Search Results (179)

The Santurbán paramo is a sensitive high-mountain ecosystem exposed to pressures from extractive and agricultural activities, as well as increasing tourism. In response, this study presents a context-aware recommendation system designed to support sustainable tourism through the integration of deep neural networks and ontology-based semantic modeling. The proposed system delivers personalized recommendations—such as activities, accommodations, and ecological routes—by processing user preferences, geolocation data, and contextual features, including cost and popularity. The architecture combines a trained TensorFlow Lite model with a domain ontology enriched with GeoSPARQL for geospatial reasoning. All inference operations are conducted locally on Android devices, supported by SQLite for offline data storage, which ensures functionality in connectivity-restricted environments and preserves user privacy. Additionally, the system employs geofencing to trigger real-time environmental notifications when users approach ecologically sensitive zones, promoting responsible behavior and biodiversity awareness. By incorporating structured semantic knowledge with adaptive machine learning, the system enables low-latency, personalized, and conservation-oriented recommendations. This approach contributes to the sustainable management of natural reserves by aligning individual tourism experiences with ecological protection objectives, particularly in remote areas like the Santurbán paramo. Full article

Nomadic heritage villages constitute significant material cultural heritage. Under China’s cultural revitalization and rural development strategies, these villages face spatial degradation driven by tourism and urbanization. Current research predominantly employs isolated analytical approaches—space syntax often overlooks social dynamics while social network analysis (SNA) overlooks physical interfaces—hindering the development of holistic solutions for socio-spatial resilience. This study proposes a multi-scale integrated assessment framework combining social network analysis (SNA) and space syntax to systematically evaluate public space structures in traditional nomadic villages of Xinjiang. The framework provides scientific evidence for optimizing public space design in these villages, facilitating harmonious coexistence between spatial functionality and cultural values. Focusing on three heritage villages—representing compact, linear, and dispersed morphologies—the research employs a hierarchical “village-street-node” analytical model to dissect spatial configurations and their socio-functional dynamics. Key findings include the following: Compact villages exhibit high central clustering but excessive concentration, necessitating strategies to enhance network resilience and peripheral connectivity. Linear villages demonstrate weak systemic linkages, requiring “segment-connection point supplementation” interventions to mitigate structural elongation. Dispersed villages maintain moderate network density but face challenges in visual integration and centrality, demanding targeted activation of key intersections to improve regional cohesion. By merging SNA’s social attributes with space syntax’s geometric precision, this framework bridges a methodological gap, offering comprehensive spatial optimization solutions. Practical recommendations include culturally embedded placemaking, adaptive reuse of transitional spaces, and thematic zoning to balance heritage conservation with tourism needs. Analyzing Xinjiang’s unique spatial–social interactions provides innovative insights for sustainable heritage village planning and replicable solutions for comparable global cases. Full article

As climate change intensified water scarcity in Southern Europe, tourism-dependent regions such as Portugal’s Algarve faced growing pressure to adapt their water management systems. This study investigated how hotel groups in the Algarve have adopted and communicated water reuse technologies—specifically desalination and greywater recycling—under environmental, institutional, and reputational constraints. A comparative qualitative case study was conducted involving three hotel groups—Vila Vita Parc, Pestana Group, and Vila Galé—selected through purposive sampling based on organizational capacity and technology adoption stage. The analysis was supported by a supplementary mini-case from Mallorca, Spain. Publicly accessible documents, including sustainability reports, media coverage, and policy frameworks, were thematically coded using organizational environmental behavior theory and the OECD Principles on Water Governance. The results demonstrated that (1) higher organizational capacity was associated with greater maturity in water reuse implementation; (2) communication transparency increased alongside technological advancement; and (3) early-stage adopters encountered stronger financial, regulatory, and operational barriers. These findings culminated in the development of the Maturity–Communication–Governance (MCG) Framework, which elucidates how internal resources, stakeholder signaling, and institutional alignment influence sustainable infrastructure uptake. This research offered policy recommendations to scale water reuse in tourism through financial incentives, regulatory simplification, and public–private partnerships. The study contributed to the literature on sustainable tourism and decentralized climate adaptation, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6.4, 12.6, and 13. Full article

