The Effect of VFR Tourism on Expatriates’ Knowledge About the Destination

Dutt, Christopher S.; Ninov, Ivan; Haas, Donna

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-27528-4_18

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…International students in this study refer to those inbound students who hold student visa and non-permanent resident identity in Hong Kong, who might either come from mainland China and other countries. Based on the position of diverse sociocultural and behavioural patterns driving VFR hosts (Backer et al , 2020; Lockyer and Ryan, 2007; Mok and Defranco, 2000; Xu et al , 2008; Moscardo et al , 2000), the areas of qualitative analytical comparison between mainland Chinese and non-Chinese students are threefold as follows: overall host experience; host–guest relations; and post-hosting changes, with a set of interview questions (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis, 2007; Brown, 2009; Dutt et al , 2016) (Table 2). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The connection between VFR experience based and sociocultural dimensions of international students and mainland Chinese students

Chan

Pikkemaat

Agapito

et al. 2021

IJCTHR

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Purpose This paper aims to present the host experience of student hosts in Hong Kong, a popular educational destination for international students from mainland China and other countries. This study examines the interconnection between the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel, considering the overall host experience, the host–guest relationship and post-hosting changes in perception of both the VFR experience and destination. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the experience-based and sociocultural dimensions of VFR travel considering international university students as VFR hosts in Hong Kong, taking a student sample from both mainland Chinese and overseas students. Based on a voluntary sampling approach, the research team had face-to-face interviews with the students that agreed to participate. The interviews were conducted voluntarily and anonymously and included those students who had hosted any friends or relatives in the past 12 months. A total of 26 interviews were successfully completed, including 10 mainland Chinese and 16 non-mainland Chinese students. Findings The results confirm that the VFR host experience is generally shaped by an integration of internal characteristics (sociocultural characteristics of both hosts and visitors) and external environment (urban infrastructure and tourism resources). The two groups distinctively express their host experience that shows some areas of cultural barriers and geographical proximity. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research mainly lie on its relatively small sample size because of constraints in accessing the contact information of international students across universities. These shortcomings should be improved by adopting a research design that uses other sampling approaches, such as snowball sampling, to include a wider scope of students from different local universities, or convenience sampling, to interview and compare responses of international students from various educational destinations. Alternative data sources may be considered, for example, through user-generated contents from online and social media platforms that contain sharing of students as hosts. Practical implications The geographical and cultural proximities influence VFR tourism development and social construction of values and the consequent hosting behaviour. The unique role of international students should be further explored, especially in the Asian context. The outcome of VFR travel must be evaluated and studied more from cultural and personal dimensions than economic gain, which should be relevant to host perspective such as improved quality of life, social ties and place attachment and psychological benefits. The changing risk perception caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may be examined through some forms of travel intention. Social implications Firstly, the destination marketing organisations of the educational destination should address the difficulty faced by student hosts in terms of external attributes such as local culture, urban infrastructure, tourism resources and information accessibility. Secondly, to target the hosts, some specific VFR-related products and services may be developed for international students through local tertiary institutions such that the role of hosts as ambassadors can be facilitated and enhanced. Thirdly, the functional role of international students can be distinctive based on their unique network, activities and knowledge constructed upon learning during the period of education. Originality/value The studentification of many educational destination cities, the dynamism of the role of international students as VFR hosts and their cultural differences between places of origin have provided an opportunity for deepening the understanding of VFR tourism.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2. host-guest relations; and 3. post-hosting changes, with a set of interview questions (Bischoff and Koenig-Lewis, 2007;Brown, 2009;Dutt et al, 2016) (Table 2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The connection between VFR experience based and sociocultural dimensions of international students and mainland Chinese students

