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Despite the long tradition of fieldwork and qualitative research practice in tourism studies, the reporting of methodological notes and reflections is limited in the literature. Many excellent meth...

In an era of a perceived need for certain levels of standardization within the supply and management of tourism products and destinations, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have brought sustainability to the forefront as a primary management objective. In general, the literature notes that sustainable tourism models or frameworks remain rather sparse which is particularly noteworthy given that Target 12.b of the SDGs acknowledges the importance of monitoring in the pursuit of sustainable development. The disconnect between aspirations and applications of sustainable development indicators is reflected in the way key international tourism organizations address the issue of monitoring. This chapter argues that the first step to redefine sustainable tourism development indicators relies on the ideology, norms, and beliefs of decision-makers. Building from the theory of Le Gales and Lascoumes on the governance of indicators, this chapter sheds light on the ideology and the mechanisms behind established sustainable tourism indicators. Moreover, it questions how indicators can actually support in the fulfilment of the ambitious SDGs agenda. Finally, the chapter discusses the transition from ideologies to indicators by suggesting a third order change to support the aspirations of the SDGs and its application to tourism.

SDG 17 highlights the importance that the partnership narrative plays in the implementation of SDGs. However, given the brevity of many development projects, these partnerships are often developed and concluded rapidly, with little attention given to their longer-term implications or success. This paper argues that in order to create and develop partnerships that properly address the SDGs, it is imperative that a process perspective is developed that takes into account the range of stakeholders and interests, values, and the power relations between actors prior to and during the project together with a comprehensive understanding of the notion of success. This requires a full awareness of the project’s context and previous interventions, activities, and policies. In order to illustrate the necessity of longitudinal partnerships and perspectives, a case study, involving a community-based development project in New Delhi, India is used. The goal of the project has been to ensure that the community is actively involved in the entire process, eventually becoming owners of the interventions so that, when the project and partnership eventually ends, the community continues to benefit. Examples from the project are used to emphasize the importance of long-term planning and partnership driven by context-specificity, implementation processes and policy-awareness.

This chapter presents evidence from two established second-home destinations (Snowdonia in the UK and the Dalarna region in Sweden), where the proliferation of properties listed on Airbnb is currently contributing to the reframing of the existing rural landscape. This study suggests that there is a separate but connected layer of spatial interaction inherent in these rural environments, which is mediated by the perceptions of rural space of the three user groups: (i) primary residents; (ii) second homeowners; and (iii) Airbnb users. This chapter argues that the influence of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms within these mixed-use communities injects an additional level of spatial interaction and conceptualization of rurality. Based on the findings from this study, it is noted that Airbnb guests' perceptions of rurality are similar to those of other rural tourists, but this is also influenced by the local hosts and wider rural community. Understanding how these users perceive the rural space is essential to the development of resilient rural communities as consensus is critical for resilience planning.

In this paper the viscoelastic behavior of different soft adhesives with substantially similar adhesive performance is analyzed in the light of a Slip-Tube Model. In this model, the junction points between network chains and virtual chains are replaced by slip-links attached to fluctuating ends of virtual chains. The slip-links are allowed to slide along the contour of the network chains but not pass through each other. The predictions of the slip-tube model are in excellent agreement with the experimental data on uniaxial deformation of soft adhesive networks. Furthermore, the study shows that some adhesive performances can be described qualitatively by Small Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (SAOS), and the in-service properties can be described with adhesives with different viscoelastic spectra. Highly nonlinear uniaxial stretching tests reveal deeper insights into the description of the adhesives performances. Some well-established models are adopted and slightly modified by introducing the rate-dependence of their physical parameters to describe the response of soft adhesive to stretching.

