Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.

This thesis argues that while analysing markets and developing strategies to exploit the external market place and to attract tourists remains a central focus for tourism marketers, it is not enough on its own to achieve sustainable tourism destination development. The researcher substantiates this argument by exploring the 'participatory tourism planning' concept in detail. Based on this approach, the community is identified as a primary customer for whom tourism marketers have ignored involving in their marketing attention, messages and programmes. The fundamental concept - marketing orientation and customer orientation - combined with emerging marketing theories were reviewed in order to help examine how destination marketing, a community-driven approach, should be implemented within a destination area. This examination of marketing and community based tourism planning set a platform for this research. This analysis examines relevance, applicability and potential for an integration of these two pervasive approaches for tourism planning. Guided by the theoretical examination, an integrated community-based tourism planning and marketing model was proposed. In order to explore gaps between the proposed model and its practicality, three destination areas (Phuket, Samui and Songkla-Hatyai) in Thailand were studied and evaluated. At this pragmatic level, this thesis identified impediments confronting national and local tourism organisations. The findings of this study draw a particular attention to institutional challenges which require clear identification of responsibilities and coordination of all actors involved in the planning and marketing process. These selected case studies have not only provided critical commentaries to assist tourism planners improve strategically their marketing approaches within community tourism planning, but they also have helped provide avenues for future research.

The ecotourism industry is experiencing increasing popularity as the demand grows for tourism that is environmentally sensitive, informative, and beneficial for local communities. For over a decade, Lao PDR, an underdeveloped country, has been promoting its 20 National Protected Areas as ecotourism destinations. These ecotourism projects are positioned as tools for protecting natural resources and reducing poverty, and are generating hope for the creation of local sustainable development. At this point in time, however, the Lao government lacks effective strategies for ensuring their long term success. This thesis was designed to address this concern by analysing the potential for one of these projects, Xe Pian ecotourism, to contribute to local sustainable development. The current outcomes of the Xe Pian ecotourism project were analysed and input was sought from all stakeholders concerning ideas for desirable strategies. Kiet Ngong village, located inside the Xe Pian NPA, Lao PDR, was selected for case study. Data was gathered by employing mostly quantitative methods consisting of semi-structured interviews, informal and formal interviews, private walks and observation, and questionnaire surveys. The findings illustrated that ecotourism in Kiet Ngong has impacted local livelihoods and other environmental, economic, social, and cultural factors in both positive and negative ways. However, the positive effects of Xe Pian ecotourism were found to be more significant than the negative effects. Importantly, Kiet Ngong residents expressed optimism about the future of ecotourism and have claimed that any negative consequences cannot discourage their desire for continuing ecotourism development. This research also revealed that the stakeholders involved in the project are able to offer a variety of strategies for resolving problems that have arisen along the way. Results from this study identified three main points that need to be addressed in order to maintain Xe Pian ecotourism, namely the promotion of economic and political empowerment of the local population, the development of external and internal regulations, and the adoption of a community-based ecotourism approach. Further recommendations are offered for the policy planners of both the government and the project‘s administrative bodies, as well as for the residents of Kiet Ngong. These are followed by additional suggestions for further study.

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Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.

