The effects of online restaurant menus on consumer purchase intention: evidence from an emerging economy

PurposeThis study evaluates the impact of online menus and perceived convenience of online food ordering on consumer purchase intention and shows how a desire for food creates a relationship between an online menu and a customer's purchase intention. Suggestions for management are proposed to design an effective menu to improve business performance in the competitive market in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe paper follows a quantitative method. Quantitative research aims to analyze and critically evaluate the research question(s) to discover new factors.FindingsFindings indicate a positive relationship between menu visual appeal (MV), menu informativeness (MI), desire for food (DF), the perceived convenience (PC) of ordering food online and intention to purchase (PI). The attractiveness of images and information is a significant factor affecting diners' desire to eat, while the demand for food and the convenience of ordering food online are also factors affecting purchase intention.Practical implicationsThe study confirms the importance of online menus to purchase intention. Economically, when supply and demand are reasonable, the market is stable and technology develops. In terms of social, hygiene, attractiveness and price factors, it is helpful to have an overview. Research is the premise for further studies with factors from menu to customer trust.Originality/valueThe study provides a solid foundation for further studies on restaurant menu elements as well as a new perspective on how restaurants improve their dishes.

Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage Show: Exploring the Sustainable Development of Taiwan's Religious Tourism from the Perspectives of Attraction, Happiness, and Revisit Intention

The Dajia Mazu pilgrimage is one of the most well-known events in the world. It not only satisfies tourists' spiritual desires for religious beliefs but also drives the development of destination tourism. In recent years, the tourism industry has been severely impacted by COVID-19. However, tourists participating in the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage continue to do so without fear of the pandemic. Therefore, understanding the relationship between tourists' attraction to religious tourism, perception of happiness, and willingness to revisit can contribute to the sustainable development of religious tourism, especially in the context of COVID-19. Accordingly, this study explored the sustainable development of Taiwan's religious tourism from the perspectives of tourism attraction, experiential value, happiness, and revisit intention. The study conducted quantitative research to address the research issue. Three hundred and fifty valid questionnaires were collected through on-site questionnaire distribution, and the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and the structural equation partial least squares method. According to the results, the tourism attraction of the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage and the experiential value of tourists significantly impact happiness and revisit intention. Happiness is part of the intermediary variables of tourism attraction, experiential value, and revisit intention. Notably, the attraction of the Dajia Mazu pilgrimage and the experiential value pursued by tourists have not diminished despite the pandemic. Instead, the attraction has become an opportunity for tourists to seek spiritual comfort and support sustainable religious tourism development. Accordingly, spiritual comfort and maintaining their health and safety can be considered strategies to promote the sustainability of religious tourism in Taiwan.

Investigation of Learning Attraction towards Digital Board Game by Using Eye Tracking Technology

In recent years, science teaching and learning has been changed from onsite to online activity since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation affects students familiar with the online classroom. Regarding this situation, science teachers design their lessons with a combination of onscreen learning activities. In addition, digital boardgame has been recognized as an educational tool for motivating and engaging students in learning science concepts. In this study, we explored students' attraction toward digital boardgame while they participated in the board game. To examine students' experiences with the digital board game for learning the energy conversion concept, we used eye tracking software and hardware of the Tobii eye tracker to collect their eye behavior while they were playing the digital board game. The data collected from eye tracking was analyzed to reveal students' attraction. Data collection was carried out with 6 K-12 education students. The result of student attraction toward digital board game is discussed in this article. © 2023 IEEE.

Hanging Out with My Pandemic Pal: Contextualizing Motivations of Anthropomorphizing Voice Assistants during COVID-19

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way people connect, collaborate, and socialize. With the ongoing pandemic amplifying people's feelings of loneliness, voice assistants are growing as a pandemic-era staple of supporting people's well-being and mitigating feelings of disconnectedness. Combining the uses and gratification approach and theory of anthropomorphism, this study examined social attraction and social presence as drivers for people to anthropomorphize voice assistants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, this study investigated whether loneliness, social disconnection, and attachment can moderate the effect of social attraction and social presence on the anthropomorphism of voice assistants. Drawing on survey data from 458 US voice assistant users, the results indicated that social attraction and social presence positively affect peoples' anthropomorphism toward voice assistants. Moreover, the moderating effects of loneliness and social disconnection were examined and found positive impacts on the effect of social presence on anthropomorphism. The findings have implications for theorizing the anthropomorphism of digital media when face-to-face communication is less available. This study is also helpful for voice assistants' developers and brands to design these smart devices appealing to customers and fostering a more customized and more robust user-technology interaction.

