APJIHT - Taylor's University...The increase in tourist arrivals and receipts has been attributed to the success and virality of the said slogan (Mutuc, 2016), where data on tourist

Asia-PacificJournal of

Innovation inHospitality and

Tourism

APJIHTVol 7 No 1 2018 (March)

PP 17711/04/2013 (032291)

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism

(APJIHT)

Vol 7 No 1 2018 pp. 1-106

Abstracted and Indexed in CABI, CIRET, UDL Edge and MyCITE

Published byTaylor’s University Sdn Bhd

Research PapersThe Impact of Awareness on Tourism Marketing Slogan on Length of Stay 1 and Travel Budget Allocation of Young Travellers John Paolo R. Rivera and Eylla Laire M. GutierrezAsian Institute of Management, Philippines

The Impact of Having Completed Internships on Undergraduate Students’ 27 Perceptions of the Japanese Tourism and Hospitality Industry James Bury and Emi Iwasaki Shumei University, Japan

Does Tenure Matter? HTLP Evaluation Criteria and Programme Quality among 51the United States FacultyDanny Woosik Choi Texas Tech University, USA

Kurt Stahura Niagara University, USA

The Perception of Hyatt Place—a Mid-scale Brand among Hotel Customers 71in China Maria Yue and Steve XuThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR

Inclusions and Exclusions of Social Tourism 85Toney K. ThomasTaylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia

Research NoteFrom ‘Artistic Ape’ to Tourist: How the Evolution of Art Mirrors that of Tourism 101 Keith Kay Hin TAN Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia

APJIHT 7(1) Front & Back Cover_2018_4th.indd All Pages 3/28/18 8:31 PM

Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism(APJIHT)

Taylor’s University Sdn Bhd

APJIHT 7(1)_Prelim_4th.indd 1 3/28/18 8:34 PM

ii Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting

APJIHT Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT

About the JournalThe aim of the journal is to promote and enhance research development and innovation in the field of hospitality and tourism. The journal seeks to provide an international platform for hospitality and tourism educators, postgraduate student and researchers, to debate and disseminate research findings, facilitate the discussion of new research areas and techniques, and highlight best practices for industry practioners. The articles published in the journal take a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach to study the marketing, finance, economics and social aspects of hospitality and tourism. Papers dealing with theoretical, conceptual and empirical aspects of the subject matter will be considered for publication.

Article Categories

•Annualreviewoftrends •Managementstyles•Appliedresearch •Methodsandprinciples•Empiricalresearch •Shortresearchnotes•Techniquesandinnovations •Bookreviews

The Review ProcessAll articles are reviewed (double blind) by at least two academic experts in the particular field of the submitted paper prior to acceptance. A maximum of 45 days/1.5 months is envisaged for the completion of the blind review process.

Paper ContributorsPapers are accepted from public and private institutions of higher education, the industry, non-governmental organizations, research centres and associations.

FrequencyIt is a bi-annual journal with the issues being published in March and September of each year.

AssociationThisjournalisofficiallyassociatedwithASEANTourismResearchAssociation(ATRA)since2015.

Sponsor and PublisherThe journal is sponsored by the Center for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), Faculty of Hospitality, Food and Leisure Management and published by Taylor’s University Sdn. Bhd.


iiiHospitality Emergency Management and The Dirty Twelve:A Dozen Reasons for Failure


Editorial Board

Editor-in-ChiefPaolo Mura, Faculty of Hospitality, Food and Leisure Management, Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Founding Editor-in-ChiefProfessor Muhamad Muda

Board Members

Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, UKKaye Chon, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong KongKadir Din, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaDogan Gursoy, Washington State University, USAMicheal C.Hall,UniversityofCanterbury,NewZealandAmran Hamzah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, MalaysiaPerry Hobson, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaBadaruddin Mohamed, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MalaysiaFevzi Okumus, University of Central Florida, USAJean-Pierre Poulain, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France John Tribe, University of Surrey, UKBihu (Tiger) Wu, Peking University, China

Advisory Members

Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi Mara, MalaysiaFaizan Ali, Florida State University, USALevent Altinay, Oxford Brookes University, UKNima Azarakhsh, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaNeethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaNorman Au, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong KongFrederic Bouchon, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAhmet Ozturk Bulent, Central Florida University, USAChristina Geng-Ging Chi, Washington State University, USAChong Li Choo, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAllan de Guzman, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, PhilippinesYusel Ekinci, Oxford Brookes University, UKFaridah Hassan, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaSotiris Hji-Avgoustis, Ball State University, Indiana, USAStanislav Ivanov, International University College, Bulgaria


iv Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting


Jay Kandampully, Ohio State University, MalaysiaSuresh Kannan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaWoody Kim, Florida State University, USAAzilah Kasim, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaSonia Khan, H.P. University, IndiaCatheryn Khoo-Lattimore, Griffith University, AustraliaCyrille Laporte, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France Emily Ma, Griffith University, AustraliaParikshat Singh Manhas, University of Jammu, IndiaPaul J. McVety, Johnson and Wales University, USAElise Line Mognard, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSalleh Mohd Radzi, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaPaolo Mura, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaHalil Nadiri, EasternMediterraneanUniversity,NorthCyprusPradeep Kumar Nair, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaVikneswaran Nair, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaRuben Mediona Nayve, JR,CouncilofEconomicsEducators,PhilippinesAlexandru Nedelea, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, RomaniaChristy Ng Yen Nee, Institute for Tourism Studies (Macao), ChinaRosmini Omar, Universiti Teknologi MalaysiaNor’ain Othman, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaMicheal Ottenbacher, Heilbronn University, GermanyRadesh Palakurthi, University of Memphis, USARamachandran Ponnan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSushila Devi S. Rajaratnam, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSridar Ramachandran, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaScott Richardson, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, AustraliaHeike Schanze,AucklandUniversityofTechnology,NewZealandRegina Schlüter,UniversidadNacionaldeQuilmes,ArgentinaMohit Shahi, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAhmad Shuib, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaMarianna Sigala, University of the Aegean, GreeceVineetha Sinha,NationalUniversitySingapore,SingaporePimtong Tavitiyaman,SPEED,HongKongToney K. Thomas, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaLaurence Tibere, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, FranceMuzaffer S. Uysal, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USAPaul Williams, Staffordshire University, UKAtila Yuksel, Adnan Menderes University, Turkey


vHospitality Emergency Management and The Dirty Twelve:A Dozen Reasons for Failure


Research PapersThe Impact of Awareness on Tourism Marketing Slogan on Length of Stay and Travel Budget Allocation of Young Travellers 1 JohnPaoloR.RiveraandEyllaLaireM.GutierrezAsian Institute of Management, Philippines

The Impact of Having Completed Internships on Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Japanese Tourism and Hospitality Industry 27JamesBuryandEmiIwasakiShumei University, Japan

Does Tenure Matter? HTLP Evaluation Criteria and Programme Quality among the United States Faculty 51DannyWoosikChoiTexas Tech University, USA

Kurt StahuraNiagara University, USA

The Perception of Hyatt Place—a Mid-scale Brand among Hotel Customers in China 71Maria Yue and Steve Xu The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR

Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT


vi Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting

Inclusions and Exclusions of Social Tourism 85 Toney K. ThomasTaylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia

Research NoteFrom ‘Artistic Ape’ to Tourist: How the Evolution of Art Mirrors that of Tourism 101KeithKayHinTANTaylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia



APJIHT Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018 pp. 1-25ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

The Impact of Awareness on Tourism Marketing Slogan on Length of Stay and Travel Budget Allocation of Young Travellers

John Paolo R. Rivera and Eylla Laire M. Gutierrez Asian Institute of Management, Philippines

© The Author(s) 2018. This article is published with open access by Taylor’s Press.

Abstract: Tourism remains a vital industry in advancing the growth and development of global economies, whereby tourism marketing initiatives have become a dominant technique to realize a destination’s full potential. We consider both length of stay and travel budget allocation of young travellers to understand the role of tourism marketing initiatives of destinations. Using ordered probit on the Asian Barometer Survey, whose respondents are university students from Philippines, Thailand, and Japan, the degree of awareness of a country brand, and demographic variables, specifically age, gender, marital status, and educational attainment have shown varying relationships with the length of stay and travel budget allocation. These findings have implications in developing effective tourism marketing initiatives.

Keywords: Tourism slogan, young travellers, Asian Barometer Survey

Suggested citation: Rivera, J.P.R. & Gutierrez, E.L.M. (2018). The impact of awareness on tourism marketing slogan on length of stay and travel budget allocation of young travellers. Asia- Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 1-25.

Introduction

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported that despite economic and political uncertainties in both the local and global economies, international tourism demand demonstrates resilience. Tourism is one of the few sectors that drive global economic progress. Moreover, the UNWTO forecasted sustained growth for international tourism, projecting 1.8 billion international tourists by 2030 and an average of 43 million new tourists every year from 2010 to 2030, combined (Wulandari, 2013).

National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) have been working towards the promotion of their respective tourism destinations with the hope of catapulting their

Correspondence: John Paolo R. Rivera, Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. Email: [email protected]

APJIHT 7(1)_P1_3rd.indd 1 3/25/18 4:35 PM


2 John Paolo R. Rivera and Eylla Laire M. Gutierrez

industries to the international scene. To achieve this, tourism marketing initiatives such as marketing campaigns in the form of tourism slogans have been one of the most conventional tools used. Furthermore, they are the most powerful in creating demand (Dinnie, 2008).

Case in point, in 2012, the Philippines launched the It’s More Fun in the Philippines (IMFP) campaign. It sought to differentiate the Philippines and establish a strong brand identity emphasising on specific locations and the people of the country to attract tourists to the Philippines (Vadehra, 2014). The increase in tourist arrivals and receipts has been attributed to the success and virality of the said slogan (Mutuc, 2016), where data on tourist arrivals from the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the period 2012 to 2015 showed a steady increasing number of arrivals since the launching of the slogan. In 2016, according to the DOT, international tourist arrivals reached more than five million, breaching the four million mark as of the end of August 2016, and sustaining the upward growth trend. This is the first time the country surpassed four million arrivals in the first eight months of the year. According to the latest report from the DOT, the figure was 12.59% higher than the 3.59 million arrivals in the same period last year. More recent statistics from the DOT revealed that as of August 2017, international arrivals already exceeded four million.

Similarly, in 1990, Malaysia first launched Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) which brought about 25 million tourists annually. VMY is a septennial event which attracted more than 28 million visitors in 2014. However, Malaysia has always been known for the slogan Malaysia Truly Asia, launched in 2007 in conjunction with the third VMY and the country’s 50th Independence Day. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), the successive launching of VMYs have been a success as indicated by tourist arrivals reaching more than 20 million, and receipts amounting to more than USD 10.0 billion. According to Wulandari (2013), the slogan has proven to gain the attention (i.e., interest and curiosity) of potential tourists as it captured the essence of the country’s unique diversity and summed up the distinctiveness and allure of Malaysia as an exceptional tourist destination (Tourism Malaysia, 2017). As cited by Wulandari (2013), tourists were influenced to choose Malaysia over other countries in Asia, as it is “truly Asia” as the slogan suggests.

These tourism slogans are deemed to be one of the success factors of tourism destinations, traditionally measured by tourist arrivals and revenues. Buck (1993) believed that success is determined by the image or reputation a destination has in the consciousness of the market. Khan (2014) cited the increasingly significant role played by Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) in creating tourism slogans for countries in the face of fierce competitions. There have been sustained initiatives in creating national destination identities that can represent the image of a




3

country through a logo, campaign, or slogan, which are deemed catchy by the tourist market (i.e., can be easily recalled in top of mind awareness [ToMA]).

Indeed, destinations are critically defined by the images that capture the impressions, imaginations, and emotional thoughts associated with it (Khan, 2014). As emphasised by Buck (1993), the success of tourism industries is highly dependent on images, which influence outsiders to visit a destination. Thus, a distinct image is vital for influencing holiday choice and preference (Lopes, 2011; Ryan & Gu, 2008; Henderson, 2007; Tasci & Gartner, 2007; Hosany, Ekinci & Uysal, 2006; Beerli & Martín, 2004; Echtner & Ritchie, 2003; Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Cohen, 1993; Gartner, 1993; Crompton, 1979). The creation of an image is attributed to a number of factors like individual tourist experience (Gartner, 1993), demographic variables (Baloglu & McCleary, 1999), word of mouth (e.g., from family and friends) (Camprubi, Guia & Comas, 2013), and consciously tailored communication for promotional purposes (Ryan & Gu, 2008).

In line with this, while there has been an established relationship between the length of stay at a destination and travel budget allocation, we would like to understand and to trace the role of selected demographic variables and tourism marketing initiatives of destinations on the length of stay and travel budget allocation of young travellers, as our research objective. Hence, we pose the following research questions:

• Howdoesdegreeofawarenessofacountrybrandaffectlengthofstay?• Howdoyoungtravellers’demographicvariablesaffectlengthofstay?• Howdoesdegreeofawarenessofacountrybrandaffecttravelbudgetallocation?• Howdoyoungtravellers’demographicvariablesaffecttravelbudgetallocation?To address these, we will analyse the awareness of young travellers to marketing

campaigns, specifically, country slogans of ASEAN Member States (AMS), namely: Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Brunei Darussalam, and their relationship with the length of stay and travel budget allocation of young travellers in ASEAN.

The findings generated from this study will be helpful to policymakers in the tourism industry, specifically in assessing the impact of tourism slogans and other demographic factors on length of stay and travel budget allocation. Furthermore, the findings will be helpful in better understanding the behaviour of young travellers, which in turn, will help craft more robust initiatives targeting this segment. Of equal importance, the relationships between brand awareness, travel expenditures, length of stay, and demographic attributes, have not yet been established for specific age groups and geographical locations. The lack of microeconomic data made it difficult to establish the relationship among these variables. Likewise, most past studies primarily focused on the role of traditional branding and communication tools such as images, logos, videos, among others. Hence, other than the specific research




objectives we have set, we also aim to bridge the gap in the existing literature by identifying a specific age group, the millennials1, located in Asia in understanding the relationship among the aforementioned variables.

The Role of Tourism Marketing Slogans on Arrivals and Spending

Why Countries Create Tourism Marketing Slogans

With the increasing number of tourists and growing realisation of direct and indirect benefits that can be reaped from the industry, competition in tourism is becoming fierce. Countries continue to strive towards attracting more visitors. The promotion of each country’s unique identity or branding has become a necessity, whereby the creation of an impactful tourism slogan has become an element of competitiveness (Semone & Kozak, 2012; Kozak & Baloglu, 2011). Tourism slogans are capitalised as “destination differentiators” that sum up the defining characteristics of a tourism destination into a few key concepts (Semone & Kozak, 2012; Supphellen & Nygaardsvick, 2002). Slogans serve as “hooks” or “handles” that capture the meaning and uniqueness of a brand. In contrast with brand name and logo, slogans are significant in articulating the message of a brand image (Kohli, Leuthesser & Suri, 2007).

The creation of slogans requires resources and efforts on the part of NTOs and governments. These are considered investments in better marketing the tourism industry of a country (Legoherel & Wong, 2004). Thus, the success of a country’s tourism industry depends on the effectiveness of tourism slogans in encouraging tourists to visit a destination country.

BrandFinance (2015) bridges the gap between tourism marketing and finance by measuring the value of “nation brand” and translating them into their financial values. That is, a boost in tourism branding, specifically in the form of slogans, resulting in increased visitor arrivals and longer average length of stays (Lopez, 2014). The number of visitor arrivals and length of stay in tourism destinations are traditional indicators for tourism marketing effectiveness.

Governments have worked on tourism marketing strategies that target specific levels of tourist spending, specifically above-average and high-spending tourists (Oxford Business Group, 2017; Mekong Tourism Office [MTO], 2008; Ministry of Culture and Tourism Turkey, 2008). Tourism slogans are modified to adapt to the target market of a tourism destination, which is conventionally, higher spending tourists.

1 Also known as Generation Y, they are the demographic cohort demographers define as those born in the early 1980s up to mid-1990s. The millennial cohort encompasses the definition of young travellers adapted in this study as suggested by Howe and Strauss (2000).




5

Destination branding, through tourism slogans, can also draw international visitors to countries as observed in UNWTO’s Annual World Tourism Ranking, specifically for 2012: the Philippines launched the IMFP slogan that attracted 4.27 million visitors in the same year. In 2015, other AMS launched their respective tourism slogans that drew an impressive number of tourist arrivals: Viet Nam’s Timeless Charm with 7.94 million tourists, Thailand’s Amazing Thailand with 29.88 million tourists and Malaysia’s Truly Asia with 25.7 million tourists (UNWTO, 2014; Barros & Machado, 2010; Castro, Armario, & Ruiz, 2007; Gokovali, Bahar, & Kozak, 2007)

Launching effective tourism slogans and meeting their expected outcomes ensure that the potentials of the tourism industry are harnessed. From existing literature on tourism marketing, it can be observed that in general, tourism slogans are altered and modified occasionally to adjust to the changing industry landscape, with a goal of further increasing tourist arrivals, length of stay in a destination, and spending.

Length of Stay and Demographic Variables

For socio-demographic attributes and their effects on tourist arrivals, it was found that educational attainment, gender, age, and marital status have varying directions of relationship with length of stay of tourists in a destination. For example, educational attainment has a positive and significant relationship with length of stay. That is, tourists with higher educational attainment have longer average length of stay at tourist destinations (Peypoch, Randriamboarison, Rasoamananjara & Solonandrasana, 2012; Wang, Little, & DelHomme-Little, 2012; Barros & Machado, 2010). On the contrary, Menezes, Moniz, and Vieira (2008) found that tourists with higher level of education tend to have shorter duration of stays at tourism destinations.

Moreover, there are studies that revealed a positive relationship between gender and length of stay. Male tourists stay longer at tourism destinations (Peypoch et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2012; Barros & Machado, 2010), while Menezes et al. (2008) found otherwise. The youth2 have shorter duration of stay at tourism destinations, while tourists belonging to the age cohort 60 years old and above have longer length of stay (Peypoch, et al., 2012; Thrane, 2012; Barros & Machado, 2010; Alegre & Pou, 2006).

Furthermore, studies found that marital status is related to tourists’ length of stay. Married tourists tend to spend shorter stays at destinations (Otoo, Agyeiwaah, Dayour, & Wireko-Gyebi, 2016; Menezes et al., 2008), while Kruger and Saayman (2014) found otherwise.

2 The youth concept is fluid. In Singapore, it refers to persons aged 15-35 years. In Ireland, 10-25. In South Asia, 18-35. In the Philippines, 15-30 as defined by the Youth in Nation-Building Act of 1994. The United Nations defines youth as those aged15-24.




Travel Expenditure and Demographic Variables

We also explore the association of travel expenditures (i.e., we assume travel budget allocation is equivalent to spending) with demographic variables such as educational attainment, age, gender, and marital status.

Specifically, Ojinma and Nlem (2014), Brida, Disegna, and Scuderi (2012), Kim and Qu (2008), Nicolau and Más (2005), Alegre and Pou (2004), and Soest and Kooreman (1987) found that educational attainment affects travel expenditure, whereby visitors with higher educational attainment are likely to spend more on tourism. On the contrary, Asgary, De Los Santos, Vincent, and Davila (1997) and Cannon and Ford (2002) found otherwise wherein educational attainment had no influence on tourist expenditure.

Meanwhile, age has a positive relationship with travel expenditure, whereby older tourists spend more on travelling (Bernini & Cracolici, 2015; Ojinma & Nlem, 2014; Brida et al., 2012). On the other hand, the empirical studies of Wang, Rompf, Severt, and Peerapatdit, (2006), and Agarwal and Yochum (2000) showed that age does not have significant effects on tourist expenditure.

Figure 1. Literature map




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Furthermore, there is evidence that gender does not significantly affect tourism expenditures under the assumption that expenditures are decided upon by a group of people instead of an individual (Bernini & Cracolici, 2015; Marcussen, 2000; Jang, Ismail, & Ham, 2001; Agarwal & Yochum, 2000).

Studies have not shown a consensus on the role of marital status in influencing expenditure. Married tourists tend to spend more on travel-related expenditures (Kim et al., 2011; Nicolau & Mas, 2005; Asgary et al., 1997), while Mak, Moncur, and Yonamine (1977) showed otherwise. On the contrary, Wang and Davidson (2010), Wang et al. (2006), and Cannon and Ford (2002) found that marital status and expenditure were not related.

Conceptual Framework

From the various literature documenting the relationship of demographic variables and degree of awareness on country tourism slogans with length of stay in a destination and travel budget allocation, we also premised this study on a marketing finding espoused by Holloway (2004) that consumers, tourists in our case, must be influenced on three different levels in the communication process: (1) at a cognitive level, the consumers should be aware of the product and understand what it can do for them; (2) at an affective level, the consumers should be able to respond emotionally to the message, believe and sympathize with it; and (3) at a behavioural level, the message must make the consumers act based on what they learned; that is, consumers must be willing to buy and consume the product. Furthermore, we also premised this study on the finding of Brierley (1995) whereby slogans that are used for marketing purposes have to be short and memorable, wherein emphasis is placed on the power of the slogan to be easily recalled by target audience.

Cognisant of the availability of other means of communication in country branding (i.e., logo, video, music, images), we chose awareness on tourism slogans as one of our predictors of length of stay and travel budget allocation since Brierley (1995) suggests that slogans are the most effective means to gain target audience’s attention.

Given the abovementioned background, Figure 2 illustrates the relationships that we are trying to determine. To address our research problem and research objectives, aside from establishing relationships (i.e., statistically significant), we are also testing the hypothesis of positive (+), negative (–), or ambiguous (0) relationship between our exogenous and endogenous variables on the basis of our a priori expectations and literature review.

To derive these relationships, we will employ a qualitative response model due to the nature of the data – mostly categorical or dummy variables.




Demographic Variables(ages, sex, marital status,

level of education)

Degree of Awareness on AMS’ Country Slogans

Length of Stay

Travel Budget Allocation

Ambiguous (0)

Positive (+)

Figure 2. Conceptual framework map

Methodology

Qualitative Response Model

From the design of our empirical framework, as will be discussed in the section on Model Specification, it warrants the need to implement a qualitative response model (QRM), specifically an ordered probit model that will enable us to determine the probabilities of the different possible outcomes of an endogenous variable that is categorical and ordinal in nature, as suggested by Gujarati and Porter (2009). Also, compared to logistic models, probit models can be generalised to account for non-constant error variances (Cameron & Trivedi, 2009).

