02 / 2015 / Volume 4

The predictors of a positive word-of-mouth experience as an important destination loyalty factor among tourist in the Šumava and South Bohemian Touristic Regions were studied via structural equation modelling. The perception of quality, on-site experience, and the perception of value as the mediators between the motivation to visit and the word-of-mouth experience were studied. The pleasant ‘natural’ environment, the history, the accessibility, and the closeness were found as the pull motivation factors. Social gathering, education, self-reflection, and relaxation were revealed as the push motivation factors. Speaking of the common-place factors, the complexity, the novelty, and the density were all identified as factors of perception of the visited environment. The on-site experience is given by pleasure, arousal, and dominance feelings. The model ‘motivation to visit › quality of environment › on-site experience › perceived value of environment › satisfaction with visit › willingness to recommend the visit’ was found as being appropriate for the collected data.

The management of a tourist destination in the form of networks is considered to be one of the possible approaches to destination governance structures. The concept of destination governance is based on the cooperation between actors from the public and private sectors. It is known that public–private relationships built on trust, joint risk taking and based on informal structures have a positive impact on the level of growth at a tourist destination. The aim of this paper is to quantify to what extent each of the determinants of the DMO success participate in the total destination performance, and thus point out the factors of a potential risk. The main objective of this paper is the cooperation between the destination management organization (DMO), public sector and entrepreneurs providing tourism services. The data collection was achieved by conducting in-depth interviews and structured questionnaires. The analysed data identify the factors of successful mutual cooperation that are used as inputs for further modelling. The contribution of the paper lies in the application of the total quality management concept methodology to identify the share of each factor/determinant in the DMO performance.

Ensuring local community support for national parks is viewed as a paramount ingredient for conservation and sustainability. This is advocated for the park to meet its conservation goals. The Okomu National Park (ONP), Edo State, Nigeria, is one of such protected areas of lush green rain forest requiring conservation. This study examined the local inhabitants’ attitudes view on ecotourism towards the national park and its importance to natural resource conservation in ONP. The park is home to the endangered white throated monkey and the forest elephant. Data were collected on the basis of questionnaires, distributed among eight communities, which have a direct relationship with the park. A total of 338 questionnaires were distributed in eight communities around the park. The results of the survey revealed positive attitudes towards ecotourism in the area of the conservation of wildlife (69%). In addition, 71% of respondents thought that ecotourism helped in saving their forests. A positive relationship between benefits derived, educational level, religion, family size and being a native of the area and attitudes were established, suggesting that these significant factors play an important role in influencing local support for conservation. Among the major limitations the local inhabitants listed their exclusion as copartners in the management of the park and the prohibitive laws that deprive the locals of gathering non-timber forest products, which negatively affects their livelihood. ONP conservationists should work at improving their relationship with the host communities, and include them in management activities. Only then can development and conservation goals be achieved.