Tour. Hosp., Volume 5, Issue 2 (June 2024) – 15 articles

Last Chance Tourism (LCT) is an increasingly popular phenomenon whereby tourists seek encounters with vanishing landscapes, cultures, and endangered species. However, there are concerns that it is not sufficiently ecologically informed, has a large carbon footprint, and may put further pressure on vulnerable ecosystems and communities. This review specifically focuses on the Arctic, which is a major global frontier for LCT and is at the forefront of disruptive and accelerating climate change. It draws on theoretical insights from the Ecological Grief concept to chart a new research focus as well as a pathway to share empathy, concern, and sorrow between scientists, communities, and visitors. Key literature sources on LCT and Ecological Grief were selected from major international scientific journals and monographs. The major findings of the study are (i) the Arctic cryosphere is a life-sustaining entity and disruptive changes in its mechanisms currently threaten the unique ecologies and culture of the region and (ii) LCT must be attentive to the emotive accounts of loss and grief associated with cryospheric change and emplace both human and non-human voices in the narrative. These findings are relevant for LCT researchers, tourism planners, and conscious travelers in the Arctic who prioritize destination sustainability. Full article

Assessing tourism sustainability has become of paramount importance to researchers and policymakers in regard to better protecting tourism destinations, particularly with the continued increase in the number of tourists and visitors who alter the natural components of the environment and degrade ecosystems. The use of geographic data is of great importance, as it can serve as a dashboard for monitoring and controlling the sustainability of tourist areas. Due to their diversity and abundance in the city of Tangier, these tools are available and easy to use. The medina of Tangier is used as a calculation example, a method that will also be applicable to other areas of the metropolitan city and to other cities as well. Based on the annual meeting of the different component of society involved in the Medina of Tangier, the data are extracted and integrated into the proposed model through a plugin interface. Therefore, the use of geographic data is of great importance, especially in environmental monitoring and land management, due to its ease of use and availability. However, calculating composite sustainability indices involves several steps and requires a basic understanding of existing models. This article describes the development and design of a plugin package in QGIS that serves as an easy-to-use tool to automatically process and calculate economic, environmental and social indices and the overall tourism sustainability index. These plugins were built in Python and designed as plugins for the QGIS software version 3.22. Full article

Given the importance of semiotics and destination image (TDI) in the field of tourism and hospitality marketing, this study proposes a conceptual model that integrates Peirce’s semiotic triad, Grönroos’s quality service model, and Morris’s semiotic trichotomies in the TDI formation circle. The new framework aims to measure the contribution of quality hospitality services to online TDI formation. Using scaled comparisons of homogeneous big data, this framework was empirically tested with all two- and three-star Michelin restaurants and a sample of 100 four- and five-star hotels, all located in Asia and Europe, reviewed in 317,979 online travel reviews (OTRs) hosted on TripAdvisor. The results showed that three-star restaurants and five-star hotels are more popular in terms of the number of OTRs, but diners and guests are more satisfied with and loyal to two-star restaurants and four-star hotels. This big data finding contradicts previous survey-based research on quality services. Instead, the results confirm that consumer satisfaction positively affects consumer loyalty. The new approach to the TDI from a semiotic perspective—destination image semiotics—can represent a paradigm shift in the analysis of TDI through user-generated content (UGC). The proposed conceptual framework integrates several sound theoretical models to extract maximum insights from UGC. Full article

Self-reliance is essential for community-based rural tourism (CBRT), ensuring effective running in the long term. However, existing studies have focused on general self-reliance conditions while overlooking details surrounding the community’s self-reliance in each activity of the CBRT value chain. This study filled this significant gap by observing community self-reliance in CBRT and considering the tourism value chain (TVC) framework. Built upon the abduction method, this study applied the systematic combining approach to observe three aspects of self-reliance, i.e., goals or objectives, rights and abilities, and owned resources, in the TVC of CBRT entities. Taking the case of CBRT in Sleman Regency, Indonesia, the data collection involved representatives of 49 community-based tourism villages (desa wisata). The results showed that observing community self-reliance in CBRT allows for the identification of multifaceted self-reliance problems in rural tourism communities. Apparently, the observed CBRT initiatives are unable to achieve complete self-sufficiency across all aspects of self-reliance. Reliance on external collaboration and support networks persists out of necessity rather than an inability to self-manage. Policy protections, capacity building, and collaborative partnerships are necessary to develop resilient and sustainable rural tourism amidst necessary dependencies. CBRT planning and policies should hence consider the abovementioned aspects of self-reliance to empower CBRT toward sustainable rural development. Full article