The ordered outcomes are modelled to arise sequentially as a latent variable, y*, crosses progressively higher thresholds (Cameron & Trivedi, 2009). For individual i, we have Equation 1, yi*=xi’β+ui (1)

where a normalisation is that the regressor x does not include an intercept. For very low y* (i.e., length of stay is short; and travel budget allocation is low), for y*>α1, length of stay and travel budget allocation increases. For y*>α2, it increases further; and so on if there were additional changes. Hence, for an m-alternative ordered model, Cameron & Trivedi (2009) defined:

yi=j if αj-1<yi*≤ αj, for j = 1,…,m (2)

where α0 = -∞ and αm = -∞. Then,

Pr(yi=j)=Pr(αj-1<yi*≤ αj) =Pr(αj-1<xi’β+ui ≤ αj) =Pr(αj-1-xi’β<ui ≤ αj-xi’β) (3) = F(αj -xi’β)-F(αj-1-xi’β)




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where F is the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of ui. The regression parameter, β, and the m-1 threshold parameters, α1,…αm, are obtained by maximising the log likelihood with pij=Pr(yi=j) as defined in Equation 3. In our estimation tool (i.e., Stata), we exclude an intercept from the regressors. As emphasised by Cameron and Trivedi (2009), “if instead an intercept is estimated, then only m-2 threshold parameters are identified” (p. 512).

For the ordered probit model, u is standard normally distributed with F(.)=Φ(.), the standard normal CDF. The sign of the regression parameter, β, can be immediately interpreted as determining whether the latent variable, y*, increases with the regressor. If βj is positive, then an increase in xij necessarily decreases the probability of being in the lowest category (yi=1) and increases the probability of being in the highest category (yi=m).

Data Management and Survey Design

To address the objectives of our study in understanding and tracing the role of selected demographic variables and tourism marketing initiatives of destinations to the length of stay and travel budget allocation of young travellers, the Asian Barometer Survey (ABS) data was utilised. ABS is an online survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM)3 across higher educational institutions (HEIs) in South East Asia and East Asia.

As reported by Rivera (2016), the ABS data captures the assessment of attitudes (i.e., awareness, openness, and outlook) and level of preparedness of the youth towards the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community of 2015 (AEC) and other important future issues relating to tourism, economic policies, and social protection that resonate with the youth in Asia. Analysis of the data can generate timely and relevant insights into what the youth perceive as benefits and opportunities that integration poses to them, negative consequences that may arise from increased competition, and how equipped they are for a more integrated Asia. Its fundamental strategy is to identify the characteristics and personal concerns of the youth. Hence, it places emphasis on profiling young travellers and compiling their concerns (e.g., educational, employment, travel, and leisure opportunities).

Young people are considered to be one of the fastest-growing tourism groups at present. However, despite the increasing number of young travellers, tourism literature is still dominated by the adult tourist market as well as mass tourism (Han, Kim & Kiatkawsin, 2017). Young travellers are defined as teenagers, college students, young professionals or young adults (Howe & Strauss, 2000). Moreover, according

3 AIM is a leading business school in the Philippines. Its faculty, students, teaching materials, and research are predominantly Asian; with programmes designed for Asian needs; and with an approach attuned to Asian management and responsive to peculiar Asian issues, while enhanced by a global perspective. See http://aim.edu.




to Howe and Strauss (2000), university students are good representative samples of young travellers. They are characterised as being budget-conscious because of their low purchasing power (Nash, Thyne & Davies, 2006).

Regarding the purchasing power of young travellers, we assume in this study that their respective budgets are most likely being provided by their parents. However, we do not discount the likelihood of them having an additional source of income (i.e., working students). Hence, we look into their budgetary allocation for travel, and its accompanying incidental expenses, more than the totality of their income. They maximise utility in travelling (in terms of choice of destination, low-cost or major airline, type of accommodation, scope of activities, among others) subject to their budgetary allocation.

Moreover, according to Rivera (2016), the youth has become the primary focus of the ABS because of their increasingly critical role in the success of any plans for tourism development and policy formulation. Likewise, much of the tourism growth and development experienced in the recent years in Asia has been fuelled by the steady growth of a skilled and primarily young workforce, complemented by a boost in their demand for consumer goods.

The sampling strategy employed by the platform is stratified random sampling. Universities and HEIs in ASEAN and in East Asia were considered and invited to be part of the strata for the youth sample. Letters of invitation were sent to various HEIs, who are members of the ASEAN University Network (AUN) and others recommended by AUN. Institutions that accepted our invitation were considered partner-universities. They would be responsible for facilitating the survey procedure, where a random sample of student-respondents will then be drawn from their respective student-population, both Undergraduate and Graduate, within a given data-gathering period. Students submitted their responses on their own volition. Full confidentiality of the respondents’ identities was observed. Their responses were consolidated and organised after the data-gathering period.

The ABS was administered through an online portal. According to Hohwü et al. (2013) and Lind, Marchal, and Wathen (2014), advantages of such data gathering and sampling include: (1) minimisation of time and costs, (2) enhancement of the scope and coverage of surveys, (3) reduction of human error in encoding, (4) guarantee of rapid encoding and processing of survey results, and (5) restricted access to the survey and compliance with standard statistical references.

The online survey was conducted for the whole month of September 2016 with 2,351 observations4 - students from participating HEIs in South East Asia and East

4 Participating schools included: Saint Louis University (Baguio, Philippines), Cor Jesu College (Davao, Philippines), University of San Carlos (Cebu, Philippines), Holy Angel University (Pampanga, Philippines), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Beppu, Japan), University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (Bangkok, Thailand).




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Asia, specifically the Philippines, Thailand, and Japan. However, given the econometric model in next section, from the total sample, we only selected respondents who travel to AMS, which reduced the sample size subject for analysis to 1,488.

Model Specification

The ordered probit specification of the variables influencing length of stay and travel budget allocation is given by Equation 4 and Equation 5, respectively, which will be estimated using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE).

LOSTAYi = f(AGERESi, vGENDERRESi, vMASTATi, vEDUCATi, vAWTSLOi) + εi

(4)

TRAVBUi = f(AGERESi, vGENDERRESi, vMASTATi, vEDUCATi, vAWTSLOi) + εi

(5)

Where our endogenous variables are denoted by:LOSTAYi is the normal length of stay of respondent i in an ASEAN destination

represented by four (4) categorical outcomes, namely: (1) 1 to 2 days; (2) 2 to 3 days; (3) 3 to 4 days; and (4) more than 4 days.

TRAVBUi is the normal travel budget allocation of respondent i in an ASEAN destination represented by five (5) categorical outcomes, namely: (1) below USD200.00; (2) between USD200.00 and USD399.00; (3) between USD400.00 and USD599.00; (4) between USD600.00 and USD799.00; and (5) more than USD800.00.

Where our exogeneous variables are denoted by: AGERESi is the age of respondent i in years. According to Peypoch et al. (2012),

Thrane (2012), Barros and Machado (2010), and Alegre and Pou (2006), tourists belonging to the age cohort 60 years old and above age have longer length of stay. For travel budget allocation, Bernini and Cracolici (2015), Ojinma and Nlem (2014), Brida et al. (2012) found that tourists belonging to the age cohort 60 years old and above age spend more, while Wang et al. (2006) and Agarwal and Yochum (2000) found that there is no relationship between age and travel expenditure. However, it must be noted that the composition of the sample in this study are mostly millennials, which might render this variable insignificant. For the purposes of expressing the econometric model, we specified this variable as necessary in explaining the endogenous variable should we consider a more diverse sample.

vGENDERRESi is a vector of dummy variables indicating whether respondent i is female or male. It assumes a value of 1 if respondent i is female; and 0 otherwise. According to Peypoch et al. (2012), Wang et al. (2012) and Barros and Machado (2010), male tourists stay longer than female tourists, while Menezes et al. (2008)




found otherwise. For travel budget allocation, Bernini and Cracolici (2015), Marcussen (2000), Jang et al. (2001), and Agarwal and Yochum (2000) found that there is no relationship between gender and budget allocation.

vMASTATi is a vector of dummy variables indicating whether respondent i is single (SINRESi), married (MARRESi), or divorced/separated/widowed (DSWRESi). To avoid the dummy variable trap, we set DSWRESi as the base category. According to Otoo et al. (2016) and Menezes et al. (2008), married tourists have shorter stays at destinations, while Kruger and Saayman (2014) found otherwise. For travel budget allocation, Kim et al. (2011), Nicolau and Mas (2005), and Asgary et al. (1997) found that married tourists spend more than their unmarried counterparts, while Mak et al. (1977) found otherwise. On the contrary, Wang and Davidson (2010), Wang et al. (2006), and Cannon and Ford (2002) found that there is no relationship between marital status and travel budget allocation.

vEDUCATi is a vector of dummy variables indicating whether respondent i has reached college level (COLRESi) and/or has reached graduate studies, at least a master’s degree (MASRESi). According to Peypoch et al. (2012), Wang et al. (2012), and Barros and Machado (2010), tourists with high educational attainment stay longer at destinations, while Menezes et al. (2008) found otherwise. For travel budget allocation, Ojinma and Nlem (2014), Brida et al. (2012), Kim and Qu (2008), Nicolau and Más (2005), Alegre and Pou (2004), and Soest and Kooreman (1987) found that tourists with high educational attainment spend more at destinations, while Asgary et al. (1997) and Cannon and Ford (2002) found that there is no relationship between education and travel budget allocation.

vAWTSLOi is a vector of dummy variables indicating whether respondent i is (1) not aware of the AMSs country slogans (i.e., Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam), (2) is aware but finds it unappealing; (3) is aware but finds it just appealing; and (4) is aware and finds it very appealing. According to UNWTO (2014), Machado (2010), Castro et al. (2007), and Gokovali et al. (2007), there is a positive relationship between brand awareness and length of stay. For travel budget allocation, Oxford Business Group (2017), MTO (2008), and Ministry of Culture and Tourism Turkey (MCTT) (2008) found a positive relationship between brand awareness and travel budget allocation.

εi is the stochastic disturbance term that captures all other variables that may affect LOSTAYi and TRAVBUi but were not included in our econometric model.




13

Results and Discussion

Descriptive Statistics

For the respondents in the ABS, Table 1 shows the distribution of sample across the HEIs who participated in the survey. Respondents were from Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. It must be noted that the sample is not restricted to Japanese, Filipinos, and Thais as these HEIs also have other nationalities that are a part of their population, mostly are also coming from other AMS.

Table 1. Distribution of sample across strata (universities)Strata (HEIs) Frequency Percent Cumulative

Cor Jesu College (Davao, Philippines) 11 0.74 0.74Holy Angel University (Pampanga, Philippines) 179 12.03 12.77Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (Beppu, Japan) 11 0.74 0.74Saint Louis University (Baguio, Philippines) 11 0.74 0.74University of San Carlos (Cebu, Philippines) 11 0.74 0.74University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (Bangkok, Thailand)

11 0.74 0.74

TOTAL 1,488 100.00

On the other hand, Table 2 shows the age distribution of our sample. The majority (73.92%) are within the age range of 16 to 20. This is expected as the survey targeted HEIs as strata where the sample will be sourced, as explained earlier, although we also have a minority (4.57%) of respondents aged 26 and above.

Table 2. Distribution of sample across age and gender

Age Range Male Female Total Precent Cumulative

16-20 357 743 1,100 73.92 73.9221-25 114 26 320 21.52 95.4326-30 21 22 43 2.89 98.3231-35 6 5 11 0.74 99.0636-40 2 7 9 0.60 99.66>40 1 4 5 0.34 100.00

TOTAL 501 987 1,488 100.00

The presence of respondents aged 26 and above, as seen in Table 2, is indicative of the likely differences in marital status (i.e., single, married, divorced/separated/widowed). Table 3 illustrates this distribution. Since the majority are within the age cohort 16 to 20 (and are university students), it is highly probable that a majority




(98.25%) are single with a few (1.75%) who are otherwise, primarily due to the presence of respondents aged more than 25.

Table 3. Distribution of marital status in sampleMarital Status Frequency Percent Cumulative

Single 11,462 98.25 98.25Married 23 1.55 99.80Divorced/Separated/Widowed 3 0.20 100.00

TOTAL 1,488 100.00

Likewise, Table 4 shows the distribution of the sample according to their level of education at the time the survey was conducted. As expected, a majority (89.85%) are undergraduate students, as a consequence of the choice of population, with a minority (8.87%) pursuing graduate studies.

Table 4. Distribution of level of education in the sampleEducation Frequency Percent Cumulative

College (Undergraduate) 1,337 89.85 89.85Master (Graduate) 132 8.87 98.72No Response 19 1.28 100.00

TOTAL 1,488 100.00

In line with the respondents’ self-rated awareness on the tourism slogans of AMS, it can be observed from Table 5a that for countries that have established tourism industries (i.e., Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand), a majority of the respondents were aware of their slogans and they also found it appealing. On the other hand, for countries that have emerging tourism industries (i.e., Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar), a majority of the respondents were not that aware of their slogans. From this, we can construe the need for more intensive and integrated promotional strategies for country destinations. Refer to Table 5b for the specific tourism slogan for each AMS.

Table 5a. Distribution of degree of awareness on AMS’ tourism slogan in the sampleASEAN Member

States

ANOTAWi % AWBNAi % AWAAPi % AWAVAi % TOTAL

Brunei 777 52.22 308 20.70 334 22.45 69 4.64 1488 100Cambodia 618 41.53 338 22.72 455 30.58 77 5.17 1488 100Indonesia 462 31.05 420 28.23 496 33.33 110 7.39 1488 100Lao PDR 697 46.84 360 24.19 365 24.53 66 4.44 1488 100




15

Table 5a. (con’t)

ASEAN Member

States

ANOTAWi % AWBNAi % AWAAPi % AWAVAi % TOTAL

Malaysia 302 20.30 325 21.84 590 39.65 271 18.21 1488 100Myanmar 602 40.46 382 25.67 421 28.29 83 5.58 1488 100Philippines 104 6.99 206 13.84 448 30.11 730 49.06 1488 100Singapore 324 21.77 282 18.95 541 36.36 341 22.92 1488 100Thailand 311 20.90 304 20.43 546 36.69 327 21.98 1488 100Viet Nam 488 32.80 359 24.13 491 33.00 150 10.08 1488 100

Table 5b. AMS’ tourism slogans

ASEAN Member States Tourism Slogan

Brunei Darussalam A Kingdom of Unexpected TreasureCambodia Kingdom of WonderIndonesia Wonderful IndonesiaLao PDR Simply BeautifulMalaysia Malaysia, Truly AsiaMyanmar Myanmar: Let the Journey Begin

Philippines It’s More Fun in the PhilippinesSingapore Your SingaporeThailand Amazing ThailandViet Nam Viet Nam, Timeless Charm

Marginal Effects after Ordered Probit

After subjecting the ABS to our econometric model to determine the relationship between our endogenous variables, length of stay and travel budget allocation, with our exogenous variables, socio-demographic variables and degree of awareness on country slogans, the following empirical results emerged.

In deriving the relationship between length of stay and our exogenous variables, Table 6 shows the marginal effects after ordered probit. It can be observed that the age of tourists has a statistically insignificant relationship with length of stay. As Menezes, et al. (2008) and Alegre and Pou (2006) suggested, this result may have been influenced by the inclusion of other variables related to age. However, upon inspecting for multicollinearity (i.e, mean Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) of 6.66), this is not the case. On the other hand, the insignificant relationship can be explained by the fact that the respondents are constrained to a specific age cohort (i.e., youth; school age).




Table 6. Marginal effects after ordered probit for length of stay (LOSTAYi)

Variable

Marginal Effects per Outcome

dy/dx (1)1 to 2 days



dy/dx (4)More than 4 days

AGERESi -0.0001 -0.0002 -0.0002 0.0017

FEMALEi (*) 0.0010 0.0023 0.0030 -0.0215

SINRESi (*) 0.0026 0.0061 0.0134 -0.0601

MARRESi (*) 0.0097*** 0.0191*** -0.1261 -0.2100**

COLRESi (*) -0.0018 -0.0041 -0.0024 0.0382

MASRESi (*) -0.0028 -0.0066 -0.0137 0.0641ANOTAWi -0.0009* -0.0021* -0.0024 0.0196*AWBNAPi -0.0014** -0.0032** -0.0037** 0.0299***AWAAPPi -0.0012** -0.0028** -0.0033* 0.0269**AWAVAPi -0.0023*** -0.0052*** -0.0061** 0.0494***Predicted ProbabilityPr(yi = j)

0.0154 0.0398 0.5210 0.2683

n 1,488 Prob > chi2 0.0000Log Likelihood -1,734.1332 Pseudo R2 0.0145

***Statistically significant at α=0.01; **Statistically significant at α=0.05; *Statistically significant at α=0.10(*) dy/dx is for discrete change of dummy variable from 0 to 1

In terms of gender of tourists, results show a statistically insignificant marginal effect. That is, it does not explain length of stay. This is counterintuitive to the studies of Peypoch, et al. (2012), Wang, et al. (2012), Barros and Machado (2010), and Menezes, et al. (2008), which found that male tourists are expected to stay longer at a destination. Thus, it can be construed that decisions regarding the duration of stay are often made in groups, thereby making an individual’s gender insignificant.

Results also indicate that being single has no direct relationship with length of stay. However, those who are married are more likely to stay for shorter days at a destination, specifically for a maximum of three days. This result is consistent with the findings of Menezes, et al. (2008) suggesting that married tourists tend to have less available time to sustain longer stays at destinations perhaps because of family obligations back home.

Young travellers’ level of education demonstrated an insignificant impact on length of stay. That is, the possession of an undergraduate and graduate degree does not influence a tourist’s decision on their preferred duration of stay. Although this




17

result may be due to our limited categories for education, we are exploring whether there is a difference since graduate students have higher earning capacities and more time to travel compared to undergraduates. The insignificant statistical result may also be indicative that tourism activities are done and planned during academic breaks, making educational attainment an insignificant variable. This result is different from the findings of Peypoch, et al. (2012), Wang, et al. (2012), and Barros and Machado (2010) that showed higher level education are associated with longer expected stays, and by Menezes, et al. (2008) that showed otherwise.

Lastly, the degree of awareness of young travellers about country slogans exhibited a varying level of significance with lengths of stay – a lower degree of awareness resulted in an increasing likelihood for tourists to stay at a destination. This can be ascribed to curiosity and the prompt to learn more about a country (i.e., in contrast with the concept espoused by Holloway (2004)) that tourists are expected to stay longer in countries whose tourism slogans they are not aware of. In the same manner, an increasing awareness to tourism slogans resulted in a growing likelihood for tourists to stay longer at a destination, wherein high level of awareness becomes an incentive for a longer stay. This finding is also consistent with that of UNWTO (2014), Machado (2010), Castro, et al. (2007), and Gokovali, et al. (2007) indicating that the stronger the destination image, the longer tourists stay at a destination. This is also consistent with the response of consumers on the communication process at the cognitive, affective, and behavioural level as espoused by Holloway (2004).

In deriving the relationship between travel budget allocation and our exogenous variables, Table 7 shows the marginal effects after ordered probit. It can be observed that age revealed a positive relationship with travel budget allocation. This validates the findings of Bernini and Cracolici (2015), Ojinma and Nlem (2014), and Brida, et al. (2012) – older tourists are expected to have higher travel budget allocation.

In terms of the variable gender, results showed a statistically insignificant relationship wherein it is not an explanatory variable of travel budget. This result is consistent with the findings of Bernini and Cracolici (2015), Jang, et al. (2001), and Agarwal and Yochum (2000). Since both male and female tourists are deemed to have equal earning capacities, gender becomes an insignificant variable explaining travel budget allocation. It can also be implied that decisions on travel budget allocation are more dependent on earning capacities rather than gender. However, the respondents included in the ABS have no earning capacity yet at the time of the survey.

Moreover, marital status is not a significant predictor of travel budget allocation. Results are consistent with the findings of Wang and Davidson (2010), Wang, et al. (2006), and Cannon and Ford (2002) explaining that tourists decide on their travel budget allocations regardless of their marital status.

In terms of educational attainment, results showed that having undergraduate and graduate degrees still does not influence travel budget. This is consistent with the




studies of Cannon and Ford (2002) and Asgary et al. (1997) suggesting that tourists finance their travels using their savings, thereby making their level of education an insignificant variable in determining their travel budget allocation.

Table 7. Marginal effects after ordered probit for travel budget allocation (TRAVBUi)

Variable

Marginal Effects per Outcome

dy/dx (1)

Below USD 200.00

dy/dx (2)Between USD

200.00 and USD 399.00


400.00 and USD 599.00


600.00 and USD 799.00

dy/dx (5)

More than USD 800.00

AGERESi -0.0078** -0.0009** 0.0021** 0.0021** 0.0045**FEMALEi (*) -0.0063 -0.0007 0.0017 0.0017 0.0036SINRESi (*) -0.0678 -0.0033 0.0199 0.0177 0.0340MARRESi (*) 0.0161 0.0016 -0.0044 -0.0043 -0.0090COLRESi (*) -0.0203 -0.0020 0.0056 0.0055 0.0113MASRESi (*) -0.0559 -0.0091 0.0135 0.0155 0.0362Table 7. (con’t)ANOTAWi 0.0206* 0.0023* -0.0055* -0.0056* -0.0119*AWBNAPi 0.0002 0.0000 -0.0001 -0.0001 -0.0001AWAAPPi 0.0042 0.0005 -0.0011 -0.0011 -0.0024AWAVAPi -0.0118 -0.0013 0.0031 0.0032 0.0068Predicted ProbabilityPr(yi = j)

0.3120 0.2519 0.2112 0.1009 0.1234

n 1,488 Prob > chi2 0.0000Log Likelihood

-2,253.8425 Pseudo R2 0.0138

***Statistically significant at α=0.01; **Statistically significant at α=0.05; *Statistically significant at α=0.10(*) dy/dx is for discrete change of dummy variable from 0 to 1

However, the degree of awareness of young travellers to country slogans exhibited a positive relationship with travel budget allocation. For example, lower level of awareness to country slogans resulted in lower travel budget allocation. They become hesitant to have high travel-related expenditures in a country whose tourism slogans they are unaware of. In the same manner, a higher degree of awareness provides more incentives for tourists to spend more than their allotted budget, thereby making travel budget go overboard. This is consistent with the studies of Oxford Business Group




19

(2017), MTO (2008), and MCTT (2008). Hence, as Holloway (2004) contended, tourists react to a slogan on a behavioural level wherein they act on what they have learned; that is, consumers must be willing to buy and consume the product.

