Emerging Tourism Destination Research Articles

A Textual and Visual Analysis of the Intrinsic Value Dimensions of Romania: Towards a Sustainable Destination Brand

This work examines the projected image of Romania as an emerging tourism destination. Computed content-analysis was applied to the photos, text and video materials promoted online in Romania’s last international tourism campaign. The conceptual framework used corresponds to intrinsic values (play, aesthetics, ethics and spirituality), from Holbrook’s typology of value. Being more difficult to apprehend and therefore studied less, intrinsic values allow a more sophisticated approach to value creation. The purpose here is to identify the main attributes that are promoted about Romania by destination marketing organizations. The content analysis of text (last international promotion campaign Explore the Carpathian Garden) and visual data (27 photos from the official Facebook webpage and 7 TV videos) allow to depict an experiential view of Romania’s image: natural resources (coded as aesthetics with 29% of references), epistemic value of discovery (play 25.8%), authentic and historical traditions (ethics 25.8%) and wellness and therapeutic activities (spirituality, 19.3%). Destination marketing organizations have the potential to develop some distinctive aspects such as authenticity (as an ethical value dimension) and play (as an active, self-oriented value). Findings also highlight that a complimentary approach using textual and visual data might be a suitable option to research destination brand image.

China’s engagement(s) throughout the African continent has met with mixed reactions from academics, politicians, civil society, and interest groups. In that regards, this paper questions the link between China-Africa, if this is a new form of colonialism or is China kind to the continent. Thus, this paper examines whether the debates regarding the nature of the China-Africa relations can be

This research paper suggests the Means-End Chain theory, has relevant and potential application in domestic tourism research and, as such, should receive wider debate in emerging tourism destinations. It is argued that the theory is particularly useful for understanding personal values as the basis of tourist behavior. This paper argues a personal values approach is a more potent way to understanding domestic tourist participation in contrast to previous survey research findings. A dominate narrative in most developing nations is to target domestic tourist with amenities envisioned for global tourists as a result of failure to generate international tourist demand. The review of literature method was used in this research paper as methodological approach. The study shows the effectiveness of Means End Chain analysis in understanding travel markets and demonstrated the use of motivation chains as a basis for segmenting, positioning, and targeting domestic tourist; The study deduces that means end chain analysis has advantages over quantitative research methods in cross-cultural research given the ability of the approach to reveal unique insights.

Outdoor sports and active tourism company management in Cordoba (southern Spain): An empirical study on the perception and behavior of supply

This paper analyzes the perception and behavior of active tourism companies that provide outdoor physical sports activities in emerging tourist destinations in Cordoba, an inland province of southern Spain. The active tourism supply of registered businesses was analyzed using fieldwork data and more than 30 variables including training and qualification of human resources, business vision of demand, marketing and promotion strategies, and perceptions of supply trends. To this end, a quantitative-qualitative empirical study was performed together with in-depth interviews of key stakeholders. Official registry sources were also used to complement the data. The results show a fragmented network of micro-SMEs that are functionally isolated from the rest of the tourism supply and display an intuitive and poor market-oriented behavior due to the inadequate management of their client portfolio. Such management models make it difficult for these businesses to take advantage of key strategic assets to increase profitability and achieve a competitive and sustainable advantage.

How does familiarity shape destination image and loyalty for visitors and residents?

Destination familiarity is thought to critically influence tourists’ decision-making processes. Yet the role of familiarity in shaping tourists’ and residents’ image of, and loyalty to, a destination remains uncertain. This research tests a complex and holistic model of familiarity, affective, cognitive and overall images, and the conative behavioural intentions of visiting and recommending the destination for both residents and visitors in the context of the emerging tourism destination of Molise, Italy. The results reveal that residents and visitors differ in terms of their familiarity and intention to visit a place, with familiarity being less likely to influence residents’ intentions. There is heterogeneity between residents and visitors’ affective image and intention to visit, as well as between their overall image and intention to recommend Molise. Hence, unlike visitors, residents are more likely to respond to factual cognitive imaging, rather than emotional messaging, suggesting that shifting residents’ perceptions of place image requires a different approach to that of visitors. Future research should seek to confirm the relationships in a multi-destination study.

