Destination Positioning Slogans - Analysis of Themes used by New Zealand Regional Tourism Organisations

A significant gap in the tourism and travel literature exists in the area of tourism destination branding. Although brands have been used as sources of differentiation in consumer goods markets for over a century, academic research attention towards destination branding has only been reported since the late 1990s. Three important components of the brand construct are brand identity, brand position and brand image. While interest in applications of brand theory to practise in tourism is increasing, there is a paucity of published research in the literature to guide destination marketing organisations (DMOs). In particular there have been few reported analyses of destination brand positioning slogans. The focus of this paper is on destination brand position slogans, which represent the interface between brand identity and brand image. Part of a wider investigation of DMO slogans worldwide, and in keeping with the conference location, the paper focuses on analysis of slogans used by New Zealand RTOs. The slogans are examined in terms of the extent to which they have been limited to ephemeral indifference. In other words, have they stood the test of time and do they effectively differentiate through a meaningful proposition? Analysis of the slogans indicates very few could be characterised as memorably distinctive. This reflects the complexity involved in capturing the essence of a multi-attributed destination in a succinct and focused positioning slogan, in a way that is both meaningful to the target audience and effectively differentiates the destination from competitors offering the same benefits.

Tourism Destination Preferences: A Longitudinal Analysis of Consumer Decision Sets

There have only been a small number of applications of consumer decision set theory to holiday destination choice, and these studies have tended to rely on a single cross sectional snapshot of research participants’ stated preferences. Very little has been reported on the relationship between stated destination preferences and actual travel, or changes in decision set composition over time. The paper presents a rare longitudinal examination of destination decision sets, in the context of short break holidays by car in Queensland, Australia. Two questionnaires were administered, three months apart. The first identified destination preferences while the second examined actual travel and revisited destination preferences. In relation to the conference theme, there was very little change in consumer preferences towards the competitive set of destinations over the three month period. A key implication for the destination of interest, which, in an attempt to change market perceptions, launched a new brand campaign during the period of the project, is that a long term investment in a consistent brand message will be required to change market perceptions. The results go some way to support the proposition that the positioning of a destination into a consumer’s decision set represents a source of competitive advantage.

Waterfalls : resources for tourism

While very few waterfalls may be regarded as tourism destinations, many are attractions. This paper discusses waterfalls within the theoretical frameworks developed by economists and geographers in the field of recreation and tourism. Examples are drawn from various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with Jamaica examined as a case study. Here, as in many tourism areas, although visitors usually choose their destinations for reasons other than the appeal of waterfalls, these landscape features play important roles as attractions. Often associated with ecotourism, waterfalls help to diversify the tourism product and spread the benefits as well as some of the associated problems of tourism to less developed areas.

‘Live your liberation, don’t lobby for it’ : Australian queer student activists’ perspectives of same-sex marriage

One topic covered in Australian queer university student print media is the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The legalisation of same-sex marriage is currently generating much debate in Western queer communities. Same-sex marriage is legalised in some countries such as, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. It has been outlawed in Australia and most states in the US. Campaigns continue to reverse these restrictions. Other countries, such as the UK and New Zealand allow same-sex civil unions, providing couples with the rights afforded to married couples. There is a range of research documenting queer communities’ attitudes towards this issue (for example Lannutti 2005; Clarke, Burgoyne and Burns 2006; Yep, Lovaas and Elia 2003; Wolfson 1993; Egan and Sherrill 2005). These studies document broad community views as well as those of community sub-sections. For example, Yip (2004) looks at the views of gay and lesbian Christians on same-sex marriage and Lahey and Alderson (2004) document the experiences of same-sex couples who have gotten married or who are waiting to get married. Philosophical analyses consider the legalisation of same-sex marriage in relation to, for example, liberalism, equal rights, liberation, queer theory, citizenship, history, activism, religious discourse and feminism (Ferguson 2007; Jordan 2005; Josephson 2005; Lipton 2006; Sullivan and Chauncey 2005; Riggs 2007). This paper explores Australian queer university student activist media’s representation of same-sex marriage, and the debates surrounding its legalisation. It examines a selection of queer student media from four metropolitan Australian universities, and the 2003 and 2004 editions of national queer student publication, Querelle. This paper uses discourse analysis of queer student activists’ media representations of marriage to investigate this issue in one specific context – metropolitan Australian universities. This paper thus contributes to the history of queer activism, documenting what one group of young people say about the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and furthers research on queer perspectives of marriage and same-sex relationships.

Effect of female sex hormones on Chlamydia trachomatis growth and gene expression

Transmissible diseases are re-emerging as a global problem, with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) becoming endemic. Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterially-acquired STD worldwide, with the Australian cost of infection estimated at $90 - $160 million annually. Studies using animal models of genital tract Chlamydia infection suggested that the hormonal status of the genital tract epithelium at the time of exposure may influence the outcome of infection. Oral contraceptive use also increased the risk of contracting chlamydial infections compared to women not using contraception. Generally it was suggested that the outcome of chlamydial infection is determined in part by the hormonal status of the epithelium at the time of exposure. Using the human endolmetrial cell line ECC-1 this study investigated the effects of C. trachomatis serovar D infection, in conjunction with the female sex hormones, 17β-estradiol and progesterone, on chlamydial gene expression. While previous studies have examined the host response, this is the first study to examine C.trachomatis gene expression under different hormonal conditions. We have highlighted a basic model of C. trachomatis gene regulation in the presence of steroid hormones by identifying 60 genes that were regulated by addition of estradiol and/or progesterone. In addition, the third chapter of this thesis discussed and compared the significance of the current findings in the context of data from other research groups to improve our understanding of the molecular basis of chlamydial persistence under hormonal different conditions. In addition, this study analysed the effects of these female sex hormones and C. trachomatis Serovar D infection, on host susceptibility and bacterial growth. Our results clearly demonstrated that addition of steroid hormones not only had a great impact on the level of infectivity of epithelial cells with C.trachomatis serovar D, but also the morphology of chlamydial inclusions was affected by hormone supplementation.

Youth, Sex, and Government

For nearly twenty-five years, the field of youth studies has employed the same conceptual tools to explain the conduct of young people, tools that inexorably lead to the same recurrent conclusions-youth equals resistance, youth equals alienation, youth equals problem. This book offers a way out of this theoretical Groundhog Day. Starting with the familiar notion of youth subcultures, but also addressing topics such as young women's magazines, 'at risk' youth, anorexia nervosa, and HIV/AIDS programs, this book examines the way in which youth is produced as both a governmental object and a set of practices of the self. Employing the ideas of Foucault, Rose and Mauss, this new approach attempts to reinvigorate what is an important-yet slumbering-area of research.

A re-assessment of the debate over sex education

The intention of this paper is to call into question the apparent dichotomy between left and right wing positions concerning the implementation of sex education in Queensland Schools. By adopting a more historicised approach, it is suggested that these positions are part of dual and supplementary strategies which work through specific problematisations associated with youth. Accordingly, the emphasis should be shifted from generalised depictions of the adolescent/youth to more focused accounts, questioning how teaching children to manage their sex became a governmental imperative.

Youth, sex, and 'practices of the self'

The intention of this paper is to describe ways of avoiding the normalising, globalising and dichotomising tenor of previous research into 'youth'. With a specific focus upon the management of sex, it will be argued that the concept of 'youth' is best understood as an example of the governmental formation of specific types of person, and that 'youth' can be formulated in terms of 'the doing of certain kinds of work on the self'.