Our empirical findings were based on a sample of 1,488 respondents. Both models used in determining the relationship between lengths of stay and travel budget allocation with our exogenous variables were both overall significant at 1%. As per the adjusted coefficient of determination, only 1.45% of the variation in length of stay, and only 1.38% of the variation in travel budget were explained by our exogenous variables. This is indicative of the need to add more exogenous variables to the model. However, for this study, we only focused on selected socio-demographic variables and degree of awareness to country slogans. See Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 for the details of the ordered probit regression using MLE.

Conclusion

In this study, we have subjected the Asian Barometer Survey to QRM, specifically an ordered probit model, to establish the relationship between selected demographic variables and degree of awareness on the tourism country slogans of AMS, as per the design of our conceptual framework.

In addressing our research problem, we selected some socio-economic variables and quantified respondents’ degree of awareness on AMS’ country slogan. We found empirical evidence that the degree of awareness of a country slogan and marital status of young travellers affect the length of stay in tourism destinations. Other demographic attributes such as age, gender, and educational attainment do not influence length of stay. Furthermore, the results obtained in this study show that the age of young travellers influences travel budget allocation, while the awareness to a country slogan does not. Other demographic attributes, specifically gender, marital status, and educational attainment do not influence travel budget allocation of young travellers.

In addressing our research objectives, we have established that the awareness of a country slogan influences length of stay but may induce travel budget allocation of young travellers. The analysis has also emphasized the influence of the socio-demographic attributes of young travellers, specifically marital status and age, on length of stay and travel budget allocation, respectively. Married tourists are more likely to stay for shorter days at a destination, while older tourists are expected to have higher travel budget allocation.

As a matter of recommendation, we found that tourism slogans are effective marketing initiatives that may influence young travellers to stay longer in a destination. However, awareness to tourism slogans does not necessarily influence their budget allocation. The results of the study therefore point towards the need to incorporate marketing strategies that emphasise the competitive and reasonable pricing of a tourist destination through tourism slogans. The concept of “value for money” may




be emphasized and integrated in the design of tourism slogans to induce increased travel budget allocation of young travellers. However, it must be emphasized that the respondents belong to the millennial population (Generation Y). Hence, the results of this study may differ highly, compared to the baby boomers, Generation X, or Generation Z travellers due to life stage, income, disposable time, and travel patterns.

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0) which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

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Appendix 1. Ordered probit results using Maximum Likelihood Estimation on length of stay

LOSTAYi CoefficientStandard

Errorz P>|z| 95% Confidence Interval

AGERESi 0.0053 0.0109 0.49 0.626 -0.016 0.0266

FEMALEi -0.0649 0.0629 -1.03 0.302 -0.1883 0.0584

SINRESi -0.1739 0.6943 -0.25 0.802 -1.5347 1.1869MARRESi -0.9255 0.6999 -1.32 0.186 -2.2974 0.4463COLRESi 0.1196 0.1238 0.97 0.334 -0.1231 0.3622MASRESi 0.1862 0.1348 1.38 0.167 -0.0781 0.4504ANOTAWi 0.0595 0.0331 1.8 0.072 -0.0053 0.1243AWBNAPi 0.0906 0.0343 2.64 0.008 0.0234 0.1579AWAAPPi 0.0816 0.0328 2.49 0.013 0.0173 0.1459AWAVAPi 0.15 0.0355 4.23 0 0.0805 0.2196/cut1 -0.1563 0.8902 -1.901 1.5885/cut2 -0.0938 0.8901 -1.8384 1.6508/cut3 0.0528 0.8901 -1.6918 1.7975/cut4 1.4748 0.8909 -0.2714 3.221




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Appendix 2. Ordered probit results using Maximum Likelihood Estimation on travel budget allocation

TRAVBUi CoefficientStandard

Errorz P>|z| 95% Confidence Interval

AGERESi 0.0222 0.0104 2.14 0.032 0.0019 0.0426

FEMALEi 0.0179 0.0609 0.29 0.768 -0.1014 0.1372

SINRESi 0.1854 0.631 0.29 0.769 -1.0513 1.4222MARRESi -0.0454 0.6365 -0.07 0.943 -1.2929 1.2022COLRESi 0.0571 0.1195 0.48 0.633 -0.177 0.2913MASRESi 0.1643 0.1288 1.28 0.202 -0.0882 0.4168ANOTAWi -0.0585 0.0335 -1.75 0.081 -0.1242 0.0072AWBNAPi -0.0007 0.0346 -0.02 0.984 -0.0685 0.0672AWAAPPi -0.012 0.0332 -0.36 0.718 -0.0771 0.0532AWAVAPi 0.0334 0.0354 0.94 0.345 -0.0359 0.1027/cut1 -2.7339 0.8792 -4.4572 -1.0107/cut2 0.0486 0.8328 -1.5837 1.681/cut3 0.6994 0.8328 -0.9329 2.3318/cut4 1.2947 0.833 -0.3379 2.9272

/cut5 1.6951 0.8334 0.0617 3.3285







Research Paper

The Impact of Having Completed Internships on Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Japanese Tourism and Hospitality Industry

James Bury and Emi Iwasaki Shumei University, Japan


Abstract: Internships are commonly promoted as beneficial to students, educators, and employers, but the impact internships have on students’ perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry are often not considered. It is imperative that students’ perceptions are investigated as by gaining a better understanding of them, more positive attitudes to the industry can be fostered. Using a questionnaire, this study investigated the perceptions of undergraduate students (n=77) enrolled at a university in Japan and found statistically significant differences based on internship participation. Twelve follow-up interviews with students who had completed internships were then conducted in order to explore the factors influencing those perceptions. By providing some insight into current students’ perceptions of the industry, it is hoped that stakeholders will be able to better understand current students’ attitudes and the impact that internships have on them, especially in the context of Japan.

Keywords: Student perceptions, student attitudes, tourism and hospitality education, internships, experiential learning.

Suggested citation: Bury, J. & Iwasaki, E. (2018). The impact of having completed internships on undergraduate students’ perceptions of the Japanese tourism and hospitality industry. Asia- Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 27-49.

Introduction

The tourism and hospitality industry is one of the world’s largest, most diverse, and fastest growing industries (WTO, 2016). At the same time, tourism and hospitality businesses continue to encounter difficulties in attracting and retaining high quality employees (Baum, 2006; Deloitte, 2013; Kusluvan & Kusluvan, 2000). A wide range of factors contribute to this problem, ranging from negative attitudes towards the industry, perceptions of relatively low pay, unsociable working hours, menial work,

Correspondence: James Bury, Shumei University, Japan. Email : [email protected]

APJIHT 7(1)_P2_4th.indd 27 3/25/18 5:02 PM


28 James Bury and Emi Iwasaki

and limited opportunities for career progression (Getz, 1994; Barron & Maxwell, 1993), play a major role (Richardson, 2010). However, perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry do vary according to factors such as gender (Chuang & Dellman-Jenkins, 2010), previous related work experience (Damonte & Vaden, 1987), place of origin (Bury & Oka, 2017), and age (Jenkins, 2001).

The tourism and hospitality industry needs capable, educated, and well-trained employees and leaders (Kusluvan & Kusluvan, 2000), and having a skilled, enthusiastic, and committed workforce is vital to the success of businesses in the hospitality industry (Stansbie & Nash, 2016). The students currently enrolled in tourism and hospitality courses are the future employees and leaders of the industry, and as such, it is important to examine their attitudes, as identifying factors that can be utilized as tools to develop and enhance positive attitudes during undergraduate courses will likely lead to greater attraction and retention of graduates in the industry. Despite this importance, when compared to the number of studies published on the attitudes of employees in the tourism and hospitality industry, relatively few studies have looked into the perceptions of students (Brown, Arendt, & Bosselman, 2014; Richardson, 2009; Roney & Öztin, 2007), especially in the context of Japan.

It has been claimed that the work-based learning experienced during internships plays a significant role in tourism and hospitality students’ attitudes towards pursuing a career in the industry upon graduation (Richardson, 2009). Thus, it is vital to study the impact of participating in internships within the industry has on students. However, while the educational value of internships in terms of skills and competencies (Baum, 2006), career development (Blair & Millea, 2004; Busby & Gibson, 2010; Coco, 2000), personal development (Petrillose & Montgomery, 1998), and academic development (Little & Harvey, 2006) have been investigated along with factors affecting students’ satisfaction with internships (Wong & Wong, 2009), students’ reactions to the industry having completed an internship have been relatively under-reported.

In response, hypothesis (1) will be tested:(1) H0: Students who have completed internships in the tourism and hospitality

industry will not have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who have not completed internships.

H1: Students who have completed internships in the tourism and hospitality industry will have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who have not completed internships.

Damonte and Vaden (1987) contended that the factor having the greatest influence on potential tourism and hospitality employees’ perceptions of the industry is work experience, with practical experience strongly impacting on their future




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direction (Kim, McCleary, & Kaufman, 2013). Thus, hypotheses (2) and (3) will be investigated.

(2) H0: Students who have work experience in the tourism and hospitality industry other than internships and have completed an internship will not have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who have work experience in the industry but have not completed an internship.

H1: Students who have work experience in the tourism and hospitality industry other than internships and have completed an internship will have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who have work experience in the industry but have not completed an internship.

(3) H0: Students who do not have work experience in the tourism and hospitality industry other than internships but have completed an internship will not have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who do not have work experience in the industry and have not completed an internship.

H1: Students who do not have work experience in the tourism and hospitality industry other than internships but have completed an internship will have more positive perceptions of that industry than students who do not have work experience in the industry and have not completed an internship.

Literature Review

There has been heightened interest in the popularity and perceived significance of internship programmes (Yui & Law, 2012), and at present, the majority of tourism and hospitality programmes throughout the world incorporate internships or experiential learning components (Szambowski, Szambowski & Samenfink, 2002; Xie, 2004). These components are often seen as an important part of the learning experience for undergraduate students (Busby & Gibson, 2010; Lin, Kim, Qiu, & Ren, 2017), and they are commonly used to support and diversify student learning (Zopiatis, 2007).

Participating in internships can provide students with many academic, practical, and social benefits. The real-life experiences that internships provide significantly aid the creation of knowledge through the development of episodic memories (Konstantaki, 2009), which can trigger the future recall of information (Shepherd, 2001). Internships also enable students to frame their future research and university assignments within a practical context, making learning more relevant to the individual, thus strengthening associations (Sökmen, 1997). Also, participating in internships can improve the learning of job skills, which may later translate into enhanced academic skills and the development of good personal working habits, such as time management, self-discipline (Knouse, Tanner, & Harris, 2000), and problem solving (Raymond & McNabb, 1993).




Internships also provide the chance to improve employment and professional growth opportunities by networking with potential employers (Collins, 2002). Furthermore, students can learn new concepts, gain experience, be exposed to management activities, and develop the competencies and skills demanded by the industry (Walo, 2001). Internships in particular can optimize the benefits gained through work experience as students can gain access to locations and contexts that other individuals cannot (Xie, 2004). There is also some evidence that students who had completed an internship before graduation not only demonstrated increased industry-specific skills, but also displayed less anxiety and better general skills in the workplace (Wildes & Mount, 1997).

As a result of participating in internships, students can develop a greater sense of self-awareness, which facilitates changes in their attitudes, values, and beliefs (Bullock, Gould, Hejmadi & Lock, 2009). Experiencing authentic work situations allows students to form realistic expectations about their careers (Ayres, 2006), due to a better understanding and knowledge of the tasks and practices performed by industry professionals. Thus, internships help students decide whether they are suited to the tourism and hospitality industry (Singh & Dutta, 2010), have a significant effect on future career choices (Barron & Maxwell, 1993) and benefit all stakeholders (Stansbie, Nash, & Jack, 2013). The impact that experiential learning has on the development of students’ understanding of their chosen fields is especially pertinent in tourism-based courses (Bauer, 2003; Oka, 2017).

Despite the importance and emphasis attached to internships (Ko, 2007; Lee, 2007) and the evidence that they create value for students, employers, and educators, there are drawbacks and limitations (Cook, Parker, & Pettijohn, 2004; Fenwick, 2003). The provision of experiential learning opportunities does not guarantee a meaningful learning experience and many students report having negative internship experiences (Tse, 2010). Although many researchers believe internships generally help consolidate aspirations to enter the industry, it has been posited that negative internship experiences actually deter students from pursuing a career in the industry (Boud, Solomon, & Symes, 2001; Busby, 2005; Fox, 2001; Lam & Ching, 2007). Jenkins (2001) indicated that as students progress through undergraduate tourism and hospitality programes, exposure to the subject and participating in work experience can negatively affect their perceptions of the industry, leading them to be less interested in the field as a first-choice career, and making it unlikely to attract the most talented graduates.

Method

Data for this study were collected in two stages. During the first stage a 40-item questionnaire (see Appendix) was distributed to Year 2, 3, and 4 students in the Tourism and Business Management Department at a private university in the Kanto




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region of Japan. The questionnaires were distributed to all of the students (n=81) in six classes. The classes were all semi-compulsory subjects with class sizes ranging from 8 to 16. The respondents completed the questionnaires voluntarily and a total of 77 questionnaires were returned.

Five items were used to establish respondents’ demographics and 35 Likert scale items were used to assess perceptions of the industry. Of the Likert scale items, 33 were judged to be able to indicate either positive or negative perceptions, while two were judged to indicate perceptions that were neither positive nor negative. The items were initially developed by the authors before being tested by a panel of four experts. All of the items achieved a relevance rating of I-CVI = 1.0 according to Martuza’s (1977) Content Validity Index, which Lynn (1986) classifies as appropriate for a panel of less than or equal to five.

A Welch’s unpaired t-test was conducted on each of the Likert scale items to determine levels of statistical significance between the variables outlined in the hypotheses. In order for H1 to be accepted for the three hypotheses, it was judged that more than 50% of the 33 positive and negative items would need to produce statistically significant results, and that the majority of those results would need to be positive. The effect sizes of the results that were found to be statistically significant were then calculated using Hedge’s g-test. This test was selected as it has been argued to provide more accurate results for smaller sample sizes (Grissom & Kim, 2005; McGrath & Meyer, 2006). Although the benchmarks are not arbitrary (Thompson, 2007), the effect sizes were interpreted as small (g = 0.2), medium (g = 0.5), and large (g = 0.8) based on Cohen’s (1988) suggestions.

In the second stage, semi-structured interviews with six male and six female students were conducted. The participants included three second-year students, eight third-year students, and one fourth-year student. It was believed that a total of 12 interviews was sufficient to achieve an acceptable level of saturation of themes at a single institution. The participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. While this method allows general data and trends to be obtained, it can lead to sampling bias. As the interviews were conducted retrospectively, it was possible to limit the potential common method variance by investigating data with temporal and psychological separation (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). Illustrative comments from the interviews have been presented to support the findings.

All data were collected anonymously and the purpose of the research was explained to all participants. It was clearly stated that their contribution was voluntary. The qualitative data gathered in both stages were analyzed using the grounded theory approach, drawing on the framework of open coding outlined by Birks and Mills (2011).




Results

Demographics and Work Experience

Table 1. Respondents’ demographics and work experience

2nd grade 3rd grade 4th grade TotalWork experience

other than internship

Completed internship

Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Yes No Total

Yes 8 4 12 6 3 9 2 2 4 16 9 25 8 17 25

No 15 13 28 9 8 17 4 3 7 28 24 52 19 33 52

Total 23 17 40 15 11 26 6 5 11 44 33 77 27 50 77

Table 1 indicates that respondents tended to be male (57.1%) and in their second year of study (51.9%). The majority of respondents (67.5%) had not completed internships. Of the 25 respondents that had completed internships, 16 were male and 9 female.

In response to the first item asked in the participant interviews (“Why did you decide to do an internship?”), a range of reasons were offered, including:

“I thought it might give me some idea for choosing a job in the future.” (Participant 5)“I thought it would be interesting to join the internship programme.” (Participant 4)“I wanted to try something new, something that I’d never done before.” (Participant 8) “I thought it would help me gain social experience. It is different from part-time work. I can do lots of different jobs, not just one.” (Participant 1)

In response to the second item (“Did doing your internship change your opinion of the tourism and hospitality industry?”), only one participant answered ‘No.’ Comments accompanying ‘Yes’ responses included:

“I found that working in the industry is harder than I thought. The customers demand a lot and I was asked many questions.” (Participant 1)“I thought that the hotel was stricter and harder than I thought. It wasn’t as friendly as I had imagined.” (Participant 3)“The workload at a hotel was more than I expected.” (Participant 6)“It changed my view 180 degrees.” (Participant 10)

When asked “What did you learn about the tourism and hospitality industry by doing your internship?” the participants indicated a range of learning. These included:




33

“That the industry isn’t just about check in or serving, there are many jobs I didn’t think about before, like ground keeping.” (Participant 2)“I learned that there is a big difference between business hotels and resort hotels. I work in a business hotel and the resort hotel where I did my internship is a lot more relaxed.” (Participant 3)“I also learned which job was best and worst for me. I don’t want to work in a restaurant because I could see other people enjoying their food, but I couldn’t eat any. I found that stressful.” (Participant 12)“I found that it’s necessary to be flexible.” (Participant 5)“The importance of teamwork and the amount of work one has to be responsible for.” (Participant 9)

Students who had work experience (part-time or full-time) in the tourism and hospitality industry, other than an internship, stated that they had worked in a range of jobs including in kitchens, bars, reception, housekeeping, and cleaning.

Overall Responses

The data in Table 2 indicate that overall, participants believed that working in the tourism and hospitality industry is interesting (6), that new things can be learned (10), and that it is pleasurable (13). This is supported by interview comments such as:

“We can do lots of things, not just one thing all the time.” (Participant 4)“It’s very attractive to be able to work for people and see people smile when we do something for them. I think it’s interesting to keep on learning how to be of service.” (Participant 7)“I can experience lots of different kind of tasks.” (Participant 11)

However, one participant stated that the jobs were not “as interesting as I had thought.” (Participant 3).

Table 2. Overall responses to Likert scale itemsItem Group 1

Item 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Mean 3.69 2.62 3.36 3.48 3.71 3.70 3.38 3.66 3.32

S.D. 0.63 0.77 0.70 0.75 0.64 0.74 0.76 0.59 0.87

Item Group 2

Item 15 16 17 18

Mean 3.68 3.45 3.61 3.42

S.D. 0.61 0.59 0.61 0.74




Table 2. (con’t)

Item Group 3

Item 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Mean 2.86 2.06 3.03 3.12 3.44 3.21 2.81

S.D. 0.57 0.74 0.64 0.66 0.71 0.49 0.68

Item Group 4

Item 26 27 28 29 30 31

Mean 3.52 3.55 2.82 3.12 2.73 3.64

S.D. 0.73 0.64 0.70 0.82 0.77 0.70

Item Group 4

Item 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Mean 3.61 3.39 3.52 2.22 2.48 3.51 2.96 2.62 3.03

S.D. 0.74 0.93 0.92 0.92 1.10 0.57 0.95 0.79 0.68

Despite the positive responses described above, students also indicated that working in the tourism and hospitality industry is stressful (8), involves working long hours (9), and is not sufficiently well paid (22, 23). This is corroborated by interview comments, such as:

“I think that the hours are too [unpredictable]…In the future I want a family, so it would be bad for me.” (Participant 3)“The salary is low, too. The work is rewarding, but hard.” (Participant 1)“The workers have to work long hours and sometimes the customers have selfish opinions.” (Participant 2)“It is stressful for the body, but not for the brain. I was tired physically every day, but I didn’t feel mentally stressed or tired.” (Participant 9)“There is a lot of stress, but maybe, it cannot be helped. People in the tourism industry have to work hard in order to give customers satisfaction.” (Participant 10)“I think a lot of stress is involved, but the workers do not show their stress on their faces.” (Participant 12)

The data in Table 2 also indicate that the participants believed jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry are skilled (7) and that workers are motivated (29), but generally not well- educated (28). The respondents also indicated that university degrees are not important for workers (30), but are for managers (31). This finding is supported by comments such as:

“I don’t think it’s necessary [for workers] to have qualifications before entering




35

the industry. If they need qualifications, they may try to take them after they get a job.” (Participant 4)“To become managers, what’s most important is to have credibility [gained through qualifications].” (Participant 5)“[Managers] need to manage many people so they need different skills from other people.” (Participant 6)“Managers have to give orders and manage hotels. Sometimes they need to apologize and having a good way of speaking and being able to use polite, formal language is good.” (Participant 1)

It was indicated that working in the tourism and hospitality industry is a respected, beneficial and important vocation (16, 17) and family would be proud if the students gained employment in this industry (15). However, it was also indicated that workers are not particularly valued in society (18) and that conditions are generally less than acceptable (19). This is supported by comments, such as:

“For the people within the tourism industry hotels are very important, so the workers are respected. For general people, they expect hotel workers and service to be of high standard, but don’t really respect them.” (Participant 2)“I’m not sure, but I don’t think they are respected in general.” (Participant 6)“They receive a low salary. They should get more. Also, customers can adopt a bad attitude towards the workers.” (Participant 6)“I don’t think they are valued. I got an impression that the workers serve the people who get respect in society.” (Participant 11)

The results further indicate that the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed that there is a high risk of work accidents (21), but that the working environment is generally clean (20), although much more so in areas that customers had access to. This is reflected in comments, such as:

“The staff areas were not as clean as customer areas, but they were not dirty. The staff break room was dirty though, I think I saw a cockroach.” (Participant 7)“The areas where customers are, such as reception are very clean, but areas with just staff are not clean. I thought the kitchen was dirty.” (Participant 2)“There were no lights in the back yard, so it was very dark there when people went there for a break. But, there was also another workers’ room for breaks inside, so people only went to the backyard to smoke.” (Participant 3)“There is room for improvement.” (Participant 5)

It was indicated that there is good spirit among workers (26), reflected in comments such as:

“They helped each other and I felt very welcome. There were lots of fun and




interesting topics spoken about in the private staff areas.” (Participant 10)“Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I’m shy, but I felt relaxed.” (Participant 3)“They had good teamwork.” (Participant 6)“About 70% of the workers were very motivated and they all had a good relationship with each other... The other workers that weren’t motivated didn’t have a good relationship. They didn’t really smile and only gave a basic level of service, too.” (Participant 12)

It was further indicated that managers and workers generally have good relationships (27). This is seen in comments such as:

“The manager did the same jobs as the other workers, which was good. He didn’t just give orders, but worked with us.” (Participant 1)“It was good. There were no real levels, everyone was equal.” (Participant 5)“I didn’t see any difference in power. In other words, I couldn’t tell the differencebetween managers and workers.” (Participant 8)“They had a good relationship. I really want to work at such a workplace.” (Participant 6)

The respondents highlighted that the advantages of working in the industry outweigh the disadvantages (32) and that they would like to work in the industry after graduation (34). Furthermore, the results show that the students believed that their character fits with the tourism and hospitality industry (14) and that they would be able to use their skills and abilities in this industry (12). However, despite being happy that they chose to study tourism (33), the students indicated that they would not accept any job in the tourism and hospitality industry (35), would not recommend working in this industry to their friends (37), plan to work in other industries (39), and neither agree nor disagree that they would like to work in the tourism and hospitality industry throughout their working lives (40).

