The development of a scale for evaluatin

TABLE OF CONTENTS FULL RESEARCH PAPERS INNOVATION IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY: A STUDY IN NATIVE AMERICAN CASINOS IN CALIFORNIA Randolph Baker and Michael Ottenbacher 2 PREDICTORS OF TURNO

Research Conference

Edited by Joseph S Chen, Thouraya Gherissi-Labben and Andrew Mungall

July 5-6, 2007 Lausanne, Switzerland

THE EDITORIAL NOTE

The Hospitality and Leisure: Business Advances and Applied Research Conference is a new conference concept aiming at creating a community of mutual learning between academics and professionals of the tourism,

hospitality and leisure sector For its first edition, we are proud to have

received 58 papers, coming from different parts of the world: 19 from

Europe, 20 from North America and 19 from Asia and others These are rather encouraging figures for the organizational committee of this new conference as they reflect an emerging interest of academics and

professionals of the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector for this new

conference concept

For research and poster presentations, the paper selection is architected

by a peer-review process involving a group of prominent scholars from hospitality, tourism and leisure domains For professional presentations, the scientific committee accepts the papers best matching the aims of the

conference and its themes, and putting forward out of the ordinary subjects

This selection process resulted to 21 research papers and 8 poster

papers Without including the professional speakers of the plenary sessions, there are also 8 professional contributions All these papers and contributions are included in this publication, which is keen to provide an overview of their relevant propositions, methods and implications Therefore, the

information provided in the proceedings could be terse and abstract For those being interested in acquiring further information, please contact the authors directly

Lastly, we are grateful to the authors for sharing their view on pivotal, timely research ideas and innovative practices Hopefully, we could protract our venture and render other forums stimulating new research ideas and benchmarking the practices in the years to come

The organizational Committee

Joseph S Chen, PhD., Conference co-chair

Thouraya Gherissi Labben, PhD., Conference co-chair

Andrew Mungall, MSc., Conference coordinator

Myriam McAlinden, administrative coordinator

Christian Ritter, technical coordinator

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FULL RESEARCH PAPERS

INNOVATION IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY: A STUDY IN NATIVE AMERICAN CASINOS IN CALIFORNIA

Randolph Baker and Michael Ottenbacher 2 PREDICTORS OF TURNOVER INTENTIONS OF HIGHLY-EDUCATED

EMPLOYEES IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Bob Blomme, Debbie Tromp and Arian van Rheede 12

APPLYING A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM TO TRAVEL PATTERN

MARKET RESEARCH DATA

WELLNESS TOURISM: MEASURING CONSUMERS’ QUALITY OF LIFE

EXPLORING UNSPOKEN WORDS: USING ZMET TO DEPICT FAMILY

VACATIONER MENTAL MODELS

SERVICE QUALITY DIMENSIONS OF PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT SERVICE EXPERIENCES AT A RESTAURANT

THE IMPACT OF CONTEXTUAL FEATURES ON ORGANIZATIONAL MAKING TACTICS

DECISION-Robert J Harrington, Michael Ottenbacher and Evelina Rog 58

THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN TIMES OF CRISIS: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OWNERS AND WORKERS DURING THE JULY WAR

IN LEBANON

Hussin Jose Hejase, Elie Abou Chedid and Ziad Haddad 68

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALE FOR CREATIVE CULINARY PRODUCTS

DEVELOPING A NEW HOTEL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM:

APPLICATION OF THE BALANCED-SCORE CARD AND THE FUZZY-ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS MODEL

FACTORS ENHANCING BICYCLE TOURING: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

SERVICE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: DEVELOPING CUSTOMER

PERSPECTIVE CALCULATORS FOR THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE BY SWISS HOTELIERS TO HOST SENIOR GUESTS?

Andrew Mungall, Thouraya Gherissi Labben and Joseph Chen 119

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY

PARTNERS AND THE HOTEL SECTOR: IDENTIFYING AND MEASURING

THE “VALUE-ADDED” ELEMENTS

AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF FACTORS THAT IMPACT THE TURNOVER INTENTIONS OF MULTI-UNIT MANAGERS IN THE CASUAL THEME SEGMENT

OF THE US RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

Kevin S Murphy, Robin B DiPietro, Manuel Rivera

GENDER EFFECTS ON TRUST FORMATION IN A SERVICE FAILURE

SITUATION

ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEE FLEXIBILITY THROUGH EMPOWERMENT–

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY FIRMS

EXPLORING THE FACTORS AFFECTING HOTEL OUTSOURCING:

TAIWAN CASE

Allan Yen-Lun Su, Liang-Ju He and Chin-Sheng Wan 170

A MODEL OF HOW HOTEL MANAGERS PERCEIVE, INTERPRET AND

STRATEGICALLY RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES

INTEGRATING AHP AND DATA MINING TECHNIQUE TO IDENTIFY VALUABLE TRAVELER: A CASE STUDY OF TAIWANESE OUTBOUND TRAVEL

Jehn-Yih Wong, Huei-Ju Chen and Pi-Heng Chung 194

THE EMERGING OF MAINLAND CHINESE OUTBOUND TRAVEL AND ITS

IMPLICATIONS TO THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN ASIA: EVIDENCE FROM

ZERO-BASED TOURS

POSTER PAPERS

MEASURING CUSTOMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY ON FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE

OF INTERNATIONAL TOURIST HOTELS IN TAIWAN

EMPOWERMENT IN CHINA’S HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

ONLINE DISTRIBUTION: WHO IS IN CONTROL?

EMOTIONAL LABOR IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: AN INVESTIGATION INTO COPING STRATEGIES

A COMPARISON OF HOTEL REAL ESTATE YIELDS VERSUS OTHER CLASSES

OF REAL ESTATE FOR 2005 AND 2006 BASED ON A SAMPLE OF PUBLIC REAL ESTATE COMPANIES

HOSPITALITY FOR THE RICH AND FAMOUS: A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT

OF LEBANON AND EUROPE

Elie Abou Chedid, Hussin Jose Hejase and Ziad Haddad 254

TOURISM AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM HONG KONG

OWNERSHIP REFORM OF STATE-OWNED HOTELS IN CHINA: LOGIC,

PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION OUTLINES

AN EXAMINATION OF SLOT MACHINE PERFORMANCE BASED ON CASINO FLOOR LOCATION

PIMP MY NORDIC WALKING STICK: INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS

FOR THE HEUVELLAND HOTELGROUP

BEYOND BUSINESS ETHICS: INTEGRATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY BEST PRACTICES THROUGH A HOSPITALITY/LEISURE ORGANIZATION

BEST PRACTICES IN EMPLOYEE DISPUTE RESOLUTION: AN ANALYSIS OF MANDATORY EMPLOYMENT ARBITRATION

FULL RESEARCH PAPERS

INNOVATION IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY:

A STUDY IN NATIVE AMERICAN CASINOS IN CALIFORNIA

Randolph Baker, J.D School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

San Diego State University

5500 Campanile Drive, PSFA 436 San Diego, California 92812-4514, USA

Tel.:619-594-8500 Fax: 619-594-4443 Email: rbaker@mail.sdsu.edu

Michael Ottenbacher, PhD School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

