Recreation Matters: Estimating Millennials’ Preferences for Native American Cultural Tourism

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I found the paper very interesting, presenting results similar to other studies that investigate different areas but with the same important purpose. The topic can contribute to economy development of Native American communities and can open to further studies.

The survey was disseminated and data were collected in 2018, so it would be interesting to investigate whether in a post-COVID era needs and preferences have changed.

I would include a couple of more studies apart from Chaminuka to define a global trend.

References include Carr: is it possible to know more about the results from New Zealand as a comparison?

Where there millennials among the Yavapai-Apache leaders, tribal members, the general Yavapai-Apache public and regional economic experts?

Economic business ideas are clearly stated, but are there any community-centered facilities in the Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Council?

Minor considerations:

- Line 96 for consistency COVID all in caps

- Line 194 tribal members and leaders which generation?

- Line 284 for consistency COVID all in caps

- Line 285 change ; with ,  (, therefore,)

 

Author Response

Reviewer 1:

I found the paper very interesting, presenting results similar to other studies that investigate different areas but with the same important purpose. The topic can contribute to economy development of Native American communities and can open to further studies.

The survey was disseminated and data were collected in 2018, so it would be interesting to investigate whether in a post-COVID era needs and preferences have changed.

I would include a couple of more studies apart from Chaminuka to define a global trend.

References include Carr: is it possible to know more about the results from New Zealand as a comparison?

*Lines 274 – 279 and 297 – 300 were amended with additional studies included to expand on our findings (references of Carr (2020) and Halliday and Astafyeva (2014) were added). Thank you for the recommendation to expand on literature that supports our findings.

Where there millennials among the Yavapai-Apache leaders, tribal members, the general Yavapai-Apache public and regional economic experts?

*Lines 194 – 197 were amended to address the generational cohorts that were present at the Yavapai-Apache general public and tribal council meetings. Thank you for the clarity suggestion.

Economic business ideas are clearly stated, but are there any community-centered facilities in the Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Council?

*Lines beginning at 109 – 111 were added to address the current state of community-centered facilities within the Yavapai-Apache Nation. Thanks for suggesting further explanation of the existing infrastructure.

Minor considerations:

- Line 96 for consistency COVID all in caps  X

- Line 194 tribal members and leaders which generation?  X

- Line 284 for consistency COVID all in caps  X

- Line 285 change ; with ,  (, therefore,)  X -- ; therefore, was totally removed.

Reviewer 2 Report

I thank the authors for presenting an interesting problem. The enrichment of traditional tourism products with additional elements enhancing the tourist experience is a desirable activity.

I find the research conducted by the Authors very valuable.

In terms of empirical knowledge and statistical processing, I have no comments.

My comments/suggestions for change:

1/ Firstly, a clearer conceptual discussion of the Millennial Generation in comparison to other generations is needed.  A theoretical discussion of this age group is needed.

2/ The research focused on a selected age group, the Millenials generation, without taking into account the specificities and differences between different generational groups. In the conclusions, it should be mentioned that. This is important because tourism development should also take into account the expectations of, for example, Generation Z.

3/ The article lacks conclusions and a summary. This section should be added. The contribution of their research should be mentioned. The implications of the research findings are not explicitly addressed in the article.  What are the authors' recommendations?  What are the limitations of the research?

I hope that clarification of the above issues can significantly improve the article.

4/ Please adapt the citation style to the requirements of the journal!!!

5/ Table 1 - the data presented in the table ends with 2016, it needs to be updated to at least 2020

Author Response

Reviewer 2:

I thank the authors for presenting an interesting problem. The enrichment of traditional tourism products with additional elements enhancing the tourist experience is a desirable activity.

I find the research conducted by the Authors very valuable.

In terms of empirical knowledge and statistical processing, I have no comments.

My comments/suggestions for change:

1/ Firstly, a clearer conceptual discussion of the Millennial Generation in comparison to other generations is needed.  A theoretical discussion of this age group is needed.

*Lines 59 – 65 were added to broaden our discussion of millennials and their habits relative to other generations. This suggestion helped us better describe our study sample. Thank you for bringing a more complete picture of our study group into our manuscript.

2/ The research focused on a selected age group, the Millenials generation, without taking into account the specificities and differences between different generational groups. In the conclusions, it should be mentioned that. This is important because tourism development should also take into account the expectations of, for example, Generation Z.

*Lines 326 – 327 were added to directly address the limit of our analysis on millennials and how other generational groups need to be considered for sustainable tourism development. Thank you for this suggestion.

3/ The article lacks conclusions and a summary. This section should be added. The contribution of their research should be mentioned. The implications of the research findings are not explicitly addressed in the article.  What are the authors' recommendations?  What are the limitations of the research?

*Lines 332 – 350 were added to include a “Conclusions” section that addresses our lack of reflection. We address the limitations, implications and recommendations for sustainable tourism and future research. Thank you for this suggestion.

I hope that clarification of the above issues can significantly improve the article.

4/ Please adapt the citation style to the requirements of the journal!!!

*Year placement changed to reflect the requirements of the journal. Thank you.

5/ Table 1 - the data presented in the table ends with 2016, it needs to be updated to at least 2020

*Thank you for this comment as the new data reflects pre and post COVID visitation. Data comparing 2018 to 2021 was put into the table along with additional discussion on lines 116 – 127.

Reviewer 3 Report

It is a good article and in terms of the method and the use of local people's views, it is the strength of the article. Some suggestions may be more helpful for the article.

1. The study area should be added in keywords.

2. The importance, necessity and goals are well stated in the introduction, but the discussion and review of the views and opinions about the casino activities have been done little. It is necessary to do a background check of the subject and check the theories.

3. Make better quality maps.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Reviewer 3:

It is a good article and in terms of the method and the use of local people's views, it is the strength of the article. Some suggestions may be more helpful for the article.

1. The study area should be added in keywords.

*”Verde Valley, AZ” was added to lines 45 – 46 in keywords.

2. The importance, necessity and goals are well stated in the introduction, but the discussion and review of the views and opinions about the casino activities have been done little. It is necessary to do a background check of the subject and check the theories.

*Lines 332 – 350 were added to include a “Conclusions” section that addresses our lack of reflection. We address the limitations, implications and recommendations for sustainable tourism and future research. Thank you for this suggestion.

 

3. Make better quality maps.

*Maps were updated and saved in a higher resolution format. Thank you for the suggestion.

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

Most of the requested corrections have been made.