Editorial

Citation

Teare, R. and Dioko, L.(D).A.N. (2016), "Editorial", Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-10-2015-0041

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, Volume 8, Issue 1

In December 2014, The Institute for Tourism Studies in Macau SAR China, hosted an international conference on “Managing and Delivering Services in the Asian Century”. The event brought together academics and practitioners to explore the challenges and opportunities arising from the growth of outbound Asian travel. This theme issue builds on some of the outcomes of the conference and I should like to thank theme editor Leonardo (Don) Dioko and his team of contributors for providing a detailed response to the changes needed to better serve Asian travellers.

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) aims to make a practical and theoretical contribution to hospitality and tourism development and we seek to do this by using a key question to focus attention on an industry issue. If you would like to contribute to our work by serving as a WHATT theme editor, do please contact me.

Richard Teare - Managing Editor, WHATT

Services management and the growing number of Asian travellers: what needs re-thinking?

The number of people from Asia travelling across the world has swelled in recent years due to rising middle class incomes and greater opportunities for travel, driven by more abundant and affordable transport and travel choices. Visitors from China, India, and Southeast Asia are now visiting Europe, the Americas, as well as popular Asian destinations in large numbers. The outbound travel trend that began with Japanese visitors in the 1980s seems set to continue, only this time with a broader and enduring wave of Asian visitors. It is therefore opportune for tourism destinations, hospitality organizations, and travel operators that have traditionally relied on European and American source markets to re-think their service delivery process, management, and operations. Specifically, what changes are needed in services management beyond the usual and minor product tweaking and language equipping changes? What practices and principles need a more thorough reassessment?

This theme issue therefore explores a strategic question facing many countries and service organizations that are principally reliant on hospitality, tourism, and travel industries. The adjustments needed mirror the radically changing demographic landscape of inbound tourism – now characterized by more affluent and mobile Asian visitors. Several articles in this theme issue explore this incisively, based on deep-rooted cross-cultural factors normally ignored in the corpus of services management knowledge. For example, what differences exist in expectations of “courtesy” when comparing ethnic and cultural Chinese versus North American subjects and what role do differing emotions play in the service experience? Authors and co-authors from very diverse backgrounds and experience provide a rich array of insights on the changes needed and the likely benefits arising. We hope that you will find this collection of work both interesting and helpful.

Leonardo (Don) A.N. Dioko - Theme Editor

About the Theme Editor

Leonardo (Don) A.N. Dioko is Professor at the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macau (IFT) where he teaches courses in tourism and hospitality marketing and management. He is concurrently Director of IFT’s Tourism Research Centre (ITRC), which conducts policy research commissioned by the Macau SAR Government, the most significant of which is the annual study on Macau’s Tourism Carrying Capacity, as well as studies related to Macau’s tourism policy development and significant social issues. Don’s scholarly research and publications embrace destination branding and tourism marketing, assessing and managing the impacts of rapid tourism growth, sustainable issues, and examining unique aspects of travel behaviour and psychology. He obtained his PhD in Organization and Management in what is now ISCTE Business School, Portugal, his MSc in Strategic Management from the University of Macau, and his BSc in Business Administration at the University of the Philippines (Diliman).