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This study investigates the collaborative supervision strategies of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in the hospitality and tourism industry, focusing on managing risks in GAI-based travel recommendations. Using evolutionary game theory and system dynamics, a tripartite model is developed, involving the government, GAI companies, and tourists. Five evolutionarily stable strategies (E1, E5, E6, E7, E8) are identified, showing how stakeholder behaviour evolves under different scenarios. The model operates through ‘dual supervision, one implementation’, with government regulation, tourist monitoring, and GAI self-regulation via AI or manual reviews. Simulations indicate that combined government and tourist involvement enhances self-regulation, with subsidies being more effective than penalties. While GAI companies may currently favour manual reviews, the potential for AI-driven reviews remains substantial. This framework provides practical insights for sustainable GAI governance in tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAugmented reality (AR) is gaining popularity in tourism by improving immersive experiences. Therefore, understanding the factors influencing perceptions and barriers is critical. This study examines visitors’ attitudes and decision making hesitation. The innovation decision process is a conceptual model for comprehending user decisions and analyzing AR features and visitor characteristics. The early majority of AR users completed 401 online questionnaires. The causal relationships were investigated using PLS-SEM and IPMA. PLS-SEM results discovered that visual appeal and environmental embedding influenced AR attitudes. This study found that low tourist memorability affected visitor resistance and AR attitudes. The dimensions of visitor perception show that novelty and enjoyment significantly influence AR attitudes. Additionally, we discovered that AR attitudes significantly affected hesitation to reuse AR, revisit and engage in EWOM. IPMA results indicate that the AR attitude is significantly effective and crucial in reducing tourism AR hesitation. Additionally, we present a novel framework that integrates the domains of policy, people and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines some of the compromises that emerge in the process of converting colonial-era material culture into 'heritage' claiming to foreground a critical postcolonial consciousness. Prompted by recent controversies about statuary celebrating figures who engaged in colonial exploitation and slavery, I look at how frictions inherited from the colonial period are projected onto colonialism's physical remains. This article, however, enquires into ways in which disputes over the proper function of postcolonial heritage projects may be framed not in a militant, but in a conciliatory register, that aims to accommodate diverse representational imperatives, instead of elevating one as supreme. In postcolonial settings such as the one discussed, these imperatives awkwardly include the tourism industry's promotion of 'colonial nostalgia' via the restoration of 'colonial ambiences'. Focusing on a Portuguese-era fort that served as a prison for Goa's 'freedom-fighters', I investigate the unexplained, and subsequently contentious, display of pictures authored by the nationally-renowned artist Mario Miranda in one section of the fort. The article then recounts the contours of a public challenge to this exhibition's legitimacy, and examines the introduction in an adjacent space at the fort of a Freedom Fighters' Gallery. Drawing on archival and ethnographic research, I analyse tensions within and between each of these exhibitions, connecting them to deeper fissures in colonial experience and postcolonial memory. I argue that these fissures are best understood in their relationship to recriminations both about colonial experience and about inequalities traceable to its 'aftermaths', which are now consolidated in uneven political geographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has brought a halt to the tourism industry. Mauritius, which is a dependent tourism economy, has been highly impacted. International travel restrictions have had significant effects on segments as diverse as air transport, cruises, accommodation houses, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and other small and medium enterprises. The objective of the paper is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on firms' performance, employment levels and recovery plans established by firms and the authorities. Using a sample of 100 small- and medium-sized firms in tourism across various regions of Mauritius, the study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on firm's performance in terms of revenue, investments and employment levels. The effects of recovery measures, assistance schemes provided by the Government and adjustments undertaken by enterprises to boost their activities are probed into. Our results reveal an important negative effect of the pandemic on tourism demands and cash flows. The impact on employment though negative seems to have been cushioned partially by Government schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-destination tours and activities multisided platforms (T&A MSP) are growing ventures at the forefront of digitalizing tour and activity sector. While these platforms are transforming this sector, understanding of their business models and how they create, deliver and capture value is limited. To address this gap, we developed a morphological matrix to facilitate alternative business model exploration and discovery. Derived from three iterations, this matrix visually represents and describes the characteristics of T&A MSP business models. Utilizing this tool, T&A MSP can evaluate and make transformative adjustments to their business models, thereby enhancing performance, adapting to evolving tourists' preferences and generating greater value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines hotel water management in Madeira, Portugal and Tenerife, Spain, which