As the cradle of Jiangnan culture, Suzhou is home to a dense concentration of historical architectural heritage that is currently facing existential threats from rapid urbanization. This study aims to develop a spatial heritage corridor network for conservation and sustainable utilization. Using kernel density estimation, this study identifies 15 kernel density groups, along with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), to pinpoint clusters of historical architectural heritage and assess the involved resistance factors. Current Effective Conductance (CEC) theory is further applied to model spatial flow relationships among heritage nodes, leading to the delineation of 27 heritage corridors and revealing a spatial structure characterized by one primary core, one secondary core, and multiple peripheral zones. Based on 15 source points, six cultural relics-themed routes are proposed—three land-based and three waterfront routes—connecting historical sites, towns, and ecological areas. The study further recommends a resource management strategy centered on departmental collaboration, digital integration, and community co-governance. By integrating historical architectural types, settlement forms, and ecological patterns, the research builds a multi-scale narrative and experience system that addresses fragmentation while improving coordination and sustainability. This framework delivers practical advice on heritage conservation and cultural tourism development in Suzhou and the broader Jiangnan region. Full article

In the realm of recommender systems, the prediction of diverse customer preferences has emerged as a compelling research challenge, particularly for multi-state business organizations operating across various geographical regions. Collaborative filtering, a widely utilized recommendation technique, has demonstrated its efficacy in sectors such as e-commerce, tourism, hotel management, and entertainment-based customer services. In the item-based collaborative filtering approach, users’ evaluations of purchased items are considered uniformly, without assigning weight to the participatory data sources and users’ ratings. This approach results in the ‘relevance problem’ when assessing the generated recommendations. In such scenarios, filtering collaborative patterns based on regional and local characteristics, while emphasizing the significance of branches and user ratings, could enhance the accuracy of recommendations. This paper introduces a turnover-based weighting model utilizing a big data processing framework to mine multi-level collaborative filtering patterns. The proposed weighting model assigns weights to participatory data sources based on the turnover cost of the branches, where turnover refers to the revenue generated through total business transactions conducted by the branch. Furthermore, the proposed big data framework eliminates the forced integration of branch data into a centralized repository and avoids the complexities associated with data movement. To validate the proposed work, experimental studies were conducted using a benchmarking dataset, namely the ‘Movie Lens Dataset’. The proposed approach uncovers multi-level collaborative pattern bases, including global, sub-global, and local levels, with improved predicted ratings compared with results generated by traditional recommender systems. The findings of the proposed approach would be highly beneficial to the strategic management of an interstate business organization, enabling them to leverage regional implications from user preferences. Full article

In the context of global warming, polar tourism is developing rapidly, and the demand for polar cruise travel in the Northwest Passage continues to increase, while sea ice has long been a key factor limiting the development of polar cruise tourism. This study focuses on the operational risk of sea ice on cruise ships in the Northwest Passage (NWP), aiming to provide a scientific basis for ensuring the safety of cruise ship navigation and promoting the sustainable development of polar tourism. Based on ice data from 2015 to 2024, this study used the Polar Operational Limit Assessment Risk Indexing System (POLARIS) methodology recommended by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish three scenarios for the route of ice class IC cruise ships: light ice, normal ice, and heavy ice. The navigable windows were systematically analyzed and critical waters along the route were identified. The results indicate that the navigable windows for IC ice-class cruise ships under light ice conditions are from mid-July to early December, while the navigable period under normal ice conditions is only from mid- to late September, and navigation is not possible under heavy ice conditions. The study identified Larsen Sound, Barrow Strait, Bellot Strait and Eastern Beaufort Sea as critical waters on the NWP cruise route. Among them, Larsen Sound and Eastern Beaufort Sea have a more prominent impact on voyage scheduling because their navigation weeks overlap less with other waters. This study provides a new idea for the risk assessment of polar cruise ships in ice regions. The research results can provide an important reference for the safe operation of polar cruise ships in the NWP and the decision-making of relevant parties. Full article

