Tourism and Hospitality

Local communities face a double-edged sword when it comes to tourism development; their attitude directly influences tourism growth and helps spread the word within the community. The local community is increasingly affected socioeconomically by tourism development, which results in the development of attitudes (both positive and negative) based on the perceived effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of tourism and local support for tourism development in a national park in western Serbia. The data were gathered from locals (580) who reside in the municipality where the national park belongs. Based on their own experiences and their belief that tourism can preserve natural and cultural resources and protect them for future generations, the Tara National Park community was found to favor further tourism development. They disagree that problems would arise from factors often associated with increasing tourism, such as traffic, price increases, or pollution. This study was carried out during the pandemic crisis, which is seen as a paradigm shift in the travel and tourism sectors and offers an opportunity to do better and continue operating in a more sustainable way. Therefore, we propose that these findings be taken into account when developing sustainable tourist management strategies, particularly in national parks and other protected places while respecting the needs and rights of the local people. Full article

Inclusive tourism is a specialized branch of tourism emphasizing the inclusion of the disabled, who otherwise could not participate in tourism, despite having wealth to spend for leisure and recreation. There exists a research gap in analyzing scope of geotourism in this context. Disabilities affecting access to geosites affect geotourism since most of the geosites all over the world are situated in difficult terrain from the stand point of accessibility. It is inclusive tourism, also called accessible tourism, that facilities the consumers to reach the desired destinations. The present study assesses such destinations in Ajodhya hills, located in West Bengal, India, a geotourist’s paradise in terms of rarity and diversity, aesthetic appeal, and cultural value. The study derives an accessibility–attraction model to identify inclusive tourism planning priorities from tourism marketing perspectives. Extensive field work followed by the application of qualitative methods of data analysis yield results dedicated to sustainable geotourism development. The discussion reveals the scope of developing specific facilities, using GIS, which encourage physically challenged people to visit geosites and simultaneously fulfil the objective of guiding planners and policy makers to identify and develop more suitable sites for introducing inclusive tourism facilities. Full article

Battlefield tourism is an increasingly popular form of travel, where visitors seek to connect with history and cultural heritage by exploring locations famous for their battles. Battle tourism is found in different places, specifically, those involved in ancient world battles. Research has shown that battle tourism has a significant impact on local economies as visitors spend money in hotels, restaurants, and shops. It has also proven to be an effective tool for education, allowing visitors to learn about history in an interactive and exciting manner. However, there are also concerns about the impact of battle tourism on historic sites and how cultural sensitivity is managed. Our research discusses battle tourism, including its economic and educational impacts, as well as the challenges and opportunities in managing tourism at these historic sites. In addition, it discusses how battlefield tourism relates to other types of historical tourism and how visitors’ experiences in these places can be enhanced. With these objectives, the main success stories referenced in the academic bibliography have been analyzed from a systematic review conducted using the PRISMA methodology. Full article

Rural culinary tourism is a growing sector in European tourism and is a key resource for rural development, in particular in Southern Europe. The boom of the sector that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, however, poses important questions concerning the actual capacity of local actors to grasp this opportunity. The paper investigates the main trends in rural tourism in Southern Europe and the specific educational needs entrepreneurs express based on extensive research conducted in seven Southern European countries (France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey) within the Erasmus + project “The European Network for the Promotion of Culinary and Proximity Tourism in Rural Areas” in 2022. Specifically, the research was conducted through focus group discussions with professionals and stakeholders of the project carried out in the target countries involving 76 respondents. Based on the data collected, this paper indicates a way forward for the new gastronomes to understand this sector and invest their professionality in it. Full article

Visitor management is one way to avoid or mitigate the negative effects of overcrowding in tourism destinations. Visitor management depends upon a set of interventions aimed at guiding visitors and recommending alternatives. Here, we present a conceptual framework of such interventions using an escalation from information, nudging, pricing, and reservation to stoppage (INPReS). The interventions are discussed against the backdrop of the changing role of destination management organisations (DMOs) in smart destinations, the challenges to DMO stewardship in avoiding overcrowding, and the design considerations between nudging and persuasion. Full article

