Beyond point forecasting : evaluation of alternative prediction intervals for tourist arrivals

This paper evaluates the performances of prediction intervals generated from alternative time series models, in the context of tourism forecasting. The forecasting methods considered include the autoregressive (AR) model, the AR model using the bias-corrected bootstrap, seasonal ARIMA models, innovations state space models for exponential smoothing, and Harvey’s structural time series models. We use thirteen monthly time series for the number of tourist arrivals to Hong Kong and Australia. The mean coverage rates and widths of the alternative prediction intervals are evaluated in an empirical setting. It is found that all models produce satisfactory prediction intervals, except for the autoregressive model. In particular, those based on the biascorrected bootstrap perform best in general, providing tight intervals with accurate coverage rates, especially when the forecast horizon is long.

Evaluating the competitiveness of the tourism industry in Cambodia : self-assessment from professionals

The annual tourism growth rate in Cambodia is among the highest in the world; however, tourist industry impact on Cambodian's economy is quite low. The purpose of our study is to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the Cambodian tourism market so that a framework can be established to help the country's policy-makers formulate strategies to use its resources effectively to create sustainable tourism competitiveness. This study used the perspective of tourism experts in the industry and Ministry of Tourism in Cambodia, and academia in the tourism field to evaluate Cambodian tourism competitiveness relative to its major competitors in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) based on nine categories: endowed resources, created resources, supporting factors, destination management, situational conditions, demand condition, technology, openness and market performance indicators benchmarked from previous research. The results showed that Cambodia has a lot of endowed resources, but lacks supporting resources and factors to achieve tourism competitiveness.

Children's advertising literacy for advergames : perception of the game as advertising

This study examined whether children recognized advergames as a type of advertising and the efficacy of an advertising literacy program. Results indicated that without the advertising literacy education, about three-quarters of the children did not recognize advergames as a type of advertising. However, those with advertising literacy education showed a significantly enhanced understanding. Also, a series of mediation tests showed that recognition of advertising was an indirect-only mediator between the advertising literacy and skeptical attitudes toward advertising. Only those who viewed the advergame as a type of advertising demonstrated more skeptical attitudes toward it.

The typicality and accessibility of consumer attitudes toward television advertising : implications for the measurement of attitudes toward advertising in general

Despite the wide array of contemporary advertising formats and media, television advertising remains the most dominant form to which typical consumers are exposed. Research on attitudes toward advertising in general (Att-AiG) implicitly assumes that the Att-AiG measure represents advertising as a whole. A major finding of the current research is that consumers tend to have a mental representation, or exemplar, of the most typical type of advertising—television advertising—when they report their Att-AiG. Therefore, in reality, Att-AiG primarily reflects attitudes toward television advertising. In addition, the results of our experiments indicate that television ad exemplars generate temporal changes in consumers’ reported Att-AiG and attitudes toward television advertising. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

An exploration of advertising engagement, advertising avoidance and privacy concerns on social networking sites

This thesis examines perceptions of advertising on social networking sites (SNS), in particular consumers' privacy concerns, advertising engagement and advertising avoidance. It contributes to the understanding of social media by providing results of a longitudinal investigation of consumer perceptions of advertising, a topography of engagement and avoidance triggers and a three dimensional model of advertising avoidance on SNS. This research used a mixed methodology, employing Critical Incident Technique, In-depth interviews and online surveys.

Advertising : an integrated marketing communication perspective

This text provide the ideal student-centered introduction to the fast-changing field of integrated marketing communications. Technologies such as the convergence of the internet, mobile devices, and traditional channels are changing the way companies use marketing tools to communicate with their customers. The third edition of this market-leading text has been extensively revised to examine how cutting-edge developments are impacting the IMC program of marketers. All vignettes, cases and boxes showcasing specific examples of how companies and their communications agencies are using integrated marketing communications are new or updated. They provide engaging insights into the most current and popular campaigns being used by marketers and the key current trends and developments taking place in the advertising world.