Art evokes a wide range of effects, including emotional, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. Despite the growing recognition of the role of art in tourism and hospitality, there is a gap in understanding how the different attributes of visual art influence guests’ responses. This perspective paper aims to address this gap by introducing a conceptual framework of the effects of visual art attributes on guests’ perceptions and behavioral intentions and calls for future research on the effects of different art characteristics in hospitality settings. Various attributes of visual art, such as the style, content, size, context, color palette, and thematic relevance of artworks, can serve as antecedents to guest experiences. Several factors can moderate the relationships between different art attributes and perceptions of art, including socio-demographic characteristics, personality traits, cultural differences, familiarity with art, and prior experiences. Hotel or vacation rental characteristics, including price, service quality, ratings, amenities, and other factors, can also interact with art perceptions in shaping attitudes toward the accommodation and behavioral intentions. A combination of survey methods, interviews, experience sampling, experiments, and emerging techniques can be applied in future studies to explore the effects of visual art and its attributes on guest and business outcomes. The proposed framework brings important implications for both academic scholarship and industry practice. Full article

Every economic sector is susceptible to the direct or indirect effects of weather variability, and the tourism sector is no exception. In fact, the tourism industry is considered to be more vulnerable to the effects of weather variability than the general economy, with changes in weather patterns, extreme events, and environmental degradation offering substantial obstacles. Ethiopia’s tourism industry, like many others, faces challenges from weather variability. This study investigates the short- and long-term effects of weather variability on Ethiopia’s international tourism receipts. Utilizing data from 1995 to 2019, the research employs a vector error correction model to analyze the relationships between weather variables (temperature, rainfall), economic factors (GDP growth, inflation), political stability, and tourist arrivals. The findings reveal that in the long run, higher temperatures, rainfall, and inflation have negative impacts on tourism receipts, while political stability and past tourist arrivals have positive effects. Short-term trends mirror these, with the addition of GDP growth not showing a significant impact. To ensure the sustainability of tourism in Ethiopia, the study emphasizes the importance of understanding weather’s influence, developing adaptation strategies, and promoting sustainable tourism practices. Full article

Mining communities often rely on tourism as a vehicle for post-mining territorial development. Sometimes, these expectations of the locals are justified by the natural setting and/or the well-preserved industrial heritage; however, these potential tourist destinations are disadvantaged primarily by their image, often associated with decay in the perception of travellers. In this paper, we treat travellers as stakeholders, able to decisively influence the image of a destination by uploading content (photos, reviews and ratings) on Google Maps and TripAdvisor, and we emphasise that user-generated content should be considered when shaping the tourism development strategies. Taking as case studies three former mining regions trying to capitalise on their tourist potential—Jiu Valley and Ștei, in Romania and La Louvière, in Belgium—this article proposes a method for assessing the image of the destination, also aiming to identify those aspects that require improvement. Full article

Sporting events are drivers of urban life and have the potential to bring substantial short-term economic benefits to the host region by attracting visitor spending. This study has analyzed the impact generated by the 2021 Senior and Elite Badminton World Championships that took place in Huelva, Spain. The objectives are (i) determine the economic impact and determining factors; and (ii) the impact on the development of badminton in the region. For this purpose, the study used the Cost-Benefit Analysis approach to estimate the cashflows through a survey applied to both events. The results reflect a direct positive impact on the region’s economy, although the results are not as satisfactory at the sporting level. The article contributes to the few mid-range event studies on a minority sport in a city with a highly developed tourism sector. Full article

