Tourism and Hospitality

Although place branding in cross-border (c-b) areas is challenging, various c-b areas with common eco-natural and cultural characteristics are popular tourist brands in their own right. The emergence of c-b areas as destinations is not surprising since international borders are often natural formations, which may be popular tourist attractions. Due to historical and political circumstances, the Greek–Albanian c-b area has not experienced tourism development. It bears a weak image, and although individual destinations can be found in both border areas, they do not currently form a single place brand. Thus, place branding that aims to enhance the c-b area’s attractiveness should start with building a single identity by finding common competitive characteristics upon which it can be based. This paper analyzes part of the ‘Culture Plus’ project, which aims to identify significant common eco-natural and cultural resources in the Greek–Albanian c-b area. The resources were documented using local visits, interviews, and consultations. The most significant ones were comparatively evaluated to identify the vital common assets that can support place branding efforts, with encouraging results regarding the potential branding of the unique hidden identity of the c-b area. Full article

From the second half of the 20th century, numerous railways, especially in industrial and mining areas, were abandoned for economic reasons. The activism of the “railfans”, who are fond of trains, has made it possible to set up voluntary associations that have been the lifeblood of the beginning of projects for the recovery of the historic railway heritage and the promotion of it in a touristic sense. This topic is worthy of attention, and during recent years it has been the focus of several research papers. A systematic literature review was performed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes) methodology. This tool is a minimal set of evidence-based elements aimed at helping authors to carry out a systematic literature review. This systematic literature review sought to consolidate knowledge on the subject. The research team formulated three research questions related to the dynamics of railway heritage recovery, the dynamics of railway tourism and the relationship between sustainability and railway tourism. The findings highlighted that the railway tourism process always originates from a project for the restoration of railway heritage, possibly maintaining authenticity. The voluntary associations, along with their “railfans”, are the main stakeholder, not only preserving the rail heritage but also developing railway tourism activities. The touristic railway could regenerate the local community, with positive benefits on the local economy. Many tourists could be attracted by railway tourism destinations in that they wish to live memorable experiences related to the nostalgia of the past. Full article

While the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and new variants emerge, destinations and cities look to tourism recovery, cautiously rebooting and re-opening borders. Since the start of the pandemic, dramatic lockdowns have been employed, resulting in dire economic and social consequences to the tourism and hospitality industry and creating the need for a more feasible and sustainable response in the post-pandemic era. Pandemic vigilance and resilience at the societal level have become key in pandemic preparedness. However, due to the complexity of managing COVID-19, no clear cross-disciplinary collaborative framework for tourism recovery has been developed. Cross-sector collaboration to collectively integrate resources, capabilities, and experiences should be prioritised to spearhead tourism recovery plans. With insight on public health, pandemic preparedness, and community access, we hypothesised that cross-industry collaboration between the tourism industry and the pharmacist profession is relevant to the measures adopted for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine this hypothesis, this study aimed to explore perceptions from key stakeholders in the tourism and the pharmacist sectors on cross-industry collaboration towards COVID-19 management and the “know-how” in developing, adopting, and advancing such a partnership. This exploratory study adopts and advances the ‘Four Cs’ conceptual framework of communication, cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. In terms of our hypothesis, interview responses with tourism executives and CPs confirm the framework’s suitability and the importance of an interdisciplinary collaborative approach between CPs and the tourism sector to craft a sustainable pathway to recovery from COVID-19 and future pandemic measures as borders re-open and international mobility increases. A tourism recovery strategy from this pandemic can occur more judiciously through a collaborative partnership with an extensive network of pharmacists within communities and popular tourism sites, as CPs have valuable healthcare resources and the ability to track and communicate healthcare alerts to tourism destination recovery efforts. Full article

The luxury segment of the hospitality sector has been growing worldwide. Luxury hospitality is about providing a unique experience for guests, and this type of experience requires having employees who understand the luxury culture and are trained at the highest level. Luxury hotels compete for the best talents, but the current pool of candidates for customer-facing and managerial positions within these establishments is limited. The purpose of this study was to identify skill gaps in Canada’s luxury hotels. Primary data were collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty luxury hotel managers and analyzed with NVivo 12. Respondents agreed about the skills required for brands to succeed in the luxury market, but they lamented the lack of qualified talents and the difficulty of training and retaining qualified collaborators. The results of the study point to the need to address the luxury skill gap in the hospitality sector, particularly in Canada. Recommendations to address this problem are proposed. Full article

