Question B3 Study the case below and answer the compulsory question on the answer book provided. In researching the travelling pattern of foreign independent travellers, Mckercher et. al. (2006) has come up with three distinctive groups of travellers consuming Hong Kong as a tourist destination. Below is the extract of the research paper: A variety of studies have attempted to map the movements of tourists between destinations or between their home and destination areas (Mings and McHugh, 1992; Lue et al., 1993; Oppermann, 1995; Flognfeldt, 1999; Sriram et al., 2002). Little research has been conducted, though, examining the movements of tourists within a destination area and none has explicitly attempted to understand, map and model these movement patterns. It is widely recognized that tourist behavior can be influenced by a number of intervening factors. Fakeye and Crompton (1991) found substantial differences in the behavior of first time and repeat visitors, while, McKercher (2001) found that main destination tourists acted quite differently than through travelers. Lew (1991) showed how guidebooks presented a different mix of accommodations and attractions to different market segments, which implicitly affected behavior. Similarly, Fennell (1996) determined that special interest tourists tend to confine their actions to activities that relate to the specialized reason for visiting, while the generalist sightseeing tourist will tend to travel more widely with no clearly evident pattern. Three different patterns emerged among the 13 respondents who identified Hong Kong as their main destination. They have been labeled the Wanderer, Tour-taker and Pre-planner. Wanderers are the most flexible of all tourists. They arrive in the destination with a broad set of objectives or goals but have no firm or pre-set plans. Instead, they decide what they are going to do on the day and change their plans during the day if needed. They also added that the relied heavily on the Lonely Planet to inform them of their next day's activities. For them, the journey to the place they are visiting is as important as the place itself. These people are adventuresome, confident tourists, who describe themselves as experienced international travelers. For example, couple 20 described themselves as "both of our personalities are quite outgoing and we are always open to something new." They comprise first time and repeat visitors or a mixture of repeaters escorting first time visitors. Mixed groups of first timers and repeaters will often separate for part of the visit as each wishes to pursue different activities or visit different places. The Pre-Planner is the antithesis of the Wanderer. This type of visitor prepares detailed plans prior to departure outlining what he or she intends to do over the whole trip. Plans may include comprehensive, rigid daily itineraries. As a group, they explore the destination systematically and purposefully, ensuring they visit as many of the highlight items identified before departure. Their underlying motives for visiting Hong Kong and reasons to travel, in general, differ from the more relaxed Wanderers. They travel to go to places with different cultures and to learn about the culture and heritage of that destination. They are less adventuresome than Wanderers, prefer shopping malls to local markets for example, or familiar food to exotic cuisines. Even though they plan their itinerary in great detail and participate in a large number of activities, they are likely to self-assess themselves as preferring to do fewer things in the destination, and spending more time doing each. The third type of main destination visitor is the Tour-taker. This person buys multiple sightseeing, cultural or special interest tours during the visit. The cohort consists largely of women (single, groups of women or mixed groups where women outnumber men). Purchasing a tour provides them with an opportunity to gain a more authentic, back of house understanding of the city. As one retired academic commented "I am curious about people and hope to understand and feel the life of the community." They research the destination in depth before visiting and appear to be heavily influenced by information gatekeepers, notably travel agents and hotel staff, as members of this group indicated that they either pre-selected tours prior to departure or relied on the advice of the concierge. Indeed, their profile places them somewhere between the Pre-planner and the Wanderers, as they exhibit a high degree of preplanning and a greater willingness to engage the destination on its own terms. Extracted from McKercher, B., Wong, C., and Lau, G. (2006). How Tourists Consume a Destination. Journal of Business Research, 59:647-652 Question B3 (a) Applying the Stanley Plog's model using personality characteristics to understand tourist travel patterns, how would you classify the following THREE groups of travellers? Justify your answer with the information given in the article. Wanderer Pre-Planner Tour-taker (12 marks) (b) Identify and briefly explain FOUR factors which might affect the change of tourists' classification in Stanley Plog's model. (8 