San Diego State University

5500 Campanile Drive, PSFA 436 San Diego, California 92812-4514, USA

Tel.: 619-594-8499 Fax: 619-594-4443 Email: mottenba@mail.sdsu.edu

computerized gaming chips The trends noted in this study may well impact future gaming

developments internationally

INTRODUCTION

Innovation is not a concept that one automatically associates with Native American casinos in the United States, but evidence suggests strongly that such venues – particularly in the state of California – are a fertile source of ideas and practices that are now spreading into

commercial domestic and international gambling enterprises Casino gaming itself, of course,

is the fastest growing segment of the hospitality and leisure industry in the United States today and tribal gaming is the fastest-growing component thereof

Taking advantage of interpretations of the United States Constitution which give

indigenous peoples “dependent sovereignty” under clearly defined circumstances (Light and Rand 2005), Indian gaming has grown so quickly that its revenues may surpass those of

commercial gaming in the U.S in this decade Annual revenues from tribal gaming on the 56 California reservations which have casino entertainment, for example, now cumulatively exceed those of the Las Vegas Strip (Cooper 2007) Nationwide, Indian gaming on approximately 230 Indian reservations in 30 states may bring in as much as $28 billion in 2007– up from under $100 million just 20 years ago This compares with commercial gaming that is expected to report total revenues of about $32 billion in 2006

Explosive growth of Indian gaming – and the innovation that has been part of it – was neither planned nor expected Indeed, few Indian tribes in the casino industry consciously sought out to be innovative All that most tribal leaders sought to do was to lift their people out

of endemic poverty through an economic development activity that actually attracted non-Indians

to their reservation What they did not know was that there has been an incredibly high unmet

demand for gambling in the U.S for decades Thus, given de facto monopolies in most markets,

Indian tribes with any proximity at all to an urban area have succeeded, often “beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.”

Of just under 900 casinos in the United States – 406 Native American at the beginning of

2006 vis-à-vis 455 commercial (AGA 2006) – two of the three most profitable are Indian Their

success is due to several factors, including favorable tax treatment Technically, they are exempt from federal and state taxation (because of the “sovereign” status of Indian tribes on reservations), but they share revenues with state governments because of various political pressures that have been brought to bear

Taxation may be a component of the success of these casinos, but often overlooked are two other elements: monopoly or quasi-monopoly status and Native Americans’ own willingness and ability to innovate Indian casinos in states such as California and Connecticut have minimal or

no commercial competition and access to markets of millions of persons Meanwhile, Indian casinos because of their unique status are often the venue for pacesetting innovation both for the

gaming and more widespread service industries.The success of Indian casinos and the innovation which now characterizes many of them has been unnoticed by the public-at-large and

understudied by the academic community

The purpose of this study is to investigate this under-researched but economically vital hospitality segment, noting its innovative contributions to a fast-growing overall industry In addition to almost guaranteeing profits in casinos within an easy drive of cities, monopoly

produces other benefits, including the ability to experiment with new technologies and with new

games for those properties wise enough to realize the advantages of doing so Tribal casinos

thus expanded the gaming market by their very presence, meeting unsatisfied demand In the process, they trained customers how to use new technologies because those customers had no choice but to do so if they wanted to gamble In time, however, those same customers became more sophisticated and far more demanding: they wanted the newest slots technologies, the newest games, and the highest levels of service And, in many cases, they got them – resulting

in at least six innovations to be discussed below that are setting the pace today not only for Indian casinos but also for those in the commercial casino industry as well

What Is Indian Gaming?

Three terms are interchangeably used by industry professionals to describe gambling on reservations of indigenous peoples – “tribal gaming,” “Indian gaming,” and “Native American gaming” (Rand and Light 2006) This paper will use them inter-changeably as well Federal law uses the term “Indian gaming,” which it defines as “gaming conducted by an Indian tribe on Indian lands.” Such lands are restricted to federally recognized reservations, “traditional” Indian properties, and land held in trust by the U.S government for the benefit of members of a defined population of citizens of Native American heritage “Tribe” is further defined as an organized

group that is eligible for federal Indian programs and services and that has been so recognized by

the U.S government for that purpose and for possession powers of self-government Although seemingly self-evident, the definitions have proven to be significant because not all bands of Indians meet the tests and are thus not eligible for recognition (and the right to operate a casino that more than 200 putative tribes now seek) Approximately 4.1 million persons in the United States identify themselves as having Indian or part-Indian ethnicity (Ogunwole 2002) Of these, however, only about 440,000 actually live on federally recognized reservations

The controlling legislation for Native American gaming on such reservations is the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988, which codified and expanded a series of federal court

decisions Those decisions, culminating in Cabazon Band of Mission Indians v State of

California decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1987, collectively found that if any

form of gambling is legal in a jurisdiction, it can be legal on the reservation too but subject to Indian regulation, not state or federal (Rand and Light 2006)

processes rather than social structures (Ghauri et al, 1995) The researchers identified 25 senior

managers involved in Indian gaming in California that had sound background knowledge of the research issues being investigated The sample included general managers, tribal chairs,

marketing directors, human resources mangers, slots and table games managers, and food and beverage managers

FINDINGS & DISCUSSIONS

Research results suggested that there are six innovations that have been pioneered in whole

or in part at Indian casinos and later adopted for use by commercial casinos both in the United States and abroad These are:

millions of dollars a day in cash is a real burden, both with respect to manpower and security

By eliminating, or at the minimum reducing the volume (but not the dollar amount) of cash flowing through a casino, a property can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in overhead, speed

up the payment of large (and often even medium-sized) winnings, thus fostering customer

goodwill, and enhance the security of patrons and players alike TITO also helps a casino ensure the longevity of its slot machines, highly sophisticated computers that break down when dust and grime from money slips into their circuitries

Visionaries in Las Vegas saw the benefits of a “cashless” slots technology years ago, and the MGM Grand even pioneered a whole section with it When the MGM did so, it touted its innovation widely and expected great results In reality, the experiment failed dramatically The company found customers didn’t want to change from a known to an unknown technology Customers even complained of the “quiet,” not hearing the ever-familiar sound of coins dropping into the hopper In short, the experiment was close to a disaster, and it may have died but for the emergence of Native American gaming Beginning with tribal casinos in Northern California in the early 1990s, Indian tribes began to open casinos with slots, literally training their patrons that the use of cashless machines is a good idea The training came through demonstrations of how

to use the new technology, through the paying of more frequent jackpots, and through customer self-discovery that their hands were much cleaner than they were when they handled hundreds of coins Human nature being what it is, however, TITO didn’t really catch on until the slot machines were equipped to make the sound of coins cascading into the hopper as each jackpot was hit

2 Player Tracking Cards

Paralleling the growth in ticket-in ticket-out technology have been other examples of tribal gaming managers’ willingness to experiment with advanced technologies, often well before that experienced in commercial casinos For example, today the use of multi-purpose player cards

is commonplace Over a decade ago when tribes began to experiment with it, the technology was unproven and questionable Adaptation and debugging has made that technology

ubiquitous today, enhancing customer experience and saving the casinos large sums of money in operational costs each year Many tribes, but particularly those in Southern California,

borrowed use of player tracking cards from commercial gambling but improved them by focusing

on customer needs Today, both Native American and commercial gaming leaders know that customer relationship marketing, built around information stored on the player’s card, is the key

to providing customers the kind of service that they like and that will motivate them to return time and time again When a player’s tracking card is properly coded, the casino knows not

only his or her level of play but also preferences with respect to dining, lodging and non-gaming amenities usage For high-end customers, for example, that means the casino can have a room ready with the kind of beverages that the guest likes on the bar, the right kind of flowers in the vases, and a suggested schedule of activities that customer enjoys ready for consideration

