Examining visitors’ experience with Batu Cave, using the four realm experiential theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghazali Musa ◽  
Shahrul Najmin ◽  
Thinaranjeney Thirumoorthi ◽  
Azni Zarina Taha
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
University Students ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Esthetic Experience ◽  
Religious Site

Purpose City has a continuous need to diversify its products and services to ensure longer tourists’ stays and a profitable tourism industry. Kuala Lumpur is one of the most popular cities in the world, and within its vicinity, Batu Caves are not only an important Hindu religious site, but also a popular tourist attraction. Guided by the four realms of experience dimensions (Pine and Gilmore, 1998), the purpose of this paper is to analyze 54 essays written by university students, to examine the experience of their visit to Batu Caves. The findings confirmed the application of all the four realm dimensions – entertainment, educational, esthetic and escapist – revealing both positive and negative aspects of the experience. Batu Caves may capitalize on the positive experiences as pointers to create an effective marketing communication, while negative experiences are opportunities to devise appropriate corrective measures, and perhaps further develop tourism products and services that would appeal to the visitors’ experience. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a qualitative research strategy to examine visitors’ experiences at Batu Caves using the four realms of experience theory as coined by Pine and Gilmore (1998). A total of 54 undergrads were asked to describe their visit to Batu Caves (Lucia-Palacios et al., 2016) providing a complete insight of their opinions, feelings and perceptions (Jüttner et al., 2013) using the essay writing method. Findings The authors discovered firm evidence of the theory’s application, revealing the expected four experiential dimensions in explaining experience at a cultural religious site, extending the description to include its positive and negative aspects, all of which are useful for destination management. The study points out a lot of aspects that must be managed by the site, such as the poor esthetic experience (e.g. smell, rubbish, graffiti, etc.), controlling the animal aggression (i.e. monkeys) and perhaps develop new products and services which could enhance some experiences (e.g. cultural escapism through cultural performances in which visitors could participate). Research limitations/implications The main weakness of the research is perhaps the qualitative research work in which data were collected from essays written by the university students. Data of this nature prevent us from being able to generalize the findings and reflect on the experience to the general public. Practical implications Tourist stays in Kuala Lumpur could be enhanced by providing meaningful, deep and memorable experiences. Tourist attractions such as Batu Caves should continuously examine the experience that they provide to the visitors. Batu Caves’ management could continuously measure its tourists’ experience provisions, as tourists’ needs evolve over time. From the results they could revamp their products and services offering to ensure the sustainability of Batu Caves’ natural and cultural appeal among visitors and tourists alike. Originality/value The outcome provides a better understanding of the current tourism product and services at the destination that have an impact on a visitor’s experience. The findings will assist the Batu Caves’ management to revise and develop the products and service offerings to the visitors.

scholarly journals Internationalisation at home for tourism training programmes: case studies from Vietnam

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Cam Thi Hong Khuong ◽  
Ly Thi Tran
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Global Competency ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Internationalisation At Home ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Training Programmes

Purpose Tourism is one of the most notable features of the contemporary globalised world. The tourism industry is becoming increasingly vital to the economy of many developing and developed countries around the globe. The demand of the tourism industry has posed a challenge for tourism training providers to move towards a more responsive and internationalised curriculum to enhance work readiness for tourism graduates who are expected to work with an increased number of international tourists. The purpose of this paper is analyse whether and how internationalisation has been implemented in the tourism training programmes across six institutions in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach The research deployed case studies as research strategy with interviews and document analysis as two instruments of data collection. Findings The major findings show that even though the tourism industry demands graduates to possess global competency, knowledge and skills, the curriculum does not prioritise the internationalisation dimensions and the faculty members are not facilitated to be internationally active in their roles. Overall, internationalisation is still fragmented and ad hoc in these institutions even though the private institutions in this research appear to be more responsive to the trend of internationalisation in education than their public counterparts. Research limitations/implications The paper provides recommendations on how to effectively embed internationalisation components into local tourism training programs in Vietnam. Originality/value The research bridges the gap in the literature on internationalisation of the local tourism programme in non-English-speaking countries.