Abstract The importance of customer retention has become a major theme in the literature since the 1990s when empirical studies showed that retaining 5% of customers could lead to an increase in profits ranging from 25% to 85%. However, customer retention does not appear to have moved from the theoretical into the practical world. Specifically, there were few empirical studies which focused on customer retention and none were identified in the New Zealand accommodation sector. The travel and tourism industry contributes approximately 9% to New Zealand’s GDP, and 10% of all spending by travellers and tourists is in the accommodation sector. Impacts, such as seasonality, characterise the accommodation sector and many establishments have occupancy rates which can fluctuate from 90% to 30% in the off-season. With average annual occupancy rates for New Zealand hotels and motels hovering around 55%, retention is a strategy that owners and managers could implement in order to increase occupancy and profits. In this study the research question was based on a review of the literature and the a priori knowledge and experience of the researcher. To ensure the research question framing this study was answered in the most exhaustive and comprehensive manner a seven step research process based on work by Bourgeois (1979) was followed. Data was gathered using both deductive and inductive methods in order to nullify the two main research problems raised by Bourgeois (1979). First, that theories are cast at a high level which is removed from reality and second that empirical studies often result in just a description of the data. In the deductive phase of this study a survey was mailed to New Zealand accommodation establishments that provided accommodation and meals, and had a liquor licence. The main focus of this survey was to learn what owners and managers understood about guest retention and to answer the first research objective. It was discovered that New Zealand accommodation managers: actively work to retain their guests; know the value of guest retention; understand the links between guest satisfaction, loyalty and retention; understand the specific reasons behind guest defections; understand the importance service recovery; and understand how loyalty schemes lead to guest retention. The second phase was a case study involving three accommodation establishments. These findings added depth to the study and allowed for new knowledge to be extrapolated from the findings. It was discovered that in two establishments the focus was guest satisfaction and building relationships with customers. Whilst the resort hotel did have a strategy to encourage lapsed business to return this wasn’t measured or monitored. Thus the second research objective was answered. In the penultimate chapter an amended profit chain has been proposed which included ‘Building Customer Relationships’ as the link between satisfaction and profitability. This is based on the finding that the case establishments saw retention as a proxy for satisfaction and, therefore, focused on satisfying guests and building personal relationships as methods of guest retention. The research question framing this study can be answered by saying that the strategies used by owners and managers in New Zealand accommodation establishments to manage guest retention tend to be related to guest satisfaction and building personal relationships. However, this is not because they do not understand guest retention but see it as part of the bigger picture involving the building of relationships with guests.

Recently, New Zealand's wine industry has made remarkable progress. For example, the number of hectares planted in grapes increased from 4,880 in 1990, to 15,479 in 2003, and the number of wineries increased from 175 in 1993 to 421 in 2003. Projections for 2006 indicate that the growth of wine exports should nearly double from 2003, with expected revenues of $NZ 736 million. However, despite this growth, little has been reported about developments in New Zealand's wine tourism industry, or about consumer perceptions of the winery experience in the form of published academic research. The limited amount of information, particularly from the visitors' points of view, may not only be preventing winery operators and the wine industry in general from having a better understanding of their visitors, but also from addressing the needs of different visitor segments. Resulting implications for winery operators may include forgone business opportunities, and customers not fully benefiting in terms of product and service quality. Recent studies indicate that this last element is particularly important in wine tourism. This study reports the results of an exploratory research project conducted in New Zealand wineries that investigated aspects of the winery experience, including wine involvement, satisfaction with the winery experience, and visitor demographics. An index to measure involvement with wine, the wine involvement index (WIX), was developed and utilised to investigate whether wine involvement had an impact on winery visitors' behaviour. Data were collected from winery visitors via questionnaires distributed in a sample of wineries in different wine regions of New Zealand. A total of 609 usable responses were obtained (24.8% response rate). The results indicate a number of differences between the independent, dependent, and moderating variables. For example, it was found that age, whether visitors are domestic or international, and different levels of wine involvement appear to have a clear impact on winery expenditure. In addition, the WIX was confirmed to be a useful tool, for example, by identifying potential relationships between different groups of winery visitors. The results add new knowledge to the area of wine tourism, and offer useful information for wineries and the wine tourism industry. This information includes the potential commercial significance of some visitor groups. An additional contribution of this study is the 'complete wine tourism research model.' This concept presents an alternative to existing wine tourism models, and points out attributes and dimensions that play a major role in the winery experience.

