Search results

The paper addresses the relationship between a tourism authority and micro‐tourism businesses in terms of information access and use. The background is the commonly found dysfunction between the strategic intentions of a locality and small business performance. Information seeking is examined theoretically through its relationship to human capital. Given the evidence of entrance to the industry from outside it, it was thought that lack of tourism training would influence information seeking. The study confirmed the low levels of human capital, a modest interest in the larger picture but no evidence of the impact on decision‐making. The study also raises the issue of whether the use of the Internet separates small businesses from the regional tourism strategy.

The article examines the development of wine tourism in Hungary, with a specific interest in the recent developments. Wine tourism in Hungary is in its infancy, but recent years have seen considerable developments. The creation of wine routes and the “1999 — Year of Grastronomy and Wine” initiative are discussed in detail. It is argued that wine tourism can offer considerable benefits both for the wine and the tourism industry for a number of reasons. Firstly, wine tourism might contribute to the dispersal of tourist flows from the established tourist centres. Secondly, it can enhance the image of the destination and thirdly, it can create an awareness of the importance of the quality issues. It is concluded that the next step in promoting and developing wine tourism must go beyond the initial marketing efforts and that appropriate market research and development policies are needed for the long‐term development of a successful wine tourism industry in Hungary.

This study aims to investigate how city dependence and city social bonding determine city brand love. In addition, the study examines whether there are different resident segments that exhibit distinct behaviour in relation to city brand formation.

The study is based on primary responses collected from 595 residents from Khulna city in Bangladesh. The research model is tested using partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling. The resident segments were identified using PLS prediction-oriented segmentation method.

Results show that city dependence (i.e. dependence on urban facilities and services provided by the city) and city social bonding (i.e. social interactions amongst residents in the city) lead to city brand love through city satisfaction and city identification. In addition, the study finds that city social bonding and city satisfaction are important for the relationship-reliant residents, whereas city dependence and city identification are important for the resource-reliant residents.

Future research can investigate the relationship between the length of residence and native vs non-native residents’ influence on city brand love formation.

The city brand managers and planners should adopt a resident-inclusive approach that considers the different needs of the residents to engender city brand love.

The study contributes to city branding literature by empirically investigating the under-researched topic of city brand love by identifying the key constructs and their role in determining city brand love. Further, it shows that the route to city brand love formation is different based on residents’ needs.