3 Server-Based Games

With respect to quickly evolving slots technologies, it is also clear that commercial casinos are moving to add new games and evolving technologies Few have been as fast as Indian casinos, however, to do so, again largely because of the lower bureaucratic threshold in an Indian casino and the ability of tribal casino managers to experiment with less fear of losing their client base Popular, highly technology-dependent games – such as Wheel of Fortune – and

bingo-based games that look and feel as if they are Las Vegas-style slot machine games

originated in Native American casinos, stimulating demand for variety Server-based gaming, the next evolutionary change in casino gaming, is now being beta tested at three sites – the first and most significant an Indian casino in San Diego County “Server-based games” is an industry word of art that refers to a new technology in which the games one plays on a slot or slots-like machine can be changed frequently using a computer physically located in the casino but wired to master computer in a distant location (in this instance Reno, Nevada) The stimulus for the innovation clearly rests in Native American casinos, where patrons want more variety than traditional bingo-like games provide Such variety is now emerging through the use of

server-based technologies which permit casino technicians to change the actual games as

frequently as demand requires simply by redirecting the controlling computer’s programming What is truly amazing is that each such change comes with state-of-the-art graphics presentations that make it look as if the machine were designed to play that game and that game only

Because of this new technology, stimulated and perfected in large part in tribal casinos, a huge change is now underway in gaming Industry observers generally agree that over the course of the next decade there will be a vast increase in the variety and complexity of games, the graphics displays, and the sophistication of the slots gaming experience, much of which will be

their best players with free rooms, meals, drinks, and other items, collectively known as

“complimentaries” (or more frequently just “comps”) In Nevada’s early days, the policy at most clubs (as casinos were then called) was to bestow many such comps on patrons Such gifts were based largely on the level to which the casino’s managers perceived the guest’s play to be This was monitored by pit bosses who kept notes in an often haphazard manner Later,

theoretical mathematics provided formulae to help (known as “theo”), but the entire procedure remained more intuitive than scientific Over the decades, Las Vegas’ increasingly more

sophisticated business managers learned that giving too much away could be costly, and in recent decades Las Vegas in particular, and more generally other gaming resort destinations as well, have become far more expensive destinations for the average customer, whether or not he or she receives complimentaries The reason is that the casinos became much stingier in the levels of comping that they permitted, in part because with player tracking cards and now radio-frequency identification-devices (RFID) on gaming chips they can better monitor actual play Even so, the

20 percent of patrons who contribute 80 percent of the profits remain well cared for from casino hosts and others empowered to comp rooms and other amenities

In Indian Country, a new complimentaries model has been appearing in some casinos – in effect a virtual throw-back to the earliest days of Nevada’s commercial gaming industry – in which large numbers of patrons receive comps Those who contribute the most to the casino’s profits, of course, receive much richer recognition of appreciation from the casinos Thus, in some higher-end Native American casinos, including in San Diego County, California, managers now boast about how much they return to players in terms of comps, an idea which is beginning

to be adopted once again in some commercial casinos both in the United States and elsewhere The reality is that men and women who play heavily in casinos (and most often lose heavily) enjoy high levels of pampering that high-end casinos, both on Indian reservations and in

commercial gaming resorts, provide well It has taken Native Americans to rediscover that truism of human nature Gamblers who spend freely expect to be rewarded freely

5 Family-Friendly Labor Policies

The most-understandable innovation of Native American gaming, yet the one that

non-Indians overlook most often, is a concern for family values and working conditions that have made many Indian casinos the employer of choice in the communities they serve It is

undeniably true some of the mega-casinos owned by some of the most successful Indian tribes are experiencing labor troubles, but for most Indian casinos, anecdotally at least, employees appear to happier than in other service industry positions Certainly, employee turnover tends to be low at most Native American gaming establishments Why is this so? Because, Indian spokesmen

agree, Native Americans have experienced years of discrimination and of being on the low-end of employment opportunity, wage scales, and health services Now that they’re in the “driver’s seat,” many are attempting to be the good bosses they wanted in the past Cynics can be

excused for being skeptical, but the reality is that Native American cultures have long been perceived as more family-oriented, more-caring and more-people-oriented than the majority culture If so, it is no wonder that these same attitudes manifest themselves in the employment policies they promote

Few empirical studies have been done, but data does clearly show that communities

surrounding Indian casinos have benefited economically from the presence of the gambling halls And, significantly, this holds true both for the Indian and non-Indian communities A recent study found that gaming tribes’ per capita average income in the Golden State increased 55 percent between 1990 and 2000 as opposed to a 15 percent gain on non-gaming reservations (CCNN 2007) No one should be surprised Remember most reservations are in areas that European-Americans didn’t want Consequently, Indians living on those

less-than-fully-desirable lands have been plagued by the lack of job opportunities for everyone living in them for decades Place a casino into that environment, pay good wages, provide full benefits and quickly one creates a working environment far superior to anything has been known previously Major casinos offer all of the employee benefits that one would expect of a major corporation; remote properties offer little beyond the basics All, however, offer opportunity for both Indians and non-Indians that would not exist but for the presence of the casino Already some casino chains, such as Isle of Capri with properties primarily in the Mississippi Valley, are offering employee medical centers open to both employees and members of their families, and most major commercial casino companies appear to be enriching employee benefits rather than diminishing them

6 Computerized Gaming Chips

Some bleeding-edge technologies being experimented with on Indian reservations have not yet fully been adopted either in Indian casinos or in commercial casinos Gaming chips that have radio-frequency identification-devices (RFID) embedded into them to track customer play are a good example Still novel, largely unproven and controversial, several Indian casinos are known to be testing such chips, as indeed are several commercial ventures The advantages are huge if the technology can be perfected Although player tracking cards work well for slots customers, they work poorly for accurately tracking the play of table games players But, RFID chips can solve that problem by providing accurate information with which to evaluate the appropriate levels of complimentaries for table games players Better bookkeeping is also a

potential benefit The volume of cash that crosses a typical gaming table daily lends itself to erroneous handling The potential for miscount, for example, is eliminated, or at least

minimized, by the instantaneous count that computerized gaming chips can provide Present problems with the technology will be perfected It is only a matter of time With similar technologies in the recent past, commercial casinos have watched Native Americans’ success to gauge whether or not to adopt This time, perhaps because of the potential or perhaps because they are more open to innovation, commercial casinos are also being quick to test the new

technology

CONCLUSIONS

Native American casinos, responding to practical stimuli, have been among the first to innovate major advances in enhancing visitor experiences at casinos throughout the U.S and abroad Few in the commercial gaming industry appear aware of the level of innovativeness now being exhibited by Indian gaming, particularly in California But, this is likely to change As Indian gaming nationwide surpasses commercial gaming in total revenues, a likely prospect within the next few years, there will be parallel rise in awareness by commercial gaming interests

of the real competition being exerted by Native American casinos Indeed, this is already happening both in California and other U.S states The outcome could be heightened political conflict over revenue sharing, expanded legalization of commercial gaming and other issues beyond the scope of this paper Meanwhile, tribal gaming can be expected to be an innovator across the many disciplines in which it has already demonstrated leadership – including

technology, human resources, and customer service Continued significant growth in each of these areas can be enhanced by further academic study, benefiting both managers in all aspects of hospitality and Native American tribes seeking economic development We hope that this study will serve as the catalyst for further research into hospitality aspects of tribal gaming

