Experiencing Dracula's homeland

ABSTRACT

Transylvania has not only a geographical location as a province of Romania but also a mental meaning as Dracula's land. Dracula has become an important brand name for Romania, attracting many tourists in recent years – especially after the fall of communism. The main dimensions of Dracula's castle (i.e. Bran Castle) experiences shared online by tourists were identified to ascertain the primary reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction with visits and to test whether narratives and satisfaction vary according to the occasion (i.e. Halloween). Quantitative (i.e. computer-based) and qualitative (i.e. narrative) content analyses were conducted on the Web reviews written by visitors. The results reveal that the experiences are multidimensional, and they include the following themes: ‘castle’, ‘visit’, ‘Dracula’, ‘inside’, ‘tourist’, ‘outside’, ‘trip’, ‘souvenirs’, ‘stairs’ and ‘Dracula's castle’. The main reasons for dissatisfaction are overcrowding, which is connected with the outside theme, and the disappointment of tourists regarding the old furniture, which is associated with the inside theme. The results also reveal that visitors are the most satisfied with their experience around the time of Halloween. The narratives shared online emphasise tourists’ need to associate their imaginings with this region and castle, giving their experiences greater meaning through this destination's image as Transylvania.     

An investigation of factors determining cycling experience and frequency

A bicycle tourism destination is composed of complexes of different attributes that are crucial for the determination of tourist satisfaction levels. However, the relative impact of sector-specific destination attributes on bicycle touring and leisure cycling experience and frequency has been both poorly understood and studied. This study is an attempt to fill this literature gap by exploring a demand-side perspective on the important contributors of overall satisfaction with cycling experience and the key determinants of cycling frequency. The 28 sector-specific destination attributes were drawn from the relevant literature, and then modified by a panel of industry experts. Using exploratory factor analysis, three destination-specific attribute-level satisfaction factors were identified in descending order of satisfaction degree: ‘provision of signage services,’ ‘provision of safety and emergency services,’ and ‘quality of bicycle routes.’ Among these factors, ‘provision of safety and security services’ and ‘provision of signage services’ were found to be the most important contributors to overall satisfaction. Finally, ‘monthly income’ was proven to be a significant predictor of cycling frequency. This study is of great importance as there is a growing body of evidence that the use of bicycle for leisure, recreation, and tourism is undergoing a resurgence worldwide. The findings of this study may be of interest to scholars in Western countries where bicycle tourism is mature and highly developed and in Asian countries where the sector is at an early stage of development. Since bicycle touring and leisure cycling experience and frequency can be increased by modifying destination marketing and management practices, the government and industry sectors should focus more attention on ensuring the provision of multi-functional grocery and convenience stores along designated bicycle routes, developing an informative and visible signage system for designated bicycle routes, and targeting middle- to high-income bicyclists with diverse bicycle touring and leisure cycling experience options.     

基于员工满意度的饭店软实力比较研究——以宁波本土饭店K和外资饭店H为例

本研究选取宁波本土饭店K和外资饭店H作为研究对象,采用问卷方法构建饭店员工满意度指标,以员工满意度作为衡量饭店软实力的切入点,将本土饭店K与外资饭店H的软实力进行了定量化的比较研究。研究表明,尽管本土饭店K的员工满意度高于外资饭店H,但在员工素质和长期发展等方面仍存在较大差距。本文还对员工学历、工资、职位等与员工满意度的关系进行了讨论。     

旅游地映象、游客满意度及行为意向关系研究——以桂林七星公园为例

以桂林七星公园为案例地,采用因子分析凝炼了映象认知维度成分,验证其符合功能-混合-心理的变化趋势。其中,功能成分体现在对旅游服务及设施的感知上,混合成分体现在对自然资源环境、历史文化环境的感知上,心理成分体现在对地方社会环境的感知上。通过构建结构方程,发现对地方社会氛围的感知对于情感映象有正向显著的影响;旅游服务及设施对游客满意度具有最显著的影响,自然资源环境与历史文化环境也具有一定的作用;在满意度对行为意向有显著的正向作用条件下,认知映象各成分对游客行为意向产生间接作用。     

