions in the specific context of
the F&B sector are not simply related to the
intrinsic characteristics of the food provided
(e.g. quality, taste and variety) (e.g. Namin,
2017). Conversely, other relevant factors
include aesthetics (e.g. interior design and
layout and external appearance) and service
encounters (i.e. the interaction between
customer and service staff, and
responsiveness and empathy) (e.g. Cao and
Kim, 2015; Lin and Mattila, 2010). Furthermore,
customer satisfaction and behavioural
intentions with F&B services are influenced by
socio-demographics of consumers (e.g. Lee,
Cho and Ahn, 2012; Kim and Geistfeld, 2003).
For example, Lee, Cho and Ahn (2012)
reported that older consumers tend to be more
satisfied and less concerned with price and
taste compared to younger consumers, while
women are more interested in staff respon-
siveness and service delivery compared to their
male counterparts. In their study conducted in
airport restaurants, Heung, Wong and Qu
(2002) considered three perception factors
(‘employee attributes’, ‘reliability’ and ‘physical
features’) and showed that employee attributes
were the most significant aspects shaping the
overall satisfaction of airport travellers as well
as their behavioural intentions.
Quite recently, the academic literature has
started to investigate consumer preferences
and satisfaction towards F&B retailers in
airports. Martinelli (2012) reported socio-
demographics exerting a moderating effect on
satisfaction. In her study, compared to men,
women appeared to value retail services
located closer to the boarding area, and were
more sensitive to prices (when travelling for
leisure reasons) and food quality (when
travelling for business reasons). In their study,
applying a fuzzy approach, Del Chiappa, Martin
and Román (2016) reported that age was
another moderating factor in airport travellers’
satisfaction towards F&B retailers; specifically,
the authors reported older travellers as being
less satisfied than their younger counterparts.
Del Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre
(2017) applied a multiple correspondence
analysis, a hierarchical cluster analysis and a
classification and regression tree to profile air
travellers on the basis of their socio-
demographic features (i.e. age, gender,
education level, occupation, nationality), travel-
related variable (i.e. frequency of travel) and
level of satisfaction against a list of 13 F&B-
related items. According to these results, the
authors concluded that airport travellers can be
discriminated solely on the basis of age and
occupation.
Nowadays, airports face fierce competition and
their profitability is largely determined by non-
aviation related activities, with F&B-related
revenues exerting a key role. As suggested by
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 Profiling airport travellers based on their perceptions, satisfaction and intention to recommend food and beverage services.
consumer behaviour literature (e.g. Cronin and
Taylor, 1992), any attempts to assess and
improve airport travellers’ satisfaction and
behavioural intentions towards F&B services in
airports becomes pivotal (Cronin and Taylor,
1992). Hence, according to a relatively recent
call for future research as well (Graham, 2008),
it is certainly relevant to profile travellers based
on their level of satisfaction (e.g. Lee, Lee and
Wicks, 2004) towards F&B services (as a
whole or through an attributes-based view),
possibly increasing the number of socio-
demographic characteristics and travel- and
flight-related variables used in the statistical
analysis. Doing so would certainly contribute to
broadening the scientific debate pertaining to
the topic of F&B consumption in airports and
could provide airport managers and retailers
with useful information to be applied to
effectively target their consumer segments.
Despite this potential benefit, the existing
literature aimed at examining the afore-
mentioned area is limited and further research
is needed in order to consider a wider number
of F&B-related service features and to
investigate whether other socio-demographic
characteristics and travel- and flight-related
variables may be considered in order to be able
to significantly moderate airport travellers’
satisfaction and their behavioural intentions
towards F&B services. This study was carried
out by presenting and discussing the results of
a factor-cluster analysis conducted on a
sample of 1,139 travellers who used F&B
services at the Olbia-Costa Smeralda
International Airport.
Method
For purposes of this study, data collection was
conducted at the Olbia-Costa Smeralda airport,
the gateway to the Costa Smeralda (Emerald
Coast), one of the most important and popular
luxury destinations on the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2017, the airport reached 2,808,323 million
passengers, of whom around 48% were
international ones.
The survey instrument was developed on the
basis of existing studies and included two main
sections. A qualifying question about whether
respondents had consumed F&B related items
was included at the beginning of the first part.
Only people who answered positively were
allowed to complete the questionnaire.
176
Respondents were then asked to reply to
provide information about their socio-
demographic profiles (e.g. age and gender),
their travel-related habits (frequency of travel,
purpose of travel, etc.) and flight-related habits
(e.g. check-in modality and waiting time at the
airport prior to flight departure). In the second
section, respondents were asked to assess
their level of agreement with 27 items
specifically selected to measure atmospherics,
staff quality, product quality, value for money,
satisfaction and intention to recommend to
others (both online and offline) of the F&B-
related retail services they experienced (e.g.
bars, fast food joints, restaurants and
pizzerias). Specifically, the list of items used to
measure aesthetics (12 items) was framed on
the basis of the existing literature (e.g. Turley
and Milliman, 2000) and redefined or adapted
by consulting a group of airport managers and
retailers working at Olbia-Costa Smeralda
airport, thus allowing a theory-in-use approach
(Zaltman, LeMasters and Heffring, 1982). Staff
quality and product quality were measured by
items sourced from Lo and Qu (2015) and
adapted to suit the context of airport retailers
(seven items for service quality and two for
product quality). Value for money was
measured using three items sourced from
Sweeney and Soutar (2001). Satisfaction (one
item) and intention to recommend to others
(two items) were sourced and adapted from
Jones and Reynolds (2006) and Zeithaml,
Bitner and Dremler (1996). Satisfaction was
measured by a single item as it often happens
in the existing literature related to different
fields and research settings in which retail is
included (Ballantine, 2005; Zhou, 2004). A 5-
point Likert scale was used to indicate
respondents’ answers (1 = I strongly disagree,
5 = I strongly agree).
The questionnaire was originally designed in
Italian, but since different nationalities could
appear in a sampling process with tourists,
three questionnaires were prepared by two
professional translators (English, German and
Italian). A back-translation method was
adopted to guarantee quality assurance (e.g.
Seddighi, Nutall and Theocharous, 2001). A
pilot test with 20 travellers from the
abovementioned three nationalities was
conducted to assure the comprehensibility of
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni,and S. Loriga (2019) /. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
the questions. No concerns emerged in these
pilot tests. Hence, the three final questionnaires
were considered definitive.
The data collection was carried out with the
support of the airport management who was
particularly prone in doing this given their long
tradition in supporting research activities run by
the University staff, and because of their
interest in obtaining marketing insights from the
study to be used to further improve their F&B
services. Three interviewers firstly undertook a
security training section, directly delivered by
the airport staff, to obtain the permission to
entry the boarding area to interview
passengers. Furthermore, the interviewers
were subject to a training jointly delivered by
the Human Resources Department of the
Airport and one of the researchers responsible
for leading the research team; this training
aimed to train interviewers about when and
how to approach passengers and how to
support them in filling the survey without
interfering in their assessment. Directly
supervised by one of the authors, the three
trained interviewers collected data face-to-face
by intercepting 2,500 individuals in the
boarding area from May to October 2015. On
an average, the interviewers had access to the
boarding area twice a week during specific time
frames; this was done in accordance with the
airport management necessities so as not to
interfere with other marketing research and
activities directly conducted by the airport staff.
Only individuals aged 18 years and above who
had tried F&B services at the airport were
asked to participate in the study. At the end of
the data collection, a convenience sample of
1,139 complete questionnaires was collected
(response rate: 45.56%).
Results
Respondents were mostly middle-aged (35–44
years old: 21.0%; 45–54 years old: 19.9%)
females (63.2%), married or cohabiting
(55.4%), with a university degree (41.0%),
employed (42.2%) and with an annual
household income under €15,000 (24.2%) or
over €50.000 (23.0%). Respondents were
mostly international travellers (52.1%),
travelling up to four times per year (61.0%),
mostly for leisure purposes (91.8%), flying up
to four times a year (68.5%). Interviewees
mostly arrived at the airport 1.5–2 hours before
the flight’s departure (43.9%).
Overall, the respondents were reported to be
satisfied with airport-based F&B services (M =
3.71). Airport travellers were particularly
satisfied with aesthetics and scored high on
items such as ‘The F&B-related retailers have
good standards of cleanliness’ (M = 4.03), ‘The
lighting is appropriate and pleasant’ (M = 3.96),
‘The windows look good’ (M = 3.91), ‘The
aesthetic and architectural aspect of the F&B-
related retailers is pleasant and appealing’ (M =
3.87), ‘The F&B-related retailers have a good
layout’ (M = 3.87) and ‘The decoration inside
the F&B-related retailers is pleasant and
appealing’ (M = 3.86). Respondents were
satisfied with staff quality and scored high on
items such as ‘In general, the staff has an
aesthetic and smart appearance and dress’ (M
= 4.06); ‘In general, the staff were courteous,
polite and respectful’ (M = 3.98) and ‘The staff
shows competence (knowledgeable and
experienced)’ (M = 3.93). Relatively high
satisfaction levels were reported also for
product quality, with respondents scoring high
on items such as ‘The quality of food and
beverage is appropriate’ (M = 3.65) and ‘The
variety of the offer for food and beverage is
appropriate’ (M = 3.63). Overall, a neutral
position was reported to exist in terms of value
for money, with airport travellers scoring
relatively low on items such as ‘Prices of food
and beverage of this airport are competitive
with other airports’ (M = 3.23), ‘The products
have a good quality/price ratio’ (M = 3.22) and
‘Prices are reasonable’ (M = 3.02). Finally,
respondents were reported to be slightly prone
to spread a positive word-of-mouth (WOM)
advertising, with traditional WOM being more
likely to occur than electronic WOM (traditional
WOM: M = 3.32; eWOM: M = 3.12).
For this study, we adopted a factor-cluster
approach (Hair et al., 2010). Hence, an
explorative factor analysis (principal component
analysis and varimax rotation) was used to
reveal underlying factors in the dataset. Five
factors were extracted explaining 71.20% of
total variance (Table 1). The Kaiser-Myer-Olkin
index (0.954) and the Bartlett’s test of
sphericity (chi-square = 14,959.24; p- value
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178
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni,and S. Loriga (2019) /. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
<0.0001) both confirm that the results
appropriately explain the data. Cronbach’s
alpha was then calculated to test the reliability
of the extracted factors; all values are 0.86 or
higher, suggesting that the factors are reliable
(Table 1).
The first factor is labelled ‘atmospherics’
(47.85% of total variance) and results strongly
correlated with items related to retail layout,
architectural characteristics, decoration,
cleanliness, sounds, lighting, etc.
‘Staff quality’ (7.99% of total variance) includes
items measuring perceived staff quality (e.g.
accuracy and reliability, responsiveness,
courtesy, language skills, etc.). ‘Value for
money’ (7.30% of total variance) is related to
items devoted to measure airport travellers’
perception in terms of the quality/price ratio and
price appropriateness, also when compared to
F&B services in other airports. ‘Products
quality’ (4.11% of total variance) includes two
items measuring perceived quality and the
variety of F&B offerings. The fifth and last
factor is ‘Satisfaction and intention to
recommend’ (3.94% of total variance) and
includes items measuring satisfaction and
intention to recommend (both offline and
online).
The scores of the five principal components
were entered into a cluster analysis. Following
Hair, et al. (2010), a double step method was
used. A hierarchical cluster (Ward method–
Manhattan distances) was performed and three
groups emerged. Then, a non-hierarchical
method (k-means) was applied to factor scores
defining three different groups of airport
travellers. Based on the analysis/interpretation
of the mean scores that each group of
passengers expressed towards the different
items included in the survey, the three clusters
were labelled as follow: ‘Enthusiastics’
(individuals who scored very high towards the
different F&B attributes/factors, in their overall
satisfaction and particularly prone to
recommend F&B services to others, both offline
and online), ‘Neutrals’ (individuals who scored
on average around three or slightly higher with
all the items, thus expressing a kind of neutral
position) and ‘Price sensitives’ (who scored, on
the whole, lower than counterparts in the items
related of “value for money”, thus suggesting to
be more sensitive to price).
Table 2 shows the socio-demographic features,
travel-related and flight-related characteristics
of each cluster. The ‘Enthusiastics’ were the
biggest cluster (N = 627), including mostly
middle-aged females (55.6%) belonging to the
35–44 (21.2%) or 45–54 (23.2%) age brackets,
married or cohabiting (56.5%), with a high
school diploma or better (42.2%), being
employed (43.8%), with an annual household
income over € 50,000 (25.7%).
‘Enthusiastics’ are mostly international airport
travellers (53.8%), travelling (63.6%) and flying
(70.65%) up to four times per year mostly for
leisure purposes (92.8%). They were reported
arriving at the airport 1.5–2 hours before their
flight’s departure (41.6%) and handling their
check-in face to face (50.1%).
‘Neutrals’ (N = 267) includes mostly young
females (62.0%) belonging to the 18–24
(16.5%) or 25–34 (30.1%) age brackets,
married or cohabiting (51.7%), with a university
degree (47.3%), being employees (43.5%),
reporting annual household income falling in
the €15,000–24,999 span (22.4%) or higher
than €50,000 (23.0%). They are mostly
international visitors (50.8%), travelling up to
four times (54.3%) or five to ten times per year
(32.1%), mostly for leisure purposes (94.4%).
Neutrals are reported flying up to four times per
year (62.8%) and arriving at the airport 1.5–2
hours before the flight departure (42.4%); they
mostly check in face-to-face (66.2%).
‘Price sensitives’ was the smallest segment (N
= 245) and included mostly middle-aged
females (57.1%) belonging to the 35–44
(28.9%) or 45–54 (18.5%) age groups, married
or cohabiting (57.4%), with a high school
diploma (38.5%) or a university degree
(36.8%), working as employees (37.7%), with
an annual household lower than € 15,000
(29.1%). Individuals belonging to this cluster
are national (50.0%) and international airport
travellers (50.0%), travelling up to four times
per year (63.0%) mostly for leisure reasons
(93.1%). They were reported to fly up to four
times a year (70.0%), arriving at the airport
1.5–2 hours before their flight’s departure
(50.4%) and checking-in face-to-face (58.0%).
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Table 3 describes each cluster based on airport
travellers’ perceptions towards F&B retailers’
atmospherics, staff quality, service quality and
value for money.
‘Enthusiastics’ score high in term of
atmospherics (e.g. ‘The F&B-related retailers
have good standard of cleanliness’: M = 4.27-
‘The lighting is appropriate and pleasant’: M =
4.24-‘The windows look good’: M = 4.20-‘The
aesthetic and architectural aspects of F&B-
related retailers are pleasant and appealing’: M
= 4.21), staff quality (e.g. ‘The staff has an
aesthetic and smart appearance and dress’: M
= 4.39-‘The staff was courteous, polite and
respectful’: M = 4.33 - ‘The staff shows
competence’: M = 4.32), and product quality
(e.g. ‘The variety of offer for food and beverage
is appropriate’: M = 4.06-‘The quality of food
and beverage is appropriate’: M = 4.04).
However, they seem to express some concerns
in term of value for money and score just
slightly positively towards items such as:
‘Prices are reasonable’: M = 3.38 - ‘The
products have a good quality/price ration’: M =
3.55 - ‘Prices of food and beverage of this
airport are competitive with other airports’: M =
3.60). However, overall, they show a high level
of satisfaction (M = 4.24) and intention to
recommend to others (offline: M = 4.26, online:
M = 4.11).
‘Neutrals’ seem to show a neutral position
towards the most part of the items (all the
mean values are ≃ 3). However, they appear to
be quite concerned in term of value for money,
thus scoring lower than three with items such
as ‘The product has a good quality/price ratio’
(M = 2,86) and ‘Prices are reasonable’ (M =
2.70). Overall, they are neither satisfied or
satisfied (‘Overall I am satisfied with the food
and beverage services at this airport’: M =
3.00) and do not appear actually willing to
recommend F&B services at the airport to
others, neither offline (M = 2.86) or online (M =
2.76).
Even if at a lower level compared to
‘enthusiastics’, ‘price sensitives’ have positive
view towards atmospherics, staff quality and
product quality (all the mean value are ≃ 4 or
slightly higher for atmospherics and staff quality
and are ≃ 3 or slightly higher for product
quality). However, when compared to both
‘enthusiastic’ and ‘neutrals’, they reported the
strongest concerns in term of value for money
of F&B offer at the airport. In fact, ‘price
sensitives’ score low or really low with items
such as: ‘The products have a good
quality/price ratio’ (M = 2.95), ‘Prices of Food
and Beverage of this airport are competitive
with other airports’ (M = 2.83) and ‘Prices are
reasonable’ (M = 2.61). Overall, they reported a
slightly positive level of satisfaction (M = 3.43),
but surprisingly they scored the lowest mean
value in terms of intention to recommend to
others (offline: M = 2.01, online: 1.61) when
compared to individuals in the other two
clusters.
Finally, a series of chi-square tests (χ²) were
conducted to ascertain whether significant
differences existed among the clusters based
on socio-demographic and travel- and flight-
related variables (Table 4).
The results revealed that significant differences
exist between the segments in terms of age (χ²
= 21.189, p = 0.020), education levels (χ² =
30.328, p = 0.001), employment status (χ² =
29.855, p = 0.019), yearly frequency of
travelling (χ² = 9.844, p = 0.043), yearly
frequency of flying (χ² = 9.700, p = 0.046) and
check-in modality (χ² = 18.450, p = 0.000). No
significant differences were reported to exist in
terms of gender (χ² = 2.995, p = 0.228), marital
status (χ² = 6.254, p = 0.619), monthly
household income (χ² = 13.230, p = 0.104),
purposes of travelling (χ² = 0.385, p = 0.825),
arrival time at the airport before their flight’s
departure (χ² = 7.891, p = 0.444) and place of
residence (χ² = 4.141, p = 0.387).
Overall, our results confirm some prior studies
while rejecting others, as well as adding some
completely new and fresh knowledge to further
deepen the scientific debate devoted to
analysing airport travellers’ usage behaviours
of F&B services.
For example, the fact that airport travellers’
views towards different F&B service features
and their satisfaction levels were reported to be
the lowest for ‘neutrals’ which is the segment
with the highest number of women (62.0%),
which seems to confirm that women tend to
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have higher expectations than men (e.g. Lee,
Cho and Ahn, 2012; Oh, Parks and Demicco,
2002). However, the fact that chi-square tests
show that no significant differences exist
between clusters in terms of gender seems to
contradict prior studies (e.g. Martinelli, 2012),
although they confirm others showing similar
evidence (e.g. Del Chiappa, Giménez and
Zapata-Aguirre, 2017). Our findings also
confirm prior studies reporting women being
particularly sensitive to prices and food quality
(Martinelli, 2012) and atmospherics (Borges,
Babin and Spielmann, 2013). In fact, the lowest
scores in the items used to measure
‘atmospherics’, ‘value for money’ and ‘product
quality’ were reported to exist for individuals
belonging to ‘neutrals’ and ‘price sensitives’-the
two segments with the highest number of
women. Furthermore, our study reporting
employment status being able to significantly
differentiate clusters confirms that of Del
Chiappa Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, (2017).
Significant differences between segments were
also found in terms of age, thus confirming the
results of Del Chiappa, Martin and Román
(2016) and Del Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-
Aguirre (2017). However, it needs to be
mentioned that both these studies reported
older travellers to be less satisfied with F&B
services at airports. On the contrary, in this
study, the lesser satisfied segments (‘neutrals’
and ‘price sensitive’) were mostly composed by
young travellers aged 18–34 years (neutrals:
46.6%, price sensitive: 44.9%) when compared
to ‘enthusiastics’ (38.4), thus confirming Cao
and Kim’s (2015) study carried out in non-
airport-based restaurants. This evidence could
be explained by the observation that most
individuals belonging to ‘enthusiastics’ are
reported to travel and fly with a lower annual
frequency (travelling, 1–4 times: 63.6%, flying,
1–4 times: 70.6%) compared to ‘neutrals’
(travelling, 1–4 times: 54.3%, flying, 1–4 times:
62.8%) and ‘price sensitives’ (travelling, 1–4
times: 63.0%, flying, 1–4 times: 70.0%). In
other words, because of their overall lower
frequency of travelling and flying, ‘enthusiastic’
folks could be less critical in judging F&B
services (e.g. Ha and Jang 2010; Severt,
Tesone and Murmann, 2006; Tax, Brown and
Chandrashekaran, 1998).
Quite interestingly, our study also found
differences between clusters with regard to the
way in which airport passengers were reported
to undertake their check-in modalities (i.e. face-
to-face versus online), an aspect that has never
been be previously investigated in any studies
on F&B consumption and expenditure
behaviour at airports. Specifically, our results
show that airport-views towards different F&B
service features and their overall satisfaction
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 Profiling airport travellers based on their perceptions, satisfaction and intention to recommend food and beverage services.
were lower for ‘neutrals’ and ‘price sensitives,’-
the two segments including mostly individuals
checking-in face-to-face. This evidence could
be explained by arguing that individuals
checking-in face-to-face tend to arrive earlier at
airports when compared to the time taken by
their counterparts who do not queue at the
check-in desk. Hence, ‘neutrals’ and ‘price
sensitives’ would have the possibility to
experience extended and prolonged service
encounters. This, in turn, would offer them (i.e.
‘neutrals’ and ‘price sensitives’) the possibility
of increasing their opportunities to interact with
and be influenced by the different F&B service
features, thus resulting in more critical and
experienced consumers.
Conclusion
Although non-aeronautical revenues worldwide,
particularly those related to F&B services, have
experienced remarkable growth, research
aimed at analysing airport travellers’
perceptions towards the different aspects of
F&B and their satisfaction and behavioural
intentions is still in its early stages (e.g. Del
Chiappa, Martin and Román 2016; Del
Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, 2017,
Martinelli, 2012). Further, to the best of our
knowledge, there has been just one study (Del
Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, 2017)
aimed at profiling travellers’ perceptions and
satisfaction pertaining to airport-related F&B
services. However, the number of F&B service
features considered in this case was limited, as
was the number of socio-demographic features
and travel-related variables that were
investigated as factors being potentially able to
discriminate between different clusters. No
attention was paid to flight-related variables
(e.g. check-in modality and arrival time at the
airport before the flight departure). Therefore,
this study broadens the scientific debate
surrounding the topic, thus answering recent
calls for further research aimed at deepening
our understanding about airport travellers’
consumption behaviours (e.g. Graham, 2008),
enlarging the number of socio-demographic
features in particular, along with travel- and
flight-related variables considered as being
potential moderating factors of F&B
consumption behaviours at airports.
184
Overall, the findings reveal that airport
travellers have a positive view towards F&B
services in term of atmospherics, staff quality
and product quality, while some concerns exist
in terms of perceived value for their money. On
the whole, the overall satisfaction regarding
F&B offerings is slightly positive, while
respondents do not appear to be particularly
willing to recommend airport F&B to others
overall, especially online.
However, cluster analysis applied to the scores
of the four factors identified through the
exploratory factor analysis (‘atmospherics,’
‘staff quality,’ ‘products quality,’ ‘value for
money’ and ‘satisfaction and behavioural
intentions’) showed that airport travellers
perceptions, satisfaction and behavioural
intentions are not homogenous. Specifically,
three clusters were identified: ‘enthusiastics,’
‘price sensitives’ and ‘neutrals,’ with
‘enthusiastics’ being the biggest segment.
According to research on restaurant experience
(e.g. Hurst, 1970; Pugh, 2001), this study
highlights that cleanliness and comfort, staff
responsiveness and courtesy and speed of
service (Pratten, 2004) need to be considered
as key attributes in shaping airport satisfaction
with F&B services (Bogicevic et al., 2013; Del
Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, 2017).
The results confirmed that in airport-related
F&B services, significant differences between
the clusters were reported on the basis of
certain socio-demographic features (i.e. age,
level of education, employment status), travel-
related aspects (i.e. yearly frequency of travel)
and flight-related variables (yearly frequency of
flying and check-in modality). However, no
significant differences were found in terms of
gender, marital status, monthly household
income, place of residence, purpose of
travelling and arrival time at the airport before
flight departure.
For example, ‘neutrals’ and ‘price sensitives’
were reported to be more likely women and
youngsters, with higher frequency of travelling
and flying, particularly sensitive to prices, food
quality and atmospherics and having lower
scores in terms of overall satisfaction and
behavioural intentions, thus supporting prior
studies (e.g. Borges, Babin and Spielmann,
2013; Cao and Kim, 2015; Lee et al., 2012;
 Del Chiappa, G., M. Atzeni,and S. Loriga (2019) /. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 172-190
Martinelli, 2012). Our results reveal no
significant differences in terms of gender,
contradicting some prior studies (e.g. Martinelli,
2012), while confirming others (e.g. Del
Chiappa, Giménez and Zapata-Aguirre, 2017),
indicating that future studies in different airports
and geographical circumstances are needed to
be carried out in an attempt to further confirm
the robustness of the insights offered in
existing literature devoted to analysing airport
travellers’ behaviours towards F&B services at
airports. Furthermore, our findings contribute
completely new knowledge to the extant
literature, revealing that significant differences
exist between clusters in terms of check-in
modality, with airport travellers checking-in
face-to-face having less positive views towards
F&B services at airports and being less
satisfied compared to their counterparts
checking-in online.
These conclusions are significant for both
researchers and hospitality managers. On the
one hand, they provide further insights into the
scientific debate on passengers’ consumption
behaviours pertaining to F&B services in airport
areas, widening the number of both F&B-
related service features and socio-demographic
and travel- and flight-related variables that can
be considered as potential moderating factors
of airport travellers’ perceptions, satisfaction
and behavioural intentions. Furthermore, the
fact that our findings confirmed some prior
studies while rejecting others adds to the body
of knowledge by highlighting the evidently
inconsistent relationship between airport
travellers’ views, satisfaction and behavioural
intentions and their socio-demographic
features, along with travel- and flight-related
variables. Finally, to the best of our knowledge,
this study is the first study showing that the
check-in modality (i.e. face-to-face versus
online) is a moderating factor that needs to be
considered when studying passengers’
consumption behaviours with respect to airport-
based F&B services.
On the other hand, these findings provide
airport managers and airport-based retail
managers with information that may be used to
effectively manage their offerings and service
design. First, they suggest that effort should be
made to recognise nuances in the way airport
travellers consume products and services, thus
assessing F&B services on the basis of their
socio-demographic features, plus travel- and
flight-related characteristics, so that overall
retail services may be designed to better reflect
the characteristics of their target consumers.
Thus, for example, airport managers and
airport-based retail managers should invest in
continuous improvement of their offerings (in
terms of atmospherics, staff quality and product
quality) to meet the expectations of women and
experienced travellers and/or to push the
price/quality ratio higher when dealing with
younger folk. Doing so would, in turn,
contribute to capturing the travellers’
preferences and expectations, making them
more satisfied, and more prone to talk
positively about the F&B offerings at the airport
(Moon, Yoon and Han, 2017). In this direction,
it would be also certainly useful to consider the
findings from this study as useful in initiating a
tracking process aimed at assessing the extent
to which marketing and promotion activities
actually contribute to enhancing airport
travellers’ satisfaction with F&B services.
Furthermore, the fact that some segments (i.e.
‘enthusiastics,’ and, particularly, ‘price
sensitives’) were reported not to be particularly
prone to spread e-WOM about F&B services,
despite being satisfied with the F&B offerings,
suggests that airport and retail managers
should proactively incentivise their customers
to post a comment or review online. In doing
so, airport managers and retailers could use
modern reputation management systems that
first ask their customers to assess their
satisfaction towards their experience with F&B
services at airports and then ask just those
customers providing assessments falling in a
positive range to post a comment and review.
Finally, our results suggest that airport and
airline managers should keep their attention
focused when deciding to incentivise their
customers who check-in online. In fact, on the
one hand, incentivising passengers to check-in
online can certainly contribute to reduce
queuing time both at traditional check-in points
and when going through security, thereby
increasing passengers’ satisfaction and
contributing to reducing the number of
employees needed to manage traditional
check-ins. However, our results suggest that
airport travellers who check-in online are
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 Profiling airport travellers based on their perceptions, satisfaction and intention to recommend food and beverage services.
usually less positive in their views, satisfaction
and intention to recommend the airport-based
F&B services to others. That said, airport
managers and airline managers should decide
to incentivise web check-in after comparing the
costs and benefits of both alternatives
(traditional and web-based check-in), carefully
considering the effect that the different check-in
modalities exert.
In spite of the theoretical and managerial
contributions, this study is not free of
limitations. First, the study used a sample
which is highly site-specific (i.e. data was
collected at one and not multiple airports) and
not representative of the overall population
under investigation (i.e. airport travellers at the
Olbia-Costa Smeralda Airport). These
circumstances render our findings hardly
generalisable. In the future, it would be useful
to repeat the study at other airports and
geographical circumstances to further confirm
the robustness of our results. Second, although
this study considered a wider number of
variables that could moderate airport travellers’
perceptions, satisfaction and behavioural
intentions towards F&B services, other
variables remained unexplored (e.g. travel
party size, personality traits, emotions exuded
and prior experience in using F&B services at
the airport selected as research setting); these
variables can be taken into account in future
research. Furthermore, our study did not
investigate passengers’ consumption behaviour
towards different types of F&B services that
currently exist at the airport (e.g. bars, fast food
joints, restaurants and pizzerias). This outcome
occurred despite the fact that previous
restaurant-related studies show that consumer
perception, values and satisfaction differ based
on the type of restaurant experienced (e.g. Ha
and Jang, 2013). Hence, future studies could
consider the possibility of investigating
passengers’ perceptions, satisfaction and
behavioural intentions towards different types
of F&B retailers at the airport. The third
limitation is conveyed by the fact that it is
difficult to confirm all retailers’ features in detail.
This fact, in turn, makes it difficult to explain the
reason why certain airport travellers were
reported to express the given levels of
satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Therefore, future
studies can consider the possibility of
186
conducting a qualitative study (or a mixed-
method study-perhaps an explanatory mixed-
method approach) to gain a more
comprehensive understanding and explanation
about what exactly was satisfying and
unsatisfying for airport travellers and what they
would have liked to have experienced in order
to have been more satisfied. For example,
rather than simply knowing that certain
passengers were dissatisfied with certain
service features (e.g. the retail layout, the
interior design and the staff dress code and
appearance.) it would be more useful to know
how they would have liked to see those service
features (e.g. how the retail layout should have
been or the interior design and how the staff
might manage their remarks and body
language to be perceived as politer). This
amelioration will allow us to be more effective
in contributing to a further development in the
current body of knowledge devoted to
analysing travellers’ shopping behaviours in
airports; in addition, it will provide even more
pragmatic and detailed suggestions to airport
managers and retailers wanting to increase the
satisfaction level in their target markets.
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190
 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers –
the case of Croatia
Durdana Ozretic-Dosen 1*, Kristina Malesevic 2, Tanja Komarac 3
and Vatroslav Skare 4
Received: 14/03/2019 Accepted: 19/06/2019