The Influence of Characteristics of Mobile Live Commerce on Purchase Intention

Mobile live commerce is emerging as a new distribution channel as connectivity and information sharing become easier due to the increase in the use of SNS and mobile phones. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research in this field, and it is meaningful to look at how this new technology-based commerce leads to purchase intention in terms of the value of shopping perceived by consumers. This study aims to (1) analyze the characteristic factors of mobile live commerce, which is rapidly emerging due to brisk changes in the distribution industry in the non-contact era;and (2) verify the relationship between shopping value and purchase intention. We analyzed 283 surveys using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SM) with statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) and R-programming. We inferred that convenience, ubiquity, social presence, attractiveness, and vividness were the characteristics of mobile live commerce that had a positive effect on the pleasure value, and that social presence, attractiveness, vividness, professionalism, information quality, and compatibility had positive effects on the perceived value. The hedonic value also had a positive effect on the perceived value, and both pleasure and perceived values had strong positive effects on the purchase intention. However, the professionalism of the sources did not affect the hedonic value, and the convenience and ubiquity did not affect the perceived value.

The Role of Cultural Life in a Small Town in Eastern Bohemia, and Its Potential Development of Cultural Tourism

The contribution of this paper is a discussion on the role of cultural life and the potential of cultural tourism in the small town of Choceň in Eastern Bohemia, which is not one of the first-class tourism localities in the Czech Republic. Despite this fact, there is a richness of natural and cultural attractiveness and the organization of varied cultural events. The goal of this research was to determine the assumptions of tourist attractiveness from the point of view of local actors, based on the hypothesis that the attractiveness of the city is closely linked to the attractiveness of tourism. Local actors are the ones who can recognize the genius loci of the place, which should have been considered in development planning. The literature review is mainly devoted to the role of culture, cultural tourism, and rural tourism. This research works with primary and secondary data, with the secondary data being based on location, selection, and implementation assumptions for tourism. The primary data were obtained using a quantitative questionnaire survey method for two target groups—local visitors and local entrepreneurs. This research shows that local actors are aware of their destination's potential and support tourism development. However, cultural events are more likely intended to meet residents' needs, not visitors. It is clear that small industrial towns are rather marginally devoted to the development of tourism. Yet, all local actors need to cooperate for further rural (and tourism) development.

Pengetahuan HIV/AIDS dan Faktor Keterlibatan dalam Hubungan Romantik serta Ketertarikan Seks Sesama Jantina : Kajian Kes dalam kalangan Mahasiswa Gay

