Iscontour 2022 Tourism Research Perspectives E-Book

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 698

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The International Student Conference in Tourism Research (ISCONTOUR) offers students a unique platform to present their research and establish a mutual knowledge transfer forum for attendees from academia, industry, government and other organisations. The annual conference, which is jointly organized by the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems and the Management Center Innsbruck, takes place alternatively at the locations Krems and Innsbruck. The conference research chairs are Prof. (FH) Mag. Christian Maurer (University of Applied Sciences Krems) and Prof. (FH) Mag. Hubert Siller (Management Center Innsbruck). The target audience include international bachelor, master and PhD students, graduates, lecturers and professors from the field of tourism and leisure management as well as businesses and anyone interested in cutting-edge research of the conference topic areas. The proceedings of the 9th International Student Conference in Tourism Research include a wide variety of research topics, ranging from consumer behaviour, tourist experience, information and communication technologies, marketing, destination management, and sustainable tourism management.

Leseprobe

Preface & Acknowledgements

The 9th International Student Conference in Tourism Research (ISCONTOUR) was held at the campus of the MCI University of Applied Sciences Innsbruck, Austria, from May 16-17, 2022. Unfortunately, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic ISCONTOUR could not take place for two years. Therefore, the entire conference board is proud and happy that we are back again!

The annual ISCONTOUR was collaboratively founded in 2013 by Christian Maurer, Professor at IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria, and Roman Egger, Professor at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria. In 2019 the MCI Management Center Innsbruck became the new cooperation partner of IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems and thus ISCONTOUR was held for the first time in Innsbruck, on the premises of the MCI Innsbruck.

The aim of ISCONTOUR is to provide international students and graduates of Bachelor, Master and PhD Programmes with a platform where they can present their tourism related research papers based on their approved Bachelor and Master Theses or work-in-progress PhD theses. In particular, ISCONTOUR strives to encourage students and graduates to engage in academic research and foster the knowledge transfer between academic education institutions and the tourism industry.

In total 22 full research papers by 31 authors from 7 countries were submitted to ISCONTOUR 2022. Each submission went through a blind review process with three members of the ISCONTOUR 2022 Research Programme Committee assigned as reviewers. The authors then received the comments of the reviewers and had to revise the papers accordingly. Only papers of authors who adhered to this process were accepted for the conference. As a result, 20 full research papers were accepted for presentation at the conference and are included in these proceedings.

The research papers cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from consumer behaviour, tourist experience, marketing, information and communication technologies, destination management, and sustainable tourism management. This does not only indicate the variety of the tourism industry, but also how relevant and impactful applied research projects conducted by students and graduates can be for the further developments in tourism in particular and the society in general. We hope these proceedings will serve as a valuable source of information on applied tourism research for students, scholars and practitioners.

Above all, we want to thank all authors who submitted their papers for the conference. We further appreciate the considerable time invested by all members of the ISCONTOUR 2022 Research Programme Committee who ensured the high quality of the submissions. We are also grateful for the support we receive from the management board, rectorate and colleagues of both the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems as well as the MCI Innsbruck.

We hope that ISCONTOUR will continue to establish an international community that motivates more students and graduates to engage in applied research and submit papers to ISCONTOUR 2023.

Christian Maurer & Hubert J. Siller

ISCONTOUR 2022 Conference Chairs

Innsbruck / Krems, May 2022

Table of Contents

Analysing Unique Aspects Influencing Live Theatre Ticket Purchases of Younger Theatre Audiences

Walter Wessels, Pierre-Andre Viviers, Karin Botha, North-West University, South Africa

E-Motion Pictures Captivating Hearts and Minds: Storytelling about Male Destinations Attracts Female Travellers

Reka Palotas, Anna Irimias, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary

The Impact of Artificially Intelligent Voice Assistants on the Customer Experience in Hotels

Luisa Eckert, Julius Schenkmann, University of applied sciences Kempten, Germany

Heteronormativity in the Advertising Imagery of the Touristic Mainstream in Bavaria

Fabian Wettinger, FH Salzburg, Austria

Nigerian International Students: Motivations, Destination choices, and Influential factors

Divine Oguche, University of Plymouth, UK

Identifying the Factors Influencing High-Speed Railway Travel of Guiyang (China) Resident

Jingyu Wu, University of Plymouth, UK

What Attracts Austrian Tourism Students? An Employer Branding Guideline

Tanja Rehberger, MCI Innsbruck, Austria

A Systematic Literature Review of Chinese Outbound Group and Independent Tourists

LingLing Huang, Free University of Bolzano, Italy

Motivations and Intentions for Engaging in Dark Tourism

Isabel Jarl, IMC FH Krems, Austria

Share of Georgian Production in the Value Chain of Georgian Tourism

Mariam Sharia, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Georgia

Marine Wildlife Voluntourism in Southern Africa: Assessing Demand and Supply Perspectives

Charmaine Cilliers, Serena Lucrezi, Peet Van Der Merwe, North-West University, South Africa

Food Allergy and Intolerance Management in Restaurants: A South African Supply-side Perspective

Joseph Javangwe, Adam Herman Viljoen, Idonette Van Zyl, North-West University, South Africa

Sustainable Tourism as a Vehicle for Community Development: A Case of the CAMPFIRE Programme in Zimbabwe

Owen Gohori, Peet van der Merwe, North-West University, South Africa

Structures Required to Start an Agri-tourism Business: A South African Approach

Christelle C. Van Zyl, Engelina Du Plessis, North-West University, South Africa

Kepi i blertë – Sustainable Tourism Development at the Cape of Rodon in Albania

Jessica Kepi, Prof. Dr. Phil. Mihir Ignatius Nayak, Hochschule Fresenius, Germany

