International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts <div id="i-scholarabout">International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems is a refereed international journal dedicated to promoting excellence in teaching and stimulating research in hospitality and tourism internationally. An exciting and challenging international forum, the journal reflects current happenings and trends in the hospitality industry. Hospitality and Tourism Systems is published annually in the month of June. The international Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems publishes refereed articles/papers on best practices of tourism and hospitality management and education, applied research studies, and critical reviews on major issues affecting the tourism and hospitality industry.</div> Publishing India Group en-US International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems 0974-6250 A FCM Approach to Understand Social Commerce of Touristic Products https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213524 This paper uses a Fuzzy Cognitive Maps Approach (FCM) for understanding the possible influence of adopter category scenarios on purchase intention for touristic products. We also analyse the effect of the types of users of new technologies in the purchasing decision-making processes. Findings confirm that some effective marketing social media strategies on engagement, information quality or economic feasibility, could be key determinants of purchase intention. With regard to the FCM analysis, different factors have an effect on tourists’ purchase intention (trust, perceived value, information quality, reputation...). Tomás Escobar-Rodríguez María Asunción Grávalos-Gastaminza Cinta Pérez-Calañas 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Structural Relationship between Cognitive Image, Destination Personality and Tourists Motivation https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213527 This research work was an extract from a major research on understanding personality and image of destination. This portion of research intended to identify a theoretical model consisting of cognitive destination image, destination personality traits and tourists motivation in destination branding context and to validate it hypothetically. This research was carried out in Coimbatore District – an emerging destination in Tamil Nadu, India between 2018 and 2019. Flourishing erratic tourism industry’s scenarios and the need for academic research blended as the motive for this for this model-based study. Evidence was found in the literature that tourists’ belief about the destination, tourists’ motivation and perceived destination personality traits were found interrelated. Thus, the theoretical model was found. For validating the proposed model, a questionnaire confirmed through pilot study containing the required study variables was circulated to the tourists who visited the destination for tourism purposes. With the sample size as 448 after screening and eliminating the illegible responses, three stage process of analysis that include Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling had been performed. The conceptual model was validated and found that there existed the interrelationship between tourists’ perceived cognitive image, perceived personality traits of the destination and tourists’ motivation to tour. Marketers of destinations were suggested to use the model for formulating branding and marketing activities. The scope for further research was pointed out on expanding the research model with other destination perspectives considering the outcome as base. Shankar R. Sabari Elizabeth Renju Koshy Jerlin Jose Shivam Sakshi 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Memorable Tourism Experience, Destination Image, Satisfaction and Behavioral Intention: A Study of Tourist in Pondicherry, India https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213529 This study empirically investigated memorable tourism experience direct and indirect effects on behavioral intention through destination image and tourist overall satisfaction. This research was conducted using data collected from 390 tourists visited Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, India. Using SmartPLS - SEM, the research model was tested. The research indicated that all the seven dimensions of memorable tourism experience had positive association. Memorable tourism experience strongly influences destination image and satisfaction. Destination image of Pondicherry and overall tourist’s satisfaction acted as moderating construct between memorable tourism experience and behavioral intention. This study proved that memorable tourism experience, destination image and tourists overall satisfaction jointly influence strongly behavioral intention.. B. Monika N. Thamaraiselvan G. Sivanesan 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Impact of Online Reviews on Hotel Booking for Novice Travelers https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213533 It is quite a common to read online reviews before making a purchase decision. Online reviews have transformed the way individuals make their purchase decisions. Online reviews are more than just a way to collect the information. The present study explained and explored the impact of online reviews on purchase decision among novice travelers for hotel bookings. A structured and un-disguised questionnaire was developed and used to collect the primary data from 427 respondents. Conceptual model was examined by using structural equation modelling. Study delivered detailed insight on various elements used for analysis and revealed that