Paper No. 3
Understanding Domestic Tourists to Support COVID-19 Recovery Strategies – The Case of Aotearoa New Zealand
Michael Lücka*; Sabrina Seelerb
aAuckland University of Technology (AUT), School of Hospitality and Tourism, Auckland 0994, New Zealand; bWest Coast University of Applied Sciences, DITF – German Institute for Tourism Research, Fritz-Thiedemann-Ring 20, 25746 Heide, German.
*Correspondence: mlueck@aut.ac.nz
ABSTRACT: With international tourism at a standstill and domestic tourism being decisive in post-COVID-19 recovery strategies, tourism destinations need to turn their lenses more inwardly again. Pre-COVID-19 destination marketing and management strategies were often following neoliberal growth frameworks, focusing on the international visitor. Respectively, there is an abundance of consumer insights related to international demand, yet knowledge about the desires of domestic visitors is often lacking. It remains unclear how the previous outward-oriented lens has impacted the travel behaviour of domestic tourists. Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders across Aotearoa New Zealand, this research provides valuable insights into the country’s domestic tourists. Findings reveal three core themes about domestic tourism pre-COVID-19: (1) Dispersal strategies resulted in spatial and temporal displacement; (2) Unrealistic domestic tourists holding on to the past; (3) Widespread blaming of ‘others’ and hiding of own misbehaviour. Given that it remains uncertain when international travel will resume, and the calls for a re-thinking of tourism that avoids going back to the old ‘normal’ and instead integrates more resilience and sustainability thinking, the stimulation of domestic demand should not only be temporary but a long-term strategy. It will be the task of policy makers and the tourism industry to make sure that New Zealanders re-discover their homeland while becoming better kaitiaki (guardians). This paper provides important theoretical insights and practical implications for post-COVID-19 recovery strategies of destinations.
KEYWORDS: domestic tourism; domestic marketing; tourism policy; COVID-19; post-disaster recovery; New Zealand
Paper No. 4
The Industry-Academia Gap in Responsible Tourism Management: An Automated Content Analysis
Li-Hsin Chena; Chia-Shiang Hsub*; Kyrie Eleison Muñozaa; Nandar Ayea
aThe International Master’s Program in Tourism and Hospitality, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan; bDepartment of Hotel Management, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, Taiwan
*Correspondence: jacqueshsu@staff.nkuht.edu.tw; jacques.hsu@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT: Studies are increasingly pointing to responsible tourism (RT) as an alternative approach to overcome the negative effects of mass tourism while supporting the economic, social, and environmental considerations of the destination stakeholders. However, there is ambiguity and confusion among academics and practitioners over the actual meaning and implementation of RT and its terminology. Furthermore, although news reports are the primary reference for the general public, past studies have not yet explored how RT is represented in the mass media. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the development of the concept of RT and travel using data from scholarly journal articles and news reports from 1993 to the present. A comparative automated content analysis (ACA) was used to generate, compare, and contrast the themes and concepts in academic journals and news reports to provide a deeper understanding of RT. The findings reveal that both academic articles and news reports focus on the approaches and practices of actors and stakeholders on both the supply and demand sides, but present some differences due to their respective intended audiences. This study identifies areas for future research and news reporting.
KEYWORDS: responsible tourism; responsible travel; automated content analysis; Leximancer; comparative analysis
Paper No. 5
Sustainable Tourism Challenges Arising from Stakeholders’ Participation: Research Project in The Faroe Islands
Saverio Francesco Bertoluccia*; Pavlina Blanarikovaa; Cecilie Bremer Slotha; Derek O’Briena
aFaculty of Humanities & Social sciences, Aalborg Universitet – Copenhagen campus, Denmark
*Correspondence: sberto20@student.aau.dk
ABSTRACT: The Faroe Islands have become a trendy destination and tourist arrivals have rapidly risen in the past few years. The new unforeseen flows could negatively impact its unique, fragile landscape and the inhabitants’ tranquil lifestyle. Understanding the complexities of tourism development becomes, therefore, necessary to grant high quality tourism, protect the environment and respect every stakeholder’s needs and wants. Sustainability is crucial to prevent drastic changes and major exploitation of the land. The authors will examine tourism with a responsible development approach through stakeholders’ interviews, fieldtrip observations and academic material. The research will provide a concise overview of the Faroese tourism industry and the issues it faces. On this matter, active and conscious involvement of the locals might be the way forward and lead towards a revolutionary and respectful development of the industry.
KEYWORDS: responsible tourism; sustainable tourism development; mass tourism; stakeholders; customer target; tourist behavior; co-creation
Paper No. 6
Climate Change, COVID-19, and Global Systemic Change
Tanner C. Caterina-Knorra; Phoebe Everinghamb*
aSchool of Community Resources & Development, Arizona State University, United States; bNewcastle Business School, University of Newcastle, Australia
*Correspondence: phoebe.everingham@newcastle.edu.au
ABSTRACT: Issues such as climate change, which are directly linked to global health pandemics such as COVID-19, demonstrate the urgent imperative to implement responsible tourism management. This viewpoint makes the case for developing responsible pathways forward – away from top-down economic growth models, towards centering the need for heightened environmental and socially sustainable and responsible practices. The pause on tourism from COVID-19 provides an opportunity for new pathways forward that consider the dire situation of the planet. Authors present the Future of Tourism Coalition’s Guiding Principles as a practical model for tourism destinations to manage and develop tourism more holistically.
KEYWORDS: capitalism, climate change, COVID-19, economic growth, sustainability, tourism management
Paper No. 7
The Effects of Homestay Capabilities on Homestay Performance in Sabah
Cynthia Robert Dawayana*; Stephen Laison Sondoh Jrb; Geoffrey Harvey Tanakinjalc; Bonaventure Bonifaced; Sorayah Nasipe
aFaculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara Sabah Branch, Malaysia; bFaculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia; cLabuan Faculty of International Finance, UMS Labuan International Campus; dCentre for the Promotion of Knowledge and Language Learning, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia; eFaculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
*Correspondence: cynthia@uitm.edu.my
ABSTRACT: Although homestays have been in the Malaysian tourism industry for over a decade, it still lags behind compared to other tourism products that the country has to offer. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the capabilities that homestays should possess in order to improve their performance and bring them on par with the other tourism products that Malaysia has to offer. Based on the Resource Based View (RBV) theory, this study aims to investigate how homestay capabilities can improve the performance of homestays. To achieve the objective, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 120 homestay operators across Sabah, registered with Malaysian Homestay Program, which is under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC). 100 questionnaires were returned, of which 94 were analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0 software. All three variables (dynamic capability, innovation capability, and social media marketing capability) tested in this research on the performance of homestays in Sabah were found to be significant. Overall, dynamic capability was found to be the most significant factor in determining homestay performance. The findings suggest that homestays need to emphasize on all these capabilities to be able to improve their performance, and be competitive in the tourism industry. It is also suggested that operators should focus on developing their innovation capabilities as this is important but has a relatively low performance.
KEYWORDS: homestay; dynamic capabilities; innovation capabilities; social media marketing capabilities; performance