Browsing by Author "Uysal, Muzaffer"
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- Agri-TourismBlacka, Aaron E.; Couture, Pierre; Coale, Charles W. Jr.; Dooley, John E.; Hankins, Andrew G.; Lastovica, Ann McDaniel, 1947-; Mihalik, Brian; Reed, Charlotte A.; Uysal, Muzaffer (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009-05-01)A guide to starting an agritourism business, including numerous checklists and resources
- Apparent Preferences of Beach Users at Virginia Beach Resort ZoneMacBean, Anna Ruth (Virginia Tech, 2013-03-25)After compiling an appropriate list of beach criteria from established award programs and experts, the research landscape architect observed the Virginia Beach Resort Zone for areas of intense beach user activity. The resulting analysis of these "hot-spots" indicated that urban resort beach users visiting the recreational beach during high-use times tended to gravitate toward locations on the resort beach which were close to three needs: public parking, public restrooms, and inexpensive refreshments. This pattern shows the apparent preferences of many beach users for certain amenities.
- Consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction of upscale restaurant dining: a two dimensional approachSun, Lou-Hon (Virginia Tech, 1994)Dining out is one of the most popular leisure activities in developed countries. A review of the studies on consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CS/D) in restaurant dining indicates that the majority of restaurant management literature deals with the product/service dimension of restaurant dining and that the leisure dimension of restaurant dining has not been explored. This study was approached with a desire to combine the knowledge from leisure, tourism, marketing, and service management in order to add to the body of knowledge in restaurant management. An analysis of an empirical test of the satisfaction disconfirmation model in an upscale restaurant was conducted. The emphasis was on the impact of perceived product/service and leisure disconfirmations on CS/D with upscale restaurant dining. Initially, thirteen product/service attributes were identified through in-depth literature review and consequently nine leisure attributes were adapted from Beard and Ragheb's leisure motivation scale (1983). A self-administered questionnaire was given to 443 customers in an upscale restaurant and 217 questionnaires were returned by mail. It was found that respondents had significantly higher perceived product/service disconfirmation than perceived leisure disconfirmation. Five factors were identified by factor analysis of the 22 attributes. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that all the 13 product/service attributes which separated into three factors--food and beverage (F&B), price/quantity, and physical/service--had significant impacts on consumer satisfaction. The nine leisure attributes were identified as two factors--factor leisure one and factor leisure two. Factor leisure one was found to have no significant impact on CS/D. Factor leisure two which includes discover new things, avoid the hustle & bustle of daily activities, and interact with others, was found to relate significantly to consumer satisfaction. Among the four significant factors, F&B had the highest effect on consumer satisfaction with upscale restaurant dining followed by price/quantity. Compared with the physical/service factor, factor leisure two had a slightly higher effect on consumer satisfaction for upscale restaurant dining.
- Effects of tourism-related cooperatives on community development in AppalachiaMcGehee, Nancy G. (Virginia Tech, 1994)Rising poverty rates, increases in joblessness, and the depletion of traditional means of livelihood (such as agriculture and large industry), are all forces working to diminish the ability for the rural Appalachian to make a living (Appalachian Regional Commission, 1993). Many rural development professionals interested in cultivating new options are including the concept of the cooperative as a tool for economic development. However, there is some controversy over whether the cooperative form of organization is an optimal method of economic development for rural America. The same had been said about tourism as a contributor to economic development. This thesis uses case study analysis to examine three current cooperatives and their contributions to the community, using a Weberian lens of formal versus substantive rationality. Results indicated a tentative relationship between amount and type of contributions of the tourism-related cooperative organization and type of rationality for its existence.
- An empirical study of the relationship between restaurant image and customer loyaltyOh, Heung Chul (Virginia Tech, 1995)The primary objective of this study was to empirically determine the relationship between restaurant images and loyalties toward seven competing casual dinner house restaurant chains, and to understand the nature of their competition by matching patronage behavior toward alternative restaurant chains with perceptions of alternative restaurants) on particular image attributes. The canonical correlation analysis revealed that the measures of image had significant impact on both loyalty measures toward selected casual dinner house restaurant chains: (1) patronage intentions and (2) proportions of patronage. Furthermore, the interpretation of the canonical functions revealed the nature of competition in terms of market segments and positioning. The research findings of this study imply that the obtained restaurant image is not only an analytical device to diagnose the weaknesses and strengths possessed by each restaurant relative to other restaurants, but also a predictive tool for loyalty patterns toward alternative restaurants. This study contributes to the existing consumer patronage behavior literature by providing empirical research results for the interrelationships between multi-store image measures and multi-store loyalty measures. Further, this research illustrates the usefulness of canonical analysis, which is a powerful technique for exploring the relationships between one set of variables and a second set of variables. Lastly, this study is of empirical value to restaurant management. In terms of offering strategic guidelines, this study shows the magnitude of the relationships and explains the nature of competition in a local market by linking consumer's loyalty behavior toward one or more restaurants with the image strengths/weaknesses of alternative restaurants on salient image dimensions. As a consequence, restaurants can use this information in their repositioning strategies to improve or change their image.