Fishing tourism, a niche yet burgeoning sector within the broader tourism industry, presents a unique opportunity to explore the dynamics of the Experience Economy. This study delves into the intricacies of fishing tourism through the lens of data science, leveraging web crawling techniques to gather extensive data from reviewer profiles on TripAdvisor. By employing natural language processing (NLP) techniques, the study investigates the correlation between Experience Economy dimensions and user profiling aspects within this domain. The findings of this study shed light on the predominant dimensions of the Experience Economy within fishing tourism. “Entertainment” emerges as the primary dimension, closely followed by “Aesthetic”, “Educational”, and “Escapist” elements. Notably, the study reveals frequent co-occurrences of certain dimension pairs, such as “Entertainment”–“Aesthetic” and “Educational”–“Entertainment”, underscoring the multifaceted nature of the fishing tourism experience. The implications of this research extend beyond academic discourse to practical considerations for stakeholders in the fishing tourism sector. By highlighting the socioeconomic benefits inherent in fishing tourism for local communities and fishers, the study emphasizes the importance of governmental support. This support, in the form of infrastructure development, effective leadership, legislative measures, and financial backing, is deemed essential for fostering sustainable growth and development in this sector. This study stands as a pioneering endeavor within the realm of fishing tourism research, particularly in its focus on Experience Economy dimensions and user profiling. By drawing data from both business pages and user profiles on TripAdvisor, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between tourist experiences and the broader economic and social landscape of fishing tourism destinations. Full article

The literature has mainly focused on the significant business opportunities that companies obtain from their participation in trade fairs while less interest has been given to their impacts on the host regions. However, trade fairs are events with complex socio-spatial dimensions and an important scope of urban governance that need further analysis. The purpose of this article is to investigate the attitudes, opinions and representations of the exhibitors and visitors of the trade fairs in Thessaloniki, regarding the trade fair itself and its efficiency, the city of Thessaloniki as a destination, as well as the relationship between trade fairs and the city. The method of collecting qualitative material and information involved in-depth interviews with a semi-structured interview guide, while quota sampling was used. In total, 103 interviews were conducted at the trade fairs of Zootechnia and Detrop. Results show that the effect of trade fair activity on the city of Thessaloniki is strong and multi-layered. Also, the relationship between trade fair activity and the city is interactive and two-way, as one feeds and is powered by the other. Moreover, the need for coordination and cooperation between local agencies in an urban governance framework was highlighted. Full article

As part of its 2050 net zero emission commitment, Canada has a mandate to transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to decarbonize transportation. While the EV charging infrastructure is expanding in urban areas, the infrastructure for inter-city and nature-based tourism has not been assessed. This study combined four metrics of feasibility and convenience into an EV readiness index to evaluate 94 road trip itineraries associated with Canada’s iconic national parks. Index scores ranged from not possible (0) to equal to the travel experience of internal combustion vehicle (20). With the summer range, the average one-day route score was 19.2, as 82% of one-day itineraries could be completed without requiring additional charging. Multi-day routes scored lower (14.0), with 24% being highly inconvenient or impossible due to gaps between charging stations. With a reduced winter EV range, average index scores for one- and multi-day trips declined as charging needs increased (18.4 and 13.2, respectively). Across the 94 travel routes, EVs were estimated to produce only 17% of the carbon dioxide emissions of internal combustion vehicles (this was much lower in some provinces). The findings also highlight key regional differences in tourism EV readiness and where infrastructure is needed to provide equitable access to Canada’s national parks for tourists seeking to decarbonize their holiday travel. Full article

Restaurants were significantly shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced them to intensify their use of social media to communicate with customers. Our objective was to identify which digital marketing strategies generated higher customer engagement during the pandemic, according to variations in the intensity of sanitary restrictions. We manually extracted 639 Facebook posts by 16 restaurants in two Canadian cities (one in a metropolitan area, one in a peripheral region), and coded them according to type of verbal move, format (image, text), and emoji use. The engagement rate was two times higher for restaurants in the metropolitan area, which also used three times more emojis per post on average. The engagement rate was also five times higher for nationally branded restaurants than for independent restaurants. When the pandemic hit, restaurants started to use more text and more directive verbal moves to convey crucial and precise information to customers, notably about sanitary restrictions. Emojis and expressive verbal moves also helped increase customer engagement. While being direct was more efficient in times of crisis, directive verbal moves continued to be used after most sanitary restrictions were lifted. Being direct, thus, appears to be a good digital marketing strategy in the “new normal”. Full article

