United States

Tourism experiences are shaped by the complexities of individual visitor psychological factors, and the fact that travel is inextricably linked to the issues of geographical consciousness may have an effect on the entire experience formation process. The dynamic features offered by mobile augmented reality (AR) are viewed as capable of improving how tourists engage with their surroundings. Despite the known potential of this relatively new technology, its actual acceptance among the users is still vague, especially in Malaysian context. This study thus explores the framework of mobile AR application and provides summative evaluation to examine tourist experience on the utilization of the application from the context of expectation, perception, and satisfaction. &#39;Iskandar.my&#39; mobile AR app was employed in this research to evaluate tourist responses on the utilisation of this software platform in adding value to travel experience. By targeting the current and potential users of ‘Iskandar.my’ mobile apps, purposive sampling was applied. A total of 120 respondents among the local visitors of the Iskandar region was collected. The findings indicated that there was a significant influence in the respondents&#39; experiences after utilising the AR content of the mobile apps. The use of this advanced technology provides a unique way of destination interaction and excitement of exploration that satisfies the users. However, the lack of variety in the attractions covered, as well as the app&#39;s limited offerings, were noted as factors that could affect &#39;Iskandar.my&#39; competitiveness with other travel-related apps. For future improvement, it is recommended for the app&#39;s developer to improve the design and service dimension to meet users’ travelling needs. This study is limited to the mobile AR utilization experience among local visitors. Therefore, future research is recommended to include the perspective of international visitors for a better comparison of AR experience stimulation.

TOUR 2021

Tourists experience on Iskandar: My mobile augmented reality as a travel guide

destination engagement

tourists experience

mobile application

mobile augmented reality

Dear Delegates, 

On behalf of the organizing committee at UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management and Elsevier, I have the greatest pleasure to welcome you to the **6th World Research Summit for Tourism and Hospitality: Resilience, Adaptability, and Innovation.** 

Though we cannot host you this year owing to Covid-19 at our beautiful resort-like campus in Orlando, Florida, we believe this virtual and live-streamed conference will provide an interactive, dynamic, and shared international platform for global academics and practitioners to discuss how to enhance research applications and knowledge management through resilience, adaptability, digital intelligence, innovation, and smart knowledge in bringing our industry and research back to normal. This summit particularly offers unique opportunities to unfold and embrace various repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic with various stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry professionals, and government officials, through dialogues on how to better utilize research outputs for the benefits of the industry, in a resilient, intelligent and innovative way. 

I hope you will agree that we have put together a wonderful program including keynote speeches, panel discussions, concurrent presentations, poster sessions, and best paper recognition and award ceremony. We hope you will take advantage of these activities and engage yourself with great learning and sharing opportunities during the two days of the Summit. Thank you for joining us and we look forward to our discussions! 

Sincerely, 
Dr. Youcheng Wang 
Dean and Preeminent Chair Professor

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This conference provides an interactive, dynamic, and shared international platform for global academics and practitioners to discuss how to enhance research applications and knowledge management through resilience, adaptability, digital intelligence, innovation, and smart knowledge in bringing our industry and research back to normal. This summit particularly offers unique opportunities to unfold and embrace various repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic with various stakeholders, including academic researchers, industry professionals, and government officials, through dialogues on how to better utilize research outputs for the benefits of the industry, in a resilient, intelligent and innovative way.

