Destination Management Organizations Research Articles

Stakeholder Engagement and Triggers for Sustainable Development in Complex Fragile Ecosystems: Evidence from Alpine Trentino Region

This research digs into the dynamics of sustainable development in complex fragile ecosystems, with a focus on the Trentino alpine region in Northern Italy to identify the main triggers to foster it. In particular, this study emphasizes the critical role that Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) play in leveraging these triggers and designing sustainable development strategies. Using a Convergent Parallel Mixed Method that combines quantitative and qualitative data, this study identifies three strategies for stakeholder engagement—listen, meet, and collaborate—to align numerous actors towards common goals and encourage sustainable behaviors. Moreover, the results highlight the need to engage fringe stakeholders in sustainable destination development strategies. It also reveals the function of ‘triggers’—both internal and external—in implementing stakeholder engagement strategies. This research contributes to the literature by mapping stakeholders (core and fringe), suggesting three engagement strategies (listen, meet, and collaborate), and identifying triggers (internal and external) for destination sustainable development in complex fragile ecosystems.

The effect of awe in wildlife tourists on animal-friendly behavioural intentions: a serial mediation model of connectedness to nature and empathy

ABSTRACT Wildlife tourism is experiencing rapid growth as people's desire to connect with nature intensifies, making the improvement of tourist behaviour in wildlife destinations a crucial research issue. In light of this, the current study, grounded in the appraisal theory of emotion, scrutinises how awe, connectedness to nature (CN), and empathy impact animal-friendly behavioural intentions (AFBI) by establishing and appraising a model incorporating serial mediation and moderation. The results reveal that awe positively influences AFBI, with CN and empathy serving as serial mediators. Furthermore, the extent to which awe, CN, and empathy affect AFBI is amplified at higher levels of animal welfare literacy. This research represents a beneficial attempt to investigate AFBI and its internal mechanisms. Destination management organisations (DMOs), tourism product and service designers, marketers, and policymakers can derive valuable practical insights from this study to enhance sustainable development in wildlife tourism.

Reorienting DMO efforts to improve sustainability and reduce the perceived crowding of tourists visiting a destination

AbstractThe present research analyses the changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has generated in the attitudes and behaviour of tourists in relation to sustainability and their perception of crowding. The aim is to understand the new needs and feelings of consumers so that companies and tourist destinations are able to adapt their offer to the new demands. For this purpose, qualitative research was carried out by means of six focus groups, with a sample of 44 individuals. The focus groups were analysed with NVIVO software in order to identify the main themes, perceptions and feelings of the interviewees in relation to sustainability and crowding. The main results show that, although concerns about sustainability and rejection of the crowds increased during the pandemic, these concerns have again become less important to tourists once it has ended. Although sustainable and less crowded tourist destinations are generally preferred, the reality is that post-Covid tourist behaviour has not changed that much after the pandemic has ended. The conclusions obtained will be useful for companies, public administrations, destination management organizations and tourist destinations to know, understand and be able to adapt their offer to the trends and new demands of the post-Covid tourist.

Understanding tourists’ ambassador role of their origin places from perspective of residents’ attitudes towards tourists

Recognizing the pivotal role of tourists as ambassadors for their hometown is imperative, as it relates to the dynamic host-guest relationship, thereby significantly influencing the sustainable tourism progress in both their originating locations and the visited destinations. To delve deeper into this ambassadorial role, this study employed the tripartite model of resident attitude, which bridges the intricate interplay between residents’ cognitive, affective, and conative attitudes towards tourists. 204 U.S. people have been enrolled through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to finish semi-structured questionnaire about their attitudes towards Chinese outbound tourists. Leximancer, a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis approach was applied. Results demonstrated that neutral or positive cognitive-attitudes U.S. residents held towards Chinese tourists exceeded negative cognitive attitudes. Further analysis inferred that it was the interpretation or attribution of cognitive attitudes that would induce residents’ different emotional feelings and behavioral intention. Positive interpretation would lead to positive feeling (i.e., admiration) and positive intention to visit China. Negative interpretation would lead to negative feeling (i.e., contempt) and negative intention to visit China. This research provided implications for destination management organization of tourists’ origin place to incorporate outbound tourists as their place ambassadors.