Energy use associated with tourism has rarely been studied, despite a potentially considerable contribution to global or national energy demand and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions. In New Zealand, tourism constitutes an increasingly important economic sector that is supported by the Government to induce further economic growth. At the same time New Zealand is facing the challenge of reducing currently increasing fossil fuel combustion and carbon dioxide emissions. As a response, this study investigated the contribution tourism makes to energy use in New Zealand. In particular it has examined the role of the three main tourism subsectors (transport, accommodation, and attractions/activities), and different domestic and international 'tourist types'. Seven separate data analyses provided inputs for building a model based on 'tourist types' from which energy use in the New Zealand tourism sector could be estimated. Tourism was found to contribute at least 5.6% to national energy demand, which is larger than its 4.9% contribution to GDP in 2000. Transport, in particular domestic air and car travel, was identified as the dominant energy consumer. Within the accommodation sub-sector, hotels are the largest energy consumers, both in total and on a per visitor-night basis. Of the three sub-sectors, attractions and activities contribute least to energy use, however, activities such as scenic flights or boat cruises were recognised as being energy intensive. As a result of larger visitor volumes, domestic tourists contribute more to energy consumption than international tourists. Domestic and international tourists types differ in their energy consumption patterns, for example measured as energy use per travel day. Tourist types that rely on air travel are the most energy intensive ones, for example the domestic 'long air business' travellers or the international 'coach tourists'. The importance of international tourists' energy use will increase, given current growth rates. There are many options to decrease energy use of the tourism sector, with the most effective ones being within the energy intensive transport sub-sector. Increasing vehicle efficiencies and decreasing travel distances appear to be the most promising measures. This study argues that energy use depends largely on tourists' travel behaviour. Changing behaviour is possible but is postulated to be very difficult, and further research is needed to better understand tourists' motivations, expectations and decision-making. Only then, can strategies be developed and implemented to alter travel behaviours to better balance energy use, other environmental impacts and economic yield. Such a balance is a crucial consideration in the search for more sustainable forms of tourism.

This study seeks to gain an insight into the experiences Lord of the Rings tourists have on guided tours in New Zealand and the role of the tour guide(s) in that experience. The study examines motivations, expectations, actual experience and its evaluation and the role of the tour leader and guides. By drawing primarily on the results of qualitative research that examined the experience of film tourists and other people involved in the film tourism industry over a span of three years, I identified underlying motivations involved in the production and consumption of film tourism. The study found that pre-tour images of Lord of the Rings and its publicity surrounding the making of the films play a significant role in the formation of film tourists' expectations. The emotional relationship towards the films and the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien had motivated film tourists to seek a meaningful and sincere experience. Furthermore, the film and its making as discussed on the DVDs, further publicised myths like the authenticity of the film production itself and the experience of great meaning for one's personal life. Consequently, the study found that most film tourists put a high significance on the sincerity of the relationships within the tour community and with the tour leader and guide(s). The film location visit itself was experienced as highly rewarding but was significantly enhanced by the presence of the tour community ('fellowship'), reenactments and the physical presence on site. This embodiment was crucial for the overall experience as it further authenticated the location visit but also the journey itself as a worthy and spiritual endeavour. It was shown that the New Zealand image of 'green', 'clean' and 'exotic otherness' has been reinforced by multiple media portraits and matches many aspects of the Middle-earth image. All film tourists judged the use of New Zealand for the portrayal of Middle-earth as 'authentic' even if they knew about J.R.R. Tolkien's British background. Furthermore, they judged their film tourism experience as authentic even though the locations were used in a fictional setting. Thus the notions of object authenticity was explored and replaced with the concepts of existential authenticity and sincerity to shift the focus towards the active process of negotiation of authenticity in the tourism experience. To understand tourists' behaviour and motivation, notions of 'spirituality' and 'pilgrimage' were also employed. The study tourists undertook a meaningful and spiritually significant journey that was enhanced through the experience of embodiment and community which suggested parallels between the religious pilgrim and the secular film tourist. Both are on a meaningful journey to distant places and follow scripted guidelines while also creating their own experience. Embodiment played an important role. Furthermore, film tourists sought the community of other believers and were willing to 'follow in the footsteps' of film stars and crew when choosing which film locations and eateries to visit as they sought places that had attained an 'aura'.