differ in water stress and tourism pressure, both much higher in Tenerife. Determinants of hotel water use and water-saving measures are evaluated using correlations and cluster analyses. In Tenerife, more decisive implementation of water-saving measures results in much lower consumption. Conversely, in Madeira, hotel size and category appear to overshadow the effect of water-saving measures. The novelty of this study lies in applying the same methodology to two different destinations, highlighting the role of external factors in shaping hotel water management, while exploring water-saving measures in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's highly disruptive business environment, the development of a new set of specific key competencies is crucial for career and organizational success. Based on a survey study carried out within the context of the hospitality industry of Cyprus, this paper proposes a novel framework for competency development, grounded in the insights of hospitality industry professionals. The study addresses the gap in existing competency frameworks in light of recent technological advancements and sectoral restructuring. The proposed model encompasses six key core competency categories: communication, operational knowledge, cultural diversity, human resource management, leadership, and information technology; each integral to organizational performance and individual career success. The resulting framework offers invaluable guidance for educators, hospitality industry managers, and government institutions in designing effective educational programs, thereby equipping hospitality management graduates with the necessary competencies for a successful career in a turbulent digital globalized economic realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analyses the contribution of the tourism, banking, property fund and real estate, and finance and securities industries to the systemic risk of Thailand. Using quantile regression, the study estimates the measures of systemic risk (conditional Value-at-Risk (CoVaR) and delta conditional Value-at-Risk (∆CoVaR)) and examines the relevance of various industries in increasing the systemic risk of Thailand using Kolmogorov – Smirnov test. The findings support the relevance of the tourism industry in significantly contributing to the systemic risk in Thailand. The study also highlights the systemic relevance of the tourism industry during the COVID-19 period in Thailand, when the industry was severely impacted, which adversely affected its systemic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to explore the intellectual capital in the hotel industry paying particular attention to the gender of the manager. A model is proposed that includes the determinants of the intellectual capital of hotels and the moderating effect of the general manager's gender. Our findings show the positive influence of turbulent environments and dynamic capabilities on intellectual capital development. The subsequent relationship between intellectual capital and hotel performance is U-shaped rather than linear. Furthermore, this relationship is more likely to be positive in hotels managed by women, due to their ability to enhance human, social and organizational capital. The analysis technique used is Partial Least Squares based on variance (PLS-SEM) on a sample of Spanish hotels in 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, data is collected through a questionnaire evaluating factors, such as informativeness from AI, recommendations via AI, social media, customer purchase behavior, learning new strategies, and online tourism marketing influence. The data underwent analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), which allowed us to perform various analysis methods, such as ANOVA analysis to establish statistically significant relationships between the independent variables. The analysis indicates that AI-driven informativeness and AI-based recommendations have a significant influence on travel decision-making. On the other hand, social media does not have a significant impact on travel decision-making. However, for tourism product selling, customer purchase behavior and online tourism marketing have a significant impact, whereas learning new strategies does not affect tourism product selling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper addresses a tourist trip design problem and a tour route planning problem to improve the competitiveness of community tourism. The problem was investigated with the objective to maximise the total number of tourists interested in visiting multiple points of interest and several specific activities to receive a satisfactory service by matching their preferences. The problem was formulated as (F J S P | T W , M R i j k , S D i j k | ∑ k ∈ K N u m _ O u t). To solve this problem, a mixed-integer linear programming model was developed for small-size problems, while the modified differential evolution with K-variable moves and random variable neighbourhood search (MDE–RVNS) was developed to determine near-optimal solutions for real problems. To assist the tourism service provider to schedule and sequence the trip and route planning for the tourists, a tourism service provider scheduling and sequencing software based on the MDE-RVNS was designed and developed. A mobile application using the software has been planned for launching to assist tour route planning decision-makers. This can help local tourism businesses to manage demands and ensure that the tourism revenue is evenly distributed in a tourism supply chain to enhance the well-being of local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though academic attention has been paid to museum tourism and recently to libraries, the library-tourism nexus is comparatively an unexplored area in tourism literature. The aim of this research note is to introduce the concept of library tourism within tourism scholarship and discuss the way in which it may be integrated with future research. All participants praised India for having libraries that are loaded with rare books, references, and manuscripts that date