Search Results (84)

This study evaluates Limassol’s readiness to adopt the 15-minute city model through a spatial accessibility and urban-form analysis. Using openly available geo-referenced Points of Interest (POIs), road network data, land-use records, and census information, we generated 15-minute walking and cycling isochrones for eight essential urban functions: Education, Food, Green Areas, Health, Services, Shopping, Tourism, and Transport. Residential coverage within each isochrone was calculated to assess accessibility equity across the city. Urban sprawl was quantified using size, density, and fragmentation metrics derived from historical planning zones. Results show that while cycling accessibility is high for most categories (85–95% of residential areas), walking accessibility is considerably lower and unevenly distributed, with several critical functions, particularly Green Areas, Education, and Transport, serving less than half of the residential zones. The analysis also reveals increasing spatial fragmentation and outward population shifts consistent with low-density sprawl, driven by planning policies and development pressures. These findings indicate that Limassol is only partially aligned with the principles of the 15-minute city, with significant gaps in walkable access and decentralized service provision. The study concludes that targeted planning reforms, improved active-mobility infrastructure, and polycentric redistribution of amenities are necessary for enhancing accessibility equity and advancing the city’s transition toward a more sustainable and human-scaled urban model. Full article

Food, specifically those with heritage attributes, stands as one of the distinctive forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). To promote and preserve such heritage, brands have increasingly focused on incorporating heritage elements into the packaging. This research employs three studies conducted in China to explore how different representation styles of heritage elements (verbal vs. non-verbal) shape consumer brand preferences in food packaging. Study 1 confirmed that food packaging featuring heritage elements effectively enhances consumer brand preference. Moreover, consumers exhibit stronger preference for the verbal elements over the non-verbal ones for heritage food due to construal level theory. Study 1 also demonstrated the mediating role of perceived value. Study 2 validated that such an effect remained significant within a tourism shopping context. In addition, Study 3 revealed the moderating effect of purchase motivation. When purchasing food as a gift, consumers tend to adopt a more abstract processing level (e.g., symbolic meaning, cultural connotation), which enhances the effect of verbal heritage elements on brand preference, whereas for self-use purchases, consumers shift to a concrete processing level (e.g., taste or price), thus enhancing the effect of non-verbal representation style. This research enriches the research on heritage element application in food marketing, and offers suggestions for packaging design for heritage food. Full article

Evaluation of an individual’s accessibility to urban services is crucial for urban planners and policymakers to assess various urban policies and scenarios. Most studies have emphasized accessibility in physical spaces, with limited attention to the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in providing virtual access and its implications for quality of life (QOL) and sustainability. This study addresses this gap by examining the substitutability of physical activities with digital alternatives and their potential contribution to decarbonization. Using data from an online questionnaire survey in Japan, we analyze how individuals access services across both transportation and ICT networks. We propose an integrated evaluation framework that measures QOL by considering accessibility in both physical and virtual spaces. The analysis highlights differences in substitutability across activities such as shopping, working, schooling, and entertainment, while revealing that services like healthcare and physical tourism remain less substitutable. The results disclose that accessibility strongly influences individuals’ adoption of digital alternatives, which in turn offer significant benefits in terms of convenience and environmental impact. The proposed methodology provides valuable insights seeking to balance physical and virtual service accessibility, supporting sustainable urban development in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals 10 and 11. Full article

Rural regions around the world continue to struggle with population decline, underutilized infrastructure, and economic stagnation. While tourism is often promoted as a tool for revitalization, conventional approaches tend to prioritize new construction and external ownership, raising concerns about environmental degradation, cultural dilution, and community exclusion. This study adopts a circular economy perspective to explore how adaptive reuse—repurposing abandoned buildings—can support sustainable rural tourism. Focusing on two rural cases in South Korea, the study examines the role of tourism cooperatives in transforming underused facilities into guesthouses, retail shops, visitor centers, and community hubs. Using a qualitative comparative case study approach combining interviews, observations, and content analysis, this study identified how cooperatives mobilize local resources, preserve cultural and natural assets, and reinvest tourism revenues into community-led initiatives. Findings reveal that cooperative-led adaptive reuse enhances local empowerment, cultural preservation, and economic sustainability. This study concludes that embedding circular economy principles within rural tourism fosters resilience and community-driven revitalization and that tourism cooperatives serve as an effective governance structure for implementing circular economy practices. Full article

