Safety Evaluation and Improvement of Homestays from the Perspective of Tourists’Perception: A Case Study of Tangjiajia Hot Spring Village in Nanjing

Safety is one of the basic needs of tourists,and their sense of security is a necessary condition for the successful operation of homestays.Based on the theory of tourist perception,Nanjing Tangjiajia Hot Spring Village is taken as the research object.This paper analyzes the tourists’perception of homestay safety facilities and services through questionnaire survey,field investigation,interview,and other methods.It proposes strategies for improving homestay safety,aiming to provide safety management references for China’s homestay industry and promote its sustainable development.

How Sense of Ritual in Tourism Impacts Tourists’Co-Creation of Tourism Experience Values:A Study Based on the Theory of Value Co-Creation

Establishing a sense of ritual within tourism consumption scenarios offers tourists the opportunity for interactive engagement.Drawing upon the value co-creation theory,this study constructed an influence mechanism model to examine tourists'active engagement in the process of co-creating tourism experience values.It employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling(PLS-SEM)to empirically test the proposed hypotheses.The findings demonstrate that the model constructed in the present study exhibits robust reliability,validity,and explanatory power.The perception of the sense of ritual in tourism exerts a significant positive influence on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values,thereby significantly enhancing both the communitas and flow experienced by tourists during their travels.Moreover,such communitas and flow can mediate the influence of the sense of ritual in tourism on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values.This study contributes to advancing the current research on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values and the sense of ritual in tourism,thereby providing theoretical foundations for cultivating a sense of ritual within tourism consumption scenarios.

Multi-Step Clustering of Smart Meters Time Series:Application to Demand Flexibility Characterization of SME Customers

Customer segmentation according to load-shape profiles using smart meter data is an increasingly important application to vital the planning and operation of energy systems and to enable citizens’participation in the energy transition.This study proposes an innovative multi-step clustering procedure to segment customers based on load-shape patterns at the daily and intra-daily time horizons.Smart meter data is split between daily and hourly normalized time series to assess monthly,weekly,daily,and hourly seasonality patterns separately.The dimensionality reduction implicit in the splitting allows a direct approach to clustering raw daily energy time series data.The intraday clustering procedure sequentially identifies representative hourly day-unit profiles for each customer and the entire population.For the first time,a step function approach is applied to reduce time series dimensionality.Customer attributes embedded in surveys are employed to build external clustering validation metrics using Cramer’s V correlation factors and to identify statistically significant determinants of load-shape in energy usage.In addition,a time series features engineering approach is used to extract 16 relevant demand flexibility indicators that characterize customers and corresponding clusters along four different axes:available Energy(E),Temporal patterns(T),Consistency(C),and Variability(V).The methodology is implemented on a real-world electricity consumption dataset of 325 Small and Medium-sized Enterprise(SME)customers,identifying 4 daily and 6 hourly easy-to-interpret,well-defined clusters.The application of the methodology includes selecting key parameters via grid search and a thorough comparison of clustering distances and methods to ensure the robustness of the results.Further research can test the scalability of the methodology to larger datasets from various customer segments(households and large commercial)and locations with different weather and socioeconomic conditions.

Tourists' Demand for Heritage Utilization Based on Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation:A Case Study of the Summer Palace

Under the background of whole-region tourism,heritage is utilized in a more diversified and various way.With the continuous deepening of the experience economy,the integration of various technical means such as VR and AR,and the construction of Internet platforms,it is more necessary to integrate various utilization methods,so that tourists can get more humanized and personalized experience in addition to traditional displays,and more intuitively feel the space,history,allusions,handicrafts and other aspects of Chinese heritage,showing the charm of Chinese traditional culture.In this paper,based on literature analysis,the utilization methods of heritage were sorted out,and the survey questionnaires were analyzed by analytic hierarchy process (AHP).A model was established to obtain the weight of various utilization methods,and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was used to conduct empirical research with the Summer Palace as an example.It is concluded that in the future utilization of heritage,on the basis of heritage protection as much as possible,combining traditional festivals,special themes,etc.to carry out various forms of activity and experience utilization will more effectively improve the satisfaction of tourists and achieve the purpose of inheriting culture.

