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.

The Mediating Effect of Social Media on the Relationship Between Travel Preference and Tourist Behavior of Local Tourists in Davao City

This paper aims to determine the mediating effect of social media on the relationship between travel behavior and tourist preference.This paper utilized the mediation analysis design to determine whether social media significantly affects the independent and dependent variables.For the statistical tools,the proponents of the study utilized descriptive statistics,Sobel’s test,mean and standard deviation.Also,the proponents of the study utilized data from questionnaires gathered through an online google form.Most of the respondents are single females,college-level,and use Facebook most of the time.Therefore,this is the social media platform that the majority utilize.It has been revealed in the study the three sets of correlated variables:Travel behavior vs.tourist behavior,travel preference vs.social media,and social media vs.tourist behavior,have a strong positive linear relationship between the two quantitative variables.Thus,the study proponents concluded that there is an indirect effect between the travel preference and tourist behavior of local tourists in Davao City via social media.Lastly,the study’s findings reveal the fundamentals of how visitors make decisions,which are essential for enhancing the competitive advantages of cultural destinations.Significant findings from the study are beneficial to the growth of cultural tourism in Davao City.

Tourists’Willingness to Pay for Recreation Services in Nyerere National Park,Tanzania:Are We Overvaluing or Undervaluing Our Nature Recreation Resources?

This study estimated tourists’Willingness to Pay(WTP)per day for recreation services in Nyerere National Park(NNP)and compared these values with daily travel costs that are incurred by tourists to visit NNP in order to inform whether recreation resources in the park are overvalued or undervalued.The study revealed that tourists’WTP per day for recreation services was estimated at$237.4 and$1521 for resident and non-resident tourists,respectively.The estimated tourists’WTP values exceed the daily travel costs currently incurred by tourists,which are$201.04 and$1517.97 for resident and non-resident tourists,respectively.This indicates that tourists are willing to spend more to enjoy recreation services in NNP,which signifies that recreation resources in NNP are slightly undervalued.In addi­tion,the findings disclosed that the largest share of tourist daily travel expenses is allocated to transportation services,and very little is paid to the park as a conservation fee.It was revealed that out of the daily travel expenses incurred by non-resident and resident tourists,only 4.62%and 2.23%are respectively paid directly to NNP as conservation fees.This study considers that allocation is not very fair;thus,NNP,in collaboration with TANAPA,needs to adjust the current entrance or conservation fee and reduce the transportation costs charged by tourist companies.The travel costs incurred by tourists,age,education,monthly income,site visited,substitute site,and quality of park were identified as significant factors in influencing tourists’WTP for recreation services in NNP.Thus,policies oriented to reduce tour­ists’transportation costs and improve the quality of national parks would attract more tourists to NNP.

Return of Chinese Tourists

South Africa on 29 March received the first group of 13 tourists from China over the past three years.The tourists,taking a flight from Air China,landed at O.R.Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and were welcomed by people from different walks of life.

A system-integrated approach for the design of tourist areas at the local level under changing conditions:A case study in the Altay Mountains

The existing approaches for the design of tourist areas often lead to limited flexibility in project implementation.To realize a more flexible approach,in this study,we formulated a model for planning and designing tourist areas at the local level.Moreover,specific tools for analyzing tourist areas and ensuring sustainable development under changing conditions were developed.This study was conducted in two tourist regions,Biryuzovaya Katun tourist complex and Belokurikha destination(including Belokurikha City with Belokurikha 2 Gornaya tourist complex and surrounding areas),in the Altay Mountains.We employed the recreation opportunity spectrum and proposed a system-integrated programming approach for the design of tourist areas at the destination and site levels.The key of this approach was the collection and analysis of current spatial data,including the spatial distribution of attractions and visitor flows.We constructed heat maps using video recording and unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)observation data.Moreover,we analyzed the video stream using an image-analyzing framework You Only Look Once(YOLO)v5 software.The heat map of visitor flows based on video recording data in the Andreevskaya Sloboda museum of Belokurikha 2 Gornaya tourist complex allowed us to highlight the most attractive sites in this area and classify them into one of three types:points of functional concentration,points of transitional concentration,and points of attractions.The heat maps in Biryuzovaya Katun tourist complex,created using UAV observation data,allowed us to determine the spatiotemporal patterns of visitor flows and tourists’preferences throughout the day within four time intervals:09:00-12:00,13:00-14:00,14:00-15:00,and 16:00-18:00(LST).The maximum visitor flow density occurred from 16:00 to 18:00 in the beach area of the artificial lake.A comparison between the visitor-concentrated sites and the current facilities provided insights into the demand for attractions and facilities and the lacking areas.Heat maps are useful in analyzing the land use at the site level,while zoning based on the recreation opportunity spectrum can be used to design tourist areas at the destination level.The proposed methods for analyzing the use of tourist areas contribute to the development of adaptive tourism design.