Employing Drawings to Research the Destination Image of Singapore

Bianca Köstinger, IMC FH Krems, Austria

Destination Development in a Less-Developed Destination: Significance of Cooperation within a Stakeholder Network

Sophia Pauer, Management Center Innsbruck, Austria

Conceptualization of Co-opetition Within Destinations: a Review of Tourism Research

Sonia Messori Free University of Bolzano, Italy

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Austrian Travellers with a Focus on Austrians under the Age of 30

Irina Hengstberger, IMC FH Krems, Austria

Effects of Covid-19 on Business Travel in Hotels

Mihaela Teneva, Lina Moder, Kempten University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Research Programme Review Committee

AUBKE Florian, Modul University Vienna, Austria

BAGGIO Rodolfo, Bocconi University Milan, Italy

BARBE Danielle, Northumbria University, Great Britain

BAUER-KRÖSBACHER Claudia, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

BAUMGARTNER Christian, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

CHO Inje, University of Florida, USA

DOLEZAL, Claudia, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

DOUGLAS Anneli, University of Pretoria, South Africa

EBSTER Claus, University of Vienna, Austria

EGGER Roman, University of Applied Sciences Salzburg, Austria

ENNEN Jens, University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

FUCHS Matthias, Mid-Sweden University, Sweden

GRETZEL Ulrike, University of Southern California, USA

GROTH Aleksander, MCI Management Center Innsbruck, Austria

HAGE Roger, University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

HUANG Rong, Plymouth University, Great Britain

KASTNER Margit, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria

KATELIEVA Maria, University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

KATSONI Vicky, International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism, Greece

KRUGER Martinette, Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society, South Africa

LADKIN Adele, Bournemouth University, Great Britain

LALICIC Lidija, Modul University Vienna, Austria

LASSNIG Markus, Salzburg Research, Austria

LIEBRICH Andreas, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Switzerland

MAURER Christian, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

MATTEUCCI Xavier, Modul University Vienna, Austria

MCCOLE Dan, Michigan State University, USA

MURPHY Jamie, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

NEUBURGER Larissa, University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

NEUHOFER Barbara, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Austria

PESONEN Juho, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

PETERS Mike, University of Innsbruck, Austria

PIKKEMAAT Birgit, Institute for Innovative Tourism, Austria

PÜHRETMAIR Franz, Kompetenznetzwerk IT zur Förderung der Integration von Menschen mit Behinderungen, Austria

ROMERO ANIA Alberto, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain

SCHACHNER Max, IMC University of Applied Sciences, Austria

SCHOENBERG Alina, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

SCHWAND, Christopher, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

SIGALA Marianna, University of South Australia, Australia

SOMMER Guido, University of Applied Sciences Kempten, Germany

STANGL Brigitte, University of Surrey, Great Britain

STECKENBAUER Georg Christian, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Germany

STÖCKL Albert, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

TISCHLER Stephanie, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

VIGLIA Giampaolo, University of Portsmouth, Great Britain

VOLO Serena, Free University of Bolzano, Italy

WAIGUNY Martin, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria

YANG Eunjung, Utah State University, US

Analysing Unique Aspects Influencing Live Theatre Ticket Purchases of Younger Theatre Audiences in South Africa

Walter Wessels, North-West University, [email protected]

Pierre-Andre Viviers, North-West University, [email protected]

Karin Botha, North-West University, [email protected]

Abstract

A continues decline in live theatre ticket sales in South Africa has proven that a one-size-fits-all approach to live theatre production offerings is not successful. This threatens the survival of live theatre as we know it and is forcing South African live theatre providers to re-evaluate their current offerings and assess a new market segment. Previous research has proven that the younger market, a market segment between the ages of one and younger than 30, shows potential to become the next dominant consumer market segment due to their size and their potential spending power. However, this particular market segment is very complex and very little research pertaining to art purchases of this market segment has been done in South Africa. Therefore, to investigate and gain a deeper insight into the purchase behaviour of the younger market and more specifically the aspects influencing the purchase of live theatre tickets by this specific market in South African, this study divided the market segment into three smaller sub-categories, namely children, teenagers, and students. Using both a qualitative and quantitative research method, the results of this study identified unique aspects that influence live theatre ticket purchases of each sub-category in South Africa. This study highly contributes to the sustainability of the arts by enabling South African live theatre producers, venue providers and marketers to incorporate the identified aspects in their production compilation, venue offerings and marketing campaigns and, in turn, attract and retain South African younger theatre audiences.

Keywords: Live theatre, younger market, purchase behaviour, market segmentation, Generation Y, Generation Z

1 INTRODUCTION

Performing arts, defined as “a creative activity performed in a venue or outside arena, in front of an audience and can be repeated in exactly the same way as many times as desired” (Man-U, 2019:688), have become a major travel motivator for tourists (Hughes, 2012). In South Africa, various initiatives have been undertaken to encourage performing arts, especially live theatre productions (Slabbert et al., 2011). This is done through the introduction of different platforms to encourage live theatre productions and some of the most popular in South Africa include professional theatres, drama competitions, arts festivals, and community-based theatre offerings (Le Grange, 2003; Rukuni, 2012; Pretorius, 2015).