Tourism demand forecasting and tourists’search behavior:evidence from segmented Baidu search volume

Given the importance of web search volume for reflecting tourists'preferences for certain tourism services and destinations,incorporating these data into forecasting models can significantly improve forecasting performance.This study enriches the literature on tourism demand forecasting and tourists'search behavior through segmented Baidu search volume data.First,this study divides Baidu search volume data based on volume sources and periods.Then,by analyzing the most relevant keywords in tourism demand in different segments,this study captures the dynamic characteristics of tourist search behavior.Finally,this study adopts a series of econometric and machine learning models to further improve the performance of tourism demand and forecasting.The findings indicate that tourists’search behavior has changed significantly with the prevalence and popularization of 4G technology and suggest that search volume improves forecasting performance,especially search volume on mobile terminals,from 2014M1–2019M12.

Investigation on Tourists' Satisfaction Degree in Xionger Mountain of Shandong Province

Through the field investigation in Xionger Mountain,it was found that the scenic area is rich in tourism resources.However,the development of tourism is lagging behind.By the method of random sampling,a survey for visitors was conducted.A total of 100 questionnaires were issued,100 of which were valid.With the help of TSI evaluating model,tourists' satisfaction degree was calculated accurately.The results showed that ratio of tourism performance to price in Xionger Mountain wasn't high,of which tourists generally expressed dissatisfaction;that the overall environment was quite good,of which tourists showed higher satisfaction degree;that some tourists' expectations to this scenic area were not high;that revisit willing was comparatively high;that there was a certain gap compared with other scenic spot.Tourists' satisfaction degree on Xionger Mountain is 55.89% through calculating TSI index.Finally,aiming at the existent problems,some countermeasures for improving the tourists' satisfaction degree on Xionger Mountain were put forward from the aspects of tour value,environmental perception,marketing philosophy and modes.

Study on Consumer Behaviors of Tourists in Rural Areas of Liaoning Province

This study takes Liaoning Province for an example,investigates and analyzes a series of consumer decision behaviors of tourists in rural tourist sites,such as need recognition,data collection,purchase decision,summarizes law of tourists' behaviors,points out internal interaction between tourists' behaviors and demography features,proposes improvement measures for promoting the sustainable development of rural tourism.

Study on Ecological Footprint of Sightseeing Tourists and Vacation Tourists in Sanya City

Based on the theory of ecological footprint and tourists' consumption structure, the model of tourist ecological footprint was divided into six sub-models including catering, accommodation, shopping, sightseeing, shopping and entertainment, and ecological footprint of sightseeing tourists and vacation tourists in Sanya City was analyzed. The result showed that per capita ecological footprint of vacation tourists was higher than that of sightseeing tourists in Sanya City. The influential factor of the two kinds of tourists was slightly different in their proportion of sightseeing and entertainment factors. In the future, it should advocate sightseeing tourists to rationally make use of ecological resources, vacation tourists to have a healthy and ecological holiday, so as to ensure sustainable development of tourism.

Behavior Characteristics of Tourists and Detailed Classification of Tourist Source Market in Liuxihe National Forest Park

On the basis of questionnaires and field investigation,behavior characteristics of tourists in Liuxihe National Forest Park were analyzed,and the results showed that tourists in the study area mainly come from the Pearl River Delta for sightseeing,mostly 21-45 years old,with higher revisit rate but less residence time.And meanwhile,key tourist source markets of Liuxihe National Forest Park were classified on the basis of spatial distance features,social and economic features,and behavior characteristics of tourists,specifically,The Pearl River Delta Sightseeing Tourist Market,The Pearl River Delta Vacationing Tourist Market,The Pearl River Delta Business Tourist Market,and The Pearl River Delta Special-interest Tourist Market.Moreover,corresponding development strategies were proposed according to actual conditions of each market.

Marketing Strategies Based on Tourists' Satisfaction on Rural Tourism in Suzhou City of China

To further promote rural tourism brand of Suzhou and enhance its competitiveness,tourist source market of rural tourism in Suzhou City was analyzed through questionnaire survey from the perspectives of demographic features and behavioral characteristics of tourists.Moreover,significance of service items and tourists' satisfaction on these items were investigated from the perspectives of scenic area management,traffic conditions,accommodation services,hygienic conditions,commodity price,infrastructure,guide services,food and recreational activities.Through sorting out statistics obtained in the investigation,corresponding marketing strategies were proposed.First,orientation of rural tourism market should be defined,local tourist source market taken as the principal one,especially tourists from the middle-class and upper-class.Second,rural cultural connotations should be further explored to build villages of dominant cultures and bring new ideas to traditional festivals.Third,integrated marketing should be introduced to the promotion of rural tourism,marketing channels further integrated,and online marketing of rural tourism enhanced.

