Massey Research Online - Browsing by Author "Seyfi S"

Browsing by Author "Seyfi S"

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Breaking boundaries: Exploring gendered challenges and advancing equality for Iranian women careers in tourism
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024-08-01) Carrasco-Santos MJ; Seyfi S; Hosseini S; Hall CM; Mohajer B; Almeida-García F; Cortes Macías R
While there's growing interest in gender and employment issues in tourism studies, a gap exists when examining the obstacles women face in career pursuits, especially in theocratic societies. Drawing on Risman's gender structure theory, this qualitative study investigates how Iranian women perceive the impact of gender power dynamics on their careers and those of their peers. The findings reveal inhibitory factors affecting women's quest for equal career opportunities, including deeply ingrained societal influences on gender roles, institutionalized gender discrimination, and self-imposed constraints. The findings also demonstrate how gender stereotypes and theocratic structures manifest in the Iranian tourism industry, and how Iranian women working in the tourism sector actively negotiate, resist, and challenge these stereotypes to advance their careers. In a field where most gender-related studies originate from Western perspectives, this study holds particular significance in amplifying the voices of those in non-Western, theocratic societies.
Destination image during the COVID-19 pandemic and future travel behavior: The moderating role of past experience
(Elsevier Ltd, 2021-09-01) Rasoolimanesh SM; Seyfi S; Rastegar R; Hall CM
This study investigates the effects of cognitive destination image shaped by media during the COVID-19 pandemic on willingness to support and post-pandemic travel intention. Drawing upon the concept of cognitive destination image and through an online self-administered survey, the effects of four factors including trust, crisis management, healthcare system, and solidarity on travel behavioral intention are compared based on tourists’ prior experience of a given destination. To achieve this aim, ten countries with different coping strategies, numbers of positive cases and mortality rate were studied. A total number of 518 useable questionnaires were collected from the prospect international tourists who followed news related to COVID-19 for one of the selected countries and plan to travel in the future. Partial least squares – structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were used to test the model and hypotheses. The results showed the high predictive power of the model on post COVID-19 travel behavioral intention. The findings revealed the strong and positive effects of trust and healthcare system on behavioral intention of respondents without past experience to visit a destination, whereas the effect of solidarity on behavioral intention was identified much stronger for the prospect tourists with past experience of visiting a destination. This research provides unique theoretical contributions by investigating the effects of trust, crisis management, healthcare system, and solidarity shaped by media during COVID-19 outbreak as the components of cognitive destination image on future behavioral intention across past experience of visiting a destination. This study also provides insights on post-crisis recovery factors affecting travel behavioral intention and demand.
Dissecting destination boycotts: Unpacking ethical dilemmas in politicized tourism
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024-12-01) Seyfi S; Siyamiyan Gorji A; Kuhzady S; Hall CM; Senbeto DL
Informed by political consumerism theory and employing a multi-case approach, this study examines the different factors influencing tourists' decisions to participate in or abstain from destination boycotts. Through an analysis of online narratives, the study identifies and discusses key manifestations of ethical dilemmas in tourists' boycott decisions, reflecting both the transformative potential of boycotts and doubts about their effectiveness. The findings indicate that participation in boycotts is driven by perceived egregiousness, the empowerment of change through tourism, and ethical and moral considerations. Conversely, rejection of boycotts often stems from the contentious nature of certain boycotts, skepticism about their effectiveness, concerns about local welfare, the desire to avoid collective punishment, and the double standard dilemma. By introducing the concept of ‘politicized tourism consumerism’, this study highlights tourism's potential to drive social change and offers novel theoretical insights into tourists' politicized tourism practices and their implications. These insights can help tourism stakeholders, including policymakers and businesses, develop strategies to address ethical concerns and boycott impacts, leading to more ethical and responsible tourism.
