A Comparison of Research Topics in Leading Tourism Journals

Ye Tian,Hee Lee,Rob Law 한국관광학회 2011 International Journal of Tourism Sciences Vol.11 No.3

As the tourism industry has grown, so too has tourism research. Similar to previous research on the development of tourism research, this study presents a content analysis of refereed articles published in four leading tourism journals over the past decade. This is to explore how the field has evolved and which topics have been popular. Based on a sample of 2,223 articles, 20 research topics across the journals were identified using both absolute and relative counting methods. The findings show that new research topics have emerged in the past decade. In addition, empirical findings reveal that travelers’ perception and behavior, and theory and research development, were the most frequently-discussed topics.

A Framework of Implications for Smart Tourism Development in Hong Kong

Ye, Huiyue,Zhang, Ke,Law, Rob Smart Tourism Research Center 2021 Journal of smart tourism Vol.1 No.1

Smart tourism, a promising development trend for destinations, has drawn growing attention from practitioners and academics. Extant research has laid a solid theoretical foundation on the roles of technology and effects of smart tourism on tourists. However, little is known about structured and profound implications for a destination's smart tourism development. Thus, by selecting Hong Kong as a case city, this study proposes a framework of implications for smart tourism development. A qualitative approach was employed to gain insights from smart tourism stakeholders. Results shed light on nine elements that boost the smart tourism development of destinations. These nine elements serve as a significant reference for policy-making. Several theoretical and practical implications are provided for scholars, practitioners, and policy makers.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN POSTING REVIEWS: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM PUBLIC VS. PAID ATTRACTIONS

Xianwei Liu,Markus Schuckert,Rob Law 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Customer online engagement is crucial to online travel websites which depend online reviews to attract new users and maintain current ones. The distinctive features of public attractions in tourism and the unique webdesign of TripAdvisor create an empirical environment for this study to explore the influence of customer experience and satisfaction on their engagement in posting reviews regarding public goods. Based on a sample of TripAdvisor-listed attractions and considering the information from over 37,000 online reviews, the empirical findings suggest that (1) customer online engagement is stronger (weaker) on paid (public) attractions, and (2) the positive effect of satisfaction on customer engagement in posting reviews is more evident among public attractions rather than paid attractions. This study concludes by offering managerial implications to regulators of public attractions, operators of travel websites, and managers of paid attractions.

Knowledge Mapping of Robotic Applications in Tourism and Hospitality

Huiyue, Ye,Sirong, Chen,Rob, Law,Lawrence Hoc Nang, Fong Smart Tourism Research Center 2022 Journal of smart tourism Vol.2 No.4

The use of robots in tourism and hospitality contexts have drawn increasing scholarly and practical regard. Although the number of recent robotics related studies continue to grow, a general knowledge map, which is important to point out promising directions for future studies, remains to be made. To understand the application of robotics in tourism and hospitality, this study conducts descriptive and bibliometric analysis to present a holistic knowledge map of this specific field where research trend, key contributors, highly cited references, and popular themes were identified. Collaboration networks among institutes and regions were additionally illustrated. Collaboration across fields, industries, and perspectives were encouraged following the findings and both theoretical and practical implications are accordingly provided.

Domestic Tourists' Perception of Hotel Websites in Thailand

Chitlada Pinthong,Sunny Sun,Huiyue Ye,Rob Law Smart Tourism Research Center 2023 Journal of smart tourism Vol.3 No.4

With the growing trend of online global market, customers have further technological capabilities in searching for information and online shopping on the Internet. In addition, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is a significant factor that influences customer purchase intention. However, the perspective of online users on hotel websites is still in its infancy, especially in various cultural contexts. The current study examined a theoretical framework of hotel websites to understand how online users perceive the importance of hotel websites with regard to influencing purchase intention, within the content of Thai online users through an online questionnaire survey. Findings show that usability positively influences online Thai users' satisfaction. Moreover, eWOM has a significant positive influence on satisfaction, but eWOM has an indirect effect on the intention to purchase. Practical implications are further discussed.

Which Factors Help Visitors Convert Their Short-Term Pro-Environmental Intentions to Long-Term Behaviors?