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global tourism market has become one of the most affected sectors of the economy. In this research, the literature on the economic effects created by COVID-19 on a global level is first studied and the measures and restrictions that governments are obliged to take in order to suppress and prevent the spread of the coronavirus are analyzed. Next, there is an attempt to empirically estimate a system of equations regarding the two channels of influence of COVID-19 on tourism, making use of cross-sectional data, and specifically for a sample of 38 countries that launched vaccination up until the end of 2020. The explained results confirm that tourism is directly affected by the spread of COVID-19, due to the effort of travelers to avoid illness, but also due to the measures taken by governments to limit it. Tourism is also indirectly affected, due to the negative impact on income. Using 3SLS, an equation was developed to calculate the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 on tourism. Notably, the dependent variable (tourism expenditure) exhibited a positive correlation with the independent variable (GDP) and a negative correlation with the total COVID-19 cases. Consequently, it was determined that a unit increase in the COVID-19 variable led to a reduction in international tourism expenditure by USD 859,237. Finally, there is a concern, and further investigation is needed, regarding the effect of vaccination against COVID-19 on tourism, which, while it is expected to be negative, is not confirmed by the results. Full article

The use of new technologies in tourism is bringing about a genuine revolution in the sector, where automated services, such as chatbots, are increasingly being used to perform some of the tasks involved in service delivery. However, the emergence of new technologies in a sector as globalized as tourism can mean that not all users are able to perceive the benefits of these innovations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine whether the digital literacy (DL) of a tourist may lead to different evaluations of the quality of the electronic service they received, both overall and as per the different dimensions of quality. This study compares a more innovative and interactive service-provision technology (a chatbot) with a more traditional one (email). To this end, an experiment was conducted in which 124 participants from Spain (higher DL) and the Czech Republic (lower DL) were asked to interact with these two technologies in a simulated hotel customer-service scenario. The results show that individuals with higher DL rated the quality of service received via chatbot higher than individuals with lower DL. The latter prefer email because they perceived it to provide greater security, empathy, reliability, and information quality. However, participants with higher DL preferred the chatbot due to its greater competence in completing the task. Finally, the participants rated the responsiveness of the chatbot higher than that of email. These results can help the introduction of chatbot-based customer service in the tourism sector. Full article

Gastronomy represents one of the main defining national cultural elements and is essential for shaping territorial identities and for tourism development, attracting both domestic and international tourists. The landscape in the center of Bucharest has gradually changed under the influence of entrepreneurial initiatives within the hospitality industry, showing at present a rather cosmopolitan urban environment. Despite the significant number of international catering units, better adapted to global tastes, Romanian-themed restaurants represent a landmark of the capital city. In this context, our study focuses on the Romanian authentic local gastronomy offered by the themed traditional restaurants in the center of Bucharest as a stimulating factor for different types of consumers. Aiming to answer several research questions, this research has a complex multi-fold methodological approach, appealing to triangulation which gathered, as main analytic methods, mapping, semantic analyses, and text visualisation, and the interview method (originally and appropriately applied for this case study to experienced employees). The main results show a complex gastronomic landscape that gathers various types of restaurants but outlines those with a Romanian ethnic theme in the center of Bucharest. The study of Romanian restaurants’ menus reveals elements of authenticity (e.g., traditional dishes and their regional denominations, local rural ingredients, old recipes, and cuisine techniques) as factors of attractiveness for consumers and as competitive advantages in their market. Moreover, interviews with staff representatives outline restaurants’ atmosphere, originality, and price–quality ratio of their food as the main attractive elements for both autochtonous customers and tourists and which offer an advantage in the market. The present study may interest multiple stakeholders, focusing on the development and evolution of the hospitality industry in Romania. Full article