Tourism experiences are shaped by the complexities of individual visitor psychological factors, and the fact that travel is inextricably linked to the issues of geographical consciousness may have an effect on the entire experience formation process. The dynamic features offered by mobile augmented reality (AR) are viewed as capable of improving how tourists engage with their surroundings. Despite the known potential of this relatively new technology, its actual acceptance among the users is still vague, especially in Malaysian context. This study thus explores the framework of mobile AR application and provides summative evaluation to examine tourist experience on the utilization of the application from the context of expectation, perception, and satisfaction. 'Iskandar.my' mobile AR app was employed in this research to evaluate tourist responses on the utilisation of this software platform in adding value to travel experience. By targeting the current and potential users of ‘Iskandar.my’ mobile apps, purposive sampling was applied. A total of 120 respondents among the local visitors of the Iskandar region was collected. The findings indicated that there was a significant influence in the respondents' experiences after utilising the AR content of the mobile apps. The use of this advanced technology provides a unique way of destination interaction and excitement of exploration that satisfies the users. However, the lack of variety in the attractions covered, as well as the app's limited offerings, were noted as factors that could affect 'Iskandar.my' competitiveness with other travel-related apps. For future improvement, it is recommended for the app's developer to improve the design and service dimension to meet users’ travelling needs. This study is limited to the mobile AR utilization experience among local visitors. Therefore, future research is recommended to include the perspective of international visitors for a better comparison of AR experience stimulation.

poster

Introduction: Focusing on the COVID-19 months (from March 2020 until June 2021), this study explores the changes in consumer spending behavior within the hospitality & tourism sector and investigates what changes will remain post COVID-19. The study interviewed consumers and managers to understand their behavioral adapations in accessing hospitality and tourism services amid COVID-19 and discussed the implications on business strategies.

Methods: To collect data on consumer spending behavior, the researchers first conducted in-depth interviews with 15 consumers in the United States. These interviews served as a basis for the development of an online survey that has been administered through Qualtrics. To investigate the adaptation strategies amid COVID-19, the researchers have interviewed 15 business representatives from the US hospitality sector. The interviewees have been identified through a snowball sampling method. The data collected through the interviews have been analyzed using NVivo, while data collected through the survey have been analyzed using the SPSS software.

Expected Results:Consumers are expected to emphasize cleanliness and sanitation practices and social distancing measures. They are also expected to have become more open to digital services and more sustainability-driven. Businesseses will most likely maintain in the long term some measures adopted during the pandemic, including digital services and new sanitation protocols. Other business adaptation strategies (e.g., mandatory mask requirements) would likely remain only for a limited period of time.

Discussion: This study is a practical contribution to hospitality and tourism businesses. Using the interview technique and qualitative analysis, we expect to collect in-depth information from a small number of people, which could help explain specific behaviors of consumers or businesses. The research would also provide theoretical and empirical understanding of consumers’ new spending behavior amid and post COVID-19. The findings would shed light on how hospitality and tourism businesses should design their post-pandemic adaptation strategies.

Consumer spending and hospitality and tourism businesses’ adaptation amid COVID-19: A qualitative research

Introduction:In recent decades, sustainable development has always been a core topic for the world’s tourism industry besides growing number of researches focus on this area. On the one hand, the rapid rise of mass tourism and the negative behaviors due to tourists’ uncivilized deeds lead to adverse impacts on destinations. It is significant to explore how tourists could contribute to sustainable tourism through taking responsible environmental behaviors. On the other hand, rare literature has concentrated on tourists’ green behaviors, not to say consider it from the value co-creation perspective. Therefore, the study of tourists’ green behavior from a value co-creation perspective would better understand sustainable tourism.

Based on service dominant logic, SOR theory, and bottom-up spillover theory, this study aims to examine the interactive relationships among tourists’ value co-creation experience (with the service provider), satisfaction with travel experience (STE), quality of life (QOL), and green behaviors. A model set value co-creation experience as an antecedent, STE and QOL as mediators and green behaviors as outcome variables was developed.

Methods:600 Chinese tourists older than 18 years old were surveyed at Wenjuanxing, an online platform for distributing questionnaires. Scales evaluating those constructs were drawn from previous researches in top journals. SPSS 23.0 and Mplus7.0 were used to analyze the data and test the SEM model.

Results:The results showed that tourists’ value co-creation experience directly influenced their STE and QOL, while value co-creation experience only had an indirect effect on green behaviors. Both STE and QOL positively affected green behaviors, and STE had a positive impact on QOL. In addition, STE and QOL partially mediated the relationship between value co-creation experience and green behaviors.

