Atna Journal of Tourism Studies

Editorial

Bindi Varghese — 2025-02-12

Tourist Motivation, Destination Competitiveness, And Destination Loyalty – A Study On The District Of Virgin Princess

Shanthi Marie — 2025-02-07

Many reasons tempt tourists, instigating researchers to analyse their motivations in choosing a destination matching their self-emotional persuasion. Some destinations arouse interest in travelling repeatedly, making tourists loyal owing to the destination's competitive advantage. The study intends to identify the influencing aspects that could cater to tourist satisfaction, thus generating potential loyal tourists; various dimensions of tourist motivations lead to the decision-making for the tourist, and major factors are the destination’s attributes and the destination’s perceived image. Any destination to sustain itself in the competitive tourism market has to evolve beyond the present competition, which requires likely tourist knowledge and their travel motivation related to their purchase decision-making for the destination. The results find that a peaceful environment, festivals and events, eco-tourism natural trails, and climatic conditions are crucial in attracting tourists to Kanyakumari—motivations like. Natural sceneries, the confluence of three seas Bay, Arabian and Indian Oceans, Sunrise and Sunset, attractive beaches, and Vivekananda rock are concrete competitive attributes of the district. The study further suggests managerial insinuations that can improve the district's competitiveness in increasing the tourist influxes.

An Interface Of Pilgrims, Pera Merchants, And Hoteliers At The Mata Tripureswari Temple: A Case From Tripura, India

Supriya Dam — 2025-02-07

This study explores how the Mata Tripureswari Shaktipeeth affects the potential growth of pilgrimage, pera merchants, and hoteliers in Udaipur. The study emphasizes the significance of domestic tourist influx, NSDPs, and PCIs in analyzing pilgrimage tourism. The survey of pilgrims reveals motivational factors such as praying for children's better future, seeking mental peace, the goddess's darshan, touring holy places, and fulfilling vows. Promoting pilgrimages helps expand tourism throughout the state. Pilgrims have a special bond with Matabari Pera, using it as a bhog (eatable) to the deity. Pilgrims' spending habits significantly influence the economic impact on pera merchants and hoteliers, each with its unique character. Pilgrims like day trippers, budget, domestic and foreign pilgrims, and events visit the shrine. Findings confirm the economic significance of pilgrimage for vendors and hoteliers surrounding the shrine. Tripura is poised to enhance circuit tourism by linking three Indian Shaktipeethas and four in Bangladesh.

Influential Factors In Wine Reviews and their Impact on Wine Tourism: A Comprehensive Analysis

Anil Goyal — 2025-02-07

The growing fascination with high-quality wines has significantly enhanced the appeal of wine regions as tourist destinations and influenced the operational strategies of wine producers. The current research aims to analyse the range of wine evaluations that shape purchase intentions toward wines that lead to wine tourism. Employing a quantitative correlation design, the study used a non-probable sampling to gather participant data via an online standardised questionnaire. Respondents' perspectives on wine quality, packaging, awareness, and social conventions were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. The data has been analysed for validity, reliability, and structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that wine quality, brand awareness, social customs, and the physical attributes of wine bottles and packaging significantly influence wine reviews. The current research contributes to understanding nuanced factors influencing millennials' wine purchasing intentions and impact on wine reviews. The insights gained could enhance economic outcomes and the socio-economic impact of the wine industry. The current study presents a more sophisticated model than previously suggested, offering valuable implications for the entire wine industry's ecosystem.

Policy, Planning, and Management of Kedarnath: Addressing Tourist and Management Challenges

Vaishali Singh — 2025-02-07

Kedarnath Dham is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, which is a very important religious place in India. The study examines how the pilgrimage site is managed and also explores the problems that tourists have while they visit these sites. This study employs a mixed methodology using secondary data and tourist interviews. It further uses systematic thematic analysis to categorise the challenges in Kedarnath. The study finds that the problems include inadequate services, safety issues, etc. This study would help understand the tourists’ challenges in Kedarnath. It also shows how important it is to find a balance between meeting the needs of tourists and protecting the spiritual and cultural heritage of these sites.

Moderation of Perceived Safety in Public Bus Transport on the Link between Bus Route-Time Design and Commuters’ intentions

M V Praveen — 2025-02-07

Ensuring public transportation is safe is not only vital but also a fundamental aspect of developing inclusive, reliable, and sustainable mobility for everyone. This paper examines the moderating effect of safety in the privately-owned State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) under the Government of Kerala on the impact of Bus Route-Time design on continuing and word-of-mouth (W-o-M) intentions of passengers through a comparative analysis. The study on daily public bus passengers in Kerala selected a sample size of 686 with 252 State-owned bus passengers and 434 private bus passengers proportionate to Kerala’s bus population ratio. The research was conducted at fourteen key bus stations using purposive and lottery random sampling. The reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, ensuring strong internal consistency. The study verified the data’s reliability and validity using CFA and pilot testing. The IBM SPSS AMOS 21 software was utilised to investigate the moderating effects. It is evident from studies that bus routes and time design have a substantial influence on different aspects of service quality and passenger behaviour. Safety is still essential no matter the other aspects of service quality. The research shows that perceived safety strengthens the connection between route and time design and passenger intentions, which is more visible in state-owned bus services.