Chan

Pikkemaat

Agapito

et al. 2021

IJCTHR

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“…relatives, friends, colleagues) from inside and outside of their home countries to visit expat's host destinations (Gu et al, 2010;Stylidis et al, 2016). In essence, expats may attend tours and provide specific information about destinations while hosting their visitors, which helps them discover new things about destinations and deeply understand local cultures (Dutt et al, 2016). Overall, this study put forwards that DNI mediates the relationship between CYI and destination loyalty (Chaulagain et al, 2019;De Nisco et al, 2015;Soonsan & Sukahbot, 2019), where ECLI levels both affect DNI and expat's loyalty to destinations in a positive way (Frías-Jamilena et al, 2018a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, expats who are culturally intelligent were found to have more positive evaluation of DNI which in turn leads to a stronger destination loyalty. Therefore, destination marketers could benefit from expats to supplement and facilitate effective implementation of destination marketing targets (C. Dutt et al, 2016;Jeuring & Haartsen, 2017;Salehzadeh et al, 2016). Especially, in order to tackle crisis affecting world tourism (i.e., terrorism, and pandemic's etc.)…”

Section: Theoretical and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Every storm will pass: Examining expat’s host country-destination image, cultural intelligence and renewed destination loyalty in COVID-19 tourism

Zaman

Aktan

Qureshi

et al. 2021

Cogent Business & Management

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The massive cultural transformation in the pandemic-paused tourism industry has revamped loyalty towards destinations, thus prompting scholarly attention towards global expats who were rarely considered in tourism research. Drawing on data from 266 expats in South Korea, the study examined the effects of country image (CYI), destination image (DNI), and expat's cultural intelligence (ECLI) on expat's renewed destination loyalty (EDLY) in COVID-19 tourism. Using partial least squares structural modeling (PLS-SEM), we show that expat's cultural intelligence has a significant influence on destination image and expat's destination loyalty. Moreover, the study provides new empirical evidence that destination image mediates country image and expat's destination loyalty in the COVID-19 tourism. The study findings underpin policy interventions to rescue tourism destinations under COVID-19 crisis, as well as restore loyalty towards destinations in the post-COVID-19 global tourism.

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“…Visiting family and friends is a considerably large market in tourism industry (Bischoff and Koeing-Lewis, 2007;Dutt et al, 2016). Family tourism research emphasizes the importance of family togetherness on vacation (Schä nzel and Smith, 2014).…”

Section: Visiting Families and Relativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delving into children’s travel dreams: a qualitative investigation

Demirdelen

Alrawadieh

Zareer

et al. 2019

IJCTHR

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Purpose Drawing on a qualitative study approach using data collected from children in a primary school in Marmaris, Turkey, this study aims to intend to understand children’s vacation perceptions and preferences. Design/methodology/approach Students were asked to write a short composition describing where they would love to go for vacation (either in Turkey or abroad), why they would choose that destination(s) in particular and what they would do while on vacation. A task-based research technique was adopted, which is more adequate for research involving children participants. A total of 103 compositions were collected and a thematic content analysis was conducted. This approach has been widely used in tourism and hospitality research. Findings The findings revealed that children can clearly express their perceptions and preferences with regard to leisure activities. The majority of children wanted to visit overseas destinations (specifically, the USA, Germany and France), while a significant portion preferred local destinations within Turkey (specifically, Istanbul and Antalya). The desire for recreation and holiday, exploring new places and trying local foods and visiting families and relatives were identified as key travel motivations. Originality/value A key contribution of the current study lies in the fact that it adds to a research stream that shifts attention to insights gained directly from children rather relying on parents as a proxy. The paper has some theoretical and empirical implications.

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The Effect of VFR Tourism on Expatriates’ Knowledge About the Destination

Cited by 6 publications

References 16 publications

The connection between VFR experience based and sociocultural dimensions of international students and mainland Chinese students

The connection between VFR experience based and sociocultural dimensions of international students and mainland Chinese students

Every storm will pass: Examining expat’s host country-destination image, cultural intelligence and renewed destination loyalty in COVID-19 tourism

Delving into children’s travel dreams: a qualitative investigation

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