Outdoor recreation is one of the most widely recognized ecosystem services provided by forests and grasslands in the world. This paper examined the influence of factors not related to landscape values, such as ethnicity and gasoline prices, on individual participation in outdoor recreation in the southeastern region of the U.S. The model results showed that there were no significant (p > 0.05) differences between the race groups (Caucasians and non-Caucasians) for participation in the different activities either between racial groups or among National Forest (NF). This may be due to the very high proportion of Caucasian participants in the study. The results also revealed that travel costs negatively influence the number of NF visits. The number of NF visits decreases if the gasoline price increases by 20% and more. The results of this study have practical importance for different entities such as stakeholders, tourism operators, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and local authorities. 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

A global pandemic can provide new opportunities and challenges for the tourism industry. When most entertainment events and recreation activities were canceled or postponed during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, many operators introduced online offerings, such as virtual tours and streaming services. These factors, along with the public’s fear of catching the virus, have prompted significant changes in consumers’ spending behaviors within the tourism industry. This study interviewed 22 US-based consumers about their spending experiences in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that the critical shaping factors of consumers’ behaviors in tourism include safety measures, social environment, consumers’ desire to resume enjoyment, and digital offerings. We further propose a revised theory of planned behavior that considers various external and contextual factors, based on the findings. The implications for managerial practice are also discussed. Full article

This research explores the concept of placemaking in the context of sports events tourism, using the case study of the 2019 Rugby World Cup hosted in Japan. The study investigates how host cities used liminoid spaces between transport hubs and stadiums to create a festive atmosphere and articulate the identity of the place itself. Employing a novel ethnographic methodology centred around walking and participatory methods, the researcher occupied a dual tourist-researcher role, immersing himself in the liminoid space. Findings suggest that the use of such spaces was innovative and successful in creating a sense of place and developing a festive atmosphere through which visitors moved. However, the study acknowledges that these strategies may not be applicable to all sports events and that the direct experiences of visitors through ethnographic methods do not allow for empirical claims about the success of strategies or their longitudinal effects. Nevertheless, the study highlights the potential of placemaking in the periphery of sports events to enhance the visitor experience and promote the identity of the host destination. Full article

The uniqueness and potential of South African geoheritage to contribute to sustainable development is undoubtedly unmatched. However, little is known about the geoheritage threats in South Africa because geoheritage research is geographically skewed to the global North, while little focus is given to the global South. This study characterises the geoheritage threats in South Africa through a qualitative method design. This involved qualitative semi-structured interviews with 16 key informants (from the South African National Parks, national government, local communities as well tour operators, and tourism agencies). Consequently, qualitative content analysis was performed to outline geoheritage threats in South African national parks. The study concludes that the construct of geoheritage threats consists of human- and nature-induced threats. The identified human-induced geoheritage threats include mining, damage to heritage, and loss of biodiversity due to overcrowding. Furthermore, results showed that incorrect management of geoheritage has the potential to cause community conflicts, which can lead to a decrease in tourists visiting the destination. The identified nature-induced geoheritage threats are climate change, floods, and fires. These results suggest the need for the immediate protection of geoheritage sites within and outside protected area in South Africa. Thus, it is necessary to develop protection strategies to conserve South African geoheritage for current and future generations that involve protection areas managers, local communities, government departments and agencies, and academia. Full article

Event venues represent a focal point for infectious disease transmission among attendees and event stakeholders, creating lasting uncertainty within the industry post-COVID-19. There is now a need to investigate emerging venue considerations for the event industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Ireland as a case, a quantitative questionnaire was used on a sample of event managers. Event venue monitoring for COVID-19 is lacking, while risk mitigation procedures focus more on attendees already at the venue rather than avoiding infected persons entering the venue. Risk assessments now comprise COVID-19 risk; however, a lack of resources means regular health and safety has shown signs of weakening. Government and local authority resources and financial support are required. Pre-venue procedures of symptom screening and proof of vaccination, combined with venue procedures for disinfection of venue spaces, table service, and appropriate ventilation have proven to be effective COVID-19 risk mitigation procedures. Additionally, ICT (information and communications technology) could disseminate up-to-date health guidelines through customer-centric digital environments representing enhanced information sharing to avoid uncertainty and support pro-social intentions of event attendees and compliance with event venue COVID-19 risk mitigation procedures. 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

Literature review papers are highly influential in directing academic discourse, not only because they map the state of the art in a subject area, but also because they show future research prospects by identifying weaknesses, limitations, and gaps in the extant body of knowledge on a particular subject [...] 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