REFERENCES

American Gaming Association - AGA (2006) State of the States: the AGA survey of casino entertainment Washington, DC: American Gaming Association

California Center for Native Nations - CCNN (2007) An impact analysis of tribal

government gaming in California Riverside, CA: Regents of the University of California

Cooper, M (2007) Does California really need more casinos?

opinion-rightrail (accessed March 11, 2007)

Ghauri, P N Gonhang, K and Kristianslund, J (1995) Research Methods in Business

Studies: A Practical Guide Hertfordshire, UK: Prentice Hall

Light, S A., Rand, K R (2005) Indian gaming and tribal sovereignty Lawrence , KS:

University Press of Kansas

Ogunwole, S U (2002) The American Indian and Alaska native population: 2000

Washington, DC: U.S Department of Commerce, Economic and Statistics Administration, U.S Census Bureau

Rand, K R., and Light, S A (2006) Indian gaming law and policy Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press

PREDICTORS OF TURNOVER INTENTIONS

OF HIGHLY-EDUCATED EMPLOYEES

IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Bob Blomme, PhD Hotelschool The Hague

Brusselselaan 2

2587 AH The Hague, The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)70 351 24 81 F: +31 (0)70 351 21 55 Email: bme@hdh.nl

Debbie Tromp, PhD Hotelschool The Hague

Brusselselaan 2

2587 AH The Hague, The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)70 351 24 81 F: +31 (0)70 351 21 55 Email: trp@hdh.nl

Arian Van Rheede, PhD Hotelschool The Hague

Brusselselaan 2

2587 AH The Hague, The Netherlands

T: +31 (0)70 351 24 81 F: +31 (0)70 351 21 55 Email: ree@hdh.nl

ABSTRACT

As management-level turnover is growing rapidly, one of the major challenges for the hospitality industry is to retain highly-educated and highly-skilled employees As the psychological contract approach to the employment relationship had not been investigated with regard to the hospitality industry, it became the subject of this study The results demonstrate that psychological contract measures, in particular job content, can explain why there is a substantial amount of variance in

intention among highly-educated hotel employees with regard to leaving the organization,

especially when the mediating role of affective commitment is taken into account In addition, the study revealed that at different stages of adulthood, different additional factors may play a role when considering whether to leave the organization In this paper, managerial implications are discussed and recommendations for further research are made

INTRODUCTION

One of the major challenges for the hospitality industry is to retain highly-educated and highly-skilled employees Research studies in the Netherlands suggest that management-level turnover is growing rapidly (Reijnders, 2003; Blomme, 2006) One research study amongst graduates of the Hotelschool The Hague (Blomme, 2006) has shown that within 6 years after graduation about 70% of all graduates leave the hospitality industry More widely set-up research studies carried out in a large number of hotel organizations in the Netherlands seem to confirm this tendency (Reijnders, 2003) From an international perspective, Walsh and Taylor (2007) also suggest that retaining highly-educated staff is becoming a primary challenge for the hospitality industry In addition, Hoque (1999a, 1999b) emphasizes the importance of HRM for the retention and the development of highly-educated staff

This phenomenon of a growing management-level turnover rate is not only related to the hospitality industry: it is also becoming important in other industries The changes in the

employee-employer relationship are a result of the rapid changes in society and industries in the last 30 years (Ten Brink, 2004; Schalk, 2005) Before the 1980s, the employee-employer

relationship was stable and predictable Job security and promotion were offered by the employer, and employees offered hard work and loyalty (Herriot & Pemberton, 1996; Sims, 1994) Since the 1980s, organizations have increasingly been confronted with a changing environment and increasing competition, resulting in a continuous struggle for survival Employees were allowed

to stay with an employer if they could add value to the organization in different roles, thereby becoming more employable (Hiltrop, 1996) As a result, employees were willing to work for an employer if they were provided with enough opportunities for development and were able to improve their “market value” (Hall & Mirvis, 1995; Sims, 1994; Gasperz & Ott, 1996) Thus it seems that since the 1980s, the employee-employer relationship has become more individualized with a greater emphasis on flexibility and employability (Anderson & Schalk, 1998; Sparrow 2000; Roehling, Cavanaugh, Moynihan & Boswell, 2000)

The Psychological Contract

One perspective to have an understanding of employee turnover in the employment

relationship is the concept of the psychological contract The concept of the psychological

contract originates from the 1960s Rousseau (1989) conceptualized the psychological contract as

an individual-level cognition and made this the object of her research studies Focusing on employee’s perceptions, she defines the psychological contract in terms of “individual beliefs regarding the terms and conditions of a reciprocal agreement between that focal person and another party” or as “individual beliefs in a reciprocal obligation between the individual and the organization” (Rousseau, 1989: 121-123) Morrison and Robinson (1997) define the

psychological contract as the employee’s beliefs about reciprocal and promissory obligations between himself and the organization Although the psychological contract is an individual-level construct, it reflects beliefs about tangible and intangible items that are to be exchanged in the context of a dyadic relationship According to Rousseau (1995: 6), obligations are commitments

to future action and refer to attitudes and intentions The emphasis on the employee’s belief about what should be exchanged is an important characteristic of the psychological contract (Robinson, 1996) Another important characteristic is that the psychological contract is inherently perceptual and subjective (Rousseau, 1989; Ten Brink, 2004) Shore and Tetrick (1994) stressed that this was

a set of beliefs shaped by multiple sources of input and by cognitive and perceptual biases As such, a psychological contract may differ from the formal, written legal contract but is very real

to the individuals who hold them Behaviour and attitudes are influenced quite significantly by an individual’s perception of his obligations, and perceptions of how well the other party’s

obligations have been fulfilled (Shore & Tetrick, 1994; Robinson, 1996; Lester et al., 2002; Tekleab & Taylor, 2003) The lack of fulfilment of aspects of the psychological contract will lead

to a violation of the contract, with a change in attitudes and of behaviour as a consequence (Rousseau, 1989; Morrison & Robinson, 1997) Rousseau (1989) suggests that a violation of the psychological contract may lead to strong emotional reactions such as anger, resentment and a sense of injustice Regarding behaviour, Robinson and Rousseau (1994) conducted a research study in which they found that violation of the psychological contract may lead to an increase in employee turnover As such, the notion of a psychological contract provides a framework within which behaviour and employee attitudes, such as the intention to leave an organization, can be researched and interpreted (Hancer & George Thomas, 2003)

Research studies on highly-educated staff turnover in the hospitality industry often concentrate on the numbers of employees who are moving from one organization to another within the hospitality industry or to other industries Lucas and Deery (2004) argue that little research has been done on the motivation of these mobile employees, which can lead to

employees actually leaving within the context of the psychological contract of employees and the possible violations of the contract.(Hancer & George Thomas, 2003) The few research studies

which have been done on the retention of highly-educated staff and the role of HRM in this are often related to the hospitality industry in a specific country (e.g Hoque, 1999a, 1999b;