online review score and volume, online review platform, online reviewer expertise, timeliness of review influenced trust of novice travelers. Further, study confirmed mediating role of trust between the online review score and volume, online review platform, online reviewer expertise, timeliness of review and purchase decision for hotel bookings by first time travelers. Siddharth Shimpi Sagar Bhadange Sachin Patil Hemant Anbhule 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Wellness Tourist Motivation in India https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213552 The desire of people to stay fit has increased research in the wellness sector. The success of a wellness destination is primarily attributable to an understanding of travel motivation so as to better market it. There exists little research on wellness tourists’ needs, motivations, behaviour and revisit intentions in the Indian context. This research attempts to determine the factors influencing the travel motivation of wellness tourists, their levels of motivation, and to analyse the influence of demographic factors on the Indian wellness market. Factor analysis is used to identify factors that motivate the wellness tourist as well as to examine their motivation levels. A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect the data. The results show that 57.89% of the sample population had high levels of motivation to visit wellness facilities in India. Relaxation and escape, socialisation and kinship, country specific attributes, and destination and service specific factors were identified to be the most influential factors explaining approximately 52% of tourists’ motivation. The findings of this study can be used by both private and government service providers to promote wellness tourism in India. Charu Goyal Udita Taneja 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 The Determination of Perceived Value for Usability on Customer Satisfaction and Attitudinal Intention https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213554 This study aimed to improve the quality of online travel agencies in terms of usability as seen from the customers’ perception. Specifically, the two main study objectives were (a) to examine the usability factors that determine the user’s satisfaction, and (b) to discern the level of satisfaction and attitudinal intention in terms of usability toward an online travel agency. The effect of usability on customer satisfaction and attitudinal intention in an online travel agency was analyzed. Understanding the perceived value of consumers, as well as the factors influencing their satisfaction and attitudinal intention, will help businesses develop for their online travel agency websites. The modified items for the three constructs (i.e., perceived value for usability, customer satisfaction, and attitudinal intention) were used in the conceptual model. Items were specified that can improve websites and provide beneficial information for the management of online travel agencies. The customers’ desires and needs were precisely determined and the usability was specified according to the important items based on their views. Kwang-Woo Lee 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Tourists’ Loyalty to Rural Tourism Destination based on Perceptions https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213557 This study examined the impacts of tourists’ perceptions of quality, image, value, and experience on their loyalty with the mediating role of overall satisfaction and trust in one of the rural tourism destinations. A survey of 540 respondents was conducted across Javaherdeh, one of the main rural destinations in Ramsar, Iran. The structural, convergent, divergent, and diagnostic validity was performed to confirm the validity of the questionnaire, and the reliability was confirmed by composite reliability and Cronbach’s alpha test. Analyzing data using SPSS22 and SmartPLS3, supported the conceptual model and indicated that perceived quality can positively affect the perceived image, which has a significant and positive impact on perceived value and overall satisfaction. Additionally, it was revealed that perceived value positively influences the perceived experience and perceived quality and overall satisfaction have a significant and positive impact on trust. Finally, the perceived experience and overall satisfaction were found to positively affect loyalty. Based on all the results, “Creating an integrated network of rural tourism services to facilitate marketing communication and informing tourists” was presented as the main aspect of the study. The paper includes discussions of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings. Seyyed Mohammad Mirtaghian Rudsari Naji Gharibi Maryam Naghavi 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Impact of Reward, Recognition and Welfare on Employee Engagement https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213558 The objective of study was to analysis the impact of rewards, recognition and welfare on employee engagement and to identify most contributing rewards recognition and welfare determinants on employee engagement in hotels of Tricity comprising of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. Data was collected from the employees of hotels which were approved from Ministry of Tourism, India (MOT). A regression model comprising of eleven determinants predictors explained 83% variation in employee engagement among employees of Chandigarh hotels. It was also significant to discover that reward, recognition and welfare has positive impact on employee engagement and out of fifteen identified reward, recognition and welfare