Co-creation in place branding is used as an umbrella term for the complex brand meaning emerging through stakeholders’ participation in place activities, their contribution, collaborations and interchange of ideas and resources. Co-creation is often an aspiration for places to create and promote their brands collectively. In this context, storytelling—an old technique used in corporate marketing to instigate brand stakeholders’ participation—serves as a method which facilitates place brand co-creation through shared place stories. With the rise of online interactions, the chances of place stakeholders’ participation in brand meaning creation increase, and place stories are effective in allowing diverse place meanings to emerge from various stakeholders. However, when storytelling emerges as a marketing tactic, mostly from a top-down campaign, the stories are not always accepted by all place stakeholders, and they create contrasting brand meanings. The paper aims to investigate the benefits and risks of participation in “Many Voices One Town” (2018), a top-down campaign from Luton, UK, which used storytelling to instigate place brand co-creation. The campaign was created by the Luton Council with an external advertising agency. The campaign attempted to tackle the town’s segregation issues and foster community cohesion through the promotion of seven selected Lutonians’ stories about their diverse and multicultural experiences of living in Luton. The study employs a qualitative methodology to analyse the MVOT case study. Interviews with the council and participants in the campaign and netnographic data from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were used to gain an insight into residents’ participation in a top-down approach and examine the outcomes of co-creation. Residents’ participation in such a campaign shows numerous benefits but also risks for the place brand. The findings show that participation can sometimes intensify disputes about the town if people’s needs are not properly addressed. The study highlights the importance of open communication between all parties involved in the process, bringing into focus the need for careful coordination of top-down initiatives in line with stakeholders’ needs. It also demonstrates the ‘power of the people’ in the sense that stakeholder engagement with the shared stories led to negative outcomes that were not predicted by the Council. Full article

Place branding often builds upon gastro-cultural features. Yet, the convergence point between gastro-cultural place identity and the experience on offer could (and should) further benefit from contemporary studies in emerging fields, such as value co-creation and the identity-based approach to place branding. This study contributes towards this direction by examining the practices of relevant actors with main place branding authority. Drawing from their online information and presence, a thematic analysis of relevant brands in Greece and Turkey illustrates that operand and operant resource integration reflect the synergies developed between the gastronomic culture in, for, of the place. Further, actors’ intention to co-create the brand influences and is influenced by the brand. Theoretical and practical insights are derived from this study, which may direct future research and inform policymakers about sustainable, inclusive approaches. Full article

Climate change is impacting the distribution of climate resources upon which nature-based tourism and recreation depends. Accordingly, we examine the global distribution of climate resources from 1948 to 2016 using the Camping Climate Index (CCI), a composite index previously validated for camping and national parks visitation for 80% of the world’s major climate types found in the United States. Calculating the CCI globally, spatial and temporal analysis indicates that climate suitability differs greatly for nature-based tourism and that changes have occurred over the last 50 years in many destinations. Locations with higher latitudes and altitudes have primarily experienced shifts towards more favorable climate conditions. Conditions have worsened in tropical and subtropical regions such as central Africa, central Australia, and Southern Asia. Results demonstrate that the redistribution of global climate resources for nature-based tourism and recreation is primarily driven by warming temperatures and the increased frequency of extreme weather events in some regions. Study findings are of particular interest to destination managers and planners of outdoor locations susceptible to weather and climate change. Full article

Although a positive relationship between tourism and quality of life is the premise of using tourism to support biodiversity conservation, tourism scholars rarely assess the relationship between tourism and community livelihoods with rigorous empirical methods, even less so in African contexts. Focusing on communities in the Greater Virunga Landscape in Rwanda and Uganda, we conducted a household survey to acquire empirical data to test novel hypotheses about tourism’s influence on capital assets, household resiliency, and subjective wellbeing. Using inferential statistical analyses (e.g., analysis of variance, chi-square difference test, and independent sample t-tests), we compared the responses from 346 residents who have direct access to tourism livelihoods with responses collected from 224 residents not engaged in tourism. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest that tourism may not lead to dramatic differences in access to capital assets. However, we did discover moderate influences on household resiliency and subjective wellbeing. These intangible and subjective wellbeing outcomes of tourism-based livelihood programs are challenging to assess empirically. Yet, they may be among some of the most important from a human development standpoint. As a first effort to integrate three theoretical frameworks that have, to date, seen limited application in tourism research, this study has opened the door to further work at the intersections of capital assets, family resilience, and wellbeing theories. In conclusion, we argue that incentivizing the protection of local environments through tourism must be extended to other forms of capital, while also considering more nuanced manifestations of intangible wellbeing outcomes. As such, this paper makes a significant empirical contribution to the ongoing theoretical and practical debates about the tourism-conservation relationship. Full article