This study examines the multifaceted impact of ecotourism and conservation initiatives on sustainable development in the Sobrarbe region of Spain, with a particular focus on the role of the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture (FCQ). Using a mixed-methods approach, including comprehensive document analysis and in-depth qualitative interviews, we investigate how ecotourism practices and land stewardship agreements contribute to local economic development, environmental conservation, and social well-being. Our findings suggest that while ecotourism has positively influenced the region’s development, significant challenges remain in balancing conservation efforts with tourism growth. The study provides nuanced insights into the complex interactions among conservation organizations, local communities, and tourism stakeholders, offering evidence-based recommendations for sustainable tourism development in rural mountain areas. By analysing the pioneering land stewardship agreement between the FCQ and the Aínsa-Sobrarbe municipality, we shed light on innovative governance models for sustainable regional development. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on social-ecological systems in mountain regions and provides practical implications for policymakers and conservation practitioners. Full article

Rural tourism plays a crucial role in promoting industrial revitalization in mountainous regions. Drawing inspiration from the site selection mechanisms of nature reserves, this study constructs a gap analysis framework tailored to rural tourism destinations, aiming to provide technical support for their spatial layout and systematic planning. By integrating a potential evaluation system based on tourism resources, market demand, and synergistic factors, the study identifies rural tourism priority zones and proposes a development typology and spatial optimization strategy across five provinces in Southwest China. The findings reveal: (1) First- and second-priority zones are primarily located in the core and periphery of provincial capitals and prefecture-level cities, while third-priority zones are concentrated in resource-rich areas of Yunnan and Guizhou and market-oriented areas of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi. (2) The Chengdu Plain emerges as the core region for rural tourism development, with hotspots clustered around Chengdu, northern and western Guizhou, central Chongqing, eastern Guangxi, and northwestern Yunnan, whereas cold spots are mainly situated in the western Sichuan Plateau and the Leshan–Liangshan–Zhaotong–Panzhihua–Chuxiong–Pu’er belt. (3) The alignment between tourism resources and rural tourism destinations is highest in Yunnan and Guizhou, while Chongqing exhibits the strongest match between destinations and tourism market potential and synergistic development conditions. Overall, 79.35% of rural tourism destinations in the region are situated within identified priority zones, with Chongqing, Guizhou, and Sichuan exhibiting the highest proportions. Based on the spatial mismatch between potential and existing destinations, the study delineates four development types—maintenance and enhancement, supplementation and upgrading, expansion, and reserve development—and offers regionally tailored planning recommendations. The proposed framework provides a replicable approach for spatial planning of rural tourism destinations in complex mountainous settings. Full article

Current tourism route recommendation systems often overemphasize popular destinations, thereby overlooking geographical accessibility between attractions and the experiential coherence of the journey. Leveraging multidimensional attribute perceptions derived from tourist reviews, this study proposes a Spatial–Semantic Integrated Model for Tourist Attraction Representation (SSIM-TAR), which holistically encodes the composite attributes and multifaceted evaluations of attractions. Integrating these multidimensional features with inter-attraction relationships, three relational metrics are defined and fused: spatial proximity, resonance correlation, and thematic-sentiment similarity, forming a Tourist Attraction Multidimensional Association Network (MAN-SRT). This network enables precise characterization of complex inter-attraction dependencies. Building upon MAN-SRT, the Tourism Sentiment Chain (TSC) model is proposed that incorporates geographical accessibility, associative resonance, and thematic-sentiment synergy to optimize the selection and sequential arrangement of attractions in personalized route planning. Results demonstrate that SSIM-TAR effectively captures the integrated attributes and experiential quality of tourist attractions, while MAN-SRT reveals distinct multidimensional association patterns. Compared with popular platforms such as “Qunar” and “Mafengwo”, the TSC approach yields routes with enhanced spatial efficiency and thematic-sentiment coherence. This study advances tourism route modeling by jointly analyzing multidimensional experiential quality through spatial–semantic feature fusion and by achieving an integrated optimization of geographical accessibility and experiential coherence in route design. Full article

