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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role that provenance holds within the luxury textiles market. It defines similarities and differences in the perception and acceptance of provenance as a key strategy for luxury textile brands in the USA and the UK. Its purpose is to establish a framework of identifiable communication strategies for future growth of the luxury brand sector.

The study consisted of adopting an ethnographic approach to define the role of provenance within luxury brands in the USA and the UK. Attention was focused on textile heritage labels in the USA and in Scotland, to gain insight into how historic artisanship impacts the perception of luxury and authenticity by the consumer. Interviews with key strategists were conducted, and a comparison of the discussions disseminated.

The narrative behind a product, its authenticity and provenance, are key drivers in luxury textile brands, with the perception of quality of utmost importance. Long-standing companies have interwoven provenances with their spiritual birthplaces, people and environment which can be leveraged in product introductions and branding.

The paper provides a framework of key features of provenance to inform practitioners on dilemmas such as de-localization, re-localization and transcendence within the luxury brand sector.

The paper furthers academic research by investigating contemporary issues in luxury consumer behaviour; specifically in relation to the perception of provenance. While research focuses on Western luxury textile brands and consumers, it provides reference criteria and recommendations to luxury brand strategists that can be adopted and adapted for different fields and geographic locations.

The purpose of this paper is to offer an editorial introduction to the special issue on “Diversity management in the Middle East”.

The paper reviews the state of extant research on diversity and equal opportunity in the Middle East. It also offers an overview of the papers included in the special issue and the unique contribution they make to this field of knowledge.

Findings vary from one paper to the other; however, overall, the papers in the special issue bring to fore alternative types of national and corporate institutions, theoretical ideas, activities and challenges involved in diversity and equality management in the Middle East.

The papers offer some fresh insights in terms of theorizing and enacting diversity and equal opportunity in departure from the dominant Anglo‐centric theorizations in this field.

Policy makers as well as business managers may take into account various findings and recommendations offered in the papers in formulating context‐specific policies and practices of diversity management in the Middle East.

There are not many researchers interested in this field in the Middle East. Thus there are relatively few high quality research papers being produced. Those that are published appear in a wide variety of journals never achieving a critical mass. And the central role of national culture and values is rarely examined. The current (special) issue of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion addresses these gaps.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a background on developments in hospitality and tourism in India and its contribution to economic growth.

The paper discusses the importance of customer experience and provides insights on destination management approaches. It reviews the factors beyond the control of a specific service provider which impact the consumer experience. The paper also discusses the tourism potential for selected spiritual and cultural sites and gives an overview of the approach followed to assess consumer experience at each of these locations.

The paper focuses on elements that contribute to consumer experience at selected spiritual and cultural places. It also focuses on technology and its impact on creating a superior experience. Further, aspects of infrastructure and hygiene are also reviewed.

The paper explores spiritual and cultural tourism in the context of India where there is very little formal research in this area.

Religious tourism is one of the oldest and fastest-growing segments. This study analyzes religious tourism through the pilgrimage of Muslims to the holy city of Mecca and has the following objectives: (1) establish the motivational dimensions of religious tourism; (2) identify the motivational dimensions that predict the satisfaction of religious tourism and (3) determine the motivational dimensions that predict return, recommend and say positive things about religious tourism applied to the pilgrimage to a sacred city.

The sample consisted of Muslim pilgrims who had visited Mecca. The sample was collected in Bahrain, a country located on the Persian Gulf, where most of its population is Muslim. A total of 380 valid questionnaires were obtained online. For the data analysis, factorial analysis and the multiple regression method enter were performed.

The results show that religious motivations are more important when visiting a sacred city than secular ones. Three motivational dimensions were found: religious, social and cultural and shopping. The three dimensions found have a significant relationship with satisfaction and loyalty. Likewise, it was found that the religious motivational dimension is the factor that most predicts satisfaction and loyalty in the behavior of religious visits to a sacred city.

The main limitation of the present study was the temporality in which the sample was taken because the demand may vary at another time of the year and therefore vary its results.

The authors of the study recommend that holy cities increase the religious motivations of these travelers by periodically researching their needs and organizing services to suit their desired spiritual experience. Also, to improve the social and cultural part, travel agencies and tourist companies to Mecca should promote social and cultural motivation among travelers in an appropriate way by providing service packages that involve visits to cultural and social sites such as museums and cultural centers.

This research will serve as a management guide for public institutions and private companies to develop more efficient planning in religious destinations and sacred cities.

This study is the first to analyze the construct of motivations in the pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, to then establish what the main motivations are that predict satisfaction and loyalty in a religious city. Thus, its results provide important information for tourist destination managers and tourism service providers.

This paper aims to analyse how both Lin’s birthplace identity and his Christian identity contributed to his fruitful public career and to ascertain which identity became the most significant.

Archival research is the main method used in this paper. The most important archives drawn from are the Daniel Tse Collection in the Special Collection and Archives of the Hong Kong Baptist University Library. Oral history has also been used in this paper to uncover more material that has not yet been discussed in existing scholarly works.