Although each platform offers live theatre productions, the approach, target market and production theme offered differ slightly from each other (Delgado et al., 2019). Professional theatre is built to encourage large stage productions with specially designed sets and have the ability to accommodate large audiences (Pretorius, 2012). Drama competitions aim to introduce school goers to live theatre productions and the two most popular in South Africa include the ATKV teenager drama competition and the National Eisteddfod (Rhodes, 2020). Community theatre and arts festivals are both more informal forms of live theatre platforms (Delgado et al., 2019), and aim to “bring the theatre to the people” and in most cases non-traditional venues such as church halls or temporarily erected structures including Marquee tents are used (Rukuni, 2012).

However, even with the various platforms available, each aiming to encourage more accessibility to live theatre, studies done in South Africa have clearly indicated that there is a decline in live theatre tickets sales (Botha et al., 2012; Van Niekerk, 2017; Viviers and Botha, 2019). Also concerning is that the average age of live theatre attendees is between 39 and 57 years old and this particular market segment is aging by the day bringing with it a change in their spending patterns (Kruger and Saayman, 2017). These changes are forcing all live theatre role players such as live theatre venue providers, producers and marketers to re-evaluate their current product offering and adapt to attract a new future market segment (Viviers and Botha, 2019).

One such market segment, which has become an important research topic within recent consumer and purchase behaviour studies, is the market segment born between 1982 and 1995, who form part of the Generation Y and Generation Z cohorts (Rajan, 2016; Meeks et al., 2018; Tavares et al., 2018). This market segment shows the potential of becoming a powerful consumer market in the near future (Schreck, 2018). However, very little research has been done within the study field of South African events management pertaining to the needs, wants and more specifically the purchase behaviour of this particular market segment (Le Grange, 2003; Kruger and Saayman, 2015; Jordaan et al., 2015; Botha and Viviers, 2019). This market segment is, however, complex due to the existence of different sub-categories, each within a different phase in their lives, which exists within this specific market segment, namely children (age 12<), teenagers (age 14-18 years) and students (age 18-24 years) (Taks and Scheerder, 2006; Kruger and Saayman, 2015; Gil et al., 2017). The aim of this study is to analyse the unique aspects influencing the live theatre ticket purchases of South African younger theatre audiences and in order to do this successfully, it is necessary to assess each of the identified sub-categories individually.

2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Consumers possess power over product and service providers as these providers are all reliant on the disposable income of the consumer (Dalziel, 2016). It has therefore become very necessary to understand the target market’s purchase behaviour and the aspects that influence this behaviour in order to stay competitive (Ali and Talwar, 2010).

This section aims to provide a better understanding of aspects influencing consumer purchase behaviour, highlight unique influential aspects specifically relating to art purchases, provide a link between purchase behaviour and age, and provide an overview of the unique characteristics of the younger market segment.

2.1 Understanding aspects influencing consumer purchase behaviour

Purchase behaviour is defined as “the individual behaviour displayed by consumers before, during and after a purchase is made” (Parumasur and Roberts-Lombard, 2013:3). Liebenberg (2015) adds that consumer behaviour is driven by the advantages a product can provide towards specific needs satisfaction and, for product and service providers, the necessity of understanding the current and future needs of a market segment their offering is aimed at, is inevitable for business success (Cant and Van Heerden, 2017). However, purchase behaviour is influenced by various aspects (Joubert, 2013). Literature has grouped various aspects into four categories that influence the purchase behaviour of consumers: psychological aspects, cultural aspects, social aspects and personal aspects (Lissitsa and Kol, 2016). These aspects have also been incorporated in many consumer purchase behaviour models, including the theory of buyer behaviour model by Howard and Sheth (1969), the consumer decision-making model by Engel et al. (1995), and a model of consumer behaviour by Schiffman and Kanuk (2014).

Psychological aspects include perception, motivation, knowledge, and attitudes (Dibb and Simkin, 2016). Individuals are motivated by products or services that display the ability to satisfy a need or want and these arise from the consumer’s frame of reference or exposure (Parumasur and Roberts-Lombard, 2013). Positive perceptions will lead to positive purchase behaviour (Amaro and Duarte, 2015) and, in turn, the consumer will have a very positive attitude towards the product or service (Yoon et al., 2010). Cultural aspects are defined as “the customs people acquire within specific social circles” (Quester et al., 2011). Needs are developed according to the cultural values of the community in which the consumer is raised and very seldom abandoned by consumers (Dalziel, 2016). Social aspects refer to reference groups, family roles and status (Burger, 2015). Consumer purchase behaviour is directly affected by their reference groups, as social acceptance is an important element for many (Du Plessis et al., 2012). Family opinions should also be considered by product and service providers as research has proven that when family relationships are strong, the individual purchase will be adapted to accommodate the needs of the family members (Burger, 2015). Personal aspects include personality, lifestyle, self-image, and age (Metsi, 2017). Self-image, the image one has about oneself, is often enhanced by product or service purchases that allow the consumer to live up to their envisioned public image (Bennet and Vijaygopal, 2018). Hosany and Martin (2012) state that if a product or service enhances the self-image of the consumer, a long-term positive image towards the brand is established and brand loyalty is created.

Live theatre is a unique offering and the aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases are not the same as with more traditional product or service offerings (Botha, 2011).

2.2 Aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases

From an extensive literature review, various aspects that influence live theatre tickets purchases have been identified as seen in Table 1.

Table 1. Aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases (Adapted from Scheff 1999; McCarthy and Jinnet, 2001; Caldwell, 2001; Antrobus and Snowball, 2010; Grisolia and Willis, 2011; Botha et al., 2011; Viviers and Botha, 2019).

