Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox Recent documents in Carmen Cox en-us Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:21:50 PST 3600 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/30 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/30 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:54:44 PST Carmine Sellitto http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/29 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/29 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:54:44 PST Consumers are increasingly turning to the online environment to provide information to assist them in making purchase decisions related to travel products. They often rely on travel recommendations from different sources, such as sellers, independent experts and, increasingly, other consumers. A new type of online content, usergenerated content (UGC), provides a number of legal and social challenges to providers and users of that content, especially in relation to areas such as defamation, misrepresentation and social embarrassment. This paper reports research that examined the level of trustworthiness of online travel information from these different sources. The study used a survey of Australian travel consumers (n= 12,000) and results support the notion that there are differences in the level of trust for online travel information from different sources. Respondents 'tended to agree' that they trusted information provided by travel agents, information from commercial operators and comments made by travellers on third party websites. However, the highest level of trust was afforded to information provided on State government tourism websites. These results suggest that greater trust is placed in online travel comments when they are on a specific travel website than when they are on a more generic social networking website. However, respondents were 'not sure' that they trusted comments made by travellers on weblogs and on social networking sites. Some 88% of respondents that had not visited UGC websites (or were unsure if they had) indicated that they thought that UGC would be useful in the future - suggesting that they feel that any concerns they may have in relation to legal and social problems resulting from its use will be resolved. Stephen Burgess http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/28 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/28 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:54:42 PST This paper examines the views of travel consumers that search for information online in relation to the specific benefits and concerns identified with user-generated content (UGC). Real contrasts in relation to views about UGC content were identified in the literature. For instance, UGC is perceived as being 'credible' or 'not credible' as an information source depending upon the view of the user. The paper reports research that examined the use of UGC by online travel consumers, sourced from an Australian tourism organisation's online subscriber database. The study highlighted a similar range of areas that were seen as benefits and concerns in the use of UGC to support travel decisions as identified in the literature - and also similar contrasts. The most notable of these is the level of trustworthiness and reliability that is associated with the postings - they can be trusted because they are 'real' experiences by 'real' people who are independent - but can also be not trustworthy because the content that is posted may be faked by someone with a vested interest. Similar paradoxes existed elsewhere. One of the theoretical contributions of the paper is the derivation of a matrix for classifying recommendations associated with online UGC. Stephen Burgess http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/27 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/27 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:03:50 PDT Simon J. Wilde http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/26 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/26 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:42:47 PDT B Sparks http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/24 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/24 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:38:14 PDT Whilst the study of tourism destination competitiveness continues to gain interest amongst tourism researchers (Evans, Fox and Johnson 1995; Faulkner, Oppermann, and Fredline 1999; d'Hauteserre 2000; Hassan 2000; Enright and Newton 2004), there is little identifiable research that 1) links this broad concept of tourism destination competitiveness with the development and evolution of tourism destinations, nor 2) suggests the relevance or importance of key competitiveness variables to destinations at different stages of development. In exploring this association, focus group discussions with tourism industry stakeholders were conducted in a mature destination on the East Coast of Australia. Preliminary results from this discussion indicate competitiveness factors related to the 'management' of the destination appear to be of utmost importance to local stakeholders, given the identified stage of development. To this effect, three fundamental elements were identified by respondents: the ability of tourism infrastructure to be maintained and introduced to sustain the destination's appeal; the ability of the local tourism industry and relevant governing bodies to cooperate as a driving force to sustain the destination; and the existence of a strong community vision for the future of tourism. Simon J. Wilde http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/23 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/23 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:38:01 PDT M Davidson http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/22 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/22 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:37:57 PDT Tourists frequently undertake multidestination trips to maximize the benefits of travel. A more detailed understanding of this phenomenon contributes to destination marketing by enabling identification of potential multidestination marketing synergies. For individual destinations lacking the critical mass of attractions, such synergies provide a foundation for leveraging strategies. While research has revealed a range of factors associated with variations in travel patterns, no attempt has been made to explore the relative contribution of each factor in a specific context. Research conducted to date has focused primarily on domestic recreational travel (largely in the United States) rather than international tourism. This study uses an Australian database on international visitor travel patterns in Queensland to do this. It is revealed that risk-reduction tendencies associated with long-haul travel, variations in mobility, multiple-benefit seeking, and information sources used by visitors prior to their trip all have a bearing on the level of multidestination travel. Carmen Tideswell http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/21 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/21 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:37:53 PDT This paper describes a framework which has been designed for a comparative study of the social impacts of tourism in destination communities along the eastern seaboard of Australia. As this part of Australia is experiencing the most rapid population growth and at the same time encompasses the focus of tourist activity in the country, it is expected that the tension between tourism and urban development demands will become more pronounced in the future.Theframework is tested through an application to a case study involving one of Australia s most well known seaside resorts, the Gold Coast. While the Gold Coast survey of resident reactions revealed some relationships between variations in perceptions of tourism s impacts and background characteristics such as involvement in tourism, residential proximity to tourist activity and period of residence, the most notable feature of resident reactions in this case is the generally positive view of tourism s role in the region. It is therefore concluded that the altruistic surplus phenomenon observed in urban planning research may apply to tourism. In the tourism context, the altruistic surplus concept suggests that individuals tolerate any downside effects of tourism they might experience personally because they recognise the broader community wide benefits of this activity. The Gold Coast study also suggests that, contrary to the Doxey scenario, residents in large scale mature tourist destinations do not become more antagonistic towards tourism. Bill Faulkner http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/20 http://works.bepress.com/carmen_cox/20 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:37:50 PDT This article aims to use the Sydney 2000 Olympics as a case study for reviewing the range of opportunities that exist for leveraging tourism benefits from major events of this magnitude. The method used to identify these opportunities was based on a series of industry workshops throughout Australia and a follow-up Delphi survey. The examination of the Sydney 2000 Olympics case has revealed that, beyond the visitors the event will attract in its own right, the tourism industry in Sydney and Australia more generally has the potential to benefit from a range of effects. These include longer term promotional spin-offs, pre-Games itineraries, a stimulus to the conventions and incentives markets, diversion market reactions, and infrastructure improvements. B Faulkner