This paper argues that although Lin’s birthplace identity and social networks helped him to start his business career in Nam Pak Hong and develop into a leader in the local Chaozhou communities, these factors were insufficient to his becoming a respectable member of the Chinese elite in post-war Hong Kong. He became well known not because of his leading position in local Chaozhou communities or any great achievement he had obtained in business but because of his contribution to the development of Christian education. These achievements earned him a reputation as a “Christian educator”. Thus Lin’s Christian identity became more important than his birthplace identity in contributing to his successful public career.

This paper has value in showing how Christian influences interacted with various cultural factors in early Hong Kong. It also offers insights into Lin’s life and motivations as well as the history of the institutions he contributed to/founded. It not only furthers our understanding of the Chinese Christian business elite in early Hong Kong but also provides us with insights when further studying this group of people in other British colonies in Asia.

The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing strategies that India is currently applying to promote itself as a competitive yoga destination.

The methodological approach consisted of a constructivist research paradigm, a qualitative methodology and an interview-based data collection method. Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with yoga practitioners from various backgrounds and yoga levels who have travelled to India for yoga tourism purposes.

The findings determined that interpretation of yoga tourism is crucial in the choice of marketing approach adopted by destinations offering yoga retreats because, as the study has shown, various perceptions of yoga constitute the basis for particular promotional strategies.

Future research could expand on the sample size and demographics of the current study by investigating, possibly through comparative means, larger groups of more diversified yoga practitioners from different countries or backgrounds.

It was recommended that India’s tourism marketers re-design their approach concerning an ‘authentic’ yoga experience. Indian destination marketing organisations should target those searching for an authentic yoga experience and use imagery that is realistic.

The findings of this study have led to the re-positioning of yoga tourism in India, utilising a unique combinative approach in which a more inclusive concept of wellness is juxtaposed against a lack of any religious referencing. It was also revealed that the motivations of yoga tourists are only partially targeted through an undifferentiated strategic marketing approach.

This paper aims to, by having a marketing perspective, assess the potential of Manisa for religious tourism and shed some light on the ways of increasing that potential and to add to the religious tourism literature and practice in general.

A number of depth interviews were conducted with the experts of culture, tourism, religion and religious assets in Manisa. People and institutions regarding religious tourism were called, visited and asked for the names of right interviewees. As a result, a total of 14 interviews were arranged and successfully accomplished. In addition to depth interviews, top 15 most popular travel Web sites (www.ebizmba.com/articles/travel-websites) are examined for tourist and guide opinions toward Manisa’s religious sites and its surroundings.

The findings indicate that Manisa has highly important religious monuments belonging to three major religions, including three of the seven churches mentioned in the Apocalypse section of the Bible. Many suggestions have been made regarding possible changes in products, referring to religious monuments and sites in this study, and other marketing mix elements like possible ways of promoting the product.

The findings are based on a qualitative study, which limit their generalizability. Yet, the sample of interviewees is fairly large and utmost attention is given to the selection of them. In the future, more stakeholders can be involved in the data collection process. Also, the views of general public on the topic can be investigated through surveys to determine the details of religious tourism activities.

Preparations for selling souvenirs (like miniatures of religious monuments) and other religious and cultural goods near the sites of attraction can be made. In addition to selling souvenirs (e.g. miniatures, postcards), local food (i.e. Mesir paste, Mesir delight) and local drinks (i.e. Mesir tea, Sübye) can be offered at gift shops or stores to be opened next to religious monuments.

With the rising popularity of experiential and event marketing, tourists coming to Manisa to see religious monuments will be better off experiencing the atmosphere of these monuments. A specific team of experts from each related organization can be formed and an action plan be prepared to determine the steps to be taken regarding religious tourism. A wise planning and an effective implementation of religious tourism efforts require an intense coordination.

Policy makers and managers who want to promote religious tourism need to determine the tourism products and services which appeal to a diverse types of tourists visiting any religious destination. Religious tourism products and services in other destinations can be offered in combination with such activities as camping, hiking and sightseeing or such other types of tourism as social and group tourism and adventure. Standard marketing strategies may not work for religious tourism because spiritual travel will take different forms and have different meanings. Promotional activities are utilized to make potential customers aware of products, induce demand and provide incentives to purchase.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and understand the experiences of travelers to Gallipoli, by analyzing their online comments and reviews.

The data were garnered from the well-known online user blog TripAdvisor. Data, concerning visiting the Gallipoli Peninsula, were retrieved from (n=330) travelers’ reviews and comments, and were examined using content analysis to elicit and identify their experiences.

Overall, the travelers’ reviews and comments mostly conveyed emotional and nostalgic experiences. Further, the travelers’ nostalgic experiences of Gallipoli emerged as historical nostalgia deriving from the personal attachment of travelers to the site.

The data have shown that the experiences of travelers to Gallipoli can mostly be identified as emotional, which are generally consistent with the current literature. This paper utilized traveler reviews and comments on TripAdvisor, left by tourists who had previously visited Gallipoli, and this represents the limitation of the present study. Thus, to better understand the experiences of travelers visiting Gallipoli, with regard to their psychological aspect, future research should be conducted with travelers either through face-to-face interviews or via a survey.

Despite its significance for dark tourists, limited research has been carried out that deals with the experiences of travelers visiting the Gallipoli battlefield. As such, this is the first research project designed to highlight the experience of dark tourism, under the concept of nostalgic tourism, by providing valuable data and a deeper understanding of the field.