Kajian ini bertujuan meneroka pengetahuan mahasiswa tentang risiko jangkitan HIV/AIDS, faktor keterlibatan dalam hubungan romantik dan ketertarikan seks sesama jantina. Masih kurang kajian yang memberi tumpuan kepada amalan hubungan romantik dan ketertarikan seks sesama jantina serta kesedaran mahasiswa tentang HIV/AIDS impak daripada tingkah laku seks berisiko ini. Banyak kajian terdahulu lebih menumpu kepada faktor keterlibatan dalam hubungan romantik dan ketertarikan seks sesama jantina tanpa mengaitkannya dengan kesedaran mahasiswa gay terhadap jangkitan HIV. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kajian kes dan direkabentuk bersesuaian kaedah kajian kualitatif. Seramai empat informan dalam kalangan mahasiswa Institusi Pengajian Tinggi di Malaysia yang membuat pengakuan identiti gay telah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Pemilihan informan adalah menggunakan teknik Persampelan Snow Ball. Pengumpulan data telah dijalankan secara atas talian dengan menggunakan medium Google Meet. Semua informan ditemubual dalam talian secara konferen video. Data temu bual dianalisis menggunakan analisis tematik. Hasil analisis menunjukkan terdapat empat faktor risiko keterlibatan mahasiswa dalam hubungan romantik dan tingkah laku seksual sesama jantina iaitu (i) pengalaman menjadi mangsa gangguan seksual semasa kecil, (ii) faktor naluri semulajadi, (iii) pengaruh rakan/komuniti berisiko gay dan (iv) pengaruh negatif daripada media sosial dan internet. Informan juga mempunyai pengetahuan asas tentang risiko jangkitan HIV. Walau bagaimanapun, kesemua informan percaya tingkah laku mereka mempunyai risiko rendah dan tidak mudah untuk dijangkiti HIV. Salah faham tentang risiko jangkitan HIV bagi seks tidak selamat dan seks luar tabi' dipercayai mendorong amalan hubungan seks sesama jantina dilakukan tanpa rasa takut dan menurunnya keprihatinan kepada seks selamat dalam kalangan mahasiswa gay. Kajian mencadangkan salah faham tentang risiko jangkitan HIV sebagai faktor baharu penyebab amalan seks sesama jantina yang berterusan dalam kalangan informan yang dikaji. Intervensi perlu dibentuk bersesuaian faktor risiko hubungan romantik dan tingkah laku seksual sesama jantina agar ia dapat dibendung daripada menular dalam kalangan mahasiswa gay.Alternate :This study aims to explore the knowledge of HIV/AIDS infection risk and the factors that contribute to same-sex romantic relationship involvement and same-sex sexual attractions among university students. Less studies have been done focusing on same-sex romantic relationships and same-sex sexual attraction among self-identified gay university students and their awareness of the HIV/AIDS impact due to risky sexual behaviour. Many previous studies were found to focus only on gay students' romantic relationships and samesex sexual attraction involvement factors without relating these factors with their awareness of HIV infection. This study uses a case study approach and is designed following qualitative research methods. Four students who self-identified as gay were selected as informants. Snow Ball Sampling is used as the informants' selection technique. Data collection was conducted online using the Google Meet platform. All informants were interviewed online via video conference. The thematic analysis has been used to analyse the interview data. The study analysis demonstrated four risk factors conduce to a same-sex romantic relationship and samesex sexual behaviours among gay students: (i) sexual abuse experienced during childhood;(ii) same-sex sexual attraction as an instinct factor;(iii) gay friends/community influenced and (iv) internet and social media negative influence. All informants are identified to have basic HIV risk infection knowledge. However, those in a same-sex relationship believe same-sex romantic relationships and same-sex sexual practices have a low risk of HIV infection. The misunderstanding of HIV infection in same-sex sexual practices and unsafe sex is believed to contribute to a consistent no fear of same-sex sexual practices and less concern towards safe sex among ay students. This study suggests a misunderstanding of HIV infection as the new factor contributing to continuous same-sex sexual practices among studied informants. Intervention needs to be developed tailored to the same-sex romantic relationship and same-sex sexual attraction risk factors to curb the spread among gay students.

Sustainable talent pipelines and person-organisation fit: strategic insights from UK graduates

PurposeDrawing on a framework of person-organisation fit (POF) theory, this paper aims to understand how organisations can establish and maintain sustainable early-career talent pipelines. Research question one asks, "How do graduates feel that organisations can attract early-career talent?” Research question two asks, ‘What can employers learn from graduate perspectives about the retention of early-career talent?Design/methodology/approachTwenty-eight graduates from UK universities participated in semi-structured interviews in early 2022. Cohort one was composed of 15 individuals who graduated in 2008. Cohort two was composed of 13 individuals who graduated in 2020.FindingsThe findings identified two themes associated with attracting early-career talent: "Company Culture” and "Supply and Demand”. However, 2020 graduates prioritised the job role and job security, whereas 2008 graduates prioritised job location and commute duration. Three additional themes were related to the retention of early-career talent: "Career Progression”, "Health and Well-being” and "Remuneration”. Findings also highlighted how POF could evolve over time, whereby retention can be beneficial or detrimental to either party.Practical implicationsThe study identifies pragmatic approaches to attracting and retaining early-career talent and understanding how graduates' views on POF evolve over time.Originality/valueThe study extends POF research and bridges the shared sustainability themes of "person”, "context” and "time” from vocational behaviour and HRM literature streams.

