Editor’s Choice Articles

Mountains are perceived as places of biodiversity, as attractive places with breathtaking aesthetic views and epitomized by their unique landscape features. As mountains are the second most demanded outdoor destination category at a global level after beaches and islands, the steady growth of tourism places high pressure on sensitive mountain ecosystems. As can be observed from tourism practice in mountain environments, the distribution of tourism activities is highly uneven. In the Alps, one of the best-known regions with relentless tourism growth, a substantial concentration of tourism intensity can be traced to specific locations and valleys, whereas other parts have to cope with trends of marginalization. In this situation, many concerned stakeholders have long advocated for more balanced economic and tourism development. The initiative of “Mountaineering Villages” promoted by the Alpine Convention is one of a few respective actions to shift perspectives and persuade tourists to engage in sustainable tourism activities. The paper explores how these activities are linked to the balanced use of cultural landscapes and the narratives that are exposed as convincing development models in these regions. Full article

Overtourism has become a critical problem in many popular destinations around the world, leading to negative impacts on the environment, local communities, and the quality of the visitor experience. This article explores the potential of the metaverse, a virtual world that combines elements of augmented reality and virtual reality, and other new digital technologies for addressing the challenges of overtourism. Drawing on a systematic literature review of recent studies, the currently available technologies are listed, and their potential implications for the tourism industry and local communities are portrayed. It was found that while there is some evidence to suggest that the metaverse and its associated digital technologies such as the extended realities/XR (virtual reality/VR, augmented reality/AR, mixed reality/MR), can help mitigate overtourism, further research is necessary to investigate their effectiveness in reducing overtourism and their potential unintended consequences. This article makes an original contribution to overtourism research and adds to existing knowledge by providing a practical list of currently available technologies that could help DMOs and tourism professionals mitigate the negative effects of overtourism. The article concludes with suggestions for future research and practice in the field, highlighting the importance of continued exploration and innovation in this area. Full article

Big data (BD) analytics play a key role in helping hotel firms gain competitive advantages and achieve superior performance. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors encourage the use of big data analytics (BDA) by hotel firms and the impact of BDA on hotel firms’ performance. Understanding the impacts of big data analytics in the hotel sector is important to help hotel managers use big data for creating business value by increasing hotel performance. A research model was developed and tested with data collected through a questionnaire sent to hotel managers in a European country and analysed with PLS. The results indicate that organisational readiness and competitive pressure encourage the use of BDA through the mediating role of top management support. The findings also indicate that the use of BDA can create business value by increasing the main dimensions of hotel performance: financial performance, customer retention rate, and hotel reputation. Full article

This article focuses on the processes of territorialization of the local population’s living space, created by the governance regime in French Guiana, and their effects on the production of a tourist space in the context of sparsely populated regions. The Guiana Amazonian Park is analyzed as a territorialization agent with mechanisms that influence the development of tourism in the Maripasoula/Haut-Maroni zone. Our objective is to use the territorial framework to better understand the political and geographical dynamics that exist between the processes of the global production of tourist areas and those related to the local population’s management of the living space. Using Critical political geography framework, this study is based on documentary research and on 15 semi-directed interviews, conducted during a month-long stay in 2019, with different groups of stakeholders involved directly or indirectly in tourist activities. The paper first outlines the regional and local context of tourism in French Guiana. It also offers a territorial description of the different inclusion criteria for Sparsely Populated Regions in the Maripasoula/Haut-Maroni region, which is linked to the specific tourist practices in this territory. The processes of territorialization are then analyzed through the different governance regimes the French state created in order to understand how they fit into the production of a tourist space. Finally, a reflection on the future of tourism in this region is proposed, particularly regarding colonial governance regimes vis-à-vis Indigenous populations in the region. Our analysis demonstrates that tourism, along with any other form of activity to be developed in Maripasoula/Haut-Maroni territory, will be systematically confronted with the same structural constraints that have helped to reproduce the dynamics of territorial dispossession since the establishment of a colonial regime in the region. Full article

This paper analyzes the role of Canadian online news media in framing travel during the pandemic. The article applies Altheide’s concept of the problem frame to reflect how news media contribute to the emergence of a highly rationalized problem that, in turn, generates a discourse of fear. While the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism have been extensively examined within tourism scholarship, less attention has been devoted to the impact of news media. Because travel and the pandemic are heavily intertwined, discourse analysis can help process media narratives, furthering our understanding of their role in influencing perceived risk of travel. A critical discourse analysis of over 100 online news articles was conducted using thematic analysis to uncover themes in Canadian media sources and to explore how the media have framed travel during the pandemic. The role of online news media in promoting fear was communicated through the themes of anxiety, antitrust, avoidance, and animosity. The role of the media in producing the problem frame in the context of travel was examined as well as its implications for perceived travel risk and tourism demand. The power dynamics between media, government, and the citizens it serves are also discussed. Full article

This paper aims to share post-pandemic lessons for destination resilience and the sustainability of events. It offers a new perspective that reimagines the space and place of events as learning destinations enmeshed in complex systems. Complexity arises due to the interactions and interrelationships between numerous stakeholders, activities, and events in the social–ecological destination system, where boundaries are porous, and issues and actions from afar can impact the local community. The case presented here describes the micro-level activities and actions undertaken to engage with destination resilience and sustainable event management and certification at a learning destination in Texas, USA. These situated efforts are shown (i) at the campus-wide level for the university and (ii) with the collaborative, learning-oriented activities undertaken by students in event management classes to pilot test the Sustainable Event Certification Checklist that was developed. They corroborate the general characteristics and criteria of the complex learning destination summarized in the paper, along with identifying and discussing the skills, literacies, and lessons learned to advance destination resilience and the sustainability of events. Participants in the learning destination draw on practical knowledge and develop soft skills to engage in adaptive planning proactively and collaboratively with other stakeholders to address emergent challenges and practical problems in the complex destination and sustainable event domain. Full article