Influential aspects

Prior experiences

Income

Age

Gender

Facilities

Accessibility of venue

Revivals of old productions

Different seating options available

Visibility of stage

Contribution to personal development

Status

Quality of the performance

Entertainment value

Price

Reputation of producer

Reputation of performers

Production size

Genre

Comfort

Production credentials

Educational value

Child-friendly production

Group/membership discount

Support friends/family in production

Recommendations from friends and family

Reviews by media

Social interactions

Duration

Popularity of production

Language of the playwrights

Festival programme

Marketing

Acoustics

Interaction with the cast

Value for money

Love for the arts

Important to note is that none of these studies focused on a specific age category and, according to Jordaan et al. (2015), the age of consumers must be taken into consideration when determining the impact or even relevance of each of these aspects.

2.3 The link between aspects influencing purchase behaviour and age

Age has become an important variable in purchase behavioural studies and results have indicated that the impact of influential aspects is different depending on the age of the consumer (Cruz, 2016).

Currently, there are four active generational cohorts in South Africa (Buys, 201; Naidu, 2018). These categories include Baby Boomers (1946-1964); Generation X (1965-1981); Generation Y (1982-2002) and Generation Z (1995 onwards). Each individual within these generational cohorts shares a similar set of values, beliefs, and attitudes (Lappeman et al., 2020). They are also exposed to the same worldly happenings (Parry and Urwin, 2011) which also influence their purchase behaviour (Robbins and Judge, 2010). There are, however, disagreements within literature relating to the exact birth years of generation cohorts and even more specifically Generation Y and Generation Z (Pritchard and Whiting, 2014, Tavares et al., 2018; Sullivan and Hyun, 2016; Skinner et al., 2018). Therefore, to ensure accuracy, this study refers to a younger market segment, a combination of Generation Y and Generation Z cohorts, born between 1982 and 2003 onwards.

2.4 Characteristics of a younger market segment

The younger market segment is three times the size of its predecessor (Neves, 2016) and shows the potential to become one of the biggest consumer market segments in the very near future (Schreck, 2018). This market segment is open to new experiences (Kruger and Saayman, 2015) and highly influenced by celebrity culture (Parment, 2013). Opinions of celebrities, compared to the opinions of family members, impact the needs and purchase behaviour of this particular market segment (Leask et al., 2014) and thiss market segment is also more open to explore other cultures’ rituals and customs compared to other market segments (Bolton et al, 2013). The use of technology is not new for this particular market segments and the convenience that technology brings is part of their everyday lives (Ukpabi and Karjaluoto, 2017). The younger market segment searches for information “on the go” using mobile devices and is highly influenced by the opinions of others on social media platforms (Priporas et al., 2017) and through these platforms real-time feedback and opinions are gathered even before the product is experienced first-hand (Couture et al., 2015). Online feedback and opinions instil confidence in purchases as the risk of being seen as a “social outcast” decrease (Parment, 2013).

The purchase of art-related products is however still not high on the younger market segment’s purchase priority list (Halliday and Astafyeva, 2014). This market segment sees the theatre as an outdated offering not willing to adapt to their needs (Skinner et al., 2018) and thus limiting their engagement with the theatre (Naumovska, 2017).

3 METHODOLOGY

To ensure that the aim of the study was reached, a mixed method, more specifically a concurrent combination of research methods was used. According to Berndt and Petzer (2011), a concurrent combination refers to the use of multiple research methods at different times and the results of each study do not affect each other, but rather allow for triangulation of results. Through the triangulation of the results, the outcome of each study can be compared, and differences or similarities can be determined (Berndt and Petzer, 2011). Due to this study being one of the first in South Africa, the chosen approach deems most effective and allow for more focused recommendations and conclusions to the study.

To ensure that this study complied to the ethical requirements set out by the North-West University, an internal ethics application was submitted to the relevant ethics committee prior to the study. The application provided detail of each measuring instrument used, the sample for each study and the data collection method. The study was approved by the internal ethics committee [NWU-00658-20-A4].

Children (study 1)

For this study, a qualitative research method was applied using a semi-structured interview guide. The interview guide consisted of both a respondent profile (Section A) and various theme discussions (Section B) relating to aspects contributing to the ticket purchases of children’s theatre productions. The themes chosen were adapted according to the study results by Viviers and Botha (2019), relating to various contributing aspects to children’s theatre ticket purchases. The five themes identified were: parent-child activity, production credentials, supporting the arts, value and marketing and media.

The research was conducted at a professional community theatre production of Cinderella, hosted in the Durbanville High school auditorium situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This community theatre venue is well-known for hosting a variety of professional and semi-professional community-based theatre productions and can seat up to 700 people. A non-probability sampling method and more specifically a purposive sample technique was used for this study. The sample for this study consisted of the parents of the children attending the live theatre production. Each parent purchasing a ticket for themselves and their child/children to the production was approached to participate in the study. Each willing participant had to sign a consent form indicating that they are willing to participate and that their responses can be used for academic research purposes. Seventeen participants agreed to participate in the study. According to Cresswell (2009), for qualitative research, data saturation will determine the appropriate sample size. The sample for this study therefore was sufficient.

The data collection was done using telephonic interviews 7 days after the production was attended. Each interview lasted 60 minutes. Before each interview, the purpose and interview structure were explained. As the interview progressed, the researcher posed follow-up questions relating to the answers provided by each respondent. An external moderator recorded each interview using notes. After each interview, the notes of both the researcher and the moderator were compared to ensure that no important comments were missed or excluded from the results. The external moderator then verified the results.

For the data interpretation, coding was used to group similar answer together. The descriptive results were then reported by the researcher according to each theme.

