Search Results (608)

The impact of tourism on Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) in Patagonia is a complex issue that requires a balanced approach between conservation and sustainable tourism development. While tourism in the region can bring significant economic benefits, it can also have a negative impact on the penguins by disrupting nesting behavior and chick rearing, and even increasing the risk of disease and predation. We examined a comparative analysis of scientific papers on the impact of tourism on Magellanic penguins in two breeding colonies in Argentinean Patagonia, which have been visited for 10 to 50 years and whose visitor numbers range from 10,000 to 120,000 per year. We analyzed different physiological parameters (i.e., immunological, hematological, biochemical, and stress parameters) and behavioral respond (alternate head turns) in adult birds and chicks in these colonies. Although the results suggest that Magellanic penguins have adapted well to the presence of tourists in their breeding colonies, we documented changes in certain physiological parameters that indicate chronic stress due to high exposure to tourism. It is important to promote sustainable tourism in Patagonia that not only minimizes these negative impacts but also improves the protection of the penguins and their habitat. This includes the creation of new nature reserves, environmental education, and the regulation of tourism activities. Implementing responsible tourism practices can ensure economic benefits while protecting the well-being and health of penguin populations. The combination of increased tourist awareness and concrete conservation measures can protect not only the Magellanic penguins but also the natural wealth of the entire Patagonia region. Full article

To avoid tourism market failure caused by inappropriate development strategies, a study was conducted on the travel preferences of Generation Z, the future tourism market. The study found that tourism has shifted from comfortable, tranquil, and easily accessible areas to areas with unique views, extreme topography, proximity to nature, and instagrammable features. This shift reflects tourists’ responses and motivations. This study used a mixed-methods approach, involving 28 tourism managers and 147 Generation Z tourists. Quantitative methods, such as questionnaires, examined tourism motivations through push and pull factors, while in-depth interviews, a qualitative method, examined shifts in the tourism space. The results of this study demonstrate a shift away from the classical view that younger generations’ tourism behavior is predominantly hedonistic and consumptive toward an experience-oriented, nature-connected orientation, aligned with the concept of eco-experiential tourism. Rather than indicating a uniform or definitive shift in reflection, this tendency highlights the growing importance of experiential, cultural, and digital values in Generation Z’s travel preferences. Theoretically, the study contributes to refining existing perspectives by emphasizing the social, technological, and ecological dimensions shaping these preferences. In practice, the findings underscore the need for tourism policies that integrate nature conservation, digital innovation, and the strengthening of local culture to support sustainable destinations. Full article

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart technologies is transforming hospitality operations, yet guest acceptance remains uneven, shaped by utilitarian, experiential, ethical, and cultural evaluations. This study develops and empirically tests a multicomponent framework to explain how these factors jointly influence two behavioral outcomes: whether AI-enabled features affect hotel choice and whether guests are willing to pay a premium. A cross-sectional survey of 689 hotel guests in Tirana, Albania, an emerging hospitality market and rapidly growing tourist destination in the Western Balkans, was analyzed using cumulative link models, partial proportional-odds models, nonlinear and interaction extensions, and binary robustness checks. Results show that prior experience with smart or AI-enabled hotels, higher awareness, and trust in AI, especially trust in responsible data handling, consistently increase both acceptance and willingness to pay. Perceived value, operationalized through the breadth of identified benefits and desired features, also exhibits robust positive effects. In contrast, privacy concerns selectively suppress strong acceptance, particularly financial willingness, while cultural–linguistic fit and support for human–AI collaboration contribute positively but modestly. Interaction analyses indicate that trust can mitigate concerns about reduced personal touch. Open-ended responses reinforce these patterns, highlighting the importance of privacy, human interaction, and staff–AI coexistence. Overall, findings underscore that successful AI adoption in hospitality requires aligning technological innovation with ethical transparency, experiential familiarity, and cultural adaptation. Full article