back thousands of years in comparison to its neighbors. By linking this concept with mixed realities, this research note contributes to the future conservation of library heritage, memorable library experiences, and future tourism information services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bleisure travel is a terminology usually used to label travel that involves components of both business and leisure. It characteristically takes the form of business travellers prolonging the length of their trip, to relish leisure activities at the destination visited. The study investigated the effect of COVID-19 on the bleisure travellers and the repercussions of covid-19 pandemic on their future travel behaviour. A qualitative research methodology was adopted and data was collected with the help of a semi-structured interview guide to interviewing people who were involved in bleisure travel. A total of 30 respondents from several industrial verticals like service, healthcare, tourism, IT, academia etc. were considered for the study. Data were analysed with the help of Nvivo-12 by using thematic analysis. The results revealed that due to this global pandemic, bleisure travellers are highly demotivated, scared and anxious. The results further conveyed that the future of bleisure travel seems uncertain and blurry which not only affects the tourism or travel pattern of the tourists but will have a high impact on pure business-related activities as well. The study will help to chart out the future course of actions and to analyse the implications of COVID-19 on bleisure travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19-related crisis had a strong negative effect on the world tourism industry, as has the current military conflict in Ukraine. However, with crises come opportunities as this research shows in the case of the Russian tourism industry. The 2020 crisis created the preconditions and opportunities to change the tourism industry's historically distorted outward-oriented structure and promote regional development through domestic tourism. Active communications between the government and business during the pandemic helped reduce uncertainty for firms and design and implement appropriate governmental sectoral policies. The demand for such policies increased after large-scale international sanctions imposed on Russia in 2022. However, the allocation of large federal budget financial resources to support the industry also creates risks of opportunistic behaviour. The tourism industry's development in Russia will depend on the government's ability to resist pressure from rent-seeking interest groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on Erica Jong's and her fictional characters' travel experiences in Venice, which is portrayed as a carefree and sensual destination. Jong demonstrates how female solo travelling can help challenge unequal gender roles, explore female sexuality regardless of one's age, and rewrite the narratives of the Grand Tour. However, in her later works, the depiction of Venice transitions from a glorification of its charm to portraying it as a seductive place of decadence. The dichotomy between beauty and decay becomes a reminder of the passage of time and the inevitability of constant changes. While Jong and her heroines defy the centuries-long and idealised cultural heritage of Venice by moving beyond its common association with male desire, they also reveal that ephemeral love affairs can lead to emotional disillusionment. They also become potential targets of the leisure tourism industry and romanticised discourses that continue to influence contemporary travel expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this article is testing the factors that influence the use of the metaverse for conferences/meetings, the moderating effects of human values and the gender, and the age of users on this relationship. A convenience sampling approach was employed in order to gather data in Korea. The findings revealed that the users accepted the metaverse as a valuable technology in regard to virtually assisting conferences and meetings. The performance expectancy, social influence, and a lack of anxiety were specifically the most significant predictors of behavioral intention about the use of the metaverse for conferences/meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the effects of institutional factors on adopting sustainability reporting in the worldwide tourism industry. Initially, it compiled the data on the organizational environment, including environment, social and governance performance, and sector-level macroeconomic control variables such as economic growth, exports, and tourism receipts from 2001 to 2019. For empirical estimations, it applies multiple panel estimators; pooled ordinary least square (OLS), fixed effect, and random effects model, while dynamic Generalized Method of Moments is applied to address endogeneity issues in panel data. The results report that environmental, social, and governance indicators are essential for sustainable tourism. Mainly, ecological and social circumstances are more prominent than others. Further, ecological innovation is considered essential for sustainability in this sector. This research suggests an innovative theoretical approach that exposes the importance of sustainability reporting in the tourism industry. It also provides the guideline to the regulators that they should expand their focus on the regulations of sustainability reporting on the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the long-term development of two strategic alliances between major Spanish (RUI and Iberostar) and German (TUI and Neckermann) tourist firms. Our research builds on the literature on foreign direct investment and institutionalism applied to cross-border cooperation, yet using business history research methods. The study aims to understand how the local Spanish context shaped the interaction between foreign and domestic firms and how this interaction influenced the development of the Spanish companies. Our cases suggest that the Spanish institutional framework affected the nature and