In terms of career opportunities, the results indicate that while respondents feel promotion opportunities are generally good (24), they also believe that it is difficult to secure stable employment (11) and career paths are not always clear (25). The participants indicated that they would be willing to work in jobs that were not highly paid (38), and would work in the industry even if they could not become a manager (36).

Completion of internships

Seventeen of the 33 items on the questionnaire that were interpreted to represent positive or negative perceptions produced statistically significant results at the 0.05 level or better, as presented in Table 3. This suggests that completing an internship has a strong impact on students’ perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry. Furthermore, as 14 of those items generated effect sizes greater than g = 0.8, and the




37

remaining five items generated effect sizes greater than g = 0.5, it can be implied that the results have either a medium or large effect size based on Cohen’s (1988) suggestions.

The participants who had completed internships displayed more positive perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry on 11 items, stating that the industry is interesting (6), pleasurable (13), and that new things can be learned every day (10). They further shared that their family would be proud if they secured employment in the industry (15), that the advantages of working in the industry outweigh the disadvantages (32), that they are happy to have chosen to study tourism and hospitality (33), that they can use their skills in the industry (12) and that their character fits with the industry (14). It was also revealed that there is good team spirit among workers (26), good relationships between workers and managers (27), and that there was a low risk of work accidents (21).

Table 3. Impact of completing an internship on perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry. Completed Not completed internship (N=25) internship (N=52)Item M SD M SD p t df Hedge’s g

6 3.96 0.68 3.56 0.57 0.0150 2.5429 40 0.668 3.88 0.60 3.12 0.61 < 0.0001 5.1764 48 1.259 3.96 0.73 3.25 0.65 0.0002 4.1379 42 1.0510 4.16 0.55 3.50 0.57 < 0.0001 4.8725 49 1.1712 3.96 0.45 3.10 0.71 < 0.0001 6.4470 69 1.3513 3.96 0.54 3.52 0.57 0.0019 3.2876 49 0.7814 3.88 0.60 3.06 0.86 < 0.0001 4.8468 64 1.0415 4.00 0.58 3.52 0.57 0.0013 3.4195 46 0.8418 4.08 0.57 3.10 0.60 < 0.0001 6.9437 49 1.6619 2.64 0.70 2.96 0.48 0.0465 2.0643 35 0.5721 2.68 0.63 3.19 0.59 0.0015 3.3947 44 0.8523 3.88 0.60 3.23 0.67 < 0.0001 4.2829 52 1.0025 2.40 0.71 3.00 0.59 0.0007 3.6611 40 0.9526 3.92 0.70 3.33 0.67 0.0010 3.5114 45 0.8727 4.12 0.60 3.27 0.44 < 0.0001 6.3140 36 0.7130 2.20 0.65 2.98 0.69 < 0.0001 4.8322 50 1.1531 3.96 0.68 3.48 0.66 0.0053 2.9281 46 0.7232 4.08 0.64 3.38 0.68 < 0.0001 4.4029 50 1.0533 4.04 0.54 3.08 0.92 < 0.0001 5.7432 71 1.1736 1.76 0.66 2.83 1.10 < 0.0001 5.3042 71 1.0938 2.52 0.96 3.17 0.87 0.0064 2.8665 43 0.72




However, the respondents who had completed internships also revealed more negative perceptions in relation to six items, stating that jobs in the industry are stressful (8), the hours are too long (9), that workers are not valued (18), and that the pay should be higher (23). It was further revealed that working conditions in the industry are generally not good (19) and that career paths are not clear (25).

The other items that generated statistically significant results indicate that participants who had completed internships felt university degrees were not important for workers in non-managerial positions in the industry (30), but were important for managers (31). However, these items were interpreted as neither positive nor negative.

More than 50% of the items produced statistically significant results, and as more positive perceptions were indicated than negative perceptions by participants who had completed internships, hypothesis (1) H1 can be accepted.

Work Experience

Gained work experienceTable 4. Impact of internship completion with work experience on perceptions of the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

Work experience and Work experience completed internship but not completed (N=8) internship (N=19)

M SD M SD p t df Hedge’s g7 2.13 0.64 2.79 0.85 0.0411 2.2095 17 0.838 3.88 0.64 3.11 0.57 0.0133 2.9463 11 1.309 4.13 0.83 3.21 0.63 0.0184 2.8125 10 1.3310 4.13 0.35 3.37 0.60 0.0005 4.1060 21 1.4012 4.00 0.53 3.11 0.74 0.0024 3.5199 18 1.2913 4.13 0.64 3.42 0.61 0.0205 2.6686 12 1.1516 3.75 0.46 3.26 0.65 0.0394 2.2207 18 0.8119 2.38 0.52 2.95 0.40 0.0197 2.7740 10 1.3021 2.50 0.76 3.26 0.65 0.0310 2.4731 11 1.1123 3.88 0.64 3.11 0.74 0.0157 2.7220 15 1.0825 2.25 0.71 3.00 0.67 0.0256 2.5480 12 1.1027 4.25 0.46 3.26 0.45 0.0002 5.1393 12 2.1930 2.00 0.53 3.05 0.78 0.0007 4.0525 19 1.4631 4.25 0.46 3.32 0.75 0.0006 4.0125 21 1.3632 4.25 0.46 3.21 0.85 0.0004 4.00957 23 1.3733 4.13 0.64 2.89 0.94 0.0008 3.9670 19 1.43




39

Fourteen of the 33 items on the questionnaire that were interpreted to represent positive or negative perceptions produced statistically significant results at the 0.05 level or better, as presented in Table 4. All of those items generated effect sizes greater than g = 0.8, thus, it can be stated that the results have a large effect size based on Cohen’s (1988) suggestions.

The participants who had work experience other than internships and had also completed internships provided more positive perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry on nine items, stating that jobs in the industry are skilled (7), that they can use their skills in the industry (12), that new things can be learned every day (10), that they will get pleasure from working in the industry (13), and that working in the industry is a respected vocation (16). They further indicated that the advantages of working in the industry outweigh the disadvantages (32), that they are happy they have chosen to study tourism and hospitality (33), that there are good relationships between workers and managers (27), and that there was a low risk of work accidents (21).

However, the respondents who had completed internships also indicated more negative perceptions in relation to five items, stating that jobs in the industry are stressful (8), that the hours are too long (9), and that the pay should be higher (23). It was further indicated that working conditions in the industry are generally not good (19) and that career paths are not clear (25).

The other items that generated statistically significant results indicate that participants who had completed internships felt university degrees were not important for workers in non-managerial positions in the industry (30), but were important for managers (31).

Although there were more positive results indicated by the respondents who had work experience in the industry and had completed internships, however since less than 50% of the items produced statistically significant results, hypothesis (2) H1 must be rejected.

Have not gained work experience

Fifteen of the 33 items on the questionnaire that were interpreted to represent positive or negative perceptions produced statistically significant results at the 0.05 level or better, as presented in Table 5. Of those items, 14 generated effect sizes greater than g = 0.8, and one generated an effect size greater than g = 0.5.

The participants who did not have work experience other than an internship but had completed internships indicated more positive perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry on ten items, stating that new things can be learned every day in the industry (10) and that they can use their skills in the industry (12). They further indicated that the advantages of working in the industry outweigh the disadvantages (32), that they would work in the industry even if they do not think they will




become a manager (36), that they are happy they have chosen to study tourism and hospitality (33), that they can use their skills in the industry (12) and that their character fits with the industry (14). The findings also show that there is good team spirit among workers (26), good relationships between workers and managers (27), and that there was a low risk of work accidents (21).

However, the respondents who had completed internships also indicated more negative perceptions in relation to five items, stating that jobs in the industry are stressful (8), that the hours are too long (9), that workers are not valued (18), and that the pay should be higher (23). It was further indicated that career paths are not clear (25).

Respondents in this category also indicated that university degrees were not important for workers in non-managerial positions in the industry (30).

Despite the more positive results by the respondents who did not have work experience in the industry but had completed internships, as less than 50% of the items produced statistically significant results, hypothesis (3) H1 must be rejected.

Table 5. Impact of internship completion and no work experience on the perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry.

No work experience No work experience but completed and not completed internship (N=17) internship (N=33)

M SD M SD p t df Hedge’s g

8 3.88 0.60 3.12 0.65 0.0002 4.1229 34 1.209 3.88 0.70 3.27 0.67 0.0058 2.9615 31 0.9010 4.18 0.64 3.58 0.56 0.0028 3.2734 28 1.0212 3.94 0.43 3.09 0.72 < 0.0001 5.2131 46 1.3314 4.00 0.61 2.91 0.88 < 0.0001 5.1182 43 1.3615 4.00 0.61 3.42 0.56 0.0027 3.2736 30 1.0018 4.12 0.70 3.06 0.61 < 0.0001 5.2934 28 1.6521 2.76 0.56 3.15 0.57 0.0270 2.3186 32 0.6923 3.88 0.60 3.30 0.64 0.0033 3.1647 34 0.9325 2.47 0.72 3.00 0.56 0.0135 2.6501 26 0.8626 3.94 0.75 3.33 0.74 0.0100 2.7367 32 0.8627 4.06 0.66 3.27 0.45 0.0002 4.4329 23 1.4930 2.29 0.69 2.94 0.66 0.0031 3.2021 31 0.9732 4.00 0.71 3.48 0.57 0.0146 2.6165 26 0.8433 4.00 0.50 3.18 0.92 0.0002 4.0820 47 1.0236 1.59 0.62 2.88 1.11 < 0.0001 5.2687 47 1.32




41

Discussion

Overall, the participants indicated positive attitudes to the tourism and hospitality industry in relation to 19 of the 35 Likert scale items on the questionnaire. As this represents over half of the items (54.29%), it can be stated that, generally, the students perceive the industry positively. However, it is slightly disconcerting that negative opinions were indicated in relation to 12 of the items, a total of 34.29%.

The overarching theme of the responses suggests that students feel that they would enjoy working in the tourism and hospitality industry, could have good relationships with colleagues and managers, and could learn new things. Furthermore, despite the working conditions and pay being perceived as disadvantages of working in the industry, results imply that students believed that the positives outweighed the negatives and that they would be willing to work in jobs even if they were not highly paid.

Emotions play a prominent role in prompting behavioral responses, affecting decision-making, enhancing memory, and facilitating interpersonal interactions (Kemp & Kopp, 2011), with positive emotions contributing to optimal functioning (Louro et al., 2005). Positive emotions have been shown to foster subjective well-being and improve an individual’s attention span and cognition functioning (Fredrickson, 2001). Thus, while limited research has investigated the role of emotions in an educational setting (Jaramillo & Spector, 2004), students experiencing positive emotions during internships could aid the development of able and efficient employees in the future.

In relation to the effect completing internships had on the different student types, hypothesis (1) H1 can be accepted. In this particular context, it can thus be asserted that the students who had completed internships had more statistically significant positive perceptions of the industry than those who had not. From these findings, it can be stated that completing an internship appears to have had an overall positive effect on participants’ perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry.

Completing internships did not have a statistically significant overall effect on students who had work experience in the industry other than internships. This may be attributed to previous work experience diminishing the effect completing an internship had on student perceptions. Furthermore, the experiences gained during internships may not have been positive enough to change the negative perceptions that may have been previously held.

While the results presented in this article do have important implications, their limitations must be acknowledged. Due to the perceptions of only a fairly small cohort of students that all attend the same university being investigated, the overall general effect size of the findings should not be overstated. A wide range of factors including, but not limited to, the institution’s specific culture, admission standards, and curricula all generate a climate of influence that impact on the perspectives of




the student. It is therefore suggested that in order to gain a better understanding of a wider range of tourism and hospitality students in Japan, further research be undertaken at other educational institutes.

Furthermore, due to the scale and scope of this article, it is not possible to provide recommendations for educators and employers based on the findings. Additionally, it would also be beneficial to establish students’ perceptions of the tourism and hospitality industry prior to their internships in order to investigate whether any significant differences in perceptions and attitudes could be identified.

Conclusion

This paper has provided an overview of students’ perceptions of, and reactions to, the tourism and hospitality industry in Japan and investigated differences in perceptions between students who have completed internships and those who have not. It was found that students indicate an overall positive attitude towards the industry and that completing internships had a significant positive effect. These positive perceptions must be encouraged as they may contribute to changing the tendency of tourism employers recruiting non-tourism graduates identified by Dale and Robinson (2001) and tourism graduates not entering the industry (Blomme, van Rheede, & Tromp, 2009).

The findings presented in this article have relevance to the context of internships in tourism and hospitality education in Japan, and they have important implications for educators, students, and employers. By providing some insight into current students’ perceptions of the industry having completed internships, it is hoped that all stakeholders will be able to better understand current students’ attitudes, and thus the impact that internships have on their perceptions of the industry.


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Appendix

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Perceptions Questionnaire

1. Gender: Male Female

2. Current year of study: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Other

3. Have you done an internship within the Tourism and Hospitality industry? Yes No

4. Do you have work experience (part-time or full-time) in the Tourism and Hospitality industry other than an internship?

Yes No If Yes, what job did you do? (You can circle more than one answer) Administration Cleaning Kitchen/Bar Reception Other

5. Do you intend to work in the Tourism and Hospitality industry after you graduate? Yes No If Yes, which job? Administration Cleaning Kitchen/Bar Reception Other

Having completed your internship, how much do you agree with the following statements? (1 = disagree completely, 5 = agree completely.)

Section 16. Jobs in the Tourism and Hospitality industry are

interesting. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Jobs in the Tourism and Hospitality industry are low skilled.

1 2 3 4 5

8. Jobs in the Tourism and Hospitality industry are stressful.

1 2 3 4 5

9. Working hours are too long. 1 2 3 4 510. New things can be learned each day. 1 2 3 4 511. It is difficult to secure stable employment. 1 2 3 4 512. I will be able to use my skills and abilities in the

Tourism and Hospitality industry.1 2 3 4 5

13. I will get pleasure from working in the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

1 2 3 4 5

14. My character fits with the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

1 2 3 4 5




Section 215. My family will be proud if I secure employment in the

Tourism and Hospitality industry. 1 2 3 4 5

16. The Tourism and Hospitality industry is a respected vocation.

1 2 3 4 5

17. Working in the Tourism and Hospitality industry is a beneficial and important job.

1 2 3 4 5

18. Workers in the Tourism and Hospitality industry are not valued in society.

1 2 3 4 5

Section 319. Working conditions are generally good. 1 2 3 4 520. The working environment is not very clean. 1 2 3 4 521. There is a high risk of work accidents. 1 2 3 4 522. Pay for most jobs in the Tourism and Hospitality industry

is low. 1 2 3 4 5

23. Pay in the Tourism and Hospitality industry should be higher.

1 2 3 4 5

24. Promotion opportunities are generally good. 1 2 3 4 525. There are clear career paths. 1 2 3 4 5Section 426. There is good team spirit among workers. 1 2 3 4 527. Managers and workers have good relationships. 1 2 3 4 528. Workers are generally well educated. 1 2 3 4 529. Most workers are motivated. 1 2 3 4 530. University degrees are important for workers in the

Tourism and Hospitality industry. 1 2 3 4 5

31. University degrees are important for managers in the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

1 2 3 4 5

Section 532. Advantages of working in the Tourism and Hospitality

industry outweigh disadvantages. 1 2 3 4 5

33. I am happy I have chosen to study tourism and hospitality. 1 2 3 4 534. I would like to work in the Tourism and Hospitality

industry after graduation. 1 2 3 4 5

35. I would do any job in the Tourism and Hospitality industry.

1 2 3 4 5




49

36. I will only work in the Tourism and Hospitality industry if I think I can become a manager.

1 2 3 4 5

37. I would recommend working in the Tourism and Hospitality industry to my friends.

1 2 3 4 5

38. I would only work in highly paid jobs. 1 2 3 4 539. I do not plan to work in any other industry. 1 2 3 4 540. I would like to work in the Tourism and Hospitality

industry for all of my working life.1 2 3 4 5







Research Paper

Does Tenure Matter? HTLP Evaluation Criteria and Programme Quality among the United States Faculty

Danny Woosik Choi Texas Tech University, USA

Kurt Stahura Niagara University, USA


Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine programme quality and perceptions of evaluation criteria of hospitality, tourism, and leisure programmes (HTLPs) among full-time faculty based on tenure status (i.e., non-tenure, tenure-track, and tenured) in the United States. The MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) analyses found that non-tenure track faculty score significantly lower in strategic planning, curriculum and instruction, resources, administrative management, and programme quality than tenure-track and tenured faculty do. The OLS (ordinary least square) analysis found that non-tenure track faculty are less concerned with administrative elements affecting the quality of the programme. The 2SLS (two-stage least square) analysis confirmed the group invariance of the OLS model. The analyses’ results provide implications for developing inclusive HTLP evaluation criteria, combining elements from different models to measure subjective views, and adopting a mixed methodology to understand views of different faculty groups to develop more efficient HTLP evaluation criteria.

Keywords: HTLP, evaluation criteria, programmeme quality, tenure, stakeholder

Suggested citation: Choi, D.W & Stahura, K. (2018). Does tenure matter? HTLP evaluation criteria and programmeme quality among the United States faculty. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 51-69.

Introduction

The rapid progress of the hospitality and tourism industry has significantly influenced hospitality, tourism, and leisure programme (HTLP) expansion in the United States (US). Hospitality companies often have businesses stretching around the world. The lodging industry alone has been recognised as generating $500

Correspondence: Danny Woosik Choi, Texas Tech University, USA. Email: [email protected]



52 Danny Woosik Choi and Kurt Stahura

billion in annual revenue globally (International Hotel & Restaurant Association, 2016). Higher education programmes providing the talent for these far-reaching organizations have responded to these expansion trends by increasing numbers of campuses and students. In 2015, the total contribution of travel and tourism was 9.5% of total employment (i.e., 283,578,000 jobs). This rose by 2.2% in 2016 to 289,756,000 jobs and is expected to rise by 2.5% to 370,204,000 jobs by 2026, or 11.0% of total employment (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2016). The US alone has seen rapid growth in terms of the number of HTLPs and number of students (Institute of International Education, 2011). This substantial increase in the number of programmes has led to issues such as quality control and ongoing controversies regarding whether HTLP education needs to be revamped upon reaching its maturity (Airey, 2015; Bosselman, 1996).

As a systematic way of approaching the issues, international organisations have provided evaluation/accreditation to HTLPs. Some of the accreditation commissions and certifications for programmes in hospitality administration (ACPHA) include I-CHRIE (International Council of Hotel, Restaurant & Institution Education) from the US, the TedQual (Tourism Education Quality) Certification from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) subject review process. Prior research studies have contributed to the development of evaluation criteria by adopting models from different disciplines, such as SERVQUAL (service quality) and CIPP (context, input, process, and product) from education and business. However, the evaluation criteria have been criticised as lacking inclusiveness, so there has been a push for quality assessments of HTLPs that include multiple perspectives from stakeholders, such as faculty and students (Horng & Teng, 2011; Horng, Teng, & Baum, 2009). The studies also suggested that HTLP faculty perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality could differ based on higher education tenure status (i.e., non-tenure, tenure-track, and tenured). However, no empirical study has been done so far to examine this suggestion. This issue calls for the understanding of HTLP evaluation criteria based on tenure status. With this study, we answer the call. This study specifically examines the different perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among full-time faculty, based on tenure status.

Literature Review

In the past, there have been calls for further theoretical and empirical approaches to better understand HTLP evaluation criteria. Typically, higher education (HE) programme evaluation has been viewed through two lenses, institutional and programmatic. Institutional evaluation focuses on the educational goals of the academic institution, while programme evaluation aligns certain programmes with




53

occupational affiliations and standards. Oktadiana and Chon (2017) suggested that these different focuses would serve as a guideline in selecting course content and teaching and learning endeavours, potentially affecting evaluation criteria. Structurally, the different focuses lead to categorical divisions between universities and technical/vocation programmes. To evaluate HTLPs with different focuses, four major accreditation systems have been used. They include ACPHA and NRPA in the US, TedQual under the UNWTO, and the QAA subject review in hospitality, leisure, recreation, sport and tourism (HLRST) in the UK (Table 1). The criteria share objectives, curricula, faculty, resources, administration, student achievements, and teaching and learning objectives/ methods. Although these systems provide various criteria to evaluate HTLPs, they have been criticised as being used on an ad hoc basis and not being theoretically and empirically validated (Horng & Teng, 2011).

