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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 75021

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Isabella Crespi

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Guest Editor

Department of Education Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, 62100 Macerata, Italy
Interests: work-family balance; gender policies; caring; equality; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Fermani

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Guest Editor

Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, 62100 Macerata, Italy
Interests: identity in adolescence and emerging adult; coping; gender differences; environmental psychology and sustainable tourism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concepts of sustainability have been prominent in international discourse and development policy for at least 35 years. According to the Brundtland Commission: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (1, p. 43).
Sustainability in tourism is a continuous process of making a positive impact on the environment, economy, and society. It is a concept of visiting a place with great respect for the inhabitants of the area and their cultures, customs, and socio-economic systems. At the same time, "Tourism for All" is a concept that addresses a growing segment of travelers with a diverse range of needs and requirements. That is why becoming more inclusive is a more appropriate goal for the tourism industry than focusing just on "accessible tourism".
Sustainability in tourism activities cannot be secured unless researchers and policy-makers pay attention to the different needs of tourists. In particular, such considerations include changes in access to resources when the tourist is a man or a woman, is a young or an old person, or has or does not have a disability. Social equality must logically be extended to old and new generations.
Inclusion and equality are influenced not only by gender and age but also by other factors, including the local and cultural context, that affect incentives and the ability to adopt sustainable provision practices.
This Special Issue intends to cover aspects related to the measurement of tourists’ preferences (case studies, surveys, instruments, etc.) regarding the degree to which they accept (or prefer) experiences in tourism facilities or cultural programmes with sustainable characteristics. We aim to gather papers related to psycho-social and/or environmental sustainability with a particular focus on gender, age, and physical differences in tourists.

Prof. Dr. Isabella Crespi
Prof. Dr. Alessandra Fermani
Guest Editors

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Keywords

sustainability
hospitality
tourists’ preferences/needs
inclusion

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 3691 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tourists’ Perceptions Regarding Traveling for Recreational or Leisure Purposes in Times of Health Crisis

by Carmen-Mihaela Cretu, Anca-Gabriela Turtureanu, Carmen-Gabriela Sirbu, Florentina Chitu, Emanuel Ştefan Marinescu, Laurentiu-Gabriel Talaghir and Daniela Monica Robu

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8405; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158405 - 28 Jul 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5863

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of tourists regarding traveling for recreational or leisure purposes in times of health crisis. All areas of activity have been affected by the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (associated with a disease called COVID-19), and all countries are experiencing health crises. The tourism industry, together with its associated fields, experienced a decline during this period that is still difficult to assess. This study examined intentions to travel in the current conditions imposed by the health crisis. Various measures have been recommended or imposed by governments to control the spread of COVID-19. Travel has been significantly influenced by such measures. However, people have various travel needs, from shopping to work and leisure to exploration. The data were collected through an online questionnaire survey addressed to the active population in Romania. The application of this questionnaire coincided with the third wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Romania. The conditions related to the degree of incidence of infections in the respondents’ areas and also the connection between the expression of the intention to travel and the protection conditions in the destination areas were analyzed. The entire study was based on office research, statistical analysis, case study methods, and analysis of empirical data obtained through the survey of the active population in Romania. The results explain the travel tendencies of Romanians in the following period. Fear of infection and perceived risk have significantly influenced travel behaviors, but intentions to travel for recreational or leisure purposes have been maintained. The results of this study could be useful in planning and rethinking the activities of the tourism industry in the coming period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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17 pages, 3872 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oriental Marco Polo Plaza Encounter: Choreographing Place and Placelessness from a Phenomenological Perspective

by Huihui Gao and Shangyi Zhou

Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 6159; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116159 - 30 May 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3258