1 Marketing Department, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia; J. F. Kennedy 6,
10000 Zagreb, CROATIA, Tel: + 38512383463, E-mail: dozretic@efzg.hr
2 Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia
3 Marketing Department, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia;
4 Marketing Department, Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia;

* Corresponding author
Coordinating editor: Martina G. Gallarza

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of Croatian national and nature parks
managers of the current role of marketing in creating and managing parks’ offer. Through identifying
and evaluating the scope and importance of marketing in national and nature parks, the paper also
aims to reveal the possibilities for improving existing practices. The theoretical framework includes a
review of contributions from the fields of marketing in national and nature parks' changing
environment and the literature on place branding in tourism. Exploratory qualitative research was
conducted. An in-depth analysis of secondary data collected from internal materials, print media,
and internet resources preceded to a content analysis of primary data collected through personal,
semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants. The overall results suggest that umbrella
branding emerges as a novel and promising approach. In some cases, the role of marketing in
responding to changes in the competitive tourism environment is acknowledged, while in others not,
as conservative parks are primarily focused on protection and conservation, which results in fewer
resources to implement active marketing management. Research limitations are related to single
informant bias and the subjective nature of data (the perceptions of respondents). To the best of the
authors' knowledge, the study is the first that enables insight into the umbrella branding approach in
the frame of the marketing management of national and nature parks. It brings evidence from one of
the Central and Eastern European markets, a domain in which the role of marketing in national and
nature parks has been under-researched.