determinants eleven were identified as most contributing towards employee engagement. Hence, it can be inferred that if rewards, recognition and welfare resources offered to employee then there would be a corresponding change in employee engagement. It means the better the rewards, recognition and welfare, the higher the levels of employee engagement and possibly therefore, the greater the levels of performance and productivity Mohinder Chand Ankush Ambardar Megha Gupta Kusum 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Revisit Intention: A Preliminary Investigation of GCC Tourists’ Electronic Word of Mouth, Destination Image, and Perceived Risk https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213559 Despite the substantial economic contribution of the tourism sector globally, studies on revisit intention have been rather scarce, particularly within the Malaysian context. Addressing that, the present study aimed to determine the determinants that influence revisit intention among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) tourists in Malaysia. A conceptual model that comprised of electronic word of mouth (eWOM), destination image, perceived risk, and revisit intention was proposed for testing. Furthermore, destination image was assessed in terms of cognitive image, affective image, and unique image. The study successfully sampled 401 GCC tourists, specifically from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE, in several popular tourist spots in Malaysia. AMOS (version 18) was used to perform the main analysis of the present study, specifically structural equation modelling (SEM). Based on the obtained results, eWOM was found to directly influence cognitive image, affective image, and unique image. These three dimensions of destination image were also found to directly influence revisit intention. Surprisingly, only affective image was found to mediate the relationship between eWOM and revisit intention whereas perceived risk did not directly influence destination image and revisit intention. Overall, this study provided pertinent insights on revisit intention and its significant determinants, which were expected to largely benefit researchers and practitioners in the tourism sector. Reem Abdulrahman Alfaisaly Yusuf Kani A. Y. M. Atiquil Islam Abdulrahman Saleh Alalyani Norzalita Abd Aziz 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Parallel Mediators of Place Attachment and Tourist Motivation in Involvement and Destination Loyalty: A Conceptual Model https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213560 The study’s primary objective is to propose and validate a conceptual model that examines the relationship between involvement, place attachment, tourist motivation, and destination loyalty. This study focuses on the tourists from China, and self-administered questionnaires will be distributed among international tourists at the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The respondents will be chosen using purposive sampling and a simple random sampling method. The interrelationships among multiple variables in the research model was tested using Structural Equation Modelling. The roles of parallel mediators will be examined simultaneously using the Phantom Model approach. This study reveals the positive impacts of involvement on place attachment, tourist motivation, and destination loyalty. The study identifies and compare the size of the effects of the two parallel mediators: place attachment and tourist motivation using the phantom approach model. The study suggested a new conceptual framework to scholars and practitioners to better understand the concept of involvement, tourist motivation, and place attachment to enhance Chinese tourists’ loyalty to Malaysia’s tourism destination.. Muhamad Nasyat Muhamad Nasir Nititorn Wongchestha 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 A Comparative Study of Select Demographic Variables and Job Satisfaction of NCR Hotels’ Employees https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213561 In today’s era of global competition an essential feature to meet the organizational objectives is employee job satisfaction. Hotel industry, being a service industry is highly influenced by its employees’ perceptions towards their job satisfaction. Being a people’s industry an employee plays a pivotal role in providing highest class of services to the guests. The significance of employee job satisfaction in hotel industry is also observed in terms of guest satisfaction and the overall performance of the organization. Considering these aspects the present study aims to identify the set of job satisfaction parameters most significantly used in hotel industry and also to identify the influence of selected demographic variables on the job satisfaction parameters with special reference to 5 star hotels located in NCR. A self administered research instrument was developed to collect the primary data from the employees of the 5 star hotels located in NCR to know their perception, convenience sampling method was used to collect the primary data from 25 hotels, 20 questionnaire to each hotel to know the perception of 10 managerial and 10 non-managerial employees, in total to collect a pool of 500 responses. After collecting the responses, the questionnaire having error or missing values was discarded and out of 500 responses, 400 were found statistically suitable for the present study. For data analysis SPSS-2020 package was employed. Furthermore, the data were analysed by employing Factor Analysis, t-test and ANOVA statistical tools. The results of the study indicated that there is a set of job satisfaction parameters