This study investigates how multidimensional value and experience quality shape satisfaction and loyalty in shopping tourism. We extend the QVSL tradition by (i) specifying three hedonic value dimensions (entertainment, exploration, escapism), (ii) differentiating functional value into performance-oriented and money-saving facets, and (iii) incorporating epistemic value and experience quality as additional antecedents. We also model immediate behavioral outcomes (i.e., money spent and time spent) and test involvement as a moderating condition. Using path analysis on data from 413 mainland Chinese tourists in Japan, findings confirm that entertainment, functional value (for performance and money), epistemic value, and experience quality enhance shopping satisfaction. Functional values, epistemic value, and satisfaction drive destination loyalty. Money and time spent are additional outcomes of satisfaction. Involvement moderates the link between satisfaction and money spent. These insights offer strategic implications for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and retailers to optimize shopping environments and employee services, increasing tourist satisfaction, loyalty, and both time and money spent in the competitive shopping tourism market. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the use of composite-indicator path analysis; future research could apply longitudinal or full SEM approaches, broaden contexts, and test additional constructs. Full article

Tourist satisfaction of nighttime urban lakes as scenic areas, such as the Daming Lake, is influenced by multiple factors, which are crucial for tourists’ experiences and the sustainable development of these areas. This paper explores the factors impacting nighttime visitor satisfaction at the Daming Lake Scenic Area. Basing our studies on analysis of the literature and questionnaire surveys, the study constructs a visitor satisfaction evaluation index system based on the Expectancy-Disconfirmation Theory. Utilizing the revised importance-performance analysis method, the study identifies several significant influencing factors including the distinctive features of nighttime shopping products, the rich variety of nighttime tourscape and entertainment products, the aesthetically pleasing design of nighttime lighting products, the affordable price of nighttime dining products, and the diverse methods, reasonable pricing, and multimodal transit options of nighttime transportation. Furthermore, it finds the main factors that reduce tourists’ satisfaction in nighttime urban lakes include: premium pricing of nighttime shopping and dining products, transport infrastructure deficiencies, the cultural connotation of tourism products, and the safety of nighttime tourscape and entertainment products. This research provides insights to enhance satisfaction in urban lake scenic areas and expands the application of the tourist satisfaction theory. Full article

The purpose of this study is to reveal the characteristics of wine tourists by determining their demographic and psychographic profiles, the effects of their travel motivations and lifestyles on their attitudes towards wine tourism, and the relationships between their demographic characteristics and attitudes. Based on a quantitative approach, study data were collected using a questionnaire. The sample consists of tourists who had visited a winery or participated in the vintage in a wine destination. Wine tourists’ principal motivations were pull factors and wine-related motivations. Their attitudes towards wine consumption had higher mean values than attitudes towards info-seeking, meaning that wine tourists preferred to taste wine and shop from wineries more than learn about wine. Regarding lifestyles, they were mostly innovators and experiencers. For destinations like Türkiye, wine tourism is a significant economic and sociocultural development tool. It is the first study to identify the wine tourists’ profile based on VALS-2, thereby providing a different perspective for the literature. Full article