Is my employee still attracted to me? Understanding the impact of integrated communication and choice of communication channels on employee attraction

Purpose: The study attempts to extend the current scholarship in the field of employer branding. Integrated communication is about consistent communication that is synergistic through multiple communication channels. Employer branding activities that involve multiple internal communication channels aim to attract employees. The study proposes that the perceived impact of effective integrated communication in employer branding shapes employee attitude and hence employee attraction. Employee perception of the choice of communication channels is also proposed to have an impact on employee attraction. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory qualitative study in the form of interviews and a preliminary survey was conducted in the first phase. The main study involved a questionnaire survey to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. The respondents were information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) employees (n = 520) in India. Findings: The direct and interaction effects of integrated communication and usefulness of communication channels on employee attraction within the organization were empirically validated to suggest a positive impact on employee attraction. Originality/value: The study extends the current body of knowledge on talent attraction to include present employees. Similarly, the study on integrated communication and its impact on employee attraction is an important addition to the literature on employer branding, internal communication and talent management, given the present coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID-19 lockdown has indirect, non-equivalent effects on activity patterns of Reeves's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) and sympatric species.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive shifts in human activities through a global blockade, directly affecting wildlife survival. However, the indirect impacts of changes in human activities are often easily overlooked. We conducted surveys of Reeves's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) and its sympatric species by camera traps in forest-type nature reserves in three different scenarios: pre-lockdown, lockdown and post-lockdown. An increase in livestock activities observed during the lockdown and post-lockdown period in our study area provided us an opportunity to investigate the indirect impact of the lockdown on wildlife. The pre-lockdown period was used as a baseline to compare any changes in trends of relative abundance index, activity patterns and temporal spacing of targeted species and livestock. During the lockdown period, the relative abundance index of livestock increased by 50% and there was an increase in daytime activity. Reeves's Pheasant showed avoidance responses to almost all sympatric species and livestock in three different periods, and the livestock avoidance level of Reeves's Pheasant during the lockdown period was significantly and positively correlated with the relative abundance index of livestock. Species-specific changes in activity patterns of study species were observed, with reduced daytime activities of Hog Badger and Raccoon Dog during and after the confinement periods. This study highlights the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the responses of wildlife by considering the changes in their temporal and spatial use before, during and after lockdown. The knowledge gained on wildlife during reduced human mobility because of the pandemic aids in understanding the effect of human disturbances and developing future conservation strategies in the shared space, to manage both wildlife and livestock.

Added Value on a Day in the Pandemic in Tourist Attractions in the Polish–Czech Borderland as a Green Economy Initiative

This study documents customer behavior in the travel services market before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (C-19). We offer theory-based and research-based insights that demonstrate customer value propositions during a pandemic and help predict future behavior for green tourism development. This article aim is to identify the relationship between the situation in tourism during the pandemic, customer behavior, and the added value that historical sites in Poland and the Czech Republic introduced or should introduce in the green economy. The topic is important because the situation during the pandemic showed the lack of a quick response, which is only possible if you have prepared scenarios for the crisis. This study discusses the marketing factors of creating value and analyzes the value strategy for individual clients. The authors of this study analyzed various stages in the customer life cycles in the company and the level of their profitability, taking into account the principles of the green economy (sustainable development) in the example of cultural facilities, i.e., Książ Castle in Poland and the Kuks Complex in the Czech Republic. Literature studies were used in this study, followed by the questionnaire method. The test results are presented in tabular form and supplemented with graphical forms. © 2023 by the authors.

Keep it real: Assessing destination image congruence and its impact on tourist experience evaluations

Inaccurate promotional information about tourist destinations may result in tourists' negative evaluations. This study proposes a new approach to measure the congruence between projected and received images of a destination's attractions. Based on online textual data, this study investigates how image congruence influences tourists' evaluations of their destination experiences. Using promotional messages and reviews of attractions in Hainan, China obtained from a leading Chinese online travel agency (Ctrip) and a three-way fixed-effects regression model, this study demonstrates that image congruence positively affects tourists' appraisal of their destination experiences. External crises (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic), the readability of promotional messages, and tourists' expertise moderate this relationship, reducing the positive impact of image congruence on tourist experience evaluation. This study bridges theoretical and empirical gaps in destination image (in)congruence research, informing tourism marketing agencies of effective promotional strategies in different contexts. © 2023