Abstract

The notion of place has raised great concern within weaving tourism studies in recent decades. Nevertheless, dialectical indigenous considerations of Edward Relph’s phenomenological concepts of place and placelessness are still insufficient, particularly in non-Western countries. Phenomenology, as an immersive approach, provides an open and descriptive examination of the diverse perceptions and constitutive meanings of a place. From a phenomenological perspective, this article aims to explore the dynamic grasping of place and placelessness in tourism experiences. Twenty-four tourists participated in the research in Marco Polo Plaza in Italian Style Town, a concession for a particular historical period, in Tianjin, China. The findings suggest that tourists’ experiences could be ordered into three themes: (1) encountering a place labelled recreation and entertainment, (2) encountering an exotic heterogeneous place, and (3) encountering a lived place in the lifeworld. These results emphasize that place and placelessness are intertwined paradoxically beyond the binary, and such a nonlinear, dialectical, and subtle dimension is the possible inspiration that the phenomenological perspective brings to tourism research. Drawing on the inevitability of tourists’ diverse perceptions, we advance that an open multi-sensuous engagement and inclusive geographic practices offer an insight into the understanding of sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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11 pages, 263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Tourism Attitude and Preference in Italian Adults: Value Orientation and Psychological Need Satisfaction

by Paola Cardinali, Nicoletta Varani and Laura Migliorini

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10517; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410517 - 15 Dec 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3155

Abstract

Sustainability became a leading concept in tourism development practice and research. Several studies have shown the relationship between sustainability choices and value orientation. However, there is a lack of studies that explore how autonomous motivation, based on the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs, might predict sustainability attitudes and preference. The present study aims to explore the relationship between attitudes towards sustainable tourism, preference for a sustainable stay, values orientation, and psychological need satisfaction in Italian adults, testing the hypothesis that also basic needs satisfaction and tourist preferences should contribute to increasing a positive attitude toward sustainable tourism. Participants are 142 Italian adults (M = 42,11 years, 80% women). This research used the online survey method collection and snowball strategy recruitment. The results showed that participants have a high level of attitude and preference towards sustainable tourism. Correlation indicated that there is a positive association between positive attitudes towards sustainable tourism, self-transcendence, and basic psychological need satisfaction. Furthermore, regression revealed that psychological basic need satisfaction, preference for a sustainable stay and value orientation explain people’s attitudes towards sustainable tourism. These findings imply more attention may be needed to psychological needs to understand how people might deal with environmental sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

14 pages, 483 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Tourism and Facilities Preferences: The Sustainable Tourist Stay Scale (STSS) Validation

by Alessandra Fermani, Maria Rita Sergi, Angelo Carrieri, Isabella Crespi, Laura Picconi and Aristide Saggino

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9767; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229767 - 23 Nov 2020

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5762

Abstract

This study aims to start the development of the Sustainable Tourist Stay Scale (STSS), a self-report instrument designed to measure tourists’ preferences regarding the degree to which they accept accommodation and programs in tourism facilities with sustainable characteristics. The research involved a total sample of 621 participants aged 18 to 74 (m = 41.75%; f = 58.25%). According to the literature and the available data, we considered the possibility that young people (millennials) and adults within the same sample may show peculiarities concerning the sustainability issues. We carried out three subsequent analyses: (1) an explorative factor analysis; (2) a confirmatory factor analysis via structural equation modelling; (3) the test of the structural invariance between young people and adults. The results supported a three-factor scale solution and they are discussed with reference to their potential practical applications to better understanding the preference for a sustainable stay. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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21 pages, 2766 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Respondents’ Involvement in Tourist Activities at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Michał Roman, Arkadiusz Niedziółka and Andrzej Krasnodębski

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9610; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229610 - 18 Nov 2020

Cited by 58 | Viewed by 9112

Abstract

The article is aimed at presenting the survey respondents’ involvement in tourist activities, taking into account certain factors at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective may be divided into three direct aims, each of which consists of the determination of the factors that can influence the choice of tourist journeys: (1) organizational factors, (2) social-economic ones, and (3) sustainable development. The authors’ own research findings are used to verify the objective. The research was conducted in April and May 2020 with the use of a diagnostic survey method and a questionnaire. Five-hundred sixty-four respondents from Poland (Podlaskie, Masovian, and Lesser Poland Voivodeships) and 133 respondents from the US (New York State, New Jersey, and Illinois) took part in the research. It was divided into organizational, social-economic, and sustainable development related factors. The research confirmed, inter alia, a great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the organization of tourist travels by the respondents in 2020. The issue presented in the article is a new one; it has not yet been a subject matter of research. That is the major reason the authors aimed to conduct it. What is a new methodological element in the article is the organization of some concepts concerning tourism and a presentation of the influence of COVID-19 on tourism. In the authors’ opinion, the issues presented are new and have a considerable impact on new trends in the development of tourism at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue discussed is very broad, and the article does not exhaust it. The research findings are compared to the research findings reported by other authors, and standard deviations are calculated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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20 pages, 545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Are Young People Ready to Have a Pro-Environmental Sustainable Behaviour as Tourists? An Investigation of Towel Reuse Intention

by Maria-Ana Georgescu and Emilia Herman

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9469; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229469 - 13 Nov 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3620