In this paper, a passive structural health monitoring (SHM) method capable of detecting the presence of damage in carbon fibre/epoxy composite plates is developed. The method requires the measurement of strains from the considered structure, which are used to set up, train, and test artificial neural networks (ANNs). At the end of the training phase, the networks find correlations between the given strains, which represent the ‘fingerprint’ of the structure under investigation. Changes in the distribution of these strains is captured by assessing differences in the previously identified strain correlations. If any cause generates damage that alters the strain distribution, this is considered as a reason for further detailed structural inspection. The novelty of the strain algorithm comes from its independence from both the choice of material and the loading condition. It does not require the prior knowledge of material properties based on stress-strain relationships and, as the strain correlations represent the structure and its mechanical behaviour, they are valid for the full range of operating loads. An implementation of such approach is herein presented based on the usage of a distributed optical fibre sensor that allows to obtain strain measurement with an incredibly high resolution.

Purpose Gateway cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are central in the tourist experience to India, yet the official government authorities and destination marketing organizations tend to underestimate the potential of these destinations to prospective and returning international tourists. In particular, there is little empirical research on urban tourism, food tourism and city marketing in the aforementioned cities. This paper aims to explore the scope for the promotion of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata as food urban destinations. Design/methodology/approach For the purposes of this study, a case study methodology using content analysis was developed to ascertain the nexus between food and tourism in the three observed cities. Materials were gathered for the year 2019, with a focus on brochures, tourist guides, websites and social media accounts for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. A two-coding approach through NVivo was designed to analyse and report the findings. Findings The findings of the study suggest that the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata fall short in positioning themselves as food urban destinations. Moreover, the study reports a dissonance between the imagery of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata portrayed to international tourists through induced images and the food-related experiences available in the cities. This divide reflects a pattern in destination marketing in India observed in previous research. Research limitations/implications The exploratory nature of this study calls for more research in the trends and future directions of food tourism and urban marketing in Indian cities. Moreover, this study calls for further research on the perceptions of urban food experience in Indian cities among international and domestic tourists. Practical implications A series of practical implications can be drawn. First, urban and national destination marketing organizations need to join efforts in developing urban marketing campaigns that place food as a key element of the urban experience. Second, cities worldwide are rebranding themselves as food destinations and Indian cities should reconsider local and regional culinary traditions as mean to reposition themselves to food travellers’ similar niche segments. Social implications The quest for authenticity is central in the expectations of incoming tourists. Moreover, the richness and variety of local and regional food in the cities analysed in this study can enhance urban visitor experience, with obvious economic and socio-cultural benefits for the local businesses and residents. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind to provide preliminary evidence on the nexus between food and tourism in Indian cities. Building from the literature, it developed a conceptual framework for the analysis of food tourism and urban branding and shed light on a currently overlooked aspect of incoming tourism to India.

The 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis profoundly impacted national economies and the housing markets, particularly in the so-called PIGS countries. Main cities in Portugal, Italy and Greece have seen a sharp decrease in house prices and rent value since 2010. At the same time, the rise of Airbnb has contributed to the reframing of housing market demand in cities, with an increase of temporary lettings in prime urban tourist areas and off the beaten track. Understandably, this rising urban phenomenon has direct implications for local residents, with renters’ displacement, tourism gentrification and raising cases of tourismphobia. This article provides insights from three cities - Athens, Lisbon and Milan - to show how the dynamics in the housing market and the boost of Airbnb over the last decade are steadily changing the urban populations of the aforementioned cities. This research builds upon the Rent Gap Theory and the Lukes’ Power Theory to illustrate how Airbnb is fostering a new form of urban displacement at a faster rate than traditional housing gentrification, with the rental of prime residential areas to prospective tourists.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide a series of indicators to determine the limits to urban tourism growth, tourism gentrification and overtourism. The study addresses overtourism within the frame of urban liveability through a proxy analysis of tourism-relevant indicators for major European tourist cities. Design/methodology/approach Based on the various indicators, a composite overtourism indicator is derived. The following dimensions are considered for the composite indicator: total number of overnight stays per relevant tourist area in km2; number of museum visitors per population; average annual change in total nights between 2009 and 2017; and foreign nights per population. Findings Based on the results, Venice is the city with the highest degree of overtourism, followed by Florence, Seville and Lisbon. The remaining cities have a lower than average overtourism potential as indicated by the negative z-score. Research limitations/implications This study and the composite overtourism indicators are only a starting point that can lead to further research in the field. Recommendations for further studies include the assessment of visitor flow and overtourism at different times of the year and to expand the study to other European urban destinations. Practical implications The paper suggests that policymakers should use these indicators when managing urban tourism development and monitoring visitor growth. Furthermore, they can be a starting point from which to assess the impact of tourism on the quality of life of local residents. Social implications This study provides a starting point from which to assess the causes for social unrest tied to overtourism. If the city under study is found to have a lower than average overtourism potential, this indicates that there may be other social or psychological issues at play apart from sheer overcrowding. Originality/value To date, there has been no composite indicator that considered the different numerical aspects of overtourism altogether. This study provides a set of key indicators and a composite overtourism indicator to provide a preliminary appraisal of overtourism as a demand-side phenomenon with evidence from a range of established European urban destinations.