How Gastronomic Image Shapes Tourism Competitiveness: An Approach with Sentiment Analysis

The competitiveness of tourist destinations is influenced by their relative attractiveness, which will play an essential role in their global success; gastronomy is one of the main motivations that lead tourists to visit a given destination. This research aims to investigate gastronomy’s role in the destination’s competitiveness and image through the analysis of online reputation, both in terms of ratings and sentiments provided by the experience, through the creation of an index of the online reputation of gastronomic image. Online restaurant reviews retrieved from TripAdvisor, from restaurants belonging to eight tourism destination regions, considered the competitive set to the Algarve, are analysed by applying sentiment analysis algorithms. With regard to the Algarve region, it was concluded that the Costa del Sol and the Tropical coast were the most competitive regions in terms of gastronomic image, where the inclusion of seafood products in meals was one of the strategic aspects used to increase the competitiveness of this region. These results can help restaurant managers and destination management organisations to better understand the different customer needs and how to increase their competitiveness.

Visual representation of tourism landscapes: A comparative analysis of DMOs in a cross-border destination

This paper introduces a framework for analyzing and interpreting the visual content of tourism landscapes, particularly focusing on the comparative representation of these landscapes by destination management organizations (DMOs) in the cross-border context of Usedom Island, shared by Poland and Germany. Drawing on a literature review and employing visual content analysis, this study categorizes elements of tourism landscapes as depicted in DMO-produced photographs, highlighting the differences in how these landscapes are presented to potential visitors by Polish and German DMOs. Key findings reveal significant disparities in the portrayal of cultural and natural heritage, suggesting divergent marketing strategies that may influence tourists’ perceptions and destination choices. This research not only contributes to the theoretical discourse on destination imaging and branding but also offers practical insights for DMOs in leveraging landscape elements effectively.

From likes to luggage: The role of social media content in attracting tourists

The tourism industry has become increasingly information-driven where tourists need reliable information to make their travel decisions. Social media content creators have emerged as prominent figures in disseminating authentic and credible information about tourist destinations worldwide. However, scant attention has been paid to explore the role of social media content in influencing tourist inflows and tourist engagement with tourism-related content on social media. To fill this gap, the present study utilized three social media analytic tools: VidIQ, Tubebuddy, and Social Blade, to collect data pertaining to tourism-related content across six tourist destinations in the Arabian Gulf region. The results indicate that these six tourist destinations collectively attracted 47 million visitors in a single year while garnering 158 million views on YouTube. Our findings indicate that tourists’ consumption of tourism-related content on YouTube directly relates to the number of tourists visiting a destination. In addition, the present study also finds that destination popularity leads to higher number of video views on YouTube as well as higher numbers of tourists to the destination. Furthermore, the current study delineates the role of content creator characteristics in influencing user engagement with tourism-related content. The present study offers valuable insights for destination management organizations, tourism operators, tourism industry stakeholders, content creators, social media marketing managers and destination brand managers.

THE IMPACT OF PERSONAL INNOVATIVENESS ON THE BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TO USING TOURISM MOBILE APPLICATIONS OF GENERATION Z IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

The advancement of technology has significantly transformed various activities in human life, including tourism. Mobile technology, especially mobile applications, has become an integral part of users’ travel experiences. Generation Z, with their natural and proficient access to technology, has become one of the primary user groups of mobile applications in the tourism industry. Recognizing the lack of research on the intention to use mobile applications in tourism, particularly of Generation Z in Vietnam, a generation expected to reshape the tourism industry in the future, this study aims to investigate how personal innovativeness influences the intention to use mobile applications in tourism among Generation Z and mediation of attitudes. To test the proposed hypotheses, the study conducted an online survey using Google Forms targeting Generation Z individuals living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A total of 318 participants took part in the survey. The collected data were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Based on the research findings, the study proposed potential solutions for mobile application development businesses, destination management organizations, tourism businesses to enhance the intention to use mobile applications in tourism among Generation Z in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam as a whole.

