Travel Behaviour

'Second Nature'

by James McArdle

Catalogue of ‘Second Nature’ joint solo exhibitions 14-31 March 2012 co-authored with Lorena Carrington Stephen McLaughlan Gallery Melbourne, Level 8 Nicholas Building 37 Swanston St, Melbourne.

Two artists question assumptions about nature with second thoughts about what constitutes or reveals the... more Two artists question assumptions about nature with second thoughts about what constitutes or reveals the ‘natural’...

Lorena Carrington photographs the miniature landscape of the terrarium; an out-of-scale world environment for human and other organisms.
 
Fragile child figures are entangled in the constructed garden. They tell stories from mythic idealist concepts of landscape against the background of our disrupted connections with ‘nature’, and our increasing absence from it. 

 James McArdle recreates the fleeting travellers’ intuition of a fugitive, lost garden occupying the margins of railways and highways.
 
‘Motion perspective’ is seen in the phenomenon of the moon appearing to follow us as we move by. In ‘live’ vision, concentration on other elements in the mid- or fore-ground renders them as still points embedded within a rotating ‘flow’ of largely subconscious visceral sensation.

Still images can condense space with time to represent motion perspective. The observer’s trace in these ‘wild’ locations of furious motion and interposed stillness can thus be inferred within the surrounding blurred motion, producing a visceral sense of dimension and presence.

THE CONCEPT OF SELF-SELECTION IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PROCESS

by Mahdi Torabi

Mahdi Torabi, Mahmud Jusan and Alireza. Daneshpour
2th International Conference-Workshop On Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design (ICWSAUD2012), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia, Mar. 2012

During recent years, because of development of science and arts and also their influences of each others, all... more During recent years, because of development of science and arts and also their influences of each others, all researchers sometimes have to review, explain and introduce a new meanings and definitions of a word or a phrase in their researches. This paper addresses the meanings and definitions of “self-selection”. It is aimed to inspire this concept in architectural design Process which never used. “Content analysis method” has been chosen as a research methodology. It is to follow in two directions: firstly, explaining “meanings of self-selection” based on dictionaries, and secondly, finding “definitions of self-selection” in scientific researches which are related with architectural design Process directly or indirectly. Ultimately, this paper has introduced the concept of self-selection in architectural design process.

Travelers' E-purchase Intent of Tourism Products and Services

by Robin Nunkoo

Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management

The potential of tourism e-commerce can be fully exploited if the online purchase behavior of travelers is well... more The potential of tourism e-commerce can be fully exploited if the online purchase behavior of travelers is well understood.  This study tests a model predicting travelers’ intent to purchase tourism products and services online using data collected from travelers to Mauritius.  Results from the structural equation modeling analysis support seven of the eight proposed hypotheses.  Findings suggest that travelers’ perceived usefulness, trust, and perceived risks are determinants of attitude to e-purchasing which in turn significantly influences e-purchase intent.  Results also suggest that perceived ease of use exerts a significant influence on perceived usefulness and trust while the latter negatively influences perceived risks.  The managerial implications of the findings for online tourism and hospitality vendors are and the study’s limitations are discussed.  Some directions for future research are also presented.

Guide To Bangkok

by Sam Thompson

The State Tower is one of the most amazing places you can have a drink/dinner in Bangkok. It’s a huge apartment/office... more The State Tower is one of the most amazing places you can have a drink/dinner in Bangkok. It’s a huge apartment/office block with a few restaurants and bars on top. The view is amazing and its great venue to enjoy the sights of the city. I highly recommend a visit.

Nature Tourism Constraints: A Cross-Activity Comparison

by Gyan Nyaupane

Nyaupane, G. P., Morais, D.B, and Graefe, A.  (2004). Annals of Tourism Research, 31(3), 540-555.