scholarly journals A cluster analysis of tourist attractions in Spain

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana-Nicoleta Lascu ◽  
Lalita A. Manrai ◽  
Ajay K. Manrai ◽  
Allison Gan
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Bodies Of Water ◽  
Rich History ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Natural and cultural tourism are important motivators for international tourism. Spain has impressive tourist attractions that are outstanding on the natural and cultural tourism dimensions. The purpose of this paper is to identify traits of the most attractive destinations in Spain and to understand the relative importance of natural, cultural, and dual (natural and cultural) attractions to target consumers. Design/methodology/approach The authors compare the level of tourism in the 17 major regions of Spain and identify the key natural, cultural, and dual attractions using a two-step cluster analysis to ascertain the relative importance of the three types of attractions. Findings The findings of the cluster analysis suggest that natural attractions had the highest importance, followed by dual attractions, with cultural attractions having the lowest importance in affecting the level of tourism in a region. The study identified four categories of regions resulting from “high vs low” total number of attractions by “high vs low” levels of tourism (operationalized via the number of tourist-nights). The regions with high levels of tourism were either located in the bodies of water (a group of islands) or on ocean/sea(s) surrounding Spain. The study suggests placing greater emphasis on promoting cultural attractions in Spain. Practical implications The findings suggest that there is a need to put more emphasis on promoting the cultural attractions in Spain. Spain is a diverse country with huge potential for tourism from people all over the world, due to its diverse geography and rich history. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes 17 regions of Spain in relation to their tourism characteristics, identifying attractions that are not sufficiently leveraged, and suggesting strategies for identifying opportunities for the tourism industry in Spain.

Does the perception of halal tourism destination matter for non-Muslim tourists’ WOM? The moderating role of religious faith

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khalilur Rahman ◽  
Md Sohel Rana ◽  
Mohd Nazari Ismail ◽  
Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad ◽  
Muhammad Nazmul Hoque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Influence ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Destinations

Purpose Tourists often travel to different tourism destinations in advancing the knowledge of diverse cultures, environments, history and social aspects. The purpose of this study is to explore tourists’ perception of halal tourism and its impact on word-of-mouth towards halal tourism destinations. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was applied in this study. Data were collected via 375 survey questionnaires and were analysed using partial least square method. Data were collected from Malaysia’s capital city and tourist spots in Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital city in Putrajaya, and several cities in Selangor, the richest state in the country. Findings The findings revealed that trip quality has a higher significant impact on satisfaction and trip value. The perception of a halal tourism destination is found to have a significant influence on satisfaction and trip value. Trip value is significantly related to satisfaction but not associated with word-of-mouth (WOM). Satisfaction of tourists has a significant impact on WOM towards travel destinations. Research limitations/implications This study comes up with a novel understanding of the theory of tourism practices by estimating non-Muslim tourists’ perception and its significant influence of WOM towards tourism destinations. The results of this study are significant to industry practitioners, policymakers and marketers in promoting halal tourism. The results of this study provide useful insights for Malaysia’s tourism industry, particularly for the tourism marketing in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya cities as tourist destinations. Practical implications This study comes up with a novel understanding of the theory of tourism practices by estimating non-Muslim tourists’ perception and the influence of WOM towards tourism destinations. The results of this study are significant to industry practitioners, policymakers and marketers in promoting halal tourism. Originality/value This study examined the potential impact of non-Muslim tourists’ perception of halal tourism destinations and their WOM for halal tourism destinations.

The Airbnb effect on areas subject to urban renewal in Valencia (Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia María García-Amaya ◽  
Rafael Temes-Cordovez ◽  
Moisés Simancas-Cruz ◽  
María Pilar Peñarrubia-Zaragoza
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Housing Market ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Tourist Accommodation

Purpose In the past decade, urban tourism has increased worldwide as a result of the development of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation platforms such as Airbnb, causing a major disruption to the tourism industry and urban space. The expansion of tourist accommodation in cities has motivated many governments to act, to control its effects and reduce conflicts between tourists and residents. The purpose of this paper is to identify the attractions that have motivated the concentration of P2P accommodation and its effects in specific areas of Valencia different from the historical centre: the Russafa and El Cabanyal-Canyamelar neighbourhoods. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used includes fieldwork and spatial analysis of factors such as the housing market, tourist attractions, local businesses and urban renewal policies. Findings The current spatial distribution pattern of tourist housing in Valencia is the result of the convergence of various factors: the initial presence of tourists in some areas; the evolution of certain aspects of the neighbourhood due to urban renewal; the concentration of tourist and leisure activities; the effects of the legal framework Originality/value Many researchers have addressed the effects of rising short-term rentals (STRs) in cities, but the causes of their concentration in specific neighbourhoods different from historical centres have not yet been sufficiently investigated. This research looks in depth at the urban causes and effects of the spatial distribution of tourist housing in Valencia, to anticipate possible future concentrations of STRs in other areas and to avoid gentrification. The methodology and results could be applied to other cities. The research implies a detailed and analysis of different aspects that act simultaneously such as the housing market, the evolution of the population and changes in the business.