Exploring the drivers of Gen Z tourists’ buycott behaviour: a lifestyle politics perspective
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-06-03) Seyfi S; Sharifi-Tehrani M; Hall CM; Vo-Thanh T
Generation Z (Gen Z) is the largest cohort of generational consumers worldwide and is perceived to show greater connectivity with political consumerism compared to older age cohorts. Nonetheless, there is a notable absence of empirical knowledge on key antecedents of Gen Z’s engagement in tourism-related buycotting. Grounded in political and ethical consumerism literature and guided by lifestyle politics theory, this study aims to illuminate the drivers underpinning buycott behaviour of Gen Z in a developing country context. The qualitative findings demonstrate that Gen Z’ buycott behaviour has two categories of drivers: individual (fulfilment, constructing self-identity and frugality) and prosocial (altruism, trust and the pursuit of social justice). Exposure to social media information, peer persuasion and past experience are also key influencers in Gen Z’ buycott participation. Overall, the research extends the understanding of tourist sustainable consumption in terms of generational behaviours, notably Gen Z’s buycott behaviour. The study provides novel insights to a stream of the political consumerism literature, which is only at a nascent stage in tourism studies. While adding value theoretically, the study also provides useful managerial implications for businesses to stimulate tourists’ political and ethical consumption.
Gen Z–pioneers or paradox in sustainable tourism?
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-06-03) Seyfi S; Hall CM; Strzelecka M
Frequently labeled the “greenest generation,” research often portrays Generation Z (Gen Z) as a generation with strong pro-sustainability sensibilities. However, closer scrutiny exposes a disconnect between their stated intentions and actual behavior. This editorial reflection draws on the contributions to the Special Issue “Gen Z: The Sustainable Tourism Generation?” and a critical scoping review to question whether Gen Z can genuinely support a shift toward sustainable tourism. The studies in this issue address themes such as pro-environmental behavior, political consumerism, ethical choices, food waste, and psychological ownership of destinations. Overall, they demonstrate a fragmented body of work, split between those who argue for Gen Z’s deep engagement with sustainability and others who highlight inconsistencies. By synthesizing insights from the special issue and mapping them against broader trends in the literature, this editorial argues that current scholarship risks overstating the coherence of Gen Z’s sustainability orientation. It urges researchers to interrogate the structural, cultural, and psychological barriers that mediate the translation of values into action. Finally, it outlines a future research agenda that calls for greater theoretical clarity, comparative and longitudinal designs, and a move beyond celebratory narratives, to better understand Gen Z’s actual role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals within tourism and beyond.
Identifying constraints on Gen Z’s path toward ethical tourism consumption and practices
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-01-03) Seyfi S; Hall CM; Saarinen J; Zaman M; Vo-Thanh T
Gen Z’s interest in ethical consumption, including tourism, is growing in response to pressing global challenges. However, there is limited research on the constraints tied to the ethical travel decisions of this young cohort of travelers. This qualitative study, grounded in the theory of constraints and ethical consumerism literature, addresses this gap. The findings reveal multi-layered and interrelated constraints categorized as intrapersonal (cognitive dissonance, risk aversion, consumption inertia), interpersonal (green stigma, family dynamics, social comparison), and structural (limited accessibility, financial restrictions). This study extends the theory of constraints by showing that these constraints do not act in isolation but interact dynamically, with intrapersonal constraints often triggering interpersonal and structural ones, while certain barriers reinforce others. Unlike previous research that treats these constraints as independent, our findings reveal their sequential and context-dependent nature, offering new insights into how these constraints interrelate in shaping ethical travel decisions and practices. By highlighting the complexity of ethical decision-making—including conflicting principles, ambiguity, and social influences—this study offers a novel, theoretically-grounded perspective on the constraints faced by Gen Z, often labelled the “greenest” generation. Practically, these findings inform targeted interventions and policy initiatives to enable ethical tourism.