marks) Question B3 Study the case below and answer the compulsory question on the answer book provided. In researching the travelling pattern of foreign independent travellers, Mckercher et. al. (2006) has come up with three distinctive groups of travellers consuming Hong Kong as a tourist destination. Below is the extract of the research paper: A variety of studies have attempted to map the movements of tourists between destinations or between their home and destination areas (Mings and McHugh, 1992; Lue et al., 1993; Oppermann, 1995; Flognfeldt, 1999; Sriram et al., 2002). Little research has been conducted, though, examining the movements of tourists within a destination area and none has explicitly attempted to understand, map and model these movement patterns. It is widely recognized that tourist behavior can be influenced by a number of intervening factors. Fakeye and Crompton (1991) found substantial differences in the behavior of first time and repeat visitors, while, McKercher (2001) found that main destination tourists acted quite differently than through travelers. Lew (1991) showed how guidebooks presented a different mix of accommodations and attractions to different market segments, which implicitly affected behavior. Similarly, Fennell (1996) determined that special interest tourists tend to confine their actions to activities that relate to the specialized reason for visiting, while the generalist sightseeing tourist will tend to travel more widely with no clearly evident pattern. Three different patterns emerged among the 13 respondents who identified Hong Kong as their main destination. They have been labeled the Wanderer, Tour-taker and Pre-planner. Wanderers are the most flexible of all tourists. They arrive in the destination with a broad set of objectives or goals but have no firm or pre-set plans. Instead, they decide what they are going to do on the day and change their plans during the day if needed. They also added that the relied heavily on the Lonely Planet to inform them of their next day's activities. For them, the journey to the place they are visiting is as important as the place itself. These people are adventuresome, confident tourists, who describe themselves as experienced international travelers. For example, couple 20 described themselves as "both of our personalities are quite outgoing and we are always open to something new." They comprise first time and repeat visitors or a mixture of repeaters escorting first time visitors. Mixed groups of first timers and repeaters will often separate for part of the visit as each wishes to pursue different activities or visit different places. The Pre-Planner is the antithesis of the Wanderer. This type of visitor prepares detailed plans prior to departure outlining what he or she intends to do over the whole trip. Plans may include comprehensive, rigid daily itineraries. As a group, they explore the destination systematically and purposefully, ensuring they visit as many of the highlight items identified before departure. Their underlying motives for visiting Hong Kong and reasons to travel, in general, differ from the more relaxed Wanderers. They travel to go to places with different cultures and to learn about the culture and heritage of that destination. They are less adventuresome than Wanderers, prefer shopping malls to local markets for example, or familiar food to exotic cuisines. Even though they plan their itinerary in great detail and participate in a large number of activities, they are likely to self-assess themselves as preferring to do fewer things in the destination, and spending more time doing each. The third type of main destination visitor is the Tour-taker. This person buys multiple sightseeing, cultural or special interest tours during the visit. The cohort consists largely of women (single, groups of women or mixed groups where women outnumber men). Purchasing a tour provides them with an opportunity to gain a more authentic, back of house understanding of the city. As one retired academic commented "I am curious about people and hope to understand and feel the life of the community." They research the destination in depth before visiting and appear to be heavily influenced by information gatekeepers, notably travel agents and hotel staff, as members of this group indicated that they either pre-selected tours prior to departure or relied on the advice of the concierge. Indeed, their profile places them somewhere between the Pre-planner and the Wanderers, as they exhibit a high degree of preplanning and a greater willingness to engage the destination on its own terms. Extracted from McKercher, B., Wong, C., and Lau, G. (2006). How Tourists Consume a Destination. Journal of Business Research, 59:647-652 Question B3 (a) Applying the Stanley Plog's model using personality characteristics to understand tourist travel patterns, how would you classify the following THREE groups of travellers? Justify your answer with the information given in the article. Wanderer Pre-Planner Tour-taker (12 marks) (b) Identify and briefly explain FOUR factors which might affect the change of tourists' classification in Stanley Plog's model. (8 marks)