The Relation between Tourism and Economic Growth: A Case of Saudi Arabia as an Emerging Tourism Destination

This paper examines empirically the relation between tourism and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. The authors try to justify how tourism contributes to the economic growth of Saudi Arabia. There are applied descriptive statistics, unit root test, VAR model and Granger Causality test as an econometric methodology to examine the connection between tourism and economic growth in Saudi Arabia for the annual data in the period from 1990 to 2018. The main empirical results of the study find out that tourism affects positively the economic growth in Saudi Arabia. Also, there is found a positive nexus among tourism and economic growth. Furthermore, CO2 emissions and financial development impact positively the tourism sector, while trade openness predicts a negative effect on tourism. Additionally, CO2 emissions, financial development, and trade openness have a positive impact on economic growth in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the Granger causality test provides evidence of bidirectional nexus between tourism and economic growth in Saudi Arabia. This paper contributes to the current research by explaining the causal nexus among tourism and economic growth in Saudi Arabia during the period from 1990 to 2018, applying a vector autoregressive model and Granger Causality.

Implementing ‘cleanliness is half of faith’ in re-designing tourists, experiences and salvaging the hotel industry in Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose In the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, organizations now are expected to serve customers who are highly conscious of safety and sanitation. Among others, the hospitality industry is significantly and negatively influenced by this pandemic. Given the unique characteristics of services, using advanced technology is not enough to create a memorable experience without physical interaction between service providers and customers. Thus, this study aims to define the “new normal” for service customers and to explore the “new service design” for the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach As most of the Southeast Asian countries heavily rely on the tourism industry, this study focuses on one of the emerging tourism destinations in this region, Malaysia. The data is collected through in-depth interviews with 17 potential national and international tourists. Findings The results suggest that considering the “new normal” for customers, there is an immediate need for the hotel industry to revamp their service design by mainly practicing disinfection and sanitation activities, re-designing overall infrastructure and introducing promotional offers. Originality/value This study is novel in its kind as it provides useful guidelines for both practitioners and academicians/researchers. Under this crucial time, very few research is conducted specifically focusing on the hotel industry and tourists’ behaviors amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will provide in-depth knowledge about tourists’ expectations from the hotel services, especially in their own voices.

Impact of Samarkand’s Destination Attributes on International Tourists’ Revisit and Word-of-Mouth Intention

Samarkand, Uzbekistan is a relatively unknown but emerging tourism destination. The city was once a major trading hub along the Great Silk Road. The once great city of Samarkand was hidden from the world tourism market, only to emerge after the country gained its independence in 1991. Since then, the artistically beautiful and historically-rich monuments have been attracting tourists from around the world. However, Samarkand has not been gaining much research attention at the same rate as international tourist arrivals. Thus, this study aims to comprehensively assess the city’s destination attributes and their impact on international visitor loyalty behaviors. The literature review process identified 16 destination attribute dimensions. Additionally, cognitive and affective evaluation, satisfaction, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth intention were identified and added to form the study model. A total of 223 international tourist samples were collected in Samarkand to validate the proposed model. The findings revealed 10 attributes to be consistently rated by the samples. Subsequently, the attributes were significantly influencing all subsequent hypothesized relationships. Both theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Enfoque Sueco de EcocomunasAplicado a Chile: Lecciones desde la Provincia de Arauco

This article describes the adaptation of the Swedish Eco-municipalities to the Chilean institutional context and its application in three emerging tourism destinations in the Arauco Province of Arauco. Due to the limited attributions and resources of Chilean municipalities, the Chilean Eco-municipalities need to implement strategies with public and private actors and establish territorial governance. The Swedish approach provides a three-phase implementation strategy that involves learning, planning and actions. In the Arauco Province, field work included a deliberative process that highlighted the importance of reflecting on the distinct interests as well as different cognitive frameworks with respect to development and sustainability. In this way, public and private actors collaboratively identified the principal problems and proposed shared solutions. Our principal conclusion is that the Eco-municipalities approach in strategic planning for local sustainable development in Chile should consider existing institutional mechanisms and be based in territorial governance.