McGunnicle & Jameson, 2000) A positive exception is the research study done by Walsh and Taylor (2007) among 718 graduates of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration on the relation between the commitment of the employee and the intention to leave Although they did not mention the concept of the psychological contract, they made use of several related elements

In this research study, a strong relation was found between the intrinsic aspects of the job and the intention to leave (Walsh & Taylor, 2007: 177) Employees look for learning opportunities, and therefore challenging jobs prevent highly-educated staff from leaving

Empirical Research Design

In empirical research many researchers (Craig & Tetrick, 1999; Robinson, 1996; Robinson

et al., 1994; Robinson & Morrison, 2000; Tekleab & Taylor, 2003) have used or based their measuring constructs of the psychological contract on Rousseau’s questionnaire (1990) Some researchers have added employer’s obligations to Rousseau’s constructs of the psychological contract One specific attempt to cover a broad set of frequently-used elements of the

psychological contract is Van Dijk’s questionnaire (1997), which was based on research studies carried out by Schalk et al (1995) and on items found in the literature (e.g., Herriot et al., 1997; Morrison & Robinson, 1997; Rousseau, 1990) Van Dijk (1997) distinguishes eleven items in the psychological contract These are: job content, development opportunities, job security, work climate, intra-organizational mobility, work-family balance, autonomy, salary,

performance-related pay, clarity about the task and promotion opportunities Besides these

elevens items, affective commitment can also be a strong predictor for employee attitudes and behavioural intentions (Meyer & Allen, 1997; Ten Brink, 2005) Furthermore, different attempts have been made to conduct empirical research studies on the employee’s attitudes and

behavioural intentions based on Rousseau’s (1990) constructs (e.g., Herriot et.al, 1997; Kotter, 1973) As such, two research objectives can be highlighted: the relation between items of the psychological contract and the intention to leave, and the relation between affective commitment and the intention to leave

Apart from the scarce use of the psychological contract in research studies as a

framework in the hospitality industry to explain employee-turnover, not much attention has been paid to the relation between age and the related phase in the life course and the psychological contract of employees working in the hospitality industry For example, in the research study done by Walsh and Taylor (2007), no distinction is made among the respondents based on age Nemiroff and Colarusso (1990) suggest that during adulthood the perspectives of human beings

change dynamically as they get older Different research studies (Gould, 1978; Levinson et al., 1978) suggest that different stages in adulthood can be distinguished Each stage has a core theme

as an attractor for the development process Roughly, three stages for adulthood can be

distinguished (Freese & Schalk, 1995) The early adulthood stage (22-33 years) can be described

as the age at which founding a family and building a career are the main themes In the middle adulthood stage (33-45 years), more attention is given to family life and the education of children The value of having a career decreases and the importance of work pleasure, social recognition and self-actualization grows In the late adulthood stage (45 years upwards), besides work

pleasure, the balance between autonomy and interdependency becomes more important (Sekaran

& Hall, 1989)

Schalk (2005) indicates that these changing perspectives and needs will lead to a change

in ideas and needs about important obligations of the employer and themselves Hence, the psychological contract of employees will change during the life course (Huiskamp & Schalk, 2002) The predicting variables for turnover intentions will be different for each stage of

development Hence, a third research objective can be put forward: the influence of age on the relationship between the psychological contract and the intention to leave

Summarized, we are examining:

(1) the predictors in the psychological contract for the intention to leave;

(2) the relation between affective commitment and the intention to leave;

(3) the influence of age on the relationship between the psychological contract and the intention

to leave

METHOD

Sampling and Instrument

Data for this study was collected using the Alumni of the Hotelschool The Hague who had graduated since 19301 A total of 4192 alumni were invited by mail to fill in our online questionnaire using a personal code The respondents are graduates of the Hotelschool The Hague and who are working all over the world In total, 580 people filled in the questionnaire between 3 February 2006 and 21 March 2006 The majority, 83 % of the 580, responded before the end of February After the closing of the questionnaire, we had a response rate of 13.8% A large amount

of mail (approximately 200 letters) was returned because of faulty addresses This would have increased the response rate a little

1 The sample was based on the situation in December 2005

We distinguished three groups of graduates based on questions in the questionnaire as to whether they worked inside or outside the hospitality industry (“Did you work in the Hospitality Industry after leaving school?” and “Do you work in the Hospitality Industry nowadays?”) In this paper we will only consider the group of people who worked in the hospitality industry after graduation and who still work there

The questionnaire started off with specific questions on the respondent’s gender, age and current position Following these opening questions, we continued with questions related to the measures of the psychological contract and two measures of employee obligation: external mobility intentions and affective commitment These are measured using a validated

questionnaire from Ten Brink (2004) Ten Brink based this on a questionnaire developed by Van Dijk (1997), who based his questionnaire on Schalk et al (1995) and on items found in the literature (e.g Herriot et al., 1997; J-A Meyer, 1997; Morrison & Robinson, 1997; Rousseau, 1990) The scale of affective commitment is based on a Dutch translation of the commitment questionnaire developed by Meyer et al (Ten Brink, 1994) The scale of external mobility

intentions is based on a questionnaire by Ten Brink (1994)

The respondents had to answer these questions with the same 5-point Likert scale, 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) This shows the number of items per scale, using Cronbach’s alphas, and means and standard deviations The reliabilities of the scales are more than sufficient,

as all Cronbach’s alphas are well above 75

The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS; Windows 14.0 software) is used for statistical analyses Mean scores and Pearson correlations were computed for all psychological contract variables, affective commitment and intention to leave Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the contribution of the psychological contract variables in explaining both intention to leave for the total group of respondents and for different age groups Using the Baron and Kenney (1986) method, we tested whether affective commitment mediates the relationship between the psychological contract variables and intention to leave

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Respondents

A total of 247 valid respondents have been used in the analysis Sixty-four per cent of the respondents are male and thirty-six per cent are female Most respondents are in the age groups 22-33 and 33-45 (mean = 39.7) The working status indicates that our analysis is not only about the ‘working conditions’ in the hospitality industry in The Netherlands (56%), but also about the

‘working conditions’ of those in the entire international hospitality business (both in Europe and the rest of the world (26% and 18% respectively)

Bivariate Correlations

Moderate to strong correlations were found between job content (r=-.51, p<.001),

development opportunities (r=-0.37, p<.001), work atmosphere(r=-.39, p<.001), autonomy (r=-.38, p<.001)and promotion opportunities (r=-.32, p<.001) on the one hand, and intention to leave on the other The more positive the respondents were about these job elements, the higher their score on affective commitment and the lower their score on intention to leave Weaker correlations were found for the “remaining” psychological contract measures and intention to leave In addition, affective commitment and intention to leave are highly correlated (r=-.60, p<.001)