High-density cities have obvious characteristics of compact urban spatial form and intensive land use in terms of spatial environment, and have always been a topic of academic focus. As a typical coastal historical district, the Macau Peninsula pier district (mainly the Macau Inner Harbour) has a high building density and a low average street width, forming a vertical coastline development model that directly converses with the ocean. This area is adjacent to Macau’s World Heritage Site and directly related to the Marine trade functions. The distribution pattern of cultural heritage linked by the ocean has strengthened Macau’s unique positioning as a node city on the Maritime Silk Road. This text is based on the theory of urban development, integrates spatial syntax and POI analysis techniques, and combines the theories of waterfront regeneration, high-density urban form and post-industrial urbanism to integrate and deepen the theoretical framework, and conduct a systematic study on the urban spatial characteristics of the coastal area of the Macau Peninsula. This study found that (1) Catering and shopping facilities present a dual agglomeration mechanism of “tourism-driven + commercial core”, with Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro as the main axis and radiating to the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Praça de Ponte e Horta, respectively. Historical blocks and tourist hotspots clearly guide the spatial center of gravity. (2) Residential and life service facilities are highly coupled, reflecting the spatial logic of “work-residence integration-service coordination”. The distribution of life service facilities basically overlaps with the high-density residential area, forming an obvious “living circle + community unit” structure with clear spatial boundaries. (3) Commercial and transportation facilities form a “functional axis belt” organizational structure along the main road, with the Rua das Lorchas—Rua do Almirante Sérgio axis as the skeleton, constructing a “functional transmission chain”. (4) The spatial system of the Macau Peninsula pier district has transformed from a single center to a multi-node, network-linked structure. Its internal spatial differentiation is not only constrained by traditional land use functions but is also driven by complex factors such as tourism economy, residential migration, historical protection, and infrastructure accessibility. (5) Through the analysis of space syntax, it is found that the core integration of the Macau Peninsula pier district is concentrated near Pier 16 and the northern area. The two main roads have good accessibility for motor vehicle travel, and the northern area of the Macau Peninsula pier district has good accessibility for long and short-distance walking. Full article

Factors related to catering distribution are typically characterized by local changes, but few studies have quantitatively investigated the inherent spatial nonstationarity correlations. In this study, a multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model was adopted to locally examine the impact of various factors on catering distribution, which were obtained through a novel method incorporating GeoDetector analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using point of interest (POI) data. GeoDetector analysis was used to identify the effective variables that truly contribute to catering distribution, and EFA was adopted to extract interpretable latent factors based on the underlying structure of the effective variables and thus eliminate multicollinearity. In our case study in Nanjing, China, four primary factors, namely commuting activities, shopping activities, tourism activities, and gathering activities, were retained from eight categories of POIs with respect to catering distribution. The results suggested that GeoDetector working in tandem with EFA could improve the representativeness of factors and infer POI configuration patterns. The MGWR model explained the most variations (adj. R²: 0.903) with the lowest AICc compared to the OLS regression model and the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Mapping MGWR parameter estimates revealed the spatial variability of relationships between various factors and catering distribution. The findings provide useful insights for guiding catering development and optimizing urban functional spaces. Full article

This study aimed to examine the factors influencing Chinese tourists’ shopping behavior during shopping tourism in Korea using a theoretical framework based on the modified theory of planned behavior (TPB). A quantitative research method was used; the questionnaire for this study was posted on Wenjuanxing for data collection and 269 valid questionnaires were analyzed in September 2024 using partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results of analyzing the 269 questionnaires showed that attitude, conformity, perceived behavioral control, and perceived quality of goods influenced shopping intention. However, face consciousness did not affect shopping intentions. Additionally, Chinese tourists’ shopping intentions influenced their shopping behavior during shopping tourism in Korea. The results of this study reveal the potential mechanisms of the influence of shopping intentions with conformity (a factor of Chinese-subjective norms) and the perceived quality of goods (a new factor) in shopping behavior, and they provide theoretical guidance and appropriate marketing strategies for companies in the Korean tourism field. Full article

Chiang Mai is an emerging tourism-oriented city in Thailand. The booming tourism industry during the past decades has triggered significant expansion in its urban land area, resulting in a large number of newly-built residential communities appearing on unplanned land. In this study, we used multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR)-based hedonic price analysis to investigate 4624 housing transactions from 524 residential communities in Chiang Mai. This showed that the recent land-use planning in Chiang Mai has had unusual effects on housing prices; specifically, the effects of accessibility to hospitals, primary and secondary schools, green parks, and shopping malls could be ignored, demonstrating that local residents were well satisfied with land-use planning for high-quality medical and education sources and good living environments throughout the whole of Chiang Mai, and that no more land-use planning and investment on these facilities was needed. However, limited bus routes were only used for tourism and could not provide convenient routes for local residents, leading to their negative effects on housing prices in downtown areas, so the local government should lower the bus stop density in downtown areas and strengthen the transportation links between downtown areas and suburbs. Our study will not only support the urban land planning department of Chiang Mai to optimize residential communities and nearby facilities, but can also provide insights into housing price formation mechanisms in similar tourism-oriented cities in Thailand and beyond. Full article