Prior studies attempting to develop holistic HE evaluation criteria have encountered certain limitations in being empirically validated. The studies can be categorised into four different approaches based on theoretical perspectives: CIPP (context, input, process and product evaluation), TQM (total quality management), SERVQUAL (service quality), and the combined (Table 2). CIPP encompasses the complex and multi-dimensional nature of HE and hospitality programmes; however, empirical validation of this model is still lacking (Horng & Teng, 2011). TQM applies quality dimensions from business to HE, leading to criticism of incompatibility from academia (Harvey & Green, 1993). SERVQUAL emphasises quality assurance as prioritised by students but is criticised for neglecting certain university activities and accomplishments (e.g., scholarship, certification, award) (Waugh, 2002). The combined model incorporates the merits of CIPP and TQM and focuses on student learning and organisational management practices (Horng et al., 2009).

Although it seems effective, the combined model must be further expanded to incorporate the views of stakeholders (e.g., students, faculty). Horng et al. (2009) combined CIPP and TQM as Hertzman and Stefanelli (2007) had done and incorporated this model into HTLP evaluation criteria in Taiwan. Later, the criteria were cross-culturally examined between Taiwanese and US HTLPs (Horng et al., 2011). This showed the internal validity of each HTLP evaluation criterion.

However, the study could not be entirely cross-culturally validated, as it contained statistical limitations (e.g., severe disparity between the number of faculties in a university and vocation institute →9:1, imbalance of non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty), and limitations in encompassing structurally different HE systems between the two countries (e.g., Taiwan has no formal tenure system). Additionally, HTLP criteria have never been examined in the US based on tenure status. It is necessary to examine HTLP evaluation criteria by reviewing HTLP characteristics unique to the US.




Table 1. Summary of major evaluation/accreditation systems for HTLPsEvaluation/accreditationsystem// Established year

Establishedorganisation

Quality standard Programme procedure

US ACPHA CHRIE 1. Mission and objectives2. Evaluation and planning

1. Programme self-study

(Established in 1988)

3. Administration and governance4. Curriculum5. Faculty/ instructional staff6. Student service and activities7. Resources

2. Review team visitation

3. Team judgment

WTO TedQualCertification


UNWTO 1. Coherence of the plan of studies 2. Infrastructure and pedagogical support3. Policies, tools and support mechanisms

for administrative management 4. Existence of transparent mechanisms

for the selection of the faculty and favourable conditions for their professional development

5. Relevance of the content of the programme of studies concerning the needs of the tourism sector



3. Team judgment

British QAA subject review in HLRS&T


QAA 1. Curriculum design, content and organisation

2. Teaching, learning, and assessment3. Student progression and achievements4. Student support and guidance5. Learning resources6. Quality management and

enhancement



3. Team judgment

4. Follow-up review

US NRPA


NRPA and AAPAR

1. Unit characteristics2. Philosophy and goals3. Administration4. Faculty5. Students6. Instructional resources7. Learning outcomes/ curriculum (foundation understandings and professional competencies)



3. Team judgment

† Source. CHRIE (2017), NRPA (2017), QAA (2017) and UNWTO (2017)




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Table 2. Approaches & criteria summary to measure HE programme qualityApproach Area of

Application/ Measurement

Dimensions/Criteria Author(s)

CIPP Hospitality/ Accreditation

1. The objectives 2. The people3. Resources4. Processes

Heiman & Sneed (1996)

HE/ Performance measure

1. Input indicators 2. Process indicators 3. Outcome indicators

Al-Turki & Dufffuaa (2003)

Hospitality/Programme quality measure

1. Students/ Graduates 2. Industry support 3. Faculty 4. Facilities5. Curriculum 6. Research

Assante, Huffman & Harp (2007)

TQM HE/ Programme quality measure

1. Leadership 2. Customer Centre & satisfaction 3. Strategic quality planning 4. Human resource development &

management 5. Quality process management 6. The outcomes of quality &

operation

Winn & Cameron (1998)

HE/ Programme quality measure

1. Leadership 2. Strategic development 3. Stakeholder & market focus 4. Measurement, analysis &

knowledge management 5. Workforce focus 6. Process management 7. The results of organization

performance

Badri et al. (2006)

SERVQUAL HE/ Programme quality measure

1. Tangibles 4. Content2. Competence 5. Delivery 3. Attitude 6. Reliability

Owlia & Aspinwall (1996)

HE/ Programme quality measure

1. Non-academic dimensions2. Academic dimensions 3. Reliability 4. Empathy

Abdullah (2006)




Approach Area of Application/ Measurement

Dimensions/Criteria Author(s)

Business School/ Service Quality

1. Contact personnel 2. Physical evidence 3. Reputation4. Responsiveness 5. Facilities accessibility 6. Curriculum

Sohail & Shaikh (2004)

Combined (CIPP & TQM)

Hospitality/ Culinary art programme quality

1. Facilities 2. Faculty 3. Learning opportunity 4. Outcomes 5. Student services6. Organization & administration

Hertzman & Stefanelli (2007)

HTLPs/ Programme quality measure

1. Strategic planning 2. Curriculum & instruction 3. Faculty 4. Resources 5. Student achievement 6. Administrative management

Horng et al. (2009)

†Source. Adopted and revised from Horng et al. (2011)

The tenure system is the representative systematic characteristic of HTLPs in the US. The tenure system in the US pressures faculty to “publish or perish.” HTLPs and HE overall share this trait among tenure-track faculty in the US, where the pressure to publish is considerable (Tung & McKercher, 2017). Non-tenure track faculty focuses solely on teaching and providing services. Their workloads are also considerable. However, as they are not part of the tenure system, their perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria on programme quality differ from tenured or tenure-track faculty (Hobson, 1999; Hudson, 2005; Huseman, Rogers, Meyer, & Habel, 2017). Faculty perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria on programme quality significantly differ based on tenure status.

Understanding faculty perceptions of HTLP criteria can contribute to developing holistic accreditation/evaluation criteria. HTLPs have gone through substantial changes over the last forty years (McKercher & Prideaux, 2014). Compared to these changes, the development of HTLP evaluation criteria has been static. Other than the studies summarised in Table 2, no research has been done exploring further development of HTLP evaluation criteria. Horng et al. (2011) examined the combined model (Table 2) between Taiwan and the US; however, the study did not consider tenure status. Furthermore, the study had statistical and systematic drawbacks such as severely uneven size distribution of faculty size among non-tenure track, tenure-track, and

Table 2 (con’t)




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tenured faculty, lack of validation for HTLP evaluation criteria, and disregard for different tenure systems between Taiwan and the US. Recently, Widarsyah, Ghiselli, and Adler (2017) examined HTLP benefits and administrators’ motives for ACPHA accreditation. However, the study was not inclusive of the faculty’s views, exploring only motives and benefits of accreditation rather than HTLP evaluation criteria on programme quality. Thus, the effect of faculty perceptions of the evaluation criteria on programme quality based on tenure status would provide informative insights to develop more thorough and effective HTLP evaluation criteria.

We hypothesise that the different perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among faculty with different tenure status are based on job security. No research has been done on this topic in HE. Fleischman, Stephenson, Walker, and Cook (2017) suggested that untenured accounting faculty are somewhat less satisfied with their jobs than tenured faculty. In business, it has been suggested that job security has a significant influence on job satisfaction, employee well-being, and organizational commitment (Dawson, Veliziotis, & Hopkins, 2014; Origo & Pagani, 2009). Thus, it is possible that tenure status as an indicator of job security can influence how faculty evaluate the programme they work for. Non-tenure track faculty would show the lowest scores for HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality, tenured the highest, and tenure-track something between non-tenured and tenured groups.

Based on the above arguments, we propose the following hypotheses regarding the different perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among faculty based on their tenure status.

H1: HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality are perceived significantly different among full-time faculty based on tenure status. Specifically,

H1a: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among non-tenure track faculty are significantly lower than among tenure-track and tenured faculty.

H1b: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among tenure-track faculty are significantly lower than among tenured faculty.

H1c: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among tenured faculty are significantly higher than the non-tenure track and tenure-track faculty.

The dimensions of HTLP evaluation criteria would significantly influence the quality of the programme differently based on tenure status. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis.

H2: HTLP evaluation criteria showing significant influence are different among non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty.




Methodology

Instrumentation, Samples, and Data Collection

The variables and questionnaires used in this study were adopted from the combined CIPP and TQM model (Table 2; Hertzman & Stefanelli, 2007; Horng et al., 2009). All survey items had 5 Likert scale options, from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. The targeted sample for this study consisted of full-time HTLP faculty in the US. The questionnaire items were revised and initially validated through a pilot test. Random and snowball sampling were used to collect the data. For random sampling, we contacted faculty by sending email invitations. A total of 3128 potential participants were emailed an invitation letter explaining the purpose of the study and a link to a Qualtrics survey. Five follow-up reminders were also sent to the participants over two months. A total of 287 complete responses were gathered, yielding a 9.2% response rate. Snowball sampling was used to collect data at HTLP-related conferences. The questionnaire was distributed after acquiring an agreement from each subject, yielding 81 complete responses. The researchers made sure that the online survey respondents did not fill out a hard-copy form. A total of 391 responses were collected. Eleven responses were removed due to outliers (e.g., strongly agreeing throughout). Reverse coding was used to check answer validity, and three additional responses were removed because the results were not consistent. Consequently, 357 responses were used for the data analysis.

Model and Analysis

MANOVA, OLS, and 2SLS were performed in this study. MANOVA examined the significance of group differences among non-tenure, tenure-track, and tenured faculty regarding HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality (i.e., examining H1 and sub-hypotheses). OLS analysis was performed to determine which evaluation criteria had a significant influence on programme quality for each group of faculty (i.e., examining H2). Endogeneity was analysed with 2SLS analysis.

This study examined the following model to test hypothesis H2:Quality = β0 + β1 STGY + β2 CCINS + β3 RES + β4 FACULTY + β5 STDACHV + β6 ADMINMGNT + ε1

The dependent variable, Quality, represents the respondent’s perception of the overall HTLP programme quality. For independent variables, STGY represents strategic planning (i.e., vision, mission, and self-improvement), CCINS is curriculum and instruction, RES is resource, FACULTY is faculty quality and performance, STDACHV is student achievement, and ADMINMGNT is administrative management.

Reliability and validity of the questionnaire items were examined with Cronbach’s α and CFA (confirmatory factor analysis). The α-values of the observed variables




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were in the acceptable range between .788 and .891 (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson, & Tatham, 2006). The validity of the questionnaire was examined through CFA, and the factor loadings ranged between .706 and .836 meeting appropriate levels for structural interpretation (Hair et al., 2006). CFA model fit indices were verified for measurement validity as χ2 (18, N = 357) = 138.527, p < .05, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .05 (CI = .03~ .05), GFI = .95, and AGFI= .93.

Demographics

This study first performed a descriptive analysis for demographic profiles of the HTLP faculty sample (Table 3). The sample faculty had a mean age of 44.77 years, mean years employed at the current institution of 6.90, and mean years employed as full-time faculty of 10.91. For institution type, 234 faculty were affiliated with universities and 123 with vocational institutions. Out of 357 faculty sampled, 156 respondents were male and 201 female. For tenure status, 117 faculty were non-tenure track, 117 tenure-track, and 123 tenured. For age, the average of non-tenure track and tenured faculty was similar (non-tenure track: M = 51.55; tenured: M = 51.59) and higher than tenure-track faculty (M = 31.58). Industry full-time experience was highest among non-tenure track faculty (non-tenured: M = 17.04; tenure-track: M = 2.46; tenured M = 4.69).

Table 3. Demographics

Mean Max. Min. SD N

Alla Age 44.77 68 29 6.87 357

Year(s) employed at current institution

6.90 37 1 8.72 357

Year(s) employed as a full-time faculty

10.91 38 2 7.60 357

Year(s) employed in Hospitality industry

8.06 35 1 1.43 357

NTb Age 51.55 61 46 3.12 126

Year(s) employed at current institution

4.53 15 1.25 2.35 126


7 21 2 2.36 126


17.04 38 5 1.81 126




Mean Max. Min. SD N

TTc Age 31.58 44 29 2.94 117Year(s) employed at current institution

1.78 5 1 .87 117


3.21 8 2 2.72 117


2.46 7 2.50 1.10 117

TDd Age 51.19 68 33 7.86 114Year(s) employed at current institution

14.78 37 7 2.49 114


21.04 38 7 3.08 114


4.69 21 2.5 1.04 114

Frequency Percentile (%)Institution Type

University 234 65.55Vocational Institute 123 34.45Gender

Male 156 43.69Female 201 56.31Tenure Statusa

Non-tenure track 126 32.87Tenure-track 117 32.58Tenured 114 34.55

a Combining all non-tenure track, tenure-track and tenured faculty, b Non-tenure track, c Tenure-track, dTenured

MANOVA

MANOVA was performed to test the hypotheses. Since there was a possible sub-influence of age and gender on the HTLP faculty’s perceptions and programme quality, MANOVA with covariates was performed (Table 4). It examined differences based on tenure status when age and gender were controlled. The analysis used

Table 3 (con’t)




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HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality as dependent variables, age and gender as covariates, and the three categories of tenure status (i.e., non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured) as independent variables.

Table 4. Means and adjusted means

Variables / sub-criteria

Mean SD Adjusted Mean SE

NTa TTb TDc NT TT TD NT TT TD NT TT TDSTGY 3.55 3.93 3.89 .49 .42 .91 3.48 4.03 3.87 .09 .11 .06CCINS 3.64 4.07 4.10 .53 .44 .57 3.71 3.99 4.22 .07 .09 .05RES 3.53 4.42 3.86 .62 .51 1.01 3.66 4.26 3.89 .11 .13 .07FACULTY 3.55 3.92 3.71 1.07 .24 .67 3.57 3.90 3.71 .10 .12 .07STDACHV 3.79 3.64 3.80 .67 .31 .59 3.69 3.77 3.78 .07 .09 .05ADMINMGNT 3.54 3.97 3.89 .73 .78 .73 3.84 3.58 4.04 .11 .13 .08Quality 3.63 3.92 3.97 .66 .69 .78 3.80 3.70 4.02 .11 .13 .07a Non-tenure track, b Tenure-track, c Tenured, STGY = strategic planning, CCINS= curriculum & instruction, RES= resources, FACULTY= faculty, STDACHV=student achievement, ADMINMGNT= administrative management, Quality= quality of programme

First, MANOVA was performed for the independent variables and programme quality. Assumptions were checked for reasonableness of the analytic procedure. The homogeneity of regression coefficient assumptions was met (p > .90). No within-cell outliers were found at p < .001. Skewness measured for each variable was not extreme (i.e., less than |1|). Scatter plots for each variable within each group found no concern for linearity. Box’s M test for equality of covariance matrices indicated homogeneity of variance-covariance [F(8, 108469747) = 1.53, p > .10].

Tenure status had a statistically significant effect on the adjusted mean of the combined dependent variables (HTLP evaluation criteria and quality of programme), [F(14, 349) =13.97, p < .001] with Wilk’s lambda criterion, partial η2 = .22. A follow-up univariate analysis found a statistically significant difference in STGY, CCINS, RES, ADMINMGNT, and Quality among non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty after controlling age and gender; STGY: [F(2, 349) = 8.39, p < .001, η2 = .25], CCINS: [F(2, 369) = 25.82, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.14], RES: [F(2, 349) = 3.93, p < 0.05, η2 = .12], ADMINMGNT: [F(2, 349) = 6.34, p < .01, η2 = .35], Quality: [F(2, 349) = 4.78, p < .001, η2 = .27]. In pair-wise comparison, perceptions of STGY (p < .001), CCINS (p < .001), RES (p < .05), ADMINMGNT (p < .01) and Quality (p < .001) were significantly lower among non-tenure track faculty compared to tenure-track and tenured faculty, supporting H1a. The difference of perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria between tenure-track and tenured faculty




was only statistically significant in RES (p < .001). The mean and adjusted mean in RES were significantly higher among the tenure-track than tenured faculty, rejecting H1b and supporting H1c.

OLS Analysis

OLS analysis was performed to examine whether and which HTLP evaluation criteria had significant influence on programme quality among faculty based on tenure status. Data screening was conducted to check the assumptions. Skewed distribution was fixed after natural log transformation. VIF (variance inflation factor) analysis ranged from 1.104 to 4.453 and showed no signs of multicollinearity (Table 5; Hair et al., 2006). Pair-wise linearity was satisfied by using within-group scatter plots. All three models showed significance (non-tenure track: F [6, 119] = 473.80, p < .001, R2 = .76; tenure-track: F [6, 110] = 427.77, p < .001, R2 = .77; tenured: F [6, 107] = 25.65, p < .001, R2 = .75.

Table 5. Group effect analysesNTa TTb TDc

Variables β t-value VIF β t-value VIF β t-value VIF

STGY .361 .425 4.175 1.166 4.183*** 1.094 1.146 1.665 3.371

CCINS .099 3.085** 1.104 1.130 3.017*** 1.654 .569 6.453*** 3.399

RES .083 6.601** 4.453 1.116 7.375*** 2.758 .123 2.125* 1.457

FACULTY .079 3.829*** 3.564 .366 .699 3.057 .043 .538 2.786

STDACHV .240 4.566*** 3.904 .129 2.837** 4.566 .338 4.343*** 2.651

ADMINMGNT .438 .686 3.636 1.312 3.003*** 1.234 .193 2.623** 2.359–R2 = .55

–R2 = .57

–R2 = .53

R2 = .76 R2 = .77 R2 = .75

***p <.001, ** p <.01, *p <.05, a Non-tenure track, b Tenure-track, c Tenured, STGY = strategic planning, CCINS= curriculum & instruction, RES= resources, FACULTY= faculty, STDACHV=student achievement, ADMINMGNT= administrative management, Quality= quality of programme, † Adjusted R2

The HTLP evaluation criteria showing significant influence on the quality of programme differed based on tenure status. Among the non-tenure track HTLP faculty, CCINS, RES, FACULTY, and STDACHV showed a significant positive influence on the quality of the HTLP programme (CCINS: β2 = .099, p < .01; RES: β3 = .083, p < .01; FACULTY: β4 = .079, p < .001; STDACHV: β5 = .240, p < .001). Among the tenure-track HTLP faculty, all evaluation criteria showed a significant




63

positive influence on the quality of the HTLP programme except FACULTY (STGY: β1 = 1.166, p < .001; CCINS: β2 = 1.130, p < .001; RES: β3 = 1.116, p < .001; STDACHV: β5 = .129, p < .01; ADMINMGNT: β1 = 1.312, p < .001). Among tenured HTLP faculty, CCINS, RES, STDACHV, and ADMINMGNT showed a significant positive influence on the quality of the HTLP programme (CCINS: β2 = .569, p < .001; RES: β3 = .123, p < .05; STDACHV: β5 = .338, p < .001; ADMINMGNT: β6 = .193, p < .01). The analysis outcome supports H2.

Endogeneity Analysis

Since this study adopted the same indicator variables for three different groups of the sample, 2SLS analysis was performed to examine potential endogenous relationships of the predictor variables and group invariance (Perrini, Rossi, & Rovetta, 2008; Campbell & Minguez-Vera, 2008). A Durbin-Wu-Hausman (DHW) test was employed to test the endogeneity of fiscal and non-fiscal leadership structure attributes. After regressing all other HTLP evaluation criteria with STGY, for example, the residual of STGY was saved and added as another predictor variable. The DHW test showed when Quality was a dependent variable, the saved variables showed the same significant influence as the OLS analysis (Table 6). Also, 2SLS analyses showed a consistent regressor influence on Quality, as in the group effect analyses. In sum, the 2SLS analysis supported the OLS results.

Table 6. 2SLS endogeneity analysis

NTa β (t-value)EVd

VariableSTGY CCINS RES FACULTY STDACHV ADMINMGNT

STGY .020 (.449)

.051 (.865)

.020 (.333)

.065 (1.169)

.096 (1.642)

.004 (.067)

CCINS .188* (1.870)

.185* (1.866)

.323*** (3.930)

.210* (2.242)

.234** (2.425)

.258** (2.679)

RES .201** (3.371)

.227*** (3.975)

.149** (3.384)

.137* (2.412)

.225*** (3.774)

.206** (3.451)

FACULTY .203*** (3.735)

.233*** (3.745)

.153** (2.674)

.158*** (3.576)

.236*** (3.963)

.260*** (4.459)

STDACHV .250*** (4.351)

.206*** (3.801)

.261*** (4.385)

.262*** (4.400)

.179*** (4.054)

.156** (2.872)

ADMINMGNT .069 (.964)

.084 (.248)

.090 (1.029)

.180 (1.876)

.032 (.542)

.058 (.911)

†– R2 .493 .487 .515 .492 .490 .495




TTb β (t-value)STGY .211***

(3.591) .229*** (4.085)

.156*** (3.603)

.173** (3.038)

.239*** (4.082)

.211*** (3.600)

CCINS .305*** (5.190)

.273*** (4.789)

.318*** (5.219)

.310*** (5.149)

.220*** (4.886)

.156** (2.872)

RES .243* (2.548)

.245* (2.569)

.406*** (4.806)

.268** (2.870)

.202* (2.141)

.243* (2.535)

FACULTY .018 (.408)

.041 (.709)

.017 (.284)

.030 (.551)

.109 (1.894)

.028 (.460)

STDACHV .610*** (-10.367)

.614*** (-10.393)

.608*** (-10.298)

.606*** (-10.287)

.674*** (-11.706)

.612*** (-10.352)

ADMINMGNT .117* (-1.983)

.134* (-2.078)

.171* (-2.285)

.094* (-1.982)

.155* (-2.438)

.142* (-2.236)

–R2 .505 .470 .515 .520 .502 .473

TDc β (t-value)STGY .012

(.280) .050

(.845).010

(.162).081

(1.447).094

(1.590).018

(.297)CCINS .208**

(3.449).224***

(4.221).154**

(3.457).139*

(2.425).233***

(3.886).213***

(3.531)RES .158*

(2.060).138*

(2.591).156*

(2.043).138*

(2.591).119*

(2.186).172***

(3.857)FACULTY .123

(2.151).081

(1.761).127

(1.610).057

(.672).008

(.146).089

(1.508)STDACHV .275***

(4.746).220***

(4.014).289***

(4.820).291***

(4.846).199***

(4.481).173**

(3.159)ADMINMGNT .208**

(3.260).207**

(3.155).219**

(3.341).246***

(3.792).189**

(2.875).189**

(2.884)–R2 .493 .487 .515 .492 .490 .490

***p <.001, ** p <.01, *p <.05, a Non-tenure track, b Tenure-track, c Tenured, d endogenous variable, STGY = strategic planning, CCINS= curriculum & instruction, RES= resources, FACULTY= faculty, STDACHV=student achievement, ADMINMGNT= administrative management, Quality= quality of programme, † Adjusted R2

The statistical analyses supporting or rejecting the hypotheses follow (Table 7).

