Abstract
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) has become an increasingly popular research area with more consideration being given to this lucrative market. However, much of the literature reports that VFR is still underestimated and underreported. At the same time, the number of expatriates has been increasing, further stimulating VFR travel. This study considered the impact VFR travellers had upon their expatriate hosts’ ability to learn about the destination in which they reside. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with expatriate residents in Dubai to uncover the VFR traveller’s impact on the expat-host from a learning standpoint. Results indicated that participants did learn about Dubai as a result of their visitor, largely due to an implied feeling of duty towards their visitor. As a result of this duty, expat-hosts learnt about tacit elements of Dubai, such as its history and culture, while also becoming more familiar with particular surface-level elements, such as hours of operation for shops and entrance fees for various types of entertainment.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Currency exchange rates obtained from oanda.com on 4th September, 2014.
References
Aramberri, J. (2001). The host should get lost. Paradigms in the tourism theory. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 738–761.
Attwood, E. (2012). Dubai tops global hotel occupancy index. Arabian Business. Retrieved from http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-tops-global-hotel-occupancy-index-449288.html
Backer, E. (2007). VFR travel: An examination of the expenditures of VFR travellers and their hosts. Current Issues in Tourism, 10(4), 366–377. doi:10.2167/cit277.0.
Backer, E. (2008). VFR travellers—Visiting the destination or visiting the hosts? Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2(1), 60–70. Retrieved from http://www.cecc.com.au/clients/sob/research/docs/ebacker/AJTHR.pdf.
Backer E. (2010). VFR travel: An assessment of VFR versus non-VFR travellers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Southern Cross University, New South Wales. Retrieved from http://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=theses&sei-redir=1#search=%22An%20assessment%20VFR%20versus%20non-VFR%20travellers%22
Bischoff, E. E., & Koeing-Lewis, N. (2007). VFR tourism: The importance of university students as hosts. International Journal of Tourism Research, 9, 465–484. doi:10.1002/jtr.618.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21. Retrieved from EbscoHost database.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hu, B., & Morrison, A. M. (2002). Tripography: Can destination use patterns enhance understanding of the VFR market? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 8(3), 201–220. Retrieved from ProQuest database.
“Family tourism major growth area in Islamic economy” (2014). Gulf News. Retrieved from http://gulfnews.com/business/tourism/family-tourism-major-growth-area-in-islamic-economy-1.1374130
Jackson, R. T. (2003). VFR tourism: Is it underestimated? The Journal of Tourism Studies, 14(1), 17–24. Retrieved from http://www.jcu.edu.au/fac1/public/faculty/jts/14(1)/2-JACKSO.pdf.
King, B. (1994). What is ethnic tourism? An Australian perspective. Tourism Management, 15(3), 173–176. Retrieved from EbscoHost Database.
Lockyer, T., & Ryan, C. (2007). Visiting friends and relatives distinguishing between the two groups: The case of Hamilton, New Zealand. Tourism Recreation Research, 32(1), 59–68. Retrieved from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/10289/1994/1/tim_Visiting%20friends.pdf.
McKercher, B. (1996). Host involvement in VFR travel. Annals of Tourism Research, 23(3), 701–703.
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioural study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378.
Milgram, S. (1965). Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority. Human Relations, 18, 57–76.
Morrison, A., Woods, B., Pearce, P., Moscardo, G., & Sung, H. H. (2000). Marketing to the visiting friends and relatives market: An international analysis. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 6(2), 102–118.
Moscardo, G., Pearce, P., Morrison, A., Green, D., & O’Leary, J. T. (2000). Developing a typology for understanding visiting friends and relatives markets. Journal of Travel Research, 38, 251–259. doi:10.1177/004728750003800307.
Oberg, K. (1960). Culture shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments. Practical Anthropology, 7, 177–182.
Peterson, K. I. (1994). Qualitative research methods for the travel and tourism industry. In J. R. B. Ritchie & C. R. Goeldner (Eds.), Travel, tourism, and hospitality research: A handbook for managers and researchers (2nd ed., pp. 487–492). Toronto: Wiley.
Seaton, A. V., & Tagg, S. (1995). Disaggregating friends and relatives in VFR tourism research: The Northern Ireland evidence 1991–1993. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 6(1), 6–18.
Shani, A., & Uriely, N. (2012). VFR tourism: The host experience. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(1), 421–440. doi:10.1016/j.annals.2011.07.003.
Shim, I., & Paprock, K. E. (2002). A study focusing on American expatriates’ learning in host countries. International Journal of Training and Development, 6(1), 13–24. Retrieved from EbscoHost Database.
Tourism Research Australia. (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/tra/Pages/default.aspx
Trends by Market. (2011). Visit Britain. Retrieved from http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundvisitorstatistics/trends/trendsbymarket.aspx
World Tourism Organisation [UNWTO]. (2011). UNWTO Tourism highlights 2011. Retrieved from UNWTO database.
Young, C. A., Corsun, D. L., & Baloglu, S. (2006). A taxonomy of hosts: Visiting friends and relatives. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(2), 497–516.
Zlotnik, H. (2010). Globalization and interdependence: Item 22(c): International migration and development. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/zlotnik-2comga-statement.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Dutt, C., Ninov, I., Haas, D. (2016). The Effect of VFR Tourism on Expatriates’ Knowledge About the Destination. In: Katsoni, V., Stratigea, A. (eds) Tourism and Culture in the Age of Innovation. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27528-4_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27528-4_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27527-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-27528-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)