The interplay between social media communication, brand equity and brand engagement in tourist destinations: An analysis in an emerging economy

The consolidation of Web 2.0 has modified the way people communicate and interact with tourists. User-generated social media communication continues to increase: to the detriment of traditional media channels, where the message is controlled by destination marketing organizations. Moreover, uncontrolled user-generated communication is increasingly considered more reliable than traditional, controlled communication. All this has considerably modified tourist perceptions regarding destination image and brand equity. From a business perspective, a line of thought addressing the study of these interrelationships has emerged in the literature, going so far as to consider their impact on brand engagement. Despite the current prevalence and relevance of social media communication as a loyalty-building factor in a context as competitive as the tourism sector, relatively little literature has addressed it in emerging tourist destination scenarios. Hence, the present paper presents an analysis of how – and to what extent – social media communication, both controlled and uncontrolled by the destination organization, has an impact on destination brand equity and destination brand engagement. More specifically, this study applies it to an emerging economy scenario: Metropolitan Lima, Peru. The implications of our research, presented at the end of the paper, are of interest – both as a contribution to the literature and from the perspective of tourist destination management – and can serve to aid the economic and social development of emerging economies.

La ciencia como recurso para el desarrollo turístico sostenible de los Archipiélagos Patagónicos

The article analyses the activation of the object “science” on the coast of southern Chile to create a destination for scientific tourism. A territorial resource is “revealed” through the selection and enhancement of scientific objects. A research centre acts as an articulator of the tourism development project and trans‑ forms “generic” resources to “specific” ones. New heritage milestones are created around cultural geographi‑ cal areas and relevant themes for scientists and local actors. New social links and collective dynamics allow the creation and insertion of an emerging tourist destination in the national and international scenario. Giving value to resources for the creation of a sustainable destination is carried out in 5 theoretical stages; selection, justification, conservation, exposure and valorisation. In practice, it requires the formation of a network of actors to clarify the nature of the destination and the marketing of four possible scientific tourism products: scientific and sports explorations, eco‑volunteering or cultural trips with scientific content. In this manner the Patagonian Archipelagos offers products based on scientific resources enhanced by local actors to create a sustainable destination.

Innovation and internationalization as development strategies for coastal tourism destinations: The role of organizational networks

Since the mid-twentieth century that several coastal areas in southern Europe began their tourism development, attracting unprecedented numbers of tourists, and culminating in the emergence of mass tourism. Henceforth, several negative impacts occurred, leading to the loss of attractiveness and competitiveness in the face of emerging tourism destinations. Therefore, there is a need for greater diversification of products and markets that underpin the tourism economy of seaside territories and enhance their competitiveness, which should be based on innovation. Recent territorial innovation models rely on networks, considering that the relationships established among organizations play an important role in the development of new products and services. This research aims at identifying the international dynamics that coastal tourism destinations should adopt within tourism innovation networks, that most contribute to regional-level innovation. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is applied to tourism stakeholders located in the coastal region of Aveiro, being possible to identify the structure and the processes underlying the international ties established towards the development of tourism innovation. The results bring important contributions to coastal tourism policymakers and governance, as it allows to (i) design innovation strategies based on international networks that increase competitiveness; (ii) acknowledge the most important type of organizations in coastal tourism innovation; and (iii) promote the geographical diversity of stakeholders in the network in order to capture new knowledge leading to innovation and to avoid the “lock-in effect”.