Strategic human resource practices for innovation performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 3459-3478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noopur Singh
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Human Resource Practices ◽  
Customer Contact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospitality And Tourism Industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the conception of strategic human resource practices (SHRPs) for establishing innovation performance (IP) in the tourist hotel industry. In this research, the author has also studied the influence of knowledge management capacity (KMC) as a mediator between the two and the role of environmental uncertainty (EU) in moderating the relation between SHRP and KMC.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through survey method from the employees and managers of the tourist hotels in Jharkhand, India. Furthermore, 368 customer contact employees and 46 managers’ responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and SPSS macro named PROCESS.FindingsThe interpretation of the empirical results signifies SHRP influence on IP and KMC as a mediator between SHRP and IP. Additionally, the role of EU in positively mitigating the interaction between SHRP and KMC was seen.Originality/valueThe present research work adds to the subsisting literature by empirically fortifying the proposed hypotheses. Additionally, current studies focused on hospitality and tourism industry operating in a developed economy, the present study is an attempt to explore a comprehensive and theoretically grounded relationship between SHRP, KMC and IP with the help of resource-based view in an emerging economy.

Issues and challenges in implementing sharing economy in tourism: a triangulation study

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-81
Author(s):  
Sanjana Mondal ◽  
Kaushik Samaddar
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Environmental Responsiveness

PurposeThe paper aims to analyse the issues and challenges in implementing and adopting the sharing economy concept in tourism. More specifically, the paper intends to identify critical factors for seeking possible pathways for achieving sustainable development of the Indian tourism industry.Design/methodology/approachThis research work has adopted the triangulation approach involving a twofold study concerning the perspectives of both service providers and customers. To cull deeper insight, an inductive content analysis was carried out to identify the critical factors influencing sharing economy in tourism and establish them as key research areas for further study.FindingsThe study identified seven critical influencing factors, namely, affordability, consciousness, cultural involvement, status quo biasness, socio-environmental responsiveness, regulatory supervision and technological drivers concerning sharing economy in tourism.Research limitations/implicationsThis study will expand the existing literature by exploring the critical factors relevant to the practice of sharing economy in the tourism industry. It will aid both marketers and policymakers to bridge the gap between what sharing economy concept demands, what consumers perceive and how service providers practise in reality. The present study limits its scope to qualitative analysis and geographical boundary within India. Further research with empirical study may be extended in future, with the research agendas presented in this paper.Originality/valueThe novelty of the study lies in the identification of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting the implementation of sharing economy in tourism. To delve deeper into the ground reality, this qualitative study corroborates the perspectives of both the demand and supply side, which is a unique effort by itself.

scholarly journals PESONA PETRONAS TWIN TOWERS SEBAGAI OBJEK WISATA DI KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umi Kalsum
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Shopping Center ◽  
Tourist Attraction ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Tourist Attractions ◽  
Neighboring Country ◽  
The City ◽  
Southeast Asian Countries

Malaysia is one of the most successful Southeast Asian countries to develop its tourism industry. Attraction attraction that is owned by this tourist attraction is the splendor, altitude, and architecture of this tower. Besides other tourist attractions are around the twin towers there is a vast place or a park to relax while looking at the beauty of the building in the city of Kuala lumpur, under the tower is a shopping center so that tourists can at once shop and buy souvenirs from the neighboring country. There are also other tourist attractions behind the tower is, the fountain is decorated with colorful lights that will sway to the rhythm in accordance with the song being sung, this of course adds to the beauty of this place and make the tourists feel interested to visit it.

scholarly journals Towards an understanding of students’ thinking in learning new and unfamiliar concepts: Focus on the factorial function

Pythagoras ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satsope Maoto ◽  
Kwena Masha
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
University Students ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Factorial Function ◽  
First Year University

This study used participant observation to explore students’ thinking when learning the concept of factorial functions. First-year university students undertaking a mathematics methodology course were asked to find the number of ways in which five people could sit around a circular table with five seats. Using grounded theory as a qualitative research strategy, we analysed student responses and written reflections according to the sequence of their experiential realities: practical and textual experiences. This was followed by an analysis of their reflections on both experiences in a pedagogical context. We found that the way basic mathematics operations are learned impacts on the student’s ability to experience components of new problems as familiar. Consequently, they encounter these problems as new and unfamiliar. At the same time we found that engagement with practical experience does allow for the emergence of representations that have the potential to be used as foundations for learning new and unfamiliar concepts. The blending of practical, textual and teaching experiences provoked students’ thinking and ultimately their understanding of a given new and unfamiliar mathematics concept.

