城郊旅游外文翻譯--農業(yè)旅游一項關于參與者對農業(yè)旅游的預期和看法的研究（英文）

1、 1 Farm Tourism: A Preliminary Study of Participants’ Expectations and Perceptions of Farm Tours L. Coombera and C. Limb a School of Tourism servicescape; expectations; perceptions; interpretation INTRODUCTION Pigram

2、and Jenkins [1994] argue that the fluctuating and politically sensitive nature of the rural sector and the contribution of tourism to Gross Domestic Product, employment and incomes have given rural tourism an opp

3、ortunity to gain greater prominence. With the increasing susceptibility of farm produce to global prices, regional restructuring has brought changes to traditional farming activities and lifestyles. The decline in

4、traditional farming activities and the resulting loss of agricultural income in Australia, is a serious problem facing, and in sustaining, rural communities. But tourism has created a renewed awareness of, and demand

5、 for, rural values and environments. Government agencies have increased their interest in farm tourism as a strategy for creating regional jobs, selling local products, supporting small-scale business and retaining f

6、arming lifestyles The Regional Tourism Programme is a Federal Government commitment to regional tourism [Australian Government: Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, 2003, Online]. In 1999- 2000, about 2 pe

7、rcent of Australia’s farms were undertaking some activity other than agricultural production [ABS, 2003]. Tourism is a major redistributor of resources within the domestic sector with substantial multiplier effects.

8、 The majority of tourism businesses in Australia are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As tourism is a labour-intensive industry, the promotion of tourism SMEs blends well with models of community and regional de

9、velopment, as small firms provide the underpinning for local entrepreneurship and job generation. Farm tourism encompasses a set of economic activities with a tremendous potential for future domestic earnings and r

10、egional development, drawing on services provided by local governments and regional communities. Thus, tourism in regional Australia is playing an important role in regeneration and diversification. The paper analy

11、ses different aspects of visitors’ satisfaction, and whether there are significant differences between the expectations and perceptions of participants of a guided tour in an organic farm. Kiwi Down Under, a sma

12、ll farm- tourism enterprise, is located sixteen kilometres from the city of Coffs Harbour in New South 3 Perceptions are defined by Greenberg and Baron [1997] as the process through which people select, organise and i

13、nterpret information gathered by the senses in order to understand the world. The provider and user are in close proximity implying that satisfaction is influenced by consumers’ perceptions of service and the attent

14、ion they receive. Satisfaction is dependent on performance. Lovelock et al [1998] define satisfaction as meeting expected needs and desires and is the consumer’s post-purchase evaluation. Interpretation uses themes, p

15、erspectives and linkages. It develops an appreciation of sense of place. It creates for the visitor an understanding of the history and significance of events, people and objects with which the site is associated.

16、 Many urban people lack understanding of rural life and there is a growing recognition of the need for education. DISCUSSION The participants from the education segment of the market responded to a pre-tour and post-

17、tour survey that examined attitudes to twelve elements of the farm servicescape. These elements are related to behavioural and physical dimensions. In this pilot study, a small purposive convenience sample of thirt

18、y-six tertiary students is used. A conventional approach to measuring satisfaction using before-and-after tour questionnaires is reasonably easy to administer and it is cost effective. Post-tour questionnaires are m

19、ost important in reflecting on the experience, while a pre-tour questionnaire is acceptable as the respondents would have enough knowledge or access to information (for example, advertising) to answer the questions

20、accurately. It is recognised that this instrument could restrict respondents from expressing their feelings adequately, especially in the complex dimensions of servicescape and inter-relationships. Hence,

21、 follow-up research using observation and interview techniques would be useful. Twelve close-ended questions on a five-point Likert-type scale are used to measure respondent attitude to a range of elements in th

22、e servicescape. Given that most criticism of SERVQUAL lies in its generic nature [Yoon and Ekinci, 2003], this study has chosen dimensions and elements relevant to the farm landscape environment to measure customer

23、satisfaction. The elements of the servicescape used are embedded in the tour activity. Three additional questions in the survey also provided information about the respondents, namely: ? 67% has not previously parti

24、cipated in a farm tour ? 53% do not have any connection with tourism in their work or career goals ? 75% are under the age of 25 Table 1 provides the mean scores of the pre- and post-tour responses to various acti

25、vities on the farm, and the estimated t-statistic to test whether they are statistically significant at the 5% level (the critical value for the two-tailed test of paired differences is 2.03). Differences between ex

26、pectations and perceptions which impact on satisfaction and quality, have implications for management and marketing of farm tourism. All pre-tour means are statistically different from post-tour means, which reject

27、 the null hypotheses that there are no differences between participants’ expectations and perceptions of farm activities at the 5% level of significance. Participants expected more walking in the farm than they actua

28、lly engaged in. While they found it easy to move around on the uneven and sloping terrain, it was not what they had expected. Another important element of guided tours is related to time spent standing at the one sit

29、e, often listening to commentary. Contrary to the participants’ expectation, they were not standing around at any one site for too long. Individuals respond to farm noises and smells differently. Responses in re

30、lation to these questions are very subjective. Nonetheless, participants have found the farm noise and smell to be more pleasant than expected. The guide could have modified their behaviour when he perceived fear, a

31、nxiety or discomfort, to generate a positive response. Respondents felt comfortable with the farm environment then expected. This may appear a little surprising since 67% of the respondents have indicated that they

32、have not previously participated in a farm tour. Comfort relates to a number of other elements and may help explain this response. It would seem that the guide has provided clear and meaningful commentary, and has eng

33、endered a positive mood in the participants, as there is a significant difference between expected and perceived responses in relation to understanding farm activities. Most farm tours are conducted in winter be