Spanish Tourism Sector Research Articles

Public management of digitalization into the Spanish tourism services: a heterodox analysis

AbstractThis study is a critical review of public intervention and its management of change with digitalization, applied to Spanish tourism services, as ones of the largest case and most required of attention into the European Union. In comparison with other mainstream papers, this heterodox review is based on the combination of Austrian Economics and Neo-Institutional approaches (Cornucopists), with their common theoretical and methodological frameworks. Thus, it is possible to analyze failures and paradoxes in the public intervention, especially with post-COVID recovery policies. The case of the Spanish tourism sector highlights the effect of double bureaucracy, from European institutions and the Spanish Government, affecting its competitiveness and revealing the confirmation of heterodox theorems. Faced with mainstream public intervention guidelines, which usually involve expansive spending and more debt (and New-Malthusian measures), a heterodox mainline solution is offered here, based on the revival of the original sustainability principle, the readjustment effect and the promotion of geek'n'talent education, to facilitate the transition to the Knowledge Economy, where the tourism sector is capable of offering personalized travel experiences due to digitalization.

Artificial Intelligence and its Importance in the Near Future in the Spanish Tourism Industry

The tourism industry is constantly evolving, and in recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve and transform the services offered. This article explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Spanish tourism industry and discusses its importance and potential impact in the near future. The study examines various cases of AI use in the tourism sector, including personalised customer experiences, optimised destination management, and improved safety measures. It also addresses the ethical and social implications of implementing AI in the industry. The article highlights the opportunities and challenges associated with AI in the Spanish tourism sector and emphasises the need to address these challenges to fully leverage the potential of AI. The findings suggest that AI has significant potential to transform and enhance the tourism industry in Spain, but careful consideration and management of the associated challenges are crucial for its successful implementation.

Exploration of Dynamics of Corporate Performance and Corporate Governance

This research explores the dynamics of corporate performance and governance in the context of globalization and fierce business competition. With a focus on the Spanish tourism sector and evaluating corporate governance in Latin America, the study uses a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analysis. The study aimed to understand the relationship between corporate performance and corporate governance by exploring the differences between family and non-family businesses. The research provides insight into how ownership, management, and governance practices can affect corporate performance through literature studies, return on capital analysis, and corporate governance evaluations. The results show that family businesses have unique dynamics involving emotional involvement and creativity, while good corporate governance is concerned with consistency of return on capital. Implications include a better understanding for organizational leaders in making investment decisions and sustainable business strategies. This research makes theoretical and practical contributions to understanding performance dynamics and corporate governance in global and local business contexts.

‘Small-scale’ tourism versus traditional tourism: Which will be the new key to achieve the desired sustainable tourism?

The tourism sector after COVID-19 has raised different concerns that have lead to a development towards a more sustainable model of tourism. After the health crisis, the increase in environmental awareness of tourists has become evident. In this context, the great paradigm of ‘small-scale’ tourism has been developed as opposed to traditional tourism. The present work seeks to contribute to sustainable development in the Spanish tourism sector, comparing a hostel in Cantabria (considered as ‘small scale’ /religious tourism) and a hotel in Lloret de Mar (considered as a traditional tourism) one using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to verify advantages and disadvantages of both types of tourism. The functional unit (FU) used was ‘per guest night with breakfast included’. The results have revealed similar results for both establishments in all impact categories, as can be seen in its contribution to Climate Change (4.41 kg CO2 eq./FU caused by the hotel and 4.78 kg CO2 eq./FU by the hostel). The electricity consumption and the impact of the breakfast in the hostel were identified as main contributors to environmental burdens (with 76.72 % of the hotel's impact to climate change and 77.36 % for the hostel); hence, improvement opportunities envisaged were focused on these critical points. On the one hand, a biomass boiler, a solar water-heating system and a hybrid solar/biomass heating are considered a more sustainable alternatives related to electricity. Natural gas and diesel Consumption, respectively.On the other hand, oatmeal, Greek yoghurt and berries are good options for a breakfast with a reduced environmental impact. It is also important to implement responsible and green practices in order to achieve more environmentally sustainable alternative and traditional accommodations. Therefore, it can be concluded by stating that LCA is a tool capable of identifying and studying the processes with the highest environmental impact in order to find out the most sustainable form of tourism.