Making Space for Garbage Cans: How emergent groups organize social media spaces to orchestrate widescale helping in a crisis

During the Covid-19 pandemic, citizens self-organized at an unprecedented scale to support vulnerable people in neighbourhoods, towns and cities. Drawing on an in-depth study of an online volunteering group that emerged at the beginning of the pandemic and helped thousands of people in a city in the United Kingdom, we unpack how citizens co-construct social media spaces to orchestrate helping activity during a crisis. Conceptualizing a novel synthesis of classical garbage can theory and virtual space, we reveal how emergent groups use ‘spatial partitioning' and ‘spatial mapping' to create a multi-layered spatial architecture that distributes decision-making and invites impromptu choice occasions: spontaneous matchmaking, proximal chance connects and speculative attraction. Our insights extend the study of emergent organizing and decision-making in crises. Furthermore, we advance a new line of theorizing which exploits garbage can theory, beyond its existing application in classical decision sciences, to posit a spatial view of organizing that paves the way for its novel applications in organization studies.

Effect of Digital Literacy and IT Service Quality on Tourists' Visit Decision to Marine Attractions During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This study aims to determine the effect of the level of Digital Literacy and the quality of Information Technology on Tourists' Visit Decisions to Lampung marine tourism during the COVID-19 Pandemic. From the results of questionnaires distributed to 106 tourists. All the questions in the given questionnaire were declared 100% valid by comparing the rcount value of each question item, which was more than the rtable value 0.195. The calculation results of the reliability test, all variables X1, X2, and Y have Cronbach's alpha coefficient of more than 0.6. So that all variables are declared reliable. Furthermore, based on the hypotheses testing of H1, H2, and H3, the results can be concluded that Digital Literacy and IT Service Quality individually or simultaneously positively and significantly influence the Tourist Decision to Visit Lampung Marine Attraction during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the R2 value of 0.631 indicates that the level of Digital Literacy and the IT Service Quality can explain Interest in Decisions to Visit Marine Tourism in Lampung during the COVID-19 pandemic at a percentage of 63.1%. © 2023 IEEE.

Exploring spatio-temporal characteristics of tourist travel behavior before and after COVID-19: A case study in Hong Kong, China

The COVID-2019 pandemic has a huge impact on tourism industry, and mastering the spatial and temporal characteristics of tourists' travel behavior during the period is very crucial for the recovery and the development of the tourism industry. This study adopts time series statistics and complex network analysis to compare and examine the network evolution features of Hong Kong before and during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the comments data generated from TripAdvisor website in 2019 and 2020. The results show that: (1) Tourists' travel behavior patterns have changed to a certain degree, and they prefer to visit a small number of destinations during an itinerary. (2) Key destinations still play important roles in connecting other destinations, but the tourism community formed around the key destinations has varied from extremely dense to relatively sparse gathering. (3) The number of tourists in extremely hot destinations has been greatly declined, those destinations with fewer tourists and relatively far away from the downtown have attracted more attention. Moreover, industrial destinations have been always the most popular type of tourism destination. © 2022, Science Press. All rights reserved.

CHARACTERISTICS OF STATIONARY TOURIST VISITS IN URBAN MUNICIPALITIES IN SLOVENIA AFTER 2000

After 2010, a sharp increase in tourist visits was recorded in urban municipalities, and they became the most important group of tourist municipalities (with about 29% of all tourist arrivals and 36% of all foreign tourist arrivals in Slovenia in 2019). A large part of the growth in tourist visits was in the municipality of Ljubljana, which recorded 18% of all tourist arrivals and 23% of all foreign tourist arrivals in Slovenia in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic hit urban municipalities the hardest. At the end of the article, it is pointed out that, on the one hand, Ljubljana has become one of the fastest growing and most important tourist destinations in Central Europe and, on the other hand, the increased tourist visits to Slovenia have not been reflected in the visits of other urban municipalities such as Celje, Murska Sobota, Velenje, Slovenj Gradec and Krško, which are far behind in both the number of tourists and the share of foreign tourists. This clearly shows that their tourist potential is relatively low and that the development of the tourist offer and infrastructure is still pending. © 2022, University of Ljubljana Press. All rights reserved.

