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All Outputs (22)

Caught in the maze: Exploration of the ‘tourist trap’ phenomenon (2024)
Journal Article
Polus, R., Nautiyal, R., & Nautiyal, A. (2025). Caught in the maze: Exploration of the ‘tourist trap’ phenomenon. Tourism Management, 106, Article 105009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105009

This research note explores the intricate nature of tourist traps, going beyond the prevalent negative stigma attached to them. While the term tourist trap is casually used, only a limited number of scholars have investigated the intricacies of this... Read More about Caught in the maze: Exploration of the ‘tourist trap’ phenomenon.

Pilgrimage in the COVID-19 Era: Uncovering Supply Side Challenges and Opportunities in Media Representations (2024)
Journal Article
Polus, R., Shaheer, I., & Nayak, N. P. (2024). Pilgrimage in the COVID-19 Era: Uncovering Supply Side Challenges and Opportunities in Media Representations. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 12(1), 50-70

Pilgrimage travel, a common practice across major religions, has historically exhibited remarkable resilience to global crises, owing to the unwavering conviction of its followers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic marked a significant departure from th... Read More about Pilgrimage in the COVID-19 Era: Uncovering Supply Side Challenges and Opportunities in Media Representations.

From pilgrimage to volunteer tourism: A spiritual journey in the contemporary world (2023)
Journal Article
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2024). From pilgrimage to volunteer tourism: A spiritual journey in the contemporary world. Anatolia, 35(3), 607-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2023.2289610

The aim of this paper is to explore how the experiences of international volunteer tourists can contribute to the rejuvenation of the concept of pilgrimage in the contemporary world. Through thematic analysis of the individual portraits, this paper i... Read More about From pilgrimage to volunteer tourism: A spiritual journey in the contemporary world.

‘Reverse gaze’ in spiritual tourism: fact or myth? (2023)
Journal Article
Polus, R. (online). ‘Reverse gaze’ in spiritual tourism: fact or myth?. Tourism Recreation Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2023.2252679

The term ‘reverse gaze’ is used in tourism academia to describe the interaction between tourist photographers and local subjects, which challenges traditional power dynamics in tourism. However, further research is needed to explore this concept with... Read More about ‘Reverse gaze’ in spiritual tourism: fact or myth?.

Freedom and Empowerment in International Volunteering: The Story of Angi (2023)
Journal Article
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2023). Freedom and Empowerment in International Volunteering: The Story of Angi. Tourism Cases, https://doi.org/10.1079/tourism.2023.0031

This case study examines the intersection of freedom and empowerment in the context of international volunteering, focusing on Angi’s personal narrative and her perception of these concepts. Angi’s journey serves as a compelling illustration of how i... Read More about Freedom and Empowerment in International Volunteering: The Story of Angi.

“To use or not to use” - Mobile technology in nature-based tourism experience (2023)
Journal Article
Nautiyal, R., Polus, R., Tripathi, A., & Shaheer, I. (2023). “To use or not to use” - Mobile technology in nature-based tourism experience. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 43, Article 100667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100667

This study investigates the role of mobile technology in the three stages (pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit) of nature-based tourism (NBT) experiences. By employing collaborative autoethnography and reflexive thematic data analysis, this resea... Read More about “To use or not to use” - Mobile technology in nature-based tourism experience.

Netnography and volunteer tourism: Critical reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic (2023)
Journal Article
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2023). Netnography and volunteer tourism: Critical reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 56, 42-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2023.05.022

COVID-19 curtailed a significant amount of research in the field, forcing social scientists to consider the future of fieldwork. Netnography seems to offer a covid-resistant alternative to traditional fieldwork methods. This paper expands knowledge o... Read More about Netnography and volunteer tourism: Critical reflections on conducting online research during a global pandemic.

What can online reviews reveal about Tourism Destination Image? A netnographic approach to a pilgrim destination in India (2023)
Journal Article
Nayak, N., Polus, R., & Piramanayagam, S. (2024). What can online reviews reveal about Tourism Destination Image? A netnographic approach to a pilgrim destination in India. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(6), 1284-1300. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2160921

The purpose of this study is to examine the destination image of Tirumala Tirupati as one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in India using three Tourism Destination Image (TDI) components namely cognitive, affective, and conative. Netnography was... Read More about What can online reviews reveal about Tourism Destination Image? A netnographic approach to a pilgrim destination in India.

Challenging the Eurocentrism in volunteering (2022)
Journal Article
Polus, R., Carr, N., & Walters, T. (2023). Challenging the Eurocentrism in volunteering. World Leisure Journal, 65(1), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/16078055.2022.2146741

Volunteering practices have largely drawn on theories based on Eurocentric conceptualizations. The dominant Eurocentric models of volunteering, as a significant leisure experience, have served to marginalize other definitions and practices. Thus, thi... Read More about Challenging the Eurocentrism in volunteering.