Exploring overtourism: A bibliographic Mapping of the research trends (2018-2023)

Kushal Tamang — 2025-02-07

Overtourism is a phenomenon that can negatively impact both the quality of life for local communities and the experiences of tourists. The growing concerns surrounding overtourism have garnered the attention of researchers worldwide, leading to a substantial body of literature on the topic. Numerous studies have explored the impacts, challenges, and potential solutions related to overtourism. However, relatively few bibliometric analyses provide an overarching view of this research field. This gap motivates our study, which aims to offer a comprehensive overview of overtourism research, analyse emerging trends, and identify potential future research directions using bibliometric tools. Specifically, we utilised the Web of Science (WoS) database to collect literature published between 2018 and 2023. The data were analysed using VOSviewer, a statistical tool for visualising bibliometric networks, to map key themes, co-authorship patterns, and citation trends. The findings reveal a growing global interest in overtourism research, with significant emerging areas, including tourism's cultural dimensions, governance, management, and policy development. This bibliometric mapping highlights the global nature of overtourism, stressing its implications for countries currently affected and those potentially at risk. The study underscores the importance of proactive research into preventive measures, particularly in regions where overtourism has not yet become a pressing issue. By providing a comprehensive knowledge map, this study contributes to the understanding of overtourism and supports the development of strategies to mitigate its negative impacts.

Mapping Research On Bicycle Tourism: A Bibliometric Analysis

Raveesh Sharma — 2025-02-07

In travel and tourism, especially those related to adventure tourism, "Bicycle Tourism" is the fastest-growing area. "Bicycle tourism" is still in its infancy, and further investigation is required to comprehend it more methodically and scientifically properly. The researcher used the Scopus database and searched the keyword “Bicycle Tourism” to identify the research papers. In the search from the year 1982 to 20th April 2024, the researcher retrieved a total of 134 articles. The researcher limited the research to specific research areas of Social Science and Arts and Humanities; only 56 articles were left behind, and lastly, the researcher excluded the press, which was left with 55 articles for the study. To quantify and illustrate the body of research on "Bicycle Tourism," this study used the bibliometric analysis approach, VOS-Viewer, and R-studio software. The analysis revealed that the author found one article that received more than 150 Scopus citations. According to Scopus, Hans, H., Meng, B., & Kim, W. (2017) have received total citations of 175 and 21.88 total citations per year (TCPY).

India As A Medical Tourism Destination: A Case Study Of Ahmedabad City

Deepal Joshi — 2025-02-07

Medical tourism has not seen similar opportunities for growth across Indian cities. In spite of emerging research on the topic, there exists a lack of studies on medical tourism in cities like Ahmedabad. This study aims to analyse specific insights into India as a medical tourism destination, factors affecting the choice of city and hospital for medical tourists and challenges and opportunities for Ahmedabad city in the context of medical tourism. This study has collected data using in-depth interviews of foreign patients undergoing treatments in various hospitals of Ahmedabad. By analysing the interview data, we conclude that India has great potential as a medical tourism hub because of good healthcare infrastructure, quality care of patients, cost-effectiveness, experienced doctors, English-speaking staff, fewer waiting periods, etc. Family and friends, agents, doctors who have previously worked in developed nations, hospitals that have branches or affiliation with hospitals in foreign nations, etc., are the major factors affecting the choice of city and hospital for treatment. International patients coming to Ahmedabad face challenges related to discrimination, warm weather, non-vegetarian food, etc. Opportunities for Ahmedabad include a lower cost of living as compared to Indian metro cities, the possibility of optimum management of scarce but significant resources like blood, and the huge Gujarati diaspora across the world that can serve as a vital link for international medical tourism in Ahmedabad. This study provides significant implications for future researchers, hospital administration and staff, international medical tourists, government and policy-makers, allied service providers in medical tourism, etc.

Media's Role In Shaping Perceptions Of Disaster Tourism: Analysing Viewer Responses To The Wayanad And Ankola Landslides

Vishnu Achutha Menon — 2025-02-07

On July 16, 2024, a landslide in Shirur village, Karnataka, caused eight fatalities and left three missing, with rescue efforts hampered by severe weather. Media coverage, particularly from Kerala, heightened public scrutiny and pressure on rescue operations, leading to a visit by the Chief Minister of Karnataka. On July 30, 2024, another series of landslides in Kerala resulted in over 350 deaths, with media focusing on personal stories of victims to amplify the urgency of aid. This study explores factors influencing viewer engagement, including narrative engagement, physiological responses, and empathy, across different genders, geographic locations, media formats, and channels. Using a survey with 448 participants conducted from June 6 to August 2, 2024, the study reveals significant gender differences, geographic variations, and media effects on engagement and psychological responses, highlighting the role of media in shaping public reaction and response to crises.

