<p>The purpose of this study was to objectively assess the economic impact of the 2000 NC State football season on Wake County. Data were collected from several sources to yield an accurate assessment of the economic impact of NC State football on its host community. These sources included: 1) visitor travel and expenditure data, 2) NC State football expenditure data, and 3) relevant data from Wake County. Visitor data were obtained by using two separate samples and surveys. A 20-item questionnaire was mailed to 1,000 randomly selected 2000 NC State football season ticket holders that reside outside of Wake County. In a separate convenience sample, another 1,200 subjects were administered a 12-itmem questionnaire at the Duke game on November 11, 2000. SPSS was then used to generate frequency distributions and summary statistics for the visitors in both samples. NC State football data were supplied by the NC State Athletics Department, and relevant Wake County data were retrieved from several different sources. The economic impact model used in this study (LOCI- Local Area Impact Model) used both local level data and input-output methods to determine the direct, indirect, and induced effects of the 2000 NC State football season on employment, income, and retail activity in Wake County. The multipliers used in this study were derived from input-output analysis of Wake County?s economy using IMPLAN Pro4, and the local level data consisted of the aforementioned visitor data, NC State football data, and relevant Wake County data. The results of the study indicated that the 2000 NC State football season generated 86 new jobs, $2,894,290 of new income, $9,096,507 of new retail spending, and $1,821,707 of new service purchases in Wake County. <P>

<p>The purpose of this study has been to determine the value that a winning athletic program can add to a college or university. The premise for this idea evolved from research regarding the annual U.S. News & World Report college rankings, in which various factors are considered, including reputation. Since the athletic department is frequently referred to as the ?doorstep of the University,? the research sought to determine whether or not a winning athletic program does in fact enhance the reputation of a university, thus making it more appealing to talented students. Along with the annual rankings, a method called the Resource-Based View (RBV) was used to calculate athletic success, based on four characteristics that included win-loss record, compliance, graduation rates and financial health. Using the seven public institutions in the Atlantic Coast Conference as the subjects, the athletic departments were analyzed and ranked based on these criteria and evaluated against each institution?s ranking in U.S News using Spearman?s Correlation Coefficient. Although the results of the study did not result in the strong relationship between a winning athletic department and university success that was predicted, the small sample size was a factor. This study sets up a starting point for a nationwide study of all institutions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a follow-up study and has great promise.<P>

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 242-259). Also available online in PDF format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Purdue University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-196). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation research was conducted to help understand this under-researched area particularly in the field of leisure and tourism. It is argued in this study that the celebrity fandom is a novel form of leisure/tourism activity, which should be understood in relation to other leisure and tourism constructs. Two separate models were proposed: one model was concerned with the impacts of celebrity involvement on various tourism perceptions, and the other model investigated the efficacy of celebrity involvement within the constraints-effects-mitigation model. The results corroborated several hypothesized relationships within the first proposed model. The level of celebrity involvement positively affected destination familiarity and visitation intention. Destination images and familiarity were also positively related to visitation intentions. The positive association between affective images and cognitive images was empirically supported as well. However, contrary to the expectation, the posited relationship between celebrity involvement and destination images was not empirically supported. The results supported all the hypothesized relationships within the second model. The level of celebrity involvement positively affects constraints negotiation and frequency of participation in celebrity fandom activities. The study also found that the level of leisure constraints positively influence constraints negotiation and frequency of participation. The positive relationship between constraints negotiation and frequency of participation was empirically supported as well. This dissertation study makes several significant contributions to existing literature in the field of tourism and leisure studies. First of all, it introduces a concept of celebrity fandom to the field of tourism studies. Second, although leisure involvement has received widespread attention over the last two decades, its application to celebrity fandom has gone virtually ignored. Third, in spite of conceptual and operational parallels between leisure involvement and motivation, the possible interchangeability between the two concepts has never been empirically examined. Lastly, this research helps clarify the effects of leisure involvement on the leisure negotiation processes, which eventually contributes to making this mitigation model more comprehensive.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate promotion within the tourism industry on the Gold Coast, Australia, focusing on tourism companies’ promotional efforts on the Japanese market. The aim is to answer the question ‘How can Australian tourism companies effectively promote themselves on the Japanese market?’ through five specific research objectives: (1) to get a better understanding of tourism- and attraction marketing, (2) to get familiar with the characteristics of the Japanese tourist and their travel patterns, (3) to investigate which factors in regards to culture, are influencing the tourism companies’ promotion in Japan, (4) to identify critical success factors for successful promotion of Australian tourism companies on the Japanese market, and (5) to identify similarities and differences between small and large companies when it comes to tourism promotion on the Japanese market.</p><p>A variety of secondary data, including well-known theories and models were studied and presented in addition to a qualitative study investigating four tourism companies. It is found that the numbers of Japanese tourists to the Gold Coast has decreased over the last decade, much due to macro factors such as changes in aviation and exchange rates, and increased competition from short-haul destinations. However, Japan still represents a main international interest, which makes it crucial for tourism companies to be familiar with the characteristics of the Japanese tourist and their travel patterns. It becomes evident that Japanese tourists have changed over the last years, and findings show that existing cultural frameworks are inadequate to describe the Japanese culture and tourist. Our empirical results show that cultural adaptations are not as extensive as suggested by theory and that the main cultural adjustments are made in language. In addition, it is important to consider the Japanese have higher expectations of service, and are long-term planners. </p><p>It is further found that promotional efforts in Japan do not differ greatly from how they promote their companies in Australia. The most important difference in this industry, however, is the power of the Japanese inbound wholesalers or travel agents (the trade), which highly determines promotional efforts. Such relationships are vital, as the Japanese still book their holiday trough traditional channels.</p><p>Hence, the most effective promotional tool is found to be wholesalers travel brochures. The power of the trade renders Internet promotion less important, as companies are advised to make use of the wholesalers’ more sophisticated websites. Moreover, publicity is found to be essential promotional tool, including celebrity endorsement, travel TV programs, travel books, and piggybacking on local events. Finally, great benefits can be gained by participating in intra-destination collaboration. When it comes to similarities and differences between small and large tourism companies’ promotion on the Japanese market, it is found that these differences are not as large as we had expected much due to the importance of the trade. </p><p> </p><p>Key Words: Tourism Marketing, Japan, Japanese tourists, Japanese travel patterns, culture, promotion, trade relationships, collaboration</p>