Cementitious macro-defect-free (MDF) materials can be obtained processing a mixture of a water-soluble polymer, namely polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the calcium aluminate cement. Based on process techniques typical of plastics, the MDF products can be obtained in complex forms and, thanks to the reduced water to cement ratio, w/c, their strength is very high compared to standard cements. However, these materials show both the sensitivity typical of water-soluble polymers, presenting a low glass transition temperature (Tg), and the brittle behavior typical of ceramic materials and therefore low toughness. The aim of this work is to modify the mechanical properties of MDF cements by tuning their unacceptable brittle behavior. Water solution of carboxylate styrene butadiene rubber is used as reactive additives, and different mixture formulations are tested changing the rubber-like content both with respect to the fixed water content and PVA amounts. It is shown that the modifications of the organic phase imply small or negligible effects on paste formation of different recipes as detected by the torque–time responses. From flexural and fracture toughness tests, a wide range of responses was observed, and depending on the particular recipe, the mechanical behavior can be tuned from a brittle to a ductile behavior.

A model describing the fatigue behavior of composite materials under variable loadings is presented. The approach is based on a two-parameter model fulfilling the principal responses’ features of composite materials subjected to constant amplitude cyclic loadings. It is shown that when coupled with the equivalent residual strength assumption the model can describe the strength degradation of composite materials subjected to variable amplitude loadings without simplifications or substantial reductions of the loading spectrum. Compared to the linear Miner’s rule, the results highlight the importance of the sequence of loads and the approach discriminates the ascending, descending and random patterns. It is shown that for the case under study the ordered descending (high to low) sequence showed the worst scenario in terms of damage accumulation extent, while the random spectrum resulted in an intermediate response between ordered ascending and descending sequences.

The “in service “properties' of high performance composites degrade due to the development of different damage modes occurring hierarchically at different length and time (cycles) scales, from diffuse crackand crazing within the polymer matrix, to fiber-matrix interface failure, to ply rupture and delamination where catastrophic failure occurs. The density of cracks within the matrix saturates at very early stage of the service life of the composite component and this “Critical Damage State” (CDS) triggers the other damage modes. Thus, shifting the CDS toward higher number of cycles allows enhancing the overall fatigue performances of composites, that is the main objective of our proposal. The matrix weakness is due to the residual stresses (of order of magnitude of the matrix strength) that accumulate as consequence of the manufacturing process. In order to relax the residual stresses we propose to take advantage of the anomalies of nanoconfined thermoplastic polymers that show a negative coefficient ofthermal expansion at temperatures below Tg. Silica microspheres can be covered by polymer shells of 10-40 nanometers and added to the reactive resin in order to counter balance the resin contraction through the expansion of the nanoconfined polymer, during cooling.