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons that keep individuals from participating in three... more Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons that keep individuals from participating in three nature-based tourism activities registering limited growth in contrast with the increasing popularity of tourism in general. The three-dimensional leisure constraints model was used as the theoretical framework for the study. The sample consisted of nature enthusiasts from several US states who showed an interest in nature tourism but did not participate in the selected activities during the last two years. Confirmatory factor analysis partially supported the three-dimensional model across the activities. Repeated measures comparisons showed that the importance of leisure constraints varied across them within the same group of individuals.

Andriotis, K. and Agiomirgianakis, G. (2010) Cruise Visitors’ Experience in a Mediterranean Port of Call. International Journal of Tourism Research, (in press).

by Konstantinos Andriotis

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123268013/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

This study aims to provide a better understanding on cruise travel experience by studying cruise ship passengers... more This study aims to provide a better understanding on cruise travel experience by studying cruise ship passengers motivation, satisfaction and likelihood of return to the port of Heraklion (Crete, Greece). From the findings, it is evident that ‘exploration’ and ‘escape’ were among the main motivations of visitors, and ‘product and services’ as well as ‘tour pace’ were significant dimensions in shaping overall satisfaction levels. Nevertheless, onshore activities were restricted to sightseeing and shopping, because of the limited available time. Based on these findings, relevant proposals are made in order to provide positive port experiences.

Keywords: cruise experience; motivation; satisfaction; activities; intention to return.

Andriotis, K. (2011). A Comparative Study of Visitors to Urban, Coastal and Rural Areas - Evidence from the Island of Crete. European Journal of Tourism Research, 4(2): 93-108.

by Konstantinos Andriotis

http://ejtr.vumk.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126%3Av4i2rp93-acomparativestudyofvisitorstourbancoastalandruralareasevidencefromthe-island-ofcrete&catid=34&Itemid=68

Taking as a case three diverse geographical locations, the coastal resort of Amoudara, the city of Heraklion and the... more Taking as a case three diverse geographical locations, the coastal resort of Amoudara, the city of Heraklion and the village of Archanes, all of them within the border of the Prefecture of Heraklion on the island of Crete, the aim of this study has been set to provide a better understanding of differences between urban, rural and coastal tourists based on the attributes of the place they visit. Although due to various limitations results cannot be generalized beyond the study population, it was intriguing to find differences in motivations and preferences of urban, rural and coastal tourists which are a consequence of socio-demographic, motivation and travel-related variables. Based on these differences, this study provides implications for future decision making to target specific market segments.

Keywords: urban, rural, coastal tourism, behaviour, preferences, motivations, Crete

Andriotis, K. (2010). Brits Behaving Badly - Template Analysis of Newspaper Content. International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 1(1): 15-34.

by Konstantinos Andriotis

Free access available at: http://www.inderscience.com/storage/f584721091131612.pdf

This study explores the ways in which public debates about the sexual, drinking and risk taking behaviour of young... more This study explores the ways in which public debates about the sexual, drinking and risk taking behaviour of young British travellers, who participate in trips organized to Greek summer resorts exclusively by Club 18-30, have been interpreted, and framed, within print media (British newspapers). Using a template analysis approach four themes emerged, namely binge drinking, sexual behaviour, risk taking and host reactions. These themes are discussed in relation to the methodology adopted, and the findings of previous research, and policies for risk-taking decrease, and solutions to reduce the problems posed by young tourists’ antisocial behaviour in summer Greek resorts, are provided.

Keywords: youth travel, antisocial behaviour, binge drinking, casual sex, risk taking, template analysis.

Travel distance: A tool for nature-based tourism market segmentation

by Gyan Nyaupane

Nyaupane, G. P., and Graefe, A. (2008). Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 25(3-4), 355-366.

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine if there are distinct socio-demographic and behavioral... more Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine if there are distinct socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics among nature-based visitors based on distance traveled.  The study used two concepts, “gravity” and “inertia” to explain the effect of distance on travel behavior.  The results based on a sample of 642 visitors to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, USA showed that more distant visitors participated more in viewing activities, were more likely to be first time and day visitors, did less camping, spent more money on activities, private lodging and transportation, visited the destination less frequently, spent longer periods away from home, and had less place attachment than those traveling shorter distances.  The implications of distance-based market segmentation are discussed. 