Urban trails, as vital urban spaces that integrate historical context with contemporary life, play a central role in the rise of deep tourism and the “City Walk” phenomenon. Their spatial legibility positions them as distinctive narrative media, serving as a key channel for promoting urban sustainable development and enhancing citizens’ sense of well-being. However, existing research has yet to establish a comprehensive and systematic framework for evaluating the “spatial narrative” of urban trail systems. This study proposes a dual-perspective quantitative framework for evaluating a spatial narrative, combining objective spatial dimensions with human experiential data to identify strengths and potentials for improvement. The Southwest Regional Trail in Chongqing (comprising the Zhongshan Fourth Road Section, People’s Assembly Hall Section, and Datianwan Section) was used as a case study. First, multi-source spatial data were analyzed via space syntax and ArcGIS to evaluate narrative value from an objective spatial perspective. Next, in-depth questionnaire interviews were conducted to collect subjective data, which were analyzed in SPSS to produce a structured analysis of participant feedback. The findings indicate that (1) Among the three sections of the Southwest Regional Trail, the narrative potential zones rank highest in the Zhongshan Fourth Road Section, followed by the People’s Assembly Hall Section and the Datianwan Section. (2) Urban trails characterized by rich narrative themes and cultural activities are more attractive to visitors. (3) The qualities of narrative symbols, routes, and educational elements are the key factors that specifically influence visitors’ satisfaction with the narrative experience on urban trails. Based on these results, we propose targeted planning and design recommendations for the Southwest Regional Trail. The evaluation methodology and process proposed in this study can provide references for design professionals and relevant urban development departments in conducting spatial narrative quantitative evaluations and optimizing sustainability place-making strategies. Full article

This paper develops and presents a system for museums to evaluate behavioural and experiential gains of older adult visitors when engaging with digital interpretation exhibits. The evaluation system is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), utilising existing evaluation methods for museum visitors and refining them into an approach suitable for investigating older visitors. Innovatively, it incorporates the universal design (UD) in museum digital exhibits, injecting strong momentum into creating inclusive museums. An in-depth evaluation was conducted on seven exhibitions across three newly constructed Chinese cultural tourism museums with different digital characteristics, presenting the results and findings through eighty-eight digital interpretation exhibits. Qualitative and quantitative data provide a nuanced picture of digital interpretation and interaction from the perspective of older visitors. The results demonstrate the factors influencing older adults’ engagement with digital interpretation exhibits in museums and how digital interpretation items attract or deter older visitors’ engagement in complex exhibition environments. This study utilised universal design principles to identify the limitations and barriers in digital interpretation for older visitors, analysed the correlation between UD and digital attraction power, explored the reasons behind these outcomes, and identified design recommendations for inclusive museum digital interpretation. Full article

The Great Wall of China is a cultural monument of profound historical significance and a testament to the evolution of various historical periods. As a living heritage, it holds exceptional value. However, due to inadequate protection measures in recent years, numerous sections of the Great Wall have been subject to continuous degradation. While damage to its main structural components and explicit heritage elements has been widely acknowledged, the more critical issue lies in the ambiguous recognition and insufficient safeguarding of its implicit heritage elements. This study explores the composition and classification of protective elements associated with the Great Wall, proposing a framework that emphasizes the dual safeguarding of both its tangible structures and intangible cultural significance. Employing big data collection through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and questionnaire surveys, this research analyzes recent trends in the prioritization of heritage conservation efforts related to the Great Wall. Furthermore, by constructing a mathematical model based on the “grey relational analysis” method, the study classifies and stratifies various heritage elements to highlight the Wall’s core values and propose targeted protection strategies. The findings reveal that (1) certain regions possess considerable development potential and can be restored and planned as cultural tourism destinations; (2) conservation efforts should prioritize material restoration while preserving the intrinsic spiritual and cultural values; (3) a living heritage transmission strategy should underpin the overall protection framework. Ultimately, the study establishes a classification and grading system for conservation elements centered on the sustainable development of the Great Wall heritage. By concretely mapping the concept of living heritage protection onto the various protective elements of the Great Wall, this research offers valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing conservation practices. Full article