Table 6 (con’t)




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Table 7. Analyses results

Category Hypotheses Support/ Reject

Difference of HTLP evaluation criteria and quality of programme

H1: HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality are perceived significantly different among full-time faculty based on tenure status.

Support

H1a: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among non-tenure track faculty are significantly lower than among tenure-track and tenured faculty.

Support

H1b: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among tenure-track faculty are significantly lower than among tenured faculty.

Reject

H1c: The perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality among tenured faculty are significantly higher than the non-tenure track and tenure-track faculty.

Support

Influence of HTLP evaluation criteria on quality of programme

H2: HTLP evaluation criteria showing significant influence are different among non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty.

Support

Discussion and Implications

We hypothesised that HTLP evaluation criteria and programme quality were significantly different among full-time faculty based on tenure status. First, perceptions of HTLP evaluation criteria among non-tenure track faculty were significantly lower than tenure-track and tenured faculty in terms of STGY (strategic planning), CCINS (curriculum and instruction), RES (resources), ADMINMGNT (administrative management), and Quality (programme quality). The only two criteria showing non-significant differences were FACULTY (faculty quality and performance) and STDACHV (student achievement). The analysis outcome might be attributed to the sense of job security of the non-tenure track faculty. Their lower sense of job security might positively influence the programme quality and evaluation (Dawson et al., 2014; Fleischman et al., 2017; Origo & Pagani, 2009). Additionally, the outcome might be attributed to the backgrounds of non-tenure track faculty. HTLP non-tenure track faculty generally have extensive industry backgrounds (Table 3) and might be more inclined to view the HTLP evaluation criteria from industry efficiency perspectives than tenure-track and tenured faculty. The perception of tenure-track faculty on RES (resources) is significantly higher than that of tenured faculty. RES denotes how the HTLP manages resources such as labs, classrooms, and other spaces




for teaching, learning, and research. This outcome might be attributed to tenure-track faculty’s motivation to “publish or perish,” leading them to utilize resources for maximum productivity and job performance quality (Tung & McKercher, 2017). The analysis outcomes provide implications to develop more efficient HTLP evaluation criteria. This study used the combined model. Although the model effectively combined merits of TQM and CIPP, adopting industry quality control for HTLP evaluation criteria, it lacks inclusiveness for stakeholders. As suggested by the analysis outcomes, HTLP evaluation criteria would be effective if made inclusive. For example, with STGY, an evaluation item inclusive of all faculty views can be added, such as “All the faculty in the programme have agreed upon the short and long-term strategy of the programme.”

We also hypothesized that the HTLP evaluation criteria showing significant influence were different among non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty. For the non-tenure track faculty, CCINS, RES, FACULTY, and STDACHV showed significantly positive influence on the quality of the programme, and STGY and ADMINMGNT were non-significant. The outcomes indicate that non-tenure track faculty were less concerned with administrative issues of STGY and ADMINMGNT and more concerned with the direct issues of performing their jobs. For tenure-track faculty, all the criteria showed significantly positive influence except FACULTY (i.e., teacher quality and performance). This outcome might be attributed to relatively shorter experience as faculty (Table 3), indicating an inability to evaluate faculty in the programme. For tenured faculty, CCINS, RES, STDACHV, and ADMINMGNT showed significantly positive influence on programme quality. Unlike non-tenure track faculty, tenure-track and tenured faculty regard ADMINMGNT as an important element that had a positive influence on programme quality. This outcome implies that they regard student management and the leadership of the programme as an essential element of programme quality.

The analysis outcomes can enable inclusion of the views of non-tenure track faculty in HTLP evaluation criteria. Non-tenure track faculty show relatively less regard for administrative elements such as STGY and ADMINMGNT, which might be attributed to either lower job security than other faculty groups, and therefore lower commitment to the areas not directly related to their jobs, or different views of programme evaluation, such as seeing STGY and ADMINMGNT as less relevant to their jobs than other criteria. Evaluation criteria of different models should also be examined. For example, compared to SERVQUAL, the combined model lacks subjective/quality control elements for stakeholders such as delivery, reliability, and empathy. By adding and examining these as a part of the HTLP evaluation criteria, it is possible to examine what the non-tenure track faculty really care about when it comes to evaluating the HTLP they work for.




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Although this study provides the essential views of how/which HTLP evaluation criteria are perceived differently based on tenure status, it has some limitations. These limitations can provide implications for future studies. Although the study found that non-tenure track faculty evaluated the HTLP programme significantly less positively than other groups of faculty did, we could not fully determine why. Thus, as a future study, a mixed methodology (e.g., in-depth interviews and statistical analyses) can be used to further analyse the root cause. Related to this first limitation, the combined model itself might be limited when it comes to capturing the reason. In future research, the combined model could include some evaluation criteria elements from SERVQUAL. We found that non-tenure track faculty cared relatively less about administrative criteria affecting programme quality. Therefore, future research, a mixed methodology (e.g., in-depth interview and statistical analysis) can be used to understand different values placed on criteria by different faculty groups. Also, this study can be expanded to compare with the HTLP programmes in different countries. However, as mentioned before, the comparison should be done with a country (or countries) that have the same tenure system.


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Research Paper

The Perception of Hyatt Place—a Mid-scale Brand among Hotel Customers in China

Maria Yue and Steve Xu The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR


Abstract: Though the mid-scale hotel business is still in its infancy in China, it has become a new growing competitive market attracting a variety of international hotel brands. Moreover, from the academic perspective, mid-scale hotel business is seldom discussed in the Eastern context. This study attempts to examine whether there are some latent brand positioning issues affecting the development of mid-scale brands. Taking the example of four Hyatt Place properties in China, it firstly examined whether there is a gap between corporate perspectives and guest perception. Additionally, taking into account regional differences, the variation among guest perceptions in various city destinations were then explored. A total of 9127 online guest reviews were retrieved for analysis from two widely used travel sites around China (Ctrip) and the world (TripAdvisor). The content analysis of the online reviews demonstrate the consistent relationship between company brand positioning and guest perceptions toward the Hyatt Place in general. However, it also reveals that discrepancies exist in the perceptions of hotel customers from different Chinese cities.

Keywords: Branding, China market, country-of-origin, country/city-of-operation, Hyatt Place, mid-scale brand

Suggested citation: Yu, M. & Xu, S. (2018). The perception of Hyatt Place—a mid-scale brand among hotel customers in China. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 71-84.

Introduction

With the adoption of the “open-door” policy in 1978, China’s hospitality market has been steadily developing and attracting huge investments from international hotel groups (Gu, Ryan, & Yu, 2012). As a way of maximizing returns while minimizing risks, many hotel firms implement their brand portfolio strategy (Connell, 1992).

Correspondence: Steve Xu, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR. Email: [email protected]



72 Maria Yue and Steve Xu

By taking advantages of its parent brand’s values, culture, operation procedure and policy, the sub-brand could be easily introduced to the new market (Bhat & Reddy, 2001). Additionally, with increasing fierce competition in the luxury segment, developing a mid-scale brand would be an alternative way to aggregate market share. However, while mid-scale hotel business models has been well established for several decades in the US, this industry is still in its infancy stage in China (Gu et al., 2012).

From the academic perspective, a majority of past research (Hsu, Liu, & Huang, 2012; Kim & Kim, 2005; Knutson, Stevens, Patton, & Thompson, 1993; Mattila, 1999; Xiao, O’Neill, & Wang, 2008) have been primarily interested in the general branding issue, specifically focusing on either luxury or economy hotels. There have been limited studies conducted on mid-scale hotel brands. Hence, this study aims to fill this literature gap and examine if there are some latent branding problems with relatively new but rapidly developing international mid-scale hotel businesses in the China market, with a case study of the Hyatt Place.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (HHC) has long noticed the huge potential of the China market. As such, the Hyatt Place brand was first transplanted into China in 2013, with the purpose of quickly grabbing market share from competitors such as Courtyard by Marriott and Holiday Inn by Intercontinental Hotel Group. This mid-scale brand aims to create a place that offers 24/7 convenience, stylish spaces and modern comforts. The guiding principle of this brand is to build a stylish, comfortable, seamless experience for customers, focusing on purposeful service and business casual. Generally, as the core strategy asset of HHC, the Hyatt Place is very much at its early stage of development in China market, with currently five properties only. This study takes a look at the HHC and Hyatt Place brand as examples, and examine whether there is a gap between the hotel group’s branding strategy and guest perceptions of the same brand when entering into a new market like China. Further, as the China market is extensive and scattered, the variations in guest perceptions towards the same brand that operate in different city destinations become another focus point. In addition, customers’ brand perception is based on the content analysis of online reviews retrieved from the two widely recognised online travel sties which are Ctrip and TripAdvisor.

Theoretical Background

Brand Extension

Brand extension is an efficient and economical marketing development strategy. Related studies recognise that a successful brand extension relies on a variety of factors including the reputation of the original brand (Hem, De Chernatony, & Iversen, 2003), the perceived quality of parent brand (Völckner, Sattler, Hennig-Thurau, & Ringle, 2010), marketing support from parent brand (Völckner & Sattler, 2006),



The Perception of Hyatt Place—a Mid-scale Brand among Hotel Customers in China 73

perceived fox fit between parent brand and extended product category (Sunde & Brodie, 1993) and previous experiences of parent brand (Swaminathan, Fox, & Reddy, 2001). Generally, it concludes that the equity of parent brand may be the most vital factor influencing the success of brand extension. In addition, from the consumers’ perspective, their evaluation of brand extension is significantly affected by parent brand attributes (Bhat & Reddy, 2001), and previous experiences with parent brand as well (Swaminathan et al., 2001). Hence, as parent brand is dominant in brand extension and consumers’ evaluation, it is assumed that the perception of consumers on extended brands may be affected by the parent brand to a large extent.

Brand Consistency

Based on branding literature, brand strategy and execution are supposed to be explicitly matched well across time and different locations (Keller, 2008). A distinct brand understanding and consistent delivery of its core values among different stakeholders are regarded as some of the key factors impacting the development of service brands (De Chernatony & Segal-Horn, 2003). More importantly, brand consistency can create higher brand awareness and generate a stronger and closer relationship with customers, as well as persuasively align them together from various parts of world (Bengtsson, Bardhi, & Venkatraman, 2010). From the consumers’ perspective, consistency and continuity of a brand can contribute to forming a better brand image and enhancing perceived value (Schallehn, Burmann, & Riley, 2014), cost lesser time in processing brand information and generate more trust and reliance towards the brand (Erdem & Swait, 1998). Similarly, consumers could feel uncomfortable and disturbed when brands are not consistent across time and space (Bengtsson et al., 2010). In the context of hotel brands, it is a known fact that international hotel groups concentrate on maintaining brand and service standardisation around the world (Whitla, Walters, & Davies, 2007). For instance, Tepeci (1999) highlighted that Holday Inn strives to provide a consistent experience, a uniform service standard and adopts the same brand strategy worldwide to attract repeat customers. Based on the above considerations, it can be seen that international chain hotels strive to maintain consistency of each sub-brand across time and location. In addition, Aaker (1996) suggests that the brand’s meaning to consumers could be referred as brand image. Therefore, in this study, it is assumed that hotel customers would perceive the same brand image towards a specific brand.

Country-of-Origin and Country/City-of-Operation Theories

According to Roth and Romeo (1992), the definition of Country-of-Origin (COO) image is described as “the overall perception consumers form of products from a particular country based on their prior perceptions of the country’s production and




marketing strengths and weaknesses “(p. 479).” Specifically, Country-of-Origin refers to customers’ perceptions about the country from which the product originates (Lee, Oh, & Hsu, 2017). Drawing from the literature of consumer behaviour, it emphasises the influence of “made in country” cues on consumers’ perceptions and preferences, which can significantly affect their evaluation and purchase decision toward the product (Legohérel, Hsu, & Daucé, 2015). In addition, the Country/City-of-Operation image refers to an attitude formed based on the characteristics of a specific destination. Customers’ hotel experiences are based on both tangible and intangible attributes. Country/City-of-Operation images are related to the intangible aspects of the customers’ hotel experience, since the hotel stay occurs in a specific country/city (Winit, Gregory, Cleveland, & Verlegh, 2014). Since international hotel groups face challenges in the form of cross-cultural environments around the world, hotel managers are required to continuously evaluate their hotels’ service performance in the context of the location (Sun, Tong, & Law, 2017). Especially when it is common that developed cities have stronger human resource and human capital than smaller cities, which may also lead to dramatic differences in hotels’ service performance. In this sense, in terms of a hotel brand product, it is argued that location plays a more important role than the made-in label because the hotel’s brand can be perceived differently, depending on where the hotel is managed.

Methodology

Drawing from preceding discussions, China has emerged as one of the most promising market for the global hospitality industry and mid-scale international brands have recently started to spring up. The Hyatt Place brand is chosen for this study for two main reasons. Firstly, it made an entry into the Chinese market in the last five years and remains at an early stage of development, and therefore this study expects to explore more interesting facts on customers’ perceptions of this relatively young brand. Secondly, the parent brand Hyatt itself. Among all the sub brands of Hyatt, Hyatt Place is the first and only mid-scale brand in the China market whereas all the others belong to the luxury hotel segment. Hence, it may provide a more visible case study to evaluate the influence of master brand on customers’ perception. In addition, there are currently seven properties of Hyatt Place in China but only five have started operations. The Hyatt Place Foshan is newly opened and very limited guest reviews on branding issue can be found online. Hence, for this study, only four operating hotels including Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen, Hyatt Place Shenzhen airport, Hyatt Place Luoyang, and Hyatt Place Yinchuan were covered and regarded as the major objectives.

This study adopted the qualitative approach and collected data from online reviews generated by customers in Ctrip.com and TripAdvisor.com, which are two of the most popular online travel websites in China and Western countries, respectively.




These two websites stand out for a very good reason: more than 260 million monthly visitors provide more than 100 million reviews about 2.7 million accommodations, restaurants and tourist attractions (Bengtsson et al., 2010). Especially so TripAdvisor, which is the largest travel site in the world and offers customers a platform where they can express their thoughts on hotel service, such as lodging, transportation and dining (TripAdvisor, 2013). Similarly, Ctrip.com International Ltd (Ctrip) is the largest travel website in China (Ye, Law & Gu, 2009). It mainly serves as an online travel agency providing aggregated information about hotel accommodations, airline tickets, and tour packages in China, and enabling customers the convenience of reservation. Apart from routing the travel plan and booking rooms and tickets, another significant function of Ctrip is to enable and encourage customers to write down their opinions regarding hotel stays and their travel experiences, and rate various aspects of tourism products as well as their overall experience (Ye et al., 2009). In this study, the guest reviews in both domestic and international travel websites were collected, selected and classified in an objective way. Moreover, the purpose of this study is to examine and identify different customer perceptions, and more importantly, the original online reviews were presented in contents. Hence, it would be more suitable to adopt a qualitative method.

As of December 2017, the study found that the two travel sites generated a total of 9127 online reviews regarding the four properties of Hyatt Place. From this total, about 300 online reviews that were generally related with any information about branding were then subjected to content analysis. Specifically, each review was read word for word and sentence for sentence, and then compared and validated independently. Only those comments that contained information specifically about perceptions of the Hyatt Place brand were selected for further investigation. Moreover, some useful and helpful contents originally written in simplified or traditional Chinese were correctly translated into English by two bilingual authors.

Findings and Discussion

The analysis is mainly constructed on two main aspects. Firstly, it examined the similarities and differences between branding strategy of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and guests’ perception towards the Hyatt Place brand. Secondly, the similarities and differences of guest perception towards the location of the Hyatt Place hotels ie four Chinese cities were then discussed and compared. The results of this study have been categorised according to the subtopics discussed in the literature review.

Brand Extension

As demonstrated above, Hyatt Place is a newly introduced brand in the Chinese market and presents an important strategic asset of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The




company’s brand storybook describes Hyatt Place as a convenient, stylish, casual, modern and comfort mid-scale hotel. Essentially, Hyatt Place is highly devoted towards promoting a sense of “host of home”. In addition, based on the discussions in the literature review, the master brand has significant influences on the extended brand, and therefore consumers’ evaluation toward sub-brands may receive strong implications from the original brand. Hence, it firstly attempts to examine if guests experience this brand in China with the same feelings as they would the parent brand. The contents are presented and discussed next.

“It is a superb modern hotel with nice clean and quiet rooms. Also a fabulous breakfast is included.” (Comment A on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)“Since its opening, Hyatt Place has been a value for money & comfortable hotel! Located in a very easy access to the MTR station LoaJia, moving around Shenzhen is so convenient, be your visit be business, leisure or both (including shopping)!!!” (Comment B on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)“It is the young brand in Hyatt family so the price is affordable, of course, the service is limited. Free breakfast is a good market attraction, room size is big enough, they even sell the thing that you need on traveling, a very clever strategy.” (Comment C on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)“Not bad, very clean. It is a sub-brand of Hyatt. Seems an express business hotel.” (Comment D on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Luoyang)“It is Hyatt’s simple, modern style. I like it very much. Very convenient and close to airport. It is the best choice for early morning flight catcher.” (Comment E on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Airport)

Many reviews reveal customers’ perception regarding the simple and modern design style of this brand. Generally, it is described as energetic and convenient and is very suitable for the young generation. Guests warmly accept the seamless services, friend and family concept, value for money and exceptional quality. Moreover, HHC always highlights the nine key elements of the Hyatt Place brand such as, “Roomy Rooms, Comfortable Bed, Hot Breakfast, Free Wi-Fi, Social Gallery Space, 24/7 Gallery Kitchen, Coffee to Cocktails Bar, 42-inch Smart TV and Cozy Corner” which are all covered in the reviews in both TripAdvisor and Ctrip. It shows that guest perception of this brand concept is aligned closely with the brand position that HHC originally set out to do. However, there are still some customers who felt uncertain between Hyatt’s master brand and Hyatt Place. As most Hyatt brands currently operating in China fall into the luxury hotel category, people may automatically regard all Hyatt brands including Hyatt Place as at least an upscale




hotel. That is why these people expect high quality services and products from Hyatt Place. In this case, there were many mismatched expectations as can be seen in the following comments:

“As a Hyatt member, price and service are all not very good. 5 star hotel does not provide room service.” (Comment A on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)“Use Hyatt name but a small hotel. The service and quality is so poor. Cannot compare to other Hyatt hotels.” (Comment B on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Luoyang)“5-star hotel but no mini bar. Could not believe this is belong to Hyatt” (Comment C on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Airport)“As a Hyatt hotel, the hardware is poor cannot even match to 4-star hotel level. There are limited services provided. Won’t stay here next time.” (Comment D on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)

In addition, it can be argued that people organise objects or information into categories that enable them to process and understand their environment efficiently and if a person perceives an object to be a member of a category, the components of the category are transferred to the object (Klink and Smith, 2001). In other words, the degree of perceived fit between current and new service category affects consumers’ evaluation of the new service under the current brand name (Boush and Loken, 1991; Boush et al., 1987). Similarly, Park, McCarthy and Milberg (1993) indicated that if consumers perceive a high similarity between current services and new service, the chances of their acceptance may increase. Thus this assumption can explain why guests feel confused between the Hyatt Place brand with other Hyatt master brands. Furthermore, Anderson (1983) argued that brand image association comes from the hierarchical network system in consumers’ memory. Specifically, when consumers confront a new situation, they tend to extract prior knowledge from their memory. In the case of brand extension, consumers are more likely to assess a new service based on their past hotel experiences. Hence, it is suggested that the corporate image that formed consumers’ prior experience and knowledge provides some clues about the new service to consumers (Barone, Miyazaki & Taylor, 2000; Park, Milberg & Lawson, 1991; Pina, Martinez & Drury, 2006; Salinas & Perez, 2009). Since the first Hyatt Regency opened in Hong Kong back in 1969, Hyatt has been maintaining a competitive edge in luxury markets, and Chinese consumers used to regard the Hyatt brand as a full service and 5-star hotel product. Therefore, it is possible that some guests might associate all Hyatt family brands including Hyatt Place with high quality hotel service, such as Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. In addition, Hyatt Place is a new mid-scale brand which recently penetrated the Chinese market and many consumers may still




be unfamiliar with this brand. In this sense, customers or consumers would rely on their prior knowledge and/or hotel experience to evaluate this relatively new brand from Hyatt family. Based on this inference, a certain degree of brand confusion and consumers’ misled perception would be expected.

Brand Consistency and Country of Origin versus Country/city of Operation (COO)

In another aspect, many international hotel brands strive to maintain brand consistency through standardisation in order to quickly convince the market. However, the issue of cannibalisation has always been a concern to international hotel groups when extending their hotel brands around the world (Jiang, Dev, & Rao, 2002). In other words, it may be difficult to maintain the same brand-specific service quality standard in each destination. Especially, in China, owing to the geographic complexities and economic imbalances between eastern and western cities, it is quite possible that consumers or customers could perceive Hyatt Place brand differently in different city destinations. Some interesting insights are explored and presented in the following web texts.