Investigating the mediating role of visitor satisfaction in the relationship between memorable tourism experiences and behavioral intentions in heritage tourism context
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022-03-04) Rasoolimanesh SM; Seyfi S; Rather RA; Hall CM
Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the interplay of memorable tourism experiences (MTE) dimensions in driving behavioral intentions of heritage tourists through the mediating role of satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical data were collected from tourists in the heritage city of Kashan, Iran. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were applied to analyze the data. Findings: The results of PLS-SEM showed that three dimensions of MTE as follows: local culture, involvement and knowledge, significantly directly or indirectly influence tourists’ behavioral intention toward a destination. However, the results of fsQCA identified greater heterogeneity among the respondents by highlighting the positive effects of hedonism and novelty on satisfaction and revisit and word-of-mouth intentions. Originality/value: This study enriches the empirical evidence on MTE by constructing a composite picture of the memorability of tourists’ experiences within a heritage tourism context. This study is one of the first to investigate the effects of dimensions of MTE on behavioral intentions using both symmetric (PLS-SEM) and asymmetric approaches to identify the more significant dimensions of MTE, as well as sufficient combinations of dimensions to predict behavioral intentions. 基于遗产旅游情境下的游客满意度对难忘旅游体验和行为意向之间关系的中介效应的研究研究目的本文旨在研究难忘旅游体验 (MTE) 各维度通过满意度这个中介变量来驱动遗产旅游游客行为意图的机制研究设计/方法论/研究方法实证数据是从伊朗遗产城市卡尚的游客那里收集的。本研究采用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）和模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA）对数据进行分析研究发现偏最小二乘结构方程模型的研究结果表明，难忘旅游体验（MTE）的三个维度：当地文化、参与度和熟悉程度，显著地直接或间接地影响游客对目的地的行为意向。然而，模糊集定性比较分析的研究结果表明受访者间存在更大的异质性，其结果凸显了享乐主义和新鲜感对满意度、重游意向和口碑(WOM)意向的正效应独创性/价值本研究通过构建遗产旅游背景下游客体验难忘性的相互影响机制，丰富了关于难忘旅游体验（MTE）的实证研究证据。本研究是第一个同时使用对称方法（PLS-SEM）和非对称方法（fsQCA）来探究MTE各维度对行为意向的影响的研究之一，通过这种方式可以识别出MTE各维度中更为重要的维度以及维度组合，以此来预测行为意向
Rethinking resilient futures for Nordic tourism
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-10-19) Hall CM; Saarinen J; Seyfi S; Hall CM; Saarinen J; Seyfi S
Amid escalating environmental degradation, geopolitical and geoeconomic instability, and the structural vulnerabilities exposed by COVID-19 pandemic, resilience has become a central concern in tourism scholarship and policymaking. This introduction and the associated special issue examine how resilience is conceptualised and operationalised in Nordic tourism contexts. It demonstrates that resilience is not a neutral or universally shared idea or goal. The contributions in the special issue highlight how resilience emerges through social innovation in second-home destinations, communication strategies of destination management organisations, biodiversity-oriented leadership in national policy frameworks, post-disaster recovery and transformation processes, and the role of change agency under crisis conditions. These studies offer a multi-scalar view of resilience and reveal how institutional constraints, governance dynamics, and power asymmetries between different actors and scales shape what forms of resilience are possible and included or excluded. Based on this, there is a need to challenge often dominant instrumental and recovery-oriented uses of the concept and call for a more inclusive, ecologically grounded, and politically sensitive research agenda. By synthesising these insights and outlining future directions for resilience research in Nordic tourism, we call for moving beyond managerial framings to engage with the socio-ecological, political, and spatial conditions shaping tourism futures.
The ethics of eating: how do lifestyle politics shape tourists’ ethical food consumption behaviours?