Abstract

Tourism, one of the economic sectors that has experienced great development in recent decades and must face unexpected challenges related to the evolution of the global context, needs a sustainable approach to harmonise its effects and impact on the natural and social environment. The aim of this research was to investigate the pro-environmental behaviour of young tourists in hotels versus at home and the main influencing factors of behavioural intention to reuse towels in hotels. The primary data were collected using a survey that was applied to Romanian young people. Eight hypotheses were formulated and tested through paired samples t-tests, a correlation analysis and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Our results showed the higher pro-environmental conduct of young guests at home than in hotels, both through their general behaviour regarding the reduction of resource consumption and through their specific behaviour of reusing towels. Our empirical findings also highlighted that tourists’ behavioural intention to reuse towels was positively influenced by an eco-friendly attitude, pro-environmental past experiences and habits to reuse towels at home. In order to achieve sustainable tourism, hotel management should convince guests to bring their ecological habits with them, and educational institutions should use specific methods of raising awareness among young people about an environmentally friendly attitude. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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16 pages, 1018 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Service Quality in Hospitality and the Sustainability Effect: Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda

by Marc Oliveras-Villanueva, Josep Llach and Jordi Perramon

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 8152; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198152 - 2 Oct 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 9211

Abstract

This article presents a systematic review of the literature on quality of service and sustainable practices in the hospitality sector with the objective of analyzing the state of the art, identifying gaps for future lines of research, and defining a future research agenda. The number of articles on these topics, although not particularly high, does demonstrate a growing trend. Despite this growth, however, several untreated lines of research were detected in three specific areas. In the first area, emphasis is placed on the critical factors that affect the quality of service. In the second area are the specific practices and tools of sustainability and quality of service that affect development and business success. Finally, the third section analyses the impact of strategies and the management of sustainable practices and quality of service with respect to business development. Research questions have been defined for each area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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12 pages, 586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Travel Really Enhance Destination-Country Image? Understanding Tourists’ Changes in Perception toward a Destination Country

by Peng Yu and Hongmei Zhang

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4294; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104294 - 24 May 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4720

Abstract

Tourism has played a fundamental role in shaping the image of destination countries. This study aimed to examine changes in international tourists’ enhanced and complex destination-country images (DCIs) by comparing pre- and post-trip perceptions. A total of 268 and 275 valid questionnaires from pre- and post-trip Chinese outbound tourists to South Korea, respectively, were collected. The results indicated that tourists’ DCIs were dynamic and could be effectively promoted through their actual tourism experiences. Overall, when considering enhanced DCI perception, compared with pre-trip tourists, post-trip tourists possessed a positive complex DCI perception. Tourism could provide an important channel for promoting a destination country’s image to the world. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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Review

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15 pages, 295 KiB

Open AccessReview

Educational Tourism and Local Development: The Role of Universities

by Sabrina Tomasi, Gigliola Paviotti and Alessio Cavicchi

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6766; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176766 - 20 Aug 2020

Cited by 68 | Viewed by 28733

Abstract

On the basis of a scoping review of the literature about educational tourism—a type of tourism in which the traveller’s primary or secondary objective is learning—this study summarizes views on how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can foster local development through educational tourism. The results show that international students can be considered as educational tourists, and their stay can benefit them and the destination. In this context, the university can actively facilitate relationships between tourists and local stakeholders to foster learning at the destination and improve the sustainability of the local economy; some reports about specific cases are described. We argue that the tourism component should be considered by any institution organising or managing educational programmes, in order to exploit the opportunities offered by the destination for the achievement of learning goals. More specifically, the paper focuses on educational tourism related to HEI students in international mobility programs, who are educational tourists inasmuch as their overall experience at the destination includes leisure and tourism activities. Further research is needed to formulate models of intervention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Hospitality in Tourism Experiences)

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