Factors influencing tourist behavior have been a focal point in tourism research for decades. Efforts to unveil the determinants that shape travel behavior stem not only from pure academic interest, but from practical business considerations (Pizam & Mansfeld, 1999). Destination personality, self-concept, and congruence between self-concept and destination personality (SC-DP congruence) are among the factors that are believed to influence tourist behavior. However, little research has been undertaken to understand the impact of these factors on tourist behavior. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects destination personality, self-concept and SC-DP congruence on tourist behavior. A theoretical model that attempts to investigate the influence of destination personality, self-concept, and SC-DP congruence on tourist behavior was developed and tested empirically. Specifically, the model proposed that tourist behavior is affected by destination personality, self-concept, and SC-DP congruence. Particularly, self-concept consists of four aspects, including actual self-concept, ideal self-concept, social self-concept, and ideal social self-concept; hence SC-DP congruence also includes fours such facets. Furthermore, tourist involvement is examined to see whether it would moderate the relationship between SC-DP congruence and tourist behavior. Data were collected using an online panel survey in December 2008. A total of 663 usable responses were obtained. Pearson correlation, structural equation modeling (SEM), and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. For the SEM analysis, the sample was randomly split into two groups. One was used to test the model and the other was used for model validation. The findings suggested significant influences of destination personality, self-concept, and SC-DP congruence on tourist behavior. Findings of this study also showed that there are significant and positive relationships between destination personality and self-concept. However, tourist involvement was found to have no moderating effect on the relationship between SC-DP congruence and tourist behavior. The study also provided managerial implications for destination marketers based on the research results. / Ph. D.

La présente thèse porte sur l‟étude du comportement d‟un cas particulier de touristes ayant vécu une expérience marquante lors de leur voyage. Il s‟agit des touristes ayant subi un choc culturel. Elle a pour objectif de déterminer les facteurs qui peuvent être à l‟origine ce choc des cultures. Elle se propose de mieux définir le concept et de comprendre comment l‟hospitalité touristique peut avoir un impact sur ce choc. A cette fin, nous avons eu recours à la triangulation des méthodes. 170 témoignages ont été collectés par la méthode de la netnographie, 12 récits de vie et 13 entretiens individuels ont été menés. Ils ont fait l‟objet d‟une analyse de contenu et ont ainsi permis de proposer une redéfinition du choc culturel et d‟identifier trois groupes de facteurs affectant l‟expérience du choc culturel: (1) l‟hospitalité touristique, (2) les facteurs individuels et (3) les facteurs situationnels. / This dissertation focuses on studying the behavior of a particular case of tourists who had a memorable experience during their trip. These are tourists who have suffered of a culture shock. It aims to identify factors that can cause a culture shock during the tourism experience. It aims to better define the concept of culture shock and how the tourism hospitality may impact it.To this end, we used the triangulation methods. 170 testimonies were collected through the netnography method, 12 life stories and 13 individual interviews were conducted. They have been analyzed by a content analysis and have contributed to propose a redefinition of culture shock and to identify three groups of factors affecting the experience of culture shock: (1) the tourism hospitality (2) individual factors and (3) situational factors.

