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Family holidays - Vacation or obli-cation

VFR travellers of the future

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2011
  • Type: Text , Book chapter
  • Relation: Tourism and demography p. 73-86
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  • Description: The purpose of this chapter is to : Highlight the importance of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel now and in the future; Discuss key demographic trends related to VFR travel and analyse the findings from a study of VFR tourism to two Australian including destinations, including: VFR travellers represent a substanial form of solo-travellers and single-person households are forecast to grow in the future. VFR travel represents a hidden form of travel for children travelling without parents (linked with emerging niche market, the 'grand-traveller'); VFR travelly utilise commercial accomodation, and their usage of this is likely to increase; VFR travel has important social benefits to families; VFR travel will grow as a market segment for older travellers, especially those in the final stages of the family life cycle.
  • Description: 2003008919

VFR Travellers - Visiting the destination or visiting the hosts?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research Vol. 2, no. 1 (2008), p. 60-70
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  • Description: Significant component of tourism. Despite this, VFR Travel has been largely ignored by marketing practitioners, and has remained underresearched in many domains. VFR Travel tends to be overlooked in marketing campaigns because travellers have been regarded as individuals who cannot be influenced because of their perceived minimal economic impact. However, VFR travellers are not always attracted solely by the hosts. The attractiveness of the destination can also have an influencing role on VFR trips. While little research has been done to examine these issues, this paper utilizes a whole tourism systems model to examine linkages between VFR tourists and destination regions. Comparative analysis compares VFR research undertaken in two different regions in Australia. This approach shows that VFRs are often influenced to embark on VFR trips because of the attractiveness of a destination. As such, while any region can attract VFRs because of the hosts, the attractiveness of a region as a tourist destination can influence the length of stay of visitors and as such, enhance the impact of VFR Travel on a local economy.
  • Description: C1
  • Description: 2003006151

VFR traveller demographics : The social tourism dimension

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , King, Brian
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Vacation Marketing Vol. , no. (2017), p. 1-14
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  • Description: The global phenomenon of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel is substantial, including in developed countries. In profiling its dimensions, researchers have examined various VFR characteristics including length of stay, origins and travel mode, though no thorough exploration has been undertaken of VFR demographics. Surprisingly this is the first large-scale study to examine VFR demographics and to consider all destination-related VFR data, not only those that are confined to purpose of visit. The researchers drew upon official Australian domestic travel data (n ¼ 81,579) to undertake a profile of the respective demographics of VFRs and non-VFRs. This assessment revealed that many people who would be classified as socio-economically disadvantaged engage in VFR travel. Previous literature has documented the lower participation of socio-economically disadvantaged groups in tourism and this article shows that they participate actively as VFRs. It is concluded that stimulating VFR travel provisionmay provide a mechanism for extending leisure experiences to those excluded from other forms of tourism.

Visiting friends or relatives?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Leisch, Friedrich , Dolnicar, Sara
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Tourism Management Vol. 60, no. (2017), p. 56-64
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  • Description: Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) contributes significantly to tourism activity and revenues, accounting for about 48 percent of domestic travel in Australia. Implicit in most discussions of VFR travel is that it represents one homogeneous market. This paper examines this assumption and demonstrates – based on data from 67,024 domestic and international tourists to Australia – that this is not the case. The profile of people visiting friends (VFs) differs significantly from that of people visiting relatives (VRs). This finding has major implications for tourism marketing which need to target VFs or VRs in distinctly different ways, rather than generically marketing to VFR travellers. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Understanding the proclivity of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel across Family Life Cycle Stages in Australia

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Lynch, David
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Tourism Research Vol. 19, no. 4 (2017), p. 447-454
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  • Description: The Family Life Cycle (FLC) model is frequently used for understanding travel patterns and consumer behaviour. The aim of this research was to consider the relationship between FLC stages and travel engagement in Australia. Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFRs) and non-VFRs (n = 102 029) were found to be significantly different in their FLC composition. In addition, the prevalence of FLC stages changed between the groups, with families comprising 27.5% of domestic VFRs yet comprising 37.9% of domestic non-VFRs. This study has provided a valuable assessment of the relationship between FLC stages and domestic travel in Australia and is the first paper to integrate two common approaches used in tourism for market segmentation.