strength of alliances. Foreign partners were crucial in providing financial and commercial support, brand consolidation, market knowledge and reputation. However, local actors also played an important role as proactive partners eager to develop their domestic business and upgrade their existing capabilities. Ultimately this strategy would contribute to the internationalisation of Spanish firms after 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is evident there is an urgent need for tourism companies to build highly responsive learning systems to adapt to COVID-19 threats and beyond. As such, only learning tourism companies that promote inquiry, challenging current actions, and departing away from adopted assumptions will be able to survive. However, there is paucity of studies exploring effective learning methods in tourism companies to adapt to unpredictable crisis consequences. This study argues that systems thinking approach for service delivery design can operationalize double loop learning in tourism companies of finding alternative service offerings. An exploratory case study was conducted in a leading cruise group company in Vietnam. Results show that systems thinking activated double-loop learning by promoting three different drivers: systematic judges and acts, problem-based task force teams, and service innovation. This paper theorizes systems thinking with double-loop learning as an organizational means to help tourism companies survive during COVID-19 global tragedy, and to transform their service offerings. It also extends current understanding of tourism companies' organisational learning by incorporating double loop learning with structural design issues based on the lens of organic structures and introduces managers of tourism companies to the significance of organic structures for competitive advantage creation during crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some ways in which even positive publicity may entail the censorship of the persons and things being publicised. It focuses on the case of the nationally celebrated Indian artist Mario Miranda, some of whose productions reflected his attachment to his home-state, Goa. Since the 2000s, a fraction of his oeuvre has been used as a means of branding and individuating the region for a tourist clientele. I discuss the disjuncture between a limited repertoire of displayed images and a much larger archive of the artist's work. As Miranda's illustrations are made ever more widely available in the form of souvenirs and 'public art', the images themselves are bowdlerised and their political content evacuated. This repertoire of Miranda's work, created in the likeness of the tourism industry against which he fulminated, has the retroactive effect of authoring the author and circumscribing the extent to which he is known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study intends to reveal the opinions of kitchen staff on industrial kitchen planning, and survey technique, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used at the stage of data collection. In this direction, descriptive analyses (frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation), Mann-Whitney U test -for the comparison of two groups-, and Kruskal–Wallis test -for the comparison of more than two groups- were applied on the data obtained from 354 kitchen staff working in five-star hotels operating in Istanbul. Statistical significance level was determined as p <.05 in all the analyses. When the findings obtained from the analyses were examined, no statistically significant difference was found among kitchen staff's genders, ages and terms of employment and their opinions on industrial kitchen planning (p >.05). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference among the kitchen staff's educational status and industrial kitchen experience and their opinions on industrial kitchen planning (p <.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Absorptive capacity creates valuable competitive advantages. However, the tourism sector lacks an empirical analysis of how absorptive capacity is generated and how different organisational capabilities impact on its creation. The objective of this study is to identify which are the organisational capacities that generate absorptive capacity in this sector. To do so, we develop an empirical study using the partial least square (PLS) based on 86 Ecuadorian companies, which represents a new and potent tourism destination. Our results reveal that existing knowledge consolidation, the centralisation of decision-making, knowledge formalisation, connectedness, and knowledge-management infrastructures directly and positively influence the absorptive capacity. Direct managerial implications arise, which highlight what mechanisms help create and foster absorptive capacity within companies at the touristic industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Society & Leisure / Loisir & Société is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research aims to fill the gap in the existing methods related to the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices with smart contracts without a need for intermediaries for the reservations and services secured by Blockchain for the post-pandemic economy. Although there is a limited number of studies in the literature, which are mainly based on the reviews of the integration of smart contracts with the IoT devices, the questions about how to apply these methods in the tourism industry remain unanswered. Therefore, this present study contributes to the existing literature by creating a contract with a reservation system integrated with hotel services. The proposed method creates a booking system with a unique smart contract between customers and hotels. These contracts will include all kinds of services a customer may need during the stay and will be secured by a Blockchain structure. Besides, it might help eliminate commission fees and reception costs with the decentralized proof mechanism in the proposed method which combines smart services, IoT devices, decentralized proof methods, and interplanetary file