Keywords: national and nature parks, marketing, umbrella branding, marketing mix, Croatia

Citation: Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) Marketing perceptions
of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia. European Journal of Tourism
Research 23, pp. 191-207

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution

4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
RESEARCH PAPER 191
 Examining the effects of personal factors and travel characteristics on tourists’ perceived crowding.
Introduction
Protected areas attract visitors and are
considered an important element of the
destination image and competitiveness.
National and nature parks, as a protected area
category (International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN), 2018) represent appealing
and interesting attractions which deliver unique
experiences to domestic and foreign visitors. It
is widely recognized that they contribute to the
image formation and attractiveness of tourism
destinations. According to Nogueira and Pinho
(2015), different types of special-interest
tourism (SIT) record continuous growth;
national and nature parks are places where
many activities characteristic for the particular
kind of special-interest tourism can be
practiced. Visiting national and nature parks
offers many high value-in-use activities (e.g.,
hiking, climbing, diving, sailing, enjoying
landscapes, birdwatching, etc.) which through
visitors’ recreation, according to the experience
economy paradigm (Pine and Gilmore, 1998)
enable entertainment, education, escapism and
aesthetic effects simultaneously.
The purpose of this study is to investigate,
identify and evaluate the role and importance of
marketing in national and nature parks in
Croatia, the country with a long tourism history
that nowadays heavily relies on natural
heritage for (re)shaping its tourism destination
image. As stated in the official data of the
Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia
(MINT, 2018): “In the last six years Croatia’s 11
nature parks and eight national parks
registered 17.4 million visitors, and in 2017
alone there were four million tourists in those
destinations.” National and nature parks
represent the unique quality of Croatia as a
tourist destination, but their potential is far from
being fully exploited. Although parks vary in
types of natural attractions, size and visitors,
achieving an overall differentiation and the
better image should be one of the primary
goals of their tourism marketing management.
The main aim of the study is to explore
qualitatively the perceptions of Croatian
national and nature parks managers of the
current role of marketing in creating and
managing parks’ offer in order to reveal the
possibilities for improving existing practices.
192
The qualitative exploratory research approach
was chosen because it allows interpreting
knowledge of a chosen topic, according to the
thorough study of perceptions, opinions, and
perspectives of experienced key individuals
(Snow and Thomas, 1994), aiming to describe
the development of the phenomena in the
particular context (Croatian national and nature
parks).
From the theoretical perspective, this study has
two aims related to addressing gaps in the
literature. The first aim is to shed light on the
umbrella branding research issue, which was
not, to the best of authors’ knowledge, the
subject of academic research in the context of
marketing national and nature parks. Secondly,
the study aims to add to the existing
knowledge, by contributing to the research from
the new context (Central and Eastern Europe -
CEE, Croatia) which has been under-
researched so far.
From the managerial perspective, findings can
help managers in parks to improve marketing
decision-making, and better meet the co-
existing goals: fulfilling visitors’ expectations,
protection of nature and community
development.
After the introduction, a brief theoretical
framework, focusing mainly on contributions
about marketing in national and nature parks'
changing environment and place branding in
tourism is presented. A description of the
methodology and approaches to data collection
follows. Findings and analysis of the results of
primary research are summarized in the further
section. Finally, conclusions, implications,
research limitations and recommendations for
future research are presented.
Theoretical background and research
questions
A considerable amount of research (e.g.,
Hogenauer, 2002; Nan-Hwang et al., 2005;
Gilmore, and Simmons, 2007; Sharpley and
Pearce, 2007; Reid et al., 2008; Mayer et al.,
2010; Haukeland, 2011; Schwartz et al., 2012;
Eagles, 2014; Barić et al., 2016; Douglas,
2016) has been devoted to examining different
marketing and management aspects in natural
and nature parks, and reveals relevant and
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207
interesting findings. However, as stated by
Ortega (2009) most of the research is
dedicated to the one or several parks from one
country, while the research examining all parks
in one country, or comparative research among
parks in two or more countries is still scarce.
Historically, one of the reasons for the
restrained or even hostile attitude toward
marketing in the national and nature parks, as
claimed by Archer and Wearing (2002), has
been a relatively short history of marketing
within the public sector. Due to the prevailing
attitude that the resource preservation was a
priority and visitors were of the second order in
importance, marketing in the parks, according
to Hogenauer (2002), should take into
consideration traditional approach and
methods, applied in the specific context of
protected areas.
Analysing development and impacts of the two
decades of joint management of national parks
in Australia, Smyth (2001) has outlined the
potential advantages and disadvantages for all
stakeholders, including park visitors. Gilmore
and Simmons (2007) advocate for a strategic
approach and integration of sustainable
marketing and management, in order to
harmonize the attractiveness of the national
and nature parks for tourism demand and the
need to prevent detrimental impact which the
increased number of visitors may have on
protected areas. In reporting research results
about the work of the English National Park
Authorities, Sharpley and Pearce (2007) stress
how parks’ authorities still suffer from a
fundamental misunderstanding of the role of
marketing, which prevents them in its wider and
deeper implementation for sustainable tourism
development. This may be corroborated by the
research results of Mayer et al. (2010), who
found the disproportion between the number of
potential and actual visitors of high national
park affinity, which implies insufficient
marketing efforts regarding promotion, common
branding and alike.
The relationship between tourism and the
environment is getting closer because of a
growing concern for the conservation of
protected natural areas (Deffner and Metaxas,
2009). A large number of environmentally
conscious people consider choosing national
and nature parks for a vacation destination to
be a “good buy” (Yellowstone Country Montana
– Marketing Plan, 2011). When examining the
influence of twelve push and twelve pull
factors, Kim et al. (2003) have found how four
push factors (family togetherness and study;
appreciating natural resources and health;
escaping from everyday routine and adventure;
and building friendship) and three pull factors
(key tourist resources; information and
convenience of facilities and accessibility; and
transportation) are the most influential on
decisions to visit Korean National Parks. Also,
Kruger and Saayman (2010, p. 4) pinpoint the
role which different motives for visitation have
on the satisfaction of visitors and recommend
positioning national and nature parks in line
with “the concept of a place to escape and
relax.” No matter of their specific motives, all
visitors to national and nature parks pay
attention to several key aspects – fun and
freedom, naturalness and authenticity (Baltic
Sea Region Programme, 2012).
Eagles (2014) warns about the insufficient
research in park tourism and outlines ten
priorities connected with the existing and
significant research gaps. Priority areas include
(Eagles, 2014, p. 529) “(1) Visitor use
monitoring; (2) Park tourism economic impact
monitoring; (3) Park finance; (4) Professional
competencies for tourism management; (5)
Building public support; (6) Visitor satisfaction;
(7) Licences, permits, leases, and concessions
for tourism; (8) Pricing policy; (9) Management
capacity; and (10) Park tourism governance.”
All ten areas are interrelated while five among
them are closely connected to marketing
management in parks. They are: visitor use
monitoring, professional competences for
tourism management, visitor satisfaction,
management capacity and pricing policy.
Relying on the presented theoretical
contributions and the results of previous
research, this study aims to explore whether
marketing and marketing management have a
similar or different role and characteristics in
national and nature parks in Croatia. Therefore,
the two following, specific research questions
were posed:
193
 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.
RQ1: What is the role of marketing in the
national and nature parks of the Republic of
Croatia?
RQ2: What is the role of competition in the
(marketing) management of national and
nature parks in the tourist industry of the
country?
For Destination Management Organization
(DMO) branding represents the powerful way
for the creation and communication of the clear
identities to targeted markets, which ensures
positioning and differentiation based on a clear
image (Ren and Blichfeldt, 2011). In line with
the previous empirical and experimental
evidence (e.g., Erdem, 1998; Iversen and Hem,
2008; Miklós-Thal, 2012; Kooli et al., 2016), the
umbrella branding is considered a guarantee of
quality, has signalling effects, enables an
increased demand and helps to build loyalty.
Gnoth (2007) states that when deciding on the
attributes of the umbrella brand, destination
managers are challenged by two requirements:
competitive brand positioning and easy
identification, i.e., distinctiveness.
In general, national and nature parks have
marketing programs on an individual basis, the
analysis of which mainly reveals rather similar
strategies. Therefore, the umbrella branding
might offer multiple possibilities in order to
achieve the better competitiveness, distinctive
positioning and improve market shares. As put
forth by Flagestad and Hope (2001), by
exploiting the existing similarities, the strategic
approach of umbrella branding may have
particular benefits regarding differentiation from
competitors. However, the relationship and
differentiation among brands under the same
umbrella (the brand architecture) should not be
overlooked. To the best of the authors’
knowledge, there is no academic research
dedicated to the role of the umbrella branding
in the context of tourism in national and nature
parks. Further research is needed, which is
why the following research question was
posed:
RQ3: What is the role of the umbrella brand -
Parks of Croatia - in building the image of the
Croatia as a tourist destination?
National and nature parks characteristics have
values, which influence the overall perception
194
of a country as a tourism destination. Parks
authorities, visitors, and the community have
expectations of transforming those values into
positive business results, both financial
(revenues) and non-financial (customer
satisfaction). Currently, governmental support
for parks in many countries, including Croatia,
is modest. Resources which each park has for
marketing are scarce and limited; therefore,
different and innovative approaches for better
business results are needed. Furthermore,
parks share many common marketing
management challenges that are related to the:
customer i.e., visitor care; pricing policy;
servicescapes; demand and offer (capacity)
management; service delivery channel design
(e.g., web, mobile devices and applications for
ticketing and booking services), internal and
external marketing communications. In an
attempt to understand better the role and
implications that managers assign to marketing
mix elements, the fourth research question
was:
RQ4: How is the process of creation and
management of the marketing mix elements
carried out?
Methodology
Exploratory research was conducted in the
setting of the national and nature parks of the
Republic of Croatia in order to uncover and
investigate the actual, contemporary
challenges related to marketing issues. The
aim was to provide theoretical insights and
practical suggestions, which could help
marketing academics and professionals to
understand better and deal with the potential
opportunities and threats in the parks’ market
environment.
In line to include in the research the
respondents from all parks in the country, the
invitation to participate was sent to all 19, i.e.,
to 8 national and 11 nature parks. Key
professionals (marketing managers or general
managers) were chosen because of their
knowledge, experience, and influence on parks’
strategies and operations. Initial contact was
made by letter to general managers, sent by e-
mail. They were informed about the purpose
and objectives of the research and were asked
to participate. A reminder e-mail message was
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207