The concept of resilience has gained momentum in current tourism research, yet there are still flaws and discrepancies between the many notions applied in the field. These limitations are further evident when we focus on tourist destinations. The aim of this article is to advance the conceptualization of destination resilience through a multilevel perspective (MLP) that frames landscape, regime, niche, and actors as integrated elements of the tourism system. The resulting framework encompasses ecological, socioecological, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and sociotechnological dimensions reflecting the embeddedness of resilience among heterogeneous and potentially complementary destination stakeholders. It is argued that the use of the MLP advances the understanding of tourism destination planning, particularly in contexts coping with gradual as well as drastic changes due to both demand fluctuations and supply-side disturbances.

This paper discusses applying a two-parameter “residual strength” phenomenological model to plain concrete. The model accounts for the concrete strength's stochastic nature and relates it to fatigue life scatter through the Strength-Life Equal-Rank Assumption (SLERA). Checked on a series of literature data, the model allows recovering the static strength statistical distribution from the fatigue data inherently accounting for the stress ratio and loading rate. It is shown that the model's and the Weibull static strength's parameters represent the fingerprint for a given materials category. Its predictive capabilities indicate that the model's physical prerogatives deserve to be considered in the world of concrete.

A new method for calculating the retardation spectra for linear viscoelastic materials is presented. The method uses the analytical expressions among the viscoelastic functions through the numerical evaluation of the Inverse Laplace Transform (ILT) with the Gaver–Wynn–Rho (GWR) algorithm. It is applied to study three polymers' relaxation mechanisms: a star Polystyrene and two Polycyanurate networks with two different crosslink densities. The shear spectrum is de-convoluted to separate the segmental and the chain modes responsible for the softening dispersion. The retardation mechanisms extracted from the shear response are then compared with the volumetric bulk response. The results show that the shear segmental contribution is narrower than the volumetric bulk response and finishes about two decades before the shoulder's appearance in the shear retardation spectrum. Thus, the volumetric bulk response, mainly exerted by the segmental mode, is also affected at long times by the short time chain mechanism, usually claimed to be Sub-Rouse modes.

Over the last decade, the dynamics of global tourism mobilities have changed significantly, with the rise of new generating and receiving tourism regions in the Middle East and Asia. The latter has...

Transnational World Heritage Sites foster international cooperation, with implications for tourism systems within and across State Parties. This work analyses the metagovernance of the Italian portion of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings, a serial transboundary site. The results indicate that there are specific governance and metagovernance failures due to issues in the Italian system, notably the overly hierarchical structure for heritage policy. The clash between governance modes results in an ineffective decision-making structure, at the national level, laden with ‘red tape’. Thus, there is a need for more networked modes of metagovernance in order to improve the efficiency of the Italian site management as well as the complicated process of transnational World Heritage metagovernance and its application to national governance structures.

This paper discusses the effect of loading rate on the static strength and fatigue behavior of glass/polyester and graphite/epoxy composites. It is shown that the rate-sensitivity of the static strength and the fatigue data can be analytically taken into account in the framework of a two-parameter “residual strength” model, inherently fulfilling the Strength-Life Equal-Rank Assumption (SLERA). Based on the static strength's loading rate sensitivity, a method to use the fatigue life data obtained at any fixed frequencies to predict the fatigue life under different frequencies is proposed. The method's reliability is verified by predicting different data sets of CA fatigue life and residual strength data obtained on glass/polyester composites under different loading rate conditions. The responses of angle-ply carbon/epoxy laminates to arbitrary two-block cyclic loadings in ascending and descending frequency sequences revealed the method's capability to discriminate between the applied loading sequences and the potential to develop a numerical routine accounting for the cycle-by-cycle variability during realistic loading conditions.

