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This study aims to examine the direct relationships between behavioral intention and factors driving the growth of the wellness tourism industry in the USA. Relationships were hypothesized based on alternative explanations for the rise in popularity of wellness tourism in research streams.

Two models were estimated and tested using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), each incorporating two constructs – Life stress and involvement in health – in addition to theoretically stipulated precursors to Behavioral Intention.

Both constructs were found to be significant predictors of behavioral intention. However, involvement proved a much stronger predictor than life stress. Implications for the management and marketing of this subsector are discussed in the paper.

This study extends the understanding of travelers’ behavioral intentions in the context of wellness tourism by using an extended TPB, with life stress and involvement in health and wellness considered. The study compares general travelers with current/potential wellness travelers (excluding those whose sole purpose was wellness) and the factors that influence their travel behavior.

As the world grapples with the pervasive effects of the coronavirus pandemic, a notable disconnect has emerged in the public's understanding of scientific and medical research. Particularly, the travel industry has become unquestionably vulnerable amid the COVID-19 outbreak; this pandemic has interrupted the industry's operations with devastating economic consequences. This paper aims to highlight the importance of deconstructing barriers between medical science and public awareness related to COVID-19, taking tourism as a case in point. It also discusses the role of interdisciplinary research in facilitating the tourism and hospitality industry's recovery and alleviating tourists' uncertainties in the wake of COVID-19.

This paper offers a synthesis of news coverage from several media outlets, framed within the literature on knowledge transformation across disciplines. This framing focuses on the medical sciences (e.g. public health) and social sciences (e.g. tourism management) to identify gaps between medical scientific knowledge and public awareness in the context of COVID-19. The authors' experience in public health and tourism management further demonstrates a missing link between academic research and the information made available in public health and everyday settings. A potential research agenda is proposed accordingly.

This paper summarizes how salient issues related to knowledge transfer can become intensified during a global pandemic, such as medical research not being communicated in plain language, which leads some citizens to feel apathetic about findings. Reporting on the prevalence and anticipated consequences of disease outbreaks can hence be difficult, especially early in the development of diseases such as COVID-19.

By assuming a cross-disciplinary perspective on medical/health and social science research, this paper encourages academic and practical collaboration to bring medical research to the masses. This paper also outlines several research directions to promote public health, safety and sustainability through tourism.

This paper highlights that it is essential for medical knowledge to be disseminated in a manner that promotes public understanding. The tourism and hospitality industry can benefit from an essential understanding of medical findings, particularly during this pandemic. Without a firm grasp on COVID-19's origins and treatment, the tourism and hospitality industry will likely struggle to recover from this catastrophe.

Taking COVID-19 as a case in point, this study advocates leveraging the strengths of disparate domains to bring medical findings to a wider audience and showcase cutting-edge developments for the greater good. This study also emphasizes the importance of engaging the general public in reputable scientific research findings to increase public awareness in a professional and accurate manner.

This paper presents a unique and critical discussion of the gap between medical science knowledge and public awareness, as well as its implications for tourism and hospitality recovery after COVID-19, with a focus on applying medical scientific knowledge to post-pandemic industry recovery.

當全球正與冠狀病毒流行病所帶來的廣泛影響抗衡之際，公眾對科學和醫學研究的理解卻出現了一個令人關注的脫節現象。在2019冠狀病毒病爆發期間，旅遊業無疑格外受到影響。這流行病中斷了旅遊業的運作，給業界帶來毀滅性的經濟影響。本文旨在以旅遊業為一個適時的例子、強調我們必須剖析與2019冠狀病毒病相關的醫學與公共意識之間的障礙。本文亦討論跨學科研究對促進2019冠狀病毒病疫情後旅遊及酒店業的復甦、及減低旅客的不確定性所扮演的角色。

本文提供一個來自數個媒體管道的新聞報導的綜合論述，而這論述是在與跨學科知識轉化相關的文獻領域內陳述而成的。論述的重點放在醫學科學(例如公共衛生) 和社會科學(例如觀光管理) 上，目的是確定在2019冠狀病毒病的背景下、醫學知識與公共意識之間的差距。作者們在公共衛生及觀光管理方面的經歷進一步顯示學術研究、與公共衛生和日常環境上的公開資訊之間缺乏銜接，本文就此提出一個研究議程。

本文總結與知識轉化相關的顯著問題如何會在全球流行病爆發期間變得更嚴重。譬如、醫學研究的資訊會因沒有以通俗語言來傳遞而令有些國民對其研究結果漠不關心。因此，關於疾病的傳播和爆發所預期的影響的信息是難於廣傳的，特別是在像2019冠狀病毒病等疾病形成的初期。