Study on Tourism Decision-making Pattern of European Tourists in China——With European Tourists in Xi’an City as a Study Case

With the inbound tourism market data supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China as the basis, this study through researching the tourism decision-making behaviors of inbound tourists, adopting questionnaire survey among European tourists in Xi'an City, analyzed their tourism decision behaviors and influencing factors, and aimed to propose pertinent suggestions for the expansion of European tourist market for Xi'an City.

Assessing the Carrying Capacity of Tourist Resorts: An Application of Tourists’ Spatial Behavior Simulator Based on GIS and Multi-Agent System

Based on the study of visitors' individual spatial behaviors, a tourists'spatial behavior simulator (TSBS) to assess the carrying capacity of tourist resorts was developed,TSBS employs GIS (Geographic Information System) to manage the spatial data,and Multi-Agent systemto simulate the actions of individual visitors. By utilizing TSBS, visitors' travel patterns such aslocation, cost, and state can be analyzed and predicted. Based on this analysis and prediction, themodel of assessing the carrying capacity of resorts is built. Our results show that TSBS will be aneffective tool to accurately assess the carrying capacity of tourist resorts.

Influence of Tourists′ Environmental Tropisms on Their Attitudes to Tourism and Nature Conservation in Natural Tourist Destinations: A Case Study of Jiuzhaigou National Park in China

People′s environmental tropism has an effect on their understanding of tourism-nature relationship,and also influences their attitudes to natural resources utilization and environmental protection.Taking Jiuzhaigou National Park of China as a study case,the authors conducted some quantitative analyses with the tools of SPSS 16.0 and LISREL 8.7,to explore the influence of tourists′ environmental tropism on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation in the natural tourist destination.Three hypotheses and the theoretic model of influences of tourists′ environmental tropism on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation have been tested and accepted based on the Structural Equation Model analysis on survey data collected in Jiuzhaigou National Park of China.Some conclusions were drawn as follows: 1) tourists′ human-prioritized concept influences their cognition to tourism-nature relationship.This concept has a positive influence on their supportive attitudes to tourism,but a negative influence on their attitudes to nature conservation;2) tourists′ human-nature coordination concept has a positive influence on their supportive attitudes to both tourism and nature conservation,especially to the latter.This paper generally proves that human′s environmental tropism does have an influence on their attitudes to tourism and nature conservation in natural tourist destinations.

Monitoring System of tourist traffic(MSTT) for tourists monitoring in mid-mountain national park,SW Poland

National parks are highly valuable natural areas and have the potential to attract a large number of visitors.The number of visitors at national parks is systematically increasing,often exceeding Tourism Carrying Capacity(TCC)of trails.This situation requires adjusting the number of park visitors to adapt to sustainable management systems of visitor flow,thus preventing or counteracting overtourism.The aim of the study is to propose a comprehensive method for tourists monitoring in mid-mountain national park presented on the example of the Sto?owe Mountains National Park(SMNP)in Poland,called as Monitoring System of tourist traffic(MSTT).The study describes six stages procedure of tourists Monitoring System creation and application as an optimal measurement technique.The MSTT enabled a multidimensional analysis of tourist traffic in SMNP.With the help of 39 pyroelectric sensors and surveys data spatio-temporal characteristic of visitor flow was obtained.The data generated in MSTT included hourly,daily,weekly,monthly,and annual reports,taking into account the direction of traffic measuring both directions:entries(IN),exits(OUT)and passages(IN+OUT).The results from pyroelectric sensors were supplemented with field surveys,where visitor’s motivations,preferences,and behaviours were determined.In 2017 a total of 871,344 visitors were recorded in SMNP what causes one of the most popular national parks in Poland.The SMNP is a suitable destination for short breaks leisure visits in wilderness.In order to sustain MSTT methodology in the long-run the set of guidelines together with the workload estimates were presented.In the future,the MSTT can be further developed,including monitoring of climbing,cycling,cross-country skiing,car traffic and illegal tourism assessment.The MSTT can be considered as a useful tool for tourism management in mid-mountain national parks throughout the entire calendar year.