Seniors' travel constraints: stepwise logistic regression analysis

by Gyan Nyaupane

Nyaupane, G. P., McCabe, J. T., and Andereck, K. L. (2008). Tourism Analysis, 13 (4), 341-354.

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify the factors that are perceived as constraints... more Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is two-fold: (1) to identify the factors that are perceived as constraints to leisure travel for seniors compared to other age groups, and (2) to investigate whether the constraints based on age interact with other sociodemographic variables for past travel behavior and intention to visit in the future. The data for this study was collected from a sample drawn from travel magazine subscribers and those who requested travel information. Two mail surveys and a web survey yielded a total of 1,405 completed responses. Analysis was conducted using chi-square tests and logistic regression.  Analysis indicated that younger age groups (59 years old or younger) were more likely to be constrained by time and money, whereas seniors (75 years and older) were constrained by health issues.  Logistic regression analysis showed that the role of age and income as constraint was perceived differently for the past and future intension to visit. For the future visit, age was perceived as a constraining factor, whereas for the past visit, the role of age was moderated by income. This confirms that leisure-travel constraints are not homogenous.  The study suggests that the travel industry and organizations that provide services to seniors need to facilitate leisure travel opportunities by increasing affordability and making them accessible to those with declining health.

Inverse optimization with endogenous arrival time constraints to calibrate the household activity pattern problem

by Joseph Chow

Chow, J.Y.J., Recker, W.W., 2012. Inverse optimization with endogenous arrival time constraints to calibrate the household activity pattern problem, Transportation Research Part B 46(3), 463-479.

A parameter estimation method is proposed for calibrating the household activity pattern problem so that it can be... more A parameter estimation method is proposed for calibrating the household activity pattern problem so that it can be used as a disaggregate, activity-based analog of the traffic assignment problem for activity-based travel forecasting. Inverse optimization is proposed for estimating parameters of the household activity pattern problem such that the observed behavior is optimal, the patterns can be replicated, and the distribution of the parameters is consistent. In order to fit the model to both the sequencing of activities and the arrival times to those activities, an inverse problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem such that coefficients of the objectives are jointly estimated along with the goal arrival times to the activities. The formulation is designed to be structurally similar to the equivalent problems defined by Ahuja and Orlin and can be solved exactly with a cutting plane algorithm. The concept of a unique invariant common prior is used to regularize the estimation method, and proven to converge using the Method of Successive Averages. The inverse model is tested on sample households from the 2001 California Household Travel Survey and results indicate a significant improvement over the standard inverse problem in the literature as well as baseline prescriptive models that do not make use of sample data for calibration. Although, not unexpectedly, the estimated optimization model by itself is a relatively poor forecasting model, it may be used in determining responses of a population to spatio-temporal scenarios where revealed preference data is absent.

Spatiotemporal Structure of Taxi Services in Shanghai:Using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis

by Minhe Ji

Co-authored with Zhongwei Deng

Admitting the stochastic nature of taxi movement at the individual level, this paper explored the spatiotemporal... more Admitting the stochastic nature of taxi movement at the individual level, this paper explored the spatiotemporal structure of taxi services in Shanghai from a macro perspective. A GPS-based taxi service dataset was first processed to derive a total of 9921 taxies’ OD,which were then tallied by individual street districts. An index known as Traffic Ratio Density was computed to characterize the level of taxi services for each street district and facilitate the mapping of its spatiotemporal variation. In the end, the method of Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis was used to identify spatial clusters of taxi services over time. Both global and local Moran′s I values were computed for Shanghai as a whole and for individual street districts. The positive values of the global index strongly suggested high and stable concentration pattern across all the time-periods. The local index showed that the taxi OD pattern has a high-high cluster in the CBD area, versus the low-low cluster in the suburban regions, and between them was a stochastic distribution. There was no noticeable temporal variation at eitherglobal or local level, indicating arather stable spatial and temporal structure of taxi service distribution.