This paper portrays both how indigenous people reframe indigeneity as a local defense against tourism politics through active participation rather than passive performance, and how touristic actors redefine Indigeneity in tourism marketing through visual depletion and depiction in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. The research adopts an ‘otherness’ vs. ‘belongingness’ approach to question the dual position of tourism promotion in the context of indigeneity. Focusing on three research sites in the two districts of CHT, it employs ethnographic analysis of eighty-eight in-depth interviews and three focus group discussions, and netnographic analysis of twenty-five tourist blogs and posts and reviews of six travel websites. The findings unearth that the construction of indigenous ‘otherness’ invokes the reproduction of stereotypes such as ‘primitivism’ and ‘exoticism’. In contrast, indigeneity serves as a local mechanism to control the representation of exogenous agents in opposition to such categorization. The research contributes to reckoning indigeneity as a defensive mechanism for self-visualization in response to one-sided representations of indigenous lifeworlds. Full article

In recent years, many locales featuring therapeutic landscapes have seen a rise in health tourism. Existing scholarship tends to either concentrate on specific types of landscape or analyze human emotional experiences separately, often overlooking how therapeutic landscape experiences arise from interactions among human and non-human actors. This study focuses on the relationship between tourists and non-human actors (plants such as rice and lotus leaves, etc.) through immersive interaction. This research is built on critical plant theory and draws on a case study of Xixiang Rural Garden, Erlang Town, China, to examine the co-evolution of therapeutic landscape experience and health tourism and its inherent dynamism. Utilizing qualitative methods, data were collected between October 2024 and September 2025 through participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and policy document analysis, involving diverse stakeholders, including local government officials, project designers, villagers, and tourists. From a micro-level empirical perspective, the study examines the co-evolution of therapeutic landscape experiences and health tourism and its underlying dynamics. The results show that visitors’ therapeutic experiences deepen through a cyclical process of “therapeutic spatial practices–relational negotiations–experiential transformation.” Key mechanisms driving this process include plant agency, cross-cultural dialogue, and multisensory engagement, which collectively facilitate the transition from initial sensory perceptions to deeper ecological awareness and multispecies relations. Based on micro-level empirical analysis, this study offers concrete policy insights for local governments seeking to promote the sustainable development of therapeutic tourism. In response to practical challenges, specific pathways are proposed: constructing plant-led symbiotic environments, establishing multisensory activity mechanisms, and adopting community-driven management models. These recommendations provide practical guidance for enhancing therapeutic landscape experiences and promoting the sustainable advancement of rural health tourism. Full article

Sacred heritage landscapes face significant challenges in engaging Generation Z tourists. To understand their visual processing and emotional responses, this study grounded in Cognitive Appraisal Theory (CAT), employed a mixed-methods approach with Chinese youth. Study 1 (N = 35) uses eye-tracking to examine the visual attention of Gen Z to different sacred heritage types, revealing that natural sacred sites yield the highest First Fixation Duration (FFD) and Average Fixation Duration (AFD), alongside stronger subjective preferences—highlighting the role of biophilia and perceptual fluency. Study 2 constructs a moderated mediation model with a questionnaire (N = 300), identifying a “Novelty → Awe → Place Attachment” pathway and the moderating role of mindfulness. The research identifies the specific visual processing patterns of Gen Z and provides a psychological model for place attachment, offering empirical insights for designing intergenerationally inclusive heritage landscapes. Full article

Based on multi-seasonal surveys (2020–2022) in Beihai Silver Beach, this study examined phytoplankton community dynamics and environmental drivers. Results showed persistent diatom dominance, with Skeletonema costatum as the predominant species and a major bloom in autumn 2021. Species richness peaked in summer and was lowest in winter, while abundance hotspots were associated with the Fengjia River estuary. Generalized Additive Models identified reactive phosphate as the primary driver, exhibiting nonlinear relationships with species richness (R² = 0.91) and diversity (R² = 0.436). Dissolved oxygen also had significant nonlinear effects. A counterintuitive positive correlation between lead concentration and species richness highlighted complex stressor interactions. This study emphasizes phosphorus control for eutrophication mitigation and demonstrates GAMs’ utility in detecting nonlinear ecological responses, supporting science-based management of coastal ecosystems. Full article

