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Tourism and Hospitality
Special Issues
The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism
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The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism

A special issue of Tourism and Hospitality (ISSN 2673-5768).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 5927

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sanja Kovačić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: tourism experience; memorable experience; tourist behaviour; psychology in tourism; destination management and marketing; destination branding
Dr. Aleksandra Tešin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia
Interests: tourism experience; memorable experience; tourist behaviour; tourism de-velopment; destination competitiveness; destination marketing and man-agement; sustainable development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Experience has become one of the most valuable components of the tourism industry. Nowadays, people no longer search for typical tourism products and services but rather for the distinctive and novel experiences. What tourists experience greatly influences their perceptions, level of satisfaction, likelihood of returning, and future behavior. Offering high-quality, unique, authentic, and memorable experiences for visitors is recognized as an essential strategy for achieving a long-term competitive advantage with valuable benefits for both consumers and service providers. The visitor experience serves as both an indicator of success and a strategic resource that encourages development, innovation, loyalty, and market differentiation.

The tourist experience is acknowledged as one of the key factors fostering competitiveness and sustainability at all levels, from entire destinations to specific entities such as hotels, museums, attractions, events, activities, tours, and other tourism-related elements. This Special Issue seeks to advance understanding of the mechanisms through which tourist experiences influence traveler behavior and elevate visitor satisfaction while simultaneously generating enduring value in tourism and hospitality. This Special Issue explores the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the tourism experience, reflecting current theoretical developments, empirical findings, and practical innovations. The collection of articles aims to highlight how tourism experiences are increasingly shaped by digital technologies, sustainability concerns, cultural authenticity, and evolving tourist motivations. Through theoretical and empirical research, we aim to expand knowledge about tourism experience, including its antecedents and outcomes, the measurement and management of the experience, enhancement strategies, and its role in development and capacity building. We welcome original papers on different approaches to the concept of tourism experience, from both the standpoint of tourism providers and of visitors.

Dr. Sanja Kovačić
Dr. Aleksandra Tešin
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Tourism and Hospitality is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1400 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

  • tourism experience
  • memorable experience
  • authentic experience
  • competitiveness
  • tourist behavior
  • destination marketing and management
  • destination branding
  • tourism development
  • sustainable development
  • smart tourism and hospitality