Identifying travel mode from GPS trajectories through fuzzy pattern recognition

by Minhe Ji

Co-authored with Chao Xu

Although GPS-based travel survey has been studied by many, automated travel mode detection still remains a technical... more Although GPS-based travel survey has been studied by many, automated travel mode detection still remains a technical challenge. This paper proposed and tested a fuzzy approach to travel mode recognition from the GPS travel data collected from 32 volunteers for 142 days in Shanghai. Four speed-related fuzzy variables were selected to characterize five movement patterns (walk, bike, bus, rail, and rest) in the urban daily traffic. Fuzzy sets and membership functions were constructed for the patterns using self-reported sample data. A procedure of data cleaning and trip segmentation was performed to divide GPS trajectories into mode stages. The final step involved determining the travel mode of each mode stage through a min-max fuzzy operation. Evaluation results indicated that the approach handled the data uncertainty and vagueness rather well. It properly incorporated partial information from the fuzzy variables into the mode recognition process for accuracy enhancement.

CULTURE, GENDER, TRANSPORT: CONTENTIOUS PLANNING ISSUES

by Roselle Leah Rivera

Sustainable urban form, accessibility disparity and spatial inequalities: a case study from Lisbon

by David Vale

CITTA 2nd Annual Conference on Planning Research, Faculdade de Engenharia da Unversidade do Porto, Portugal, 2009

What is a sustainable urban form? What looks like a rather simple question is indeed quite difficult to answer. The... more What is a sustainable urban form? What looks like a rather simple question is indeed quite difficult to answer. The sustainability of the urban form is normally evaluated through associated objectives, like mobility patterns and energy consumption. In this sense, several urban development policies are being proposed, as compact city, transit oriented development, polycentric urban development, among others, in order to provide access by proximity, to invert the transportation hierarchy and to reduce the need for travel, by locating in close proximity housing, jobs, commercial and retail activities. Explicitly or implicitly, all these policies intend to balance geographical accessibility by car and other transportation modes at origins and destinations, and so they can be reframed as ‘multimodal accessible city’ proposals. In accordance, we present the concept of global accessibility disparity, which explicitly compares accessibility by different transportation modes at different geographical scales, in order to reveal the spatial inequalities of access within a metropolitan area, and so to expose the places in which the mobility behaviour is clearly an imposition and not really an issue of choice, which can be low as well as high density places. Therefore, we intend to show that travel behaviour is related to the relative space conditions of origins or destinations, in which case to plan for a sustainable city should have as one primary goal to plan for an multimodal accessible city.

Information Search Behaviour of European Tourists Visiting Mauritius

by Robin Nunkoo

Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal

Understanding the information search behavior of travelers is important for providing effective marketing strategies... more Understanding the information search behavior of travelers is important for providing effective marketing strategies and appropriate communication campaigns. Indeed, investigating and understanding such behaviors of tourists have a long tradition in tourism research. Using data collected from 877 respondents, this study analyzes the information search behavior of European tourists visiting Mauritius. The impact of nationality and prior product knowledge on the external information search behavior of travelers has been investigated. Data was collected between September 2006 and January 2007 using structured questionnaires. The analysis was conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis test to analyze the influence of nationality on the use of external sources of information.
A series of one-way ANOVA and t-test were also conducted to investigate the relationship between prior product knowledge and use of external sources of information. Results indicate that nationality and prior product knowledge influence travelers' information search behavior. Findings also indicate that for both first-time and repeat visitors, the Internet was an important source of information. However, travel agencies, friends and relatives, information leaflets and National Tourism Offices were found to be more important sources of information for first-time travelers than repeat visitors. The results also suggest that different marketing and communication strategies are necessary to effectively target consumers from the diverse European countries. In conclusion, recommendations for destination marketers in Mauritius are discussed. These include developing close contacts and good relationships with travel agencies, increasing online marketing techniques, encouraging positive word-of-mouth and increasing attention to tourists' satisfaction amongst others. Some limitations of the research are also discussed.