Regression Analyses

Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine which psychological contract measures explain the most variance in intention to leave The analyses were controlled for age and gender In the total group of respondents, job content (β=-0.45, p<.001) and promotion opportunities (β=-0.14, p<.05) were found to be significant predictors, explaining 35.8% of the variance in intention to leave The more positive respondents were about their job content and promotion opportunities, the less their intention to leave the organization In a second analysis, affective commitment was entered before the psychological contract measures to test for

mediation It was found that affective commitment partially mediated the relationship between job content (as well as age) and intention to leave, as the beta coefficient dropped from -.45 to -.29 (Age drops from -.27 to -.11) and the significance level dropped from p<.001 to p<.01 (Age drops from p<.001 to p<.05) Also, affective commitment mediated the relationship between promotion opportunities and intention to leave, as the beta coefficient is no longer significant Salary popped up merely as a significant predictor; the more positive respondents were about their salary, the less their intention to leave

To explore whether the psychological contract measures are equally important in different stages of adulthood, we conducted the same analyses for three different age groups In the

youngest age group (22 to 33 years) job content (β=-0.41, p<.001), salary (β=-0.17, p<.05) and promotion opportunities (β=-0.22, p<.05) best explained intention to leave, where job content was totally mediated by affective commitment (R2=49.1%, p<.000) In the age group 33 to 45 years, the most important variables explaining intention to leave were job content (β=-0.41, p<.001) and

work-family balance(β=-0.27, p<.05) where, again, job content is entirely mediated by affective commitment (R2=36.3%, p< 000) Thus, besides high scores on job content, high scores on work-family balance go together with low scores on intention to leave for this age group For the oldest group (45 years and older) intention to leave was best explained by job content

(β=-0.57, p<.001) and performance-related pay (β=0.26, p<.05) The more the organization offers performance-related pay, the higher the intention to leave Job content was partially mediated by affective commitment, as the beta coefficient dropped from -.57 to -.32 (R2=57.9%, p<.000)

Discussions

This analysis has demonstrated that psychological contract measures can explain a

substantial amount of variance in intention to leave the organization among highly-educated hotel employees, especially when the mediating role of affective commitment is taken into account In addition, the exploratory analyses revealed that at different stages of adulthood, different factors may play a role when considering the intention to leave the organization

Of all the psychological contract measures, job content appeared to be the most

significant predictor of intention to leave, followed, to a lesser extent, by promotion opportunities and salary Thus, the greater the extent to which individuals find that their jobs include

challenging, comprehensive and diverse work, the less likely they are to want to leave their organizations This effect was partially mediated by affective commitment, that is, the more that respondents perceive their job as one which includes challenging, comprehensive and diverse work, the more they are committed to the organization, and in turn, the less likely they are to want to leave the organization This is in line with the study by Walsh and Taylor (2007), who found that challenging work was an important factor influencing affective commitment,

organizational commitment and in turn, turnover intentions One way of looking at satisfaction in the job is the job demands-control approach put forward by Karasek Job satisfaction is dependent

on two variables (Karasek, 1979; Fox et al., 1993): how much the job demands of employees and the possibilities people have to have control over their job Excessive work demands can lead to higher levels of psychological strain and job dissatisfaction The impact of these demands may be offset by the perception that one has control over important aspects of the job environment Indeed, highly-challenging and demanding work combined with high control is considered by Karasek (1979) to indicate an active job that has beneficial outcomes for individuals

At the other extreme, low-demanding work with low levels of control will lead to strain and reduced job satisfaction Also, the combination of highly-demanding work with low levels of control will lead to strain because anxiety will be created about the job performance and the personal consequences of not completing the work in a specified time frame Low-demand work

combined with high levels of control will lead to boredom and dissatisfaction As such, jobs which are perceived as challenging and which are perceived to have enough possibilities for control may lead to a lower intention for employee turnover The practical implication of this perspective for managers is the design of jobs Because individuals will become more

experienced and task-mature in a specific job over time, managers should design jobs with

flexible boundaries: employees can obtain more tasks in a specific job (e.g activities,

responsibilities, intrinsic development opportunities) with the provision of more control

opportunities (e.g autonomy, power)

It was shown that affective commitment is an important variable in explaining intention

to leave (e.g Meyer & Allen, 1997; Guest, 1998; Ten Brink, 2004; Walsh and Taylor 2007) From the correlation analyses it can be concluded that job content, autonomy, work atmosphere and development opportunities are moderately to strongly related to affective commitment to the organization The more conceptual literature on increasing affective commitment indicates the managers play an important role to get the interests of the employees aligned with the interests of the organization (e.g Arthur, 1994; Huselid, 1995; Appelbaum et al, 2000) The practical

implications for management is to concentrate on the alignment of individual interests with the interests of the organization, and, as previously discussed, to pay attention to job content, which

is an important positive predictor for affective commitment

Promotion opportunities and salary were also related to turnover intentions The more the respondents agreed to the fact that their organization offered them promotion opportunities and competitive salaries, the less inclined they were to consider leaving the organization Although these results may partly be caused by an overrepresentation of younger respondents, for which these factors are particularly important (see later in this discussion), additional analyses revealed that the interaction between age and these two factors were non-significant Thus it seems that, promotion opportunities and salary play a role with regard to intention to leave for individuals in the 32 upwards age group as well, although these factors play a less significant role for this category of respondents

Age was a significant variable in explaining intention to leave the organization The younger the respondents, the more likely they were to leave the organization This effect was also partially mediated by affective commitment: the younger the respondents, the less committed they were to their organization and the higher the intention to leave In addition, age seems to be a moderator variable, as in different age groups, different factors are important in explaining

intention to leave However, job content is the most important explanatory variable for each age group Although it should be borne in mind that the sample sizes of the three sub-groups are small, these analyses resulted in some meaningful findings In the youngest age group, in which the respondents had just started their career, promotion opportunities and salary seem to be important

additional factors in explaining intention to leave

In the age group 33 to 45 years, work-family balance was an important additional

variable in explaining intention to leave The higher these respondents rated the flexibility to combine work and private matters, the less likely they were to want to leave the organization Work in the hospitality industry is known to be hard and involves long working hours at irregular moments (Hoque, 1999), which means that adjustments between work and family life may become troublesome The practical implications for managers are that they should take into account the needs of employees in this age group by expanding the control possibilities for employees to adjust work life and family life The use of HRM policies may play an important role in preventing this aspect of the psychological contract from being violated

For the older group, performance-related pay was an important additional explanatory variable after job content The more they perceived their organization as having a policy of performance-related pay, the more likely they were to want to leave the organization As

discussed in the introduction, the need to become more autonomous with regard to choice of goal and interesting activities may be a possible reason for this relationship (Sekaran & Hall, 1989) Additional analyses showed that both the interaction between work-family balance and age, and between performance-related pay and age were significant in explaining intention to leave The practical implications for management may be to develop HRM policies to meet the demands of this category of employees

CONCLUSION

This research study shows that turnover intentions can be explained with the concept of the psychological contract and gives the hospitality industry insight in the motivation why people want to leave In addition, the psychological contract can be used as a basis to define and to execute HRM in the hospitality industry In this research study, insight into the possible predictors for turnover intentions have been provided, which can serve as input for HRM policies in

hospitality organizations

A limitation of this study is that all the variables were measured at the same time, and thus one cannot infer any causal relationships Although it seems likely that a positive attitude

about the job content reduces turnover intentions, one cannot say this definitely unless it is tested

in a longitudinal study In addition, the attitude towards leaving the organization was measured as intentions The decision of an individual to actually leave the organization might be dependent on other or additional factors Here again, a longitudinal study in which the hotel employees are followed throughout their career would yield valuable results Finally, in this study job content has proven to be an important predictor Although this study has shown the importance of job

content, further research into the aspects that makes a job satisfactory is necessary