systems with Blockchain-based smart contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advancement has fueled various new mobile payment (m-payment) services, which transform the payment industry and help develop established and newly created tourism businesses. However, in emerging markets, users who adopt m-payment services are rare – slowing down the tourism sector's development. In this paper, taking a multi-stakeholder theoretical perspective on technology adoption, we examine the company-, customer- and country-level drivers and consequences of adopting m-payment services among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Rwandan tourism sector. Our analysis leads to recommendations for m-payment services as levers of tourism sector growth and welfare in emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the event study methodology, we find that the stock returns of the Indian tourism sector reacted differently to the announcements of nationwide lockdown and the Unlock 1.0. Using the cross-sectional regression, we find liquidity, volatility, solvency, and size as the primary drivers of CARs during the event windows. The findings will empower the decision-making abilities of the investors and firm managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had an unprecedented impact on global tourism, and the tourism industry has not recovered from the effects of the pandemic in most countries. Previous studies have researched the impact of epidemics on the number of tourists, but research on their impact on the tourism flow network is still limited. This research focuses on Hubei Province as a case study by obtaining tourism flow data for 2019 and 2020. This study used network analysis methods to research the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism flow network and its recovery after the pandemic. The results show that COVID-19 has a substantial short-term impact on tourism flow, with a recovery period of approximately 20 weeks. However, there are differences in recovery in various regions. The tourism flow network in large cities and areas severely affected by the pandemic recovered slowly, while rural and natural scenic spots recovered faster. Simultaneously, the attraction radiuses of tourist destinations shrank significantly, and tourist markets became more concentrated. Meanwhile, destinations in the suburbs, rural areas, and small cities obtained new opportunities in the short term. Finally, this research provides suggestions for the recovery of tourism after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unprecedented public health crisis experienced during the recent global COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has originated a catastrophic economic crisis for the entire globe. This crisis has been particularly harmful to the tourism industry and, more specifically, to the events' subsector. This study aims to understand the main measures that have been implemented by the Portuguese public sector to assist companies which specialize in the organization of events. In addition, the study seeks to empirically understand the strategies and solutions that, according to the industry's players, should be implemented in future crisis scenarios. The sample consisted of representatives of 165 companies belonging to the subsector of cultural and sports events, corporate events, and tourist animation. The data was collected during the month of April 2020 by means of a questionnaire prepared by the Portuguese Association of Congress Organizers, Tourism Animation and Events (APECATE). The adopted methodology was anchored in the mixed methods paradigm. Through a quantitative approach, the frequencies of the variables under study – sector of activity, support measures by the public sector, suggestions of additional measures – were analyzed. Afterwards, the suggestions referred by the participants were codified and analyzed qualitatively. The results of this research reveal that 72.1% of surveyed companies have used some kind public sector assistance mechanisms, with layoff being the most widely selected initiative by respondents. As actions to be implemented in a future crisis scenario, surveyed companies highlight, for instance, support to the managers of companies specialized in organizing events, as well as financial support to these companies by means of non-repayable loans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to constraints on tourism-related activities and a slowdown in the tourism industry. This study's main purpose is to identify tourists' perceived risks regarding COVID-19 to establish a strategy for the tourism industry to rebound when the pandemic stabilizes or dissipates. To better understand this, Q-methodology, an exploratory research methodology, was used. According to our results, the types of tourist constraints caused by COVID-19 can be divided into four categories: "worrying about health"; "worrying about potential problems"; "worrying about tourism itself"; and "worrying about issues" The implications from these will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the political uncertainty in China's tourism industry using China's anti-corruption campaign as an exogenous shock. We find that when the Chinese government launched its anti-corruption campaign, firms in the tourism industry experienced a significant decline in firm value, and the effect was stronger for companies majoring in high-end tourism products. In addition, we found that tourism companies' long-term financial performance declined after the anti-corruption campaign. Further analysis suggests that the decrease in firms' financial performance was driven by a decline in demand rather than an increase in cost. Our paper suggests that political uncertainty affects the tourism industry in emerging markets. It also details the theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first elaborates on the development of tourism and archaeology in higher education in Palestine over the last five decades. Then, it moves to evaluate the efforts of Palestine's higher education sector to reform policies and practices related to