本文就醫學知識與公共意識之間的差距作出了一個獨特、有批判性的討論，亦論述這差距對2019冠狀病毒病疫情過後旅遊及酒店業復甦的意義。討論的焦點放在如何應用醫學知識在疫情後幫助產業復甦上。

作者們採用涵蓋醫學/衛生和社會科學研究的跨學科角度，鼓勵學者與從事實務人員相互合作、以便把醫學研究帶給廣泛的民眾。本文亦概述多個研究方向，透過旅遊業來推動公共衛生、公眾安全及可持續性。

本文強調醫學知識必須透過能提高公共意識的方式來傳遞。旅遊及酒店業會因我們對醫學研究結果擁有必要的認識而受惠，尤其是在這流行病蔓延的期間。若我們對2019冠狀病毒病的病源和療法沒有確切的了解，則旅遊及酒店業將難從這災難中恢復過來。

本研究利用2019冠狀病毒病這個適時的例子，來提倡借助各個不同領域的優點，為了謀求公眾的利益、把醫學的研究結果帶給更多民眾、及傳達醫療最新發展的信息。本研究亦強調以專業、精準的方法，引起公眾對可信賴的科學研究結果產生興趣，從而提高公共意識至為重要。

This paper aims to examine the influences of the number of hotel management responses and especially the textual similarity in hotel management responses to online reviews on hotel online booking.

This study used the data from 437 hotels in New York City on Expedia. The data specifically include online reviews, management responses and real-time number of online hotel bookings, which were merged to create one dataset for this study. To calculate the management response similarity, three widely recognized text mining functions of calculating textual similarity were adopted in this model. Fixed-effect panel data model was then used to examine the influence of management response to consumer online reviews on online hotel booking volume.

The empirical results demonstrate that the number of management responses to consumer online reviews does not significantly affect hotel booking; compared to none or only one management response, or management responses with low similarity, management responses with high similarity can significantly reduce the hotel booking on Expedia.

This study suggests that the similarity of management responses influences customers’ hotel booking, and hotel managers should avoid providing too similar management responses.

First, this study, for the first time, proposes the concept of management response similarity and its measurement methods. Second, this study takes an initial attempt to empirically test the influence of response similarity on hotel booking by using secondary data online.

With the growing online review manipulation and fake reviews in the hospitality industry, it is not uncommon that a consumer encounters disconfirmation when comparing the existing online reviews with his/her own product or service evaluation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of review disconfirmation on customer online review writing behavior.

This study used a mixed-method combining online secondary big data modeling and experimental design.

Review disconfirmation influences customers’ emotional responses embedded in the review; a customer who encounters review disconfirmation tends to exert more reviewing effort, manifested by writing longer reviews; negativity bias exists in disconfirmation effects, in that negative review disconfirmation shows more significant and stronger effects than positive review disconfirmation.

Findings from this study provide important managerial implications for business owners and marketers who attempt to influence online reviews. The study suggests that fictitious online review manipulation might be detrimental to the business.

This research contributes to two literature streams, including research on the social influence of online consumer reviews, and the relationship between disconfirmation and consumers’ post-consumption behavior, by extending the influence of disconfirmation from the offline context to the online context.

The purpose of this study is to profile market segments using travelers’ decision-making styles (DMS) as segmentation bases and to identify similarities and differences between traveler segments regarding a series of psychographic and attitudinal characteristics.

Data are gathered from a sample of 426 travelers in Dubai and Shanghai via self-reported surveys. Analyses included factor, k-means cluster, discriminant and MANOVA.

Study findings reveal significant differences among the rational, adaptive and daydreamer decision-makers’ segments in their behavioral and attitudinal characteristics with respect to tourism involvement and destination images.

Findings provide important practical implications for generating effective marketing and positioning strategies based on the identified attitudinal characteristics of the traveler segments for destination marketing organizations.

A stream of recent tourism studies shows a strong relationship between tourism involvement and destination images, yet very little research has tackled the issue of how these critical variables can be affected by individuals’ decision-making styles. This study explores and tests the relationships among DMS, tourism involvement and destination image using a factor-cluster approach.

Online reviews are often likely to be socially influenced by prior reviews. This study aims to examine key review and reviewer characteristics which may influence the social influence process.

Restaurant review data from Yelp.com are analyzed using an ordered logit model and text mining approach.

This study reveals that prior average review rating exerts a positive influence on subsequent review ratings for the same restaurant, but the effect is attenuated by the variance in existing review ratings. Moreover, social influence is stronger for consumers who had a moderate dining experience or invested less cognitive effort in writing online reviews. Compared to reviewers classified by Yelp as “elite,” non-elite reviewers appear more susceptible to the social influence of prior average review rating.