Social media has had a strong presence in many people’s lives over the last decade. In addition, social media platforms have allowed people to share opinions, provide advice on numerous factors, including where to visit, as well as to stay connected and maintain friendships. The hospitality and tourism industry, however, can make effective use of these powerful tools for marketing purposes, collaboration and information sharing, and service offerings. Reviewing social media followers’ behaviors and interests offers a wealth of information and valuable data for a variety of tourism organizations. This case study focuses on an analysis of the social networks applied to the fortified town of Fredrikstad in Norway. The data used in this research study were collected from the Facebook site of the tourist authority. The results of this research project demonstrate the strengths of applying a social network analysis to a dataset, which can aid in the strategic direction of a tourism destination. The conversations of the greatest interest can successfully be identified as well as the growth of the online network. This paper adds knowledge to the literature through the application of a social network analysis regarding the success of a tourism destination and its future potential. Full article

COVID-19 has doubtless generated a great negative impact in the tourism industry. The measures disposed by governments to contain the virus included strict lockdowns and the closure of borders and airspaces, without mentioning the imposition of social distancing. As a result of this, thousands of tourists were stranded abroad, without food or financial assistance. The recovery of the industry is slow, and gradually Europe and the US have returned to a new normal. In Argentina, rather, things have become worse. At the end of June, President Fernandez disposed a new border closure that left thousands of Argentineans stranded again. This case report focuses on the testimonies, fears and expectancies of those stranded tourists. Full article

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in tourism are increasingly communicating their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives via their websites to build a positive image and promote customer relationships. This study examined such CSR engagement and communications by tourism SMEs in Nepal based on qualitative analysis of website content and in-depth interviews. Google search engine was used to select SMEs, and textual data were extracted from their websites. Following data saturation, a review of twenty-five websites was initially compared, and the obtained information was subsequently evaluated with information provided through individual interviews. Overall, CSR activities were largely practiced at a philanthropic level, and to some extent, at an ethical level. SMEs were primarily focused on activities related to social and environmental issues within the communities in which they operate. The results of this exploratory study provide an initial assessment of CSR among tourism SMEs in Nepal and could assist tourism associations/organizations with initiatives. Full article

Drawing on data gathered through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document analysis at five-star hotels in UK and Germany, this paper examines the competing pressures driving waste generation and prevention at different stages in the food production and service cycle. Primary data indicated that senior managers recognised the potential savings that could be achieved by preventing food waste. Despite this, many wasteful practices were normalised within routine operations. This was partly attributed to the corporatised business model and brand strategy in which premium pricing and luxury experiential propositions potentially transformed food waste reduction strategies into sources of risk. Past research generally categorised food as being edible or inedible. In contrast, the terms usable/unusable are proposed and this paper discusses how corporatised practices and value propositions rendered usable foods unusable. It considers how this type of corporate system frames waste problems and thus solutions, leading to various consequences. The discussion also explores how those systems shaped the organisational culture and the agency of staff who engaged with the service cycle at and across multiple points. The findings of this paper are based on primary data collected from a small number of corporately governed luxury hotels. Consequently, the closing parts of this paper outline how the insights generated here could be applied to the study of alternative organisational arrangements and operational types. Full article

The aim of this study was to present strategic measures for the sustainability of exhibitions and fairs by examining the relationship between integrated marketing communication (IMC) and the customer behavior and recommendation intentions of the participants who attended golf exhibitions and fairs. To achieve this aim, we conducted a literature review of IMC to formulate a hypothesis; next, we administered a questionnaire to 256 participants at the exhibitions and fairs related to golf equipment. The results show that the two-way communication of the exhibition and fair was positive for the customer’s continuous purchase intention, purchase behavior, and long-term relationship orientation, and the purchase behavior and long-term relationship orientation had a positive effect on the continuous recommendation intention. Full article

In this study, we examined the difference in expenditure patterns between foreign resident visitors and foreign tourist visitors at a nature-based destination. We also examined the effects of sociodemographic profiles, travel characteristics, and perceived importance on expenditure patterns during off-peak and peak seasons. Generally, the results revealed low average daily expenditure compared with other nature-based destinations. Whereas no differences were observed during the off-peak season, the sociodemographic characteristics, travel characteristics, perceived importance, and expenditure pattern differed between foreign resident and foreign tourist visitors during the peak season. These results suggest that patterns of expenditure and perceived importance of foreign visitors are influenced by the seasonality of a nature-based destination. On the other hand, foreign resident visitors and foreign tourist visitors differ in their characteristics, perceived importance of destination attributes, and expenditure patterns, particularly during the peak season. Longer periods of residence in the host country might result in foreign resident visitors becoming local visitors. Our findings contribute to practical knowledge of the segmentation of foreign visitors at nature-based destinations. Full article