Discussion: The existing researches mainly consider the behaviors of hotel guests and ecotourists, ignoring mass tourists’ green behavior, this study fills this gap.

How tourists' experience of value co-creation affects their green behaviors? The mediating role of STE and QOL

Studying what factors influence international tourists' behavioural intentions is the focus of this study. Reviewing the current literature, most studies have concentrated a theoretical support for the relationships between behavioural intentions and other constructs included perceived value of destination, experience quality and travel motivations, but few or virtually none of academic works do so specifically examined the relationships between behavioural intentions and perceived value of online reviews of destination and how these constructs together affect tourist behavioural intentions. This study sought to explore tourists' behavioural intentions in relation to perceived value of online reviews of destination, travel motivations, and travel experience quality. This study adopted a quantitative approach via a survey questionnaire. Each construct’s measurement models are validated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis before the full measurement model is tested. The structural model is then used to evaluate the hypotheses for this thesis.The most valuable findings drawn are ; travel ‘pull’ motives were the best indicator, significant, direct and positive association with behavioural intentions. Also, the pull motives had a significant, direct and positive association with behavioural intentions. Experience quality was also a significant direct predictor of behavioural intentions. In contrast, perceived value of online reviews had no direct effect on behavioural intentions but did have an indirect effect through pull motivation and experience quality.The findings of this research indicate that perceived value of online reviews of destinations, travel motivations, and experience quality all influence tourists' behavior. Therefore, future research, particularly in the field of tourism, should incorporate the perceived importance of online review of destination factors in determining behavioural intentions along with other variables. As a result of the study, a framework has been developed for researching tourists' behavioural intentions, and these results can be used to devise marketing strategies applicable to destination and attraction branding.

The factors influencing International tourists' travel behaviors

In Malaysia, like in any other country, the coronavirus pandemic affected every industry, and especially the tourism one. Even though the consequences of COVID-19 have been multiply analysed by many researchers, its global and local impact on the tourism industry, as well as the strategies for domestic tourism survival, are still insufficiently described. This study aims to investigate the factors that discourage outbound tourists' participation in domestic tourism. Data were collected from five Focus Group Discussion in five cities in Malaysia and analyzed using a thematic analysis. The findings indicate that (i) domestic products need to be highlighted as being at par with other international or regional tourist destinations such as Bali, Phuket, or even New Zealand to shape the perception of locals into favouring and being proud of their own local destinations over international destinations; (ii) homestay programs need to be revived with incentives to reincorporate a once forgotten cultural and localised experience, especially at villages where the areas are still untouched by modern development; (iii) Tourism Malaysia should capitalise on the well-known Cuti-Cuti Malaysia slogan in its domestic tourism campaigns and the use of a hashtag #cuticutimalaysia by social media users can help Tourism Malaysia in tracking the effectiveness of the campaign; and (iv) maintenance of tourist attractions and hotels is no more optional. This includes the improvement on tourism products and services in terms of experience, facility, cleanliness and hygiene. The study results can be used by tourism businesses or researchers for developing strategies aimed at overcoming COVID-related crisis and increasing the competitiveness of domestic destinations.

Covid-19 impact and survival strategy in domestic tourism market: Analyzing the influence of encouraging factors

This paper analyses the impact of guest uncertainty before Covid-19. In this research 1909 on-line reviews were taken from booking.com and tripadvisor.com in a term between: December 2018 and January 2020 of 5 different hotels: winery hotel, island hotel, mountain hotel and two city hotels: one in capital and one in touristic city. All are in different regions in Europe. The results of the research revealed that 7% of the reviews include any guest uncertainty.The study also showed that more uncertainty appears in tripadvisor.com [http://tripadvisor.com] reviews than in booking.com [http://booking.com] reviews. What is more, more uncertainty is pointed in the specific segment of travel - leisure. It looks like this is the segment where the guests really are tuned to the best service and product. They plan they vacation and they want it to be perfect. They are also more likely to write a review that says all pros and cons of their stay. The most guest uncertainty cases were noticed at the island hotel, as typical vacation destination. And the guests like their vacation to be perfect. When the guests travel to such hotels (or any other vacation properties), the research presented the fact that the guest uncertainty seems to be the highest in months of July, August and September. It is probably due to the fact that choosing vacation spot, the guests try to analyze all the information about the property, but for some reason they cannot find it all. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the need for hotel managers to focus more on educating guests what exactly the hotel can offer. They should not leave it to other guests in their reviews. Once the guest is informed well, they know what to expect and that way the guest’s disappointment maybe be limited.