Date: 2010-05-25 Program: International Marketing Course Master Thesis International Marketing (EFO705) Authors Ms. RongPan Mr. Sitthiphon Panto Teacher Tobias Eltebrandt Title A study of Swedish tourist going on vacation in Thailand Research question Which factors affect Swedish travelers’ decision making in choosing Thailand as a traveling destination? Target audience This report could be beneficial for Tourism Authority of Thailand. The target audiences including Government sector who responsible in promoting Thailand tourism. Conclusion With the help of consumer decision making theory, factors were being investigated. An additional questionnaire was being distributed to collect primary data. The secondary data from reliable sources was used to have a better understanding of Swedish travelling behaviour. It showed that among eight factors “motivation or energizers factor” has the most influence or effect on Swedish traveler’s decision making in choosing Thailand as a traveling destination. However, we can summarize their level of influence into three broaden group: High Influence Factor (motivation or energizers factor, socio-economic factor, (personality / attitude factor), Medium Influence Factor (perception factor, learning factor, cultural factor, family influence factor) and Low Influence Factor (reference group influence Factor)

Tourism is one of Zambia’s undeveloped economic sectors, which if developed and marketed globally would provide employment, foreign exchange and international recognition. The purpose of this study was to find out how Zambia National Tourist Board could improve the awareness in Finland of Zambia's diverse tourism attractions and how Zambia is positioned in Finland as a tourist destination in Southern Africa. Primary data was collected by using long face to face interviews with members of the Association of Finnish Travel Agents, selected members from societies and clubs promoting adventure activities, staff at Zambia National Tourist Board and other tourism experts. Secondary data was derived from archival records. The data was analysed using inductive reasoning approach. The results of this study show that the image of Zambia in Finland is not strong and recognisable, there is a strong perception of poor safety for tourists, that Zambia is an expensive destination owing to the lack of direct flight connections, there is lack of promotional materials in local language, there is inadequate information on what Zambia as a tourist destination has to offer and that the positioning strategies adopted by Zambia National Tourist Board are ambiguous and are not structured. Consequently the recommendations are to set up a strategy to make available as much promotional materials. Furthermore, ZNTB must continue to position Zambia as an adventure tourist destination were one can enjoy exceptional wildlife and adventure. The Victoria Falls should be used as a unique feature around which an image can be developed.

The purpose of this study is to investigate promotion within the tourism industry on the Gold Coast, Australia, focusing on tourism companies’ promotional efforts on the Japanese market. The aim is to answer the question ‘How can Australian tourism companies effectively promote themselves on the Japanese market?’ through five specific research objectives: (1) to get a better understanding of tourism- and attraction marketing, (2) to get familiar with the characteristics of the Japanese tourist and their travel patterns, (3) to investigate which factors in regards to culture, are influencing the tourism companies’ promotion in Japan, (4) to identify critical success factors for successful promotion of Australian tourism companies on the Japanese market, and (5) to identify similarities and differences between small and large companies when it comes to tourism promotion on the Japanese market. A variety of secondary data, including well-known theories and models were studied and presented in addition to a qualitative study investigating four tourism companies. It is found that the numbers of Japanese tourists to the Gold Coast has decreased over the last decade, much due to macro factors such as changes in aviation and exchange rates, and increased competition from short-haul destinations. However, Japan still represents a main international interest, which makes it crucial for tourism companies to be familiar with the characteristics of the Japanese tourist and their travel patterns. It becomes evident that Japanese tourists have changed over the last years, and findings show that existing cultural frameworks are inadequate to describe the Japanese culture and tourist. Our empirical results show that cultural adaptations are not as extensive as suggested by theory and that the main cultural adjustments are made in language. In addition, it is important to consider the Japanese have higher expectations of service, and are long-term planners. It is further found that promotional efforts in Japan do not differ greatly from how they promote their companies in Australia. The most important difference in this industry, however, is the power of the Japanese inbound wholesalers or travel agents (the trade), which highly determines promotional efforts. Such relationships are vital, as the Japanese still book their holiday trough traditional channels. Hence, the most effective promotional tool is found to be wholesalers travel brochures. The power of the trade renders Internet promotion less important, as companies are advised to make use of the wholesalers’ more sophisticated websites. Moreover, publicity is found to be essential promotional tool, including celebrity endorsement, travel TV programs, travel books, and piggybacking on local events. Finally, great benefits can be gained by participating in intra-destination collaboration. When it comes to similarities and differences between small and large tourism companies’ promotion on the Japanese market, it is found that these differences are not as large as we had expected much due to the importance of the trade. Key Words: Tourism Marketing, Japan, Japanese tourists, Japanese travel patterns, culture, promotion, trade relationships, collaboration