“Don’t expect the Hyatt experience. This is a new hotel for business traveller and tourist groups. So new that no taxi driver knows where it is. The rooms were clean and the staff were nice. The hotel lobby is on the 16th floor and there is a restaurant on the same floor where they serve breakfast. The facilities and decor is definitely not your impression of a Hyatt.” (Comment A on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Luoyang)“This hotel is about 3.5 star. I really do not know the Hyatt is becoming worse and worse. Though it was open in a second-tier city, it cannot provide that poor service quality. The room is not well cleaned, the bed is too small and the variety of breakfast is very limited.” (Comment B on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Luoyang)“It is the only international hotel in Luoyang possessing a quite good location in the city center, but it cannot be compatible with other five-star hotels, especially in service. There are no doorman greeting guests, and the front desk staff is obviously lack of training and service awareness.” (Comment C on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Luoyang)“The breakfast is just soso. There is no 5-star hotel standard.’ (Comment D on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Yinchuan)“I ordered in-room service, and the answer was: there’s no in-room service so if you want you can come down and order it ... that in a supposed to be 5 star hotel.” (Comment E on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Airport)“Among The Best 4 Star Hotel in Dongmen District” (Comment F on Ctrip for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)




“Hyatt makes us feel like at home. All the staff very helpful and really like our friend. We can see the smile and the shine face from them. Smiling and their polite can become a trademark for this Hyatt brand. Good job for the Team and great place to stay. Believe and absolutely MUST TRY!!!!” (Comment G on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)“Great Value with unbeatable location. Dongmen proved to be a very pleasant surprise.. the decoration was simple but elegant enough to pass as a Hyatt regency (by US standards), The gym was a very good size, on par even with the Hyatt regency in Tsim Sa Tsui HK I would say.” (Comment H on TripAdvisor for Hyatt Place Shenzhen Dongmen)

Furthermore, it is suggested that customers’ hotel experiences are based on both tangible and intangible attributes. Country/city of operation images are related to the intangible aspects of the customer’s hotel experience, since the hotel stay experience occurs in a specific country or city (Winit et al., 2014). Hotels face challenges of cross-cultural environments, which require hotels to continuously evaluate their service performance in light of the hotel’s location. Thus, the hotel’s location might influence customers’ perceptions toward the hotel even if the hotel operates under the same brand (Sun et al., 2017). Country of origin refers to customers’ perceptions of the country from which the product originates, while country/city of operation refers to which country or city the service is provided (Lee et al., 2017). The location of the hotel plays a more important role than the made-in label because the hotel’s brand can be perceived differently, depending on where the hotel is managed. Based on the reviews in different Hyatt Place hotels in various locations, the results correspond with this inference.

In general, most of guest reviews discussing the core essentials for the Hyatt Place brand are classified as location, service quality, room, breakfast and value for money. Chinese consumers tend to use the 1 to 5 star rating system in evaluating a hotel brand. In response to the total online reviews, a majority of them place the Hyatt Place brand at the 4-star business hotel level relatively. Interestingly, most customers indeed accept the brand style and personality that represents young, modern, comfortable, business, home style and simplicity. In addition, the study also found that irrespective of the city it is located in, all experienced guests recognise well the reputation and quality of Hyatt master brands. However, in some cases, there were some different perceptions towards the Hyatt Place brand in different cities, especially, the Luoyang and Yinchuan. There were still many guests in these two cities who perceived Hyatt Place as a 5-star luxury brand and they were significantly confused about the brand concept and service standardisation provided by Hyatt Place. This could be attributed to the hotel markets in Luoyang or Yinchuan undergoing the initial stages of development, and therefore, lack of international




hotel brands may lead to inadequate brand knowledge and reference of hotel brands. In this case, the local guests may recall their previous hotel experience and perceive Hyatt Place as a 5-star luxury hotel brand. Yu, Byun and Lee (2014) suggested that hotel chains should design their business strategies to fulfil customer tastes in specific locations to fit in multicultural markets. Moreover, it is interesting that in certain locations such as Hyatt Place Shenzhen airport, people may care more about the convenience of the hotel location rather than the Hyatt Place brand itself.

Conclusion

In short, this study first examined the effectiveness of the Hyatt Place brand positioning between HHC and guest perceptions in the China market. Based on the analysis of nearly 10,000 guest reviews, it can be concluded that most of guests’ perception on Hyatt Place brand is well matched to the branding strategy that Hyatt Hotels Corporation aimed for. Generally, brand attributes and core elements of the Hyatt Place brand are consistent with guest expectations of this brand. On the other hand, different guest perceptions of the Hyatt Place brand in different cities of China was another focus point. The findings concur with the literature on brand consistency and Country/city of operation, and suggests that indeed, some localisation practices in different markets should be applied by considering different scenarios. The “One-size-fits-all” strategy does not work in different city destinations and the mismatch of guest perceptions was founded in several underdeveloped Chinese cities.

Theoretical Implications

On one aspect, the vast literature regarding branding issues are mainly conducted and discussed within the context of the global environment, especially in the Western world. As such, there is hardly any research on guests’ perception gaps among different domestic city destinations that are focused only the Chinese market. Hence, the theory of country-of-origin can also be applied at the level of cities (i.e. city-of-origin). On another aspect, many research were based on general brand strategies or theories. Studies on specific branding segments such as mid-scale brand development are often neglected and are still developing in the Eastern context. This paper is particularly interested in the current situation of a mid-scale hotel brand which may contribute to filling up the gaps in the existing research literature.

Practical Implications

The findings of this study may provide several practical implications for promoting the hotel industry in China. Starting with branding issues, hotel management should recognise there are various perceptions amongst customers and put in more effort to maintain standardisation and localisation for the same brand that operates in different




city destinations (Mossberg & Kleppe, 2005). Moreover, the findings also highly suggest that the core value of the hotel brand should be captured and standardised, while allowing flexibility and customization depending on the external environment in local markets. Furthermore, customers would easily relate to a hotel brand with reference to other similar international brands already operating in local hotel markets. In this case, it is argued that when entering into a developing market (e.g. Luoyang and Yinchuan), due to limited international hotel brands, a comparative brand (e.g. Hyatt Regency) may be more suitable to initially connect with customers.

Secondly, it should be noted during the data collection stage, Hyatt Place Luoyang and Yinchuan were still ranking themselves as 5-star hotel in the Ctrip website. This can negatively lead to consumers misunderstanding the Hyatt Place concept and overestimating its service quality. More importantly, this could heavily damage satisfaction levels when consumers experience limited service and facilities below their expectations. Hence, hotel management teams should prevent themselves from inaccurately positioning hotel brand in terms of service design and service concept. Thirdly, the Hyatt Place property in Yinchuan provides 5-star services and facilities but is priced as a 4-star hotel level, which is undervalued. By contrast, Hyatt Place Luoyang provides 4-star services and facilities but charges as high as local luxury hotels. In this sense, hotel management should price their services and facilities carefully based on the local market and allow customers to accept experience with hotel brands as value for money.

Limitations and Future Research

This study is not without limitations. The biggest challenge is that customers’ profile may cause dramatic influences, which was not considered in this study, such as gender, income and education. Moreover, as the Hyatt Place brand in China is still relatively very young with only five properties in operations, the number of guest reviews analysed was limited, which may lead to an unfair comparison and incomplete analysis for the brand perception in general. Additionally, the online reviews were only retrieved from Ctrip and TripAdvisor, which may not be comprehensive enough to represent all customers. Hence, it is suggested that future studies should firstly consider the impact of customer background as an important factor when examining the differences of brand perception. Additionally, future studies on branding strategies can be expanded to adopt city-wise pricing strategies, which may be the most efficient method to solve the inconsistent perception towards the same international brand operating in different destinations.





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Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018 pp. 85-99ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

Inclusions and Exclusions of Social Tourism

Toney K. Thomas Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia


Abstract: The term ‘social tourism’ has been ambiguously interpreted since its inception in the early 20th century, when the focus of tourism was mainly for the financially disadvantaged and socially excluded travellers. Such concept was indeed important to increase social participation in tourism through social and political interventions. Tourism today has transformed with several innovative business ideas, diverse stakeholder participation, new forms of tourism involving the ageing population and people with disability, decreased cost of travelling that allows the inclusion of more middle income groups in leisure trips, rapid growth of tourism in emerging economies, and the recognition of tourism as more than a luxury phenomenon. Literature rarely discusses the inclusive aspects of social tourism when new forms of tourism arise. This study attempts to describe three aspects of social tourism: (a) how social tourism is perceived in different socio-cultural and geographical settings; (b) what are the excluded elements of social tourism; and (c) change in demography of potential socially excluded groups. The study also explains the trends of special forms of tourism and its relevance to social tourism inclusion. The paper offers a wider theoretical engagement and understanding of a growing shift in patterns of social tourism and touristic experience in the present and future.

Keywords: Social tourism, inclusive tourism, ageing population, senior tourism, disability, demography

Suggested citation: Thomas, T. K. (2018). Inclusions and exclusions of social tourism. Asia- Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 85-99.

Introduction

The evolutionary concept of social tourism describes how socially excluded groups will benefit from the opportunity to experience holidays through financial support (McCabe, 2009). The earlier concept of social tourism that was governed by the International Bureau of Social Tourism (ISTO) sets its key objective as ‘a shaper of the society’ through economic growth, regional and local development, as well as

Correspondence: Toney K. Thomas, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected]

APJIHT 7(1)_P5_5th.indd 85 3/27/18 11:12 AM


86 Toney K. Thomas

a partner in global development programmes (McCabe, Minnaert & Diekmann, 2011). A later development of the ISTO’s objective was reinforced in 2006 with more emphasis on international development solidarity aspects of social tourism. It was, perhaps, the beginning of a noble mission of ‘tourism for all’. All along, the beneficiary of social tourism was only tourists who are in the low income brackets. There was a sematic barrier on the concept of social tourism by which several forms of tourism have social relevance, such as accessible tourism, inclusive tourism, responsible tourism, and others, with the objectives of providing recreation opportunities for low income groups, for them to access infrastructure to hotels, tour operators offering holidays that are socially sustainable, community- based tourism, volunteering, and tourism for senior citizens vaguely incorporated in these important social aspects of tourism. In analysing several interpretations of the concept, accessible tourism and similar tourism typologies fall under the umbrella of ‘social tourism’, with two major aspects, such as tourism for the economically weak or otherwise disadvantaged elements in society (Hunziker, 1951). Academic literatures almost stopped discussing about social tourism in its original context, and more discussions and debates have moved on to senior tourism as changes in demographic trends is one of the highlights of the future of tourism in this aspect. Key concepts derived from the idea of ‘tourism for all’ are currently deemed unclear due to the interpretation and usage of such terms. Many terms are used and interpreted interchangeably, thus, creating confusion among practitioners and scholars. There is no evidence in the literature that the social tourism concept clearly indicates tourism for the disadvantaged. Also, it is clearly evident that the excluded elements of social tourism are debated and explored as standalone concepts and are, therefore, unrelated to the concept of social tourism.

The Broader View of Social Tourism

While discussing about social tourism and inclusiveness of social participation, I have encountered four questions: (a) Does the concept absolutely follow its original idea?; (b) Have the structural changes of tourism amalgamated into this concept from time to time?; (c) Has it addressed the present and future demographic profile of tourists?; and (d) Is the cost-efficient competency model (low-cost tourism) - addressed in the social tourism concept? Most researchers argue that social tourism is not well-defined (Lundberg, 1972). It implies a partial subsidy of travel itself or destination experiences (Lundberg, 1972), which is mainly meant for those who cannot afford a holiday. However, during the transition phase of tourism growth in 1965, many of the infrastructure in Western countries developed luxuriously and the rate charged was such that they would be highly inaccessible for low income groups; the twist of the social tourism and the new social tourism concept that arose



Inclusions and Exclusions of Social Tourism 87

is termed as ‘tourism for the middle class’ (Lundberg, 1972). When tourism was accepted as a social phenomenon, and there was massive participation of travellers for the purpose of leisure-related activities, the principle of social tourism could not be carried forward with its noble idea of social participation in tourism that transforms the basic principles of the universal right to rest and leisure into practical reality. Many groups still are in need of intervention to obtain tourism goods (Haulot, 1981). The Manila Declaration on World Tourism emphasises the importance of social inclusions in modern tourism and recognises the basic human right to rest and leisure (Haulot, 1981). With the debate of social tourism and commercial tourism, it is evident that without social intervention, millions of people would not be able to access the joys and benefits of what can be called ‘classical’ forms of tourism (Haulot, 1981). Hault also describes that the purpose of social tourism should be considered for what it is, and not as a ‘low level’ but is instead the expression of people who are less advantaged to enjoy the beauty of the world – something that should to seen by each person. The extent of the ‘social tourism’ phenomenon also deliberates more on social inclusions by the economically disadvantaged. None of the research explicitly argues on the inclusivity of the meaning ‘disadvantaged’. The basic human right of leisure is skewed towards the economic capability of the society rather than considering the physical and mental capability of tourists’ participation. Research on social tourism halted by its very nature in the 1980s. There was a gap in the literature of transitioning the concept of social tourism from the 1980s, 1990s, and then now, where more crucial social participation of tourism has emerged, such as ‘ageing population’ (senior tourism), and accessible tourism (tourism for people with different physical abilities). Tourism of such social groups were less deliberated under the concept of social tourism; instead, such forms of tourism were researched separately for its own identity.

In 2009, the European Commission launched the Calypso 27 project (aligned with the objectives of social tourism), arguing that by increasing the accessibility of disadvantaged populations to tourism, social tourism contributes towards achieving the key objectives of the Lisbon Strategy (Darcy & Dickson, 2009). This project has four target groups: senior citizens and retirees, youths, the disabled, and families with difficulties (e.g., social, financial). But inclusion of such diverse social groups in tourism is not evident in any source of communication. Recent studies show that there is more emphasis on the inclusion of the ageing population and people with disabilities to satisfy the fundamental travel right of each human being. Although these segments of tourism have not been given importance or acknowledged in the past, their importance is now growing and they have been established as priorities in policy lines of action (Darcy & Dickson, 2009). Leisure travel has become increasingly popular in the older segments of the world population, as a consequence of global factors such as rise in life expectancy, improved health conditions, higher



88 Toney K. Thomas

disposable income, and increased availability of discretionary time in retirement age. Thus, researchers have become more interested in studying the motivations for travel of seniors (Patuelli & Nijkamp, 2016). Accessible tourism is a large and profitable market that the tourism industry has largely ignored for a long time. It is estimated that by the end of 2020, it will reach an approximate 1.2 billion people (Darcy, 2010). There will be an increase in the number of elderly tourists, a change from active vacations to experience-based holidays, and an ever increasingly complex segmentation of demand to comply with the different objectives or purposes of traditional travel (Alén, Domínguez & Losada, 2012) with greater social significance.

Overview of Low Income Social Group

The world population is dominated by the low income society; there is a significant progress of the poor society towards the low income demographic segment, which is currently 56% of the world population and a greater reduction of poor, that is, 16% of the world population (World Bank, 2017). Based on the data for global economic demography, a majority of the world population still falls under low income brackets and such massive economic transformation is taking place in the two of the largest populated countries of China and India. The practice of social tourism with large numbers of low income groups is not practical in all socio-economic and geographical contexts, with the realisation that social tourism in advanced economies may be a socially accepted phenomenon. However, in the context of the emerging and developing economy, where leisure and recreation is traditionally perceived as a luxury activity, there are still several socio-economic barriers prevailing in many countries to consider it as a normal social phenomenon.

Social Aspects of Tourism

Social tourism can be viewed as an umbrella concept, incorporating many different types of initiatives, which includes public, private and third sector stakeholders. The complexity of the concept has an impact on defining social tourism (Minnaert, Diekmann & McCabe, 2012). At the basic level, there are two target groups: they are the economically weak or otherwise disadvantaged elements of the society, but the term ‘social’ can apply both to tourists as well as the host community. Nevertheless, when the concept emerged, the importance of tourism was focused on the travellers and rarely was the community impact subsumed in the tourism phenomena. However, community well-being and social development are some of the main functions of tourism development at present. The perceived notion of social tourism is, however, viewed differently based on the geographical context. In Europe, social tourism is skewed more towards ‘economically disadvantaged traveller groups’. The emphasis on social tourism in developing economies is skewed more towards the




destination community and social developments as tourism in emerging and Less Developed Countries (LDCs) are perceived as a social phenomenon with economic significance. By meaning and nature, both contexts do indicate the real meaning of ‘social tourism’, but are applied in different socio, economic and geographical contexts with significantly different social relevance.

A Content Analysis of the Themes in Discussion

Social Tourism, Senior Tourism and Accessible Tourism falls under the socially determined model in the social tourism segment. Examples show that the concept has been implemented in many different ways to suit national contexts and that the justifications and goals of social tourism can differ greatly (Minnaert, Maitland & Miller, 2011). Though social tourism has emerged as a phenomenon that supports people with less income, its dimension was extended to include those ‘less fortunate’ with several social, health and wealth reasons. The importance of social tourism, which aims to include people with limited capabilities or disabilities in recreational activities are growing (Minnaert et al., 2011). The concept of social tourism has been researched less in the academic community that includes mainly the concepts, nature and issues (Reece, 2004). Senior tourism is one of the most studied area addressed by scholars and the fastest growth segment of the tourism demography. Studies, so far, addressed in this segment include ‘host guest interactions’, senior tourism market (Ward, 2014), motivation (Jang, Bai, Hu, & Wu, 2009), typology, shopping behaviour (Littrell, Paige, & Song, 2004), safety, participation, constraints (Kazeminia, Chiappa & Jafari, 2015), profit modelling, perception, comparison with new tourists, psychological well-being, and travel patterns and experiences (Lohmann & Danielsson, 2001). The research in accessible tourism addresses topics such as concepts, infrastructure (Sen & Mayfield, 2004), design of assistive devices, site access and access to friendly destinations, experience, future opportunities and sustainability (SOUCA, 2010). The low cost model travel has created increased consumption choices, greater flexibility of travel and significantly reduced the cost of air travel, thus leading to the introduction of ‘low cost tourism’. Theories around consumption, social class and cultural and material capital need to be redrawn to theorise the current shift regarding access to and place of air travel in our daily lives (Casey, 2010). Based on the narratives, a wide range of ‘social aspects’ can be immersed in the social tourism segment, which are described in Figure 1.



90 Toney K. Thomas

EconomicallyDisadvantaged

Community Participation

Low Cost Tourism

Social Tourism– Senior Citizens

– People with disability– HealthPo

tentia

l Tou

rist

Destination

Industry Landscape

Phys

ically

Disa

dvan

tage

d

Figure 1. Social Tourism Segments

Methodology

This research employed secondary data analysis. A vast amount of data that are relevant to ‘social tourism’ were collected and archived. The utilisation of this existing data provides a viable option for researchers who may have limited time and resources (Johnston, 2017). It is also an empirical exercise and secondary data analysis is a systematic method with procedural and evaluative steps (Doolan & Froelicher, 2009) just as in collecting and evaluating primary data (Johnston, 2017). This study was conducted systematically using an identification of data set that allowed the researcher to develop several correlations between selected secondary data sources. In order to address the possible inclusions of several larger growing segments of tourism with social significance, three forms of tourism were identified as having relevance to the field of social tourism, which included: (a) ageing population, (b) disability, and (c) health. Economic capabilities were also considered for the participation of the less advantaged. Those quantitative data were then analyzed against the selected social groups in the tourism statistics. All these areas are increasingly important in addressing current and future tourism associated with social relevance. So far, no research has triangulated the data of these three areas under the social tourism segment. Data sourced for the ageing population were from: firstly, WTO report in on (1) (World Population and Ageing) and key chapters on (a) levels and trends in population ageing under which trends and demographic characteristics were




considered for data analysis; (2) Population ageing and sustainable development where, in this source, population ageing and health-related data were considered; (3) Figures of population (a) aged 60-79 years and above 80 by the development group for 2000, 2015, 2030 and 2050; and (b) projected change in the population aged 60 years or over between 2015 and 2030 versus the level of gross national income per capita in 2014. Secondly, in order to draw data on disability, WHO’s World Report on disability was used to create a data set and analyse the data. Thirdly, for Health (1) World Health Statistics from the WHO Chapter 3 (monitoring the health goal – indicators of overall progress) were used. Fourthly, world population by age group and international tourist arrivals published by the European Commission were extracted to reflect the inclusion of elderly people in leisure activities. Narrative data from published journals, Global Issues 2014, UNDESA (n.d.) and UNWTO reports were also used to correlate the data in the context of social tourism. To reaffirm the involvement of the above discussed social tourism segments, statistical records from UNWTO were used to validate the involvement of the above discussed social tourism segments.

Data Analysis

Two different analytical techniques were employed in this study. The first part of the research used systematic literature review, specifically on social tourism and possible segments of tourism that are related to this concept. These comprise of narratives of the literature: (a) the depth of coverage of ‘social tourism’; (b) socio-economic differences and interpretation of social tourism; and (c) geographical differences and interpretation of ‘social tourism’. The second part of this research was based on the secondary data extracted from the relevant reports, and based on the stated methods, the five identified themes of disability data, ageing population, health statistics, global economic demography, and demographic distribution of tourism participation, were then plotted in an excel sheet. Data on trend set captured were based on current year, 2030 and 2050 for the relevant themes mentioned earlier. The captured numerical data were then analysed using row wise and column wise in setting the possible trend. Such data were described and validated based on the existing literatures to come up with the conclusion of the current research.

Findings

Social tourism is a broad concept, its meaning arguably interchangeable between tourists, society as well as the industry. However, there is no systematic classification and clarification of the context of the term and the concept in academic literatures. Indeed, due to the changing nature of the tourism industry, emphasis on destination community, booming tourism in emerging economies, structural changes of tourism



92 Toney K. Thomas

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industry, introduction of low cost travel and low cost tourism, changing attitude of the middle class towards travel and leisure, demographic bulge of the middle class in developing economies, emergence of new forms of tourism that promotes ‘everyone can travel’, and travel and leisure being recognised as a fundamental right of every human being, the concept of social tourism needs to be emphasized by including all aspects of ‘social relevance’ in different capacities in the tourism industry that benefits all. Statistical information on ‘several potential segments of social tourism such as ‘disabled’, ‘ageing’ are not currently captured and limits the possibility of extended research in the area of socially-inclusive tourism. The triangulated data of the ageing population, disability, health, economic capabilities, and special groups in tourism statistics clearly reflect this future growing segment of tourism by involving people with special needs.