BİR TURİZM DESTİNASYONU OLARAK DEVELİ'NİN TURİZM POTANSİYELİNİ BELİRLEMEYE YÖNELİK BİR SWOT ANALİZİ

Bu çalışma gelişmekte olan bir turizm destinasyonu olarak Develi ilçesinin turizm potansiyelini ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Develi, tarihi, tabi ve kültürel olmak üzere pek çok turizm potansiyeline sahip bir destinasyondur. Destinasyon, üstünlükleri, zayıflıkları, fırsatları ve tehditleri itibarı ile değerlendirilmiştir. Bu kapsamda destinasyona ilişkin bir SWOT matrisi oluşturulmuş, Develi'nin sahip olduğu üstünlükler ve fırsatlar aynı zamanda karşı karşıya kaldığı zayıflıklar ve tehditler ile birlikte ortaya konmuştur. Elde edilen bulgular, Develi'nin turizm potansiyelinin etkin bir şekilde kullanılmasını ve içsel çekicilik unsurlarının ve üstünlüklerinin sürdürülebilirliğinin sağlanmasını işaret etmiştir. Bulgular ışığında Develi'nin sahip olduğu turizm potansiyelinin ortaya çıkarılması ve buna dayalı olarak alternatif turizm çeşitlerinin geliştirilmesi ve turizm altyapı yatırımlarının teşvik edilmesi olmak üzere çeşitli öneriler geliştirilmiştir.

Turismo durante la Guerra Civil, 1936-1939: el impacto de la guerra en un sistema turístico en formación.

This paper is based on several assumptions: tourism as an economic activity and as a social practice in Spain during the first third of the twentieth century was more significant than is generally assumed; prior to the Civil War, the foundations of the contemporary Spanish tourism system were being laid; in 1936 Spain was evidently, from the international figures available, an emerging tourist destination on the global tourism market. The paper is organized in five sections. The first presents the lines of development in Spanish tourism between 1900 and 1936, and how a particular tourism system is configured. The second shows, with several indicators, the tourism situation in the first quarter of 1936 and the tourism collapse from the second semester of 1936 to the end of 1939, with its local variants. The third section presents the fundamental features of the negative impact of the war on the incipient Spanish tourism system. The fourth and fifth sections explain how the war gave rise to new forms of tourism, described as war tourism, and explain what lies behind each of these forms.

Redefining Tourism Governance in Raja Ampat: Sustainable Development Plus, Governance Index and Android Based App Open Access

To develop tourism sustainably in an emerging tourism destination especially Raja Ampat, there is a need to manage regional identity and develop governance arrangements that bond tourism development and community together. The government as a key initiator of community empowerment, needs to ensure its governance arrangements are efficient. This paper develops a framework to measure the effectiveness of regional governance for sustainable tourism development based on two main elements: sustainable development plus and tourism governance. Sustainable development plus consists of two core named internal and external layers. The tourism governance is then measured by data triangulation, and analysis. The result of the analysis is articulated into tourism governance index and management strategy based on Boston Consulting Group Matrix. This framework which later transformed into governance matrix can be used to set up governance index to help the government improve the governance performance. The android based app open access is also developed to bring policy making process closer to the community and global sphere.

Revisión sobre capacidad de carga turística y la prevención de problemas ambientales en destinos emergentes

La degradación de destinos turísticos sigue en aumento como producto de las acciones incontroladas por parte de sus visitantes; como consecuencia de esta situación, los recursos naturales de estos destinos resultan ser los más comprometidos debido, entre otros factores, a la falta de aplicación de controles para la regulación del flujo de turistas. En este artículo se analiza el tema de la capacidad de carga turística y su importancia en la prevención de problemas ambientales en el proceso de planificación estratégica y gestión ambiental sostenible, especialmente en destinos turísticos emergentes, destinos que cobran un importante protagonismo como receptores del turismo. Este estudio se aborda por medio de una perspectiva analítico documental, puesto que implica la revisión de la literatura académica para el análisis y la comparación de antecedentes pragmáticos sobre la utilización de metodologías para determinar el indicador. De la revisión se evidencia que ninguna de las metodologías para el efecto es de aplicación absoluta.