Nighttime tourism has become a key driver of urban nighttime economic development. The nighttime tourism experiencescape (NTE)—comprising elements such as atmospheric lighting landscapes, culturally distinctive night markets, and diverse entertainment formats—creates an environment markedly distinct from daytime settings. This NTE significantly influences tourist experiences and contributes critically to the sustainable development of urban destinations. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework, this study investigates how the NTE shapes tourist loyalty. Empirical results indicate that the effect of the NTE on tourist loyalty is primarily mediated by place attachment, with place dependence demonstrating a stronger mediating effect than place identity. In the direct pathway, only the socio-symbolic dimension of the NTE exerts a significant positive impact on tourist loyalty. The study offers both theoretical and practical contributions: it reveals the mechanisms that influence tourist loyalty in nocturnal contexts and offers actionable insights into the sustainable management of nighttime tourism in urban destinations. Full article

The present research examines how employees perceive their firms’ CSR initiatives that ultimately translate into desired attitudes and behaviors, i.e., employee environmental commitment (EEC) and knowledge sharing (KS) at the workplace, by underpinning social identity theory. However, when do undesired working conditions, i.e., Perception of Politics (POP), adversely influence these desired outcomes? We deliberately selected 45 firms in the services and manufacturing sectors of Pakistan operating in larger metropolitan cities and prevalent tourist destinations, and actively participating in CSR activities. Thereafter, three self-administered surveys were conducted by employing a time-lagged design with two temporal breaks. A total of 655 surveys were distributed among middle managers across selected firms. Accordingly, it is found that employees who strongly identify with their organizations tend to align their personal values with organizational sustainability efforts and actively participate in environmentally responsible practices. They also demonstrate a greater willingness to share knowledge and enhance the organization’s collective intelligence. However, when employees perceive a high level of political behavior within the organization, their trust in its ethical standards diminishes, leading to various negative attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. This research contributed in two ways to the existing literature: (a) by examining the employees’ understandings of firms’ CSR engagements and their trickle-down effect on EEC and KS, (b) and studying when POP adversely effects the above relationship. Full article

This mixed-methods study examines how cultural heritage identity and co-creation value influence the tourist heritage experience in Prenggan Tourism Village, Yogyakarta, particularly focusing on local wisdom’s role as a mediator of these effects. This study was conducted in two sequential phases: the qualitative phase explored community narratives, cultural practices, and co-creation activities through interviews and observations, while the quantitative phase validated these insights using survey data collected over the past year from 208 domestic tourists. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the reliability and validity of the results and evaluate the hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that both cultural heritage identity and co-creation value significantly strengthen local wisdom, which in turn enhances the depth and authenticity of the tourist heritage experience. This study demonstrates that local wisdom serves as a bridge between cultural identity and visitor engagement, promoting immersive and meaningful experiences. This research aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): it contributes to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by supporting local livelihoods through tourism, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by preserving cultural heritage and empowering local communities, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by fostering sustainable and culturally respectful tourism practices. The findings contribute theoretical insights to the heritage-based experiential co-creation literature and offer practical implications for policymakers and destination managers aiming to enhance community-based tourism sustainability. Full article

The significance of organizational psychology within the hospitality sector has garnered increasing scholarly attention. This study seeks to examine the contextual effects of green organizational climate in international tourist hotels through a three-level analytical framework. Specifically, it investigates the influence of organizational-level factors (green organizational climate), peer-level dynamics (workplace friendship), and individual-level attributes (Brilliant Quotient (BQ)) on employee job satisfaction. Empirical data were obtained from 68 international tourist hotels, comprising 623 supervisor surveys and 6230 employee questionnaires. The findings indicate that (1) employees’ excellence competency, supervisors’ emphasis on the universality of workplace friendships, and responsibility-oriented goals exert a direct influence on employee job satisfaction; (2) the universality of workplace friendship significantly moderates the relationship between excellence, execution capability, and job satisfaction; (3) responsibility goals, reward systems, and decision-making structures function as critical moderating variables; and (4) responsibility goals directly affect supervisors’ prioritization of workplace friendship. Full article