Influence of Economic Policy Uncertainty on Tourism SME Performance: The Spanish Case

ABSTRACT This paper studies the influence of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in the Spanish Tourism Sector and analyzes the role that company characteristics can play in this relationship. To achieve this objective, a sample of 5,529 Spanish tourism SMEs has been taken from 2012 to 2020. Applying panel data analysis, it is found that increases in EPU are associated with lower business performance in these companies. Results suggest that SMEs should increase their size, be more flexible and achieve an appropriate balance between indebtedness and liquidity to be more resilient to EPU. The findings present relevant implications for the managers of Spanish tourism SMEs and for economic policymakers.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tourism: A Clustering Approach for the Spanish Tourism Analysis

Since the middle of the last century, the Spanish tourism sector has experienced significant growth, which was interrupted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation had a considerable impact on Spain, as the country is a leading world tourism destination and relies heavily on this sector in its economy, making it vulnerable when demand for tourism services declines. The tourism model in Spain is not homogeneous, and the Mediterranean coastal regions and island areas are highly dependent on tourism as a main source of economic income and were particularly affected by the consequences of the pandemic. This study analyzes the impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector in each Spanish autonomous community, focusing on tourism demand through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The results reveal the disparity and vulnerability of Spanish regions to the tourism crisis. The most tourist-dependent areas dependent on international tourism have experienced a decline due to restrictions and a fall in demand. On the other hand, rural regions that depend mainly on national tourism have suffered fewer effects.

Effects of the COVID-19 tourism crisis on the Spanish economy

This study addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Spanish tourism sector and economy in general, at the national and regional levels, through a comparative analysis between the evolution observed in the sector and the evolution that could have happened had the pandemic not occurred. This study was conducted in two stages. First, the total tourist expenditures for 2020 and 2021 were predicted under the assumption that the pandemic had not occurred. In the second stage, the losses in terms of turnover, jobs and the contribution of the tourism sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) that would have occurred without the pandemic were estimated. We applied the input–output method and found that for every €1000 less of tourist spending due to the pandemic, €1883 less were contributed to the GDP, and for every €100,000 less in spending, 2.8 jobs were lost.

The interplay between firms’ capabilities and ownership in explaining environmental performance

PurposeThis study empirically assesses the effects of two key types of organizational and managerial capabilities—dynamic capabilities, and coordination and cohesion capabilities—on environmental performance, considering the moderating effect of family ownership. By applying the tenets of the natural resource-based view and the dynamic capabilities theory, this paper offers new insights into the topic.Design/methodology/approachThe article presents empirical evidence from a survey of 1,019 firms operating in the Spanish tourism sector analyzed using multiple linear regression.FindingsOverall, our results show that both dynamic capabilities and coordination and cohesion capabilities have direct and synergetic positive effects on environmental performance. In addition, the results confirm recent studies that report conflicting evidence on how family ownership affects environmental performance: family ownership is found to exert a distinct direct effect on environmental performance and on the development and application of the capabilities required to improve such performance.Originality/valueThis article sheds light on the conceptual frontiers between the different types of capabilities, as well as provides practical ways of measuring them. The article also brings evidence to bear on the debate concerning the direct and moderating effect that family ownership exerts on the relationship between both types of capabilities over environmental performance. The results of this analysis confirm the complexity of the family ownership effect on this aspect, and provide important insights for both business practitioners and academics.

COVID-19 and tourism sector stock price in Spain: medium-term relationship through dynamic regression models

The global pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has significantly affected tourism, especially in Spain, as it was among the first countries to be affected by the pandemic and is among the world’s biggest tourist destinations. Stock market values are responding to the evolution of the pandemic, especially in the case of tourist companies. Therefore, being able to quantify this relationship allows us to predict the effect of the pandemic on shares in the tourism sector, thereby improving the response to the crisis by policymakers and investors. Accordingly, a dynamic regression model was developed to predict the behavior of shares in the Spanish tourism sector according to the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in the medium term. It has been confirmed that both the number of deaths and cases are good predictors of abnormal stock prices in the tourism sector.

From satisfaction to happiness in the co-creation of value: the role of moral emotions in the Spanish tourism sector

The search for happiness, understood as an inner and personal attitude that goes beyond mere satisfaction, is one of the aims of tourists’ co-creation of value. To date, few studies have analysed the importance of people’s moral principles in the co-creation of tourist value. Moral emotions play an essential role in this process. In this study, 12 tourism managers within administration, 28 hotel managers and 24 travel agencies actively participated in defining the indicators selected to measure how the co-creation of value from five Spanish towns affected customers’ happiness. Moreover, 444 tourists participated in the study. The PLS-SEM technique was used to examine the data obtained. Results show that the co-creation of value contributes to the happiness of the tourist. Of particular significance is the influence of customers’ co-creation of value on customer happiness. Additionally, the predictive capacity of the model is replicable to other tourist destinations.

