Sustainability

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16 pages, 397 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Global Estimation of the Elasticity of “International Tourist Arrivals/Income from Tourism”

by Marcelino Sanchez-Rivero and Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8707; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208707 - 20 Oct 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2546

The prevailing discourse relates the widespread belief that an increase in the volume of tourist arrivals is a clear sign of success for tourism destination managers. According to a logarithmic regression function that estimates the inverse demand-income elasticity, it has been found that [...] Read more.

The prevailing discourse relates the widespread belief that an increase in the volume of tourist arrivals is a clear sign of success for tourism destination managers. According to a logarithmic regression function that estimates the inverse demand-income elasticity, it has been found that tourism flows are not the best measure to use in assessing the contribution of tourism to economic growth. Rather, the volume of income that is generated from these tourists should be considered. Furthermore, based on an analysis of correlations, it was found that the territories having the greatest efficiency in generating income from tourism are more competitive in terms of tourism. The results obtained may contribute to changing the approach used by both private and public bodies, and they may also help them to re-focus their business planning and policymaking so as to emphasize an increase in income level and not in volume of tourists. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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20 pages, 2245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measurement Development for Tourism Destination Business Environment and Competitive Advantages

by Hoon-Ku Sul, Xiaoting Chi and Heesup Han

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8587; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208587 - 16 Oct 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3643

Abstract

This study attempts to develop a measurement model of competitiveness utilized in the tourism sector, which appears to be fundamentally different in nature from traditional goods and services. Tourism destination competitiveness reflecting the generic characteristics should be considered diversified to notice the distinctive [...] Read more.

This study attempts to develop a measurement model of competitiveness utilized in the tourism sector, which appears to be fundamentally different in nature from traditional goods and services. Tourism destination competitiveness reflecting the generic characteristics should be considered diversified to notice the distinctive perspective between the business environment and competitive advantages. Criticism of some prior conventional literature stems from the lack of a rigorous process to find the structure and attributes of the measurement items for a destination’s business environment and competitive advantages. The available theoretical framework and measures containing the destination business environment and competitive advantages warrant further investigation. The vital dimensions of the destination business environment (i.e., dynamism, hostility, turbulence, investment, information technology, and governance) and destination competitive advantages (i.e., defensiveness, local acceptance, accessibility, reasonability, uniqueness, supportiveness, and image sustainability) were successfully identified through quantitative and empirical analysis, which could provide a significant basis for managerial and policy decisions in the tourism industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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27 pages, 1248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Jungle of Support: What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Residents’ Support”?

by María Ángeles Plaza-Mejía, Nuria Porras-Bueno and David Flores-Ruiz

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187795 - 21 Sep 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2281

Abstract

The aim of this research is to provide a conceptual framework to facilitate the standardization of the concept of “residents’ support” in tourism studies. The model is designed to prevent ambiguity and confusion that may arise in the use of the generic term [...] Read more.

The aim of this research is to provide a conceptual framework to facilitate the standardization of the concept of “residents’ support” in tourism studies. The model is designed to prevent ambiguity and confusion that may arise in the use of the generic term “residents’ support.” Social Exchange Theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action will be incorporated for the purposes of contextualizing the term “residents’ support” with respect to three dimensions: attitudinal, intentional, or behavioral. A longitudinal analysis of the term “residents’ support” will be conducted on the basis of the proposed model. Fifty-four articles published between 2004 and the first quarter of 2020 have been studied to classify the items used to create the construct of “residents’ support” in tourism studies and to draw conclusions about the work of scholars and tourism agents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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15 pages, 290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Perception, Motivation, and Satisfaction of Female Tourists with Their Visit to the City of Cordoba (Spain)

by Alexandra Lenis Escobar, Ramón Rueda López, Manuel Pérez-Priego and María de los Baños García-Moreno García

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7595; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187595 - 15 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3515

Abstract

The cultural and historical heritage of a city is a major resource for attracting tourists. Therefore, determining how to perceive and identify the characteristics of persons visiting a locality attracted by its heritage is relevant for the purpose of better meeting their expectations [...] Read more.

The cultural and historical heritage of a city is a major resource for attracting tourists. Therefore, determining how to perceive and identify the characteristics of persons visiting a locality attracted by its heritage is relevant for the purpose of better meeting their expectations and needs. This research focuses on understanding the perceptions, motivations, and satisfaction of women visiting Cordoba (Spain). Thus, on the basis of a questionnaire completed by women visiting Cordoba between the months of June and November 2019, statistical analysis was conducted. Using various multivalent case-grouping techniques, segments of tourists holding similar perceptions of cultural heritage were detected. Moreover, non-parametric statistical techniques highlighted significant differences between the valuations obtained in the various segments. This analysis exposed a segment of women who, known as absorptive tourists, are characterized by a high cultural motivation to visit the city of Cordoba linked to the heritage sites they have visited. The conclusions obtained herein should be useful for adjusting the city’s provision of tourism services to satisfy the demand of female tourists visiting the city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

14 pages, 1023 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Implementation of Strategic Management in Greek Hospitality Businesses in Times of Crisis

by Sotirios Varelas and Nikolaos Apostolopoulos

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12177211 - 03 Sep 2020

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7199

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore the implementation of strategic management approaches in Greek tourism and hospitality businesses during economic crises, in order to further expand our current knowledge of operating in a turbulent environment and embracing novel aspects by linking [...] Read more.