The Effect of COVID-19 on Tourism Affection: A Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance Framework Perspective

Based on the data of COVID-19 epidemic and online tourism review, this paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on tourists' tourism emotion. First, based on the existing theory, the hypothetical relationship between COVID-19 and tourists' PAD (Pleasure-Around-Dominion) emotion is established. Then, the PAD emotion variables in tourism reviews are extracted through the emotion analysis method, and then an empirical econometric model is established. Finally, the model is estimated using the double difference method, and a series of robustness tests are conducted. The empirical results show that COVID-19 has a significant negative impact on tourists' PAD sentiment. © 2022 IEEE.

γ-Core Guided Antibiotic Design Based on Human Enteric Defensin 5.

An increase in the number of infections caused by resistant bacteria worldwide necessitates the development of alternatives to antibiotics. Human defensin (HD) 5 is an innate immune peptide with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, but its complicated structure makes its preparation difficult. Herein, we truncated the HD5 structure by extracting the highly conserved γ-core motif. A structure-activity study showed that this motif was ineffective in killing bacteria in the absence of specific spatial conformation. Notably, after the introduction of two intramolecular disulfide bonds, its antibacterial activity was markedly improved. Glu and Ser residues were then replaced with Arg to create the derivative RC18, which exhibited stronger potency than HD5, particularly against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Mechanistically, RC18 bound to lipid A and lipoteichoic acid at higher affinities than HD5. Furthermore, RC18 was more efficient than HD5 in penetrating the bacterial membranes. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed that five Arg residues, Arg1, Arg7, Arg9, Arg15, and Arg18, mediated most of the polar interactions of RC18 with the phospholipid head groups during membrane penetration. In vivo experiments indicated that RC18 decreased MRSA colonization and dramatically improved the survival of infected mice, thus demonstrating that RC18 is a promising drug candidate to treat MRSA infections.

Tourism Industry Development: Geospatial Data as a Decision-Making Tool

The study is aimed at finding a universal methodology for using geospatial data for the purpose of tourism statistics and at analyzing the characteristics of tourism and the touristic trips in Russian territories (Krasnodar region as an example) using data from mobile operators. The authors analyzed aggregated and depersonalized data of mobile operators, generated from cellular networks operation data. Data on cellular subscribers were adjusted for the market shares of mobile operators to obtain indicators that characterize the aggregate number of tourists and excursionists. The analysis allowed the authors, firstly, to offer methodological approaches for working with geospatial data and, secondly, to reveal that in 2019-2020 the coronavirus pandemic did not have a significant negative impact on the number of tourists and excursionists which is most likely explained by the switching of citizens from foreign trips to domestic travel. Any impact of the pandemic on the tourist's portrait was also not revealed. At the same time, geospatial data made it possible to highlight the preferences of Russian tourists in the Krasnodar region to stay in rented housing or live with relatives, friends or in their own housing instead of hotels and inns. During the pandemic these preferences were more explicit, which can be explained by some requirements or recommendations in collective accommodations that may not exist in the private sector. In general, geospatial data allow for a more complete and detailed accounting of tourist and excursion flows in a territory for initiation of support measures for transport infrastructure, tourism development within the framework of state and departmental programs, targeted event planning and creation of related services as part of the tourism strategic development and territory planning. The article also presents discussion about possible modifications of the research methodology for the analysis of, firstly, the types of tourist trips;secondly, the contribution of tourism and particular events to the economy of the territory.

Developing and Marketing Tourist Attractions in Ethnic Minority Destinations: Dilemmas from the supply-side in Congjiang, China

While the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the increasing popularity of rural and ethnic tourism, little research has examined what ethnic minority resources should be included as tourist attractions in their development stage. Building upon the seminal work of Leiper's tourist attraction system, this paper reveals what and how ethnic resources are selected and included in tour itineraries, in particular in rural areas where tourism development has started recently. The findings that are drawn from a field study, thematic interviews, and the analysis of government-endorsed promotional materials of Congjiang show that, apart from the intrinsic cultural value, the tour inclusion value that incorporates accessibility and the capacity of supporting facilities does not merely play the 'conditioning role' but instead becomes a prerequisite in an ethnic minority destination that is rurally situated.