Antidepressant direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising and public stigma of depression : the mediating role of perceived prevalence of depression

This study examines whether memory of antidepressant direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising is associated with the public stigma attached to depression. Results indicate that those who better remember antidepressant DTC ads tend to have a higher perceived prevalence of depression (i.e., more people suffer from depression). And, the perceived prevalence of depression is inversely associated with the public stigma toward depression. That is, those who have a higher perceived prevalence of depression report that they are more supportive of and comfortable with people who have depression. The results suggest that the perceived prevalence of depression is a mediating variable that accounts for the relationship between memory of antidepressant DTC ads and the public stigma toward depression. The implications and limitations of the study, as an exploratory investigation, are discussed.

To boldly go where no advertising academic has gone before

We are the future: A Proposal for a Special Topic Session from the Students of the World" began as an international collaboration between like-minded and technology-fearing advertising academics."Star to the right..and straight on 'til morning." Videoconferencing exponentially grows the possibilities and the boundaries of academic collaboration.

Tourism advertisement management and effective tools in tourism industry

The definition of tourism “is the travel for recreational, leisure, family or business purposes, usually of a limited duration. Tourism is commonly associated with trans-national travel, but may also refer to travel to another location within the same country”. Tourism as an industry, in today’s modern language is a means of global communication between nations and travelers of all countries, introducing them to the various cultures and societies abroad, as well there history, ancient, historical sites, and languages. Hence, advertising overall has become a tool of necessity in this ever-growing global industry. Given that, tourism is a part of the infrastructure of any country’s economy the growth and development of tourism is of great importance. Advertising plays a vital and is a crucial tool in developing the countries tourism by attractively presenting the nations points-of-interests, historical and cultural. Advertising has a central role in expanding this industry, generating economic growth in this area, as well as creating direct and indirect employment, but most importantly a creative innovating competition in the national and international travel industry. Importantly, to achieve a successful tourist industry, the Travel Agencies and governmental offices of the Ministry’s of Tourism and Business must work hand-in-hand to attain these goals. This article shows the impact of the various media and advertising methods used in tourism, which assisted in identifying the correct tool for expanding the country’s industry of tourism. The results of this study illustrated that the appropriate tools for promotional strategies to attract domestic and foreign traveler’s, found to be the most effective were, handbook, internet advertising, TV, brochures, newspapers

Positioning as a source of competitive advantage: Benchmarking Rotorua’s position as a domestic short break holiday destination

Travellers are spoilt by holiday choice, and yet will usually only seriously consider a few destinations during the decision process. With thousands of destination marketing organisations (DMOs) competing for attention, places are becoming increasingly substitutable. The study of destination competitiveness is an emerging field, and thesis contributes to an enhanced understanding by addressing three topics that have received relatively little attention in the tourism literature: destination positioning, the context of short break holidays, and domestic travel in New Zealand. A descriptive model of positioning as a source of competitive advantage is developed, and tested through 12 propositions. The destination of interest is Rotorua, which was arguably New Zealand’s first tourist destination. The market of interest is Auckland, which is Rotorua’s largest visitor market. Rotorua’s history is explored to identify factors that may have contributed to the destination’s current image in the Auckland market. A mix of qualitative and quantitative procedures is then utilised to determine Rotorua’s position, relative to a competing set of destinations. Based on an applied research problem, the thesis attempts to bridge the gap between academia and industry by providing useable results and benchmarks for five regional tourism organisations (RTOs). It is proposed that, in New Zealand, the domestic short break market represents a valuable opportunity not explicitly targeted by the competitive set of destinations. Conceptually, the thesis demonstrates the importance of analysing a destination’s competitive position, from the demand perspective, in a travel context; and then the value of comparing this ‘ideal’ position with that projected by the RTO. The thesis concludes Rotorua’s market position in the Auckland short break segment represents a source of comparative advantage, but is not congruent with the current promotional theme, which is being used in all markets. The findings also have implications for destinations beyond the context of the thesis. In particular, a new definition for ‘destination attractiveness’ is proposed, which warrants consideration in the design of future destination positioning analyses.