‘Remember that time?’: introducing retrospective collaborative autoethnography (2022)
Journal Article
Tripathi, A., Polus, R., Zhang, Y., Nautiyal, R., & Shaheer, I. (2024). ‘Remember that time?’: introducing retrospective collaborative autoethnography. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(5), 1154-1159. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2109864

Autoethnography is a well-established methodological approach in research, including tourism studies. Despite the frequent application of autoethnography in research, some scholars have raised challenges in employing autoethnography such as individua... Read More about ‘Remember that time?’: introducing retrospective collaborative autoethnography.

Challenges and opportunities for sacred journeys: a media representation of the impact of COVID-19 (2022)
Journal Article
Shaheer, I., Nayak, N., & Polus, R. (2024). Challenges and opportunities for sacred journeys: a media representation of the impact of COVID-19. Tourism Recreation Research, 49(5), 1177-1183. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2022.2100195

Pilgrimage is a common phenomenon in all the major religions. Earlier studies showed that the pilgrimage sector has high resilience to crises. However, COVID-19 has affected and continues to have adverse impacts on pilgrimage tourism. Recognising the... Read More about Challenges and opportunities for sacred journeys: a media representation of the impact of COVID-19.

Conceptualizing the Changing Faces of Pilgrimage Through Contemporary Tourism (2022)
Journal Article
Polus, R., Carr, N., & Walters, T. (2022). Conceptualizing the Changing Faces of Pilgrimage Through Contemporary Tourism. International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 5(3), 321-335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41978-022-00109-7

This paper aims to conceptualize the pilgrimage and tourism relationship in the contemporary world. As the boundaries between pilgrimage and tourism have become blurred, there is a need to find a more holistic way to understand the nuances of the pil... Read More about Conceptualizing the Changing Faces of Pilgrimage Through Contemporary Tourism.

A new framework: non-Western perspectives on international volunteering (2022)
Journal Article
Polus, R., Carr, N., & Walters, T. (2023). A new framework: non-Western perspectives on international volunteering. Annals of Leisure Research, 26(5), 701-715. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2022.2041447

International volunteering has typically been conceived as a Western sociocultural phenomenon. Within this paper, we aim to apply a non-Western lens to the development of a conceptual framework, through which to consider an alternative perspective on... Read More about A new framework: non-Western perspectives on international volunteering.

The Role of Communication Technologies in Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys (2021)
Journal Article
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2021). The Role of Communication Technologies in Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 9(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.21427/MG4M-E412

Pilgrimage has evolved alongside the evolution of communication technology. Emergent communication technology is changing how people present themselves and tell others about their experiences, including within the context of pilgrimages. Building upo... Read More about The Role of Communication Technologies in Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys.

From gen Xers to millennials: Transformation of self through tourism (2021)
Book Chapter
Polus, R., & Carr, N. (2021). From gen Xers to millennials: Transformation of self through tourism. In Millennials, Spirituality and Tourism. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003170631

Studies on generation cohorts and tourism have been an ongoing and active subject in the academic world. Whilst links between generation cohorts and tourism are emerging, there seems little work that discusses generational change and its influence on... Read More about From gen Xers to millennials: Transformation of self through tourism.

So close yet so far: Economic accessibility of Mount Kinabalu (2017)
Journal Article
Bidder, C., Polus, R., & Thomas Edward, J. (2017). So close yet so far: Economic accessibility of Mount Kinabalu. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Culinary Arts, 9(1), 11-26

This study examined the economic accessibility of Mount Kinabalu perceived by the local people of Sabah. Specifically, this study i) examined the concept of willingness to pay (WTP) in light of its association with perceived fee fairness, spending su... Read More about So close yet so far: Economic accessibility of Mount Kinabalu.

Understanding Tourists’ Motives and Sought Experiences at Sandakan Memorial Park Borneo (2016)
Journal Article
Polus, R. C., Bidder, C., & Jones, T. E. (2016). Understanding Tourists’ Motives and Sought Experiences at Sandakan Memorial Park Borneo. Asian Journal of Tourism Research, 1(1), 149-166. https://doi.org/10.12982/ajtr.2016.0006

Sandakan Memorial Park was established to commemorate the suffering and death of British and Australian soldiers and other civilians that were imprisoned in Sandakan by the Japanese army during the Second World War between 1942 until 1945. Using Sand... Read More about Understanding Tourists’ Motives and Sought Experiences at Sandakan Memorial Park Borneo.

Volunteer Tourists’ Motivation and Satisfaction: A Case of Batu Puteh Village Kinabatangan Borneo (2016)
Journal Article
Polus, R. C., & Bidder, C. (2016). Volunteer Tourists’ Motivation and Satisfaction: A Case of Batu Puteh Village Kinabatangan Borneo. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 224, 308-316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.490

Volunteer tourism experiences represent a combination of both voluntary work and travel. The success of a volunteer program lies in its ability to create a balance between opportunities to learn, experience new things, have fun, and contribute to wor... Read More about Volunteer Tourists’ Motivation and Satisfaction: A Case of Batu Puteh Village Kinabatangan Borneo.