Food for Thought in Malaysian Borneo: Data Mining and Sentiment Analysis of Tripadvisor Reviews for Online Destination Branding

Unique destination branding in tourism is crucial to gaining a competitive advantage. Local food is a significant component of a destination brand which Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) must integrate into their official marketing efforts. DMOs must monitor the popularity and perception of their food promotions against the competition. Online promotion and management are challenging due to the rise of user-generated content. Automatic data mining techniques were used to determine the extent to which tourist food choices on TripAdvisor matched foods promoted by DMOs and how distinct these choices were from a rival DMOs’ promotion. We compared online food promotion between the Sabah Tourism Board and the Sarawak Tourism Board. We developed a software system to automatically extract food branding business intelligence from TripAdvisor restaurant reviews. The application of web crawling and scraping technology was applied to extract data and use Sentiment Analysis for interpretation. Online foods promoted by DMOs for each region were found to contain only a few common dishes, but these were more popular than region-specific foods. Significantly different distributions of food choices were found for each region. Some potentially useful differences between foreign and domestic tourists and locals were also identified. Sentiment analysis revealed hidden information in reviews useful for potential food destination branding. Findings from TripAdvisor confirm practical suggestions for improving brand distinctiveness found in the literature. This study is the first to develop an actual system that DMOs could use to estimate the online popularity of their promoted foods and those of their competition.

Journey towards unlocking intangible heritage’s tourism potential: supply-side perceptions, involvement and dynamics

ABSTRACT This research addresses the challenges and opportunities in integrating Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) into Cultural Heritage Tourism (CHT) offerings. Despite the growing interest in ICH, comprehensive research on its effective incorporation into CHT is lacking. Qualitative research was used employing interviews with 13 representatives from four case study areas known for their significant ICH offerings in the Dutch-speaking regions of Belgium and the Netherlands. Three research questions were formulated and tested to understand stakeholder collaboration, knowledge levels, and the complexities surrounding the term ‘ICH.’ The findings reveal a deficiency in stakeholder cooperation and varying levels of knowledge among supply-side stakeholders. The term ‘ICH’ itself was found to be complex but manageable through education and ethical sensitivity. The study recommends the involvement of an impartial mediator to facilitate stakeholder collaboration and suggests that heritage communities should be actively engaged in the process. Limitations include focusing on specific cultural and linguistic groups and incomplete stakeholder representation. The research has practical implications for policy formulation and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges and solutions for integrating ICH into CHT.

Destination image and personality in workation tourism

ABSTRACT Workation represents an emerging and intriguing alternative type of tourism that integrates work and leisure. While it has gained substantial popularity, scholarly research in this field has been relatively constrained, particularly regarding the role of destinations. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the most salient attributes characterising an ‘ideal workation destination’. We present a theoretical model integrating components from the destination image and personality frameworks and employ fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on a sample of 213 individuals. Compared to past work exploring the workation concept, experiences, and workationer characteristics, our research focuses on the attributes of destinations that make them attractive for this emerging tourism trend. The findings categorise workationers based on the destination attributes they prioritise, identifying three main groups: outdoor enthusiasts, extroverts, and hipsters. Understanding workationers’ diverse preferences regarding destination attributes enables tourism providers and destination management organisations in remote and undiscovered destinations to tailor their offerings and attract tourism flows seeking unique work-leisure experiences. This approach can support the revitalisation of these areas, enhancing their appeal and sustainability.

Model of resilience strategies of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises post pandemic crises in marine-based destination

This study investigates the resilience strategies employed by small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in Tanjung Bira, a marine-based destination in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Duchek's Model of resilience, which conceptualizes resilience as a meta-capability composed of three stages (anticipation, coping, and adaptation), is used as a key framework. An exploratory qualitative approach was employed, involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven informants representing various tourism stakeholders. Thematic analysis revealed several main strategies for SMTE resilience: collaboration with stakeholders, government intervention, implementation of digital marketing, strengthening SMTEs legality, and strengthening/diversification of SMTE products. Mapping these strategies onto Duchek's Model, the anticipation stage included strategic planning, risk assessment, and building dynamic capabilities; the coping stage consisted of immediate financial measures and policy support; and the adaptation stage involved diversification, technology and innovation adoption, and collaboration and networking. A key implication is that destination management organizations should create innovative products and leverage online platforms for marketing to increase visitor arrivals and boost SMTE product sales. The findings contribute to understanding SMTE resilience in the context of a marine-based destination in Eastern Indonesia and provide insights for policymakers and practitioners to support SMTE recovery and long-term sustainability post-pandemic.