(Emerald Publishing, 2025-12-12) Seyfi S; Orea-Giner A; Hall CM; Zaman M
Purpose: Guided by the lifestyle politics theory, this study aims to examine how ethical food commitments are negotiated and reshaped within tourism experiences. It explores how travel settings affect political food consumerism by disrupting familiar routines, introducing new cultural and logistical constraints and leading individuals to adjust their food choices in ways that reflect ongoing ethical engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Adopting a constructivist ontology and interpretivist epistemology, the study uses a qualitative design based on semi-structured interviews with politically and ethically conscious consumers. The analysis, informed by the grounded theory, identifies key themes related to motivations, emotional dimensions and barriers in travel-related political and ethical food consumption. Findings: Tourism disrupts the routines that political food consumerism usually relies on. In everyday life, ethical food choices are supported by habit, familiar products and like-minded social settings. But when people travel, they face new cultures and lose control over what food is available. From a lifestyle politics perspective, ethical choices are not fixed – they shift as situations change. In tourism, political food decisions often involve compromise, shaped by practical limits, cultural differences and being more visible. Tourism, therefore, functions as a space for ethical expression and as a context in which political food commitments are tested and redefined. Practical implications: Understanding how ethical food commitments shift during travel can help providers better support value-driven consumption. This includes improving access to verified ethical food options, clearer sourcing information and recognising the cultural and emotional significance of food choices for ethically motivated travellers. By addressing the challenges faced in unfamiliar settings, industry actors can create more inclusive environments that align with expectations around ethical and sustainable consumption. Originality/value: A lifestyle politics perspective is applied to political food consumerism in tourism, highlighting food as a highly moralised and contested area of consumption. It offers new insight into how ethical eating practices are shaped through travel and how these practices may contribute to sustainability transitions within tourism and hospitality.
Understanding memorable tourism experiences and behavioural intentions of heritage tourists
(Elsevier B.V., 2021-05-25) Rasoolimanesh SM; Seyfi S; Hall CM; Hatamifar P
This study aims to investigate the interplay of visitor engagement, authenticity, and destination image in driving revisit and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intentions of heritage tourists through the mediating role of Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTE). The data for this research were collected from tourists in the UNESCO-listed heritage city of Kashan, Iran. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, the study's findings highlighted the importance of MTE as a mediator of these interrelationships. The results also identified the positive direct and indirect effects of visitor engagement on revisit and eWOM intentions. The indirect effects of authenticity on revisit and eWOM intentions through MTE were also significant. The findings also showed the positive direct and indirect effects of destination image on eWOM intention, with the indirect effect on revisit intention being significant. The practical implications of the study and potential future directions for research are also discussed in the conclusion section.
Whose justice? Social (in)justice in tourism boycotts
(Elsevier B.V., 2023-07-05) Seyfi S; Rastegar R; Kuhzady S; Hall CM; Saarinen J; Higgins-Desbiolles F
Boycotting has long been acclaimed as an exemplary nonviolent tactic utilized in the pursuit of social justice. Guided by justice and political consumerism literature and using critical media discourse analysis, this study sought to investigate the portrayal of social justice in tourists' discourses surrounding travel boycott campaigns against Myanmar. While online narratives exhibit genuine concern for justice and morality, this research elucidates variations in the expression and application of justice, thereby emphasizing the intricate moral decision-making faced by tourists. Overall, this paper illustrates how social justice discourses may be usurped by tourists as a means to blunt justice narratives, calling for a new ‘moral turn’ in research that is more sensitive yet critical towards social justice in politicized tourism consumption.
‘You wouldn’t want to go there’: what drives the stigmatization of a destination?
(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-11-01) Sojasi Qeidari H; Seyfi S; Hall CM; Vo-Thanh T; Zaman M
In a highly competitive market, managing the quality of destination image is a major concern for tourism marketers and policymakers. Negative connotations attached to a destination can potentially produce forms of stigma and lead to the stigmatization of a destination. Research on stigmas attached to tourists or tourism practitioners has gained growing scholarly attention; however, empirical knowledge on the stigmas associated with a place (spatial stigma) and the underlying factors driving the stigmatization of a destination is yet to be developed in tourism literature. To fill this gap and grounded in a multidisciplinary literature on the stigma-place nexus, this study explores the stigmatization of Iran through an analysis of in-depth interviews with the representatives of country’s key tourism informants. The findings of the qualitative study demonstrated how Iran’s destination identity is contested. Six reinforcing forms of stigmas were identified: political, religion, security, hygiene, performance and regional stigmas. The study concludes that destination stigma is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that manifests in different ways depending on where it is generated, encountered and experienced. In adopting a more contextual approach the study offers several new perspectives on stigma production, negotiation and resistance in tourism destinations.

Browsing by Author "Seyfi S"

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