Ageing Population, ‘Old’ and the ‘Oldest Old’

An increasing share of older persons in the population is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, including labour and financial markets, and the demand for goods and services (WHO, 2015). Based on the extracted data for the purpose of this research, Asia will have the highest increase in the old and “oldest old” ageing groups in 2030 and 2050, followed by Europe. However, Europe shows a significant decline in the percentage of old and “oldest old” ageing groups by 2050. The decrease in the percentage is due to the slow increase of birth rate, from 505 million currently to 510 million by 2030, and 526 million by 2050 and thereafter a decline to 465 million by 2100. However, the European population would have greatly aged based on the analysis of the data. In the meantime, some of the largest populated countries such as China and India will be grouped in upper-middle income and lower-middle income countries, respectively; this will propel more regional trips with the invention of ‘low-cost regional tourism’ with a greater contribution of old and oldest people living in India (69%) and China (71%). The discretionary income of the retirees in Europe as well as in Asia will rise leading to increased purchasing power (Bussolo, Koettl, & Sinnott, 2015) and leisure and recreation are currently some of the popular activities of the retirees.

Evidence of the ‘Three Peak Model’ in Tourism Trends

In the case of the ageing population, a tourism trend report has been generally referred to in planning the changing trend of the demographic profile of travellers. It is interesting to note that three age groups are significantly evident in the tourism statistics. The grouping is based on: (a) 0-14 years, (b) 15-59 years, and (c) 60 and above (UNDESA, 2016). The statistical evidence shows that there is an increase



94 Toney K. Thomas

in tourist flow for travellers aged above 60 years and a decrease of tourist trips for those in the group of 0-14. A comparative analysis of data between ‘World’ and ‘Asia Pacific’ indicates that the ageing population in Asia dominates participation in leisure (17%) in comparison to the world average of 16.3%.

Differently Abled People

There are over 1 billion people with disabilities (PWD) in the world. This corresponds to about 15% of the world’s population (WHO, 2016). Asia and the Pacific contribute the largest percentage of people with disability; this is in the right ratio in terms of population by region. Statistical data shows that there is a direct correlation between the ageing population and disability, as an increase in the ageing population directly corresponds to disability. In this context, the future of tourism will also be threatened with the increase of the disability ratio. According to ESCAP, people with disability are likely to increase as a result of the population ageing, climate-related disasters, chronic health conditions, road traffic injuries, and poor working conditions (ESCAP, 2016). The existence of disability in the society is mainly due to the approach taken towards disability (attitudinal) as society fails to provide support to all the needy in the society (Minnaert et al., 2012). The nature of both impairment and barriers change over time (Valassa, 2017). Thanks to technological advancement and universal design of infrastructure, the employment gap between people with and without disability is reducing significantly all over the world. Almost all jobs can be performed by someone with disability, and given the right environment, most people with disability can be productive. Nevertheless, the World Bank estimates that the global GDP loss due to disabilities run between $1.71 trillion to $2.23 trillion annually. Accessibility is a central element of any responsible and sustainable development policy (UNWTO, 2014). Even with modern technologies, those with visual, hearing, mobility or cognitive impairments are being left behind in many tourism destinations (UNWTO, 2015). As an emerging form of tourism, there are no clear statistics on the accessibility for such tourists worldwide. However, there are several initiatives already in action globally. The involvement of people with disability in tourism is evident in Europe, where the accessible tourism market has been estimated to involve approximately 27% of the total population and make up 12% of the tourism market. However, a measurable and statistically-evident involvement of socially disadvantaged people in tourism is not captured in emerging economies.

Health Tourism

International health tourism and medical travel are increasingly used as tools of national health care and economic development. Health travel depends on attracting non-local customers (McCarthy, 2015). The social benefits are less addressed as this




growing sector has been globally recognised as a lucrative activity. In view of this, such tourism carries less significance as a sector that considers social importance that benefits the community. It is important to distinguish the meaning of health and medical tourism as well as health travel. Experts label such patients as “health tourists” or “medical tourists”. However, this term suggests that patients travel abroad for pleasure, as opposed to the anxiety and pain often involved in medical treatment (Helble, 2011). It arguably coexists in many contexts and eventually suppresses health travel. People in poor countries tend to have less access to health services than those in better-off countries (Peters, Garg, Walker, Brieger, & Hafizur, 2008). In a today’s globalised world, public health is no longer confined by national borders (Helble, 2011). The total number of patients travelling abroad to seek medical treatment is yet unknown. However, several countries have an increased magnitude due to the lack of available essential treatments in the home country. A majority of health care worldwide is delivered, funded and regulated locally. McCarthy (2015) described it as a type 1 challenge. This dichotomy causes difficulties for health planners who may lack the authority, experience and most critically, information to plan beyond the local context (McCarthy, 2015). There are no discussions in academic literature on the social aspects of cross-border ‘health travel’ for essential health access. Cross-border ‘medical tourism’ dominates and dilutes such measurements. Also, there are no evidences of the inclusion of such trips within the scope of ‘social tourism’. WHO reports indicate that 1 billion people lack access to a basic healthcare system and there will be a rapid increase in non-communicable diseases and increase of health issues in the future (Global Issues, 2014). The profile of health risk changes considerably by age. In the next 10 to 15 years, health problems associated with the wealthy and aged populations will affect a wide and expanding swath of the world population (WHO, 2011).

Discussion

There are several transformations that have taken place since the inception of ‘social tourism’. It has been highly encouraged by developed nations to ensure social equity in tourism participation. Although tourism has evolved significantly around the world, the need for social tourism still persists in several countries; however, addressing the inclusion of tourism for the economically disadvantaged has not been consistently practiced in the world. The radical change of the economic demography in different geographical regions, and sociocultural acceptance of ‘social tourism’ (for the economically disadvantaged) are indeed different from country to country. Due to the emergence of new tourism forms that have a significant association with social tourism, this has also not been acknowledged aptly in this noble concept. There has been a significant gap in translating and disseminating the practical side of



96 Toney K. Thomas

social tourism since; from its evolution, it has eventually isolated this phenomenon out from the real practice. The basic concept of social tourism is to include socially excluded groups in tourism, and while financial capability is the usual yardstick, it cannot be the only determinant factor as there are several other ways a person can be socially excluded. Participation of people with access issues due to their physical, psychological and age-related disabilities are significantly evident in the travel and tourism industry as they are acknowledged as one of the largest potential markets for tourism in the coming years. Social tourism is a broad concept - its functionality is half-hearted and isolated, and bringing them under one roof will help to build and strengthen its form, thus competitively progressing by benefiting the needy. One main reason for isolation of the concept for people with physical disability and tourism for the ageing population is due to the fragmented research and implementation of the concept by many disciplines. There are several researches on demography, disability, ageing population and tourism being discussed in journals unrelated to social science and tourism. Such studies ado not critically debate on the concept of ‘social tourism’; but rather on the practicality of including socially excluded groups in tourism and leisure-related activities.

It is expressively evident that the pattern of demography is changing all over the world and the tourism industry has been continuously outfitting the changing trends. However, due to the expected decline of fertility rates, the nuclear family system, and the ageing population with discretionary income, the emphasis of tourism may be skewed more in terms of demographic participation in the coming years. Many countries are strategising the inclusion of differently abled people in their national workforce which will eventually increase the GDP of the nation and equate the social responsibility agenda of the nation. This, in turn, allows individual discretionary income to be boosted. The accessible travel market presents a golden opportunity for destinations that are ready to receive such visitors. Research also shows that since people with disability prefer to off-season travels, destinations that are affected by seasonality can harness this exceptional business opportunity and develop their tourism by incorporating universal design and access in their infrastructure for such groups (UNWTO, 2016).

Finally, it is evident that the structural changes of the tourism industry is moving from a historical elite-oriented towards low-cost budget travellers. Technological interventions, the burgeoning low-cost air travel, cost-effective transportation system such as OLA, Grab, Uber, Lift and cost-effective accommodation options such as Airbnb, Agoda, Trivago, Booking.com etc., have enabled increased participation of low income travellers, as evidently seen in developing regional tourism markets. In a way, these new business model entries in the tourism market can offer something more than merely subsidised travel.





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questions: a methodological review. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 23(3), 203.ESCAP. (2016). Building Disability-Inclusive Societies in Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from

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Journal of Tourism Management, 2(3), 207-212.Haulot, A. (1983). International bureau of social tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 10(4),

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100 Toney K. Thomas



Vol. 7 No. 1 March 2018 pp. 101-106ISSN 2289-1471

Research Note

From ‘Artistic Ape’ to Tourist: How the Evolution of Art Mirrors that of Tourism

Keith Kay Hin TAN Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia


Abstract: This paper examines the connection between art and tourism by showing how both disciplines have been subject to a similar evolution over nevertheless dissimilar periods of history. It focuses on the work of artist-researcher Desmond Morris whose works have been celebrated as explaining the effects of evolution on human behaviour. Focusing on the production of art as an essential aspect of the human condition, Morris’ latest work re-connects his studies on zoology and evolution to his own origins as an artist by suggesting that historical art was strongly influenced by society, whereas modern art more strongly influences it instead. By explaining the parallel argument about tourism creating its own authenticity and how the motivations and desires of tourists and artists are often similar, this paper shows that the production and appreciation of art blurs the boundaries between tangible and intangible heritage, concluding that rather than a purely service-driven industry, tourism is in fact a creative medium in its own right which will benefit from a greater level of cross-disciplinary education, collaboration and research than is currently the norm.

Keywords: Artistic evolution, authenticity, identity, art and tourism, cultural producer, curating experiences

Suggested citation: Tan, K.K.H. (2018). From ‘Artistic Ape’ to tourist: How the evolution of art mirrors that of tourism. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 101-106.

Introduction

Desmond Morris’ major work on the evolution of human behaviour, The Naked Ape: A zoologist’s study of the human animal began a series of studies that placed him at the forefront of the 20th century’s most influential writers about the evolution of human behaviour, and indeed what ‘being human’ essentially means. Listed by TIME magazine as amongst the most influential non-fiction works of the 20th century, The

Correspondence: Keith Tan Kay Hin, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, Malaysia. Email: [email protected]



102 Keith Kay Hin TAN

Naked Ape also exemplified Morris’ skill in writing that appealed beyond the realm of academia to the ‘common person’, whose evolution from ‘ape’ to complex, ‘modern’ urbanite was the very subject of his writing.

Whereas Morris’ writings on human evolution are eminent in academic and popular circles, his early career as a lecturer in fine arts and an artist in his own right are less well known, although they had profound later effect on the way he perceived human evolution. Only after the publication of The Artistic Ape (2013) has Morris himself paid homage to his early artistic motivations via a chronological study of how art has been a mirror to the human (and even non-human) condition over ‘three million years’.

Focusing on two areas of human behaviour that have ‘authenticity’ at their core, this paper highlights the under-researched connection between the evolution of art and the evolution of tourism. It focuses on the artist’s need to reflect authenticity and the tourist’s search for authentic experiences (Chhabra, 2010; Chhabra, Healy & Sills, 2003). By studying Morris’ writing in The Artistic Ape and drawing connections to recent scholarly research on tourism, this paper shows how the motivations and desires of tourists and artists are often similar, which suggests that individuals, industries and academics from both disciplines will benefit from a greater level of cross-disciplinary education, collaboration and research than is currently the norm.

Prehistoric Art

Whereas Bataille (1955) identified the Lascaux cave paintings in France as amongst the most influential early examples of prehistoric art, Morris suggested that a wider geographical and social study of art raised the importance of other prehistoric sites to similar importance, showing how, even in the study of prehistory, a Western-centric bias can still affect perceptions of importance and even academic outcome (White, 2009). One of the great ‘equalizers’ identified by Morris was however the significance of prehistoric art, regardless of location, as ‘markers of identity’ suggesting ownership of specific places by particular tribes or cultures.

Whereas the languages, technologies and civilization of these early ancestors can, by the 21st century’s advanced standards, be described as ‘primitive’, Morris nevertheless describes their art as something that can still be appreciated by contemporary eyes because the best examples were at the true forefront of early peoples’ lives. The reproduction of ancient art for tourism from places as remote as Lascaux, Sub-Saharan Africa, the American Midwest and aboriginal Australia shows the enduring strength of artistic expression via ‘neo-primitive art’ representing not just people and place, but also time.



From ‘Artistic Ape’ to Tourist: How the Evolution of Art Mirrors that of Tourism 103

Tribal Art

Not only did Morris describe tribal societies as ‘disappearing rapidly’, he also identified tourism as particularly responsible for the ‘corruption’ of tribal cultures, suggesting that “tribespeople have little respect for foreign collectors of their art and often do only as much as is required to make a quick sale. The enormous effort that was put into creating their art for ritual purposes is no longer in evidence” (Morris, 2013, p. 100).

This agrees with the tourism premise that “we generally treasure relics more for being old-fashioned than old” (Lowenthal, 1985, p. 127), indicating that the lack of respect that artists have for tourists is in fact reciprocal. Rather than damaging the evolution of both art and tourism, writers such as Sternberg (1997) argued that because the main aim of tourism is to ‘create’ an experience, the growth of tourism in fact offers a new market for people in creative disciplines that would otherwise not exist.

The changeability of even representative, tribal art in response to tourism suggests that art is not merely a ‘tangible entity’, but rather is composed of tangible objects embodied with many intangible qualities. In this respect, intangible heritage, as represented through art is most certainly a living and changeable entity, with a capacity to constantly adapt itself in response to the historical evolution of its host community (Lenzerini, 2011).

Heritage Art

Morris differentiated ‘ancient’ and ‘traditional’ art by grouping the former around historically advanced, yet now vanished civilizations like ancient Egypt and Angkor whilst suggesting that the artistic productions of medieval Europe began many of the ‘traditions’ which continue to affect the principles of art and design to this day. This separation, whilst useful in a pure study of art, can be collapsed when the connections between tourism and art are identified, since writers like Pretes (2003) singled out heritage attractions as ‘hegemonic cultural producers’ whilst Light (2007) identified domestic tourism as a tool for both ‘nation-building’ and ‘social solidarity’.

Because art has been acknowledged to be as much a ‘producer’ of culture (via tribal art) and ‘produced’ by popular culture (via tourism), ancient and traditional art can in fact be grouped under the wider umbrella of ‘heritage art’ which continues to affect the development of art and tourism patterns today. This definition of heritage art therefore treats it as a resource that can be transformed not only into different products (souvenirs, clothes, replicas) but also services, even if this prevents its unchanged transfer from one generation to the next (Garcia-Canclini, 1995).




Modern Art

Unlike the historical ‘eras’ of artistic development already described, Morris identified ‘Modern Art’ as a reaction to the development of the camera. Whereas this invention removed one of the most important roles that art (and especially painting) had played from ancient times until the late 19th century, photography also ‘freed’ the artist from the constraints of needing to document reality and society, much in the same way the increasing acceptability of ‘narrative-based’ research and oral histories have freed up the historiographical researcher from being merely a recorder of history to being an active participant in historical research engaging in ‘knowledge production’ (Villaverde, Helyar & Kincheloe, 2006).

This freedom to create new knowledge, techniques and rationales means that, in the words of Morris (2013, p. 174), “…when viewed as a whole, the art of the 20th century is a bewildering mixture of styles and short-lived movements.” This can be interpreted as much as a commentary on the state of tourism as it is on art, since, as argued by Bauman (1998), tourism is a metaphor for modern, contemporary societies and individual consumers who lack a bond or commitment to the places they visit.

Franklin (2007) went further by suggesting that tourism is one of the main catalysts producing a culture shaping a more mobile, flexible and individualised world. This ‘new culture’ of individuality replacing the ‘old culture’ of community was likewise reflected in the art world by the rise of ‘pop-art’ after the Second World War, which Morris described as a rebellion against traditional subjects. Various derivatives of popular art, such as event art (rebelling against traditional techniques) or super-realist art (competing with the camera) are now used in advertising and branding to ‘elevate’ the visibility of products or services above that of the competition in the same way that cities, districts and even countries have begun to market themselves as ‘tourism products’ seeking to deliver unique experiences to their clients (tourists).

Indeed, tourism has been identified as one of the most important ingredients for the creation of economically and culturally successful urban regions. Florida (2003) suggested that beyond attracting tourists and the ‘creative classes’, cities seeking success in the 21st century will in fact require partial reconfiguration so that they themselves take on the likeness of tourist destinations, where people can be made aware of the “possibilities of life” (Florida, 2003, p. 188).

Whereas writers such as Eisner (2002) admitted that although works of art do not ensure that an elevated sense of experience will occur, they nevertheless increase the probability that they will, because by providing conditions for ‘awakening to the surrounding world’, art provides a ‘way of knowing’ which liberates both its producers and its consumers from the literal world, allowing them instead to experience vicariously what they cannot experience directly.



From ‘Artistic Ape’ to Tourist: How the Evolution of Art Mirrors that of Tourism 105

Conclusion

Domestic and international tourism continue to be among the foremost vehicles for cultural exchange throughout the world. When that tourism centres around heritage sites, it provides a personal experience not only of that which has survived from the past via a focus on tangible heritage, but also of the contemporary life and society of others via a celebration of intangible heritage.

Whereas the existence of these two different types of heritage is widely acknowledged in tourism studies, there have been few attempts in the past to identify a bridge that links the two together, particularly in a way that the modern, ‘dis-connected’ tourist can relate to. This study on the evolution of art and its parallels in tourism shows that the production and appreciation of art blurs the boundaries between the tangible and the intangible, because the process of artistic creation and its inspiration is as important as the finished product itself.

This suggests that rather than a purely service-driven industry, tourism is in fact a creative medium in its own right, because it creates and curates experiences for its customers much as art galleries create and curate experiences for their patrons. This will have profound impact on the way tourism education is delivered in the future.

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank Taylor’s University for sponsoring this research project via its Flagship Research Programme.


References

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White, R. (2009). Bataille on Lascaux and the origins of art. Janus Head, 11(2), 319-331.


107Reviewers


Reviewers

Appreciation is extended to the following reviewers for the review of the articles published in APJIHT, Volume 7, Issue 1, 2018.• KarenHoKaiHui,Taylor’s University, Malaysia• RokhshadTavakoli,Taylor’s University, Malaysia• RupamKonar,Taylor’s University, Malaysia• PhilipWongPongWeng,Taylor’s University, Malaysia

APJIHT 7(1) Journal End Matter_3rd.indd 107 3/28/18 2:35 AM

108 KashifHussain,NeethiahnanthanAriRagavan&JeeteshKumar


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For electronic references,websites and online articles,APA style asserts some basic rules,includingto(i)directreadersspecificallytothesourcematerialusingURLswhichwork;(ii)includeretrievaldateONLYwhencontentislikelytochange(e.g.,wikis);and(iii)includeallotherrelevantAPAstyledetailsforthesource.

Online article based on a print source, with DOi (e.g., a PDF of a print source from a database)Krueger,R.F.,Markon,K.E.,Patrick,C.J.&Iacono,W.G.(2005).Externalisingpsychopathology

inadulthood:Adimensional-spectrumconceptualizationanditsimplicationsforDSM-V.Journal of Abnormal Psychology,114,537-550.Doi:10.1037/0021-843X.114.4.537

Online article based on a print source, without DOI, without issue no. (e.g., a PDF of a print source from a database)Marlowe,P.,Spade,S.&Chan,C.(2001).Detectiveworkandthebenefitsofcolourversus

blackandwhite.Journal of Pointless Research,11,123-127.

Article in an Internet-only journalMcDonald,C.&Chenoweth,L.(2009).Leadership:Acrucialingredientinunstabletimes.

Social Work & Society,7.Retrieved15March2012fromhttp: //www.scowork.net/2009/1/articles/mcdonaldchenoweth


111Reviewers


Article with no author identified (the title moves to the “author” position)Britainlaunchesnewspaceagency.(2010,March24).Retrievedon15March2012from

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1031221/britain-launches-new-space-agency

Article with no author and no date identified (e.g., wiki article)HarryPorter.(n.d.).InWikipedia.Retrievedon15March2012fromhttp://en.wikipedia/w/

index.php?title=Harry_Porter&oldid=380786432

Entry in an online dictionary or reference work, no date and no author identifiedVerisimilitude. (n.d.) InMerriam-Webster’s online dictionary (11th Ed.). Retrieved from

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verisimilitude

E-mail or other personal communication (cite in text only)Monterey,personalcommunication,September28,2001




ASEAN TOURISM RESEARCH ASSOCIATION (ATRA)ATRAorAseanTourismResearchOrganization aims to support theASEAN integrationpoliciesthroughtourismresearchandinnovation,enhancecollaborationontourismfortheacademiaandresearcherswithinandoutsideASEANbyestablishinganetworkoftourismresearchclustersinInstitutionsofHigherlearningfromtheregion.

Mission and Vision• Establishing a network of

Tourism research clusters inASEANUniversities.

• Developing links betweenASAEANresearchers in tourismwithcommonprojects.

• Providingarecognizedmulti-siteresourceandexpertiserelatedtoASEANTourism.

• Contributingtothedevelopmentof theTourismHumancapacityforASEANCountries.

• Supporting the ASEANintegrationpolicies.

Scope of ActivitiesInpursuanceoftheaimsandobjectivesdefinedabovetheAssociationshall:• CarryoutresearchrelatedtotourisminASEAN.• Organizeseminars,forums,symposiums,exhibitions,workshopsandconferences,carry

outstudies,researchandraiseissuesinaccordancewiththeobjectivesoftheAssociation.• Integrate, publish and disseminate materials, such as books, research reports and

periodicalsrelevanttothetourismindustryinASEANandotheractivitiespertainingtothepromotionoftheobjectivesstatedabove.

• MaintainadatabaseoftourismresearchexpertisewithafocusonASEAN.• Assistmembers of the association to find the right expertise and clusters for research

collaborationsincompliancewiththeobjectivesoftheassociation.• Accept and raise grants, endowments and financial support from available legitimate

sourcesinsupportofitsprogrammesandactivities.• CollaboratewithotherrecognizedassociationsorbodieswithinoroutsideASEAN,which

subscribetotheassociationsobjectives.

Objectives


113Reviewers


Center for Research and Innovation in TourismAsia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism

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Mailthisinformationto:Editor-in-Chief, Asia-PacificJournalofInnovationinHospitalityandTourismCentreforResearchandInnovationinTourismFacultyofHospitality,FoodandLeisureManagementTaylor’sUniversity,LakesideCampus,No.1,JalanTaylor’s,47500SubangJaya,Selangor,Malaysia.Email:[email protected]:www.taylors.edu.my/apjiht

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APJIHT - Taylor's University...The increase in tourist arrivals and receipts has been attributed to the success and virality of the said slogan (Mutuc, 2016), where data on tourist