- The influence of political risk events on the investment decisions of multinational hotel companies in Caribbean hotel projectsTurnbull, Desna R. (Virginia Tech, 1996)The objective of this exploratory study was threefold. First, it was to identify the political risk events that drive the level of equity involvement of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in hotel projects in the Caribbean region. Second, it was to learn how these forces influence specific financial parameters involved in the funding of these projects. The final dimension of the study’s objective was to learn to what extent the stage of tourism development had a moderating effect on these parameters. It was hypothesized that the occurrence of political risk events influence the willingness of multinational hotel companies to participate in hotel projects, given a particular stage of the tourism development. The definition of political risk events is based upon Friedmann and Kim’s (1988) list. Butler’s (1980) Concept of Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution was used as the basis for consideration of the influence of political risk events. Key investment parameters, on which managerial decisions were to be made such as level of investment, mode of investment and risk premium requirements were examined. Methodology for the study was a modified Delphi technique conducted in three rounds of panel considerations. Panelists were senior executives, drawn from the Caribbean Hotel Association’s Corporate Forum and from international hotel investment and consulting firms. These executives were asked indicate what they perceived the level of risk associated with each variables to be. In addition, they were asked to rank 12 Caribbean countries in terms of the level of tourism development. During the third round their tasks were to rate the variables again and to indicate, based on rating scales provided, how they would invest in three designated countries: Haiti, the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Analysis of the results of the panel considerations indicated that when political risk was perceived to be high, investment levels were low and the associated risk premiums were high. The non-equity mode was preferred for all countries. Results of the study should be useful to the decision makers in the hospitality industry, and to policy makers and scholars of international tourism development.
- Nature Centers in Local Communities: Perceived Values, Support Factors, and Visitation ConstraintsBrowning, Matthew Herbert Emerson Mutel (Virginia Tech, 2015-07-21)This dissertation examines three relationships between nature centers and their local communities. First, what are the values provided by local centers as perceived by community members? Second, what factors lead community members to support local centers? And third, what are the constraints to visiting local centers as perceived by community members? We surveyed random samples of community members living around 16 diverse nature centers across the United States and conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses to address these questions. Chapter one introduces the study and provides a literature review of theories and empirical research related to the research questions. Chapter two reports the results of an exploratory factor analysis on the level of importance communities assign to fourteen nature center services. The factor analysis revealed four underlying values: environmental connection, leisure provision, civic engagement, and community resilience. Chapter three tests sixteen hypothesized predictors of community support for nature centers. All these variables were significant, suggesting people volunteer at, donate to, or respond to threats at nature centers for a range of reasons. These include those related to supporting nature center missions (e.g. environmental connection significance and commitment to nature) but also other reasons such as friends' and family's perceptions of nature centers and assessments of the center staff members. Chapter four explores constraints that emerge during different stages of the decision-making process people go through when considering whether or not to visit a local nature center. The greatest constraints emerge in early stages (e.g. center awareness) and late stages (e.g. limited finances, transportation, and time) of decision-making. Chapter five discusses the study's implications to theory, including ecosystem service and educational leisure setting valuation, environmentally significant and charitable support behavior, and leisure constraints, as well as nature center practice. Centers that consider these implications might better serve their local communities and achieve their missions.
- Utopian Expectations as Observed Using SWOT Analysis at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, VirginiaMacBean, Kenneth Mark (Virginia Tech, 2013-03-14)The investigation applies the intelligence cycle and researches the degree of Utopian development, as observed at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW), Virginia, utilizing a common business and competitive intelligence tool, known as the SWOT. The research uncovered numerous aspects apparent at the target, BGW, many of which served to re-classify the theme park development from that of a premier theme park to a themed amusement park. The research question was concluded on by indicating that there was no apparent sincere or consistent attempt being made to perfect the numerous venues at the park, and that no specific cause or reason was identifiable as to the intentionality or unintentionality of the neglect of the research question, in terms of design intent toward constant improvement, as in Utopian-driven expectations of development.
- “Where you do it” matters: The impact of hotels’ revenue-management implementation strategies on performance [Summary]Altin, Mehmet; Schwartz, Zvi; Uysal, Muzaffer (Virginia Tech, 2017-10)This study explores RM strategic implementation approaches, addressing the question of whether the RM function should be performed within the hotel property, or should be outsourced to an outside entity such as corporate, regional office or a third party.