High year-to-year retention of seasonal employees can be a source of competitive advantage for tourism organizations. Past studies of seasonal employee retention have examined the issue from the perspective of job satisfaction. However, many tourism jobs have similar responsibilities from organization to organization suggesting another construct might also affect employee retention. The purpose of this study was to examine retention through the lens of employee sense of community (SOC) toward the tourism organization. Significant differences were found in SOC levels between those who returned to work at resorts and those who did not. Moreover, a logistic regression model showed SOC to be a good predictor of retention. Like in previous studies, factors that impact retention appear to be different for first year employees than experienced ones. However, the results suggest that somewhat different approaches for improving retention should be taken than the recommendations from past studies of seasonal employee retention.

Most of the pioneering studies related to wineries were conducted in famous wine regions, the results of which were not especially applicable to the small and emerging wineries in the United States. These wineries rely heavily on visitors’ on-site purchases; this highlights the importance of understanding winery visitors’ behaviors. This study explored the sequential relationships among winery visitors’ pre-trip characteristics (motivation, wine involvement), on-site experiences (perceived value), and post-trip evaluations (satisfaction, place attachment, winery loyalty). Intercepted winery visitors provided their e-mail addresses and were sent an online survey. Partial-least-squares structural equation modeling results showed that leisure-motivated and low wine-involved visitors perceive more diverse values in their winery experiences. Visitors’ perceived services, social benefits, and wine-quality values contributed to the positive post-trip evaluations. Winery owners stand to benefit from this research by being able to design winery experiences that are highly valued. Limitations are discussed and future research is suggested.

Since 2000, the number of wineries in the US has nearly tripled. Many of the new wineries are small, located in regions not known for wine production, and often specialize in lesser known wine grape varieties that are suited to the local environment. With over 900 wineries, the Great Lakes region in the northern US accounts for a small percentage of US wine production, but the wine industry there plays an important role in rural economies that historically relied on manufacturing, extraction, and non-wine agriculture. The emerging wine industry in new locations is also providing new opportunities for people to experience a winery visit. In fact, most small wineries rely primarily on sales from their tasting rooms. However, the factors that impact the purchase decision at a winery are different than those at retail establishments and restaurants, and there is evidence that the people who visit wineries in emerging regions are different than typical wine consumers and visitors to the world's best-known wine regions. Given the importance of winery visitors to the success of wineries in emerging regions, it is critical that winery leaders and tourism stakeholders understand their consumers and the factors that impact their travel and wine purchase decisions. This article presents the results of a study of over 3,000 visitors to wineries in three Great Lakes region states. Findings show that the main reason for visiting wineries is for recreational experiences rather than to purchase wine; however, almost all wine tourists contacted for this study purchased several bottles of wine to take home. Moreover, visiting wineries is an important reason for travel decisions, and wine tourists spend a significant amount of money in the region while they are there. Additional findings can inform the decisions of wine tourism stakeholders and provide insights on visitors to emerging wine regions.

The recent rise in evidence-based policy-making means tourism interests are increasingly impacted by policies informed by quantifiable data. With complex issues impacting stakeholders with differing and often competing interests, policy-makers sometimes commission large interdisciplinary studies to help synthesize the potential data that can be used to inform the policy-making process. To help manage the data generated by these studies, study leaders often set guidelines for the types of data that can be used to inform recommendations, often requiring quantitative indicators. However, because of the nature of tourism, and the difficulties associated with isolating tourism activity, the data requirements of these studies may favor other stakeholders who have interests in the policies resulting from these types of studies. This case study of the International Upper Great Lakes Study provides an example of a large multidisciplinary study that aimed to inform policies for managing water levels in the North American Great Lakes by examining the impacts of water-level fluctuations on six stakeholder groups, including tourism. In this case, the data requirements of the study prevented the tourism industry's needs from being fully addressed in the final recommendations to policy-makers. This paper makes a contribution to the literature by examining the specific challenges that the tourism industry faces when evidence is required to inform the decisions of policy-makers.

At a time when many public park and recreational programs are required by local governments to be financially self-sustaining, it is critical for planners to design a new development with the end-user in mind. Feasibility studies often either do not examine user preferences or use Likert-type surveys to investigate features in isolation without evaluating trade-offs from financial and finite space limitations. This study used stated preference choice method (SPCM) to inform the initial design of an off-road vehicle (ORV) park. The park was developed near Detroit, Michigan, a metropolitan area with many registered ORVs, but few places to legally use them. The SPCM examined trade-offs among desired features and helped planners ensure publicly funded investments resulted in a successful park. Researchers mailed a survey with choice sets to 3935 registered ORV users and 2083 completed surveys were retuned (53%). Additional survey items also allowed researchers to create preference models for specific segments of users (i.e., serious ORV enthusiasts/casual users; residents/visitors; or users of different ORV types). The findings informed the design of the park by revealing preferences for segments, allowing planners to design the park for specific markets. The park’s initial success suggests a study in the design stage of development offers utility, though park managers have noticed unanticipated user segments that influence preferences for park features. The findings based on segments also suggest planners should be cautious when designing to an average user. Implications of this study are helpful to planners of any capital-intensive land-use project, especially in the public sector.

This practice-based article describes a program that aims to instil an interest in entrepreneurship among African youth by helping them make a connection between the skills they have developed through their participation in sport and the skills required of successful entrepreneurs. The program was developed in partnership between scholars at four universities (University of Botswana, University of Dar es Salaam, University of Ghana and Michigan State University), as well as schools at other community organisations in three African cities: Gaborone, Botswana; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Accra, Ghana. The program, which seeks to contribute to the well-established need for job creation in sub- Saharan Africa, integrated basic entrepreneurship and life-skills training activities into a sports camp for youth athletes. The program appears to have developed entrepreneurial tendencies among youth sport participants in these African cities, suggesting that job creation efforts could benefit from targeting youth sport participants and helping them to recognise the important skills they have developed through their participation in sport, and helping them to identify ways in which that skill development could positively impact their futures.