Editorial

Abstract

A recent online article in The Daily Beast listed archaeology as one of the thirteen most useless undergraduate degrees. The article failed to identify transferable job skills gained while engaged in archaeological work. Further, archaeological field programmes and labs offer an alternative learning environment that benefits some students. This article reviews two archaeological projects that used archaeology as a form of social activism to provide employment and education to an under-served community as a fundamental aspect of its goals. The Hopedale Archaeology Project is an archaeology field project based in a north-east Canadian community that provides education and work opportunities for Inuit students. The Veterans Curation Program based in the United States provides temporary employment to recently discharged military veterans in an archaeological and archival curation lab. These programmes assist individuals to re-establish themselves within the workforce and add to their academic and professional growth, as well as incorporate a public outreach component that makes archaeology and history more accessible to the public.     

古城西安住宅消费市场满意度重要性与差异性分析

本文以古城西安为例,在第一手调查资料的基础上,构建了住宅市场消费满意评价模型,采用消费者指标选择累积统计的方法,构建了重要性与满意差异模型,进行了重要性与满意差异分析。研究结果显示:评价项目中,住房价格与中观小区空间因素满意评价较低;满意且重要区域主要集中于宏观区域因素;重要不满意区域,价格因素主导突出。     

中国豪华饭店员工满意度研究——基于首批白金五星级饭店创建试点单位的调查报告

本文以首批创建白金五星级试点饭店为例,抽取相关饭店员工问卷样本进行满意度分析,采用SPSS13.0统计软件对员工是否满意、满意与不满意的因素并结合个人信息进行T检验和方差分析,以期对我国豪华饭店员工满意度现状进行评析并提出相关改进建议.     

求新动机、满意度对重游间隔意愿的影响——以凤凰古城旅游者为例

由于重游所带来的经济利益日益凸显,使得重游问题受到学界的广泛关注。本研究以湖南凤凰古城为案例地,采用问卷调查获得基础数据,建立结构方程模型从求新动机、满意度两个方面考究旅游者重游间隔意愿的形成机制。研究发现,在凤凰古城这样的快速发展旅游地,求新动机会直接影响旅游者的短期重游意愿,但对中期、长期重游意愿则没有显著的直接影响,同时求新动机会对满意度产生积极的影响。     

古村落旅游社区居民生活满意度及社区建设研究——以世界文化遗产皖南古村落为例

在市场需求与政府战略双重导向的推动下,古村落正日益发展成为国内重要的旅游地类型。本文以世界文化遗产皖南古村落为案例,通过对调查所得数据采用均值分析、相关分析和矩阵分析等方法,分析了古村落居民的社区生活满意度及其影响因素,提出了未来古村落旅游社区建设的重点和方向。分析结果表明：（1）住房条件、经济收入水平、学校教育、村民参与事务管理状况、社会福利和社会保障等是古村落社区建设与发展中急需改进的因素,也是未来工作中的重点建设方向;（2）村容村貌、道路交通、村内环境卫生、自然环境、基础设施、消防设施、医疗服务等是需要重点维护和完善的因素;（3）物价水平、休闲娱乐设施、就业机会、当地政府工作、公共休闲空间、文体设施等是可以逐步解决的因素;（4）与其他村民的关系处理、购物方便程度、社会治安等是需要不断维护的方面。     

城市居民乡村旅游满意度的实证研究——以长沙市为例

本文构建了乡村旅游满意度系统模型。以抽样调查的方法取得了长沙市居民乡村旅游满意度的数据,通过均值分析比较乡村旅游各分满意度的高低,发现住宿满意度与餐饮满意度较高,而娱乐满意度与购物满意度较低;通过相关分析发现各分满意度均与总体满意度高度正相关;利用多元回归分析了各分满意度对总体满意的贡献,发现景点质量满意度对乡村旅游总体满意贡献最大,而交通满意度贡献最小;最后,利用单因素方差分析,得出满意度在不同人口特征城市居民中的差异性。在研究结论的基础上。提出了一些提高乡村旅游满意度的建议,并指出了本文研究的不足与下一步研究方向。