Svetlana Stepchenkova, Lijuan Su and Elena Shichkova
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether events such as acts of terrorism, political and social turmoil, military conflicts, epidemics, and similar influence preferences of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether events such as acts of terrorism, political and social turmoil, military conflicts, epidemics, and similar influence preferences of Russian tourists for international and domestic travel (DT) and the role of psychographic and demographic factors in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a survey of 139 international tourists from a large Russian city. Variables representing the influence of instability in the world on selecting international vacations (unstable world, UW) and the willingness to turn to DT instead (domestic tourism, DT) were operationalized. The study operationalized the constructs of national attachment and consumer ethnocentrism and then converted them into manifest variables, NAT and CET. Hierarchical linear regression and logistic regression were conducted to investigate the relationship between UW and DT variables and personal factors. Supporting ANOVA and χ2 tests were conducted to further explore those relationships.
Findings
The study found that being a female, older and more attached to the homeland make Russian tourists more receptive to threats and risks of international travel; however, being wealthier, makes them less susceptible to those threats. Those with higher ethnocentric tendencies are more likely to turn to DT instead, while those with higher income are less likely.
Originality/value
The study does not pertain to a particular “destination-negative event” context. Nor the study is interested in a particular travel risk or whether or not Russian tourists perceive international travel as risky. The study focuses on to what degree those perceptions influence their decisions to travel internationally or domestically. Psychographic consumer ethnocentrism and national attachment variables that are rarely used in tourism studies were employed to better understand the destination selection process of Russian tourists in the UW.
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Svetlana Stepchenkova, Andrei P. Kirilenko and Elena Shichkova
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of visitation intention, including demographic, psychographic (animosity, national attachment and consumer ethnocentrism…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of visitation intention, including demographic, psychographic (animosity, national attachment and consumer ethnocentrism) and image factors on tourist decision-making in a situation of bilateral conflict between the destination country and the source country, that is, the USA and Russia, respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected at two different points in time from two different samples but analyzed with the same research question in mind. To increase the robustness and validity of findings, three analytical approaches from the repertoire of statistics and data mining techniques such as hierarchical linear regression, logistic regression and decision tree analysis were applied to two independent samples of tourists with different demographic profiles. This multiple methods research employs a complementary design, as methods used have equal importance and are applied concurrently.
Findings
The paper obtained generally consistent results across methods and samples: general animosity, destination image and country image are the most influential factors in the tourists’ decision-making to visit a destination country with which their own country has strained bilateral relations.
Practical implications
Destination image is highly important in all analyses and is more favorable than country image. It indicates some degree of separation of the two images in the respondents’ mind, which indicates that marketing a country as a tourist destination on a not-so-friendly tourism market may still be effective. Results also tentatively indicate that for young adults, patriotic feelings matter more in their decision-making, while for more mature tourists, ethnocentric tendencies play a more important role.
Originality/value
The paper examines the influence of general and situational animosity, national attachment, and consumer ethnocentrism on visitation intentions in a situation of conflict between the two nations and, thus, expands the empirical evidence accumulated to date on tourist behavior in conflict. The paper acts on the premise that if a connection between any two variables truly exists, it should be able to withstand variations in samples, timing of data collection and measurement, thus, leading to more robust findings.
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Svetlana Stepchenkova and Elena Shichkova
The purpose of this paper is to examine the attractiveness of a global tourism destination when the country of that destination and the country that provides the source market are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the attractiveness of a global tourism destination when the country of that destination and the country that provides the source market are in a situation of political and economic conflict. In this study, the USA is the vacation destination, and Russia is the tourism generating region.
Design/methodology/approach
In May 2015, 18 Russian tourists from a large regional urban center participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews. The interviews took place in the situational context of strained bilateral relations between the USA and Russia over events in Ukraine, Crimea, and Donbass, as well as economic sanctions that had been in effect for almost a year at the time of the interviews.
Findings
Respondents expressed substantial interest in vacationing in the USA despite their strong disagreement with USA international policies. While domestic tourism offerings were evaluated as inferior to those of other international destinations, patriotic sentiments with respect to domestic tourism were registered.
Practical implications
Brand USA is still very attractive to the potential tourists, especially such components as major cities, entertainment, oceans, beaches and resorts, as well as the vastness of its national parks. The absence of information with respect to travel to USA was noticed by all respondents.
Originality/value
The study is conducted in a situation of ongoing conflict between the two countries and explores how the feelings of animosity toward the USA influence the desire of Russian tourists to vacation in the USA.
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Svetlana Stepchenkova, Mikhail I. Rykhtik, Elena Shichkova, Hany Kim and Olga Petrova
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether a priori segmentation of visitors to a large urban destination along the dimensions of gender, place of residence (domestic, former…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether a priori segmentation of visitors to a large urban destination along the dimensions of gender, place of residence (domestic, former states, and international), and trip purpose (business, leisure, and VFR) is indeed commonsense for the city's DMO. Specifically, the study investigated whether gender, place of residence, and trip purpose are associated with tourists’ destination risk perceptions, evaluations of destination performance, and post-visitation behavior; that is, intention to revisit and willingness to recommend.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis used data obtained in a 2013 survey of visitors to Nizhni Novgorod, a large urban center in Russia.
Findings
The results indicate that place of residence and trip purpose discriminate tourists with respect to selected variables and can serve as segmentation bases for marketing communications about the city to potential target markets.
Practical implications
In view of the mega-sport events to be conducted in Nizhni Novgorod in 2018, alleviating risk perceptions of international tourists and improving their experiences while at the destination are important goals for the city government, tourism planners, and destination marketing organizations.
Originality/value
Segmentation bases of place of residence and trip purpose have rarely been examined in relation to a large multifunctional city, while gender has produced varying results. Thus, the study can add to the segmentation literature in the urban context.
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Anna Farmaki, Katerina Antoniou and Prokopis Christou
This study aims to examine the factors shaping the intentions of people to visit a hostile outgroup.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the factors shaping the intentions of people to visit a hostile outgroup.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory, qualitative research approach was followed. Specifically, 77 semi-structured interviews with citizens of the divided island of Cyprus were conducted.
Findings
This study identifies several categories of visitors and non-visitors, depicted along a continuum, and concludes that there is a multiplicity of factors in the socio-political environment which influence the travel intentions of people.
Originality/value
This study not only imparts insights into the way travel decision-making evolves in politically unstable situations but also serves as a stepping stone towards understanding the conditions under which reconciliation between hostile nations may be encouraged by travel.