sent to those who did not reply. The consent to purpose of this approach was to leave to the
participate in the study gave 17, and the final respondents to initiate a discussion on the
sample included 15 parks. Since the topics related to marketing activities and to
researchers intended to interview only one speak freely on the subject. Later on, the
respondent in each park (marketing manager conversation was steered toward the relevant
or in the absence of an employee with that job, issues, which were selected based on the
a general manager), after initial contact in previous literature review and the identified
those parks that agreed to participate, it was research gaps: the roles of marketing and
decided who would be the respondent in the competition, umbrella branding initiative of
research. Depending on the organizational national and nature parks in the Republic of
complexity and division of jobs in every park, Croatia and the process of creation and
the person responsible for marketing activities management of the marketing mix elements.
or general manager was selected. Getting in Figure 1 shows a diagram of interview steps,
contact with the selected respondent followed depicting topics discussed with the
and the details of the interviewing term were respondents.
agreed on. A qualitative research approach
was applied. To examine the issues, primary Table 1. Demographic characteristics of
data were collected through personal, semi- respondents
structured interviews with the key informants. Respondents Gender Age
Although the interviewing method relies heavily P-01 F Within 21-30 years
on the opinions, perspectives, and recollections P-02 M Within 31-40 years
of respondents, it was chosen because it P-03 M Within 31-40 years
allows an in-depth examination of phenomena P-04 M Within 41-50 years
P-05 F Within 31-40 years
(Snow and Thomas, 1994). P-06 M Within 31-40 years
P-07 M Within 51-60 years
Interviews lasted between 30-45 minutes each, P-08 F Within 21-30 years
and they were conducted from December 2015 P-09 F Within 31-40 years
to March 2016. Ten interviews were conducted P-10 F Within 31-40 years
face-to-face, the remainder by telephone for P-11 M Within 41-50 years
the reasons of convenience. One researcher, P-12 F Within 41-50 years
without the presence of the other co- P-13 F Within 21-30 years
researchers, conducted all interviews. P-14 M Within 51-60 years
P-15 F Within 31-40 years
Source: Research
Data were collected by employing semi-
structured interviews with general managers of All the interviews were recorded, and
the parks or the person responsible for transcripts were made. Each participant is
marketing activities. From 15 interviews, eight randomly assigned a tag (from P01 to P15).
were conducted with the general managers of Collected data were content-analysed. The
parks and seven with the persons in charge of direct content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon,
marketing. Demographic characteristics of 2005) was used as an appropriate approach
respondents are shown in Table 1. Additionally, because it allows the further description of a
the sample was composed of respondents phenomenon whose research is incomplete, by
having five different academic backgrounds: 7 combining key concepts from the existing
in economics & business economics, 3 in theory and prior research (as predetermined
biology, 2 in agronomy, 2 in politology and 1 in categories for formulation of open-ended
forestry engineering. questions), with developing additional, new
categories based on detailed and careful
All respondents who agreed to participate in transcripts analysis. As explained by Lune and
the research expressed their willingness to Berg (2017: 183-184) “The code categories
answer all the questions. Respondents were reflect the meanings and expectations inherent
guaranteed complete anonymity. The in the theoretical framework that the researcher
interviews commenced with a general question has adopted in order to view the study.” A list of
about the park and marketing in the park. The codes was developed, enabling transformation
195
 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.
Figure 1. Diagram of interview steps
and reduction of data to classify and build
categories. Three researchers out of four
(except the one who conducted interviews)
coded the data. The process of coding included
three steps (Daymon and Holloway, 2002):
196
fragmenting the data, putting data back
together in new ways, and selecting a core
category. Secondary data (information
gathered by literature review) was coded first,
then data from primary research. During the
process, thematic categories derived from the
literature review were complemented by the
new codes created from primary research. The
process of coding went through several
iterations in order to avoid repeating and/or
losing information. Final dimensions,
categories, and subcategories are shown in
Table 2. In addition to interview transcripts, for
the purpose of the data triangulation, the
analysis included secondary written and audio-
visual data collected from internal materials
(parks archival data) provided by respondents,
and from print media (newspapers and
magazines, parks brochures and other
promotional materials, publications of the
Ministry of Tourism and internet resources web
postings). Investigator triangulation (Decrop,
1999) was performed as well; four researchers
worked in two teams to interpret the same
collected body of data. Data triangulation and
investigator triangulation assure that the
research has internal validity. In terms of
reliability, the researcher who interviewed used
the same instrument (semi-structured interview
guidelines) and procedure in collecting data
from informants; secondary data and data from
transcripts are included in an extensive and
complete database.
Findings and analysis
Four critical topics, framed by the research
questions, emerged from the interviews. In data
analysis and elaboration, respondents’ quotes
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207
obtained during interviews are used for the
illustration, too.
1. Prevailing interpretation of marketing in
national and nature parks
Respondents claim they understand the
importance of marketing, especially for
attracting visitors and creating the park’s
services offer. However, most of them put forth
promotion or even identified it with the concept
of marketing.
“The goal and role of marketing in the park is
to attract new visitors, to provide new services
and to retain the visitors through delivering
satisfaction.” (P14)
“Marketing is very important in every park.
Through the good promotion of the park,
there is an increase in the number of visitors,
which through the rise in revenues opens up
the possibility of better monitoring, inventory,
and protection of the park, while also
providing income for the local community
through new employment and the visitors'
consumption.” (P03)
“Marketing primarily promotes the
fundamental task of the park, which is to
protect nature and the environment, preserve
essential habitats and animal and plant
species.” (P15)
Marketing planning is insufficient, and many
parks do not have a marketing plan (P01, P04,
P09 and P14). In most cases (P03, P08, P10,
P11, P12, and P13), marketing related
activities are set out in the management plan.
Two respondents (P02 and P06) said that they
have a one-year marketing plan, while one
respondent (P05) replied:
“Marketers could systematically plan only to a
certain extent because of the turbulent
tourism market.”
Marketing department exists in the
organizational structure of two parks (P02 and
P08). Marketing activities in other parks are
carried out by the "Department of tourism" (P01
and P05), "Department of tourism, promotion,
presentation and catering "(P13), "Publicity,
sales, and tourism industry" (P03 and P09),
and "Department for technical tasks of
protection, maintenance, preservation,
promotion and use" (P10). The most common
reasons for the absence of a formal marketing
department and the lack of implementation of
marketing activities are a shortage of financial
resources, the greater orientation towards
protection of nature or construction of
infrastructure.
“Marketing has not received the appropriate
significance within the division of work in our
park yet, because we are still focused on
building a necessary infrastructure ... the
question is when we will be able to set up a
marketing department or hire a marketing
expert.” (P11)
Investing in marketing education and training is
extremely modest. It is present in eight parks
only and consists of attending lectures and
workshops (P01, P02, P03, P05, P07, P10,
P13, and P14).
“Given the lack of funds, both those from the
Ministry and own, there are not investments in
educating employees in the marketing area.”
(P09)
Most respondents think that marketing activities
are not sufficiently developed and there is
much room for the improvement. They believe
that marketing is of great importance for the
parks’ future, and affirm the need to invest
much more in it. All respondents agree that
marketing communications should be
extremely important for all levels of
relationships: with visitors, local population,
among colleagues within the park and the
parks.
2. Opinions of natural and nature parks
managers about competition and cooperation
in the tourism market
The overall results related to the RQ2 are
surprising. Three respondents (P01, P09, and
P15) identify all other national and nature parks
in the country as their competitors. Only one
respondent (P02) states:
“Our competitors are also other attractions in
the region where the park is located.”
All other respondents assert that they have no
competition because each park is very specific,
unique and as such can not have competitors.
197
 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.

"In my opinion, the protected area has no Development Strategy of the Republic of
competitors; we can have only similar parks, Croatia by 2020. It is a result of efforts to
but not competitors." (P03) integrate the identity of Croatia (as a tourism
destination) with the identities of each of the
The cooperation between the parks is parks in order to create a common profile and
described as being excellent during the several an attractive, unique offer.
last years. Parks’ managers have regular
meetings and collaborate on joint projects and
promotion. Benchmarking with successful
parks in the world is not a common practice in
nine parks (P01, P03, P04, P06, P07, P08,
P10, P11, and P14). Two respondents (P02
and P05) monitor the activities of the parks in
general, while two respondents (P12 and P13)
claim to employ benchmarking within certain Figure 2. New visual identity of national and
segments of the business activities. Only two nature parks of Croatia
respondents (P9, P15) indicated they follow Source: https://www.parkovihrvatske.hr/
successful world's parks as their role models.

“We follow the activities of other parks, their

successful projects, and good practice, and if
possible, we try to apply them in our work.
When designing new content or infrastructure,
and promotional materials, the first station in
searching the ideas on the internet are the
websites of parks from abroad. We can
mention the Italian parks (Alto Adige region)
which we visited to see their visitor centres
and the way how they function...” (P09).
Respondents' opinions on the competitive
position of parks are divided. Some managers
believe that parks should be exclusively
oriented to the specific market niche. Others
think that cooperation with different tourist
attractions and joint efforts to create tourism
offer is inevitable. Still, all regard the
competitive position of the parks as
unsatisfactory claiming that the leading position
in the tourist industry belongs to the
destinations on the Adriatic coast.
3. Building a destination image under the
umbrella brand "Parks of Croatia"
In order to identify how managers reflect on
and evaluate the potentials of the umbrella
brand, findings related to the RQ3 are analysed
separately. The “Parks of Croatia” (Figure 2
and 3) brand and the corresponding visual
identity of national and nature parks (Figure 4)
were implemented in April 2014, in the frame of
the joining the EU Natura 2000. This initiative
represents an integral part of the Tourism
198
Figure 3. New visual identity of national and
nature parks of Croatia (for english speaking
markets)
Source: https://www.parkovihrvatske.hr/about-us
All respondents support and welcome the idea
of gathering parks under the same brand. They
suppose how such communication strategy will
have synergetic effects and help all parks in
getting additional recognition and recall.
"This is a relatively new thing and has not
yet fully come to fruition. The initiative of
putting everything in one place is certainly
good; each one of us has its specific value,
and this must be set up as special niche,
and we must communicate that to the target
group ..." (P06)
“The umbrella brand will enable the better
promotion of all parks globally, which will
certainly affect the image of the Republic of
Croatia as a tourist destination." (P01)
Also, the reason for the positive opinion is that:
“The brand will help "small" parks in their
promotion.”,
as claimed by four respondents (P05, P06,
P08, and P10). Several respondents hope that
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207

Figure 4. Croatian and English version of the umbrella brand “Parks of Croatia”
Source: https://vizkultura.hr/dizajnirani-jezik-hrvatske-prirode/

the common brand may help in attracting major
investments in parks such as in the parks’
servicescapes and will thus enable increasing
attractiveness and revenues. Even though
“Parks of Croatia” brand has been introduced
relatively recently, all respondents believe that
it will undoubtedly contribute to the creation of
the image of a country that cares about nature
protection, which will have an impact on the
image of Croatia as a tourism destination.
4. Creating services (experiences) offer and
marketing mix management
Respondents were asked a series of questions
about the process of creating and managing
offer and its marketing mix elements. All
respondents concentrate on target segments
composed of individual tourists and organized
groups (hotel guests from the nearby tourism
destinations; sports associations, and clubs;
pre-school, elementary and high school pupils;
college groups; senior citizens, etc.). Also, they
claim that visitors have similar motives related
to the desire for an active holiday in nature,
connection with nature, exploration of the
unknown and the like. Segmentation is made
only according to specific features of each
park, e.g.: mountaineers (P04, P09, P12, P14,
and P15), climbers (P03, P04, P09, and P14),
sailors (P01, P02, and P07), divers (P01, P02),
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 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.
birdwatchers (P06, P11). Although all
respondents believe that the visitors’
satisfaction is extremely important, they have a
very different practical approach for its
monitoring and measurement. The lack of
human and financial resources is the reason for
the absence of satisfaction measurement in
three parks (P02, P04, and P07):
“The shortage of money is a problem for
introducing formal measurement”; “We do not
have qualified employees to perform such a
task.”
One respondent states (P05) that the park is
about to start with the extensive research on
visitors’ satisfaction. In other parks, instruments
used for tracking and measurement of
satisfaction include surveys (P01, P03, P06,
P09, P10, P11, P12, P13, and P14) and a book
of impressions (P01, P08, P09, P11, P12, and
P15). Parks offer services depending on their
natural attractions and specificities, e.g., diving
(P01, P02, and P05) or bird watching (P06 and
P11). The visitor centre exists in seven parks
only (P02, P03, P04, P06, P12, P14, and P15).
Hospitality services are offered by hotels in the
park (P02, P05, and P12), mountain lodges
(P03, P04, P12, P14, and P15) and restaurants
(P02, P03, P05, P07, and P14). Additional
services - ecological and educational programs
were mentioned by four respondents (P04,
P10, P11, and P13) and services of
professional guides by four respondents, too
(P02, P05, P08, and P09). Respondents are
aware that more, different services are needed
for the attraction of visitors.
“We think that an adrenaline park might be an
interesting service upgrade.”(PO9)
“A playground for children is something we
plan to introduce as a new offer.” (P14)
Also, respondents list wellness (P02), auto
camp (P15), a greater variety of educational
programs (P01 and P11), the organization of
the education program for elementary school
pupils (P06), services and programs adapted
for people with disabilities (P08), research
workshops (P10) and visitor centre (P03, P04,
P07, P08, and P15).
200
Croatian national and nature parks are public
institutions and therefore budget users. Their
management teams are appointed by the
Croatian Government (Uredba o upravljanju
nacionalnim parkovima, NN 59/1991). The
ticket price in the parks is shaped by previous
market analysis. The entrance fee represents a
vital source of income for eleven parks (P01,
P02, P03, P05, P06, P07, P08, P10, P11, P13,
and P14), while four parks do not have an
entrance fee. Respondents inform that income
generated by the tickets and souvenirs sales,
extra charged additional services and
donations, is invested in the protection of
nature, the maintenance of infrastructure, and
lastly in promotional materials.
Traditionally, a variety of printed materials is
used for promotion.
“We offer promotional materials on several
tourist info-points. Furthermore, booklets,
tourist maps, guides, and promotional films
are regularly distributed at various retail
outlets such as bookstores, souvenir shops,
mountain huts, etc.". (P08)
Respondents acknowledge that information
technology affects tremendously marketing
communication.
"We are conducting an internet campaign
because we want to be present and enter
people's mind. We are proud of our
promotional film we show wherever we are -
at congresses, fairs, film festivals." (P02)
Web sites, virtual tours through the park,
interactive maps, and mobile applications are
available to visitors.
"Information technology enables visitors,
prospective visitors, and all interested in, the
whole new experience of the park. Given the
technology availability and the ever-
increasing use of different applications, this
type of communication is indispensable."
(P01)
“Visitors may use mobile devices instead of
paper maps, while the mobile application, in
addition to information, helps in orientation in
the park.” (P12)
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207
The majority of respondents believe that
recently created internet portal of Parks of
Croatia (in line with the umbrella branding) will
have a positive impact on the promotion of
parks, by helping visitors to plan their trip and
find useful and interesting information. The
portal provides online ticketing and mobile
applications which help visitors to navigate
through the parks.
Finally, the place/distribution element was
analysed. Respondents were asked to express
their opinions regarding the orientation toward
the priorities: the protection of nature, tourism
valorisation of parks’ services, and capacity
management due to fluctuations in demand. All
respondents make clear how the protection of
nature is "condicio sine qua non" for the
tourism valorisation which comes afterward.
Most respondents are convinced that both
elements should be balanced.
“Our priority is the protection of nature, and
the park’s role is to protect endangered
species and a whole ecosystem from human
influence…” (P05)
“We strive to be in the balance; no tourist
development is allowed to have a negative
influence on nature.” (P08)
"Nature conservation is the primary activity of
the park, while tourism valorisation is one of
the elements that help the park's greater
recognition as an attraction." (P12)
Five respondents report not having problems
with fluctuations in demand - the geographical
location and climatic conditions enable
receiving visitors almost throughout the whole
year (P03, P04, P06, P08, and P12). In other
parks, increased demand is recorded according
to the seasons, e.g., in the mountain parks
from spring to autumn (P09, P10, P14, and
P15), in the parks of the Adriatic Sea region
from the beginning of May until the end of
October. Parks that are located in the coastal
area and on the islands are struggling with the
problem of capacity during the summer months
(June, July, August) when the number of
visitors increases drastically in comparison with
the rest of the year (P01, P02, P05, P07, P11,
and P13). In facing an excessive number of
visitors, different approaches are used. They
include pre-reservations (especially for
organized groups of visitors), limitation of the
daily number of visitors, the deployment of
visitors to different locations in the park, and
increased care for the organization of transport
to the park and inside the park. Respondents
underline that good organization is
indispensable in helping to prevent the
negative effects which an excessive number of
visitors may produce to the natural resources
and attractions.
Discussion
The present study explores how managers
view and use marketing in national and nature
parks in Croatia. Research results show that
the primary orientation of the national and
nature parks is the protection of nature and the
preservation of those natural and cultural
values due to which they were declared a
protected area. This finding is not surprising
and is in line with previous research results
from other contexts, e. g, with those of study
undertaken by Sharpley and Pearce (2007) in
English national parks.
The growing importance of sustainability and
the need for commitment to strategic,
systematic and holistic management of
different internal and external aspects in
national and nature parks are often highlighted
findings of prior research (e.g., Cater, 2000,
Bosetti and Locatelli, 2006). Statements about
topics covered by the first research question
show that managers in national and nature
parks in Croatia also confirm the tendency and
desire towards the dynamic development of
economic activities, and are aware of the
challenge of how to keep environment
protection and commercial activities in the
balance. To that end, they acknowledge that
more extensive and professional use of
marketing would be a desirable way to achieve
both goals in the future. They put forth a priority
of avoiding conflicts between the nature
conservation and tourist valorisation. Besides,
they advocate an appropriate organization and
marketing management of park activities
regarding both nature protection and economic
efficiency, with shared resources.
National and nature parks are positioned vis-à-
vis each other, and vis-à-vis other tourism
attractions in the Republic of Croatia; they are
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 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.
both competitors and collaborators. Wang and
Krakover (2008) have underlined the
coexistence of competitive and collaborative
relationships among tourism stakeholders in a
destination and pinpointed that the perceived
relationship between competition and
collaboration has a significant role for
destination marketing. Contrary to that,
research findings regarding issues related to
competition (the second research question)
have revealed that most of the managers in
Croatian national and nature parks are not fully
aware of such a situation. They claim to have a
budget which is insufficient for gaining and
maintaining a sustainable competitive
advantage. Unfortunately, they do not
distinguish the types of competition adequately.
Furthermore, they hesitate to search for
alternative and innovative marketing
management approaches. All this points to the
lack of managerial competencies for strategic
destination marketing.
Managers have shown the most consistent
match in responses regarding the
characteristics, advantages, and potential of
the umbrella brand “Parks of Croatia” (topics
framed by the third research question). All
respondents want to keep individuality and
traditions of parks but are not against the brand
architecture, where the umbrella brand might
provide positive and synergetic effects. They
recognize the need for planned and
coordinated activities which will enable
individual brands to fit well under the umbrella
brand. This finding supports and contributes to
those of Datzira-Masip and Poluzzi (2014) who
have called for much more developed and
reinforced application and management of the
tourism brand architecture concept. Although
“Parks of Croatia” brand covers a range of
different national and nature parks, managers
are certain of its significant potential to build
relationships with visitors. They mention it as a
point of reference for consulting about different
issues related to elements of the marketing
mix, too. Therefore, it can be concluded that
managers find the umbrella brand as an
appropriate means for building and
coordination of a common identity of national
and nature parks and its communication to
different audiences. These results are in line
with previous research (e.g., Dooley and
202
Bowie, 2005; Therkelsen and Halkier, 2008;
Hankinson, 2010; Ren and Blichfeldt, 2011)
that favour communication of a uniform
message about a strong place profile, which
enables standing out among competitors and
creation of the emotional bond between the
brand and its stakeholders. This approach is,
above all, interesting for smaller parks, the
managers of which ask for more cooperation,
trust and joint initiatives among independent
partners. This finding corroborates those of
Kooli et al. (2016) who have found a similar
situation in the context of German hospitality
industry.
Results have discovered that the marketing mix
is seen to be the most comprehensive and
complex management issue (the themes
include in the fourth research question).
Managers have reported the use of very
traditional approaches and tools in designing
the service offer and marketing mix elements.
This reflects lagging behind contemporary
experiential marketing, which, according to
Schmitt (1999, p. 26), “is necessary to move
from the features-and-benefits approach
toward marketing to the customer experience.”
Managers’ reluctance for embracing more
proactive and advanced approaches (e.g. in
segmentation, targeting, new services design,
customer satisfaction and service quality
measurement, etc.) represents a clear
constraint for successful performance, both
from the short and long-term perspectives.
When it comes to financial aspect and pricing
policy, results support prior research findings
(e.g. in Eagles and McCool, 2002); funding is
composed mainly of government funding and
entrance fees, with souvenir sales and
donations to a lesser extent.
Research results show that respondents
recognize the importance of applying
information technology in their everyday
business and especially for communication with
target audiences. This finding validates the
prior one, found by Koliouskaa and
Andreopouloua (2013), that the use of ICT
represents a very important step for the
promotion of protected areas with natural and
cultural importance.
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207