Teenagers (study 2)

This study applied a quantitative research method using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of Section A (respondent profile) and Section B (aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases). Section B of the questionnaire consisted of 33 aspects relating to aspects influencing live theatre purchases identified from the work done by Botha (2011); Gallagher and Wessels (2013); Reason (2015); Grisolia and Willis (2016); Phalitnonkiat and Chewwasung, (2018); and Moraes et al. (2019). Respondents had to indicate, using a five-point Likert-scale (1=strongly disagree – 5=strongly agree), whether the provided statements influence their live theatre ticket purchases.

The study was conducted at the ATKV teenager drama competition, a South African live theatre competition for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. In 2019, 2 000 teenagers participated in this competition. Using a quota sampling technique, 321 usable questionnaires were collected from competition participants. This sample, according to Krecje and Morgan (1970:607), is representative of the population.

Two trained fieldworkers, together with the researcher, assisted in distributing the questionnaires during rehearsals. Each respondent participated out of free will and could withdraw from the study at any time. Once the questionnaire was completed, the same fieldworker collected the questionnaire again.

The data collected was processed using SPSS 25.0. For this study descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and cross-tabulation using Cramer’s V (φc) between gender and live theatre ticket price were done.

Students (study 3)

For this study, a similar research design, sampling technique, collection of data procedure and data analysis were followed as in study 2. The self-administered questionnaire used for study 2 was slightly adapted to accommodate the sample for this study. Additional aspects influencing the purchase behaviour of teenagers were added from the work done by Shiffman and Wisenblit (2014) as well as Mathys et al. (2016). Section B of the questionnaire included 49 aspects. The same five-point Likert-scale was used.

Two South African tertiary institutions were identified to form part of the study. One institution, a public university situated in the North West Province and the other, a private tertiary education provider situated in the Western Cape Province. In 2018, when the data was collected, there were 2 290 984 registered students at both public and private higher education institutions in South Africa. Six hundred and one (601) questionnaires were collected, which is a representative sample for the South African student population, according to Krejcie and Morgan (1970:607).

The results were also processed using SPSS 25.0. Descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and t-test for comparison between the identified factors and age were done.

4 RESULTS AND FINDINGS

This section provides an overview of the results, findings, and implications of the study.

Children (study 1)

From the five (5) themes identified, the theme contributing the most to live theatre ticket purchases was parent-child activity. Within this theme, respondents indicated that they enjoy attending live theatre productions as a family and attendance is encouraged when the grandparents can also attend. Respondents indicated that if not all family members are able or willing to attend as a group then alternative family-oriented activities, such as outdoor activities, are rather chosen.

The second most contributing theme identified was value. Value was divided into two categories, namely monetary value and educational value. Respondents indicated that value for money is important to them as in most cases there is one person paying for all the tickets. Group discounts, loyalty programmes and extras such as food and wine for the parents were among the most mentioned motivational aspects that contribute to a value-for-money experience. Respondents also indicated that a reasonable price for live theatre tickets for children’s productions is ZAR150 (South African rand) per ticket. Educational value was also mentioned, and results indicated that children, when attending live theatre productions, must gain new knowledge as well as develop social, emotional and cognitive skills while experiencing enjoyment.

Within the theme production credentials, respondents indicated that live theatre productions for children with a Disney theme or consisting of animation characters such as Peter Pan and Belle from Beauty and the Beast are highly favoured above any other theme. Specific Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck were among the least favourite characters for children. Respondents also indicated that if the production offers interaction between the cast and the children, the motivation to purchase tickets increases.

Within the theme supporting the arts, respondents indicated that the arts are important to them and, they want to expose their children to live theatre from a young age.

Within the theme marketing and media, respondents indicated that social media marketing, outdoor advertising, local radio advertisements and word-of-mouth rate among the most influential marketing mediums when information about activities on offer for children is gathered. Respondents also indicated that if the teacher at their child’s school promotes a live theatre production, they are more motivated to purchase a live theatre ticket.

Teenagers (study 2)

For this study, descriptive statistics, a cross tabulation between age and ticket price and a factor analysis were done.

The descriptive statistics indicated that the aspects motivating teenagers the most to purchase live theatre tickets include comedy genre, special discounts and family friendly productions Aspects influencing teenagers the least included Twitter postings and Facebook messages.

An exploratory factor analysis was done, using the 33 motivational aspects identified. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KMO) was used to determine whether the pattern matrix was suitable for a factor analysis. The KMO for this study was 0.676 and is deemed sufficient as a suitable KMO should be between 0 and 1 (Field, 2005). Four (4) factors yielded a reliable Cronbach alpha (α) value of above 0.6.

As seen in Table 2, the factor that influences teenagers the most to purchase live theatre tickets is external influencers, followed by theatre lover, theatre and show compilation and marketing.

Table 2. Factors influencing live theatre ticket purchases of teenagers

Factor label

Factor 1 Marketing

Factor 2 Theatre lover

Factor 3 External influencers

Factor 4 Theatre and show compilation

Cronbach alpha (α)

0.732

0.710

0.621

0.611

Mean value

3.01

3.81

3.82

3.48

Inter-item correlation

0.307

0.459

0.291

0.211

The cross-tabulation analysis, done between age and ticket prices, indicated a medium statistical association between junior respondents (age 14-15) and senior respondents (age 16-18). Junior respondents are willing to pay more for tickets to attend live theatre productions with well-known local actors compared to senior respondents. No other statistical associations were evident between the two groups.

Students (study 3)

For this study, descriptive statistics, an exploratory factor analysis and a t-test for comparison between the identified factors and age were done.

The descriptive statistics indicated that respondents prefer live theatre productions hosted in the evenings and with a duration of 60 minutes. Respondents also indicated that drama, comedy, music productions and dance are among the most preferred genre when purchasing live theatre tickets.