Rural tourism plays an increasing role in maintaining sustainable rural development. Integrating culture into rural tourism is multifaceted. Local communities have often been regarded as homogeneous, and different voices within them are selectively presented or re-interpreted by those in power. A better understanding of how and why cultures are integrated into rural tourism is urgently needed. This paper aims to investigate (1) the aims and motives of tourism managers to integrate cultural concepts into rural tourism; (2) who has participated in the cultural integration process; and (3) how cultures have been integrated into rural tourism. Based on a scoping literature review, we found that cultures could add more attractions, such as historical heritage, artwork, cultural landscape, customs, food, and language, to the natural landscape and bring more tourists to rural areas. However, integrating cultures into rural tourism is not always successful. Conflicts of interest among different stakeholders are also often found. Some of the worst cases of cultural integration have even destroyed the original natural landscape and local cultures. While cultural integration is complicated, injustice and perverse effects do not have to be a consequence of integrating cultures into rural tourism. Multi-way communication among tourism providers, managers, and consumers can mitigate disruptive outcomes and unlock positive social outcomes. Full article

Music festivals (in the UK) have the potential to enhance the quality of life of attendees and participants, and therefore it might be argued they should be accessible to all. However, the barriers to participation that some may face when seeking to access and engage with festival experiences can often be attributed to the issue of marginalisation due to poverty. Utilising the three discourses of social inclusion put forward by Levitas as a framework, the study explores what UK music festival organisations are doing and could do to make their events more accessible to people living in poverty. Through an analysis of a series of festival websites and semi-structured interviews with festival organisers, some of the financial considerations that can influence participation and act as a barrier to making festivals an inclusive aspect of our cultural life were identified, and solutions were explored. The paper found that despite the social benefits of attending, those living in poverty have become an increasingly marginalised group of festival goers as a result of the disproportional rise in costs associated with attendance, which often goes beyond only the ticket price to include hidden extras. Whilst several festivals undertake outreach work and donate to charitable organisations, only a handful have specific initiatives that improve access for those living in poverty beyond spreading out the price of the ticket via instalments and volunteering opportunities. Findings suggest whilst many music festivals are starting to recognise the importance of the issue, few have specific initiatives but are willing to consider what they can do moving forward. Full article

The present manuscript describes a case study on the viewpoints of tourism stakeholders on the effect of waste management on a destination′s image. In particular, the study aims to analyze the problems that arose during the summer of 2018 in the touristic image of Corfu because of the waste management on the island. The qualitative method approach through interviews was used to collect the primary data of the survey; online sources were used to collect data to review similar cases. All the stakeholders agree that waste management during the summer of 2018 negatively affected the image of Corfu as a touristic destination. Moreover, based on the interviews′ findings, there is a lack of political will, infrastructure, and information provision from the local authorities on the island of Corfu. Interviews also indicated that an integrated solution to the problem of waste management on the island is the implementation of source separation in households and tourism-related firms with the support of the local authorities. The contribution of this paper is towards identifying the effect that waste management has on the image of a tourist destination. It is the first of its kind conducted in Greece and among the few reported in the literature focusing on the viewpoints of service providers. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday reality and negatively impacted the global hospitality and tourism sectors. Even though food is an essential component of the tourist experience and the sustainable development of a region, research on the impact of COVID-19 on tourists’ food-related behaviour remains scant. By implementing a quantitative approach, data obtained from 847 tourists visiting Greece before or during the pandemic were analysed in order to compare these two periods. Findings indicate that during the pandemic, tourists had a more positive attitude towards food than before the pandemic and were more motivated to consume local food. As a result, they spent more money on food and were keener to taste local food and visit Greek restaurants and taverns. Despite the restrictions, the level of food satisfaction remained the same. It seems that this is a case whereby the risk perceptions created by COVID-19 were eliminated. The demand for quality food experiences was mainly interpreted as a search for culture and consideration of health concerns. Specific trends have been revealed in tourists’ food-related behaviours, which bear implications for a smooth transition to new and challenging circumstances. Researchers and food tourism stakeholders must set new goals, develop alternative forms of products and services based on sustainability, and, in general, adopt a new perspective to face future challenges. Full article

There has been a growing interest in examining the implementation of insight-era technologies (e.g., AI, social media) and big data for sustainable tourism development. However, actionable guidelines to promote a holistic adaptation and the effective functioning of destination marketing/management organizations (DMOs) in the increasingly data-infused world are still needed. This perspective paper posits a research-based framework that DMOs can use to become more responsive and efficient in their marketing and planning efforts in the current AI-infused world. Four propositions are presented to support DMOs’ transition to the insight-era: (a) DMOs’ organizational adaptations and workforce development and training, (b) active engagement with destinations’ stakeholders and data sharing, (c) leverage user-generated data and emergent technologies for destination marketing, and (d) DMOs’ data-driven decision making. Full article