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APPLYING A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM TO

TRAVEL PATTERN MARKET RESEARCH DATA

Charles Chancellor, PhD Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies

Indiana University HPER Building, Room 133

1025 East 7th St Bloomington, IN 47405 USA

Tel: 812.855.0203 Fax: 812.855.3998 Email: hcchance@indiana.edu

ABSTRACT

Travel pattern data collected from a rural county in western North Carolina, United States, was analyzed using a geographic information system (GIS) Travel pattern data is valuable to destination marketers as it highlights potential regional promotions and development partners

A (GIS) can easily display spatially oriented concepts such as travel patterns, and provides easy viewing of the data for destination marketers and planners The GIS generated maps provided a clear indication of regions, counties and towns that tourism promoters in the rural county could look to for marketing and development collaboration Additionally by modeling trip distances per travel pattern, potential new markets were identified

INTRODUCTION

This study explores the efficacy of evaluating travel pattern data using a geographic information system (GIS) Travel pattern data is valuable to destination marketers as it highlights potential regional promotion and development partners The power of GIS is its ability to store, manipulate and display data in a spatial format (map) Therefore, spatially oriented concepts such

as travel patterns can be modeled on a map, which provides easy viewing of the data for

destination marketers and planners

Travel patterns are the spatial component of a vacation and provide a conceptual

framework to study visitor behavior Travel patterns model the spatial relationship between the visitor’s home and the various destination stops on a particular vacation The two categories of

travel patterns are single destination and multidestination Tourists treat a particular destination as

a single destination, or part of a multidestination trip, meaning the destination is a major stop on a

tour of the region, a minor stopover when passing through, or maybe an interesting day trip when the tourists are staying in a nearby county or region

Most destination travel demand models in the tourism or outdoor recreation literature assume tourists visit only a single destination per trip, although several researchers argue that most trips have multidestinations (Lue, Crompton, & Fesenmaier, 1993; Hanson, 1980; Holt, Higham, & Kearsley, 1998) Given the mobility of much of the world, the proliferation of multidestination trips is intuitively easy to understand Wall (1978) states that:

Recreation sites do not exist in isolation They are found within a context of competing and complementary facilities Thus, given the mobility of most pleasure travelers, it is likely that they will frequent more than one site or destination on a single trip (p.35)

Perdue and Gustke (1985) suggested that travel organizations are typically interested in the visitor’s spatial considerations only while the visitor is in the organization’s sphere of

business or influence Lue et al (1993) surmise that it is easier to model single destination trips, although perhaps less accurate, than multidestination trips However, when travelers visit more than one destination, there is potential for the destinations’ tourism officials to cooperate

regarding marketing and tourism development, which can be mutually beneficial (Gunn, 1994) Empirical, tourist derived travel pattern data that describes linkages between attractions and destinations gives tourism stakeholders evidence on which to base local and regional partnerships (Dredge, 1999) In an effort to better understand multidestination trips and identify potential collaboration partners, Lue et al (1993) presented the LCF five-pattern model of recreational travel:

• Single Destination - visitor stays at one location,

• Multidestination Models

o Base Camp - visitor stays at one location but day trips to other areas,

o En route - visitor has a main destination but stops briefly at other attractions,

o Regional Tour - visitor has several destinations within a given region, and

o Trip Chaining - visitor has several destinations encompassing several regions See Figure 1

Figure 1 Travel patterns Base Camp Pattern

Day Trip

En route Pattern

stop

En route

Primary Destination

En route stop

Significant Stop

Significant Stop

Significant Stop

Single Destination Pattern

The five-travel pattern model (LCF) developed by Lue, Crompton, & Fesenmaier (1993) was used to segment visitors to a rural mountain county in the southeastern United States Destination linkages can easily be modeled, stored, manipulated and displayed in a GIS which is

a powerful tool when using data that has a spatial component It is intuitive and common to illustrate the Earth’s physical features such as rivers, mountains and roads on maps A GIS also facilitates the display of tabular data such as demographics by attaching the data to a set of coordinates (Pratt & Olsen, 2003) Since a GIS is digital, data can easily and relatively quickly

be updated, corrected or otherwise changed as needed

Market researchers are often interested in customer data Providing that the customer data is attached to a spatial location such as area code, zip code, or street address then it can most likely be displayed visually using a GIS Therefore, organizations with customer zip code data can use a GIS to display a map of customers’ residences Investigators can then determine spatial proximity between individual customer residences to identify clusters Additionally spatial proximity between individual customers and the business can be investigated A

significant cluster of customers might suggest a location where neighborhood newspapers or billboards would be effective promotional tools (Hess, Rubin, &West, 2004) Additionally neighborhoods without a cluster of customers might indicate a new target market A GIS output would allow comparisons between neighborhoods based upon demographic variables of interest

to marketers such as age and income level

The first objective of this study was to apply a GIS to travel pattern data in an effort to further illuminate the destination linkages from the tourists’ perspectives Through displaying examples of each travel pattern, destination promoters can more easily identify potential

marketing and development collaborators A second objective was to explore tourists’ trip origins through the use of their home zip code data For this exploration a regional map was generated which had the rural county as the center for a series of concentric circles at 100-mile intervals Tourists’ home zip code data were used to indicate trip origin location This map provided a display of: 1) distance traveled which supplies information on distance decay; 2) the clustering of tourists’ trip origins of travel; and lastly 3) blank spaces, which indicated no tourists visited from those areas

RESEARCH METHODS

In summer 2001, a survey was conducted gathering data on travel patterns, activity choices, sources of travel information, and demographic information on visitors to a predominately rural mountain county in western North Carolina Eight locations through out the county were

chosen as intercept points including trailheads, towns that are considered tourist attractions, as well

as river and lake boat ramps

A mobile interviewer conducted personal interviews, using a systematic selection system The three-page (11”x14”) questionnaire could be administered in two – five minutes The study was conducted from June 1, 2001 through August 19, 2001 and surveying occurred on 70 randomly sampled days Thirty-eight were weekdays while 32 were weekend days Based upon visitor use times, surveying occurred between 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m Special occasions necessitated late evening surveying One thousand and eight individuals were intercepted and 809 participated in the study, for a response rate of 80.3% ArcView3.2 was used to model the data spatially

FINDINGS & DISCUSSION

Findings revealed that tourists traveled from 36 states and 12 countries, and that 83

(11.5%) were single destination visitors while 639 (88.5%) were multidestination visitors

Furthermore 71% (453) of multidestination visitors were using a base camp pattern and base campers were staying more nights in the area than the users of other travel patterns This

information indicated that base campers are of particular interest since they are the majority of

visitors, and it is assumed that if they spend more nights in the area they are spending more

money in the area

The study of base campers revealed interesting marketing implications For example,

161 (35.5%) visitors base camped in the county of interest, while 292 (64.4%) visitors base camped elsewhere and day tripped into the county The fact that 64.4% of base campers used

accommodations in surrounding counties, promotes the use of a point of purchase marketing model Rather than only employ destination marketing this county should consider marketing to the visitors who are staying in a neighboring county The GIS provided visual models of these possible marketing locations This trip pattern data indicates that tourists view attractions on a regional rather than a county basis, (84% visited at least two counties) lending credence to a call for regional collaboration