Predicting Tourists' Intention to Consume Genetically Modified Food

by Robin Nunkoo

Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management

The role which food plays in the tourism industry cannot be ignored. However, the literature has also led to believe... more The role which food plays in the tourism industry cannot be ignored. However, the literature has also led to believe that food risks are perceived to be higher abroad than at home and this could act as an impediment for the tourism industry. Though research on food as a tourism product has been growing in the literature, little has been said about genetically modified (GM) food intake by tourists. This study develops a model to predict tourists' intention to consume GM food based on the postulates of the theory of planned behavior. Attitude to GM food, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms are proposed as the determinants of behavioral intention to consume such foods. The model also considers perceived risks with GM foods to be an important determinant of attitude. Furthermore, factors likely to be antecedents of the travelers' perceived risks with GM foods are discussed and incorporated in the proposed model. Some propositions on which future research could be based on are also made. The study concludes that the model is particularly useful for those destinations introducing GM foods in their markets and where the tourism industry plays an important role.

More than Just Biological Sex Differences: Examining the Structural Relationships between Gender Identity and Information Search Behavior

by Robin Nunkoo

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research

The influence of gender on travelers’ information search behavior continues to attract the attention of researchers.... more The influence of gender on travelers’ information search behavior continues to attract the attention of researchers. However, most scholars have studied gender differences from a biological perspective, treating gender as a unitary theoretical concept. This article challenges such an approach and argues for a more differentiated perspective to the study of gender differences in information search behavior. It approaches gender differences from a psychological perspective and proposes that the travelers’ gender identity (masculinity and femininity) is a determinant of their search behavior. The gender schema theory and the selectivity theory inform the model of the study. Five hypotheses are developed and are tested using responses collected from 568 tourists. Results from the structural equation modeling analysis indicate support for all hypotheses, confirming that gender identity is a good determinant of travelers’ search behavior. Travelers displaying high femininity traits were found to engage in more internal as well as external information search. Respondents with high masculinity traits relied less on both internal and external search for information. The theoretical and managerial implications, as well as the limitations of the study are discussed. The study also provides some directions for future research.

Weekly activity-travel behaviour in rural Northern Ireland: differences by context and socio-demographic

by Md. Kamruzzaman

GEOTRAVELDIARY: TOWARDS ONLINE AUTOMATIC TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR DETECTION

by Adel Bolbol

Bolbol, A. Cheng, T. and Paracha, A., 2010. GEOTRAVELDIARY: Towards Online Automatic Travel Behaviour Detection. WebMGS: 1st International Workshop on Pervasive Web Mapping, Geoprocessing and Services, 2010, Politecnico di Milano, Como, Italy.

Travel diaries are considered to be a very important source of information that benefits major applications such as... more Travel diaries are considered to be a very important source of information that benefits major applications such as travel behaviour analysis. They have also been proven to be a burden on users to maintain and recall exact details, as well as being slow, expensive and time consuming. However, the rise of Geoweb 2.0, crowd sourcing and user-generated content is changing the way data is collected and shared. Nowadays, travellers could record their tracks and are able to upload them directly into the web to see them and even share them.

The aim of this paper is to develop an online user-generated travel diary system that records users’ trails. The online server-side application allows the users to visualize their trails and manually edit, move or remove points from their tracks on a map-based interface. Such a map-based interface enhances the retrieval of travel information from the users’ long-term memory. The interface also allows them to add such information as metadata to different parts of their trip, such as the purpose of the trip and the transport mode. The application also overcomes travel diary disadvantages by being faster, cheaper and by providing users with incentives provoking higher response rates. This in turn will compile a large database of travel information within a large city (such as London in this case). Therefore, this will provide a better understanding of travel behaviour, and hence providing a platform for developing a realistic algorithm for learning travel metadata and hence deducing it. The application has just been launched at the time of publishing this work, and further work involves testing the application on a large scale and adding more functionality.