Natural areas are often of particular importance for residents as venues for recreation and domestic tourism. However, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, overtourism was a major challenge for many nature-based tourism destinations worldwide, and led to a perceived restriction of tourism opportunities for residents. Iceland, one of the countries most associated with the concept of overtourism, witnessed a rapid reduction in international tourist arrivals after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, domestic tourism was unrestricted and, in fact, actively encouraged. Iceland in the summer of 2020 thus presents an interesting case for studying the experience of domestic tourists at previously overcrowded nature destinations. The study took place in Landmannalaugar, a nature destination known for crowding prior to the pandemic, and is based on 33 semi-structured interviews. Its results reveal that Icelandic residents perceived the break from overtourism as a benefit of the pandemic, and considered it a unique opportunity to reclaim nature destinations from which they had been displaced due to overcrowding by international tourists. Furthermore, they welcomed the chance to engage with fellow domestic tourists. The findings stress the importance of addressing the needs and wants of residents and supporting the development of domestic tourism. Full article

Climate change, unsustainable water use by the tourism sector, and short-term-based decisions by policymakers create additional stress on limited water resources in arid and semi-arid tourism destinations. Non-conventional water resources are playing an important role in making additional water available for these destinations, and the use of desalination plants has gradually increased. However, they can create additional externalities on the environment that can compromise the sustainability of the tourist destination. The decisions of key stakeholders and cooperation among them hold vital importance for the sustainability of tourism and the availability of water resources. Mykonos Island (Greece) is a globally recognized tourist destination in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The island has suffered significant water-scarcity problems in recent years, in particular during the peak tourist season, and desalination plants are being built to reduce stress on the water supply. The first objective of this work was to analyze the perceptions of hospitality stakeholders regarding water shortages and climate change in Mykonos. A second objective was to assess whether the same hospitality stakeholders feel that desalination plants are the solution to water scarcity in island-tourism destinations such as Mykonos. The results show that (i) hospitality stakeholders have significant awareness regarding water-scarcity problems and the impacts of climate change on tourism activity, (ii) they do not view desalination plants as the only solution to water scarcity, and (iii) they perceive a significant lack of coordination among actors who participate in the decision-making process. These results provide clues regarding the importance of awareness, coordination, and cooperation of each actor involved in the decision-making process and can be of interest to policymakers and public authorities in tourism destinations facing water-scarcity problems. Full article

Solo travel continues to be an under-researched area in the field of tourism, hospitality, and events. After the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become necessary to review the knowledge acquired so far. In addition, the 2030 Agenda calls for more studies to understand the relationship between gender and tourism. Because of these facts, and with the aim of analyzing the progress and gaps in academic publications on solo travel in recent years, a bibliometric and content analysis review of the existing scientific literature on solo travel published in Scopus, ProQuest, and the Web of Science in the last 5 years was carried out, focusing the analysis on the gender perspective applied to these investigations. The results showed that research focused on solo travel should increase; this research should segment solo travelers, and comparisons should be realized between those segments and with other tourists who travel accompanied. To do so, a consensual definition of solo travelers is necessary. In addition, research should be extended to other regions and expand the field of analysis beyond motivations, experiences, or constraints. Research focused on solo female travelers should continue because while women cannot travel under the same conditions as men effective gender equality cannot be achieved. Full article

This paper accords productivity growth and enhanced resident well-being more prominent roles in the study of tourism destination performance than they are offered in current research. Not only is productivity analysis essential to addressing the challenges associated with enhancing residents’ material well-being, but it displays substantial promise as a guide for an important research agenda in tourism embracing wider quality-of-life and sustainability issues. A framework is proposed to provide the basis for a research and policy agenda linking productivity, well-being outcomes, and destination sustainable development. Full article

Focusing on rural destinations and calling on the evolutionary resilience concept as a theoretical lens, this paper investigates whether COVID-19 provokes “revenge tourism” after periods of lockdown or whether the pandemic can be used as a chance for a degrowth-oriented restart that forms the foundation for a more sustainable tourism sector. Analysing tourism data and documents regarding political and economic actors’ actions in two rural destinations in Ireland (Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark) and Germany (Southeast Rügen Biosphere Reserve), the study reveals that so far, neither “revenge travel” nor a degrowth-oriented restart of tourism can be identified. Rather, current development indicates that the two rural destinations show resilience in the sense of bouncing back to the pre-COVID-19 era and a continuation of further growth-oriented rural tourism as far as possible under the conditions of political COVID-19 measures. As this development will not allow the sector to genuinely come to grips with the negative ecological and sociocultural effects of rural tourism, the paper pleads for initiation of a debate about influencing business realities on a supranational level, and in this context, about the value of rural tourism destinations and possible forms of financial compensation for degrowth in rural tourism. Full article

This study explores Generation Z hotel employees’ perception of and behavioral intention to use advanced information technologies (ITs) before and during COVID-19. The relationship between perception and intention moderated by COVID-19 is investigated. The technology acceptance model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory (IDT) are integrated, and compatibility is added as an additional construct to conduct this longitudinal study. Data were collected in Hong Kong in April 2019 (pre-pandemic stage) and March 2021 (pandemic stage). Regression analysis, t-test, Cochran’s Q test, and correspondence analysis are applied. Follow-up in-person interviews are conducted to validate the results. The results reveal significant differences between the pre-pandemic and pandemic stages and the moderating effect of COVID-19 on the relationship between the perception of and behavioral intention to use advanced ITs. This study addresses the gap in hospitality research by integrating TAM and IDT to examine Generation Z hotel employees’ behavioral intention to use advanced ITs. Full article