The aim of this research was to explore the implementation of strategic management approaches in Greek tourism and hospitality businesses during economic crises, in order to further expand our current knowledge of operating in a turbulent environment and embracing novel aspects by linking economic crises with the current literature on the COVID-19 pandemic. This research emphasizes the connection between the strategic management approaches of 131 tourism organizations and hospitality business performance by analyzing entrepreneurs’ opinions and hospitality business markets. The results reveal that a significant percentage of the participants understand and use some strategic management procedures, and some strategy in general, but there is a lack of a concrete strategy for managing the turbulent environment caused by an economic crisis. However, a large percentage of small tourism businesses are completely unaware of strategic management approaches, and their knowledge of implementing a strategy during an economic crisis is limited. The practical implications of this research can act as a navigator of the economic consequences caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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21 pages, 284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Behaviour of Olive Oil Tourists: A Cluster Analysis in Southern Spain

by Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández, Jairo Casado-Montilla and Isabel Carrillo-Hidalgo

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6863; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176863 - 24 Aug 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2648

Abstract

Olive oil tourism is a recent development in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, but it is now spreading to other regions of the world. The main reasons people are choosing this special interest tourism (SIT) are to find out about the culture [...] Read more.

Olive oil tourism is a recent development in the countries of the Mediterranean basin, but it is now spreading to other regions of the world. The main reasons people are choosing this special interest tourism (SIT) are to find out about the culture surrounding olive oil and to enjoy the whole host of activities related to the product. This has led to the creation of strong links between olive oil tourism and other types of special interest tourism. The studies undertaken thus far to characterise the profile of olive oil tourism’s demand, and its motivations, expectations and needs, have been limited and partial, focusing on specific cases. Therefore, this paper aims to take a closer look at the demand for olive oil tourism. Based on a survey of 609 visitors to olive oil mills in the south of Spain, olive oil tourists were segmented according to the type of trip and the olive oil tourism experience enjoyed during the trip, using a two-step cluster analysis. The results obtained enabled us to identify four segments with well-differentiated behaviours, which will help stakeholders, policy makers and destination managers to reach decisions, with a view to adapting their product to the expectations and needs of potential customers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

18 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management of Tourist Destinations: The Expectations of Guests on eWOM Generation in Maldonado (Uruguay)

by María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández, Daniel Álvarez-Bassi and José Ramón-Cardona

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6825; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176825 - 22 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3189

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of exceeding the expectations of guests to generate greater satisfaction, in order to offer an unforgettable experience and generate more comments on the Web 2.0 in the context of tourism. Structural equation models [...] Read more.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of exceeding the expectations of guests to generate greater satisfaction, in order to offer an unforgettable experience and generate more comments on the Web 2.0 in the context of tourism. Structural equation models were used. The data for the analysis were obtained from a sample of residents of the Maldonado-Punta del Este conurbation (Uruguay), who were asked about their last overnight stay. The proposed structural equation model was tested using the partial least square (PLS) technique. The results show that exceeding the expectations of guests is essential for the clients’ experience and very important for the satisfaction with the stay at the hotel. The generation of online comments (electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)) is also strongly influenced by emotional experiences. Exceeding the expectations of trained clients and surprising them with new services and experiences is the essence of luxury offers. The main practical implication is that exceeding expectations is the key to eWOM, and this means that managers must be involved in a perpetual process of service innovation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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17 pages, 328 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coordination Contracts for Hotels and Online Travel Agents

by Qiang Guo, Chris K. Anderson, Junfeng Dong, Pengfei Zhao and Qingkai Ji

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3355; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083355 - 20 Apr 2020

Viewed by 2804

Abstract

Herein, we address a common problem of hotels in the current world of online selling, namely the management of relationships with third party resellers (also known as online travel agents (OTAs)). We highlight the role of OTAs in the current travel landscape, and [...] Read more.

Herein, we address a common problem of hotels in the current world of online selling, namely the management of relationships with third party resellers (also known as online travel agents (OTAs)). We highlight the role of OTAs in the current travel landscape, and we discuss the popular contracting forms between OTAs and hotels, which are the so-called merchant and retail (commission) models. We illustrate how these contracts fail to coordinate the hotel–OTA relationship, and then, we develop a new type of contract that can efficiently coordinate a supply chain consisting of the OTA and the individual hotels. We provide theoretical results and numerical examples for a one-to-one model with one OTA and one supplier and a more realistic setting with an OTA selling to consumers on behalf of numerous hotel partners. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

20 pages, 1662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intelligence in Tourist Destinations Management: Improved Attention-based Gated Recurrent Unit Model for Accurate Tourist Flow Forecasting

by Wenxing Lu, Jieyu Jin, Binyou Wang, Keqing Li, Changyong Liang, Junfeng Dong and Shuping Zhao

Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1390; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041390 - 13 Feb 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2302

Abstract

Accurate tourist flow forecasting is an important issue in tourist destinations management. Given the influence of various factors on varying degrees, tourist flow with strong nonlinear characteristics is difficult to forecast accurately. In this study, a deep learning method, namely, Gated Recurrent Unit [...] Read more.

Accurate tourist flow forecasting is an important issue in tourist destinations management. Given the influence of various factors on varying degrees, tourist flow with strong nonlinear characteristics is difficult to forecast accurately. In this study, a deep learning method, namely, Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) is used for the first time for tourist flow forecasting. GRU captures long-term dependencies efficiently. However, GRU’s ability to pay attention to the characteristics of sub-windows within different related factors is insufficient. Therefore, this study proposes an improved attention mechanism with a horizontal weighting method based on related factors importance. This improved attention mechanism is introduced to the encoding–decoding framework and combined with GRU. A competitive random search is also used to generate the optimal parameter combination at the attention layer. In addition, we validate the application of web search index and climate comfort in prediction. This study utilizes the tourist flow of the famous Huangshan Scenic Area in China as the research subject. Experimental results show that compared with other basic models, the proposed Improved Attention-based Gated Recurrent Unit (IA-GRU) model that includes web search index and climate comfort has better prediction abilities that can provide a more reliable basis for tourist destinations management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategic Planning and Management of Tourist Destinations)

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