A cross-cultural study on perceived quality in upscale hotels in Italy and Croatia

PurposeMost of the cross-cultural empirical research in hospitality has focused on Western and Eastern differences and has neglected cultural diversity in Europe. As cultural differences in Europe do exist and have important implications for managers operating in hotel industry, the purpose of this paper is to examine perceived quality in upscale (four- and five-star) hotels in two Mediterranean countries: Italy and Croatia.Design/methodology/approachData were collected among 335 guests in upscale hotels in Italy and 475 hotel guests in Croatia. This work adopts a cross-cultural approach in two different ways. First, perceived quality is assessed in hotels in two different countries. Second, national culture of guests is considered in their evaluations of perceived quality in each country.FindingsSurprisingly, hotels in Croatia, an emerging tourist destination, performed better than hotels in Italy, a top worldwide destination. The results show significant differences in perceived quality evaluations according to national cultures of hotel guests in each country. However, while in Croatia domestic guests perceived higher levels of quality than other guests, in Italy, perceived quality was rated lower by Italians than by their American counterparts.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study contribute to better understanding of perceived quality in cross-cultural research in hospitality.Practical implicationsImplications are discussed for both Italian and Croatian hotel managers, two direct competitors in the Mediterranean area.Originality/valueThis paper covers several research gaps: lack of cross-cultural research in hospitality marketing, poor examination of perceived quality in hotels from the cross-cultural perspective, and poor consideration of cultural diversity within European countries.

Towards developing a sustainable tourism destination: understanding motives of gold panning on the River Pek

Research question: The aim of the paper is to identify the statistically significant drivers for gold panning revisit intention at the River Pek in Serbia as one of the key factors in determining a positive effect on the destination’s economic sustainability. Motivation: The paper measures the effects of learning, socialization, nature and prestige and their influence on revisit intention. Idea: The core idea of this paper was to empirically evaluate the relationship between recogized tourism motivation as an independent variable and revisit intention as a dependent variable, given that revisit intention represents an important indicator regarding the sustainablity of an emerging tourist destination. Data: Empirical research was conducted on a sample of 230 respondents. A convenience sample was used and was constructed of people who had visited the River Pek as members of organized groups. Tools: Analysis of the data was conducted in SPSS and Amos. The statistical analysis was implemented in two steps. Since this model contains one dependent and four independent variables, its validity has been tested by means of a confirmatory factor analysis. In order to test the significance and strength of the effects independent of the dependent variable, a structural equation model was applied. Findings: The findings of the research suggest that two variables are statistically significant triggers of revisit intention – nature and prestige. Obviously, tourists are likely to engage in the activity of gold panning due to having a desire to experience something new and exciting, which is considerably different from their everyday activities, as well as from other types of tourism. Contribution: The main contribution of the study is to describe in more detail the concept of gold panning and its potential – as a form of niche tourism – to contribute towards establishing the River Pek as a sustainable tourist destination. The study also contributes to existing literature through the implementation of quantitative research of the motives for gold panning.

Spatial characteristics of tourism resources and the development pattern in jurisdiction of Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group