In Japan, many academics and practitioners have focused on anime-induced tourism as one of the new alternative forms of tourism in the 21st century. Many fans have visited locations that have appeared in anime as film-induced tourists. Regarding the behavior of anime-induced tourists, many tend to be willing to contribute to the destinations they visit as eco-oriented volunteers, different from purely film-induced tourists. Therefore, anime-induced tourists possess a complex character that entails both an interest in film-induced tourism and volunteer tourism, which may conceptually be opposed to one another. This study reveals anime’s potential as a driver of new volunteer tourism and theoretically contributes to tourism research by redefining anime-induced tourism by relying on the concept of film-induced voluntourism. Using a comparative case study of the behavior of anime-induced volunteer tourists at three destinations, this study found that while anime-induced volunteer tourists have a feeling of gratitude for their host communities with a vacationer’s mindset, they can realize positive outcomes, including economic benefits and problem solutions by engaging in cleaning-up activities at the destinations they visit. In conclusion, this study clarifies that anime tourism is one of the significant alternative forms of tourism that can achieve community development associated with film-induced voluntourists, resolving the negative effects of film-induced tourism and volunteer tourism. Full article

Virtual reality technology has been widely applied in the tourism industry, but the literature examining the relationship between the virtual tourism experience and cultural dissemination behavior is limited. This present study examines how a virtual reality tourism experience could stimulate tourists’ cultural dissemination behavior intention. It does so by developing a moderated mediation model to explore how virtual reality tourism uses digital technology to improve tourists’ experiential value, enhances their pride, and then affects their cultural dissemination behavior intentions. Results derived from a sample of 359 respondents show that VR experiential value can stimulate tourists’ cultural dissemination behavior and that the link between VR experiential value and tourists’ cultural dissemination behavior is mediated by pride. Furthermore, the cultural value of individual collectivism moderates the relationship between VR experiential value and pride. This study extends the theoretical understanding of virtual reality tourism from the emotional perspective and also has practical implications for VR design and destination marketing. Full article

Virtual reality has become a more common phenomenon in both destination marketing and on-site experience. The recent challenges such as overtourism and the COVID-19 pandemic have created a pressing need to examine virtual tourism as an alternative to traditional travel. This conceptual article aims at clarifying virtual experience in tourism, discussing the main antecedents and outcomes of virtual experience, and proposing a conceptual model of virtual tourism experience. The review of the literature revealed that virtual experience in tourism is influenced by factors related to information, quality, technology acceptance, and affective involvement and has significant effects on tourists’ attitudes and behavioral intentions. This paper contributes to knowledge and practice by classifying the main groups of factors influencing virtual tourism experience, introducing the conceptual model, discussing opportunities for future research, and providing recommendations for tourism practitioners. Full article

The hospitality industry has been making a remarkable contribution to the growth of several countries’ economies. From a business perspective, the best management accounting (MA) techniques and practices are fundamental to the success of companies. However, studies in this specific area in the hotel industry are scattered in the scientific literature in different types of documents and different languages, and with an irregular distribution throughout the years (2000–2020). To fill this gap, a thorough analysis of the global performance of management accounting practices in hospitality is crucial. This study accessed the Web of Science database in three different languages and systematized the articles to be included in this research through the PRISMA guidelines, which allowed an empirical basis for the critical approach to this topic. The greatest relevance of the study is the fact that it presents a systematic review of the literature on hotel management accounting practices, for which these results were enriched with a critical approach. The innovative character of the study focuses on evidence of the increasing implementation of some hotel management accounting practices over the years, such as some operating ratios and the USALI. In practical terms, the results of this study explain the overall performance of management accounting practices in the lodging industry and which ones are most widely used. The importance of the practices to support the decision-making of hoteliers and the challenges that they need to face in their implementation are also shown. Full article

This study aims to investigate the differential effects of determinants of satisfaction on subsequent electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behavior in the sharing economy with peer-to-peer accommodations and timeshares. Data were collected from consumers who stayed at either a timeshare or peer-to-peer accommodation within the previous year (N = 785). Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between the determinants and eWOM through satisfaction, followed by multiple-group comparison to examine the moderating effect of accommodation type. The results indicated that amenities, economic benefits, and trust demonstrated an indirect effect on eWOM behavior through satisfaction, but community belonging affected eWOM behavior directly. Multiple-group SEM revealed that accommodation type moderated the indirect effects of community belonging, economic benefits, and trust on eWOM behavior, such that the indirect effect was significant only for timeshare accommodations. This study contributes to the sharing economy literature by filling the gap of lodging research beyond Airbnb and including timeshares. The findings highlight competitive differences that influence eWOM between peer-to-peer accommodations and timeshares that otherwise offer similar home-like accommodations. The study revealed a newly found direct relationship between community belonging and eWOM. Full article

This article covers the topic of the tourist attractiveness of Tokyo in the opinion of 369 tourists from Poland. A definition of tourist attractiveness and its factors is provided. Basic information on Tokyo, including accommodation, eating facilities, and tourist traffic in the city is offered. The results of the research performed with the use of a survey questionnaire are demonstrated. The research shows that tourists’ most appreciated elements of Tokyo’s tourist attractiveness are transport accessibility, eating facilities, and cultural assets. The article’s hypotheses, that the most attractive seasons in Tokyo, tourism-wise, are spring and autumn, and that the most attractive monument in Tokyo is the oldest Buddhist temple, Sensō-ji, located in the Taitō district, were confirmed to be positive. The third hypothesis was also positively verified. The research shows that younger people positively assessed Tokyo as an attractive and friendly city more than older people. Full article