abstract: Within the media there is an abundance of reports that claim tourists are being harassed, kidnapped and even killed in some instances as a result of their representation of their country's political ideology and international relations. A qualitative study was undertaken in Bolivia to determine how a tourist avoids or copes with the fear of severe political retribution or harassment in a country whose political environment is largely opposed to that of the traveler's home country. Interviews were conducted in multiple regions of Bolivia, and the data were coded. The results show that tourists experience political retribution on a much smaller scale than initially thought, usually through non-threatening social encounters. The overall themes influencing traveler behaviors are the (Un)Apologetic American, the George W. Bush foreign policy era, avoiding perceived unsafe countries or regions, and Bolivian borders. Respondents, when asked to reflect upon their behavioral habits, do not usually forthrightly deny their country of origin but merely adapt their national identities based on their familial origins, dual citizenship, language abilities or lack thereof, familiarity with the world/regional politics or lack thereof and associating oneself with a popular region in the United States (e.g. New York), rather than the US as a whole. Interestingly, none of the Americans interviewed candidly deny their American nationality or express future intention to deny their nationality. The Americans did express feeling "singled out" at the Bolivian borders which leads to the management implication to implement an automated receipt when purchasing a Bolivian visa and improving the Ministry of Tourism website that would more clearly state visa requirements. Additionally, the image of Bolivia as a culturally and politically homogeneous country is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Recreation and Tourism Studies 2013

Βασιζόμενη στην θεωρία της εικόνας και του αντιληπτού κινδύνου, η παρούσα μελέτη επιδιώκει να αξιολογήσει, εν μέσω της οικονομικής κρίσης που διανύει η Ελλάδα, την εικόνα της χώρας ως διεθνής τουριστικός προορισμός. Ειδικότερα, εξετάζονται σε ένα συνολικό μοντέλο οι σχέσεις μεταξύ εικόνας προορισμού, αντιληπτού κινδύνου, σχέσης τουριστών-προορισμού, και συμπεριφοράς τουριστών. Για την συλλογή των δεδομένων η έρευνα απευθύνθηκε σε εν δυνάμει τουρίστες δυο κύριων αγορών-στόχων για την Ελλάδα – την Ρωσία και το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο – ενώ διερευνήθηκαν και οι πιθανές διαφοροποιήσεις μεταξύ των δυο δειγμάτων. Από τα συμπεράσματα της έρευνας υποστηρίζεται η γενική αρνητική επίδραση του αντιληπτού κινδύνου στην εικόνα, και αναδεικνύονται οι συγκεκριμένοι τύποι κινδύνου που συνδέονται με τις επιμέρους διαστάσεις της εικόνας. Ακόμη, επιβεβαιώνεται η επίδραση των εικόνων στην συμπεριφορά των τουριστών, η οποία μάλιστα στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις διαμεσολαβείται από την σχέση τουριστών-προορισμού. Συνολικά το προτεινόμενο μοντέλο επιτυγχάνει να ερμηνεύσει περισσότερο από το μισό της μεταβλητότητας στην συμπεριφορά των τουριστών, δηλαδή την πρόθεση τους να επισκεφτούν και να συστήσουν την Ελλάδα. / Based on image theory and perceived risk theory, this study aims to evaluate the image of Greece as a international tourist destination, while the country suffers a financial crisis. Specifically, the study employs an overall model to examine the relationships among destination image, perceived risk, tourist-destination relationship and tourist behaviour. As it concerns the data collection, we address potential tourists of two main Greece’s target-groups – Russia and United Kingdom – while possible differentiations between the two groups were also investigated. The research’s results support the overall negative effect of the perceived risk on image, and reveal the specific types of risk that are associated with each image dimension. Moreover, they confirm the effect of image on tourist behavior, in most cases mediated by tourist-destination relationship. In conclusion, the proposed model explains more than the half of the variance of tourist behavior – namely their intention to visit and to recommend Greece.

