CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.3 Research of the Influencing Factors of MTEs
2.3.1 Destination Attributes
Crouch and Ritchie (2005) proposed that the competitiveness of destinations come from pleasant and memorable experiences. Destinations are composed of various attributes, such as beautiful scenery, shopping opportunities, cultural exchanges, infrastructure, safety and activities (J.-H. Kim & Jang, 2014). A good image of a destination can greatly influence individuals’ choice of destinations (Chi & Qu, 2009; Echtner & Ritchie, 1993; J.-H. Kim, 2014). Destination attributes included core attributes and additional ones. Individuals visit some destinations mainly to enjoy the core attributes (Hou, Lin, & Morais, 2005).
At present, researchers have not reached a consensus on the composition of destination attributes. Ryan is influential in the research area of the influence of destination factors, he considered the influence factors included the nature of destination, accessibility, quality of accommodation, ethnic nature of destination, number of scenic spots and activity content (Ryan, 1997). Buhal is divided destination attributes into six parts: attractions, amenities, accessibility, local activities, tourism services and other auxiliary services (Buhalis, 2000). The quality of tourism experience is not only determined by the attributes of tourist destinations, but also determined by the service of hospitality staff of tourism enterprises, all of which constitute the destination factors that affect tourists’ experience (Ross, 1991).
Considering the various functions of destination attributes, other researchers have extensively studied on destination attributes and developed a
destination competitiveness model based on various factors of destination (Crouch &
Ritchie, 1999; Dwyer & Kim, 2003; Michael et al., 2004; Ritchie & Crouch, 2003).
Crouch and Ritchie (1999) proposed the groundbreaking Destination Competitiveness Model from a macro-geographical perspective, believing that tourist experience is shaped by core resources and supporting factors and resources, destination management, qualifying determinants, global (macro) environment, competitive (micro) environment. Since then, Crouch and Ritchie (2005) have further improved the model, and created the new model of 36 destination resource attributes that affect tourism experience, which is widely cited for its comprehensiveness, efficiency and authority (Table 2.6). Some researchers and organizations, such as the World Economic Forum, have developed destination competitiveness indexes based on this model and used it to rank the competitiveness of different countries in the tourism market.
Subsequently, Kim (2014) applied the model of Crouch and Ritchie (2005) to study tourist towns, and selected 14 factors from the model’s 36 destination attributes to verify, which respectively are Infrastructure, Accessibility, Local culture, Physiography & climate, Environment management, the quality of service, Hospitality, Place attachment, Superstructure, a mix of activities, Safety/Security, Cost/Value, Special events, Entertainment. He found that local culture, variety of activities, hospitality, infrastructure, environment management, accessibility, quality of service, physiography, place attachment, and superstructure would influence the MTEs. The researches of Kim (2014) implied that local culture, variety of activities, hospitality and infrastructure are more important. Based on Hou and the others’
theory, these four factors are core attributes, while the other six are additional attributes (Hou et al., 2005). However, an additional empirical researches on each factor’s influence on experience factors was not included in his research.
Table 2.6 Destination Competitiveness Model
Factor Item
qualifying and amplifying determinants
Location, Safety/Security, Cost/ Value,
Interdependencies, Awareness/Image, Carrying Capacity
Destination policy, planning and development
System definition, Philosophy/value, vision, positioning branding, development,competitive/
collaborative analysis, monitoring & evaluation, audit
destination management Organization, Marketing, Quality of Service/
Experience, information/research, Human Resource Development, Finance &Venture Capital, Visitor Management, resource stewardship, crisis
management
Core resource & attractors Physiography and climate, culture & history, mix of activities, special events, entertainment, superstructure, marketties
Supporting factors&
resources
Infrastructure, accessibility, facilitating resources, hospitality, enterprise, political will
Source: Crouch & Ritchie (2005).
Singh and Singh also applied the model of Crouch & Ritchie (2005) to measure the destination attributes associated with tourists revisit intention, and summarized 10-dimensional construct, which are Local culture, Mix of activities, Hospitality, Infrastructure, Environment management, Ease to access, Service quality, Physical geography, Place attachment, Superstructure (Singh & Singh, 2019). This dimension is basically in consistent with the dimension of destination attributes affecting MTEs developed by Kim (2014), which further expands the scope of the study.
Moreover, some researchers have concluded different influencing factors in light of the characteristics of the research objects. Such as Sthapit’s studies memorable experiences based on food and hotels. While researching memorable food experiences, the conceptual framework composed of many key elements is summarized: local specialities and food attributes, authenticity, novelty, togetherness and social interaction, hospitality, and service scape including food infrastructure (Sthapit, 2017a). He revealed three components that contribute to tourists’ memorable hotel experiences: a comfortable bed, the friendly attitude of hotel staff, and a delicious breakfast with plenty of choices as well as good restaurant service at the hotel (Sthapit, 2017b). Sthapit also explored four prerequisites for a memorable hotel experience basing on interviews with 16 participants from 11 different countries: the warm and welcoming attitude of the staff, a comfortable room, the location of the accommodation and Breakfast (Sthapit, 2018). In exploring the memorable brand experience of golf tournament spectators, he discovered attributes of affection to player: affection to player, hospitality and service management, the game of golf, and course setting (Hwang & Lee, 2018).
To summarize, on the one hand, the key role of destination attributes in maintaining competitive advantages in highly competitive markets has been emphasized by researchers, but researches on the determinants of tourism experience are still immature. Besides, few studies have examined the relationship between destination attributes and tourism experience (Assaf & Josiassen, 2012), even though this area of research is receiving more attention. On the other hand, although the core attributes of destination attributes play a major role in stimulating individuals to leave their residence to go to the destinations, it does not mean that other additional attributes of destination are not important or even can be ignored (C.-F. Lee, Huang,
& Yeh, 2010). Instead, the additional attributes of the destination are particularly important in enhancing the attractiveness of the destination, because they can attract individuals to leave their permanent residences to go to the destination. If the internal needs of the individuals are met, they will give a more positive evaluation to the core attributes (Hou et al., 2005). Therefore, it is critical to determine the target attributes that affect MTEs.