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Tourism business models have used several technologies in their development, such as Virtual Reality (VR). Previous studies show that VR allows tourism organizations to promote new types of relationships between tourists and destinations, to enhance the appeal and memorability of tourist experiences and to diversify consumption patterns, which could also be interesting for dealing with sustainability issues, such as seasonal demand of destinations or activities in wine tourism. Thus, we propose a conceptual model to analyze the influence of memorable tourism experiences on wine tourists' future intentions after a VR experience, providing additional details on the research methodology to empirically test the conceptual model. Innovation in business models with VR to promote new relationships with destinations or activities and diversify tourists' consumption patterns could be interesting to address seasonal activities, such as the grape harvest or grape-treading, which are not continuously available for tourist observation/participation, despite their high appeal. On the other hand, the results could contribute to wine and other kinds of tourism, conditioned by mobility issues such as restrictions on movements or personal interaction, due to health crises or personal constraints, increasing these tourism experiences' accessibility also in times of unavailability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article builds on the idea that senior tourists' decision making is a staged process in which the different choices are sequential, interrelated, and interdependent. These decisions are "whether to take a vacation," "whether to opt for an international trip," "whether to use an organized tour," and "whether to use publicly subsidized travel." Considering the social character of many trips offered to seniors, the fourth decision of the proposed process makes it unique. No research has empirically considered using a staged decision making in the context of senior travelers, and the proposed model quantifies the effect of each variable based on the decision the individual is dealing with; also, the way a variable changes its effect even within the same decision stage depending on the individual is analyzed by including heterogeneity into the modeling. The results find that senior tourists follow the proposed four-staged decision-making process rather than the basic two-stage decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in tourism market segmentation of seniors has been increasing in recent years as the tourism industry has begun to be aware of their importance for the sector. This is a very heterogeneous group, with greater purchasing power and lifestyle-oriented entertainment and enjoyment of leisure time by performing travel than previous generations. This study strives to contribute towards the hitherto scarce research on segmentation in senior tourism. Specifically, this work aims to determine the existence of various profiles of senior tourism by means of using socio-demographic variables, motivation and characteristics of travel of seniors. For this, two complementary analysis techniques, the nonlinear canonical correlation (OVERALS) and a two-stage cluster analysis, were used. Five market segments were identified according to the behavioural variables analysed that allow marketers to target this group in the most convenient manner and to exploit new market opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Global demographic changes and the increasing participation of senior citizens in leisure tourism activities have prompted governments and tourism providers in many developed regions to identify seniors as a priority market. Yet the lack of theory related to senior tourism poses a major hurdle to continued research in this field, especially with regard to the application of evolving age theories. Few studies analyse the relevance or motivations of senior tourists. Therefore, this study investigates the tourism behaviour of Spanish senior travellers, including both their motivations and their tendency to travel. To develop a theoretical framework, this article relies on three theories to explicate the travel behaviour of senior citizens: lifecycle theory, continuity theory and generational theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question:The most common result in the analysis of efficiency in multisport competitions like the Olympic Games using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a ranking of the participating countries. However, this approach does not consider the role played by sports federations, who administer sports at the national level, nor the intermediate stages needed to achieve sporting success. The objective of the present study is to analyze the relative efficiency of the Spanish Olympic Sports Federations, taking into account what occurs within theblack boxof these organizations. Research methods:The relative efficiency of Spanish Olympic Sports Federations during the last three years (2010, 2011 and 2012) of the last Olympic cycle is measured by employing a relational network DEA model. This type of model can simultaneously calculate the efficiency of the system and its different stages to represent the eventual transformation of public and private financing into sport results. Results and findings:The findings reveal that during the last Olympic cycle, the efficiency of the Federations in supporting the development of high-level athletes was greater than the effectiveness of those individuals when participated in the main international competitions. Moreover, the differences in efficiency distributions tend to disappear in the last year of the Olympic cycle. Implications:These empirical findings provide the managers with useful information regarding the origins of system inefficiencies and their distribution throughout the Olympic cycle. This information can help them improve national sport programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern tourism industry, competitiveness no longer can be based solely on price; rather, it is necessary to consider other aspects that might generate competitive advantages. In particular, the provision of a wide range of products, services and activities, all of outstanding quality, may be decisive for creating greater demand. Thermal establishments are well aware of these dynamics. Accordingly, this research analyses, using quantitative techniques, whether Galician thermal establishments, including health resorts, spas and thalassotherapy centres, have achieved well-defined differentiation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]