Being a guest – perspectives of an extended hospitality approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Pechlaner ◽  
Christian Nordhorn ◽  
Xenia Poppe
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
General Context ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to deduce and present an extended hospitality approach. In developed countries, hospitality is increasingly linked to tourism; in times of migration and increased refugee flows, the accompanying social, economic and political determining factors play a more prominent role, necessitating a new view of hospitality. This study aims to extend the domain of tourism in hospitality by including aspects related to asylum seekers and to combine it with topics regarding welcome culture, service quality and relational quality. The paper explores the question concerning whether, and in which ways, the various sectors may learn from each other. Design/methodology/approach To expand this new research area and to take the exploratory nature of the research aim into consideration, a qualitative approach was chosen. Fourteen qualitative interviews with experts from the tourism and industry sectors and organizations linked with asylum seekers were conducted; the interviewees were chosen by purposeful sampling, according to knowledge and diversity criteria. GABEK was used as a qualitative research strategy, which involves theories of a phenomenological and linguistic nature. This method allows for a more holistic approach to the complex nature of the topic through the collection of perceptions resulting from open qualitative interviews and a keyword-based analysis. Findings The paper presents a model for an extended hospitality approach, as hospitality should not be limited to its connection with tourism matters. Refugees as well as tourists rely on the friendliness and the welcoming nature (hereafter: “welcome culture”) of a host country. The tourism industry can stand to improve its unconditional hospitality toward refugees — the comprehension and understanding of different cultures and values is an important aspect of welcoming new arrivals in the local surroundings, be they tourists, migrants or refugees. Research limitations/implications As stated above, a qualitative research approach was chosen with the intent to open the research field toward an extended hospitality approach. Therefore, future research must focus on testing the results for application in a more general context. The study was also limited insofar as the conduction of research took place in Bavaria alone. Practical implications As stated above, a qualitative research approach was chosen with the intent to open the research field toward an extended hospitality approach. Therefore, future research must focus on testing the results for application in a more general context. The study was also limited insofar as the conduction of research took place in Bavaria alone. Originality/value This paper combines different access points to hospitality in a new form.

Family businesses in the tourism industry: a research agenda

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hüseyin Ozan Altın ◽  
Ige Pirnar ◽  
Engin Deniz Eriş ◽  
Ebru Gunlu
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Family Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Gap

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to construct a comprehensive review on family businesses in the tourism industry since glocalization and small businesses comprise most of the industry.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper which utilizes qualitative research methods. Bibliometric analysis is applied to the selected 35 articles from specific databases which include not only the general tourism industry but also subsectors of airline, hospitality, restaurant, etc. Articles in this study fixate on the family businesses within the tourism industry.FindingsIn total, 35 articles are found with the keywords “family business and tourism”, “family business and hospitality and hotels”, “family business and restaurant” and “family business and airline”. Though the family business studies focus on hospitality, tourism and restaurants as F&B, there is a research gap in the subsectors like rent-a-car companies, travel agencies and tour operators and recreation facilities. Overall qualitative research design is preferred, but majority of the authors’ focus is on business development, profit, performance and succession. For further studies, quantitative analysis on research gap areas are recommended.Research limitations/implicationsThe most general limitation is that only specific selected databases are used for the data gathering process such as double reviewed indexed journals published within Web of Science, Emerald, Elton B. Stephens Company (EBSCO) and Elsevier databases from the period of 1970s. Some other databases and some different periods may be considered as well as different keywords for other research. Secondly, few studies have analyzed quantitative data, since the specific nature of the family business dynamics require qualitative data. As a suggestion, not only qualitative analysis but also mixed methods may also be studied since the literature lacks the studies conducted with these methodologies.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive review on hospitality and tourism family business management emphasizing the research gap on subsector application areas.

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