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Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2023) | Viewed by 20562

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gyehee Lee

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Guest Editor

Dept. of Tourism Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, Korea
Interests: tourism destination marketing; consumer behavior; mixed methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Under unprecedented pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which seemingly is going to remain longer than we initially thought and hoped, the tourism industry has suffered greatly from losing business globally. However, as we always have been able to learn to respond to the challenges, the tourism industry faces this challenge with great courage. For both industry and academia in tourism, it is time to focus our attention and energy on a positive aspect of this event. The positive side is that the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating changes in the tourism industry. Innovation and technology is a key pillar of the sustainable development of tourism; as UNWTO claims, innovation, especially digital transformation in the tourism industry, is a key to the success of the prosperity and sustainability of destinations worldwide. This Special Issue of Sustainability will focus on these issues, framed as “Sustainable innovation in tourism: practice and prediction”, inviting tourism researchers to this arena for disseminating advanced knowledge/practice and identifying/defining emerging issues related to the topic.

A plethora of signals inform us that information communication technologies (ICT) play essential roles in our lives, be it a social or personal role, and we are at the very beginning of a Fourth Industrial Revolution. This will be a new era in which digitalization rebuilds the social fabrics in a new way, and it will have the greatest impact on the tourism industry. Thus, the new shifts we are currently undergoing unexpectedly urge us to be pathfinders to enrich these changes, benefitting individuals, society, countries, and all stakeholders in tourism. We are trying to identify and disseminate innovative practices servicing the traveling public in the tourism industry and predict future tourists’ behaviors so that the industry can create and deliver better travel experiences.

Innovative practices can generate new jobs and new business opportunities to ensure the tourism industry continues to grow and prosper for the sustainable development of industry and society. The goal of this Special Issue of Sustainability is to activate collective intelligence to energize the industry and academia in the tourism sector. Specifically, the journal will welcome a broad scope of digitalization topics in tourism, including smart tourism and smart destinations, online tourists’ behavior, new ICT applications such as AR/VR, the metaverse, location-based services, the IoT, and block chain technology—just to name a few, but this Special Issue not limited to these. Information regarding all of these topics is expected to be shared via this platform. Literature reviews of updated research examples are also welcome. Last, but not the least, research regarding digitalization contributing to rural development, tackling challenges in destinations and firms, and developing smart destinations will find a fruitful platform in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Gyehee Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

digital transformation
ICT innovation
smart tourism
smart destinations

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3081 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Linkage of Digital Transformation and Tourism Development Policies in Indonesia from 1879–2022: Trends and Implications for the Future

by Windi Dwi Nanda, Ida Widianingsih and Ahmad Zaini Miftah

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10201; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310201 - 27 Jun 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2296

Abstract

This research analyzes digital transformation and tourism development in Indonesia based on policies issued by the central government. The policy was issued in the period 1879–2022, or, precisely, during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia until the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to analyze digital transformation policies and tourism policies in Indonesia that are historically linked, as well as their implications for the future. We analyze the trends and times of the COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for the future. The method used in this research is content analysis by analyzing policy texts quantitatively (number of policies in a certain time) and qualitatively (topics and content). The dataset obtained for analysis in this research contains 87 policies on digital transformation and tourism development with various forms of policies. This study found a linkage between digital transformation policies and tourism development, especially tourism development policies toward digital transformation. In addition, during the COVID-19 period, both policies reached the highest number compared to previous years. This allows for more supportive policies to be born in the coming years and implies opportunities for establishing policies on the use of technology in tourism management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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19 pages, 688 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Expressiveness in Slow Tourism as a Sustainable Driver: The Trans-Siberian Railway Travel Experience

by Olga Kosykh, Hanna Roh and Robert Hart

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8011; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108011 - 15 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1490

Abstract

In response to the increasingly severe climate crisis, the tourism industry has been implementing ESG management and carbon-neutral policies, and sustainability has become the top priority. In this reality, slow tourism is expected to be a sustainable alternative. This study proposes a model of self-expressiveness for slow tourism using the example of Trans-Siberian Railway travel. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the process of the formation of self-expressiveness with the Trans-Siberian Railway experience, its relationship with hedonic enjoyment, and its impact on the life satisfaction of tourists. This research delves into the effects of eudaimonistic identity on life satisfaction via SEM. Moreover, the moderating role that self-expressiveness plays between hedonic enjoyment and life satisfaction is noteworthy, which was assessed based on the bias-corrected (BC) bootstrap method procedure. The data were gathered through an online survey on Instagram and Facebook using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 210 respondents who had traveled by train in Siberia were used for the analysis. The results indicate that the more Siberian train tourists encountered the flow experience, self-realization, perceived authenticity, and hedonic enjoyment, the greater their self-expression, which had a favorable effect on life satisfaction. In addition, self-expression fully mediated the relationship between hedonic enjoyment and life satisfaction. This research makes a contribution in that it applies eudaimonistic identity theory, which has previously only been applied in the context of leisure, to tourism. Theoretical and practical implications and suggested avenues for future research are also presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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15 pages, 1912 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparing Tourism Activity Patterns Influenced by a Tourism Information Source: A Case of the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

by Deukhee Park and Sunmi Yun

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3763; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043763 - 18 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1423