Table 3. Three groups of national and nature parks in Croatia, with different approaches and
characteristics in relation to the level and coverage of application of marketing management
Group Main characteristics
1. “Marketing-minded”  recognition of marketing and marketing management, marketing is to a
parks certain extent implemented in everyday management practice
2. Parks lacking  national and nature parks managers understand the need for proactive
resources for marketing marketing, marketing activities are desirable, but parks are lacking adequate
activities resources
3. Conservative parks  focused primarily on the protection and conservation of natural resources
Source: Research

Regarding the place/distribution element of the
marketing mix, and more specifically the need
to harmonize protection of nature with the
services offered and capacity management,
results have pointed to many connected and to
some extent overlapping areas that need
continuous monitoring and improvement. As
such, results emphasize the relevance of
Eagles' (2014) findings regarding research
priorities in park tourism.
Conclusive results regarding the marketing mix
elements indicate that, despite efforts and
commitment, managers lack knowledge and
skills to cope successfully with challenges they
have to face. As argued by Sharpley and
Pearce (2007), such a situation represents a
serious barrier for effective tourism marketing
management. Nevertheless, it is important to
stress that conducting marketing activities is
only one part of the job description of the
respondents. Doing marketing in the public
sector has a much shorter tradition in
comparison with marketing practice in the
private sector, and civil servants often need
radical changes in their attitude and working
methods (Buurma, 2001).
Overall, results of this study suggest that
depending on the perceptions of managers,
national and nature parks in the Republic of
Croatia can be categorized into three groups
with different characteristics regarding the level
of application of marketing management, as
shown in Table 3.
a) Group 1 - “Marketing – minded” parks are
parks where the role of marketing and
marketing management is recognized. The
current level of their implementation
demonstrates potentials for increase. Using
available yet inadequate financial and human
resources for marketing, managers strive to
advance in the application of approaches that
will merge tourism with sustainable
development and enable integration with other
stakeholders in the environment. In this way,
achieving greater competitive advantage and
building both the image of parks and Croatia as
a tourist destination is being approached.
b) Group 2 - Parks lacking resources for
marketing activities are those parks whose
managers understand the need for active
marketing and marketing management but do
not have adequate resources for the
implementation (which is mostly due to the
park's specificities - size, seasonality in parks
operations and alike). Managers in the parks
belonging to this group are particularly
interested in launching different joint initiatives
that can improve the status of a park in a
tourism offer. They expect that the umbrella
brand “Parks of Croatia” will be of great help to
them in the future tourism valorisation and
business.
c) Group 3 - Conservative parks, those that are
primarily focused on the protection and
conservation of natural resources. Tourism and
integration with other subjects in the
environment for the purpose of creating the
offer and building the image of the destination
are considered as necessary activities that
cannot be avoided. However, it is encouraging
that managers in parks where such an
approach prevails positively look on the
umbrella brand as a way to help them deal
better with the "imposed" situation of economic
activities in the parks.
As one very interesting and even the most
important finding of this study can be
considered a fact that, regardless of the
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 Marketing perceptions of national and nature parks managers – the case of Croatia.
differences that managers attribute to the role
and importance of marketing and marketing
management, the umbrella brand approach is
found to be a desirable and good way to
improve parks’ business in terms of enabling
achieving better business results, education
and professionalization of marketing experts
and integration with other stakeholders in the
environment.
Conclusion and recommendations
Successful marketing management should
enable harmony between the park’s nature
conservation and tourism valorisation. Park
managers should strive for sustainability and
visitors’ satisfaction in the continuously
changing, demanding tourism market
environment. Visitors are in search of high-
quality service and an authentic, memorable
experience. Since it is often mistakenly
considered that parks are areas in which
human activity is not allowed, it is extremely
important to educate visitors about the
importance of preserving the natural beauty as
well as about the potential hazards in case of
non-compliance with the instructions. The
proactive marketing approach is needed for the
creation of competitive, environmentally
responsible park services, which will offer
increased opportunities for fostering an image
of a country as a tourist destination.
This paper has discussed how managers
currently perceive managing marketing in
national and nature parks in the Republic of
Croatia. Based on the findings, managers are
encouraged to embrace more strategically
planned marketing approaches and activities in
order to gain advantages, commercially and
with the aim of sustainability. There is plenty of
room for different, new services and
approaches that might contribute to achieving
better results regarding the number of visitors
and nature conservation, and strengthening the
image of Croatia as a tourism destination.
Theoretical and managerial implications
The results of the study have relevance for
theory and practice. The contribution to the
theory and the existing literature consist of:
a) this is the first study that enables insight and
provides some evidence into the umbrella
branding approach, its implementation, and
204
potential advantages in the frame of the
marketing management of national and nature
parks.
b) the study deepens and enhances the
understanding of the topic with the results from
the new research setting – national and nature
parks in the CEE, Croatia.
As far as the implications for practice is
concerned, parks should be more focused on
marketing and invest in the marketing
education and training of their employees who
are mainly biologists, foresters and
agronomists. Park managers should be
capable of taking care of natural, economic,
cultural and social dimensions of park values
simultaneously. More emphasis should be
given to the continuous care of aspects such as
visitors’ satisfaction, perceived service quality,
the umbrella brand fit. The existing umbrella
brand should help park managers to be aware
of values which parks have to and could offer,
and which their competitors (other destinations)
do not have or offer.
Special attention should be paid to the choice
of the associations that form the brand values
and to guidelines on how to make their
consistent and synergetic use across specific
attractions and services of parks. Emphasizing
selected, unique characteristics through the
umbrella brand communication would certainly
help to achieve better competitive positioning in
the minds of internal and external audiences,
not only of the parks as special places but also
of Croatia as a tourism destination as a whole.
The positive effects of joint advertising activities
under the umbrella brand in the tourism
industry are evident from the initiative by
Croatian National Tourist Board, which
conducts such activities for “Croatia – Full of
Life” brand platform (Croatian National Tourist
Board, 2019).
Research limitations and future research
Considering these results in the context of the
research limitations is important. Findings
depict one employee's perspective (park
director or person responsible for marketing)
that is not necessarily shared by the rest of the
employees. As only one informant per park
took part in the interview, findings suffer from
single informant bias (Phillips, 1991). Another
limitation relates to the subjective nature of
Ozretic-Dosen, D., K. Malesevic, T. Komarac and V. Skare (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 191-207
data (the perceptions of respondents).
Although not generalizable, results are
indicative. Future academic research is needed
and should be directed towards research of,
e.g. opinions and attitudes of visitors, the
motivation behind the choice of a particular
park, about their expectations and perceptions,
etc. Future research could also be developed
by examining the level and quality of
relationships among managers of different
parks, as well as other topics related to their
cooperation.
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207
 Maritime Tourism: Modelling consumer behaviour and its
managerial implications

Yen E. Lam-González1
Received: 25/02/2019
1TIDES, Tourism and Sustainable Development Institute. University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Tafira
Campus, Building E-Floor 0, Saulo Torón, 4 – Las Palmas de GC, Spain. Postcode 35017 tel:+34928451033,
E-mail: yen.lam@ulpgc.es

Coordinating editor: Faizan Ali

Supervisors: Carmelo J. León González and Matias M. Gonzalez Hernandez

Institution awarding the Ph. D. Degree: University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Date of defence: 18/09/2018

Citation: Lam-González, Y. (2019) Maritime Tourism: Modelling consumer behaviour and its
managerial implications. Doctoral Dissertation Summary. European Journal of Tourism Research
23, pp. 208-211