The increasing complexity of tourism and sustainability offers opportunities and challenges among diverse stakeholder perspectives. The need for sustainable and nature-based approaches exists throughout the growing body of literature from among a number of dimensions and measures. One of the overarching goals of the paper is to examine whether tourists will choose a destination or hotel that is actively working to improve the environment while examining how Hawaii’s tourism is nature-based as well as other measures of sustainability while enjoying a slice of paradise in the Hawaiian Islands. This study explores tourism sustainability concerns in Hawaii, such as the influence of the tourist sector on the environment and will address if Hawaii should be recognized as a sustainable tourism destination. A survey instrument was developed where 454 respondents participated. According to the findings of this research, tourists visiting Hawaii support environmentally sustainable tourism practices leading towards a more sustainable tourist destination. Full article

This study employed the Uses and Gratifications Theory to explore the motivations for utilizing a smartphone during trips and satisfactions with travel experience. This study adopted multilevel SEM to explore how U&G motivations affect e-tourist satisfaction when attitude toward smartphone use by tourists serves as a mediator. To this end, data collected from tourists travelling in the US were analyzed using a multilevel approach. The findings are: (1) U&G motivations (social interaction, entertainment, information, and convenience) are determined, (2) valid and reliable scales for all constructs are developed, (3) U&G motivations have a significant effect on tourists’ attitude toward smartphone use, which, in turn, significantly affects e-tourist satisfaction (hedonic, utilitarian, and overall) at the individual level. The results from this study provide practical and theoretical implications for e-tourism communication and tourism marketing. Full article

This study introduces and applies the uses and gratifications theory to travel and tourism, resulting in a classification of U & G motivations (extant items) for this field. Uses and gratifications motivations are important for understanding e-tourist satisfaction. However, a measurement model for examining them has not been developed in the field of travel and tourism. To address this gap, this study develops valid and reliable scales for uses and gratifications motivations for smartphone use by tourists. Multilevel linear modeling (MLM) was used to avoid biases caused by common traits and features within a tourist group and to measure group effects. The scales conceptualized motivations for smartphone use by travelers, i.e., the U & G motivations, as a four-dimensional construct: social interaction, information, entertainment, and convenience. All scales demonstrate the appropriate psychometric properties for evaluating U & G motivations. The scales developed here can serve as an effective tool for future empirical research to better understand the motivations for smartphone use by travelers and to identify the relationships among U & G motivations, attitude, and e-tourist satisfactions in travel and tourism. Full article

From the second half of the 20th century, numerous railways, especially in industrial and mining areas, were abandoned for economic reasons. The activism of the “railfans”, who are fond of trains, has made it possible to set up voluntary associations that have been the lifeblood of the beginning of projects for the recovery of the historic railway heritage and the promotion of it in a touristic sense. This topic is worthy of attention, and during recent years it has been the focus of several research papers. A systematic literature review was performed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes) methodology. This tool is a minimal set of evidence-based elements aimed at helping authors to carry out a systematic literature review. This systematic literature review sought to consolidate knowledge on the subject. The research team formulated three research questions related to the dynamics of railway heritage recovery, the dynamics of railway tourism and the relationship between sustainability and railway tourism. The findings highlighted that the railway tourism process always originates from a project for the restoration of railway heritage, possibly maintaining authenticity. The voluntary associations, along with their “railfans”, are the main stakeholder, not only preserving the rail heritage but also developing railway tourism activities. The touristic railway could regenerate the local community, with positive benefits on the local economy. Many tourists could be attracted by railway tourism destinations in that they wish to live memorable experiences related to the nostalgia of the past. Full article

While the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and new variants emerge, destinations and cities look to tourism recovery, cautiously rebooting and re-opening borders. Since the start of the pandemic, dramatic lockdowns have been employed, resulting in dire economic and social consequences to the tourism and hospitality industry and creating the need for a more feasible and sustainable response in the post-pandemic era. Pandemic vigilance and resilience at the societal level have become key in pandemic preparedness. However, due to the complexity of managing COVID-19, no clear cross-disciplinary collaborative framework for tourism recovery has been developed. Cross-sector collaboration to collectively integrate resources, capabilities, and experiences should be prioritised to spearhead tourism recovery plans. With insight on public health, pandemic preparedness, and community access, we hypothesised that cross-industry collaboration between the tourism industry and the pharmacist profession is relevant to the measures adopted for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine this hypothesis, this study aimed to explore perceptions from key stakeholders in the tourism and the pharmacist sectors on cross-industry collaboration towards COVID-19 management and the “know-how” in developing, adopting, and advancing such a partnership. This exploratory study adopts and advances the ‘Four Cs’ conceptual framework of communication, cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. In terms of our hypothesis, interview responses with tourism executives and CPs confirm the framework’s suitability and the importance of an interdisciplinary collaborative approach between CPs and the tourism sector to craft a sustainable pathway to recovery from COVID-19 and future pandemic measures as borders re-open and international mobility increases. A tourism recovery strategy from this pandemic can occur more judiciously through a collaborative partnership with an extensive network of pharmacists within communities and popular tourism sites, as CPs have valuable healthcare resources and the ability to track and communicate healthcare alerts to tourism destination recovery efforts. Full article

