Future agendas in urban tourism research: special editorial

Abstract

Academic researchers were provided with an additional forum to exchange knowledge, research and agendas on the critical study of urban tourism and tourism cities with the emergence of the International Journal of Tourism Cities in 2015. Since then, the Journal has been recognized for its outstanding contribution to the urban tourism research by numerous scholars. This recognition was embodied in prestigious academic abstracting and indexing, such as achieving the Emerging Sources Citation Index, and Scopus and SJR indices of above 0.5. International Journal of Tourism Cities also welcomed numerous international scholars to its editorial board, of which some also serve as the theme editors. Theme editors were invited to provide their insights on future research agendas in urban tourism research. With this gesture, the Journal wishes to mark the celebration of the fifth volume in the fifth year of publishing and many above mentioned recognitions, as well as acknowledging the valuable time and effort of many scholars dedicated to its recent success. Therefore, this Special Editorial serves as the roadmap for future research on the opportunities and challenges for urban tourism. It initially touches upon more recent technological advancements and their impact on tourism in cities, calling for better understanding on the concept of smartness and highlighting the importance of social media. Furthermore, sustainability, quality of life, and tourism planning and development have been heavily challenged by sharing economy and tourists' quest for unique experiences enabled by new technologies. Several important questions and perspectives have been outlined – from responsible tourism, to ethnoscapes, to acknowledgement that urban tourism not only impacts the quality of life of local residents but also its visitors. Lessons learnt from crises may bring new opportunities to managing urban tourism, just as in the case of Post-Communist countries. However, with the potential of terrorism at every corner of the world, new research on crisis management is anticipated. Looking further down the line of challenges for urban tourism, tourists’ behaviour has dynamically changed with the help of new technologies. So, has the behaviour of business travellers, for whom we need better understanding of their experiences of being invited, to attending, to post-travel behaviour in relation to business events. Moreover, the need for better understanding of special interest tourism and its impact on tourism management, supply and demand business perspectives, and host community. Similarly, new research agendas should also focus on the conservation of nature and its importance for city tourism. In conclusion, the Special Editorial brings a fresh perspective on new visual research methodology that offers numerous possibilities for research by elicitation techniques and researcher- or research participant-produced visuals.