specialised tourism programmes. An-Najah National University is one educational institution in Palestine that focuses on tourism and archaeology education. Between 2015 and 2017, the World Bank Unit of the Ministry of Higher Education in Palestine provided technical and financial assistance to develop the university's undergraduate programme in tourism and archaeology. Against this background, the researcher has explored the effect of this project on the tourism and archaeology education programme in terms of meeting the market requirements and expectations. He discussed the relationship between the Palestinian tourism industry and higher education programmes and the challenges and sustainability of future undergraduate programmes and industry–academic relationships. He concluded with several recommendations and suggestions for future development based on past experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the geographical pattern of the accommodation industry in the Italian insular region of Sicily, focusing on the determinants of the risk of market exit. We adopt a standard framework of business survival analysis where agglomeration economies play an important role. We then extend the analysis by considering the role of geography to explore whether the risk of market exit depends on nearness to desirable amenities. The geography is here measured by the distance from the coast and the altitude of the place where the firm is located. When we look at the entire population of accommodation firms that started between 2010 and 2014, we find evidence that the risk of failure increases for those which are over 2 km from the coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restaurant and hospitality industries are crucial socio-economic sectors that contribute immensely to the global economy. However, these sectors are vulnerable and sensitive to natural hazards such as the COVID-19 pandemic and any resultant economic downturns. This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the global restaurant industry using data from OpenTable and other sources. The study found that sit-in guests dropped to zero in many countries as governments across the world instituted social distancing initiatives, movement restrictions and lockdowns. COVID-19 also led to an unprecedented loss of employment and revenue, resulting in millions of jobs and billions of dollars in potential revenue lost. The work recommends extra-ordinary financial and other support measures for the sector. It further recommends a raft of safety and health protocols as the industry gradually reopens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to provide a price optimization model for competing hotels in terms of energy-saving and environmental protection so that the government intervenes through the provision of appropriate tariffs for their performance. We consider the government as the leader and hotels as the follower in a Stackelberg model then, applied the Nash equilibrium to determine the optimal hotel prices in a competitive situation. We formulated the government's utility function in terms of raising government revenue, tourism development, and increasing hotel revenues. By calculating the government's utility function, the optimal level of government tariffs was determined. The results suggest that the government intervention in tourism industry includes measures that benefit tourism. In this regard, the government could increase hotel revenue and tourism expansion by reducing its profits. Also, with government intervention in the tourism sector, it can have good consequences for tourism and encourage hotels to engage in green activities to control the destructive effects of tourist expansion. A broad analysis was carried out on hotels in a touristic area in Iran, and some of the most important managerial insights are explained. This study for the first time investigates the effect of government interferences on hotel pricing while hotels compete with different features. Hence, a decentralized decision-making structure is considered for hotels. In addition, this paper presents a new model for providing optimal prices for hotels in a competitive market, optimal hotel revenue, and government optimal tariffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shaanxi is not only representative of Chinese traditional culture but also the province with the most abundant tourism resources. In this study, the LISA (Local Indicators of Spatial Auto-correlation) tests were used to investigate the development of the cultural industry and the tourism industry in Shaanxi. The results indicated that from 2010 to 2018, the coordinated development, of cultural and tourism industries, has gradually formed a positive aggregation in space. The rapid development of tourism and cultural industries in Xi'an has driven the development of the surrounding areas (Xianyang, Baoji, and Weinan) and formed a high-value cluster in Guanzhong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the role of government in tourism competitiveness and underlying relationship based on the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model. The involvement of government in the process of tourism development is somehow crucial, however, this involvement should be controlled. The study uses time-series data and exploits a case study approach to fulfil the overlooked aspect of the tourism industry about the current theme under study. From the selected three countries in the Asia Pacific, the results indicate that China is close to the consolidation stage, India is in between the "Involvement" and "Development" stage, and Pakistan is in between the "Exploration" and "Involvement" stage, with reference to TALC model. The study concludes that the lower level of government involvement is needed for China, and a higher level of government involvement is needed for India and Pakistan to enhance the level of competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how social networks impact place branding of a tourism destination and encourage prospect tourists to visit that place. By adapting an existing model, a survey conducted