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.

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.

Navigation System for Foreign Tourists in Japan

The present study aimed to design, develop, operate and evaluate a sightseeing navigation system in order to support foreign tourists＇ efficient acquisition of sightseeing spot information in Japanese urban tourist areas, about which a variety of information is transmitted, by enabling information to be accumulated, shared and recommended. The system was developed by integrating Web-GIS （Geographic Information Systems）, SNS （Social Networking Services） as well as the recommendation system into a single system. The system used the non-language information such as signs, marks and pictograms in addition to English information, and displayed sightseeing spot information and conduct navigation on 2D and 3D digital maps of the Web-GIS. Additionally, the system was operated for two weeks in the central part of Yokohama city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and the total number of users was 54. Based on the results of the web questionnaire survey, all of the specific functions are highly evaluated, and the usefulness of the system when sightseeing was excellent. From the results of the access analysis of users＇ log data, it is evident that it can be said that the system was mainly used before sightseeing and users confirm their favorite sightseeing spots and made their tour planning in advance, using 2D and 3D digital maps.

Driving Effect of Theme Cultural Tourist Destination Attributes on Tourists' Place Attachment: A Case Study of Yancheng City in Changzhou

From the perspective of man–land relationship, Yancheng City(ruins of Yancheng in the Spring and Autumn Period) as a typical theme tourist destination is selected to construct the structural model of driving effect of tourist destination attributes on tourists' place attachment, and carry out the empirical research. The results show that attributes of Yancheng City contain 4 dimensions, and tourists' perception of the attributes declines in the sequence "recreational and entertainment attribute→ attribute of culture of the Spring and Autumn Period→ attribute of landscapes and ruins→ attribute of humanistic concern"; the four-dimension attributes vary greatly in driving tourists' place attachment, recreational and entertainment attribute and attribute of culture of the Spring and Autumn Period have obvious positive driving effect, attribute of landscapes and ruins and attribute of humanistic concern have poorer driving effect; generally speaking, driving effect of tourist destination attributes on tourists' place attachment is demonstrated as "highlighted value functions of tourist destination attributes→‘predominant area' of tourists' perceptual experience→ obvious driving effect on tourists' place attachment" and "hysteretic value functions of tourist destination attributes→‘vulnerable area' of tourists' perceptual experience→ weakened driving effect on tourists' place attachment"; driving effect of the overall attributes of tourist destination on tourists' place attachment is to be further improved and optimized.

Economic Valuation of River Conservation towards International Tourists’ Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Ecofriendly Services of Hotel Industry: A Case Study of Namxong River in Vangvieng District, Laos

Using choice experiment, the objective of this study is to estimate international tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for ecofriendly services which related to river and natural environment conservation of hotel industry in Vangvieng, a popular tourist town in Lao PDR. We used the mixed logit to take into account of preference heterogeneity by allowing coefficients to be normally distributed and assumed to vary among individuals. The result shows that all ecofriendly practices offered in this study are significantly preferred by tourists. Income, age, and education did not have significant effect on the probability of choosing ecologically friendly practices of hotel and attributes to support the ecotourism of the area;however, this study provides important information that female tourists are more receptive to a new alternative. These findings do not only support the provision of good and green services in Vangvieng Town, but will also be useful for policy maker to enhance the sustainability of ecotourism in Laos.