Term Paper on "Repurchase Intention in the Hospitality Sector"

Term Paper 12 pages (3480 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Repurchase Intention in the Hospitality Sector in Vancouver, British Columbia

The Background To Tourism

Tourism is a major industry in almost all parts of the globe. Many developing nations exact the lion's share of their income from foreign guests, while in developed countries, like Canada, tourism can be an equally lucrative source of revenue. In a post-industrial nation, tourism adds to the economic mix, diversifying array of service sector jobs. The Island of Vancouver, in British Columbia, is already a high growth area that attracts large numbers of new residents each year, and is a magnet for business investment and development. Tourists, too, find the region immensely appealing. This year alone, tourism on Vancouver Island is expected to generate at least ten billion dollars in revenue. (Southcott, et al.; 2006) Over eighteen thousand of Vancouver's employers provide jobs to more than one hundred seventeen thousand individuals in tourism-related fields. (Southcott, et al.; 2006)

Providing something for every taste, the area is especially suited to the further development of the tourism industry. A vibrant commercial and cultural center, the city of Vancouver offers all the attractions of a major metropolitan area. Nearby Vancouver Island is a place of stunning natural beauty with an appeal to the eco-traveler and outdoor enthusiast. The region possesses an extensive range of accommodations to suit every budget. In the competitive world of the hospitality industry, success is based on building the best experience possible. Satisfied customers are repeat customers. An array of factors influences consumers' intent to repurchase the Vancouver area's travel and hospitality offerings. Quality hotels, restaurants, and attractions; brand name recognition, and super customer service will create a high level of visitor satisfaction. An understanding of the dynamics behind the building of positive customer relationships ensures the continued growth of all enterprises directly and indirectly related to the tourism and hospitality industry.

The tourism and hospitality industry of the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the surrounding region, did not grow up overnight. The development of this sector of the area's economy has been the result of a long process of investment, construction, and experiment. Tourism has been one of the major growth industries of the past one hundred years. (Elliott, 1997, p. 30) At one time, few possessed the financial resources, or the time, to undertake long journeys solely for the sake of amusement or pleasure. Even a business trip would have been out of the ordinary for most late Nineteenth Century individuals. It is the incredible developments in transportation technology that have made possible the modern tourism industry on anything like its present scale. (Jafari, 2000, p. 2)

As John Benson points out in his study of the development of the consumer society, the growth of tourism went hand in hand with the development of an increasingly urban society. (Benson, 1994, p. 90) No doubt, the extreme crowding of the modern city, combined with the dreariness of the industrial working environment, encouraged many to "escape" - if only for a time - from their usual surroundings. Observed Benson of the situation in the United Kingdom (the world's first industrial society):

The association between urbanisation and tourism may not be immediately apparent. Of course, it would be difficult to overlook the fact that the demand for tourism -- like that for most other forms of consumption -- emanated primarily from urban areas.... Moreover, it is generally acknowledged that the pressures of urban living -- together with reductions in working hours -- meant that this economic power was used very often to participate in some form of tourism. It is striking, for example, that travel agents -like building societies -- appeared only in towns and suburbs above a certain size; indeed, by the end of the period [the 1930s] the London area, with fewer than one-fifth of the country's population, housed practically one-third of its travel agents. (Benson, 1994, p. 90)

Initially, "travel" meant largely travel to local destinations. Particular communities became well-known for their almost, "anti-urban" atmosphere. The Nineteenth Century, especially, prized romantic settings; settings that were believed to be inspirational in a philosophical or artistic sense. A veritable cult of "wild nature" developed, that was in turn responsible for the growth of many early tourist sites.

Appreciation for nature took many forms, both of which further stimulated the development of tourist communities. In America, during the Late Nineteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, there grew up a number of so-called "art colonies." These were places believed to possess a special natural beauty that would somehow prove inspirational to artists. Numerous avant-garde spirits gathered at these places, contributing much to their future growth.

Shipp, 1996, p. ix) A number of cities in the United States that would now be considered part of suburbia began their lives as artists' colonies. The thirst for pristine nature ultimately led many, more adventurous, souls to the Canadian West:

Between 1890 and World War One, western Canadians advertised their region as the last wildlife stronghold in North America.... Westerners used wildlife symbolically to advertise abundance, to make statements about western urbanism, and even to build up local and provincial identities.... More than this, they used wildlife symbolism for these purposes at a key moment in the history of changing environmental attitudes, a time when many Americans and eastern Canadians were initiating conservation and preservation policies.... local conditions significantly changed the imported conservation message. Motivated by a spirit of boosterism and the realities of a hinterland economy, western residents drew on the rising conservation ethic as a means to promote their region. (Colpitts, 1998)

British Columbia was then, as now, the farthest one could possible travel from the original population centers on the Eastern edge of the continent. Having experienced significant European settlement only recently, places like Vancouver Island offered the tourist a wild and rugged atmosphere that was fast disappearing in the vicinities of major Eastern cities.

Wilderness and wild areas began to assume a more favourable impression under the influence of the romantic and transcendentalist movements which favoured wild nature as an antidote to an increasingly industrialised and technocratic society. (Hall & Page, 2002, p. 249)

The Western communities, therefore, could advertise themselves as places where one could enjoy the benefits of civilization while at the same time being close to nature. The wealthy, most of all, were attracted to out of the way places, and unusual, natural environments. (Dakin, 2003)

The recognition of precisely what constitutes a "natural landscape," and what must be done to preserve it has been of notable importance in the Canadian tourist trade. With access to the technologies of the Twentieth century, British Columbia actually undertook a project to "map" out the contours of this facet of its tourism industry. British Columbia's Visual Forest Inventory has, since its beginnings in the 1980s, taken a close look at the Province's wilderness areas in an attempt to catalog those locales that are valuable from a nature, or eco-tourism, point-of-view:

The inventory 'identifies, classifies and records (maps) the visual conditions, characteristics and sensitivity to alteration of areas and travel corridors throughout the province', providing visual-resource information for decision makers and forest licensees to use in forest-development planning. Procedures and standards are outlined in the Visual Landscape Inventory Procedures and Standards Manual, referred to as 'the Manual'. Besides providing information for forestry planning, the inventory is part of the Recreation Resources Inventory (RRI), establishing the aesthetic dimension of landscape as primarily a recreation resource. (Dakin, 2003)

By classifying areas as either "Visually Sensitive" (VSA's), or "Non-Visually Sensitive Areas" (NVSA's), the government of British Columbia is recognizing that while all of nature may be of importance to the ecologist or biologist, the nature that is appreciated by the tourist possesses relatively narrow characteristics. (Fennell, 1999, p. 14) These characteristics are, of course, not necessarily always the same - they vary according to the site, but they must be understood if an area is to promote tourism as a major part of its income. At the Globe '90 Conference which was held in the Province, eco-tourism experts from around the world discussed the need to create sustainable natural environments. (Fennell, 1999, p. 14) The approach is to hold onto the "beauty" of a locale while concentrating also on making the linkages between biology and economy. Increasingly, the idea is that the eco-tourist can play some sort of role in the general conservation of the natural world; that a balance can be struck between a very human need for recreation, and a need to "save the Earth." The Globe '90 Conference resolved that,

Sustainable tourism development is aimed at protecting and enhancing the environment, meeting basic human needs, promoting current and intergenerational equity and improving the quality of life of all people...." "[Sustainable tourism Development must be seen as] meeting the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future...." "[So] we can fulfil economic, social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems."… READ MORE

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