in a sample of 135 users of 2 social networks of telegram and Instagram who travelled at least once to Gilan Province in north of Iran. This analytical study empirically tests the hypotheses for SEM, using PLS 3 and R. The assessment of the outer model and the inner model was conducted. The importance-performance map analysis matrix indicates that the place image had the highest importance, but the lowest performance. When social media enters as a moderator, the significance of its effect is not sufficient to impact the results. It can be interpreted that merely sharing photos and videos from the beauty of Gilan province or its food is not sufficient to create a distinguished image in the minds of prospect visitors; but it must be used as a supplementary of activities from the administration of the province to promote the place image and attractions for tourists. Also it is suggested that social media can be used to promote pro-environmental behaviours in tourists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the relationship between employees' psychological capital (PsyCap) and educational qualification. The PsyCap data and educational qualification information of 329 employees in the hospitality industry were collected. The odds ratio technique was deployed to measure the association, which revealed that employees with higher educational qualifications are 2.6 times more likely to have positive psychological capital than those with lower educational qualifications. The result is statistically significant at p-value 0.002 < 0.005. This finding will guide the tourism industry on the calibre of employees to hire or retain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes help in uplifting local communities by complementing governments' efforts in providing public services in areas such as education, health, environment and security. But in the tourism industry, CSR has also been closely linked to responsible tourism in which tourism operators' focus on protecting resources that attract tourists for business sustainability. This paper examines the drivers and barriers of CSR adoption in the tourism industry in Malawi. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematically analysed. The study reveals that the major drivers of CSR in the tourism industry in Malawi are community expectations, management values and commitment, cost reduction, natural and cultural resource management, competitive advantage and company size. The barriers to CSR adoption include lack of resources, lack of clear CSR policy and government support, lack of coordination, mismanagement of CSR resources by communities and lack of awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on how Airbnb, an internet platform which has created the possibility for mass participation in the tourism market, is resulting in class conflict between new entrants and the 'traditional' tourism industry. Specifically, it studies how traditional tourism interests in Barbados have responded to Airbnb by seeking to restrict participation in the industry and presents this as a microcosm of broader class transitions and conflicts associated with new technologies. The paper utilises a Marxist theoretical perspective buttressed by Joseph Schumpeter's theory of 'creative destruction' – places emphasis on the process of destroying productive systems to understand how specific industries expand and survive – and Clayton Christensen's notion of 'disruptive innovation' – a process by which a disruptive product transforms a market – for studying how transformations in technology are impacting the tourism industry in Barbados. Its aim is to provide an account of how the process of disruption is unfolding in Barbados by highlighting the reactions of the main hotel lobby group to Airbnb, while also applying the ideas of Marx, Schumpeter and Christensen as useful theoretical lenses through which to examine the unfolding of the process of disruption of settled class and historical control of a dominant economic sector by new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storytelling has become an integral part of communication strategies in the tourism industry in order to promote and differentiate destination brands online. Despite increasing investments in destination branding since the 1990s, few studies have focused on the conceptual and strategic premises behind destination storytelling campaigns, and how marketers measure the success of storytelling. Drawing from the branding literature, this paper seeks to analyse the conceptualisations of storytelling in destination branding practice and explores how marketers approach the measurement of its impacts. For this purpose, 25 semi-structured interviews with storytelling practitioners have been analysed with thematic analysis. The findings suggest that storytelling in the context of destination marketing seeks to convey a message about the destination's identity and attributes involving a cognitive, affective and conative dimension. There is consent that storytelling should be based on various communication channels and involve all destination brand stakeholders in the co-creation process of place associations in order to sustain tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Furthermore, destination branding practitioners argue that storytelling has an indirect long-term impact on returns, and that quantitative and qualitative variables need to be used to evaluate the effects of storytelling. The paper concludes with managerial implications and further research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online image of tourist destination will influence motivation, perceived risks, as well as tourists' attitudes toward a tourist destination, which helps in the making of a travel decision. Based on elements, including source, direction, and quality of online image of tourist destination, this research takes product involvement as a moderating variable and uses source, direction, and quality of online image to construct a model of the impact of the online image of tourist destination on travel decisions with experimental approaches. Further study is