Båstad är en liten stad lokaliserad på Bjärehalvön. Staden är känd för dess många evenemang och dess årliga tennisturnering, Nordea Open. De olika evenemangen lockar ett stort antal turister varje sommar. I slutet av år 2019 uppstod ett coronavirus som kom att skapa sjukdomen Covid-19. Viruset spred sig snabbt och blev en global pandemi. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva om och isåfall hur pandemin har påverkat Båstad som resmål. Studien har utförts med intervjuer som har samlat in kvalitativ data med turismaktörer i centrala Båstad. Resultatet från studien visade att Båstads attraktionsvärde ligger både i stadens evenemang, dess natur, samt möjligheten den ger till rikt friluftsliv. Studien visar på ett ökat intresse för utomhusaktiviteter under pandemin. Dock skapade krisen i Båstad ett bättre samarbete mellan turismaktörerna, samt nya samarbeten med externa aktörer. Ett resultat av restriktionerna som uppkom i samband med pandemin, var att besökarna efterfrågade längre vistelser än tidigare. Coroanvirusets konsekvenser har även gjort att företagskunderna minskade, samt att våra turismaktörer kunde se en ökning av barnfamiljer. Företagen har fått ställa om sina verksamheter för att efterfölja restriktionerna gällande Covid-19, även locka kunder och behålla sitt attraktionsvärde. Efterfrågan på naturupplevelser har ökat i Båstad, därför beskriver vi förändringen som följande; ‘Champagneflaskan övergick till termosen’. / Båstad is a small town located on Bjärehalvön. The city is known for its many events and its annual tennis tournament, the Nordea Open. The various events attract a large number of tourists every summer. At the end of 2019, a coronavirus emerged that caused the disease Covid-19. The virus spread rapidly and became a global pandemic. The purpose of this study is to describe if and if so how the pandemic has affected Båstad as a travel destination. The study was conducted with interviews that collected qualitative data with tourism actors in central Båstad. The results from the study showed that Båstad's attraction value lies both in the city’s events, its nature, and the opportunity it provides for rich outdoor life. The study shows an increased interest in outdoor activities during the pandemic. However, the crisis in Båstad led to better collaboration between the tourism actors, as well as new collaborations with external actors. One result of the restrictions that arose in connection with the pandemic was that visitors requested longer stays than before. The consequences of the coronavirus have also meant that corporate customers decreased, but on the other hand the tourism actors could see an increase of families with children. The companies have had to restructure their operations to comply with the restrictions regarding Covid-19, also attract customers and retain their attraction value. The demand for nature experiences has increased in Båstad, therefore we describe the change as following; ‘The champagne bottle switched to the thermos’.

Today, the world contains a large number of important non-profit organizations (NPOs) that seek to maintain the welfare of people and animals and to preserve the natural world. NPOs are extremely dependent on funds from the public which has resulted in severe competition between these organizations. This has also come as a result of the cut down of government support and a shortage of donations. Their lack of financial resources indicates that NPOs around the world face major challenges and are therefore in need of customized tools to increase their revenue and ensure their survival. With the purpose of increasing donations towards NPOs, this study aims to research how a media object can be developed and marketed in Bali to motivate tourists into donating money to the Bali Animal Welfare Association (BAWA) which is located in Canguu, Bali. By doing this, NPOs can use this research as tool for application within their own organization to increase their revenues.The media object that was chosen for this research was a poster, placed in the streets of Canggu, Bali and was selected because it has been shown that visual communication is a powerful tool for encouraging prosocial human behavior. The aim was to document how the media object affected levels of tourist engagement and ultimately their motivation to donate money to an NPO. A number of theories of motivation and behavior were used to form the foundation for this research. The methodology used included qualitative data collection by way of interviews, observations of local conditions pertinent to tourist interaction with media objects, as well as information gathered through a focus group involving local tourists. Research Through Design (RTD) was the framework that was used to structure the process for the creation and the testing of the prototype (the media object). The RTD included four phases, two of which were not completed due to complications involving the COVID-19 pandemic. The research concluded that the environment, attitudes towards legitimacy and emotional engagement all played a crucial role for the effectiveness and ultimately the success of a media object. Furthermore, it was concluded that there is a need for extended research on tourists’ behavior as well as consumer behavior, in relation to donors, in order to fully understand how a media object should be developed to motivate a tourist to donate money to an NPO.