The monorail tourism transit system (MTTS) is a large-scale amusement facility. Currently, there is limited theoretical research on the vehicle–bridge coupling vibration and dynamic amplification factor (DAFs) of this system. The values specified in relevant standards are not entirely reasonable; for instance, the calculated value of the DAFs in the “Large-scale amusement device safety code (GB 8408-2018)” only takes speed into account and is set at 0.44 when the speed is between 20 and 40 km/h. This is overly simplistic and obviously too large. This paper aims to establish a reasonable expression of the DAFs for the MTTS and improve the design code of the industry. Firstly, using on-site trials of the project and the dynamics numerical simulation method, the dynamic response characteristics of the MTTS and the influencing factors of the DAFs were systematically analyzed. The rationality and accuracy of the model were verified. Secondly, combined with the joint simulation model, the dynamic influence mechanism of multifactor coupling on the DAFs was revealed. On this basis, the key regression parameters were selected by using the Pearson correlation coefficient method and the random forest algorithm, and the DAFs prediction model was constructed based on the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression theory. Finally, through cross-comparison of simulation data and specification verification, a recommended calculation expression of the DAFs for the MTTS was proposed. The research results show that the established prediction model can predict 94.50% of the variation information of the DAFs of the MTTS and pass the 95% confidence level and 0.05 significance test. The accuracy is high and relatively reasonable and can provide a reference for the design of the MTTS. Full article

This paper proposes a method for recommending parent–child travel destinations and planning travel routes tailored to children of different ages. The method inputs basic information about the attractions (such as ticket prices, geographical locations, opening hours, etc.) into the system database and intelligently recommends suitable attractions based on user-provided data, including the children’s age, travel time, and trip theme. The paper transforms the route planning problem into a Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) to optimize the travel route further. It presents an improved single-parent genetic algorithm based on sine chaos mapping (SCM-SPGA) to solve and optimize the shortest path for parent–child trips. Experimental results demonstrate that this algorithm has significant advantages in path planning accuracy and efficiency. The method is applied to a tourism dataset of Hainan, providing more personalized and age-appropriate attraction recommendations for tourists planning a parent–child trip to Hainan and optimizing the travel route. The research shows that the proposed method can effectively meet the personalized needs of parent–child travelers, significantly improving the overall travel experience by offering more tailored, efficient, and enjoyable trip-planning solutions. Full article

The objective of ensuring equal access to and enjoyment of tourism for the broadest spectrum of individuals, regardless of age or ability, is a fundamental right for all, as explicitly outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Nevertheless, notwithstanding the initiatives aimed at actualizing the aims and objectives of the Convention, the discrepancy between the supply and demand for accessibility remains considerably high in Italy. In fact, numerous accessibility issues persist in information, services, transportation, tourist destinations, accommodations, and various types of facilities and attractions. The inadequacy of long-term planning and the lack of a comprehensive perspective on accessibility further exacerbate the situation in Italy. In light of these considerations, this paper aims to examine, via a survey conducted on a sample of potential users, the challenges and opportunities for the development of inclusive forms of accessible tourism and to recommend a reference framework for best practices that encompasses, in addition to barriers, the elements that enhance accessibility and usability of cultural activities for individuals with disabilities, serving as a reference point to assist in the planning and governance of sustainable tourism policies. This paper aims to answer three fundamental research questions to improve the conditions of the Italian tourism system: What is the perception of people with disabilities regarding their ability to travel in Italy? What needs to be improved to achieve a good tourism experience for people with disabilities in Italy? Which parameters should be considered for proper planning of accessible and inclusive tourism in Italy? Full article