Is motorcycle tourism ready to rev up in Pennsylvania? An exploratory study of suppliers’ business attitudes of motorcycle tourism
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald Publishing Limited
Abstract
Purpose – Motorcycle tourism, as an emerging segment of travelers, has steadily increased in the USA
and UK. While previous literature reveals that the attributes of both the journey and the destination are
motivations for motorcycle tourists, the extent to which supply-side stakeholders are aware of those
motivators is not clear. This study aims to explore the perceived value of motorcycle tourism between
differing tourism suppliers in the US state of Pennsylvania and investigates whether they exhibit sufficient
agreement to satisfy the cooperation and collaboration identified as necessary in stakeholder theory.
Design/methodology/approach – For this exploratory study, an electronic survey captured data from
different tourism suppliers (N = 123) in the US state of Pennsylvania. A series of analysis of variance and
equality of means tests assessed differences and agreements between types of suppliers perceptions of
the value of motorcycle tourism and issues associated with successful development of the niche segment.
Findings – Results reveal alignment among tourism suppliers, as well as between identified
motorcyclists’ motivations. While negative perceptions about riders within popular culture appear to
continue among some tourism operators, the economic value of the segment is growing in its appeal
among the respondents.
Research limitations/implications – The unique characteristics of Pennsylvania’s substantial rural
areas and the sample being drawn from tourism organizations suggest generalizing the results with
caution.
Practical implications – Practitioners can capture more of these tourists by highlighting amenities that
attract motorcyclists, collaborating together on events and welcoming messages for motorcyclists, as well
as educating their communities and policymakers about their interest in the segment’s economic value.
Social implications – Overall the study’s findings suggest that while a cultural stereotype of the ‘‘outlaw’’
motorcyclist remains, this negative image may be waning among tourism operators. Additionally, these
results indicate a possible consistency among the state’s tourism supply-side stakeholders desire to host
this segment because of potential positive benefits of these tourists.
Originality/value – There is scant academic research on this visible and growing tourism niche. There is
none that these authors found that examined the tourism suppliers’ sentiments regarding the segment’s
contribution to tourism, nor explored stakeholder theory relative to tourism suppliers and this niche
segment
Description
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Article
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Keywords
Rural tourism, Motorcycle touirsm, Outlaw culture, Tourism stakeholders, Tourism suppliers
Citation
Quadri-Felitti, D., Sykes, D., & Chen, F. (2019). Is motorcycle tourism ready to rev up in Pennsylvania? An exploratory study of suppliers’ business attitudes of motorcycle tourism. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 13(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-06-2018-0084