The luxury segment of the hospitality sector has been growing worldwide. Luxury hospitality is about providing a unique experience for guests, and this type of experience requires having employees who understand the luxury culture and are trained at the highest level. Luxury hotels compete for the best talents, but the current pool of candidates for customer-facing and managerial positions within these establishments is limited. The purpose of this study was to identify skill gaps in Canada’s luxury hotels. Primary data were collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty luxury hotel managers and analyzed with NVivo 12. Respondents agreed about the skills required for brands to succeed in the luxury market, but they lamented the lack of qualified talents and the difficulty of training and retaining qualified collaborators. The results of the study point to the need to address the luxury skill gap in the hospitality sector, particularly in Canada. Recommendations to address this problem are proposed. Full article

Co-creation in place branding is used as an umbrella term for the complex brand meaning emerging through stakeholders’ participation in place activities, their contribution, collaborations and interchange of ideas and resources. Co-creation is often an aspiration for places to create and promote their brands collectively. In this context, storytelling—an old technique used in corporate marketing to instigate brand stakeholders’ participation—serves as a method which facilitates place brand co-creation through shared place stories. With the rise of online interactions, the chances of place stakeholders’ participation in brand meaning creation increase, and place stories are effective in allowing diverse place meanings to emerge from various stakeholders. However, when storytelling emerges as a marketing tactic, mostly from a top-down campaign, the stories are not always accepted by all place stakeholders, and they create contrasting brand meanings. The paper aims to investigate the benefits and risks of participation in “Many Voices One Town” (2018), a top-down campaign from Luton, UK, which used storytelling to instigate place brand co-creation. The campaign was created by the Luton Council with an external advertising agency. The campaign attempted to tackle the town’s segregation issues and foster community cohesion through the promotion of seven selected Lutonians’ stories about their diverse and multicultural experiences of living in Luton. The study employs a qualitative methodology to analyse the MVOT case study. Interviews with the council and participants in the campaign and netnographic data from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were used to gain an insight into residents’ participation in a top-down approach and examine the outcomes of co-creation. Residents’ participation in such a campaign shows numerous benefits but also risks for the place brand. The findings show that participation can sometimes intensify disputes about the town if people’s needs are not properly addressed. The study highlights the importance of open communication between all parties involved in the process, bringing into focus the need for careful coordination of top-down initiatives in line with stakeholders’ needs. It also demonstrates the ‘power of the people’ in the sense that stakeholder engagement with the shared stories led to negative outcomes that were not predicted by the Council. Full article

Drawing on data gathered through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document analysis at five-star hotels in UK and Germany, this paper examines the competing pressures driving waste generation and prevention at different stages in the food production and service cycle. Primary data indicated that senior managers recognised the potential savings that could be achieved by preventing food waste. Despite this, many wasteful practices were normalised within routine operations. This was partly attributed to the corporatised business model and brand strategy in which premium pricing and luxury experiential propositions potentially transformed food waste reduction strategies into sources of risk. Past research generally categorised food as being edible or inedible. In contrast, the terms usable/unusable are proposed and this paper discusses how corporatised practices and value propositions rendered usable foods unusable. It considers how this type of corporate system frames waste problems and thus solutions, leading to various consequences. The discussion also explores how those systems shaped the organisational culture and the agency of staff who engaged with the service cycle at and across multiple points. The findings of this paper are based on primary data collected from a small number of corporately governed luxury hotels. Consequently, the closing parts of this paper outline how the insights generated here could be applied to the study of alternative organisational arrangements and operational types. Full article

In recent years, the use of crowdsourcing has positively transformed the way geographic information is collected, stored and analyzed. Many countries have promoted and funded research into the potential of using crowdsourcing in various fields of governance. This paper focuses on developing a methodology for fast, low-cost and reliable coastal management for touristic purposes in Greece. In particular, a group of a professional surveyor have developed the methodology and trained two volunteers to collect a variety of data points of interest about a public coastal zone, such as the area size of free and unused public space, rocky areas, parking spaces (organized or not), land use types, build up and green areas, municipal lighting, pedestrian crossing points, beach umbrellas, path routes, street furniture, etc. A pilot case study was compiled for a part of the Athenian Riviera to check the methodology. Derived conclusions point out that the developed methodology may be successfully used for managing the 16,000 km length of the coastal zone of Greece for touristic purposes. Considerations for further improvements to the methodology are given. Full article

The UNWTO’s discourse has focused on managing the effects of COVID-19 on tourism mobility since the outbreak was taken over by the WHO, as tourism is prominent amongst the hardest hit sectors. Emanating from the UNWTO as one of the dominant stakeholders in tourism discourse construction, an interesting component is the new meaning attributed to ‘responsible tourism’, which coincides with severe sanitary measures in this moment. Through critical discourse analysis and the theoretical framework offered by Iris Marion Young on responsibility for justice, this article will first demonstrate how the reappropriation of the term is in line with the UNWTO’s neoliberal perspective on tourism. The result is the promotion of sanitary measures for the protection of tourism as a consumer industry, rather than for the protection of the individuals involved. It is also cementing the pedestal on which the UN agency places the tourist-consumer, namely through the International Code for the Protection of Tourists project. This paper closes with thoughts on how the emerging dominant discourse on responsible tourism is internalized by tourism stakeholders as the new normal, which would gain in being explored through the lens of Foucault’s work on the concept of biopolitics and the neoliberal subject. Full article