Heritage Trail will revitalise the livelihood of Palmyra Palm-based rural communities in Tamil Nadu, India

Preethi H — 2025-02-07

The Palmyra palm tree, called the Tree of Life, provides numerous edible and inedible benefits. It Provides livelihood opportunities for large, underprivileged communities. The present study explores two heritage walk routes, the Palmyra Safari, connecting distinct landscapes of the Kanyakumari district. Moreover, The Palmyra Trail connects diverse religious groups in the Thoothukudi district. These trails were developed in collaboration with government organisations and local communities to attract tourists with special interests. The techniques used to gather primary data, design the itinerary, and document stakeholders' opinions and experiences on the Heritage Trail routes include the Delphi technique, field observation, interviews with the local community, and familiarisation trips. The findings reveal that local communities, tourists, and experts have positive experiences with the trail. The practical implications highlighting the revitalisation of the local community's socio-economic status, reduction of Palmyra-based product adulteration, and creation of authentic experiences and awareness among tourists were established through the itinerary model. The results suggest that the model's success lies in its ability to engage local communities, provide them with a sustainable source of income, and preserve their cultural heritage. By offering genuine experiences to tourists, the model fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of Palmyra’s significance. The findings support the model's improvement and recommendation to the Tamil Nadu State Forest Department and the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation working committee for further development and promotion.

Beyond Check-In: Effectiveness Of CRM Practices In Kerala's Star Hotel Industry

Ruby S — 2025-02-07

The secret to hotel business success is building customer relationships rather than just providing high-quality products and services. Strong client relationships and higher customer satisfaction are mentioned as the main sources of income for service organisations. With "consumer power" at its centre, business has experienced a remarkable transformation in the new millennium. The hospitality industry is a perfect fit for the use of CRM concepts and practices. Modern hotels strive to enhance the guest experience to increase occupancy rates and income. To attain these outcomes, hotel managers need to have a deep awareness of the requirements, attitudes, preferences, and expectations of their visitors. Star hotels in Kerala have been implementing and following CRM practices widely across the industry with the expectation that effective CRM practices in these hotels will strongly influence their performance dimensions. The Three-, Four-, and Five-Star hotels in Kerala firmly think that implementing CRM aspects will improve their reputation, popularity, and financial standing, as well as their prospects for future business in the industry. To the core, the extent and level of specific aspects of CRM practices in star hotels of Kerala, the use of BSC as an overall performance evaluation tool for assessing CRM effects, and the mediating roles played by marketing capabilities in the relationship between CRM practices and performance indicators have remained unexplored in the academic context. Therefore, the present study has been conducted to assess the factors as well as the level of CRM practice aspects of the Hotel industry in Kerala. Hotel managers and executives from particular designations were selected as the study's targeted respondents. The study is useful in providing knowledge to hoteliers -owners, managers, executives and CRM practitioners on the importance of effectively integrating CRM practices for the improvement of overall performance of the Hotel Industry.

The Impact of Tourist Satisfaction on Loyalty in Ecotourism Destination: A Mediation Approach

Arabinda Sarangi — 2025-02-07

Travelers are increasingly interested in ecotourism in India, which, though still niche. It is becoming significant for environmental and societal well-being. Tourist satisfaction is vital for tourist loyalty and repeat visits. This paper examines factors affecting tourist satisfaction and tourist loyalty in ecotourism of Sundarbans, which is the largest delta in the world. Data were gathered by a questionnaire-based survey from travellers in Sundarbans, India, employing systematic sampling. The hypotheses were examined using covariance-based structural equation modelling and the mediation method. Findings from 468 tourists highlighted the effect of ecotourism dimensions i.e. reliability, service quality, destination image, price, and tourist facilities on tourist loyalty, with tourist satisfaction playing a key mediating role. To boost tourist loyalty, ecotourism destinations should enhance their destination image, reliability, service quality, facilities, and affordability. Insights from this study will help the stakeholders of Sundarbans tourism to understand tourists' satisfaction and loyalty levels, and suggest strategies for improving tourism infrastructure and services to encourage future progress.

Green Trust and Environmental Concern's Influence on Gen Z's Organic Food Consumption:

Neeraj Agarwal — 2025-02-11

This study looks at how Consumption Values (CVs) affect Gen Z tourists' intentions to buy organic food. It also examines how Environmental Concerns (EC) act as a mediator and the moderating role of Green Trust (GT) in the relationship. The study analysed data from 550 Gen Z tourists using structural equation modelling (SEM) in SPSS 26 to investigate the links between CVs, EC, and OFPI. At the same time, moderation analysis was conducted through PROCESS Macro to examine the role of GT. The findings reveal that CVs significantly influence OFPI, with EC playing a mediating role and Green Trust (GT) influencing the strength of the relationship between EC and OFPI. The practical implications for marketers and policymakers include emphasising both the utilitarian and socio-emotional benefits of organic food consumption to engage Gen Z tourists effectively. Fostering Green Trust can further enhance sustainable behaviour, making it crucial for businesses to build trust around environmentally friendly practices. This research deepens the understanding of sustainable consumption behaviours and aids in developing models to guide future interventions promoting sustainable tourism choices.