This study provides guidelines for mitigating the social influence of prior reviews and improving the accuracy of online product/service ratings, which will eventually enhance business and the reputation of online review platforms.

The findings from this study contribute to the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) literature and social influence literature in terms of the bidirectional nature of social influence on eWOM.

This study aims to investigate how prior reviews posted by other consumers affect subsequent consumers’ evaluations and to what extent the review temporal distance can increase or reduce the social influence of prior reviews. In this study’s restaurant context, review temporal distance refers to the duration between dining time and review time of a dining experience.

The data of paired online restaurant reservations and reviews are analyzed using Ordered Logit Model. Two robustness checks are conducted to test the stability of the main estimation results.

The empirical results demonstrate that consumers’ restaurant evaluation is socially influenced by both the prior average review rating and number of prior reviews; review temporal distance has a direct negative effect on consumers’ restaurant evaluation; and review temporal distance increases the social influence of prior reviews.

This study suggests that online review matters. Both restaurants and the online review platforms should encourage consumers to share their experiences and post online reviews immediately after their consumption.

The study contributes to the literature on electronic word-of-mouth, social influence and psychological distance. First, the bi-directional nature of social influence on electronic word-of-mouth for experience-oriented product is documented. Second, for the first time, this study examines how review temporal distance could affect the social influence on consumers’ restaurant evaluation.

The purpose of this paper is to gauge potential interest in equestrian events for a proposed multi-use international horse park.

Multi-stage, mixed methods were employed, including interviews with industry professionals at competing horse parks, a survey of potential visitors and an economic impact analysis.

Both industry professionals and equine tourists felt that the proposed facility had the potential to succeed with an international horse park especially as it already has a strong equine culture. Potential visitors already possess a high awareness of city as an equestrian tourist destination, and the majority said they would visit the new facility to take part in, or watch equine events. At medium utilization, the facility has the potential to attract 225 events to the park annually, attracting approximately 428,000 attendees. This would have an annual spending impact of about US$38 million, generating 575 full-time jobs.

Based on the results, a number of recommendations were made to the local chamber of commerce by the researchers, but the key suggestion was that stakeholders in Aiken proceed cautiously with a phased approach to development.

Despite the growing body of literature related to measuring the impacts of events, very few researchers have looked at the feasibility of new events, and the need to measure potential demand for a new facility. This paper is therefore unique and of great value to both researchers and practitioners.

The article aims to discuss the relationship of culture and tourist behavior. The focus of the study is to propose an extended research framework related to individualism/collectivism culture and group travel intention. The article seeks to argue that group travel intention and behavior is not only influenced by the cultural background of individualism or collectivism, but also a function of several factors including social, political, and economic influence, as well as personal background of individual travelers.

The article investigates the major current research and methodological issues in cross‐cultural tourist behavior studies. By reviewing and assessing important concepts related to this particular theoretical topic, the study proposes a conceptual framework based on the extensive literature review and discussion.

The study proposes that personal background, as well as social, political, and economic factors all moderate the relationship between culture and group travel behavior, making tourist behavior in collectivism or individualism cultures more similar or different from one another. The research also tests whether social conditions of marginality contribute to the differences.

The study helps avoid the stereotypes of individualism/collectivism culture related to group travel behavior, and provides better understanding of the function of various personal, social, political, and economic factors on tourist behavior.

Cross‐cultural studies in tourism are limited, especially in the tourist behavior sector. The article offers insights into the cultural differences and tourist behaviors on a more detailed market basis.

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the current special issue of research related to cultural misconceptions during the globalization of tourism.

The four peer reviewed articles presented in this special issue are introduced.

All of the research articles examine the potential or actual result of misconceptions when different cultures interact. Culture identity is a common theme throughout the articles. Sub‐themes include how cultural identity is changed (positively or negatively) when other cultures interact. The data collection sites include: Zakopane, a small village of 30,000 residents located in the Tatra Mountains in the South of Poland; Ubud, a village in Bali, Indonesia; Great Britain and Ireland; Shandong, China; and a framework to compare data collected throughout different cultures in Asia. The first two articles presented examine the influence of tourism on a village. The third article focuses on service providers working in large cities. The fourth article examines what is considered to be the fastest growing tourist destination (i.e. China). Finally, the last article provides the reader with a theoretical framework.

The special issue on misconceptions addresses how the interaction of different cultures, for all the benefits, may also have negative repercussion on the host country and tourist. Instead of the traditional all white American sample, this call generated global insight. This article provides an introduction