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Tourism and Sustainability: Combining Tourist’s Needs with Destinations’ Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 36976

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Business and Law Science Department, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: tourism and place marketing; tourism in natural protected areas and parks; sustainable tourism; spa and wellness tourism; event marketing; service marketing and management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Head of Marketing and Communication Department, EAE Business School, Calle Principe de Vergara, 156, 28002 Madrid, Spain
Interests: creativity in the field of product innovation, design thinking and place marketing; impact of shock advertising on tourism behaviours; the role of brand community as knowledge bridge between companies and customers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will comprise papers that analyse the importance and consequences of tourism and tourist behaviour on the environment and socio-cultural fabric of the destination, particularly in cities and natural protection areas.

Nowadays, strong tourist pressure is seriously threatening the attractiveness of many destinations, often causing, in addition, negative reactions from residents. In the most visited destinations, mass tourism and overtourism frequently create conditions of unsustainability. These can be analysed in terms of their impact: environmental, social, cultural, economic and political. Many of these destinations are today trying to limit the impact of tourism on their resources and on the quality of life of the residents. In fact, it is urgent to face the challenge of combining the interests of the different stakeholders with the need to protect, preserve and enhance local resources, avoiding at the same time damaging current or potential development processes.

The objective of this Special Issue is to locate and analyse experiences successful in dealing with the phenomena mentioned above, in order to advance possible management solutions and patterns to face these problems effectively. The aim is to find a reasonable balance between the needs and the expectations of the tourists and the long-term sustainable development of different types of destinations, especially cities and protected natural areas.

Dr. Sonia Ferrari
Dr. Giuseppe Emanuele Adamo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • overtourism
  • tourist behaviour
  • sustainable tourism
  • tourism and gentrification
  • impact of tourism on cities
  • impact of tourism on natural protected areas
  • new forms of tourism and sustainability
  • sustainable tourism policies