The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KMO) was again used to determine if the pattern matrix was suitable for a factor analysis. This study revealed a KMO of 0.899, which is deemed suitable. The results yielded eight (8) factors, each with a Cronbach alpha (α) value greater than 0.6. Monetary facets (α=0.628; Mean=3.81) is the highest contributing factor to live theatre ticket purchases of students. This was followed by leisure experience (α=0.790; Mean=3.70), production compilation (α=0.843; Mean=3.69), family/socialising (α=0.630; Mean=3.57), personal comfort (α=0.637; Mean=0.637), marketing (α=0.813; Mean=3.18), explicit content (α=0.749; Mean=3.11) and genre (α=0.715; Mean=2.97).

A t-test was done to determine statistical differences between age and the identified factors. As seen in Table 3, the ticket purchase behaviour of senior students (age 22-24) is more influenced by genre and style compared to junior students (age 18-21). Senior students are also more influenced by personal comfort compared to junior students.

Table 3. t-test between the purchase motivational factors and age

Mean and standard deviation

Values

Factor

Junior (age 18-21)

Senior (age 22-24)

F-value

P-value

Effect size

Genre and style

(2.89 0.87)

(3.08 0.90)

0.158

0.014

0.21

Personal comfort

(3.49 0.62)

(3.65 0.70)

4.448

0.006

0.23

5 IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This section will provide implications and recommendations, based on the findings of this study, applicable to live theatre venue providers, live theatre producers and live theatre marketers relating.

Live theatre venue providers

Through the results of this study, it become clear that live theatre productions, aimed specifically at child audiences, have to not only take the child attending into consideration, but also the parents, as they are the ones paying for the tickets. Close proximity of the venue and easy access to online ticket purchase platforms are important to the ticket purchaser and these should take priority in the planning phase of the production.

Teenagers seek “excitement” and “escape” and live theatre productions aimed at teenagers should embrace this through the chosen theme and venue. Live theatre venue providers should be able to provide a less formal atmosphere and unique or even outdoor venues should be made available. Since teenagers in South Africa can only apply for their driving permit at the age of 18, accessibility to the venue is an obstacle restricting their attendance opportunities. This implies that live theatre venue providers should not just provide a venue, but also ensure safe and reliable transport options for the teenager market. The cost for these services should not be separate, but rather included in the ticket price.

Students are, however, motivated to attend live theatre productions for the social interaction it offers, and live theatre venue providers should provide additional entertainment after the production. Creating a memorable experience can, in turn, create a love the arts and encourage students to continue to attend live theatre productions.

Live theatre producers

The theme of the live theatre production is very important for each of the sub-categories within the younger market segment. Children audiences are attracted to themes that are family friendly or productions based on popular animation movies such as Frozen or Beauty and the Beast.

Teenagers are attracted to themes that speak to their current life situation, but also themes that are unique and different. Live theatre producers should create unique productions that allow the teenager market to “escape their reality” and intrigue their curiosity if they want to attract and retain this particular audience.

Students are more motivated by monetary aspects and live theatre venue producers should keep this in mind. The price of the live theatre ticket impacts their spending choices, and it is therefore imperative that the income from the ticket sold is not the highest income contributor to the production budget. Sponsorships and additional funding should be sources as alternative income sources.

Live theatre marketers

Social media is an important information source for parents and must form part of the marketing campaign for children’s live theatre productions. However, marketing has become less influential compared to personal experience or trusted opinions. Teachers can become a driving force for marketing.

Teenagers are more influenced by external influencers such as social media influencers or well-known actors compared to social media platforms. A competitive advantage can be ensured if live theatre marketers create production ambassadors, consisting of external influencers followed by teenagers.

When live theatre marketers plan their marketing campaigns, monetary aspects need to be highlighted. The price of the production needs to be highlighted as value for money to the student market.

6 CONCLUSION

This study aimed to analyse the unique aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases of younger theatre audiences in South African. Through this study a significant theoretical and practical contribution to live theatre related research in South Africa was made. This study is one of the first in South African theatre research where the younger market segment was further divided into three sub-categories namely children, teenagers, and students. The unique aspects identified contributes to a more in-depth understanding of the unique aspects influencing live theatre ticket purchases of the market segment, providing new insight into each of these unique sub-categories and contribute to the adaption of existing live theatre ticket purchasing models.

From the results, it has become evident that there are differences in the aspects contributing to the purchase of live theatre tickets of each sub-category and a one-size-fits-all approach cannot be taken by South African live theatre venue providers, producers, or marketers if they want to attract this particular market segment. For each sub-category, unique offerings should be created to ensure a fighting chance for the arts to stay alive.

This study however presented only one strategy and cannot guarantee future success for the South African art industry on its own. Also, this study did not take the cultural background or the behavioural habits of the respondents into consideration. Within literature (Quester et al., 2011; Lissitsa and Kol, 2016) it is evident that culture and behavioural aspects highly influence the purchase behaviour of markets, and the younger market segment is no exception. It is therefore recommended that future studies are done on specific samples sharing unique and similar cultural aspects and compare the results with the aspects identified with this study. Further investigation into the change in purchase behaviour of this particular sample of the South African younger theatre audience should also be considered as they progress from one phase of their lives and into the next phase. It is also recommended that the impact of Covid-19 on the aspects that motivate live theatre ticket purchases of South African theatre audiences are investigated to determine which changes should be made by live theatre venue providers, producers, and marketers after the pandemic.

