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Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 22897

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. João Guerreiro

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Guest Editor

Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: augmented and virtual reality; artificial intelligence; relationship marketing

Prof. Dr. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: technologies and marketing; consumer–brand relationship; branding

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been changing the way in which consumers perceive their travel experiences. While VR allows hospitality and tourism managers to develop new and exciting environments that present fully immersive experiences, AR technologies can be used to follow the consumer experience over time and present virtual objects that are overlaid in their real-world environment. AI is also transforming the hospitality and tourism landscape with the use of AI virtual assistants embedded in a growing number of IoT devices. Although the use of such technologies may have broad implications for hospitality and tourism in general, they may be extremely important tools for economic, environmental and social sustainable development, and for addressing some of the major challenges that hospitality and tourism are facing nowadays. Some examples of challenges in the hospitality and tourism landscape are those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to ensure that over-tourism is handled correctly when the pandemic is over. AI, AR, VR and IoT may present opportunities to develop and expand the uses of new technologies to reduce such effects.

This Special Issue regarding “Technological Transformations Towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism” searches for original research works that present both theoretical and managerial contributions related to the use of new technologies in hospitality and tourism. The current Special Issue encourages the submission of manuscripts that target different topics, including, but not limited to:

The use of new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR/IoT) to reduce the effects of a COVID-19 crisis in tourism
The use of new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR/ IoT) to reduce the effects of over-tourism
How can new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR / IoT) be used as a tool to develop sustainable and pro-environmental behaviors in tourism?
Multisensory experiences using new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR / IoT) in tourism
The use of new theories to explain how new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR/IoT) may affect consumer behavior and consumer relationships with brands in tourism
How can new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR/IoT) affect tourists’ well-being?

How can new technologies (e.g. AI/AR/VR/IoT) be used to enhance stakeholder (suppliers, attractions, local governments, heritage sites, transport systems) sustainability and performance?

Prof. Dr. João Guerreiro
Prof. Dr. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

augmented reality
virtual reality
tourism
AI
IoT
multisensory
sustainability

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1782 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experiencing a Food Production Site Using Wearable Devices: The Indirect Impact of Immersion and Presence in VR Tours

by Francesca De Canio, Elisa Martinelli, Margherita Peruzzini and Sara Cavallaro

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3064; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053064 - 06 Mar 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2594

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is among the main technologies revolutionizing numerous sectors, including tourism. In the latter context, virtual tours (VTs) are finding increasing application. Providing an immersive and realistic human–machine interaction, VR tours can bring visitors to virtually experience destination areas. The proposed research presents a theoretical and empirical investigation of the role played by some technical VR features (i.e., presence, immersion, ease-of-use) on VR visitors’ enjoyment, satisfaction, and, accordingly, on the physical visit intention of the production site and neighboring areas. After having experienced a 360-degree VR tour of a food production site, created specifically for this study, 140 visitors were surveyed online. Results—emerging from a PLS structural equation model—show that immersion and presence both directly impact the enjoyment and indirectly the user’s VR tour satisfaction and visit intention. Further, if the VR tour is perceived as easy to use, it influences visitors’ satisfaction and physical visit intention. This study contributes to the novel VR literature, applied in the tourism sector, evidencing how immersive and enjoyable scenarios, experienced via widespread devices such as smartphones, may impact tourists’ choices. In food tourism, VR technologies can be fundamental in attracting new visitors to the production sites and neighboring areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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16 pages, 1290 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bootstrapped DEA and Clustering Analysis of Eco-Efficiency in China’s Hotel Industry

by Yang Li, An-Chi Liu, Yi-Ying Yu, Yueru Zhang, Yiting Zhan and Wen-Cheng Lin

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2925; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052925 - 02 Mar 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2455

Abstract

As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, tourism is facing the challenge of balancing growth and eco-environmental protection. Taking tourism CO₂ emissions as undesirable outputs, this research employs the bootstrapping data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to measure the eco-efficiency of China’s hotel industry. Using a dataset consisting of 31 provinces in the period 2016–2019, the bootstrapping-based test validates that the technology exhibits variable returns to scale. The partitioning around medoids (PAM) algorithm, based on the bootstrap samples of eco-efficiency, clusters China’s hotel industry into two groups: Cluster 1 with Shandong as the representative medoid consists of half of the superior coastal provinces and half of the competitive inland provinces, while Cluster 2 is less efficient with Jiangsu as the representative medoid. Therefore, it is suggested that the China government conduct a survey of only Shandong and Jiangsu to approximately capture the key characteristics of the domestic hotel industry’s eco-efficiency in order to formulate appropriate sustainable development policies. Lastly, biased upward eco-efficiencies may provide incorrect information and misguide managerial and/or policy implications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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16 pages, 429 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Role of Norms and Habit in Explaining Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions in Situations of Use Robots and AI Agents as Providers in Tourism Sector

by Eduardo Moraes Sarmento and Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13928; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413928 - 16 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3535

