Date of Award

12-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Legacy Department

Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management

Committee Chair/Advisor

Norman, William C

Committee Member

Backman, Kenneth F

Committee Member

Hallo, Jeffrey C

Committee Member

Terry, William C

Abstract

This dissertation explored three themes with regard to the spatial aspects of tourist behavior, conducting three independent analyses. For these analyses, this dissertation research adapted Shoval's (2012) definition of the space-time constraints concept developed by Hagerstrand (1970): the purpose of trip (i.e., authority constraints), the length of visit (i.e., capability constraints), and the composition of travel party (i.e., coupling constraints). The purposes of the three analyses were to examine the relationships 1) between the space-time constraints and the spatial patterns of travel; 2) between ICT use (i.e., smartphones) and the spatial patterns of travel, space-time constraints, tourists' unplanned destination visits, and tourism information types searched during a trip; and 3) between space-time constraints and the characteristics of the networks of tourists' multi-destination movement. This research was conducted as part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration project, Perceptions of marine aquaculture in coastal tourist destinations in the US southeastern region, the overall aim of which was to examine tourist perceptions of, attitude toward, and preferences of marine aquaculture, including seafood. The study sites for this dissertation study included coastal locations where marine aquaculture is present in the state of South Carolina, U.S.A. Tourists visiting McClellanville, Isle of Palms, Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island areas were randomly intercepted to collect their email addresses during the Fall of 2014. The population of this study was, thus, domestic tourists who visited those three South Carolina coastal areas during that time. The results of this study found that 1) tourists' spatial patterns of travel are significantly associated with their space-time constraints; 2) tourists' information search occurred not only before trips but also during them although smartphone use did not significantly increase the number of unplanned destinations visits; and 3) the results of the social network analysis revealed the importance of relational marketing in implementing destination marketing strategies.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.