Abstract

With the development of the internet and mobile devices, tourists have been able to obtain information and then travel to various places or participate in diverse tourism activities in one travel excursion. This study investigates the patterns of tourist participation in tourism activities according to a tourism information source used through a relational approach using a social network analysis (SNA). This study utilizes raw data from 2021 Gyeonggi tourist survey data distributed by the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization. Our results indicate different patterns of participation in tourism activities between tourists using online sources and those using offline sources. In addition, the tourism activity distribution patterns of the centralities were hierarchically structured and differentiated depending on the tourism information source. The present study then offers theoretical implications and future study avenues, as well as practical implications, focused on developing tourism marketing strategies and content for the Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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14 pages, 708 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Consumers’ Acceptance Intention to Use Mobile Food Delivery Applications through an Extended Technology Acceptance Model

by Soyoung An, Thomas Eck and Huirang Yim

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010832 - 3 Jan 2023

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8123

Abstract

The rapid growth of the domestic food delivery market has led to intense market competition as the use of delivery applications has grown quickly. This study explored the variables of personal innovativeness, trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intention to use such applications by testing the extended technology acceptance model (ETAM). By using Google Forms, data were collected from 10 May 2022 for a period of two weeks from Koreans who have experience using mobile food delivery applications. A total of 296 responses were used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that personal innovativeness had a positive effect on perceived ease of use. Trust was found to positively affect perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The variables perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness significantly influenced intention to use food delivery applications. This current research study provides practical implications by suggesting that ease of use with food delivery applications deserves further consideration. It was shown to be a key factor in increasing the intention to use such applications and can help to influence the creation of strategies to enhance continuous usage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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16 pages, 669 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Cross-Cultural Study of Value Priorities between U.S. and Chinese Airbnb Guests: An Analysis of Social and Economic Benefits

by Jungho Suh, Cevat Tosun, Thomas Eck and Soyoung An

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010223 - 23 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2058

Abstract

Guest value priorities in relation to online peer-to-peer accommodation are an underexamined area. This study examined social and economic benefits among Airbnb guests. The relationships between guests’ benefit priorities were tested in relation to satisfaction and behavioral intention. A total of 693 Airbnb guests were recruited from the U.S. and China. A framework to examine how cross-cultural differences moderate the associations between constructs was employed to examine the influences of the two cultures, one characterized by collectivism (China) and the other by individualism (U.S.). Confirmatory factory analysis and partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to test variable relationships. PLS-SEM analysis indicated that social and economic benefits both significantly influenced satisfaction and behavioral intention (satisfaction also influenced behavioral intention). Multigroup analysis was employed to test a framework examining cultural differences. It was found that social and economic benefits influenced behavioral intention differently for Chinese and U.S. Airbnb guests. The results suggest the importance of social and economic benefits in a peer-to-peer accommodation setting, as well as the need to understand cultural differences in the sharing economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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14 pages, 3403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Perceptions Using Urban and Advanced Air Mobility (UAM/AAM) by Applying a Mixed Method Approach

by Jaeho Yoo, Yunseon Choe and Soo-i Rim

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16338; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416338 - 7 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1865

Abstract

From a mobility rationale, advanced air mobility (AAM) and/or urban air mobility (UAM) claims a reduction in travel time with integration into intermodal transportation networks and a reduction in ground traffic congestion due to the current modal shift to air, ultimately contributing to more sustainable transportation. Starting in 2025, South Korea is planning to operate air taxis between International Airport and Seoul downtown. This study applied a mixed-method approach to identify barriers to the use of air taxis by investigating consumers’ risk perception of air taxis. A focus group interview yielded a scale with 18 items across five dimensions. Next, through exploratory factor analysis, the 18 items were reduced to 10 items across two dimensions: safety risk (6 items) and cyber risk (4 items). The findings of this study will offer practical guidelines for creating marketing tools and designing strategic management planning for air taxis. The risk perception using air taxis will assist with creating a more strategic and efficient business model that destination management organizations, developers, and policymakers can utilize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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16 pages, 5121 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring Values via the Innovative Application of Social Media with Parks Amid COVID-19: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Text and Images Using ATLAS.ti

by Yunseon Choe, Jiyoon Lee and Gyehee Lee

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13026; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013026 - 12 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2164

Abstract

Due to the lockdown and restrictions on public activities and gatherings amid COVID-19, parks received renewed attention because of their importance and irreplaceable functions as healthy outdoor recreation. This study aims to explore the values reflected in Twitter content that discussed parks amid COVID-19 through a qualitative content analysis of text and images using ATLAS.ti. Specifically, a qualitative data (visual and textual) set of Twitter posts amid COVID-19 (from February 2020 to September 2022) that mentioned Everglades National Park was explored. The results from the social media content analysis of park values during COVID-19 revealed three themes: (1) nature, (2) recreational tourism, and (3) proximity. This study expands the application of social media via a qualitative content analysis of text and images using ATLAS.ti by providing methodological improvements. Practically, the findings of this study can also provide practitioners with useable knowledge for design strategies considering the value of protected areas as a model of sustainable destination management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Innovation in Tourism: Practice and Prediction)

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