7 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH

Limitations to the study include the restricted sample for study 1. Only one community-based live theatre production was used for the study. The sample is also from a high-income area. Influential aspects identified might be different if the study was conducted in a middle-income area or even a different province within South Africa. Another limitation is that the sample for study 2 consisted of teenagers who are already exposed to live theatre and have already made a special connection with the theatre. The outcome of the study might be different if the sample of teenagers consisted of individuals who have not had any exposure to live theatre yet. Lastly, the results of the study were obtained prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and due to the severity and economic impact of the pandemic on household income, the influential aspects might be different compared to the time before the pandemic.

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E-Motion Pictures Captivating Hearts and Minds: Storytelling about Male Destinations Attracts Female Travellers

Réka Palotás, Corvinus University of Budapest,[email protected]

Anna Irimiás, Corvinus University of Budapest,[email protected]

Abstract

Since the tale of the Arabian Nights, it is assumed that stories influence behaviour and have the power to change human destiny. This study investigates the ways storytelling in short destination promotional videos influences viewers’ place attachment. The novelty of this paper is the exploration of female travellers’ affective and cognitive responses to promotional videos about destinations associated with “male” outdoor activities. 15 female travellers were interviewed to study the longer-term impact of digital storytelling and the potential of segmented content creation. In the video-elicitation, four videos about different European natural and adventure-based destinations and using storytelling were employed along with a control-video. Interconnections between digital storytelling and place attachment were explored with self-report techniques and participants’ emotional and rational impressions about the destinations were assessed. Based on a two-round investigation, findings reveal that storytelling in short promotional videos can enhance female travellers’ place attachment. Humorous and emotional storytelling can attract female tourists to “masculine landscapes”.

Keywords: digital storytelling; place attachment; emoration; female travellers; promotional video.

1 INTRODUCTION

Narratives are the basis of human existence and stories are often leveraged in tourism destination marketing (Moscardo, 2020). Diving into a narrative world and being captivated by a story is entertaining and can be a transformative experience (Irimiás et al., 2021). There is a growing body of literature and best practices recognising the importance of stories in marketing and promoting destinations (Moscardo, 2020; Creek, 2021). Storytelling in tourism marketing communication can create an emotional connection with consumers who might feel empathy towards male or female characters and get inspired and motivated to travel (Hosany et al., 2019). The power of storytelling in shaping tourists’ place attachment has been demonstrated by Hosany et al. (2019). Though, landscapes are often interpreted through gender-based lens. Pan, Lu, and Zhang (2021) refer to ‘destination gender’ arguing that marketing communication about mountain destinations, for example, often enhances the association between masculinity and natural landscape by depicting natural elements (e.g., a wide river, steep mountains, or vast green forests) as a representation of physical strength (Pan et al., 2020; Pan et al., 2021). Masculine portrayal of adventures in media can influence women’s perceptions of these tourism activities, hence influencing their place attachment and travel intention to places considered “male” destinations (Doran, 2016; Clarke et al., 2021; Kling et al., 2020).

Building on these previous findings, it is worth exploring how digital storytelling influences potential tourists and how the perceived destination gender can affect tourists’ place attachment. In particular, this exploratory study aims to examine how female travellers are influenced by short promotional videos with a focus on elicited emotions, place attachment and memories. The study provides a fresh perspective on “male” destinations (Clarke et al., 2021) and the effects of storytelling on female travellers. To do so, the following enquiries are addressed: (1) Can short tourism promotional videos evoke place attachment? (2) Can videos broadcasting destinations typically associated with “male” outdoor activities engage female travellers? (3) Does storytelling play a role in eliciting affective and cognitive responses related to such destinations?

The research topic is relevant in a variety of aspects. First, female travellers represent a significant consumer segment in tourism, yet the target group has rarely been addressed through personalised marketing communication (Khoo-Lattimore et al., 2019). Second, individuals who lost their tourists role during the Covid-19 pandemic are exploring the world in their minds, on the wings of fantasy, and the role of destination videos is paramount in making this “journey” tangible (Irimiás and Mitev, 2021). Third, several destinations use short videos in their brand communication to attract the interest of potential tourists in the current information-overloaded world (Kim and Youn, 2016). Thus, it is important to examine the elements and characteristics that make a video “unforgettable” and highlight their strategic value in marketing. Specific aspects related to the power of digital storytelling will be examined and contextualised. The focal points will be on segmented content creation, advertising perception, second-round effect analysis, and place attachment through digital content memories. The approach in this paper can be linked to ‘creativity’ which is one of the six pillars – historicity, reflexivity, transparency, equity, plurality and creativity – set by Gretzel et al. (2020:194) to foster transformative e-Tourism research.

The introduction is followed by the theoretical background discussing the role of storytelling in tourism marketing. The methods section describes the sample, the interview guide, and the video-elicitation technique. Findings related to place attachment and participants’ cognitive, affective and behavioural responses are described in the results. Conclusions, study limitations and managerial implications are also presented.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The essential intertwining of emotion and rationality has been highlighted by marketing studies. Papp-Váry (2020) coined the term emoration (combining the words “emotion” and “rationality”) as one of the key elements of branding. He exposits that in all areas of marketing, it is necessary to satisfy functional and emotional needs simultaneously, offering consumers benefits in terms of each by operating with feelings (soft info) and facts (hard info). Emoration is paramount in the context of marketing because in most cases consumers make decisions on an emotional, intuitive basis and look for rational arguments to support their choices subsequently (Papp-Váry, 2020). Consumers make decisions with a "dream brain" and then explain them with a "smart brain" (Törőcsik, 2018). The role of emotions has been explored in different disciplines.