Travel and quality of life : Where do socio-economically disadvantaged individuals fit in?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Weiler, Betty
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Vacation Marketing Vol. 24, no. 2 (2018), p. 159-171
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  • Description: Recently, there has been increasing scholarly interest in the relationship between tourism and quality of life (QOL). While the concept of QOL is contestable, a number of studies have revealed that travel can increase an individual’s perceived and actual QOL. To date, the focus has been on vacation travel, highlighting that travel primarily for the purpose of rest or recreation, whether to a holiday destination or touring, is a component of many people’s perceived QOL, and in some cases is a critical component. However, these more expensive forms of vacation travel are less accessible to those classified as socio-economically disadvantaged. Many such individuals can and do visit friends and relatives (VFR), suggesting that VFR may be a critical means by which socio-economically disadvantaged people can travel for pleasure and thereby maintain or improve their QOL. The article suggests a number of potential strategies based on the 8 Ps of the marketing mix, and these in turn inform avenues for future research.

Hosting friends versus hosting relatives : Is blood thicker than water?

  • Authors: Yousuf, Mohammad , Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Tourism Research Vol. 19, no. 4 (2017), p. 435-446
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  • Description: Little research has been undertaken to examine visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel from the perspective of hosts. Additionally, little research has explored the differences between VFs and VRs, treating VFR as one homogenous group. This research examined the hosts' perspective of hosting friends versus relatives through in-depth interviews with 34 local residents in three contrasting destinations in Australia. Key differences were found between the experiences of hosting friends versus relatives, with immigration a key aspect in impacting the outcome. This is the first study to examine hosting friends versus relatives and to consider how immigration and destination impact VFR travel experiences for hosts.

Australian Honours degrees : The last bastion of quality?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Benckendorff, Pierre
  • Date: 2018
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 36, no. (2018), p. 49-56
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  • Description: The first tourism Honours degree in Australia was offered almost three decades ago, and since then Honours has become a well-recognised and important offering, particularly in terms of its role as a research pathway. The research-intensive nature of Honours degrees produces graduates who are able to plan and execute project work, undertake research, and demonstrate scholarship with some independence. These skills are highly sought after by some employers. However, Honours programs tend to be ‘boutique’ offerings and are particularly vulnerable to curriculum rationalisation efforts. The purpose of this research was to explore the value and future of Australian business Honours degrees by examining the perceptions of tourism and business educators. A survey of 100 academics from 21 Australian institutions revealed that Honours is highly valued and considered to be superior as a research training degree in comparison to Masters Coursework Degrees and Masters by Research. However, in an era of increasing austerity the Australian Honours degree has become an oddity and its reputation as the last bastion of quality in undergraduate tourism education is under threat. © 2018

VFR travel : An examination of the expenditure of VFR travellers and their hosts

A content analysis of cross-cultural motivational studies in tourism relating to nationalities

  • Authors: Soldatenko, Daria , Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 38, no. (2019), p. 122-139
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  • Description: The importance of outbound markets to a host country has increased scholars' interest in understanding motivational factors. Motivation is a basic determinant of tourists' behaviour and has a fundamental role in tourism. The awareness of motivational differences among tourists from main generating markets is a prerequisite for effective and successful destination marketing programs. However, cross-cultural motivation comparisons of tourists from different cultural backgrounds has received relatively little research attention. In addition, there has not been a content analysis undertaken on this topic. Therefore, the aim of this research was to examine and synthesise previous studies on cross-cultural tourist motivation comparison, reveal the gaps in the literature and indicate the future research trends. A review of 71 publications covering a period of 30 years, from 1988 to 2017, was conducted. This study focuses on both subject areas and research methods used. The findings of this content analysis identified a recent growth in cross-cultural comparison studies. The analysis also revealed an increase in more advanced analysis including multiple variables such as motivations, satisfaction, segmentation of visitors, intention behaviours, and information search behaviour. The analysis of nationalities compared in the reviewed studies indicated the shift of research interest towards Asian countries. In the case of research methods, quantitative design is more common for cross-cultural motivation studies.

VFR travel : Do visits improve or reduce our quality of life?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2019
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 38, no. (2019), p. 161-167
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  • Description: Quality of Life (QOL) has started to emerge as an important component across numerous disciplines including tourism. Whilst studies regarding QOL have been around for decades in many disciplines, the field is relatively new in tourism. The relationship between QOL and tourism is important given that there have been studies revealing that travel can increase an individual's perceived and actual QOL. Those studies that have examined the relationship between QOL and tourism have focused on pleasure/leisure travel. Thus, other types of travel, namely Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel have not been examined with respect to QOL. In terms of QOL, VFR can be derided in conversation, identifying it as an unwanted irritation that can hardly boost QOL. This is particularly relevant in terms of VFR hosting. However, the link between VFR and QOL has not been empirically tested and as such, it is unclear whether VFR can improve or reduce QOL. Accordingly, this paper examines the link between VFR travel and QOL. Based on a sample size of 552 across Australia, this research found that whilst VFR can reduce QOL in some situations, in most cases, positive QOL benefits arise from both hosting and visiting VFRs. © 2019

