New paper explores the growth in wellness tourism

Dr. Hudson visiting a popular wellness retreat in India, the Isha Yoga Center in Tamil Nadu

SmartState Center team members Simon Hudson, Fang Meng and David Cardenas have just had a paper accepted in the International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research. The paper, co-authored with former PhD student Karen Thal, examines the direct relationships between behavioral intention and factors driving the growth of the wellness tourism industry in the U.S. 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 antecedents to behavioral intention. Both constructs were found to be significant predictors of behavioral intention. However, involvement proved a much stronger predictor than life stress. This would suggest that growth in the wellness tourism market is associated with health and wellness practices that are central rather than peripheral to potential wellness tourists’ ways of life. Just as environmental values are associated with greener travel behaviors, so too wellness tourism appears to be an extension of ingrained values and attitudes - rather than an escape from unhealthy or stress-filled lifestyles.

Congratulations Daniel Morris on a job well done

Daniel Morris, Governor’s School of Math Science upcoming senior, joined the SmartState Center team for a 6-week internship this summer. The goal of the internship was to conduct an independent research project under the mentorship of the Center. Daniel’s stated area of interest was in economics and tourism. He chose to focus his research on increasing African-American tourism in South Carolina, a complement to a project that the team is currently working on in partnership with the SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.  Daniel spent much of his time this summer analyzing secondary research and the existing qualitative data available through the Center to calculate his research findings. Throughout the summer he diligently followed a standard research protocol that culminated in an impressive research poster presentation on July 15^th, 2016. Congratulations Daniel on a job well done! 

Changing a negative destination image: The case of Myanmar

In 2012-13, Myanmar, a country labeled by the US government 10 years before as ‘an outpost of tyranny’ launched a nationally coordinated tourism branding campaign for the first time in decades. The purpose: to change forever a negative destination image.

A new article fresh off the press from Simon Hudson tracks the history of destination marketing in Myanmar, and focuses on these new branding efforts. Through a theoretical lens based on image theory, the paper uses a case study approach to explore how a country such as Myanmar can alter a prolonged negative destination image. The analysis shows that although marketers in Myanmar are moving beyond a cosmetic approach to destination branding, the long-term strategies in place to improve Myanmar’s image could be called into question. The country faces many challenges, including a lack of trained human resources, and insufficient public services and infrastructure for tourism, so the journey to rebrand Myanmar as a competitive tourism destination will be a long one. Dr. Hudson will present the paper at The University of Surrey’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Conference next week. The article itself appears in the Journal of Destination Marketing & Management and is online first at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212571X16300907

Ritzy Riads Putting Morocco on the Map

I have just completed an incredible round-the-world voyage teaching on Semester at Sea, and one of the countries I visited was Morocco where, seeking to understand why the country is Africa's most popular tourist destination, I interviewed two successful entrepreneurs - one French and one British - responsible for attracting tourists to this exotic destination. Both have opened up modernized riads in the beachy-chic resort of Essaouira, on the Atlantic Coast. You can find out what they had to say by reading the full article at: http://hotelexecutive.com/business_review/4879/ritzy-riads-putting-morocco-on-the-map

Great Representation at TTRA

Dr. Meng and all of the Center’s all doctoral students (Pei Zhang, Hengyun Li, Rui Qi, and Jing Li) attended the 2016 Annual International Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) in Vail, Colorado.  Dr. Meng and Hengyun Li delivered a standup presentation, which was recognized as one of the top three finalists for the Best Paper Award. 

Social Media a Hot Topic!

Simon Hudson’s journal article on the use of social media by music festivals (written with his son Rupert in 2013) was the most downloaded paper published in the International Journal of Events and Festival Management in 2015. The paper called ‘Engaging with consumers using social media: a case study of music festivals’ has been downloaded nearly 9,000 times since 2013. The Hudsons used a case study methodology with a multi-method approach to analyze the use of social media at three major music festivals. In general, they found that the music festivals profiled were proactive in their use of social media, engaging with consumers throughout the consumer decision journey. In particular, social media is making the “evaluate” and “advocate” stages of the decision journey more relevant for festival marketers. The paper can be found at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/IJEFM-06-2013-0012

USA eShop named South Carolina Small Business Exporter of the Year

An incubator company supported by our SmartState Center was recently awarded the Small Business Exporter of the Year for South Carolina. USA eShop is a global e-commerce website led by Jerry Smith and John Wilkinson (above).  Since it’s inception in 2012, it has carved out a niche market in the e-commerce business, selling quality American-made goods to European consumers. “Like all entrepreneurs, you have to be willing to take a risk," Smith stated in a feature for Cola Daily. That risk has paid off tremendously. USA eShop now operates a warehouse in Europe, out of which it sells products from over 125 small to mid-sized US manufacturers. USA eShop handles everything from export logistics and fulfillment operations to sales and customer service, simplifying the process for manufacturers that want to penetrate international markets. The SmartState Center partners with the USC/Columbia incubator to support the development and growth of innovative companies that show promise for creating jobs and economic benefits to the state of South Carolina. Wilkinson mentions how support from the Incubator has helped their company get to this point. “In terms of the physical space, the IT and all the support and programs they offer, they have been key to our success,” said Wilkinson. Read the full summary of the SBA awards from Cola Daily for more information about USA eShop and other awardees.