Evaluating Tourist Dissatisfaction with Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis Using Social Media Data

Tourism satisfaction is essential for encouraging tourists to stay longer, spend more and return. However, visitor dissatisfaction can also prove useful for understanding any shortcomings of a tourist destination, and Twitter, Instagram and TripAdvisor reviews might be able to provide an insight into tourist perceptions and experiences. This study examines the major causes of tourist dissatisfaction with a tourism destination using an aspect-based sentiment analysis approach to understand the key points of negative tweets, posts or reviews. We examined 19,340 tweets, 7,712 Instagram posts and 25,483 reviews about Granada in Spain in order to evaluate the negative user's perceptions, discover management-related problems and provide feedback to destination management organizations to enable them to improve their services and operations. Our work contributes to computational methods to address tourism (dis)satisfaction with a process to identify the most important entities (places), an algorithm to identify aspects and opinions, and the use of word-trees to show the most important aspect-opinion tuples. In practical terms, we provide to tourism industry professionals and managers, as well as travelers, with methods to identify the reasons for tourist dissatisfaction from available social media data, in such a way that managerial strategies or travel plans can be improved.

Governance and Development of Tourism in Rural Areas through the Lens of Media in South Bukovina (Romania)

Agritourism and rural tourism represent an essential growing sector in certain EU regions, particularly in restructured and rebranded Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) like Romania that display important rural areas and face important societal and economic changes. The rapid growth of rural tourism activities in the South Bukovina region (historically overlapping most of Suceava County) led, in the new legislative frame, to the establishment of the first regional Destination Management Organization (DMO) in Romania. By an exploratory qualitative, mixed-method case study approach, this study underscores important factors for tourism development in the region, outlining rural and agritourism variables integrated into the public authorities’ discourse. The paper innovatively focuses on the semantic analysis of online newspaper media texts and videos, complementarily analyzed by appropriate software solutions. The main results emphasize the factors for tourism development in the area through a dual cluster centered around the multilevel governance and tourism management structures represented by public authorities on the one hand and the projects, investments, and EU funding on the other. Key stakeholders’ opinion underscored public–private partnerships, supportive administrative structures, tourism events and various natural and cultural resources as sustainable elements that contribute to the successful development of tourism in the region.

Pathway to ‘creating shared value’ in destination management organizations: Insights from literature review

Responsible tourism development has become a critical component of destination governance. Creating Shared Value (CSV) has demonstrated enormous potential for enhancing the value propositions of several industries by creating sustainable and socially responsible value for stakeholders. However, its effective implementation in the tourism industry has made little progress primarily due to the lack of information supporting its implementation and outcomes. Reflecting on how CSV is implemented across industries, the present study seeks to develop a framework for Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). We identify the building blocks of CSV through a systematic literature review and arrange them to create a conceptual framework. The findings demonstrate that a DMO-specific CSV framework is a powerful differentiator and offers several economic, social, and environmental benefits for society, the tourism industry, and stakeholders. The study extends the application of CSV to the tourism and hospitality industry and provides tourism managers and practitioners with guidelines for developing shared value-creation strategies.

From bite to byte: decoding the motivations fueling social media's culinary heritage stories

ABSTRACT Although tourists are increasingly seeking to actively engage in culinary heritage experiences, empirical knowledge about the culinary tourist remains limited, encompassing not only the desire to live these experiences but also a growing inclination to share related stories on social networks. This research aims to characterize the profile of culinary heritage storytellers through their motivations. Understanding motivations is crucial for destination management organizations (DMOs) and culinary tourism operators, as it enables them to effectively engage consumers (tourists) in active participation within value co-creation processes. Furthermore, this understanding allows for the proposal of innovative strategies aimed at making destinations more appealing to visitors seeking unique travel experiences. The data for this study were collected through netnography, involving participants in culinary tourism activities. Using content analysis of 50 posts, five profiles were found: gastro-nationalist, time traveler, epicurean seeker, culinary mentor, and sensory visualist.