Goals and objectives of the dissertation decisions and satisfaction with the destination
This dissertation is based on a collection of visited.
four papers, corresponding to the different
phases of the doctoral research. The first Methodology
work aims to offer a rigorous review of the First, boundaries for the conceptual definition
publications on maritime tourism over the last of nautical tourism as a tourism segment were
decade, and identifies gaps regarding the defined, followed by a systematic and meta-
study of the behaviour of tourists from this analytic review of high impact scientific
market niche. Along these lines, the following articles. The review was conducted in four
three papers aim to propose and validate steps, for a ten-year period (2008-2017). The
universal models for better prediction of the counting methods were applied by cases and
behaviour of tourists travelling for maritime fractional, and scientific productivity rankings
recreation and sports. More specifically, the were drawn up per journal, centre and author.
three models examine i) the determinants of During the meta-analysis phase, the
on-site individual expenditure of nautical individual statistical results, and the variables
tourists, ii) factors influencing the satisfaction subjected to causal models of prediction of
of yachtsmen with marina ports of call, and consumer behaviour were interpreted.
finally iii) the impact of climate perceived
comfort on nautical tourists´ expenditure
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4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
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208 DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
 Lam-González, Y. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 208-211
The second article proposes an explanatory
model of the determinants of the individual
expenditure made by the tourist during the
stay at the destination, including variables at
the psychographic level. Secondly, it aims to
verify if the determinants of spending vary
among tourists with different patterns of
nautical behaviour in the destination. To do
this, an ordinal logistic regression model is
formulated. The model is developed for four
sample sub-groups with different nautical
behaviour patterns. The data was obtained
from a survey of the demand that was carried
out in Gran Canaria and Lanzarote
destinations between 2014 and 2016, which
allowed the construction of a sample of 327
nautical tourists.
The third article proposes a model of
structural equations to explain the satisfaction
of the nautical tourist with the stop-over
marina. Twelve research hypotheses are
proposed, relating to the services of the
marina, the destination attributes, motivations,
and the destination chosen for the call. The
main instrument was the survey and the
fieldwork is carried out in the main ports of
call of the Atlantic region, located in the
destinations of Gran Canaria, Lanzarote
(Spain), Agadir (Morocco), and Mindelo
(Cape Verde). The sample consisted of 243
yachtsmen mooring their vessels in these
destinations.
The fourth paper proposes and empirically
tests a structural model to measure the effect
of climate perceived comfort on tourists´ on-
site consumption, expenditure and
satisfaction with the destination. Ten
hypotheses were formulated, involving
variables such as i) the tourist satisfaction
with climatic conditions, ii) the number of
nautical activities carried out during the stay,
iii) the total expenditure of the tourist during
the visit, and iv) the tourist satisfaction with
the nautical tourism products and services on
offer at the destination. The model was
validated utilising empirical data from 255
nautical tourists visiting Cape Verde in 2017.
A confirmatory factor analysis was also
employed to define the constructs in the
structural equation.
Results
Thanks to the first paper it has been possible
to clarify the specific needs of scientific
knowledge about maritime tourism, and
provide information on the journals that are
most suitable to disseminate new
contributions. At this stage, we measure the
productivity of the last decade, and identify
regional differences between publications
from European, American or Asian
institutions. It is worth noting that the
European academic community shows signs
of fragmentation and little stability in
publications on this segment. It also
demonstrates that the current research needs
to incorporate models for better prediction on
decision processes, and on the determinants
of the tourist experience.
Paper 2 shows that advertising and
recommendations from friends show the
greatest potential in increasing tourist
expenditure. Internet is revealed as being
also a very powerful tool that encourages
greater tourist spending during the visit. It is
discovered that factors determining spending
vary among tourists with different patterns of
nautical behaviour in the destination. It was
found that repeating tourists usually spend
more, however, many visits in a row to the
same destination can generate an inverse
effect, and in these cases it is convenient that
tourists have interspersed experiences at
other nautical destinations, to stimulate
spending at the main destination. It has also
demonstrated the importance of image and
satisfaction which were always found with
direct and positive effect on spending.
Paper 3 proves that the image and quality of
the services offered by the marina is not the
only element that influences satisfaction with
the marinas. The destination chosen to moor
the boat, and the opinions that these tourists
have about the nautical tourism offer at the
destination, also have an impact on the
satisfaction with the nautical installations. The
results suggest that establishing policies for
nautical tourism ports has to facilitate the
consumption of other maritime activities at the
destination. Managers must be also
concerned about the security policy at the
209
 Maritime Tourism: Modelling consumer behaviour and its managerial implications. Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
destination, and should clearly inform their
users of the same. Also, as the marina
represents more than just a mooring facility, it
is easy to understand that sea lovers want to
experience a “marina” as a platform for the
development of nautical tourism in all its
modalities.
In the last paper, it was concluded that
nautical tourists demand more maritime
activities at the destination when they
perceive the more suitable climatic conditions.
In addition, there is a high impact of this
consumption on the individual expenditure
and the satisfaction of the nautical tourist.
Consequently, all nautical destinations must
not only design a supply of products and
experiences to be coherent with their natural
features, but they also need to provide an
improved climatic experience for the tourist,
by adapting climatic-meteorological
information to their needs. Therefore,
planning should not only exploit the
advantages of climate, but also attempts to
inform about more benevolent microclimates
that match tourists’ expectations more
closely.
Theoretical conclusions
The main contributions of the research are
that i) it provides a wider understanding of the
behaviour of nautical tourists; ii) it advances
in the study of explanatory variables scarcely
analysed in the literature on tourism spending
and satisfaction, and iii) it empirically
validates three explanatory models of
spending and satisfaction with a greater
explanatory power with respect to previous
studies. The research focuses on the part of
spending that takes place at the destination,
which allows generating more precise
recommendations for tourism managers, as
when the total expenditure of tourists is
analysed, the conclusions do not allow to
distinguish the challenges for the specific
destination.
Practical application of the dissertation
The work provides relevant information, and
allows the elaboration of useful
recommendations for destinations managers
and the business sector, in support of
210
economic impact strategies and the
positioning in the international nautical
tourism market. It is advisable to work on the
creation of institutional research alliances,
which allow identifying and organising
resources and capacities with a common
purpose. This is very useful to build a robust
holistic knowledge base on the segment in
Europe.
The study has allowed us to understand that
research on tourist spending ideally should be
segmented by tourist activity, since tourists
behave different even if they have the same
travel motivation. Also, it was confirmed that
loyalty has a direct impact on expenditure,
however, working on joint promotion
strategies with competing destinations is also
convenient, and should form part of the
agenda for nautical tourism promoters. It is
essential that managers be aware of the
benefits that provide coopetition strategies
between destinations of the same
specialisation. In the case of the Canary
Islands, for example, combining nautical
tourism packages with Tunisia and Agadir
shows a high probability of success for the
market niches with preference for watercraft
and board sports.
Regarding the port and marina business, it
has been proven that when the facility is not
committed to the sector, by providing spaces
and promoting the nautical potential of the
destination, or generating opportunities for
companies in their environment to promote
other maritime activities, the users´
satisfaction with the installations is affected. It
is a challenge for the managers to merge the
marina with its surroundings, with nature, the
nautical culture and the authenticity of the
destination, generating a space of natural
transition between sea and land. The marinas
have to be seen as spaces to promote the
potential of the destination and the nautical
tourism companies of the region where they
are located.
Finally, proving that climatic comfort
perception is a dominant factor that explains
consumption, expenditure and satisfaction of
nautical tourists, represent a huge challenge
 Lam-González, Y. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 208-211
for a competitive nautical destination. In order
to assure a positive climatic experience in
nautical tourism, destinations need to: i)
improve the climatic-meteorological
information of the destination to facilitate
tourist's choice processes and travel planning;
and ii) design climate services that are
capable of guiding the tourist at the
appropriate time to the areas where activities
can be carried out in the best possible
conditions. This is especially important on
islands, because the relevant climatic
conditions for nautical activities do vary -
sometimes significantly- along the coastline,
and between moments in time. In this context,
climate services constitute a mean to
generate technological innovation, thus
increasing competitiveness while promoting
awareness of Climate Change in the society.
Content of the dissertation
Abstract of Chapter 1
This article carries out a systematic review of
publications on maritime tourism during the
last ten years (2008-2017), with the purpose
of quantifying the number of investigations,
and analysing the involvement of centres,
researchers and European journals in the
generation and dissemination of knowledge.
In addition, a meta-analysis of the empirical
works is carried out, evaluating the complexity
and diversity of the statistical methods and
models used to predict nautical consumers´
behaviour. It also aims to contribute to bridge
the science-policy interface in nautical tourism
management, thus raising the effectiveness of
applied research for the design of better
marketing and positioning strategies of
nautical destinations.
Abstract of Chapter 2
This research aims to discover the
determinants of spending by nautical tourists
at the destination. For this purpose, 327
nautical tourists were surveyed at the end of
their visit to the Canary Islands, and a logistic
regression model was validated, discovering
that the factors capable of modifying the
tourist's expenditure vary according to the
nautical behaviour patterns at the destination.
It has been shown that the affection
generated towards the destination, as well as
the loyalty of the nautical tourist, have a
positive effect on spending, although in
certain circumstances it is convenient to
motivate tourists to visit other destinations.
Abstract of Chapter 3
This research aims to explain yachtsmen’s
satisfaction with marina ports of call. Data
from questioning 402 European sailors while
crossing the Atlantic between 2013 and 2015
were utilised to validate a structural model
involving 12 hypotheses. Findings indicate
that the destination choice has significant
influence on satisfaction. In addition, the
nautical experience provided by the
destination has great importance in
understanding and predicting their evaluation
of the marina. The findings provide the
opportunity for developing recommendations
for tourism managers, in the attempt to
contribute to a more sustainable development
and growth of the sector.
Abstract of Chapter 4
Climatic conditions may influence undertaking
nautical activities at destinations. By using
data collected from 255 nautical tourists in
Cape Verde, this article proposes and
empirically tests a structural model to
measure the effect of climate comfort
perceived by tourists on the consumption of
activities and expenditure decisions. The
study finds that satisfaction with climate is the
main determinant of the nautical activities
consumed by tourists. In addition, nautical
consumption mediates the effects of climate
on tourist satisfaction and on-site expenditure.
The results highlight the importance of the
design of climate-oriented services for
improving nautical tourism experiences.
Acknowledgment
This work was funded by the Operational
Programme “Spain - External Borders 2008-
2013 Cross-Border Cooperation Programme”
ERDF, EC, in its third call for projects, through
a research grant with reference 0077_
NAUCAMNET_3 “Sostenibilidad integrada de
la Cooperación Náutica entre Canarias y la
región Souss Massa Draa”
211
 Sense of Place of Host Community in Tourism Development:
The Case of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Sabah

Paulin P.L. Wong 1

Received: 04/03/2019
1Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Jalan UMS, 88450, Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Phone: +6088320000. Email: paulinwongpl@gmail.com

Coordinating editor: Faizan Ali

Supervisors: Dr. Balvinder Kaur Kler

Institution awarding the Ph. D. Degree: Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Date of defence: 28/08/2018

Citation: Wong, P. (2019) Sense of Place of Host Community in Tourism Development: The Case
of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Sabah. Doctoral Dissertation Summary. European Journal of
Tourism Research 23, pp. 212-216

Goal and objectives of the dissertation Kota Kinabalu towards Tunku Abdul Rahman
Goal Marine Park (TARP) in Sabah, Malaysia as it
This study aims at contributing to the theory transforms from a local recreation site into an
of Place specifically in the context of tourism international tourist destination and faces
development in a national park and provides increasing demand for activities and space.
an understanding of how a host community
feels about changes to place. Sense of Place Objectives
(SoP) is the emotional, cognitive and This study raises the need to identify and
functional bonds with place. Understanding interpret the experiences and relationships of
place meanings provides an insight into the the host community who visit TARP for leisure
uniqueness of place, and informs people- and recreation. The need to understand these
place relationships. Host community place attachments for host community in light of
meanings could contribute to destination tourism development at TARP led to the
sustainability by balancing the role of tourism general research question of this study:
and conservation of national parks if
incorporated into the parks management What SoP does the host community have for
plans. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation TARP? To answer this question, three
is to identify and interpret the experiences research objectives were derived:
and relationships of the host community in
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212 DOCTORAL DISSERTATION
 Wong, P. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 212-216
i. To identify and interpret the meaningful
experiences of TARP for the host community.
ii. To describe the relationships of host
community with TARP in relation to their
experiences.
iii. To explain the transformation of host
community relationships to TARP in tourism
development.
Methodology
This study employed an interpretive inquiry
paradigm and used an original and innovative
amalgamation of qualitative methods - an
adapted Q-method, photo-elicitation
techniques and focus group interviews to
collect data to understand host-TARP
experiences and relationships. Inserting Q-
sort (the adapted Q-method) into the equation
of focus group and photo-elicitation result in
the sorted photographs’ ability to represent
the focus groups thus addressed a gap in
Method that uses the combination of pictorial
and verbal measures. Besides strengthening
the trustworthiness of this study through
method triangulation and the added benefits
of visual image to evoke memories, this
combination of methods introduces a
methodological contribution by solving the
problem of using visual or pictorial measures
for a group.
Four groups of homogenous purposive
sample consisting five individuals each were
derived which encompassed specific groups
of host community including the Generation-
X, Generation-Y, tourism industry employees,
and expats who have been living in Kota
Kinabalu for a minimum of 5 years. They
participated in a two-part data collection that
includes focus group interviews and visits to
TARP to take photographs of meaningful
scenes for each group. Eight sets of
transcriptions and two hundred fifty
photographs were derived for analysis while
ATLAS.ti 7 qualitative data analysis software
was used for data interpretation. A total of
113 codes were created from 1407 quotations
coded in the software programme. The codes
were then sorted based on similarities and
were assigned to different groups which
resulted in the sub-themes and negative
themes derived for this study. Considering the
meanings for each sub-theme, they are then
assembled to form the main themes. The
‘essence’ of each theme indicated both
positive and negative meanings.
Results
The study’s findings are summarized in
Figure 1.
Results derived include five main positive
themes with two sub-themes each: ‘Hedonia-
seeking’; ‘Aesthetics Appreciation’;
‘Companionship’; ‘Ephemeral Escapade’;
‘Being Host’ and three negative themes:
‘Crowdedness’, ‘Observing Island Changes’,
and ‘Underwater Devastation’. These themes
produced first, the TARP Host Meanings
framework, which validates and refined the
Tripartite Sustainability Place Model for
Tourist Sites by Pearce (2005), albeit for
hosts. Secondly, a Place-based Typology of
Host Community Visitors was also derived
based on an engagement-estrangement
continuum with four categories and
demonstrates their relationship with TARP:
‘Enthusiast’, ‘Associate’, ‘Ambivalent’ and
‘Disconnected’. These categories are
distinguished based on: i) TARP Encounters,
ii) Intensity of Place Meanings, iii) Attitude, iv)
Host Meanings Attributes, v) Behaviour and
vi) Impact. The Place Meanings Matrix
(PMM) addresses the transformation of
relationships with TARP due to tourism in line
with the dynamic nature of SoP. The PMM
considers how relationships between people
and places transform due to changes at a
destination, mainly as it evolves from a
recreational place into a tourism destination.
Theoretical conclusions
This study contributes to Place theory. The
TARP Host Meanings framework provides an
understanding of place meanings and
attributes that needs to be preserved amidst
tourism development to avoid negative
impacts for the host community and can be
used to promote quality on-site experiences
for tourists. This study provides a higher order
interpretation of the activities, resources and
conceptions of Place contextual to TARP, an
approach that is unique to the current
literature. Moreover, the framework also iden-
213
 Sense of Place of Host Community in Tourism Development:The Case of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Sabah.
Doctoral Dissertation Summary.

tified negative place meanings attributes
within its place dimensions that contributes to
the limited tourism literature on negative place
experiences.
The place meanings demand typology built on
the work of previous researchers and on Erik
Cohen’s (1972) sociological tourist typology.
Since previous work looked at residents as a
214
whole, and little mention was made of
residents being non-homogenous (Krippen-
dorf, 1987), knowledge of this typology
contributes to the understanding that any form
of tourism development in a national park
should consider the diverse range of users,
and assess the appropriateness of
development accordingly.
 Wong, P. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 212-216
Finally, a matrix projected how relationships
with place evolve overtime due to on-site
changes, a notion that was previously
unexplored in the literature. While previous
literature such as Doxey’s (1976) Irridex
similarly considered resident’s feelings
towards increase of tourists at a destination,
no projections were made prior to tourism
development and assume homogenous pre-
tourism emotions among residents. Although
the findings are contextualised to this study
and not generalizable, future work could test
the propositions within the PMM.
This study contributes to the theoretical base
on parks planning using SoP. All three
outcomes enlighten hosts relationship to their
recreation destination, a form of ‘host place-
gaze’. Findings also contribute to the
literature on SoP by improving understanding
of a stakeholder in the tourism system that is
understudied – the host community.
Practical application of the dissertation
This exploratory study suggests that SoP
should be considered as one of the main
direction in developing tourism at national
parks. Findings propose that future park
planning should consider host community, the
local stakeholder first. Preserving local SoP
could create the authenticity tourists seek in
an increasingly similar world. SoP could
communicate the uniqueness and emotional
tone of a destination. The framework,
typology and matrix presented here could be
used to improve destination branding and
create a toolkit for tour operators. Most of all,
the preservation of place meanings is vital to
ensure host community, the resident-
stakeholder does not move from Enthusiasm
to Disconnection in how they feel about
TARP. The sum total of the findings of this
study are useful for the parks management as
these could be incorporated into management
plans, inform landscape interpretation and
destination branding for marine parks now
and in the future.
Content of the dissertation
Abstract of Chapter 1
The rationale of the study was first described
where national parks were defined and
elucidated as they transform into tourist
destinations. Next, the background site of this
study, TARP and past studies related to it
was subsequently discussed. As this study is
focused on the host community, their role and
significance to the park was indicated. The
chapter continues by alluding the research
questions and objectives of the study, the
overview of methodology and method
engaged, the significance and the scope of
the study. A glossary of key terms used in this
study was also provided for clarification
purpose.
Abstract of Chapter 2
This chapter delineated the literature on the
main concepts of this study comprising
understanding of host community and SoP in
the tourism context as well as reviewing
significant theoretical models in the literature
for understanding both concepts in tourism.
This chapter helped build a supported
argument that explore host community sense
of place in tourism development for this study.
Abstract of Chapter 3
Discusses the theoretical and philosophical
background as well as the rationale of the
methodological decisions of the study. This
chapter began by differentiating the common
fuddled definitions between methodology and
method. Next, it explained the three
methodological questions on choosing a
stance of inquiry for the study: the ontological,
epistemological and axiological questions.
Inquiry paradigms in the literature are briefly
explained by highlighting of both positivism
and interpretivism paradigm of inquiry. The
chapter concludes with the methodological
stance for place meanings using the
quantitative approach and the qualitative
approach.
Abstract of Chapter 4
The method and techniques of collecting data
are presented with an illustration of research
design for the study. The method for analysis
including the use of ATLAS.ti 7 was also
described. Additionally, this chapter also
elucidated the techniques to safeguard the
trustworthiness based on credibility,
transferability, dependability and reflexivity of
this study.
215
 Sense of Place of Host Community in Tourism Development:The Case of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Sabah.
Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
Abstract of Chapter 5
Presents the Findings of this study. Five
positive main themes with two sub-themes
each and three negative themes were derived
from the analysis and interpretation of the
interview data that reflected the TARP host
community place meanings. These themes
and sub-themes were positioned within three
dimensions of place based on Pearce (2005)
place model and are presented in a Venn
diagram. Each main theme and sub-themes
were defined its elaboration through verbatim
extracts from the focus group interviews as
well as sample photographs elicited, and Q-
sorted by participants were explained through
the in-depth narrative account of participants’
experiences.
Abstract of Chapter 6
Addressed and discussed the research
questions postulated for this study through
understanding host community place
experiences and their relationship to TARP.
The chapter first examined the TARP Host
Meanings framework within the theoretical
context of existing literature, addressing the
first research question of the study. Targeting
the second research question of the study,
the Typology of Host Community Visitors was
created to represent the non-homogenous
experiences of participants which indicated
the relationships of host community have with
TARP. The third and final research question
of this study was answered through the
creation of PMM to address the changes in
216
relationships with TARP as tourism
development continues.
Abstract of Chapter 7
Chapter Seven concludes the study by first
revisiting the research questions and
objectives of the study. Next, the theoretical,
methodological and practical contribution of
this study was elucidated. A critical reflection
by the researcher and the limitations of the
study were also explained. Essentially,
recommendations were provided for future
work to be conducted based on the findings of
this study. I close with some final thoughts
that I had for the study and TARP.
References:
Cohen, E. (1972) Toward a Sociology of
International Tourism. Social Research, 39
(1), 164-182 Krippendorf, J. (1987) The
Holiday Makers. Understanding the Impact
of Leisure and Travel. Oxford: Butterworth
Heinemann.
Doxey, G.V. (1976) When Enough’s Enough:
The Natives are Restless in Old Niagara.
Heritage Canada 2 (2), 26-27
Pearce, P.L. (2005) Tourist Behaviour:
Themes and Conceptual Schemes.
Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
Stedman, R., Beckley, D., Wallace, S. &
Ambard, M. (2004) A Picture and 1000
Words: Using Resident-Employed
Photography to Understand Attachment to
High Amenity Places. Journal of Leisure
Research, 36 (4), 580-606
 Volunteer Tourism: A Path to Buen Vivir?