Purpose Existing literature on state socialist and communist heritage as a form of tourist consumption predominately focuses on destination contexts, such as the former Soviet countries and the few remaining state communist countries (i.e. China, North Korea and Cuba). As a result, the visitation to places linked to the history of socialism and communism in the so-called western pluralist democracies has often been overlooked and, at most, unacknowledged, especially as most research on “socialist” heritage focuses on sites connected to statist heritage rather than sites connected to socialist movements. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to fill the gap in terms of research focusing on these types of sites, with evidence from a range of countries in Europe and the Americas. It does so by illustrating the presence and engagement with official and non-official communist/socialist heritage at varying levels of commodification. Findings The paper concludes that not only is there a need to broaden the concept of socialist heritage but that its framing needs to continue to be understood from present day ideological discourses and struggles with respect to the marking of urban heritage tourist locations. Originality/value This contribution advocates the broadening of the concept of socialist heritage by acknowledging the relevance of “hidden” urban sites related to key socialist thinkers, socialist opposition to fascism, and civil wars in which the socialist movement was involved, while also drawing parallels between the levels of socialist/heritage recognition and use as a commodity in relation to the historical narrative within the studied countries.

Over the last two years, overtourism has gained relevance and importance as subject of study. On the one hand, the impacts of overcrowded destinations and poor tourism planning have brought back th...

Purpose This study aims to focus on the development and upgrading of the Hagley Park cricket oval in Christchurch for the 2015 Cricket World Cup and how this hallmark event was used a catalyst to rebrand the city following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the findings from research conducted between 2012 and 2016. Data for the analysis were collected from mainstream media, sport organisations websites and government archives. In addition, a two-round series of semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders was undertaken in the aftermath of the Cricket World Cup. Findings In the case of Christchurch, the earthquakes and the destruction of much of the downtown provided a recovery opportunity, with the 2015 Cricket World Cup used to expedite the development of a new sporting venue in the city centre and rebrand the city to international tourists and sport enthusiasts. Research limitations/implications The Hagley Park cricket oval case study provides evidence on the rhetoric of urban competitiveness and the use of hallmark sporting events to reframe urban development in post-disaster contexts. Originality/value This research provides further evidence on the logics of disaster capitalism and how cities embark on costly redevelopment projects for sports and events whilst overlooking exacerbating vulnerabilities among the local community.

Urban regeneration and the role of tourism in contemporary urban development were at the heart of early critical urban research. The phenomenon was extensively researched during the 1990s and early 2000s. However, urban tourism studies have since overlooked the sprawl of urban regeneration projects around the world and the role tourism plays nowadays in urban development processes. Considering recent macro trends in urban development and advancements in spatial planning theory, there is need for critical research and understanding of current and future trends in urban regeneration and tourism. The proposed book seeks to bridge the divide with current spatial planning theory through concepts and theories adopted from most recent works on metagovernance, resilience, disaster gentrification and hyperneoliberalism. This book will provide the target market with a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of urban regeneration and tourism with evidence from different cities across the world.

The static strength of carbon/epoxy laminates with three different stacking sequence has been analyzed at different strain rates under three point flexural tests. The materials under study were low cost, low Tg carbon/epoxy laminates with nominal thickness of 1 mm obtained stacking four fabric 0/90 balanced prepregs. The Weibull distribution function was used to compare the data on statistical basis.Quasi–isotropic, cross-ply and angle ply laminates were tested and the strain dependence of static strength was accounted for in the framework of a phenomenological model for fatigue with the objective test the model reliability in predicting the fatigue life and residual strength under variable spectrum with block loadings characterized by different loading frequencies.Preliminary results show that the phenomenological approach can be suitably applied in a rather simple manner solving one of the most intricate tasks within the field of fatigue of composite materials. The research activity represents the last step to build up a software that under variable amplitude loadings comprehensively accounts simultaneously and cycle-by-cycle for the change in the loading ratio, R=σmin/σmax, the maximum applied stress, σmax, and the frequency of loading, f. Details of the approach and the physics behind it are briefly presented with a series of preliminary results.