Analysis on inbound tourists' satisfaction in China: an empirical study based on the investigation of 5 cities

In China, the tourism industry is regarded as one means of fostering local economic development. This paper tries to examine inbound tourism development in China in the last decade and analyze inbound tourism's satisfaction of their travel experience with tourist attractions, facilities, services and price by an empirical study based on the investigation of Lanzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. This paper discusses the demographic characteristics of visitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, US, Korea and Japan by surveying a sample of 528 visitors in fi ve different cities. The survey showed that four provinces/autonomous region in western China ranked the top 10 popular destinations. Chinese natural landscape, culture and food were highly regarded by the tourists. At the same time, tourists expressed less satisfaction with tourist language convenience, tourist facility and nightlife in China. It was also found that only 7.4% of the tourists thought travel in China was far more than what they had paid, that 6.5% regarded they got what they paid for, and that 34.9% thought the travel cost was reasonable. Most tourists were satisfi ed with their travel experience in China; many of them would like to return to China and would like to recommend China. For the sustainable development of tourism, Chinese tourism authorities should strengthen the construction, propaganda and management of scenic spots, improve tourist facility and tourist education, especially language convenience, and strengthen the supervision of tickets, souvenir and hotel price.

Pulling Vs. Pushing:Effect of Climatic Factors on Periodical Fluctuation of Russian and South Korean Tourist Demand in Hainan Island,China

While climate is an important factor attracting tourists to certain destinations,it can also motivate people residing in a country with a harsh climate to move to another location.By applying X-12 decompositions and a panel data regression analysis,this study analyzes the pull and push effects of climatic seasonal factors between destination(Hainan Island,China) and source countries(Russia and South Korea).The findings show that climatic seasonal factors have significant pulling and pushing effects on seasonal patterns of tourism demand,with temperature being the main factor.Furthermore,the number of paid vacation days in the source country affects that country's sensitivity to climatic seasonal factors;countries with a higher numbers of paid vacation days are more sensitive to climatic conditions.Lastly,future global warming may causes the aforementioned pull and push effects to abate,which will have an unavoidable influence on tourism industries.

Study on demand features of domestic tourist market in China

This paper analyzes the demands of national tourism in China. They are respectively the upraise of national tourism, the rapid increase of tourist scale, the strength with the leadership of government, the combination of marketing, the variety of behavior, regional consumption and the relationship with economic income as well as the guide of leisure time.

Land Demand and Land Use Regulation for the Building of International Tourist Island in Hainan Province

We conduct analysis on the urban construction's demand for land, tourism's demand for land, infant industry's demand for land and infrastructure's demand for land in Hainan Province, respectively, and forecast the amount of newly-added land in Hainan Province in 2015 compared to 2008. Based on regional characteristics, we analyze the main problems in land use in Hainan Province, and work out the regional land use regulation plan, to provide scientific guidance for the building of International tourist island in Hainan Province.

Travel Motivation of Domestic Tourists to the Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve in Northeastern China: A Comparative Study