The objectives of the thesis are identify in the current tourism landscape, tourist typologies which are capable of ensuring an adequate level of sustainability, ie that take into account the need to establish effective partnerships between major players in the touristic sector: 1. Looking for practical examples of more responsible tourism forms with resources. 2. Stressing the role played by ecotourism, this form of tourism according to the qual makes your holiday visitors relate more directly conscious of environmental and sociocultural present in the venue. 3. identifying actions to ensure the protection of the environment and the economic take off by traditionally depressed areas. 4. identifying objects aimed at boosting tourism consumption of a natural protected area interpreted as ideal as post-Fordist real space and identify profiles of tourists in protected areas. Also if tourism products linked to nature, culture and cuisine can help to revitalize the Ligurian coastal tourism 5. Checking if the regional system of protected areas has produced results in both environmental protection and endogenous development through tourism. 6. Quantifying the actual supply of the areas studied. 7. Checking if the three parks studied were identified and developed specific objects of tourist consumption. / Los objetivos de la tesis son identificar en el panorama turístico actual cuales son las tipologías turísticas capaces de garantizar un adecuado nivel de sostenibilidad, es decir las que tienen en cuenta la necesidad de establecer eficaces alianzas entre los principales actores del sector turístico: 1. Buscando ejemplos prácticos de modalidades turísticas más responsables con los recursos. 2. Destacando el rol desempeñado por el ecoturismo, aquella modalidad turística según la qual el visitante realiza sus vacaciones relacionándose de manera más consciente y directa con los aspectos medioambientales y socioculturales presentes en el lugar elegido. 3. identificando las acciones dirigidas a garantizar la salvaguarda del medio ambiente y el despegue económico de áreas tradicionalmente deprimidas por el hecho de haber estado ajenas a la práctica de actividades productivas y económicamente rentables. 4. identificando objetos dirigidos a estimular el consumo turístico de un área natural protegida interpretada como espacio auténtico según ideales postfordistas e identificar los perfiles de los turistas característicos de las áreas protegidas. Tambien si los productos turísticos ligados a la naturaleza, cultura y gastronomía pueden contribuir a revitalizar el turismo costero de Liguria 5. Verificando si el sistema regional de espacios protegidos ha producido resultados en protección medioambiental y a la vez desarrollo endógeno a través del turismo. 6. Cuantificando la oferta real de las áreas estudiadas. 7. Verificando si los tres parques estudiados han identificado y desarrollado objetos específicos de consumo turístico.

Mirades Turístiques a la ciutat és un estudi sobre el comportament del turisme en les ciutats monumentals, a partir de l'experiència viscuda pels visitants del Barri Vell de Girona. Una recerca que ha pretès determinar, precisament, la forma com els visitants entren en contacte amb el patrimoni monumental de la ciutat medieval. A partir, d'identificar quins factors influeixen (i quins no) en el comportament dels turistes durant la seva visita, tant pel que fa referència als factors ambientals generals (la meteorologia, la congestió, la informació...) com els factors singulars de cada visitant. Per tal d'assolir aquests objectius, en hem plantejat una sèrie d'hipòtesis de treball:1. Existeix una manera turística d'apropar-se al patrimoni que té les seves pròpies regles, les sevesestructures específiques i en conseqüència la necessitat d'uns instruments de gestió particulars.2. L'aproximació del turista al patrimoni monumental és el resultat de dues forces aparentmentcontradictòries. D'una banda, el turista tendeix a reproduir pautes de comportament socialment construïdes que prenen la forma d'un ritual. D'altra banda, més enllà d'aquest patró comú, cada visitant viu una experiència singular. Per tant, la relació amb el patrimoni és el resultat d'un subtil equilibri entre experiència i ritual.3. El consum turístic del patrimoni depèn de la relació entre quatre factors. El primer, la imatge del lloc, és la projecció (sovint idealitzada) de l'espai de visita, una metàfora de la ciutat. El segon, el codi d'interpretació turístic , actua com una mena de ritual, un guió no escrit de la pràctica turística. En tercer lloc, el substrat material que són els components artístics, històrics o culturals de la destinació: la geometria del casc, les visuals, el pes de la història o el valor estètic de les peces condicionen, com és obvi, la mirada turística. Finalment, l'experiència està condicionada per la gestió (pública i privada) del turisme: informació, fluxos, interpretació...L'estudi s'ha sustentat en una metodologia inèdita basada en l'observació directa a partir del seguiment dels visitants durant els seus recorreguts. Hem observat el visitants i hem recollit la informació bàsica de la seva visita: l'itinerari, els monuments visitats, les actituds manifestades, els temps d'estada... Aquesta metodologia ha estat ja implementada en alguns estudis de públic de diversos museus. S'han recollit tres tipus de dades: dades relacionades amb els arcs (segment de carrer entre dues interseccions), dades relacionades amb els nodes (els elements d'interès) i dades relacionades amb el visitant. Les tres fonts estan unides per un identificador comú, que és el codi del turista. Això ens ha permès vincular les dades dels visitants amb el seu recorregut i la seva visita als monuments de la ciutat. Els resultats de l'estudi ens han permès identificar els factors que singularitzen l'apropament dels visitants al patrimoni i que el diferencien d'altres formes de relació o ús. És a dir, els factors que incideixen en el comportament dels visitants de Girona. Així mateix, hem pogut definir models d'itineraris amb una estructura interna molt compacta però molt diferentsentre ells; que ens evidencien que, malgrat les regularitats detectades en les visites dels turistes de la ciutat, també existeixen elements diferencials en el seu comportament. Hem detectat quatre models de recorreguts urbans que hem anomenat: itinerari bàsic, comercial, complex i de les muralles, que a l'hora es poden subdividir en varies categories.Finalment, els estadístics multivariants ens han permès demostrar que la relació entre el turista i el patrimoni respon almenys a quatre formes de consum diferenciades, que hem anomenat "no turistes", "rituals", "interessats" i "erudits". / Mirades Turístiques a la ciutat is a study of the behaviour of tourism in towns having important monuments, based on the real-life experience of visitors to the historic centre of Girona. This is a piece of research which has tried to find out the exact way in which visitors come into contact with the heritage sites of the medieval town. This has been done through identifying which factors have an influence (and which do not) on the behaviour of the tourist during their visit, both dose of a general nature (weather, crowding, information...) and those factors which are particular to each visitor. In order to achieve this aims, I put forward a number of working hypotheses:1. There is a particular tourist approach to site which has its own rules, specific structures and as aconsequence the need for specific management tools.2. The way the tourist approaches the site is the result of two seemingly contradiction forces. On the one hand, the tourist tends to repeat socially contructed behaviours which take the form of a ritual. On the other hand, and beyond this common pattern, each visitor has a singular experience. Therefore, the relationship with the site is the result of a subtle balance between experience and ritual.3. The touristic use of a heritage site depends on the relationship between four factors. The first, the image of the place, a metaphor of the town. The second, the code of touristic interpretation, acts as a kind of ritual, a non-written script for being a tourist. The third, the material substratum which are the artistic, historical or cultural components; the geometry of the area, the visual parts, the weight of history or the aesthetic value of the items, obviously, condition the way tourist look at the town. Finally, the experience is conditioned by the management of tourism: the information, the flow of tourists, interpretation.This study uses an original methodology based on direct observation of following visitors during their visit. We observed the visitors and we collected basic information about their visit: the itinerary, the monuments visited, the attitudes shown, the time spent. This methodology has already been used in order studies of the public in different museums. Three kinds of data was collected: data relating to blocks (the segments of a street between two roads), data relating to nodes (the items of interest) and data relating to the visitors. The three sources are connected by a common identifier, that of the touristic code. This has allowed us to connect the data of the visitors with the route taken and the visit of the monuments in the town.The results of the study have allowed us to identify the factors with make the approach of the visitor to the monument a singular one and which differenciate it from the other forms of relationship or of use. That is to say, that the factors which have an effect on the behaviour of the visitors to Girona.Thus, we have been able to define models of itineraries with a very compact internal structure but which are very different between each one, which shows that, despite the regularities which were found in the visits of tourists to the town, differenciated elements in their behaviour were also observed. We detected four models of urban routes: the basic, the commercial, the complex and the town walls, which can each be subdivides into several categories. Finally, the multivariant statistics have allowed us to demonstrate that the relationship between tourist and heritage site responds to at least four forms of differentiated use which we have named "non-touristic", "ritual","interedted" and "erudite".