In recent years, the use of crowdsourcing has positively transformed the way geographic information is collected, stored and analyzed. Many countries have promoted and funded research into the potential of using crowdsourcing in various fields of governance. This paper focuses on developing a methodology for fast, low-cost and reliable coastal management for touristic purposes in Greece. In particular, a group of a professional surveyor have developed the methodology and trained two volunteers to collect a variety of data points of interest about a public coastal zone, such as the area size of free and unused public space, rocky areas, parking spaces (organized or not), land use types, build up and green areas, municipal lighting, pedestrian crossing points, beach umbrellas, path routes, street furniture, etc. A pilot case study was compiled for a part of the Athenian Riviera to check the methodology. Derived conclusions point out that the developed methodology may be successfully used for managing the 16,000 km length of the coastal zone of Greece for touristic purposes. Considerations for further improvements to the methodology are given. Full article

The UNWTO’s discourse has focused on managing the effects of COVID-19 on tourism mobility since the outbreak was taken over by the WHO, as tourism is prominent amongst the hardest hit sectors. Emanating from the UNWTO as one of the dominant stakeholders in tourism discourse construction, an interesting component is the new meaning attributed to ‘responsible tourism’, which coincides with severe sanitary measures in this moment. Through critical discourse analysis and the theoretical framework offered by Iris Marion Young on responsibility for justice, this article will first demonstrate how the reappropriation of the term is in line with the UNWTO’s neoliberal perspective on tourism. The result is the promotion of sanitary measures for the protection of tourism as a consumer industry, rather than for the protection of the individuals involved. It is also cementing the pedestal on which the UN agency places the tourist-consumer, namely through the International Code for the Protection of Tourists project. This paper closes with thoughts on how the emerging dominant discourse on responsible tourism is internalized by tourism stakeholders as the new normal, which would gain in being explored through the lens of Foucault’s work on the concept of biopolitics and the neoliberal subject. Full article

To address the personalization of customer service in four-star hotels in Cuba, this research takes up the precepts of non-verbal communication and Customer Relationship Management. The Systemic Method and its treatment through the Soft Systems Methodology are applied. With information obtained from the Sol Cayo Guillermo hotel, belonging to the Jardines del Rey tourist center, in Cuba, a grouping of the essential elements in customer satisfaction generated with the use of Computational Intelligence algorithms was used. In the end, we introduce a training program for the personalization of customer service based on the non-verbal communication system to enhance service in four-star hotels in Cuba. As a main result, the experts agree that the proposed training program will have a positive impact on the worker–client communication relationship to increase customer profitability in four-star hotels in Cuba. Full article

This study empirically examines the impact of the tourism endowments, institution quality, and its sub-components on inbound tourists in the Association of Southeast Asia Nation (ASEAN) member states using the fixed-effect model and panel data set from 2007–2017. The results show that the tourism endowment index and institution quality are essential factors that encourage inbound tourists to visit individual ASEAN member states. I further examine inbound tourists’ responses to each sub-component of institution quality. I corroborate that most of the sub-components of institution quality play an essential role in promoting inbound tourism in individual ASEAN member states. Other variables, such as China’s GDP per capita, foreign direct investment (FDIs), and single-entry visa schemes, show positive and significant impacts on inbound tourists in individual ASEAN member states. Therefore, these results aid the government and the policymakers in ASEAN member states to provide additional, appropriate tourism strategic development plans and policies. Full article

Increased demand by dive tourists for high-quality underwater wreck sites requires managers to balance heritage conservation and tourism at these vulnerable sites to ensure quality diving experiences while protecting underwater cultural heritage. Integral to effective management is a comprehensive understanding of wreck diver characteristics, motivations, and attitudes. This paper reports the outcomes of an international survey of 724 wreck divers including demographics, dive experience, motivations to wreck dive and attitudes to underwater cultural heritage protection. Wreck divers are motivated to see historic shipwrecks, artefacts, and marine life. Most are generally supportive of management controls to protect underwater cultural heritage. Conceptual models of wreck divers’ motivations and attitudes were developed to illustrate nuanced complexities in motivations and attitudes, which can inform management strategies to support operational decisions and destination marketing. Full article