The question of how tourism elements can be spatially organized continues to be challenging, particularly for tourism in agricultural reclamation area (TAR) in jurisdiction of Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group(HARG), an emerging tourism destination. To date, the spatial characteristics of TAR resources has not been adequately addressed and few studies have considered spatial development pattern of TAR. Point-axis theory is a useful framework to analysis the spatial elements, structure and evolution. This paper uses the point-axis theory to propose the spatial development pattern of TAR in Hulunbuir. We constructed the point, axis and zone space of tourism based on spatial characteristics of tourism resources identified by kernel density estimation and local spatial autocorrelation model. The study finds that, Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group owns abundant tourism resources. The unique feature of location and advantage of it mainly on architecture and water landscapes. The spatial distribution of these tourism attractions was uneven. The tourism attractions have been more in the western part and less in the eastern part, also highly concentrated in South and scattered in North. The tourism attractions mainly distributed on either side of the Greater Khingan Mountains, where had formed four accumulation areas. In addition, these tourism attractions concentrate on area along the traffic line and river. Common tourism resources account for principal parts of tourism resources of Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group. From the perspective of quality level, different type of tourism attractions are concentrate in different way, with the high-high cluster, high-low cluster and low-high cluster were the majority, and the low-low cluster is scarce. Based on that, the spatial development patterns was proposed. In general, the spatial distribution of TAR’s resources can be characterized as a “point-line-area” structure. Convenient links provided between the points and zones via lines, forming a string of cluster of elements. In terms of types, biological landscape, tourism commodity and water sceneries mainly concentrated at the northwest of the Greater Khingan (GK), Architecture and facilities center on the northwest and southwest of the GK and humanity activities mainly distributed in the north of GK. The study find a small differences of distribution exists in site, relic and meteorological landscapes. In terms of quality, the overall level of quality in western GK is higher than which of eastern GK. There are two high-level clusters in Hulunbuir agricultural reclamation area, one is in Taohai, Xiertala and another is in Chaoerhe. This paper presents a point-axis-zone pattern for TAR development in Hulunbuir. The pattern includes (1) Taohai wetland, Xiertala wetland and Chaoerhe wetland as the key tourism destination and Ganhe farms, Najitun farm, Taohai farm and Labudalin farm as tourist distributing center, (2) 4 transport corridors—G111, G301, S201, S301 as the main axis, the galleries of northwestern, southwestern and southern of GK as the secondary axis, and (3) the area of northeastern, southeastern, northwestern and southwest of GK as the funtional zone.

A Dynamic Perspective on Destination Governance Success: The Case of an Emerging Network in the Dolomites

Development and competitiveness of tourism destinations have been often associated by previous literature to the effectiveness of destination governance. However, a thorough understanding of relevant dimensions explaining destination governance success, both from theoretical and analytical perspectives, is still lacking. With this paper the authors contribute to advancing the theory on destination governance, particularly focusing on the issue of governance success from a dynamic perspective. The theoretical and analytical framework proposed is based on the most recent developments of network governance studies and proposes an investigation of micro-dynamics to understand governance evolutionary paths towards successful or unsuccessful outcomes. The theoretical and analytical framework is applied to the case of an emerging network of stakeholders of an Alpine destination, the Comelico area. The analysis of the case, developed through an action research approach, allowed to identify both static (commitment and competences) and dynamic (framing and mobilizing) relevant dimensions in explaining successful or unsuccessful outcomes for emerging tourism destinations.

Smart City and Smart Tourism: A Case of Dubai

Over the past decade, the advent of new technology has brought about the emergence of smart cities aiming to provide their stakeholders with technology-based solutions that are effective and efficient. Insofar as the objective of smart cities is to improve outcomes that are connected to people, systems and processes of businesses, government and other public- and private-sector entities, its main goal is to improve the quality of life of all residents. Accordingly, smart tourism has emerged over the past few years as a subset of the smart city concept, aiming to provide tourists with solutions that address specific travel related needs. Dubai is an emerging tourism destination that has implemented smart city and smart tourism platforms to engage various stakeholders. The objective of this study is to identify best practices related to Dubai’s smart city and smart tourism. In so doing, Dubai’s mission and vision along with key dimensions and pillars are identified in relation to the advancements in the literature while highlighting key resources and challenges. A Smart Tourism Dynamic Responsive System (STDRS) framework is proposed while suggesting how Dubai may able to enhance users’ involvement and their overall experience.