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 876 KB  
Article
Tourist Perception of Sustainable Community-Based Tourism: A Structural Model of Authenticity, Integral Sustainability and Ethical Co-Design
by María del Carmen Avendaño-Rito, Sandra Nelly Leyva-Hernández, Paola Miriam Arango-Ramírez, Eduardo Cruz-Cruz and Adrián Martínez-Vargas
Tour. Hosp. 2026, 7(5), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp7050127 - 2 May 2026
Viewed by 391
Abstract
Sustainable Community-Based Tourism (SCBT) has been predominantly assessed from residents’ perspectives, leaving unexplored how tourists perceive and validate community sustainability. This study analyzes the influence of three SCBT dimensions, authenticity and community empowerment, integral sustainability, and ethical co-design, on tourist experience. Using Partial [...] Read more.
Sustainable Community-Based Tourism (SCBT) has been predominantly assessed from residents’ perspectives, leaving unexplored how tourists perceive and validate community sustainability. This study analyzes the influence of three SCBT dimensions, authenticity and community empowerment, integral sustainability, and ethical co-design, on tourist experience. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed 341 responses from Mexican tourists with experience in indigenous community destinations in Oaxaca. Results show that integral sustainability is the strongest predictor of tourist experience, followed by ethical co-design. Notably, authenticity and community empowerment exhibit a significant inverse relationship, suggesting tensions between genuine local governance and visitor expectations. These findings position tourists as external validators of SCBT and challenge the linear authenticity–experience relationship assumed in classic literature, highlighting the need for heritage interpretation strategies that mediate this interaction. The study provides evidence from underrepresented Latin American indigenous contexts, addressing theoretical and geographical gaps in sustainable tourism research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism)
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16 pages, 326 KB  
Article
Identifying Brand Association Patterns Across the Psychological Continuum Model Stages: The Case of Winter Sports
by Thomas Karagiorgos, Apostolia Ntovoli, Olga Polyakova, Anna-Christina Athanasiou, Yannis Lianopoulos and Kostas Alexandris
Tour. Hosp. 2026, 7(4), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp7040111 - 17 Apr 2026
Viewed by 391
Abstract
The positive economic, social, and environmental influences of the active sport tourism market are well documented today. This study aimed to map brand association patterns across the different stages of the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) within the context of winter skiing. The PCM [...] Read more.
The positive economic, social, and environmental influences of the active sport tourism market are well documented today. This study aimed to map brand association patterns across the different stages of the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) within the context of winter skiing. The PCM was used as the theoretical framework to categorize participants into stages according to their skiing involvement levels. The data was collected from recreational skiers at two major ski resorts in Greece. Participants were classified into the PCM stages. The findings revealed that associations with the activity significantly discriminated against PCM stages. Product delivery associations were salient only at the Attraction stage, indicating the importance of functional evaluations for novice participants. In contrast, tradition and peer acceptance associations consistently predicted membership across all stages, highlighting their enduring symbolic and social relevance. Escape-related associations were diminished in higher commitment levels, whereas importance and affective associations emerged as key predictors in the Attachment and Allegiance stages. The study extends the PCM by integrating brand association theory in the context of sport tourism and offers practical implications for stage-specific branding strategies in participatory sports services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism)
18 pages, 2645 KB  
Article
Determining Factors of Tourism Resilience in the Face of Global Crises: Adaptability and Competitiveness
by Juanita Angélica Monroy Mongua and Luz Natalia Tobón Perilla
Tour. Hosp. 2026, 7(4), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp7040096 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 889
Abstract
This study examines the determinants of tourism resilience and recovery following global crises using a comparative cross-country approach. A composite Tourism Resilience Index (TRI) is constructed based on post-crisis recovery in tourism employment, tourism GDP and international arrivals, and its determinants are analyzed [...] Read more.
This study examines the determinants of tourism resilience and recovery following global crises using a comparative cross-country approach. A composite Tourism Resilience Index (TRI) is constructed based on post-crisis recovery in tourism employment, tourism GDP and international arrivals, and its determinants are analyzed through descriptive, correlational and exploratory multivariate regression analysis. The results reveal significant heterogeneity in resilience trajectories across countries, indicating that income level alone does not explain recovery patterns. Institutional and structural factors, including the degree of economic liberalization and market composition, play a critical role in shaping post-crisis tourism performance. These findings contribute to the literature on tourism resilience by providing empirical evidence with policy implications for improving adaptive capacity in tourism-dependent economies. Furthermore, the results highlight the multidimensional nature of tourism resilience and provide evidence-based insights for the design of differentiated policy strategies aimed at strengthening the sector’s capacity to withstand future global crises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism)
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20 pages, 313 KB  
Article
Employee Perceptions of Humanistic Management: A Path to Easing Hotel Labor Shortages
by Yuan Liang, Christof Lichtenwagner, Michal K. Lemański and Casey Watters
Tour. Hosp. 2026, 7(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp7020035 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1797
Abstract
The hotel sector is widely perceived as offering poor working conditions, contributing to persistent labor shortages within the industry. Transforming management practices in line with humanistic management principles has been suggested as one way to address these challenges. However, limited research has examined [...] Read more.
The hotel sector is widely perceived as offering poor working conditions, contributing to persistent labor shortages within the industry. Transforming management practices in line with humanistic management principles has been suggested as one way to address these challenges. However, limited research has examined how hotel employees themselves perceive humanistic management relative to more traditional managerial practices and other approaches used to attract and motivate staff. This scoping study addresses this gap by surveying hotel employees in Austria, a tourism-intensive economy, to assess the perceived value of humanistic management practices. The findings show that although adopting humanistic management alone cannot fully resolve issues related to employee attraction and retention, it nonetheless has a significant positive effect on employees’ perceptions of employer attractiveness. Several humanistic practices valued by employees can be implemented without substantial increases in operational costs. These results suggest that hotel managers, even in data-driven decision environments, should integrate humanistic management practices while maintaining competitive remuneration. For policymakers in tourism-dependent destinations, the findings highlight the need to strengthen regulations that encourage more humanistic working conditions in hotels, thereby improving the overall quality of employment and enhancing the sector’s long-term attractiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism)
25 pages, 1414 KB  
Article
Tourist Perceptions and Preferences Regarding Traditional Food in Vojvodina’s Hospitality Sector (R. Serbia)
by Velibor Ivanović, Stefan Šmugović, Bojana Kalenjuk Pivarski, Tatjana Peulić, Dragana Novaković and Nikola Maravić
Tour. Hosp. 2025, 6(5), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6050267 - 5 Dec 2025
Viewed by 1264
Abstract
Traditional foods (TFs) represent a key component of regional cultural identity and gastronomic heritage, particularly within the hospitality sector. The growing interest of tourists in authentic, locally sourced and sustainable food underscores the importance of understanding the perceptual and socio-demographic factors that shape [...] Read more.
Traditional foods (TFs) represent a key component of regional cultural identity and gastronomic heritage, particularly within the hospitality sector. The growing interest of tourists in authentic, locally sourced and sustainable food underscores the importance of understanding the perceptual and socio-demographic factors that shape their preferences and choices regarding TFs. The aim of this study is to identify and explain the factors that influence tourist attitudes toward dishes prepared with TFs in the hospitality sector, as well as to examine the extent to which socio-demographic characteristics predict tourists’ purchasing decisions. For this purpose, the Tourist Perception and Preferences Model in the Context of Traditional Foods (TPP-TF model) and the Perceptual Factors Scale for Traditional Food Consumption (PFS-TFC) were developed. The research was conducted on a sample of 507 respondents in the A.P. Vojvodina (Republic of Serbia), employing both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, which identified the following three key factors: socio-cultural, ecological, and economic. The results of the logistic regression analysisshowed that income level and place of residence significantly influenced the decision to purchase dishes based on traditional foods (TFs). Tourists with higher income levels were substantially more likely to purchase TFs, highlighting the role of economic affordability in shaping consumer choices. Conversely, individuals residing in urban areas showed a significantly lower likelihood of purchasing TFs compared to rural respondents, suggesting that traditional food consumption remains more rooted in rural environments and is closely associated with cultural proximity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Power of Experience: Competitiveness, Engagement and Sustainable Tourism)
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