Understanding destination image perceptions is critical for tourism destinations seeking to maintain competitive advantage and foster visitor loyalty. While the traditional literature suggests that first-time and repeat visitors differ significantly in their cognitive and affective destination image perceptions due to experiential differences, emerging evidence from destinations with established branding challenges these conventional assumptions. Thailand, as a globally prominent destination with sustained branding initiatives since 1998, provides an ideal context for examining whether visitor experience moderates destination image formation and loyalty outcomes. This study investigates differences in cognitive and affective destination image perceptions and destination loyalty between first-time and repeat international travellers to Thailand, applying the cognitive–affective–behavioural (CAB) model to examine how these constructs influence revisit and recommendation intentions across visitor segments. Data were collected from 392 international tourists visiting three major southern coastal destinations in Thailand (Phuket, Krabi, and Phang-Nga) through face-to-face surveys using purposive sampling. The sample comprised 185 first-time travellers and 207 repeat visitors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with multigroup analysis was employed to examine structural relationships and test for significant differences between visitor cohorts using parametric, Welch–Satterthwaite, and permutations tests. Contrary to theoretical expectations, multigroup analysis revealed no statistically significant differences between first-time and repeat travellers across all examined pathways (all permutation p-values > 0.05). Both groups demonstrated equivalent perceptions regarding how cognitive image influences affective image, and how these dimensions affect revisit and recommendation intentions. Affective image emerged as the dominant predictor of destination loyalty for both segments, while cognitive image primarily served as an enabler of emotional responses. These findings challenge traditional assumptions about experiential differences between visitor types suggesting that mature destinations with consistent long-term branding may achieve perceptual uniformity that transcends direct experience. Destination marketing organizations should implement unified rather than segmented strategies, prioritizing emotional engagement mechanisms over rational attribute promotion to cultivate destination loyalty across all visitor segments. However, these findings are specific to coastal leisure destination and may not fully generalize to other destination types. Full article

This study aims to identify the variables that influence revisit intention and the theories most frequently employed in related research. This research adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, encompassing the identification, screening, and synthesis of articles from the Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Emerald databases. The results indicate that customer satisfaction, destination image, experience, and service quality emerge as the most dominant variables. At the same time, constructs such as electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), place identity, and accessibility receive comparatively little scholarly attention. Moreover, the Theory of Planned Behavior constitutes the most commonly applied theoretical framework, followed by the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), and Cognitive Appraisal Theory. These findings reveal research gaps that provide a foundation for future conceptual model development. The study offers both theoretical and practical contributions toward strengthening strategies for fostering tourist loyalty. Full article

This study examines how geopolitical uncertainty (GEOUN) influences domestic touristic purchase intention (TPI) through consumer ethnocentrism (CETH), consumer xenocentrism (CXEN), and touristic motivation (TMOT) in the Dominican Republic, a tourism-dependent developing economy. Integrating insights from uncertainty-identity theory (UIT), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and consumer culture theory (CCT), we propose that macro-level geopolitical instability triggers identity-driven and motivational responses that shape consumer travel decisions. Using survey data from 374 Dominican consumers, we find that GEOUN significantly increases ethnocentric attitudes and touristic motivation, which in turn boost domestic travel intention. Touristic motivation emerges as the strongest predictor of TPI and serves as a key mediator linking uncertainty and identity-based factors to travel intention. However, xenocentrism does not significantly predict travel intention, revealing a gap between aspirational foreign affinity and actual choices under uncertainty. These findings extend consumer behavior theory by highlighting how identity-protective and motivational mechanisms shape decision-making under threat. Practically, the results suggest that in volatile environments, tourism marketing should emphasize national belonging, emotional security, and cultural pride to position domestic tourism as both an economic stabilizer and a psychological resource. Full article

Wildlife viewing has long been a central feature of tourism. However, growing concerns over the welfare of animals involved have raised critical questions about human management and the use of wildlife. In response, scholars have developed frameworks to assess and guide the operations of animal-based attractions. This paper applies such a framework to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, empirically examining visitor perceptions of animal welfare management practices. Drawing on survey data from over 1000 visitors, the study finds that, overall, tourists hold positive evaluations of the Base’s governance, welfare, and conservation practices. However, these perceptions are influenced by factors such as prior exposure to panda-related social media and individual knowledge of animal welfare, highlighting the role of mediated experiences in shaping visitor judgments. The findings underscore the need for further research on ethical wildlife tourism practices and suggest that engaging and empowering tourists—through education, participatory evaluation, and digital platforms—can enhance both public awareness and the effectiveness of conservation and welfare initiatives. Full article