implemented by using Huangshan Mountain Scenic Spot as an example and with 240 valid participants, whose age ranges from 18 to 39, participating in a survey. The results demonstrate that there is no significant difference in a tourists' decision from the angle of source of online image, but in contrast, direction together with quality of online image has a significant impact on tourists' travel decision and interaction with each other. In addition, product involvement has no moderating effect on the source of the online image. However, product involvement has a moderating effect on direction and quality of the online image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the volatility spillover between foreign exchange rate and tourism firm stock returns for the case of China 4 July 2011 to 27 September 2018 period which covers the post-transition of Chinese managed floating exchange rate regime. Utilizing the BEKK-GARCH model, the empirical results indicate that there is bidirectional long-term spillover volatility between the variables under investigation. Our findings provide a new insight to portfolio managers about how the volatility is transferred between foreign exchange rate and tourism firm stock returns, and to which extent they are correlated over time. These elements are essential for portfolio diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is intended to analyze the long-run relationship between deficit in balance of payments (BOPs) and tourism for the period of 1976-2015 using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The findings of the paper exposed an indirect relationship between tourism and BOP deficit in the context of Pakistan economy, while deficit balance of trade, real effective exchange rate, and deficit in fiscal balance have a positive and significant association with the deficit in the BOPs in the long run. Based on the findings, it is recommended that policies should be devised that promote the tourism industry of Pakistan as it would be helpful in reducing the deficit in the BOPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism industry practitioners should understand the controversial nature of the information and communication technology (ICT) proliferation to ensure that ICT solutions do not consume too much of consumer attention, thus jeopardising enjoyment of tourism services. The concept of calm technology or calm design serves this purpose. Calm design suggests that technology should quietly recede in the background and come into play with users when and if required, thus delivering and/or enhancing a desired consumer experience. Although this concept is of relevance to e-tourism, it has never been considered within. This is where this paper contributes to knowledge as, for the first time, it introduces calm design into the e-tourism realm and critically evaluates the determinants of its broader adoption within the tourism industry. It places calm design in the e-tourism context, discusses its implications for customer service management, supply chain management and destination management, and discloses opportunities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines approaches to partnership between the tourism industry and educational institutions in the provision of tourism education. It assesses how partnerships facilitate the development of skills in Tanzania and recommends a framework for effective collaboration. The study utilized focus group discussions and interviews with tourism industry and training institutions. A total of 356 respondents participated. It was revealed that internships, practical training, graduate employment, and financial contributions by industry in the form of skills development levy and tourism development levy are the major approaches to partnership for the provision of tourism education. A low level of understanding among students explained by language barriers, inadequate training facilities, a shortage of qualified educators, poor enforcement of national curricula, and limited internship and placement opportunities are the major challenges to skills development. The article proposes a framework for effective partnership among key stakeholders in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Taiwanese tourism industry from the standpoints of the government, academia, and industry through the perspective of Confucianism and creates a comprehensive, tourism-specific ethics and CSR conceptual framework. A qualitative approach was adopted in this study that recruited 21 experts to share their perspectives regarding ethics and CSR in the tourism industry. An original, valuable and comprehensive ethics and CSR conceptual framework in the tourism industry within the context of Chinese society was conducted and includes seven dimensions emerged from the data and were integrated into the following four facets: first, the dimensions of ethics; second, the antecedent facet of CSR is the inside and outside force; third, the strategy facet includes the economy, the environment, society, and culture; and fourth, the consequence aspect is feedback. Further, this research provides value for academics and practical strategy for related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tour operators and tour guides are major stakeholders during production and operation of organized package tours. However, the relationship between them received little attention in tourism literature. This study intends to identify the dimensions of the relationship between the two parties and importance attained to different guiding roles both by tour operators and guides. It also explores the attitude gaps between tour operators and guides on various guiding attributes. The analyzed data were collected from 110 professional tour guides and 56 inbound tour operators. Numerous differences in perceptions were identified regarding importance attained toforeign language skills,group cohesion,holiday experience creation,entertainment,representation skills,contract compliance, image creation, itinerary compliance and identification with tour operators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]