Exploring the Role of Destination Resilience Plans in Promoting Tourism: A Literature Review

The study investigates the critical importance of destination resilience in enhancing tourism, particularly in the wake of challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary aim of the research is to analyze how effective governance, stakeholder engagement, resource management, and risk assessment contribute to the resilience of tourist destinations and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). To achieve this, the study employs a comprehensive literature review methodology, synthesizing existing research on destination resilience strategies and their implications for tourism promotion. The findings reveal that destination resilience plans significantly impact tourism performance, stakeholder participation, and sustainable development. Additionally, the study highlights the necessity of integrating innovative practices and technology to bolster the resilience of tourism sectors. In conclusion, this research provides valuable insights for destination management organizations, policymakers, and industry researchers, emphasizing the need for strategic planning and collaboration to foster long-term sustainability and resilience in tourism. The study serves as a foundation for future investigations and policy-making in the realm of sustainable tourism, addressing existing gaps in the literature and offering practical recommendations for enhancing destination resilience.

Inclusion of people with disability (PWD) in the tourism workforce: a critical discourse analysis of policies and plans

Purpose This paper aims to critically examine the discourse on the disability workforce in Australian tourism policy and planning documents. Design/methodology/approach This research draws on a database of 490 Australian tourism policy and planning documents, across national, state, regional and local levels of governments, destination management organisations and peak industry bodies, to systematically examine the issues pertaining to disability workforce over the ten-year policy cycle (2013–2023), through critical discourse analysis. Findings Analysis revealed 20 of the existing 490 documents had mentions of the inclusion of people with disability (PWD) in the tourism workforce. Through critical discourse analysis, the nuances of political attitudes are evident. Tourism policies tend to exert a cautious approach towards the inclusion of PWD employment. PWD do not have a strong voice when it comes to the formation of tourism policy, especially not as members of the tourism workforce. Practical implications This research underscores an emerging call for the government’s commitment to considering the underrepresented social group of PWD in the tourism workforce. By shedding light on critical discourse analysis of the disability workforce, tourism scholars and practitioners understand the current challenges and explore opportunities to implement tangible actions for an inclusive work environment for all. Originality/value The research is novel and innovative as it critically examines the discourse of the disability workforce in the tourism sector through an institutional theory perspective. The limited emphasis of government policies on the disability workforce may result in missed opportunities to encourage meaningful employment engagement of PWD in tourism organisations. Consequently, this research contributes a tripartite model of policy recommendations that explicitly articulates the mechanisms for change that are tailored to tourism workforce and advocates for the active voices of PWD community in the policy formation process.

A technology‐enabled framework for stakeholder engagement in a destination management system: Evidence from DMS Puglia

AbstractIn tourism, the presence of different stakeholders, sometimes with conflicting interests, requires a clear understanding of how to manage and engage them effectively. Despite the importance of this topic, tourism studies lack a univocal framework for destinations aiming to develop a destination management system (DMS) focused on empowering stakeholder engagement. To fill this gap, this study aims to identify the key dimensions that can strengthen stakeholder engagement in the tourism sector. Particular attention is given to the role of technology in mediating relationships among DMS participants and to the role of ‘intermediary’ stakeholders in facilitating collaboration and engagement. By adopting a cross‐disciplinary approach that integrates stakeholder theory, stakeholder engagement and destination management, and by examining a case study of an Italian best practice, DMS Puglia, a technology‐enabled framework for stakeholder engagement in a DMS was elaborated. This study contributes to the advancement of the literature on stakeholder engagement in tourism by demonstrating that the structure and composition of a DMS, and the communication methods it enables, along with the role of the destination management organisation and the preparedness of stakeholders to participate in a DMS, significantly influence stakeholder engagement and can strengthen relationships among participants in a technologically advanced tourism system. This study also provides directions to stakeholder bridges about how to effectively improve stakeholder engagement through technology‐focused tools and strategies.

The Government's Role in DMO-based Urban Tourism in Kayutangan area of Malang city

This research was conducted to determine the role of local governments to develop of urban tourism in Kayutangan area, Malang city East Java. The method used in this study is a quantitative method using Binomial analysis. This study uses six Destination Management Organization role variables, which were given to the stakeholder of the Kayutangan Area consisting of thirty respondents. The results in this study indicate that Coordination and leadership, marketing and promotion, partnerships, and public relations are the roles of the Destination Management Organization that are considered to have been carried out well by the government. However, the role of the government can still be improved, especially in planning and research indicators and in the role of product development which can be improved through further evaluation and concrete actions to increase the role of the government in planning and research and structured support in the development of tourist product packages still needs to be strengthened.