most significantly used in hotel industry and there is a minimal impact of demographic variables on job satisfaction parameters. The outcome of the study revealed that there is a highly significant difference of Demographic Variable Tenure on the Job Satisfaction parameter Behavior of Superiors and moderately significant difference in case of Demographic Variable Marital Status on Job Satisfaction parameter Resources. The results of the study indicated high implications for hotel managements. Anil Lakhera Yashpal Singh Negi Mohinder Chand 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Influence of Festival Attractiveness, Novelty, and Experience on Attendees’ Satisfaction: Moderating Role of Risk Awareness in a Cultural Festival https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213562 This research paper examines the influence of festival attractiveness, novelty, and experience on the attendees’ satisfaction. The study also analyzes the risk awareness element of cultural festival attendees and looks at how it moderates the relationship between festival attractiveness, novelty, experience, and attendees’ satisfaction. After conducting direct interviews with the festival attendees, three hundred twenty-four valid samples have been taken to this study. The study findings reveal that festival attractiveness is the most critical predictor of attendees' satisfaction in this festival. The study also found the significant moderating effect of risk awareness in the relationship between the festival attractiveness, novelty, experience, and attendees’ satisfaction. The findings will help the festival organizers to develop and adopt successful marketing and promotional strategies. Selection of the latest technology in lighting and sound effects, sophisticated imagery, and other aspects will always increase the event’s attractiveness and reduce the risks. This study was one of the initial attempts in festivals and events to examine the moderating effect of risk awareness on festival attractiveness, novelty, experience, and satisfaction. In this sense, this study has been contributing to the theoretical development of the festival literature. Jibin Baby 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 Validation of CRM Variables on Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Commitment in the Mid-Market Hotel Sector https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213563 The paper aims at developing a conceptual framework of customer loyalty and commitment on customer relationship management (CRM) in the mid-market segment of hotel sector. The investigation was conducted with sample size of 410 usable respondents in the four major states of eastern India, which represents mid markets for the hotel industry. SPSS-20; AMOS-20 were used to conduct the statistical analysis. The result indicated that variables of CRM i.e., service quality, employee behavior, relationship management, information technology, effective interaction management influence customer satisfaction positively but only three variables hospitality management, service quality and employee behavior have direct positive impact on customer loyalty or retention. It is also significant to learn from the empirical evidence that in the mid-market segment environment loyalty/retention leads to commitment. Further, the findings of the study revealed that variables of CRM play a significant role in customer retention and loyalty through satisfaction. Since commitment and loyalty are synonymous and positively associated with each other also evidented by the results. The research further suggested managerial and prcatical implications in the mid-market segment of hotel sector. Rajeshwari Chatterjee Sanjiv Kumar Srivastava 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15 The Application of Dwyer and Kim Integrated Model of Competitiveness in Egypt Geotourism Sites: A Case Study of Jebel Qatrani https://i-scholar.in/index.php/ijhts/article/view/213564 The aim of this paper is to identify the application of Dwyer and Kim integrated model of competitiveness to increase the demand of geotourism sites Jebel Qatrani in Egypt. This research adopted a quantitative approach based on questionnaire, two types of sampling including a convenience sample for official staff and snowballing sampling for experts. The total number of distributed questio-nnaires was 250 copies. The final returned questionnaires were 190 copies with 76% response rate. The study finding highlighted that the benefits of the competitiveness indicators and variables which including; created resources, site management, situational condition and endowed resources. The findings mentioned that the majority of the resource variables created are not available in Jebel Qatrani and need more attention from those responsible for managing this site. The finding showed that camera not available in Jebel Qatrani. A security procedure is lack in Jebel Qatrani, so there is no procedure for protected customers. The findings showed that there is a unique exceptional variety in geological and geomorphological in Jebel Qatrani. It also indicated that geotourism competitiveness indicators are an important driver of the competitiveness of Jebel Qatrani development. The findings further reported that the geotourism sites demand play an important role for increasing the competitiveness of tourism. This study contributed to enhance knowledge of geotourism sites competitiveness by using Dwyer and Kim integrated model. Challenging point in this study is among fewer studies talking about geotourism competitiveness in Egypt. Maha Yehia Kamel Abdou Ghada Mohamed Wafik Suzan Bakri Hassan 2022-12-01 2022-12-01 15