Jialin Wu,Danyu Huang,Jingyan Liu,Rob Law 한국관광학회 2013 International Journal of Tourism Sciences Vol.13 No.2

The theoretical perspective of this study is to integrate Visitor Environmental Learning (VEL) into the Theory of Planed Behavior (TPB). The Xiangjiang Safari Park, which is one of the largest theme parks in Asia,was selected to test the conceptual model to examine whether Post-Visit Action Resources (PVAR), Ease of Behavior (EB), and Sunk Cost (SC) have the mediate/moderate effect on the relationship between short-term pro-environment intentions and long-term behaviors. The sample consisted of 269 tourists who have travel experience with the Xiangjiang Safari Park. Findings from a Structural Equation Model analysis show that post-visit action resources partially mediate the relationship between tourists’ short-term pro-environmental intentions and behaviors, and that ease of behavior and sunk cost both have moderating effects on this relationship. These findings indicate that a high level of post-visit action resources, ease of behavior and sunk cost are instrumental in encouraging visitors’ pro-environmental intentions to turn into behaviors.

Strategic Framework for Website Evaluation based on a Review of Tourism and Hospitality Literature from 2010-2023

Xiaonan Li,Dave C. F. Chan,Rob Law Smart Tourism Research Center 2023 Journal of smart tourism Vol.3 No.3

This study examines the scientific publications on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism from 2010 to 2023 through a systematic review and discusses implications for future research. The reviewed literature from publication years, journals, research methods, website-related stakeholders, context, various forms of Internet presence (Internet forms), and theories are analyzed to create a comprehensive website evaluation dimension. Furthermore, a conceptual framework is developed to show the relationship between the website characteristics, stakeholders-channels interaction, and stakeholders' reactions. The proposed website evaluation framework in hospitality and tourism synthesizes the existing knowledge, identifies gaps, and further advances our understanding of this research area.

Conceptualizing Accessible Tourism with Smart Technologies

Lin, Katsy Jiaxin,Ye, Huiyue,Law, Rob Smart Tourism Research Center 2022 Journal of smart tourism Vol.2 No.2

In recent years, UNWTO and academics have called for the development of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism to promote equal human rights and social inclusion. Prior studies have also revealed the potential and value of smart technologies in reducing, if not removing, barriers to people with access requirements during travel and in their everyday lives. However, a guiding framework of how smart technologies assist in building an accessible destination is still absent, thereby hindering the progress of building accessible tourism. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap. A conceptual model of smart accessible destination (SAD) was proposed drawing from the intersection of accessible tourism and smart tourism. With the guidance of this conceptual model, tourism destinations and stakeholders can recognize and utilize the synergies of accessible and smart tourism to enhance the social inclusion, competitiveness, and sustainability of a destination.

Research Progress and Development of Technology in Tourism Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Zhong, Lina,Zhu, Mengyao,Sun, Sunny,Law, Rob Smart Tourism Research Center 2021 Journal of smart tourism Vol.1 No.2

The interaction between technology and tourism has been a dynamic research area recently. This study aims to review the progress and development of technology in tourism research via a bibliometric analysis. We derive the source data from the Web of Science (WoS) core collection and use CiteSpace for bibliometric analysis, including countries, institutions, authors, categories, references, and keywords. The analysis results are as follows: i) The number of published articles on the role of technology in tourism has increased in recent years. ii) Technology-related articles in tourism are abundant in Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, and Annals of Tourism Research. iii) The countries with the most contributions are China, the US, and the UK. The most active institutions are the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Central Florida, Bournemouth University, University of Queensland, and Kyung Hee University. iv) The reference analysis results identify eight extensively researched topics from the most cited papers, and the keyword burst analysis results present an emerging trend. This study identifies the effect and development of technology in tourism research. Our findings provide implications for researchers about the current research focus of technology and the future research trend of technology in the tourism field.

The Relationship of Perceived Cognitive and Decisional Controls in Information Disclosure: Decomposition of Perceived Control

Hee Seok “Andy” Lee,Carolyn U. Lambert,Rob Law 한국관광학회 2011 International Journal of Tourism Sciences Vol.11 No.1

Customer information is critical for hospitality and tourism companies to provide tailored service, but customers may be reluctant to disclose their personal information to the companies. Existing research finds that perceived control is positively related to willingness to disclose, but scant research studies scrutinize its sub-concepts and their relationship with information disclosure. This study decomposed perceived control with perceived cognitive and decisional control and examined their effect on willingness to disclose personal information. The results indicated that when a privacy mechanism was available, perceived cognitive control was more influential to customers’ willingness to disclose than perceived decisional control was. Findings suggest that hospitality and tourism companies that want to collect more customer data need to manipulate customers’ perceived control accordingly regardless of availability of privacy protection mechanisms. Since there have been very limited, if any, prior studies examining perceived control with decomposed cognitive and decisional controls, the model verified in this study serves as a guide for future research.