Guest uncertainty before the era of Covid-19

The aim is to focus on defining the term winescape and its attributes in the Czech environment. Model of core and supplementary services in the wine region (Byrd et al., 2016) and delimitation of the wine visitor profile and their motivation (Quintal et al. 2021) of the Czech wine destination are examined. This exposes which factors are most influential in decisions to visit (and re-visit) a winery or wine destination and to determine the role of winescape and tourism services in promoting wine destination and wine tourism generally. Implementation of semi-structured interviews with winemakers will lead to the definition of core and supplementary services on the supply side. To define the attributes of winescape, primary data collected by interviewing tourists and secondary data taken from previous foreign research in this area (Quintal, Thomas and Phau, 2015; Terziyska and Damyanova, 2020; Thomas, Quintal and Phau, 2018) will be used, which will enter the factor analysis. Furthermore, an analysis of the dependence on the gender and income of the respondents, on the Moravian wine sub-areas and on with whom they visited the sub-area was performed. In general, four variables are affected by three factors. These factors are: wine quality, natural attractions, wine culture and tradition. Wine visitors can admire the destination due to its permanent attributes, which are mainly nature (landscape) and culture (heritage, customs), thanks to additional attributes such as wine products, events, experiences and visits to the region. These attributes of a wine destination form a term of winescape. The results can be used by wineries, information centers and regional agencies in further decision-making and the creation of their strategic marketing plans. The choice of preferences and key services can thus lead to a more thorough focus of their providers as well as to adequate financial inputs for their expansion.

Factors and attributes of winescape: A case in the Czech Republic

The present covid-19 pandemic situation in the world has disrupted the socio-economic condition across the globe. Tourism is the most hit-hard industry among numerous sectors. The lockdown has changed the way we live and move. There is a new normal, and vaccine passport is a hot topic. The mountain tourism in Nepal will take some time to revive. However, the Nepal government attempted to allow the expedition to Mount Everest despite Covid-19 in 2020. But there was an outbreak. The news in the international community was the burning topic for an issue. Since there is an anti affiliation between Covid-19 and mountain tourism this paper examines expedition mobility in connection to its effect on the industry, reflecting scope by covid-19 data and its socio-economic analysis. It draws an understanding of mountain connectivity and mountain tourism revival. The study uses secondary data analysis on covid-19 and its effects on the mountain economy and tourism industry in Nepal. Several data obtained from government and other sources are analyzed to compare revival and socio-economic transaction losses. The results show mountain tourism to be complex in a short-term time frame. The projected data analysis indicated the revival might not be achieved until 2024.

Post covid-19 mountain tourism revival

Tourism has experienced significant growth over the last few decades becoming one of the largest industries in both developed and developing economies. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, within the space of a few months, the framing of the global tourism sector has transformed drastically. Since the beginning of 2020, the global tourism industry has experienced a sudden halt as severe measures were implemented worldwide to combat the pandemic. While there is evidence suggesting that the tourism sector will be able to recover from such a downturn, actions are needed to manage tourism demand to ensure safe and sustainable tourism. Existing research confirmed that tourism demand forecasting models are efficient tools in formulating effective crowd management strategies. Research employing tourism demand forecasts, however, is at its early stage. Existing studies base their forecasts mainly on data sampled at low frequencies (e.g., weekly and monthly), including past tourists arrival data and search engine query data. Although useful, relying on low-frequency data limits researchers in their ability to realize forecasts at short time spans and improve forecasting accuracy. Underpinned by the principles of signaling theory, this research aims to contribute to the literature on tourism demand forecasting by utilizing high-frequency social media data. Applying the mixed-frequency data sampling (MIDAS) approachto three case studies: the British Museum, Royal Armories and Tate Galleries, this research demonstrates that Twitter data including time series of counts of attraction-related tweets posted by users and time series of sentiment contained in these tweets can add value to tourism demand forecasts.The empirical findings suggest that 1) compared to models based on past tourists arrival data, tourism demand forecasts based on Twitter data result in better predictive performance; and 2) the MIDAS model employing daily Twitter data outperforms models utilizing weekly or monthly Twitter data.