Opportunities for commercial accommodation in VFR travel

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Tourism Research Vol. 12 , no. 4 (2010), p. 334-354
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  • Description: This research explores the extent to which VFR travellers utilise commercial accommodation in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and profiles the characteristics and behaviours of this particular type of VFR traveller. The research indicated that 26% of the VFRs stayed in commercial accommodation (CVFRs). This closely aligned with research using the same method in a comparative destination, Ballarat, Australia, indicating that 22% of VFRs stayed in commercial accommodation. CVFR travellers occupied similar types of commercial accommodation as non-VFRs and engaged in similar tourism activities. However, they came from different generating regions and used different sources of information for planning their trip. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

VFR Travelers: How Long are They Staying?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2010
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Tourism Review International Vol. 14, no. 2-3 (2010), p. 61-70
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  • Description: The Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) segment of travelers is a substantial segment of tourism in many destinations around the world. However, relative to its size, research has been lacking, commencing only around 20 years ago, and gaining momentum only this century. Research into VFR traveler profiles and characteristics has been limited, and some of what has been found conflicts with other findings. One such conflict relates to travelers' length of stay. While some research indicates that VFR travel is associated with long length of stay, other research indicates that it is associated with short-break tourism. The purpose of this research was to examine the length of stay for VFR travelers compared with non-VFR travelers at three contrasting destinations in Australia. Although the average length of stay varied among destinations, there was no significant difference between VFR and non-VFR travelers at each destination. That is, in this study VFR travel was not found to be associated with either short or long stay at the three destinations considered. However, length of stay was longer the more popular the destination was with tourists. As such, it is concluded that VFR travelers stay at more attractive destinations longer than at less attractive destinations, but not at any significantly different level to non-VFRs.

VFR Travel : A viable market for tourism crisis and disaster recovery?

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Ritchie, Brent
  • Date: 2017
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Tourism Research Vol. 19, no. 4 (2017), p. 400-411
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  • Description: Rebuilding tourist arrivals after crises/disasters is important. However, tourism may have negative impacts in terms of interfering with the destination recovery efforts, and adding distress to local residents. Therefore, consideration should be placed on timing tourism marketing as well as the market segments most suitable to target. This paper integrates both medical literature and tourism literature to consider whether Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel may be viable for destinations to consider after crises/disasters. The authors conclude that VFR travel offers both benefits and risks and recommends that only domestic VFR travellers are targeted to aid destination recovery. Future research avenues are also outlined. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Empirical testing of the theory of partial industrialisation in tourism

  • Authors: Backer, Elisa , Barry, Brooke
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 20, no. 2013 (2013), p. 43-52
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  • Description: Businesses that are typically associated as belonging to ‘the tourist industry’ may find that tourists are only part of their business mix and may or may not strategically target tourists as a distinct segment. That is, businesses that serve tourists also serve non-tourists. As such, tourism is only ‘partially industrialised’. Despite being acknowledged three decades ago, only two empirical studies of tourism's partial industrialisation exist in the field. The aim of this research is to examine partial industrialisation in tourism (PIIT) in the Australian inland city of Ballarat, Victoria. This research provides additional empirical evidence to support the theory of PIIT, and provides evidence to highlight that figures often used in industry to support tourism represent a considerable exaggeration of the situation.

A content analysis of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel research

  • Authors: Yousuf, Mohammad , Backer, Elisa
  • Date: 2015
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management Vol. 25, no. (2015), p. 1-10
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  • Description: Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel is a significant form of tourism worldwide. Scholarly research into VFR commenced in 1990 and since then only one review of the literature has been conducted, which was a content analysis based exclusively on journal articles. That research, based from 1990 to 2010 highlighted that only 39 VFR articles had been published in tourism journals. Given the small number of publications identified, it was felt that an analysis encompassing a wider selection of publication forums and extended to 2015 would be valuable to scholarship. This research also considered citations and outputs by individual authors to determine where research is being derived from. The findings of this research identified recent growth in VFR travel research from wider publication forums, including conference papers and theses. However, VFR has made the most presence through book chapters in recent years. VFR research has historically focused on the commercial and marketing aspects, but more recently has turned to furthering understanding of the social aspects by giving particular importance to the VFR hosts and migration topics for the future direction of VFR research. © 2015 The Authors.
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