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2596 KiB  
Article
Overtourism in Iceland: Fantasy or Reality?
by Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir, C. Michael Hall and Margrét Wendt
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7375; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187375 - 8 Sep 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 12549
Abstract
Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important [...] Read more.
Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the satisfaction level of tourists with their Icelandic nature experience, and local people’s support for tourism being underreported. Some of the findings reflect that of other media analyses. However, there are considerable discontinuities between media representations and discourses of overtourism in Iceland, which highlight the importance of national- or destination-level media analysis. The media analysis illustrates the need for a better understanding of different destination discourses and their influence. Full article
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25 pages, 4294 KiB  
Article
Historical-Cultural Sustainability Model for Archaeological Sites in Mexico Using Virtual Technologies
by Angel Geovanni Ambrosio Arias, Jesús Jaime Moreno Escobar, Ricardo Tejeida Padilla and Oswaldo Morales Matamoros
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7337; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187337 - 7 Sep 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3359
Abstract
The use of virtual and immersion technologies has expanded considerably due to their impact on user experience, economy, knowledge, and sustainable conservation of cultural heritage according to studies conducted in various parts of the world in different disciplines (architecture, economy, entertainment, health, tourism, [...] Read more.
The use of virtual and immersion technologies has expanded considerably due to their impact on user experience, economy, knowledge, and sustainable conservation of cultural heritage according to studies conducted in various parts of the world in different disciplines (architecture, economy, entertainment, health, tourism, etc.), including on tourism in Mexico. These technologies are used in some archaeological sites, but development and implementation are scarce due to the lack of economic strategies, infrastructure, and human capital, which are preventing the sustainable exploitation of those sites, although some of these sites have met the basic requirements for providing a better experience to visitors. However, these sites should be studied to propose integral solutions not only to improve the tourist experience, but also to assist in their protection, conservation, and sustainable development. Here, we used knowledge from the soft systems methodology and the hologram generation system to generate proposals to solve the problem described. The result is a sustainable historical-cultural model based on the systemic approach, whose objective is to positively impact the visitor experience while maintaining harmony with the environment. Full article
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19 pages, 586 KiB  
Article
The Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture-Tourism: The Role of Consumer Landscape and Pro-Environment Behavior
by Lin-Lin Xue, Yen-Rung Chang and Ching-Cheng Shen
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6264; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156264 - 4 Aug 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4193
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence path of organic agricultural landscape on tourists’ pro-environment behavior and loyalty, and put forward suggestions for realizing sustainable tourism of organic agriculture. The M-R model was employed to construct an integrated model of [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to explore the influence path of organic agricultural landscape on tourists’ pro-environment behavior and loyalty, and put forward suggestions for realizing sustainable tourism of organic agriculture. The M-R model was employed to construct an integrated model of the influence of consumer landscape on pro-environment behavior and loyalty in organic agricultural tourism. The research framework and questionnaire design were constructed on the basis of literature review and 417 valid questionnaires which were collected from tourists in Eastern Taiwan (Hualien and Taidong). SPSS was employed to analyze the reliability and validity of the questionnaire and LISREL software was used to identify the influence path between variables. The results showed that: 1. The tourists’ cognition of consumer landscape will positively affect the environmental intimacy and environmental identity. 2. Tourists’ environmental intimacy and environmental identity will increase their pro-environmental behavior. 3. Tourists’ pro-environment behavior has a positive impact on their loyalty to organic agricultural tourism. The results show that organic agricultural tourism can stimulate tourists to understand the significance, importance and multiple values of the environment, and increase the intimacy and identity of tourists to the environment, which has a great effect on pro-environment behavior and loyalty. At the same time, it also shows that organic agricultural tourism is a sustainable tourism mode, which is worth promoting. Full article
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18 pages, 2449 KiB  
Article
Customer Involvement in Sustainable Tourism Planning at Lake Balaton, Hungary—Analysis of the Consumer Preferences of the Active Cycling Tourists
by Katalin Lőrincz, Zsuzsanna Banász and János Csapó
Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 5174; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125174 - 24 Jun 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5019
Abstract
This study uses an innovative tourism product development approach, based on co-creation or customer involvement, related to Lake Balaton, a mass tourism-based destination in Hungary, from the point of view of the market segment of active cycling tourists. The investigation of opportunities for [...] Read more.
This study uses an innovative tourism product development approach, based on co-creation or customer involvement, related to Lake Balaton, a mass tourism-based destination in Hungary, from the point of view of the market segment of active cycling tourists. The investigation of opportunities for the development of cycling tourism first of all relies on the new approach of attraction and product development around the destination, in which it is important to take into consideration the consumer preferences of the most important related group of tourists—active cycling tourists. The sustainable approach of tourism product development also provides an opportunity to decrease the spatial and temporal concentration of tourism, which is largely concentrated on the summertime season. The aim of this study is to explore aspects of the customers’ demand for tourism development in terms of cycling tourism with the help of primary data collection, in order to provide adequate directions for sustainable tourism development in the destination. Revealing the demand side of active cycling tourism related to Lake Balaton, the authors used both qualitative (focus group discussions and structured interviews) and quantitative questionnaire survey (computer-assisted data collection) research methods. The latter online surveys were carried out in November and December, 2019, and resulted with an appraisable sample of 809 questionnaires. As for the method, descriptive statistics and relationship analyses were applied. More than five thousand (5050) possible relationships were examined between the closed answers of the questionnaire by Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient (τ) and Cramer’s V, depending on whether they could be measured on a nominal or ordinal scale. The results show that the content analysis of the primary research provides well determined directions for the sustainable tourism development of cycling tourism at Lake Balaton, so customer involvement seems to be a win-win situation both for the customers (tourists) and the decision makers. Full article
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18 pages, 2463 KiB  
Article
The Concept of Comprehensive Tracking Software to Support Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas
by David Zejda and Josef Zelenka
Sustainability 2019, 11(15), 4104; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154104 - 30 Jul 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5768
Abstract
Visitor management in protected areas requires knowledge of visitors—their numbers, time-space curves, motivation, behavior, and satisfaction as an important input. The systematic analysis, comparison, and synthesis of visitor monitoring methods, with the focus on methods for individual tracking, is conceptualized in the form [...] Read more.
Visitor management in protected areas requires knowledge of visitors—their numbers, time-space curves, motivation, behavior, and satisfaction as an important input. The systematic analysis, comparison, and synthesis of visitor monitoring methods, with the focus on methods for individual tracking, is conceptualized in the form of a mind map. The map serves as a basis for managed dialogues with experts from several protected areas in the Czech Republic. The theory and experts’ practical insight are processed by the means of systems analysis with the aim to formulate (1) a guideline for the integration of heterogeneous data about visitors and (2) the concept of an advanced intelligent software tour guide with an individual tracking function. The proposed concept aims to achieve comprehensive monitoring of visitors’ time-space behavior in the context of their socio-demographics, goals, preferences, feelings, and the resulting impressions. In addition, the visitor flows may be interactively influenced in a personalized way by the application, leading to better individual impressions and satisfaction, with full respect for the carrying capacity of the territory. Related challenges, such as the stimulation of visitors to use the application, are discussed. The ongoing experimental implementation of the concept as a part of a comprehensive destination application is mentioned at the end. Full article
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23 pages, 1130 KiB  
Article
Auditing the Marketing and Social Media Communication of Natural Protected Areas. How Marketing Can Contribute to the Sustainability of Tourism
by Teodoro Luque-Martínez, Nina Faraoni and Luis Doña-Toledo
Sustainability 2019, 11(15), 4014; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154014 - 24 Jul 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5215
Abstract
Natural Protected Areas face the challenge of conciliating attractions with satisfaction of their different stakeholders without compromising their own resources. Marketing can play an important role to this challenge from a macromarketing perspective. No studies are found in the literature on the integral [...] Read more.
Natural Protected Areas face the challenge of conciliating attractions with satisfaction of their different stakeholders without compromising their own resources. Marketing can play an important role to this challenge from a macromarketing perspective. No studies are found in the literature on the integral assessment of marketing practices in Natural Protected Areas. For the first time, it proposes a marketing audit in Natural Protected Areas to fill that gap applying the Importance-Performance Analysis matrix, useful in strategic decisions, through interviews with directors of Natural Protected Areas. The main strengths, weaknesses, and deficits in the application of marketing are identified. The presence of a restricted and biased attitude towards marketing was noted among directors. In addition, the marketing behaviour is studied in two of the main social networks (Twitter/Facebook), comparisons were established in the USA, Spain, Italy and Mexico, identifying behavioural profiles in five groups in accordance with the 26 indicators under analysis. Full article
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