Indeed, “without emotions, there’s no rationality” claims the Hungarian mathematician-psychologist, László Mérő (2010:157). Emotions influence logical thinking, though rational thinking suffers from the absence of emotions (Mérő, 2010). Neuroscience has also revolutionised the understanding of rationality by putting emotions in the centre: “I feel, therefore I am rational” as Damasio (1995) re-phrased Descartes’ saying. Psychology studies have also demonstrated that emotions drive people’s attention and create a connection between individuals and what they perceive (Plessis, 2011).

Emotions represent a value proposition in tourism for the hedonic benefits tourism is practised for. Emotions play a key role in the pre-travel decision-making process, both in activating tourism motivation and in the destination selection phase (Hosany et al., 2020). In fact, tourism destinations strive to create a positive emotional bond between visitors and the place. Kolb (2017) explored the synergy of emotion and reason and the emotional charge of travel. According to her, the marketing message of a destination must reach the heart of the customer by communicating both emotional and rational content. This requires three types of information (attractions, benefits, values) to be conveyed to potential tourists. Attractions are communicated rationally, while the benefits of visiting a destination are communicated in an emotional way to develop a preference over competitors. Similarly, communicating the destination’s values reinforces the emotional bond between potential tourists and the place. Applying Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain the motivation of tourists, it can be stated that certain travellers seek to satisfy the need for self-esteem or even self-actualisation (Michalkó, 2016). Emotional intermediation can be linked to tourists’ personal values. Travel decisions might strengthen tourists’ self-identity, the fact that they have already been to a specific destination is a kind of self-expression. The combination of all the above, the interplay of attractions, benefits and values can motivate people through emoration to visit a destination.

Marketing communication is therefore becoming increasingly emotional, and emotions are used to address consumers in a strategic approach (Plessis, 2011). It is no longer enough to have a product, it needs a story (Papp-Váry, 2013). As early as 1996, Jensen predicted the direction of future changes and described the key trend in trading with emotions. He believed that consumers today would no longer buy products primarily for their functionality. It is no longer sufficient to promise a product that works properly, it requires a story, because people buy the stories, legends, feelings, and the lifestyle linked to the product. Importantly, however, stories should not only be used as tools for marketing purposes, but they also must be genuine to convince the target group (cited by Törőcsik, 2018).

2.2 Visceral story system – homo narrans

Stories are used to interpret and understand the surrounding world, in addition, the human brain stores memories in the form of stories (Fesenmaier and Xiang, 2017). A story is therefore not just a description of events but means entertainment that aims to stimulate affective response from the audience, relying on the characteristic that humans’ mindsets are based on stories. This can be explained by neuroscience as well. To quote Phillips’ explanation (2017), “getting involved in a story is like falling in love”. The more emotionally overwhelmed one becomes, the less critical and objective one observes. The same hormones and neurotransmitters are released when someone falls in love and when someone is listening to stories. For example, dopamine makes us more focused, motivated and remember better, while oxytocin makes us trust and bond. Moin et al. (2020) indicate that humans can also be referred to as “homo narrans” which can be interpreted as storytelling humans and reflects us being connected to stories by a thousand threads. As Gallo (2016), a well-known expert on storytelling explains, a compelling story not only imparts knowledge, but it also entertains, builds trust, inspires, and stimulates the audience to reflect on the story. Engaging stories touch the “human nature” and can forge emotional bonds (Weber, 2019). Guggenbühl (2019) draws on the concept of Gottschall (2012) that humans are the only mammals who are empathically able to imagine themselves as someone else and being somewhere else (whether real or fictional). This kind of imaginative thinking is awakened by stories. The more immersed we are in a story, the more engaged we are with its content, the more powerfully it can influence our behaviour (Irimiás et al., 2021).

2.3 Tourism narratives and place attachment, media about male destinations

Official narratives about destinations aim to attract tourists, while tourists’ narratives are often leveraged as a resource in the tourism system and contribute to the destinations’ value proposition of experiences (Fesenmaier and Xiang, 2017). Tourists’ own stories linked to destinations contribute to revaluating self-identity (Moscardo, 2020). Stories are key drivers of tourists’ perceptions and behaviour and might enhance place attachment. Moscardo (2020) predicts that the use of stories in destination promotion and experience opportunity design will become more widespread and sophisticated in the future. Therefore, the strategic value of storytelling in destination marketing needs to be studied.

Place attachment can be defined as an emotional bond between individuals and places, people’s cognitive and emotional connection to a particular environment (Hosany et al., 2014). The affective dimension of this person-place connection is place identity, which refers to the symbolic meaning a particular place has to an individual (Hosany et al., 2014). Although previous research has shown that stories serve as a catalyst for place attachment and contribute to people’s emotional connection to a destination (Hosany et al., 2019) there is a lack of empirical evidence of place attachment towards destinations not yet visited or ignored.

Place attachment is a multidimensional construct that involves emotions, affective attitude, knowledge and beliefs, behavioural tendencies and actions associated with a place. Destinations are physical locations and socio-cultural constructions with multiple meanings. The concept “landscape”, added to the physical and cultural meaning of a place, refers to its visual representation (Pritchard and Morgan, 2000). Landscapes can be interpreted, perceived and narrated differently by locals, DMOs and tourists. Pomfret and Doran (2015) argued that landscapes might be regarded as gendered concepts by applying socio-cultural interpretation. In this paper, ‘destination gender’ is defined based on Pan et al. (2020) as a set of human masculine and feminine traits and perceived masculine and feminine meanings through which tourists envisage a tourism activity or a place as a typical destination for men or women. Feminine landscapes are exampled by passive destinations such as the Caribbean, while northern “adventure” and mountainous destinations have been identified as representatively masculine landscapes (Pan et al., 2021).