Religious tourism is one of the oldest forms of mobility for travel. This study aims at validating the motivational dimensions of demand in religious tourism. The present research was carried out with tourists who had attended the pilgrimage of the Virgin of Montserrat in the city of Montecristi (Ecuador), an important tourist destination that stands out for its culture and intangible heritage. This quantitative study had a sample of 298 valid questionnaires that were analyzed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results identified five motivational dimensions: experience belief, experience religion, social exploration, escape, and shopping. The results will serve as a guide for private companies to develop products from religious tourism. Likewise, the research contributes significantly to the academic literature on religious tourism in emerging destinations. Full article

This study uses an input–output model to assess the economic impact of the 2018 Mile High 420 Festival on the Colorado economy. A comprehensive assessment was conducted to determine the economic impact of the Mile High 420 Festival, which included analyzing the direct, indirect, and induced effects of festival spending. The study involved 233 respondents whose primary motive was to attend the 420 Festival. Using IMPLAN, the study’s data were analyzed to determine the economic activity generated by visitor activity. On average, each respondent spent USD 2013 during their trip to Colorado. The largest expense per person was on cannabis-related activities and shopping, followed by lodging and food and drink. When these expenses were multiplied by the number of visitors (25,650), the total spending amounted to USD 51.7 million. When indirect and induced spending was included, the 2018 Mile High 420 Festival generated a total economic impact of over USD 95 million for Colorado. It contributed to the creation of 787 jobs in the region. No study has been conducted on the economic impact of a cannabis-themed festival in the current tourism literature. Therefore, this study contributes to filling this gap by developing literature on the impact of cannabis tourism and its implications for host communities or states, especially for state policymakers and business professionals. The results of this study are expected to serve as a reliable benchmark for subsequent economic impact analyses and comparisons with other industries. Full article

This study examines the impact of tourism activities (TA) on carbon emissions (CE) in South Korea and investigates how ESG (environmental, social, and governance) administration power moderates these relationships. To explore four research areas—the relationship between TA and CE; variations across three years (2019–2021); the moderating effect of ESG policies; and the influence of control variables—MIMIC models were employed using secondary data from credible national institutions. The main results across the years and ESG groups (high vs. low) are as follows: (1) The positive influence of individual TA on CE ranked as food and beverage > shopping > recreation > accommodation, with no differences across the years or ESG groups. (2) ESG administration alleviated the carbon-emitting effects of TA, with significant moderation in 2019 and 2021, but not in 2020 (particularly, the effect sizes of TA were greater in low ESG groups). (3) Although tourism development stimulates TA more strongly in the high ESG groups, the CE induced by TA is significantly mitigated by ESG administrative support, resulting in smaller effects than those observed in the low groups. (4) The latter part covers diverse discussions on the influence of control variables—such as infection safety, atmospheric pollution, tourism development, income levels, green space, and local population. Full article

The construction of pseudo human settlements in the context of “digital-real integration” in the information age is crucial for the high-quality development of human settlements in the new era. This study aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal evolution of the pseudo human settlements and its mechanism to provide new ideas for scientific breakthroughs in cross-disciplinary fields, such as human settlements, and to provide a strong basis for promoting the overall improvement of the quality of the human settlements in the central China’s urban agglomerations in the new era. Employing the theoretical framework of “three states” in human settlements, this study utilizes big data, including tourism, shopping, work, and socialization, to investigate the dynamic patterns and driving mechanisms of pseudo human settlements within Central China’s urban agglomerations from 2011 to 2021, employing methodologies such as the coupling coordination model, standard deviation ellipse, kernel density, and gray correlation degree. The results show the following: (1) the overall pseudo human settlements in central China’s urban agglomerations exhibit a pattern of “high coupling and low coordination”. (2) The overall coupling degree exhibits a fluctuating upward trend and has been at a high coupling-state level. (3) The degree of coupling coordination has obvious spatial differentiation characteristics, such as the core circle, “tower”, and “two main and one secondary” core structure. (4) The overall level of pseudo human settlements is influenced by the combination of time, space, and the multidimensionality of systems and indicators. This study conducted research on pseudo human settlements to enrich the theory of the human–land interaction relationship in geography and reflect the decision-making needs in the strategy of network power. Full article