This article seeks to develop a fuller understanding of the social and attraction motives of domestic tourists who visit the Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve(CMBR) in Northeastern China. To do so, ecotourists are compared to general travelers visiting this area. A questionnaire was employed to collect data on visitor characteristics and motivations, responses to which were then analyzed via descriptive statistics, T-tests and principal component factor analysis. Results showed that 16% of the visitors to this area were classified as ecotourists, while the remainder general travelers. Five motivations displayed significant differences(P<0.05) between these two types of tourists. Three social motives – boosting self-confidence, feeling at home away from home and being together with family – and two attraction motives – indoor sports and viewing unique landscapes of the CMBR(crater lake, waterfall, gorge and hot spring) – were significantly more important for general travelers(P<0.05); while two social motives of experiencing the tranquility of the natural setting and the natural beauty of the landscape were relatively more important for ecotourists(P<0.1). Results suggest that ecotourists have distinct and complicated attraction and social motives compared to general travelers visiting the CMBR. Results have useful implications for researchers interested in tourist motivations and behavior, as well as for managers who wish to focus their marketing strategies more effectively. National Park of South Africa. Uysal et al.(1994) assessed the travel motives of Australian tourists to U.S. national parks and nature areas and formed five groupings including ‘relaxation/hobbies', ‘novelty', ‘enhancement of kinship relationship', ‘escape', and ‘prestige'. Tao et al.(2004) analyzed motivations of Asian tourists travelling to Taiwan's Taroko National Park using a self-defined approach and found that the most significant benefits sought by self-defined ecotourists are ‘learning about nature' and ‘participating in recreation activities'. Beh and Bruyere(2007) analyzed visitor motivations in three Kenyan national reserves, identifying the three most prominent kinds of tourists as escapers, learners and spiritualists. Pan and Ryan(2007) used factor analysis to reveal five motivational dimensions –‘relaxation', ‘social needs', ‘a sense of belonging', ‘mastery skills', and ‘intellectual needs' – of visitors to the Pirongia Forest Park in New Zealand. Kruger and Saayman(2010) did a comparative study on travel motivations of tourists to Kruger and Tsitsikamma National Parks in South Africa and found that common motives of tourists were ‘escape and relaxation' as well as ‘knowledge seeking', ‘nostalgia' and ‘park attributes'. Despite these efforts, on an overall basis past literature on why visitors travel to national parks and nature areas is still rather limited. In China, a number of empirical studies on tourist motivations have been conducted since the early 1990s(Chen and Miao 2006; Dong 2011; Huang et al. 2011; Jeffrey and Xie 1994; Lu 1997; Ma et al. 2013; Zhang 2012). Some studies have focused on motivations of visitors to nature reserves(Li 2007), geological parks(Chen and Qiao 2010), world heritage sites(Su et al. 2005), and seismic memorial sites(Tang 2014). However, most previous research findings on tourist motivations are not comparable, reflecting the fact that visitors to different parks have quite different motives due to the attributes of particular destinations, the geographic locations of these parks, types of available activities, marketing strategies, and the complexity of travel motives(Chen and Qiao 2010; Pan and Ryan 2007). While it is true that certain motivations were shared in varying degrees by most tourists to these places – i.e., ‘appreciating natural landscapes', ‘family and education', ‘social needs', and ‘perceived prestige of visit' – most previous research has not focused on natural settings as destinations. Thus travel motivations of tourists to these areas must be further explored and clarified in relation to impacts on particular natural areas and patterns of market segmentation. As one of the earliest and largest natural reserves established in China, the Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve(CMBR) has long been a draw not only for domestic tourists but also for international visitors, and tourism to the area has been growing steadily since 1980. With the number of visitors to the reserve having climbed to 2.44 million in 2010(Statistical Communiqué of the Changbai Mountain Protection and Development Zone of Jilin Province 2011), it has become imperative for local government officials and reserve wardens to understand tourists' desires and interests when identifying tourism development opportunities. However, the existing literature still suffers from a lack of empirical studies that investigate why people travel to the CMBR and whether tourist motives differ between groups such as ecotourists and general travelers. The target population for this study consists of domestic visitors to the CMBR. The goals of this research include:(1) to identify the social and attraction motives of domestic tourists that influence decisions to visit the CMBR;(2) to explore whether there are any differences between the motivations of these two types of tourists; and(3) to provide some useful management implications for local government and tourism marketers.

Chinese visiting Rovaniemi, Finland: profile and perceptions of Arctic tourists

The profile of the Chinese tourist is changing. Outbound tourism destinations for Chinese tourists are no longer limited to the Asia-Pacific region. Chinese tourists visit many different destinations, and the areas around the Arctic Circle are growing in attraction. This paper is based on a 2016 online survey about Chinese tourists visiting Rovaniemi, Finland. The questions were based on a previous study of the Finnish Tourist Board conducted in 2003. The results were analyzed and the two studies were compared. The resultant profile of the Chinese tourist visiting the Rovaniemi area showed natural landscapes to be the most important attraction. All respondents had a ＂must-do＂ activity, and more than half participated in sport and leisure activities. The state of the environment, natural landscape, and safety conditions were rated most important among tourists. Increasingly, tourists prefer to organize individual trips, using multiple information channels. Currently, Chinese tourists demand deeper tourism experiences. They want to enjoy winter activities in a pure environment, and unique experiences, such as sleeping in an ice or glass hotel. Chinese tourists appreciate the uniqueness that cannot be found in other places. They wish to benefit from travel information from various media, which will allow Chinese tourists to make a complete plan before their journey.