Art museums and the global tourist: Experience centres in experience-scapes

In the experience economy, the role of art museums has evolved so as to cater to global cultural tourists. These institutions were traditionally dedicated to didactic functions, and served cognoscenti with elite cultural tastes that were aligned with the avant-garde’s autonomous stance towards mass culture. In a post-avant-garde era however museums have focused on appealing to a broad clientele that often has little or no knowledge of historical or contemporary art. Many of these tourists want art to provide entertaining and novel experiences, rather than receiving pedagogical ‘training’. In response, art museums are turning into ‘experience venues’ and are being informed by ideas associated with new museology, as well as business approaches like Customer Experience Management. This has led to the provision of populist entertainment modes, such as blockbuster exhibitions, participatory art events, jazz nights, and wine tasting, and reveals that such museums recognize that today’s cultural tourist is part of an increasingly diverse and populous demographic, which shares many languages and value systems. As art museums have shifted attention to global tourists, they have come to play a greater role in gentrification projects and cultural precincts. The art museum now seems ideally suited to tourist-centric environments that offer a variety of immersive sensory experiences and combine museums (often designed by star-architects), international hotels, restaurants, high-end shopping zones, and other leisure forums. These include sites such as Port Maravilha urban waterfront development in Rio de Janiero, the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, and the Chateau La Coste winery and hotel complex in Provence. It can be argued that in a global experience economy, art museums have become experience centres in experience-scapes. This paper will examine the nature of the tourist experience in relation to the new art museum, and the latter’s increasingly important role in attracting tourists to urban and regional cultural precincts.

Creating choices in advertising's newest frontier

Not much has happened in Myanmar for most of the past 50 years; not much that is, for Western media, investors or even tourists to notice. Myanmar remained isolated for most of that time; an isolation that was partly self-imposed and, especially after the violent military crackdown against large-scale protests in 1988, externally reinforced via Western sanctions set up at the request of democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after her National League for Democracy was denied power following its landside triumph in the 1990 election for a constituent assembly.

Ad hoc communities on the road: Serendipitous social encounters to enhance tourist experiences

Driving can be a lonely activity. While there has been a lot of research and technical inventions concerning car-to-car communication and passenger entertainment, there is still little work concerning connecting drivers. Whereas tourism is very much a social activity, drive tourists and road trippers have few options to communicate with fellow travelers. Our study is placed at the intersection of tourism and driving. It aims to enhance the trip experience during driving through social interaction. This paper explores how a mobile application that allows instant messaging between travelers sharing similar context can establish a temporary, ad hoc community and enhance the road trip experience. A prototype was developed and evaluated in various user and field studies. The study’s outcomes are relevant for the design of future mobile tourist guides that benefit from community design, social encounters and recommendations.

Art museums and the global tourist: Experience centers in experiencescapes

Art museums are playing an important role is attracting cultural tourists to global cities and regions. Traditionally, art museums were primarily known for their didactic role. In a post-avant-garde era however museums are more focused on appealing to a broader clientele that want art to be novel and entertaining. Art museums have also come to play a greater role in gentrification projects and cultural precincts. This is because they are ideally suited for tourist-centric environments that offer a variety of immersive sensory experiences, and combine museums (often designed by star-architects), international hotels, restaurants, high-end shopping zones, and other leisure platforms. These "experiencescapes" include Port Maravilha urban waterfront development in Rio de Janiero, the Shanghai Bund, and the Broad project in Los Angeles. The Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart Australia is a boutique player in the global market for experiencescapes. It is smaller than many of its competitors and is situated in a remote part of the world, yet it has made an important contribution to Tasmania’s tourism industry.