Fast technological developments have transformed the tourism and hospitality services and the labor market. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of the tourism and hospitality workforce. There is insufficient prior work about creating better work conditions and greater career opportunities for hospitality and tourism professionals in the swiftly changing labor market. To this end, this article analyzes the historical employee–employer relationships in the tourism and hospitality industry. It presents a new employee-sharing model framework for enhancing resilience and flexibility for hospitality and tourism enterprises and workers. Full article

A focus on continued year-on-year economic growth was beginning to be seen as unsustainable even before the COVID-19 crisis forced many tourism destinations to rethink their marketing and branding. This paper adopts a critical marketing stance to explore the relationship between place branding and two recent extreme conditions affecting the tourism industry: overtourism, as exemplified when the issue became headline news in popular media from the summer of 2017, as many examples were offered of places struggling to cope with their success; and the COVID-19 crisis that effectively brought global tourism to a standstill in 2020, as the industry attempts to rebuild from this current unprecedented crisis. This article is not designed to suggest normative place-branding strategies. Rather, through the presentation of an original model that conceptualizes the cyclical process of rebuilding from crises and coping with success, it aims to provide a warning that whatever place-branding strategies are implemented in a post-pandemic world, for whatever type of tourism, in whatever type of destination, a rein must be employed in order that the drive for recovery from undertourism through successful place branding does not lead to the return of overtourism. Full article

This paper argues that that much published tourism and hospitality research has had little influence on tourism or hospitality practice especially with regard to the problems of sustainability because of a failure to use systems thinking to guide research questions and approaches. This critical review and conceptual paper demonstrates how a systems thinking approach could be used to improve both the relevance of, and theoretical development in, tourism and hospitality research in the area of sustainability. This paper reviewed recent published research into tourism’s social impacts to demonstrate the power of taking a systems approach to map out the research problem area. It then critically reviewed the use of concepts from psychology in published research into guest engagement in sustainability programs in hospitality businesses to demonstrate the value of systems thinking for organising theoretical concepts. In both of the reviewed areas the overwhelming conclusion was that the majority of the research lacked both practical relevance and was based on inappropriate or deficient theoretical understanding. Full article

Tourism destinations located within rich and complex cultural contexts tend to offer a wide range of different experiences to visitors, spanning from standardized to more alternative ones. The quest for authenticity is central in the construction of tourism image and business, but easily raises questions related to appropriation, commercialization and trivialization. This study focuses on Jewish heritage tourism, a niche segment gradually turning into a mass tourism experience, through a qualitative research made in Krakow, Poland. Jewish-themed tourism in the area has gone through intense growth in spite of its dwindling Jewish population. As a consequence, the representation and consumption of the related heritage mostly occurs independently from the Jewish community itself and shows clear signs of commercial exploitation. The study results show that, in spite of the issues related to simplified narratives and staged practices, commodification, with its partial and functional reconstruction of the past, does not interfere with the religious or secular activities of the Jewish community, which is more pragmatically focused on present-day life. Full article

The Western 24 h society poses great psychological and physical demands on people, which may result in complaints such as stress or being overworked, and reduced immune fitness. Having a holiday may be a good way to reduce work-related stress and reduced mood and improve perceived immune fitness. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the impact of having a holiday or work on perceived immune fitness and mood. A survey was held among N = 246 young adults who were on holiday in Fiji, and N = 87 subjects who were in Fiji for work. The sample comprised both students and individuals with a job at home. Past year immune status was assessed with the Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ). Current perceived immune functioning and mood were rated from 0 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Assessments were made for two occasions: (1) the current situation (in Fiji), and (2) at home (before traveling). Compared to being at home, both students and working individuals on holiday in Fiji reported significantly improved immune fitness and significantly improved mood. For example, both groups reported reduction of stress of about 60% while in Fiji. In students who came to Fiji for work or spending a holiday, improvements in perceived immune fitness were more pronounced than in working people coming on holiday in Fiji. In contrast, working people on holiday reported greater improvements in mood compared to students. The magnitude of improvements were significantly greater among women than men. In conclusion, the data suggest that both having a holiday or working in Fiji is associated with significant improvements of mood, which were themselves associated with improved immune fitness. The findings are of importance for the tourism industry as they demonstrate that, in addition to leisure (or being active) as a purpose for having a holiday, the observed mental health benefits and improved perceived immune fitness provide an additional motive to have a holiday. Full article

The relationships between destination image and tourist satisfaction and loyalty have been studied extensively through surveys. This study aims to measure these constructs through big data analytics by going one step further in a line of research undertaken 8 years ago. The data source is content generated by travelers and shared on social media regarding the 10 districts of the city of Barcelona (Catalonia): more than 750,000 online travel reviews (OTRs) hosted on the Airbnb platform. This study also explores a relationship demonstrated by numerous researchers through surveys: the impact of destination image on tourist loyalty through satisfaction. However, the results are not satisfactory due to the great weight of the lodging price variable that unbalances the relationship. For example, the first district in the ranking of cognitive image categories is also the first in the ranking of average scores and of positive feelings and moods. However, the last two districts in the ranking of cognitive categories are the first in the rankings of satisfaction, positive recommendations, and cheaper prices. Additionally, the findings show that the location of the accommodation significantly determines the theme of the OTR narrative. Moreover, the results confirm previous studies on the exaggerated positivity of peer-to-peer accommodation scores: only 0.92% of 15,625 rated properties had negative overall scores. Full article