Steven Owen 1
Received: 11/03/2019
1University of St Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, KY16 9AL, Scotland, UK. Tel: 07834 688633. E-mail:
So31@st-andrews.ac.uk

Coordinating editor: Faizan Ali

Supervisors: Prof Nina Laurie and Dr Sharon Leahy

Institution awarding the Ph. D. Degree: University of St Andrews
Date of defence: 01/05/2018

Citation: Owen, S. (2019) Volunteer Tourism: A Path to Buen Vivir? Doctoral Dissertation
Summary. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 217-220

Goal and objectives of the dissertation Aim

The popularity of volunteer tourism stems To critically assess volunteer tourism in
from its discursive positioning as fostering Ecuador using the lens of Buen Vivir.
mutually beneficial relations between
volunteer tourists and the host destination. Research Questions
Despite extensive scholarly work, the 1 How is Buen Vivir discursively constructed
outcomes of this activity for host communities at the national level in Ecuador, and how
and volunteer tourists are still unclear. This does this relate to tourism development in the
thesis provides new insights by providing an country?
alternative reading of this tourism practice. It 2 How is an indigenous community in
achieves this in two important ways. Firstly, it Ecuador constructed as a site for volunteer
analyses volunteer tourism through the tourism?
indigenous knowledge system of Buen Vivir - 3 How do different indigenous members
thereby challenging endemic practices of interpret volunteer tourism, and what factors
relying on frameworks originating from the shape this interpretation?
Global North. Secondly, it incorporates the 4 How do volunteer tourists interpret their
diverse voices of host community members, experience in the indigenous communities?
who have tended to be excluded from
volunteer tourism studies. The thesis has the Methodology
following Aim and Research Questions: This thesis takes a qualitative ethnographic
approach from a social constructivist
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4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
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DOCTORAL DISSERTATION 217

 Volunteer Tourism: A Path to Buen Vivir? Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
perspective. It is based on a four and half
month study in two indigenous communities in
Ecuador – one Kichwa community in the town
of Chilcapamba and one Tsa’chila community
near the town of Santa Domingo. It
incorporates a range of stakeholders
including indigenous host members, volunteer
tourists and NGO representatives, gathering
data through the use of semi-structured
interviews, focus groups, participant
observation and a field diary. In addition, it
draws on two months of document analysis
conducted on 70 on-line documents, including
Ecuadorian policy statements, News
Broadcasters and travel publications.
Results
The results indicate that the Ecuadorian state
discursively associates tourism with the
concept of Buen Vivir, positioning tourism as
a mechanism to achieve small scale and
harmonious development. However, it
employs practices typical of the neo-liberal
agenda, focusing on creating an optimal
business environment for the expansion of
the tourism industry. Therefore, in spite of its
discursive positioning, the Ecuadorian state is
ambivalent to Buen Vivir, utilising its
discourses, but adopting policies fitting with
neo-liberal development models. Narrowing to
the community level, the results indicate that
in becoming a site for volunteer tourism a
‘volunteer space’ is created in the host
communities. This space is co-constructed
through an on-going process of negotiations
between indigenous hosts, NGO and
volunteers, reflecting their own priorities for
engaging in this tourism practice. The result is
a volunteer space, where the physical
environment and self-performance of
indigenous members is moulded to create a
successful product for the volunteer tourism
market. The volunteer space takes the form of
a ‘simulacrum’ to satisfy Western imaginaries
of an indigenous community, whilst
countering negative imaginaries, which are
traditionally propagated within Ecuadorian
society. Similarly, the volunteer tourists
occupying this space self-manage their
performance to conform to a desired
volunteer identity. This limits the opportunity
for an unconstrained cross-cultural encounter
218
between volunteer tourist and host, or for the
volunteer tourists’ preconceptions or
understandings to be challenged in any
significant way. Moreover, in creating the
volunteer space, knowledge and practices
from the Global North are prioritised, whilst
locally embedded knowledge are
delegitimised. As a result, the elite in the
community, who are most adaptable to this
knowledge, secure greatest involvement and
financial reward from the volunteer tourism
projects. Conversely, community members
less-adaptable to this knowledge are
marginalised, exacerbating existing
inequalities within the indigenous
communities. The results show that those
members involved in the projects, justify
rewards as reflecting them being
entrepreneurial and taking advantage of
emergent opportunities, whilst those
marginalised mobilise the discourses of Buen
Vivir to resist the practices employed in the
volunteer tourism projects.
Theoretical conclusions
This thesis contributes to theoretical
understanding by illustrating how volunteer
tourism embodies the spirit of neo-liberal
development models under way in countries
of the Global South. It contends that, in spite
of volunteer tourism’s discursive positioning
as an alternative tourism practice, it functions
through and reinforces the structures and
imaginaries of an unequal and uneven global
economic system. This is because, whilst
volunteer tourism flows across global
boundaries as an apolitical practice, on
establishing itself in communities of the
Global South, it draws these communities into
the global tourism industry. This results in the
prioritisation of knowledge and practices from
the Global North, which valorises individual
autonomy and responsibility, over collective
practices based on solidarity and reciprocity.
However, the thesis demonstrates the
discourses of Buen Vivir are an important
mechanism by which marginalised indigenous
members can challenge and unsettle these
hegemonic discourses originating from the
Global North, and adopted by local elites.
This illustrates how Global South frameworks
provide an important departure point for
 Owen, S. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 217-220
understanding how volunteer tourism
materialises in relation to locally embedded
knowledge and practices. Moreover, the
thesis contributes to theoretical understanding
of the ‘volunteer tourist’, by demonstrating
their neo-liberal subjectivity in how they self-
manage and narrate their experience in
communities of the Global South.
Practical application of the dissertation
The thesis argues that in spite of its
discursive positioning volunteer tourism
projects operate in a similar manner to
alternative development initiatives. As a
result, to increase the potential of more
equitable outcomes, greater consideration
needs to be given to how best practice
operates in these models. As a priority,
volunteer tourism projects should ensure they
operate in a way which is transparent,
democratic and inclusive of local knowledge.
Moreover, it is essential that there is long
term engagement, with the aim of
empowering and building the capacities of the
most marginalised community members, so
that they can become active agents in the
volunteer tourism projects. The thesis
identifies and acknowledges the difficulty in
achieving this on-the-ground in communities
of the Global South. It therefore begins the
discussion of how volunteer tourism can go
beyond the ‘spectacle’ of development, to be
considered a viable development strategy in
communities of the Global South. In addition,
the thesis calls for volunteer tourism projects
to incorporate a critical pedagogy, to
empower volunteer tourists to reflect on their
experience in the host community in new
ways. This should actively include host
community members from diverse socio-
economic backgrounds, facilitating
understanding beyond ‘disneyfied’ and
homogenous representations, to one
reflective of an indigenous community as
dynamic, heterogeneous, and stratified.
Moreover, this critical pedagogy should
empower volunteer tourists to think beyond
individual action, to one that encourages
collective engagement with the deeper
structural causes of poverty and inequality.
Content of the dissertation
Abstract of Chapter 1
Chapter One outlines how the author’s initial
understanding of volunteer tourism was
unsettled during the thesis, and the journey to
re-conceptualising this tourism practice
through the alternative worldview of Buen
Vivir.
Abstract of Chapter 2
Chapter Two analyses the genealogy of the
literatures relating to development and
volunteer tourism, tracing their shifting
patterns. It concludes with a conceptual
framework, illustrating how current
understanding of volunteer tourism and
development sit within the academic
literature, whilst also pointing to avenues to
be explored in the empirical chapters.
Abstract of Chapter 3
Chapter Three provides an explanation of the
methodology employed in the thesis. It
outlines the epistemological and ontological
stance adopted, as well as the data collection
methods utilised. The decisions made
throughout the thesis are justified in relation
to theoretical arguments and practical
considerations.
Abstract of Chapter 4
Chapter Four contextualises the study by
tracing the genealogy of Buen Vivir and
tourism at the national level in Ecuador. It
argues that the Ecuadorian state has both
enshrined Buen Vivir as a national political
objective, and designated tourism as an
important mechanism for its realisation. The
chapter proposes that despite utilising the
discourses of Buen Vivir, the Ecuadorian
state employs practices typical of the neo-
liberal agenda.
Abstract of Chapter 5
Chapter Five analyses the processes and
negotiations which occur when an indigenous
community becomes a site for volunteer
tourism. It argues that volunteer tourism
incorporates indigenous communities into the
global tourism industry, thereby transforming
it from a place of residence into a commercial
volunteer space. It argues that this volunteer
space is a simulacrum, an indigenous
community that never existed beyond western
imaginaries.
219
 Volunteer Tourism: A Path to Buen Vivir? Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
Abstract of Chapter 6
Chapter Six offers an analysis of indigenous
members’ participation and interpretation of
volunteer tourism within their community.
Framed within the context of forms of capital,
specifically social, financial, cultural and
human capital, the chapter illustrates the
likelihood of community members’
involvement in volunteer tourism projects. It
then brings to the fore the different cultural
sets, which influence indigenous members’
interpretation of volunteer tourism in their
community. It shows that individuals involved
in the project frame volunteer tourism
practices according to neo-liberal discourses.
Conversely, indigenous members excluded
from the volunteer tourism projects critique its
practices through the discourses of Buen
Vivir.
Abstract of Chapter 7
Chapter Seven deconstructs the volunteer
tourists’ identities within the indigenous
220
communities studied. It argues that volunteer
tourists have a fluid, ambivalent identity,
through their role as both volunteer and
tourist. It identifies specific moments in which
this ambivalent state dissolves, and when a
clear volunteer or tourist identity is
acknowledged. This chapter subsequently
argues that volunteer tourists strategically
manage and narrate their experience in the
indigenous communities to achieve desirable
outcomes.
Abstract of Chapter 8
Chapter Eight takes stock of the major
arguments of this thesis, namely that
volunteer tourism embodies the spirit of neo-
liberal development models, whilst Buen Vivir
provides a critical avenue for unsettling this
agenda, by providing a framework through
which alternative possibilities can be
imagined. The chapter reinforces the thesis
contribution to the existing literature, and
points to possible avenues of future research.
 Geographies of Transition:
Heritage, Identity and Tourism in post-socialist Bulgaria

Nikola Naumov 1
Received: 27/06/2019
1 University of Northampton, Waterside Campus, Learning Hub Building, Room 201, University Drive,
Northampton, United Kingdom, NN1 5PH, Tel: +44 (0) 1604 893174. E-mail: nick.naumov@northampton.ac.uk

Coordinating editor: Faizan Ali

Supervisors: Dr. Ruth Craggs, Department of Geography, School of Global Affairs, King’s College London
Prof. David Harrison, Department of Geography, School of Global Affairs, King’s College London

Institution awarding the Ph. D. Degree: King’s College London, United Kingdom
Date of defence: 10 July 2018

Citation: Naumov, N. (2019) Geographies of Transition: Heritage, Identity and Tourism in post-
socialist Bulgaria. Doctoral Dissertation Summary. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp.
221-224

Goal and objectives of the dissertation use of heritage and related tourism
Goal development as an economic resource in
The thesis aims to critically evaluate the socialist Bulgaria (1944-1989), the post-1989
economic, political and socio-cultural role of utilization of heritage as a strategic resource
heritage in socialist and post-socialist for national and international funding and
Bulgaria, with a particular focus on the post-1989 politics of tourism development
transition from state socialism to democratic (2) What is the political importance of
market economy after 1989. In order to fulfil heritage during the transitional process and
the aim, this study adopts the following what changes have been made to the policies
research questions and objectives: of heritage development, interpretation and
management? - this explores the politics of
Objectives heritage management and development in
socialist Bulgaria (1944-1989) and how the
(1) What is the economic importance of (changing) heritage policy has been
heritage in transition and how has it changed intertwined with the politics of national
over time (1944-1989)? - this examines the recognition and European integration (1989 –
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION 221