A GIS was used to illustrate examples of each travel pattern, which provided destination marketers with specific information about the tourists’ spatial behavior Specifically several

maps focusing on the most common base camp patterns were generated These maps

highlighted the specific regional destinations travelers were visiting in addition to the rural county

of interest Several potential collaboration efforts were identified which had been untapped by the rural county’s tourism promoters Most notably, a greater number of tourists were venturing much further from their base camp location than tourism officials realized

The regional map highlighted clusterings of tourists’ home zip codes By viewing the concentric circles at 100-mile intervals it was discovered that visitors’ trip origins were unequally dispersed, and did not follow the distance decay concept For example, the cities that were home to the highest number of visitors were Atlanta, GA (162 miles from the county of interest) and Tampa/St Petersburg, FL (585 miles from the county of interest) However other large metropolitan areas closer to the rural county than Tampa/St Petersburg, FL were home to very few visitors These locations included Cincinnati, OH, Lexington, KY Knoxville and Nashville,

TN, Birmingham and Montgomery, AL and Columbia, SC Therefore based upon distance, several potential markets were identified

In conclusion, this application of a GIS to travel pattern data provided a visual

component that proved to be beneficial to destination stakeholders Specifically these maps provided a clearer indication of regions, counties and towns that the rural county of interest could look to for marketing and development collaboration Additionally by modeling trip distances per travel pattern, potential new markets were identified

Hess, R.L., Rubin, R.S., & West Jr., L.A (2004) Geographic information systems as a

marketing information system technology Decision Supports Systems, 38(2), 97-212

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WELLNESS TOURISM: MEASURING CONSUMERS’

QUALITY OF LIFE

Joseph S Chen, PhD Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies

Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405 USA

Tel: 1-812-855-1880 Fax: 1-812-855-3998 Email: joechen@indiana.edu

dermatitis, (5) brining tranquillity and (6) reducing tension Specifically, the variables of

bringing intrinsic reward and treating dermatitis are the two indicators which could affect the total quality of life of the patrons Lastly, future studies are suggested in the conclusion section

INTRODUCTION

In a highly competitive environment and fast-growing economy, tourism providers are teeming to develop new alternatives to seize the opportunity due to economy growth as long as the circumstance dictates Thus, it is not surprising to see in variety of refreshing services added into the operation from time to time The baby-boomers from rich countries may well represent the largest generation apt to and capable of taking different types of new leisure trips from the perspectives of time and money This group of tourist is keen to seek for authentic, distinctive themes supplemented by high quality of services and socially-responsible practices They could

be considered as sophisticated travelers in today’s market They indeed cherish new ideas and concepts of service that could enrich customer experiences Due to their travel experiences, they intend to take unique leisure initiatives to further their quality of life such as cultural and ecological trips In the last decade, cultural trips and ecotourism have been seen as highly profitable products of tourism It may support the fact that experienced consumers have been set

to seek for educational, psychological, spiritual benefits while traveling

However, a new wave of demand has arrived that has gradually changed the landscape of services Since in a developed economy, people have constantly faced serous health problems due

to an unbalanced life style and the stress from the work Services and products rendered to maintain a better health are able to amply attract consumers of millions With no exception, in the tourism business, merchandises catering to individuals’ health have been developed quickly in the recent years For example, health-care tourism has become a rewarding business and is like

to grow substantially as the current trend persists Health-care tourism is defined as the attempt

on the part of a tourist facility (e.g., hotel) or destination (e.g Baden, Switzerland) to attract tourists by deliberately promoting its health-care services and facilities, in addition to its regular tourist amenities (Goodrich and Goodrich, 1987) With an identical function, “health tourism” also received its attention that is defined as people traveling from their place of residence for health reasons (Ross, 2006)

Recently, new products using a health label entailing both physical and psychological

treatments have been developed by the hospitality sectors—especially by luxury brand hotels Those innovations in services are inclined to promote individuals’ state of well being In Europe, some lodging facilities have utilized “wellness” (e.g., wellness center, wellness hotel and

wellness resort) as a prefix for a new frontier of trade so as to position themselves as rejuvenating retreats from the aspect of body, mind and spirit What has been altered concerning travelers’ the quality of life is the increase of physical and psychological benefits at a personal level The lines of offerings in the wellness market are comprehensive that range from preventive measures of health to the treatment of illness, for instant The former introduces a concept of healthy traveling while the latter merely fabricates the idea from health tourism The common wellness themes are spa, massage, body pampering, healthy gourmet meals, fitness classes, and,

in minority, alternative clinical treatment (such as aquatic therapy and acupuncture) Spa

treatment, as the focus point of wellness service, could be delivered in different fashions in terms

of sources of water and its setting As for the water sources, thermal mineral water from the ground have been used to treat different kinds of diseases since the invention of spa therapy over

a thousand year ago However, thanks to the advanced technology, the places without a natural thermal water source could also provide healthy spa treatment For example, some herbal

substances and mineral extracts are mixed into heated tap water that helps amply relax the body

and mind as well For spa settings, travelers could soak into the mineral water at a nature, rustic setting directly such as lake and river Nevertheless, in most cases, spa patrons receive the

treatment at modern facilities such as pool and bathtub in which the sanitation issue could be carefully scrutinized

It is reported that 35% of UK residents visited a spa in a year while 21% of Americans did

so The most popular type of spa in the UK is resort/hotel spa whereas in the USA day spas are prevailing With a prodigious growth, the wellness market has recently gained the attention by tourism stakeholders including government, business and hosting community For example, the Finnish Government has encouraged their war veterans to take part in a welfare program in which the veterans could receive a subsidy from the government for treating their illnesses in some wellness facilities such as a spa resort (Rosen, 2006) Even for those veterans living overseas, they could travel back to those facilities in Finland 10 days in a year with a full subsidy of the cost of travel and treatment Further, Finland’s Sickness Insurance Act has a focus on preventive treatment at local facilities (Rosen, 2006) such as a spa center that helps promote the wellness business In Switzerland, several spas include a rehabilitation department (Rosen, 2006) in which the visitors could receive treatment from certified nurses and doctors and in some cases enjoy five-star meals

In the United States, the wellness destinations could cater to the pregnant Timmel (2005) reports several locations adding maternity services; in this case, even pregnant persons are able to enjoy spa treatments safely The possible solutions are using hydraulic treatment tables and providing door-to-door services, since the pregnant is least likely to travel during a certain stages

of pregnancy Some resorts have coped with the need of single-parent and rendered child care service while the client is receiving the service

Switzerland has established superior standards of wellness delivery for the rich and famous

in decades (Paul, 2006) Thanks to the new standards, wellness service’s contribution to the quality of life is not only confined to the tourists, but also reaches to the host community A recent example of the integrated design of a treatment center in Lake Geneva has showcased the sensitivity of wellness provider to nature environment and local heritage The treatment facility carefully matched with a picturesque scene of a 19-century architecture attached to a modern medical center (Paul, 2006) It implies that the wellness sector may follow the spirit of

sustainable living As the trend prevails, it could be exciting to see if the future development of wellness business will promote a better quality of life from the perspectives of the tourists as well

as the host communities

The Purposes of Study