Research on the relationship between automation services and tourism has been rapidly growing in recent years and has led to a new service landscape where the role of robots is gaining both practical and research attention. This paper builds on previous reviews and undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the research literature to discuss opportunities and challenges presented by the use of service robots in hospitality and tourism. Management and ethical issues are identified and it is noted that practical and ethical issues (roboethics) continue to lack attention. Going forward, new directions are urgently needed to inform future research and practice. Legal and ethical issues must be proactively addressed, and new research paradigms developed to explore the posthumanist and transhumanist transitions that await. In addition, closer attention to the potential of “co-creation” for addressing innovations in enhanced service experiences in hospitality and tourism is merited. Among others, responsibility, inclusiveness and collaborative human-robot design and implementation emerge as important principles to guide future research and practice in this area. Full article

Sustainable tourism development (STD) serves as a founding and guiding concept that can be applied to all forms of tourism, whereas community-based tourism (CBT) has been largely practiced as an alternative form of tourism development. Past research has suggested critical theoretical and practical omissions in both STD and CBT related to issues of community well-being, justice, ethics, and equity. With an objective of bridging these gaps, this research developed an integrated framework of sustainable community-based tourism (SCBT) based on a comprehensive literature review, which identified that there was a significant under-representation of key elements such as justice, ethics, and equity in the domain of governance both in the STD and CBT literatures. The qualitative research mixed emergent data with theory driven data and conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 diverse tourism stakeholders in the twin cities of Bryan–College Station (BCS) in Texas. Results revealed that tourism helped to promote cultural preservation and community pride and promoted the sense of mutual respect and understanding among visitors and stakeholders. However, some ethnic minorities felt they were not receiving full benefits of tourism. The study concluded that a more proactive, inclusive, ethic of care oriented tourism governance to help ensure sustainable tourism development is needed. Full article

Visiting sacred spaces is becoming a growing trend in tourism in the Central Asian region. Sacred sites are said to have the power to heal the body, enlighten the mind, and inspire the heart. This study explored the motivations for visiting sacred spaces among tourists from three Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The study used a sequential mixed methods research design. In the first stage, a general list of motivations was produced, based on the analysis of 14 semi-structured interviews. The second stage quantitative survey was conducted with a sample of 211 tourists from Central Asia. Data collection took place during tours to sacred sites in the city of Turkestan in South Kazakhstan. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and regression analysis. The relationships between motivation factors and destination loyalty were tested. The results show that among the five motivational factors identified in this study, only three (Spiritual and Religious Motives, Cultural and Historical Motives, and Wellness and Healing) have a significant relationship with sacred site destination loyalty. The remaining two factors (Nature, Fun, and Social Contact) have not been proven to have a significant relationship with destination loyalty. The study adds value to the literature on traveling to religious sites, especially those in formerly atheist countries, and provides recommendations to practitioners and policymakers to enable them to develop a niche tourism area by segmenting tourists’ motivations and destination loyalty in their sacred places. It also contributes to the diversification of tourism products in those destinations that have historical religious heritage resources. Full article

Membership associations are vital to build social capital and networks among their members through the exchange of information and resources, roles especially valuable for emerging entrepreneurs. That is the case of associations catering to professionals in agritourism, an enterprise bringing farming and tourism together. However, whether the exchange of information and resources among members holds true within agritourism associations is yet to be known. Filling this knowledge gap is critical given the stated benefits agritourism delivers to society and farmers’ necessity to expand their business networks to increase entrepreneurial success. Therefore, this study evaluated the extent of social capital and networks within a prominent agritourism-focused association in North America. Data were collected from members using a web-based survey in 2016. Analyses included descriptive statistical tests and Social Network Analysis (SNA). Results showed high levels of social capital among members, especially related to its relational dimension (e.g., share professional advice), as well as strong bi-directional (to/from) trust, cooperation, and reciprocity among members. SNA indicated members were well connected and had a healthy information exchange, without the organization intervention. Study results are discussed to provide managerial intelligence towards strengthening social capital and networks within associations catering to agritourism and other niche-tourism professionals. Full article

This study reviews the published quantitative literature in agritourism from the supply, demand, and both supply- and demand-side perspectives to determine the implications for agritourism in developing countries. A total of 85 quantitative papers were reviewed. Most studies in the literature concern developed countries, and the motivations and attributes of the actors in this field have been investigated thoroughly, whereas few researchers have focused on quality tourism and identity in agritourism. This study suggests that policymakers in developing countries should promote females, insist on maintaining the quality of the workforce, ensure the availability of credit or subsidies to farmers, and guide and monitor the planning and development of agritourism. Furthermore, connecting different stakeholders and minimising the adverse effects in society through innovation in agritourism may lead to sustainable agritourism. Full article

The theory of the ‘experience economy’ contends that consumers no longer achieve satisfaction from consuming products but from the experiences they receive while doing so. Producers should therefore actively manage the four experience ‘realms’ of their product offerings—entertainment, education, aesthetics and escapism—to provide optimal experiences for their customers. In the case of tourist attractions, however, there is insufficient direct empirical evidence to substantiate this recommendation. This study therefore sets out to test the notion of the experience economy in the context of a tourist attraction—in this case, an underground visitor experience in Wales, UK—using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Alternative models are estimated based on three different mediating variables—arousal, memory and satisfaction—with revisit intention as the dependent variable. The analysis finds that none of the four experience realms are significant predictors of revisit intention in all three of the models, even though all three mediating variables are significant predictors of revisit intention. The results therefore suggest that optimal customer experiences do not necessarily need to be built equally upon all four experiences realms. Rather, a customised approach is required to optimise the customer experience for specific products consumed in particular contexts. Full article