 Geographies of Transition: Heritage, Identity and Tourism in post-socialist Bulgaria. Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
2016) while also examining the political
influence over the redevelopment,
designation and management of heritage
sites in post-socialist era (1989 – 2016).
(3) What is the socio–cultural importance
of heritage sites for (re)building national
identities in transition? - this explores the
legacy of socialist heritage after 1989
analysing the (re)assessment of its value as
perceived by the local stakeholders, including
stakeholders’ attitudes and meanings
attached to the status of World Heritage in
socialist and post-socialist Bulgaria.
Methodology
The qualitative research approach has been
chosen as the most appropriate one for this
study based on the exploratory nature of the
research and more specifically, the aim to
provide a comprehensive and holistic analysis
of the changing value of cultural heritage in
socialist and post-socialist era. Two of the
three empirical chapters are based on case
studies. The case study of Sofia is based on
two representations of socialist heritage -
1300 Years Bulgaria Monument and the
Museum of Socialist Art - and analyses the
ongoing disputes and debates regarding the
management and interpretation of socialist
heritage in the post- 1989 era focusing on the
changing importance of socialist heritage as
sites of collective memory and potential
(communist) heritage tourism attractions. The
case study of Ancient City of Nessebar
provides a comprehensive analysis about the
state politics of heritage management and
development at the time of nomination (early
1980s), political transition (post-1989) and EU
accession (2007) and illustrates the changing
value of World Heritage as a tool for
economic regeneration, political recognition,
and post-socialist identity construction.
The data collection involved two stages. First,
archival research (e.g. policies, frameworks,
official decrees and legislations) at Central
State Archive in Sofia, Archives of the
Committee of (Science) Art and Culture,
Archives of Bulgarian Communist Party and
Archives of the Committee for Tourism and
Recreation, Archive of the National Institute
for Immovable Cultural Heritage, and official
222
newspaper publications such as State
Gazette (1879-1950 and 1963 – 2016) and
Bulletin of the Presidium of the National
Assembly (1950-1963). Documents for the
Ancient City of Nessebar (e.g nomination
dossier, State of Conservation Reports and
joint UNESCO/ICOMOS monitoring mission
reports) were retrieved from the ICOMOS
Documentation Centre in Charenton-le-Pont,
France. Second, a long-term ethnography in
Sofia and Nessebar based on participant
observation and unstructured and semi-
structured interviews with heritage experts
and decision-makers involved in heritage
management before and/or after 1989 (e.g.
archaeologists, council officers, architects,
museum directors).
Theoretical conclusions
This research enriches our understanding of
‘transition’ and adds to some previous
contributions (e.g. Marcińczak et al. 2014) in
various ways. First, it demonstrates the non-
applicability of the conventional, mainstream
transition theories and contradicts the neo-
liberal theories that conceptualise ‘transition’
as straightforward economic and geopolitical
changes. The analysis of the post-1989
changes in Bulgaria revealed a very complex,
difficult and uneasy transition. In line with
Smith & Pickles (1998), this research
suggests that we need an alternative
definition of ‘transition’ that moves beyond the
lenses of post-socialist economic
restructuring and democratic changes to
consider the wider processes of cultural
change, the reworking of social relations and
the (re-)emergence of the national identity.
Second, this research on heritage policies in
Bulgaria brings us to the problematic
differentiation between ‘transition’ and
‘transformation’ (Sýkora & Bouzarovski,
2012). The study demonstrates that Bulgaria
has gone through ‘multiple transformations’
but that none of these processes has been
fully completed. First, the ‘institutional
transformations’ have failed to completely
erase the pre-1989 model of political,
economic and cultural governance. Second,
the ‘cultural transition’ is also not completed
and despite the reforms and the proclaimed
 Naumov, N. (2019) / European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 221-224
decentralisation, the pre-1989 administrative
model of cultural governance has been
preserved. Moreover, the retention of some
socialist elites within the heritage sector and
their involvement in the post-1989 era have
contributed to the slow ‘transition’ and limited
progress towards EU integration. Overall, this
research suggests that the understanding of
‘transition’ from an economic and political
perspective is too simplistic and these only
constitute the beginning of a long and
complex ‘transition’.
Practical application of the dissertation
The findings of this research demonstrated
the prioritisation of the cultural heritage sector
before 1989 and more specifically, the
political utilization of heritage as an
instrument of domestic and international
propaganda. The study argues that the
heavily centralised model of heritage
management still influences the post-socialist
(re)structuring of institutions and frameworks
and the proclaimed ‘decentralisation’ and ‘de-
communisation’ have not happened – rather
contemporary Bulgaria has seen the retention
of the former socialist elites in key roles and
an even more centralised model of
governance.
An important contribution of this study is the
examination of the importance of socialist
heritage sites across issues of identity,
memory and tourism. Drawing on the
Museum of Socialist Art and 1300 Years
Bulgaria Monument, this research
demonstrates the varied and contradictory
meanings and values attached to socialist
heritage sites since 1989. As the analysis of
the both case studies reveal, the
interpretation and understanding of socialist
heritage in the post-socialist era is
controversial and complex, largely as a result
of the problematic ‘authorised discourse’
(Smith, 2006) and the highly politicised nature
of heritage interpretation.
The multitude of stakeholders’ perceptions
and attitudes are also demonstrated with the
changing value of World Heritage before and
after 1989 with the case study of Ancient
Nessebar. As the analysis reveals, the value
of World Heritage has changed as a result of
the post-1989 economic stagnation, political
instability and loss of state funding but there
are continuities between periods, most
obviously in the consistent differences
between the perspectives of government and
local residents.
Overall, the problematic and rather complex
politics of interpretation, heavily centralised
model of governance, and the changing
values and meanings attached to heritage
sites by the different stakeholders give us a
more holistic view on the state of transition of
Bulgaria – uncertain, driven by divergent
political interests and confronted by the
uncertainties that surround our own
interpretation of the recent past.
Content of the dissertation
Abstract of Chapter 1
An introductory chapter that includes a
contextual introduction to heritage and
tourism, aim and objectives of the thesis and
outline of the chapters.
Abstract of Chapter 2
Provides a concise multidisciplinary overview
of heritage as a field of enquiry and
contextualises some contemporary issues
concerning heritage and its bonds with other
theoretical concepts such as national identity,
collective memory and heritage tourism. The
chapter concludes with a brief critical
discussion of these three concepts into the
context of Central and Eastern Europe
focusing on the heritage discourse before
1989 and the changing interpretation and
management of heritage in the post-1989 era.
Abstract of Chapter 3
Explains the chosen research approach and
presents a detailed description of the
research design and the chosen research
methods. It includes the rationale behind the
chosen case study approach, the value of
combining interviews, participant observation
and archival research for understanding the
role of heritage, and some reflections on my
positionality as Bulgarian insider/outsider. The
chapter concludes with the ethical
consideration and a discussion of the
223
 Geographies of Transition: Heritage, Identity and Tourism in post-socialist Bulgaria. Doctoral Dissertation Summary.
challenges and limitations faced in the
research process.
Abstract of Chapter 4
Provides a chronological overview of heritage
development and management at a national
level before (1944-1989) and after the political
changes (1989-2016). Based on analysis of
legislative frameworks, cultural policies and
previous studies, the chapter focuses on the
introduction and development of the socialist
model of heritage management and the
impact of the post-1989 political changes over
heritage management, development and
interpretation. This chapter also discusses the
use of heritage as a strategic resource for
domestic and international tourism before and
after 1989.
Abstract of Chapter 5
Examines the importance of socialist heritage
sites across issues of identity, memory and
tourism Discusses the development,
management and interpretation of socialist
heritage sites in the capital city of Sofia.
Focuses on the legacy of socialist heritage
sites and discusses the contemporary
challenges related to their management and
interpretation in a post-socialist context by
drawing on two case studies: the Museum of
Socialist Art and 1300 Years Bulgaria
Monument, this part of the thesis.
Abstract of Chapter 6
Explores the politics of heritage, development
of heritage tourism and World Heritage
designation of the Ancient City of Nessebar.
The analysis goes back to the beginning of
socialism and the initial period of heritage
development (1950s – 1970s) and the
nomination of Nessebar for World Heritage
224
Site (early 1980s), and explores the
development of heritage in economic, socio-
cultural and political dimensions. The main
contribution of this chapter lies in the
analyses of the stakeholders’ perceptions and
attitudes towards the value of World Heritage
in two different historical periods.
Abstract of Chapter 7
Draws out in more detail the main arguments
of the thesis and demonstrates how the
research aims and objectives have been met.
Brings together the findings of the research to
suggest that there are a variety of ways
heritage is understood and imagined under
state-socialism and post-socialism and
heritage management practices can tell us
much about the political transition in Bulgaria.
References:
Marcińczak, S., Gentile, M., Rufat, S., &
Chelcea, L. (2014). Urban Geographies of
Hesitant Transition: Tracing
Socioeconomic Segregation in
Post‐Ceauşescu Bucharest. International
Journal of Urban and Regional Research,
38(4), 1399-1417.
Smith, A., & Pickles (1998). Introduction:
theorising transition and the political
economy of transformation. In J. Pickles &
A. Smith (Eds.), Theorising transition: the
political economy of post-socialist
transformations (pp.1-25). London:
Routledge.
Smith, L. (2006). Uses of Heritage. London:
Routledge.
Sýkora, L., & Bouzarovski, S. (2012). Multiple
transformations: Conceptualising the post-
communist urban transition. Urban
Studies, 49(1), 43-60.
 Dixit, S. (Ed.) (2019) The Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic
Tourism. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-55155-8, 590
pages.

Reviewed by Francesc Fusté-Forné 1

Received: 30/05/2019
1 Faculty of Tourism, University of Girona. Plaça Josep Ferrater i Móra, 17004 Girona, Catalonia, Spain; e-mail:
francesc.fusteforne@udg.edu; researchexperiencetourism@gmail.com

Citation Dixit, S. (Ed.) (2019) The Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism. Abingdon:
Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-55155-8, 590 pages. Reviewed by Francesc Fusté-Forné. European
Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 225-227

Food tourism is a hot topic both in terms of entered in the “Golden Age of Food Tourism”.
academic and research attention, and business This book is certainly one of the “Golden Books
and destination management. Here, The of Gastronomic Tourism Research”.
Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism
addresses this special interest tourism, a field Firstly, Part One includes a general overview of
of study which has witnessed an increasing gastronomic tourism. Theoretical and model
amount of papers, book chapters and case approaches are provided, together with case
studies and industry reports during the last studies applied to different geographical
couple of decades. This book is composed by contexts. This general section highlights the
six parts and an impressive amount of 60 understanding of gastronomy as part of culture,
chapters. The book deals with both a wide and tourism. This is especially relevant since
variety of themes and geographical areas. food tourism is recently regarded as a form of
creative tourism. To gather a food based
In terms of topics developed, the book covers knowledge is to discover the diversity of the
all the dimensions of food and gastronomic world. While food is also getting global, food
tourism, in which are divided its six parts: idiosyncrasies are a very local cultural
theoretical understandings of gastronomic expression. They are expected to be
tourism, gastronomic tourists’ behaviour, the authentically experienced only in the place
sustainability of gastronomic tourism, where a product grows or is harvested.
gastronomy and digital world, contemporary However, global circumstances allow to explore
issues, and futures perspectives in gastronomic a culture through food from the other side of
tourism, both as a research arena and as a the world.
powerful tourist experience. Erik Wolf in the
foreword of the book says that we have now
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit
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BOOK REVIEW 225
 Dixit, S. (Ed.) (2019) The Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-55155-8,
590 pages. Reviewed by Francesc Fusté-Forné. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 225-227
Within this context, food as a tourist attraction
is examined as a vital ingredient in urban
environments, and also as a source of rural
development. In both cases, gastronomic
tourism relies on the transformation of place –
terroir – into a food based tourist attraction. In
consequence, destinations need to take
advantage of their culinary potential to market it
through multiple activities that bring visitors and
tourists to engage with the foodscapes of a
place.
Here, the gastronomic tourist seeks to discover
a cultural and natural framework throughout
gastronomy. Part Two is precisely focused on
the gastronomic tourist behaviour. Gastronomic
motivations are increasingly studied by
researchers and serve to better market food
tourist products and experiences. While this is
a difficult topic to explore, both academics and
practitioners should remember that food is
always part of a trip, since everybody needs to
eat while traveling. Within this context, they
need not only to focus on behaviours of those
tourists who do have gastronomy as a primary
motivation when travel, but also on those who
do not have food as a main motivation. They all
eat and practice food tourism, in a way or
another. In particular, the book reviews what
factors influence on food consumption in
tourism, thus considering the tourist, the
characteristics of food in the destination, and
the own destination environment. The analysis
of tourists’ expectations, perceptions and
satisfaction leads to a more effective
segmentation of food tourists, culinary
travellers, or foodies. This primary data serves
as a basis for planning, development and
marketing the destination strategy. This is
applied to specific cases of food tourism
consumption such as gastronomic trails or
festivals.
The aforementioned case studies drive us to
Part Three, which highlights the relationship
between sustainability and gastronomic
tourism. In particular, sustainable tourism
development through local food emerges as a
crucial topic. The use of short supply chains
means to keep authentic chains, that is, supply
chains that act as guardians of the sense of
place. This has large economic, environmental,
226
and social benefits to local communities. In
terms of gastronomic tourism, local supply
chains contribute to the reconnection of
agriculture and tourism, which is a relation
increasingly developed through food. For
example, farmers’ markets show the
seasonality of foods, landscapes, and lifestyles.
This sustainable seasonality undoubtedly
enhances the marketability of local food, whose
effects on climate change mitigation, food
waste reduction, and healthier consumption
habits, are indisputable.
Part Four merges gastronomic tourism with
other timely and well-researched topics in
recent years. Food is a cultural and natural
heritage which can also be explored in digital
avenues. The growing use and power of social
media is exemplified through the relationship
between customer reviews and marketing
decisions, which are essential both at industry
and destination levels. Also, this section pays
attention to the online management and
reputation processes. That said, online
communication is a complex arena since firms
(and destinations) lose control on the
generated contents, which at the same time
produce electronic word-of-mouth and
influence consumer behaviour and purchase
decisions. The book innovatively reviews
issues such as the collaborative gastronomy on
digital platforms or the use of mobile
applications to promote gastronomic tourism.
Part Five offers an approach to contemporary
issues in the field. Here, the chapters again
elaborate on a significant range of topics. Slow
food, organic food and restaurants, and crafts
foods and drinks bring the readers back to
previous acknowledged topics: the
sustainability of food tourism and the
motivations of food tourists. In this sense, this
section reveals the symbolic meanings
attached to local foods and drinks, and
advocates that, thanks to organic and
handcrafted products, travellers are able to eat
like locals. In a similar way, the role of street
food as a gastronomic tourism practice is also
discussed.
Finally, Part Six sets a relation between
gastronomic tourism and futuristic
 Dixit, S. (Ed.) (2019) The Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-55155-8,
590 pages. Reviewed by Francesc Fusté-Forné. European Journal of Tourism Research 23, pp. 225-227
perspectives. It focuses on the gastronomy
tourism development through festivals and
events – for example, by revealing
collaborations among food and wine producers,
and by defining thematic products and
experiences. The section reviews the influence
of geographical indications or celebrity chefs’
branding on marketing strategies. Both of them
heavily contribute to the promotion of a regional
identity which may use media as a form of
gastronomic tourism – reading and watching
about food is also a gastronomic experience.
Therefore, the book is an extensive, rich and
diverse approach to the relationships between
gastronomy and tourism through an impressive
amount of cases that make this book a world
referent in gastronomic tourism research. Here,
further research would need to focus on a more
varied approach to rural and urban
environments, geographical scales, and also
count on deeper analyses about niche food
tourisms – featured by local products that
become destination landmarks. The book
serves to students and academics, and also to
practitioners who want to acquire food as a
topic of interest in terms of analysing,
discovering and understanding cultures,
societies, landscapes, lifestyles, firms, and
destinations. Also, the readers will gather
insights from a wave of examples of best
practices in operational, planning, management
and marketing strategies based on food,
cuisine and gastronomy.
227
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wpdf/chr/research/working/revenuemanage.pdf
(Accessed on 16.12.2005)
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