Utilizing social media data in tourism demand forecasting: The mixed-frequency data sampling approach

The emergence of the Covid-19 shifted restaurant customers’ behavior from contact-based consumption (i.e., dining-in) to contactless consumption (i.e., food delivery, carry-out, curbside pick-up, and drive-through), and Online restaurant food orders have generated the biggest rate of increase in online sales (Ahorsu et al., 2020; Feber et al., 2020; Vinci, 2020). During the pandemic, restaurant consumers become habituated to a new norm, which is contactless consumption, implying that even when the restaurants fully open up after the pandemic, customers can possibly continue the contactless consumption, rather than going back to the pre-pandemic contact-based consumption.

Inertia is known as an emotional state that urges the individual to abide in the present, making them have repeat purchases even though better alternatives exist (Kuppens et al., 2010; Yanamandram & White, 2006). Similarly, nostalgia is theyearning for a return to a past period or places visited, making individuals have repeat purchases (Davis, 1979). The common outcome of these two constructs is that they generate repetitive consumption behavior (Wang et al., 2019). However, there is a temporal distinction between them. Inertia centers around maintaining the existing emotional state (De Longis, Alessandri, & Ottaviani, 2020), but nostalgia focuses more on the past (Belk, 1990).

This study aims to explore the relationship between restaurant customers’ inertia and their behavioral intentions, moderated by the level of nostalgia. Specifically, this study is expected to provide empirical implications in terms of how to utilize the newly developed infrastructure by examining the impact of inertia on restaurant customers’ continuance intentions. Further, this study can provide a guideline on how to attract people to the restaurant as a pre-pandemic period by examining the moderating role of nostalgia. Theoretically, this study examines the similarities and differences between inertia and nostalgia, and the influence of each construct on behavioral intentions.

The role of inertia and nostalgia on restaurant customers’ continuance intentions

In a past decade, travel related businesses have discovered a new way of marketing their products through social media digital influencers. The digital influencers can reach their followers in an authentic way, making the advertisement more efficient. This study analyzestheways COVID-19 pandemicimpacted top tourismdigital influencersonInstagram.Instagram content was explored from the behavioral perspectivewith thefocus onpeer review (oreWOM) and sentiment hidden behind users’ content.The data was collected throughInstagramscrapingpriorand during thepandemic.Then, changes in published content were detected through text mining andsentiment analysis. We found anincreaseinnegative sentiment,keywords related to indoor activities,and health concerns. Furthermore,theinfluencers’content productionrate andengagement from the audiencehave changed.Specifically, the way top influencers modified the content of their communication indicatestheirconnection to travel opportunities during pandemic, increasing perceived value of their work.Those influencers were able to keep their followers engaged despite inhospitable travel circumstances.We found that sustaining engagement and sharing knowledge about the destination can potentially sustain the intention to visit in the post-pandemic period.This concurs withliterature suggesting thatsocial media users expect certain functional, socio—psychological and hedonicbenefitsand that subjects with whom audiences can identify themselves, are more valuable for the consumers.Our findings contribute to understanding ofbehavior of toptravel influencers in social media.The study also contributes to the methodology ofthe user generated contentresearch in tourismandtodecision-making improvementsin tourism marketing.

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Tourists experience on Iskandar: My mobile augmented reality as a travel guide

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