Abstract

In a pandemic situation, with climate change around the world, studies analyzing changes in travel patterns are welcome. This study combines three theories to propose a model on pro-environmental behavior intentions, namely, the theory of planned behavior, value–belief–norm theory and habit theory. This study aims to examine the role of social norms, personal norms and habit strength to explain pro-environmental behavior intentions. The authors collected 316 usable questionnaires from tourists in the well-known touristic Belem location in Lisbon. Personal norms were revealed to have the strongest association with pro-environmental behavior intentions, followed by habit strength. The study also identified different broad challenges to encouraging sustainable behaviors and use these to develop novel theoretical propositions and directions for future research. Finally, the authors outlined how practitioners aiming to encourage sustainable consumer behaviors can use this framework to achieve better results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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18 pages, 3319 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Shaping a View on the Influence of Technologies on Sustainable Tourism

by Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro and Jorge Nascimento

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12691; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212691 - 16 Nov 2021

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 6290

Abstract

To date, tourism is the fastest growing industry globally, but one of the least developed in terms of environmentally sustainable practices. However, only a small portion of documents elaborate on how the introduction of new technologies can impact a more sustainable development route for tourism. This study’s objective is to provide an overview on literature state-of-the-art related to sustainable tourism and technological innovations, offering insights for further advancing this domain. We employ a bibliometric analysis and a comprehensive review of 139 articles, collected from Web of Science and Scopus databases, for the purpose of: (i) exploring and discussing the most relevant contributions in the publication network: (ii) highlighting key issues and emerging topics; (iii) uncovering open questions for the future. Our findings reveal contradictory views on the risks and benefits of technology adoption. Artificial intelligence, internet of things, circular economy, big data, augmented and virtual reality emerge as major trends. Five work streams are identified and described, leading to a broader perspective on how technology can shape the future of sustainable tourism. Relevant theoretical and managerial implications are derived. Finally, a research agenda is proposed as guidance for future studies addressing the outcomes of digital disruption on sustainable tourism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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18 pages, 29984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation and Interpretation of Tourist Satisfaction for Local Korean Festivals Using Explainable AI

by Hoonseong Oh and Sangmin Lee

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10901; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910901 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2114

Abstract

In this paper, we propose using explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques to predict and interpret the effects of local festival components on tourist satisfaction. We use data-driven analytics, including prediction, interpretation, and utilization phases, to help festivals establish a tourism strategy. Ultimately, this study aims to identify the most significant variables in local tourism strategy and to predict tourist satisfaction. To do so, we conducted an experimental study to compare the prediction accuracy of representative predictive algorithms. We then built a surrogate model based on a game theory-based framework, known as SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), to understand the prediction results and to obtain insight into how tourist satisfaction with local festivals can be improved. Tourist data were collected from local festivals in South Korea over a period of 12 years. We conclude that the proposed predictive and interpretable strategy can identify the strengths and weaknesses of each local festival, allowing festival planners and administrators to enhance their tourist satisfaction rates by addressing the identified weaknesses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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14 pages, 3971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Networking Service as a Marketing Technology Tool and Sustainable Business in the Lodging Industry: Investigating the Difference across Older and Younger Age Groups among Tourists

by Heesup Han, Linda-Heejung Lho, Heekyoung Jung, Antonio Ariza-Montes and Luis Araya-Castillo

Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5673; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105673 - 18 May 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2400

Abstract

Despite the importance of social networking services (SNSs), their engagement and their role as a critical marketing technology tool in explaining travellers’ approach behaviours are not well known. The present study investigated the influence of SNS engagement on traveller loyalty generation for a chain hotel brand and the health of this business by considering the roles of brand attitude, awareness, trust, and attachment and the impact of age. Fostering customers’ SNS engagement in the hospitality industry will be a vital constituent of hotels’ sustainable business. A quantitative process was used to meet the research objectives. The proposed research framework encompassing these variables was successfully developed. The framework’s efficiency in predicting brand loyalty was also demonstrated. Our results showed that SNS engagement considerably enhances loyalty and other study constructs. Attachment had a salient role in boosting loyalty. In addition, age had a moderating influence. The study constructs maximized the influence of SNS engagement on loyalty as mediators. Overall, our results considerably increase our understanding regarding the role of SNS engagement in the formation of traveller loyalty to chain hotel brands and the sustainability of such businesses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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18 pages, 1342 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Glacial Tourism Exploitation in the Dagu Glacier Scenic Spot Based on the AHP–ASEB Method

by Weibing Sun, Fu Zhang, Shuya Tai, Jinkui Wu and Yaqiong Mu

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2614; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052614 - 01 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2440

Abstract

Due to the impact of COVID-19, people’s demand for non-contact tourism is increasing. The development of Internet technologies such as the Internet of Things, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) can meet this demand. Internet technology makes non-contact tourism grow. However, these new technologies are emerging only within application cases, which cannot provide comprehensive methodological guidance for tourism suppliers. Despite the booming development of winter tourism in China, there are still many problems, especially affecting the tourist experience.rarchy process (AHP) and activity, setting, experience and benefit (ASEB) grid analysis were used to analyze the activities, settings, experiences and benefits of the scenic spot from the tourist perspective taking the Dagu Glacier Scenic Spot (DGSS) as an example. The research aims to increase the attraction of the scenic zone, and promote the coordinated and sustainable development of business in West China under the goal of improving tourists’ experiences. The results show that: subgoals of experience (E) and benefit (B) are the main directions of the development of ice and snow tourism in the DGSS. Furthermore, the threat of benefits (TB), the threat of setting (TS), the threat of experience (TE), the opportunities of benefits (OB), the opportunities of setting (OS), and the opportunities of experience (OE) are the main concerns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Technological Transformations towards a More Sustainable Environment in Hospitality and Tourism)

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