Unveiling the Direct Effects of Family Firm Heterogeneity on Environmental Performance

By combining agency theory and the resource- and capabilities-based view, this paper aims to unveil the influence of family firm heterogeneity on environmental performance. Previous results are inconsistent about how the specific features of this type of business contribute to better environmental protection performance. We analyse a number of variables related to the management, ownership and corporate governance characteristics of the family business and their individual influence on environmental performance. We test our hypotheses using a database of 748 family firms in the Spanish tourism sector. This economic sector, which is mostly composed of family businesses, puts great pressure on the environment. As such, family firms must take an active role in the resolution of the environmental problems that afflict society. We find that the effects of a family-controlled ownership and management structure on environmental performance are negative. Family-founder firms with a high degree of family control also are shown to have a negative relationship with environmental performance. However, the existence of a formal management mechanism, such as a management committee, emerges as the most powerful structural factor in facilitating the achievement of environmental objectives. The conclusions drawn from this study allow us to outline future lines of research as well as recommendations for practitioners. Our study responds to the call made in the literature to delve deeper into the heterogeneity of the family business, and specifically to determine which of its characteristic features allow this type of business to achieve better environmental performance.

A gender approach to the impact of COVID-19 on tourism employment

This paper analyses how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced employment in the Spanish tourism sector from a gender perspective and aims to infer its impact on sustainability. We use employment data from 2002 (Q1) to 2020 (Q4) on women and men in the Spanish hospitality sector and employ fractional integration methods to determine the temporary scope of the shock. Our results suggest that the impact of the pandemic will have a permanent effect, unless strong policy measures are adopted to resume pre-crisis trends. We also found that persistence is higher for women’s than for men’s employment. Therefore, women seem to be more vulnerable to the shocks of COVID-19, making sustainable development of tourism in Spain more difficult. Based on our results, we offer policy recommendations to counter the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality and tourism sustainability.

Forecasting a post-COVID-19 economic crisis using fuzzy cognitive maps: a Spanish tourism-sector perspective

ABSTRACT Those in positions of leadership are accustomed to having to deal with complex and uncertain situations. However, the on-going COVID-19 pandemic has taken this challenge to a new level of complexity. Although econometric models are being used to predict economic scenarios relating to the fall-out from the pandemic, these forecasts do not factor-in the uncertainty generated by new changes announced weekly by policymakers. The aim of the present study is therefore to apply a fuzzy approach to develop a method for providing consistent and reliable forecasting scenarios that facilitate managers’ and policymaker’s decision-making in complex and uncertain situations. The chosen context of the study is the case of the potential consequences of COVID-19 for the international tourism sector in Spain, using fuzzy cognitive maps. This semi-quantitative model can help researchers to forecast the potential impact of major events in fuzzy or uncertain environments by constructing flexible and adaptable scenarios.

Competitiveness, Intelligence and Sustainability in Consolidated Destinations

Competitiveness, sustainability and innovation have been studied by the tourism literature at least since the 1990s. In spite of the advances made in the comprehension of these concepts, the dynamic nature of the industry continually generates new practical challenges for the public and private agents of the sector and scientific challenges for tourism researchers. Currently, globalization and digital progress, the emergence of new marketing platforms, the increased saturation of certain destinations and the COVID-19 pandemic are significantly affecting the competitiveness and sustainability of tourism activity. This calls for a scientific review of what we know about the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector and an analysis of its feasibility in this new competitive environment that is constantly and intensely transforming, even more so in the post-COVID19 era. The objective of this article is to conceptually analyze the state of this question, using Spain as a case study, as it has been the global leader in tourism competitiveness in recent years. The high level of consolidation of the Spanish tourism sector enables us to make a more in-depth analysis of the implications of these phenomena and to extract practical lessons for destinations that are in the more initial phases of their life cycles.

A Fuzzy AHP-MAIRCA Model for Overtourism Assessment: The Case of Malaga Province

The unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 has placed the tourism sector in an unfavourable position. It has altered the reality of destinations worldwide, changing the paradigm of tourism and showing an unusual scenario within the tourism sector, the undertourism. This paper confirms how this global pandemic has put the Spanish tourism sector at a halt, making it essential to establish public–private response strategies that reactivate it and, in turn, avoid overtourism in the post-COVID-19 scenario. This is done to emphasise the necessity of embracing an adapted systematic approach that entails a realistic set of factors to quantitatively measure the impact of overtourism on the local community. In this sense, a fuzzy modified hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is proposed, combining the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model, the multi-attribute ideal–real comparative analysis (MAIRCA) model, and the sensitivity analysis. The modified F-AHP model is used to identify the criteria importance. For the final ranking of the considered alternative municipalities, the modified F-MAIRCA is applied. To validate the applicability of the proposed approach, we designated the province of Malaga (Costa del Sol) as an empirical study. The findings show that the municipality of Nerja was the most affected by overtourism in the pre-pandemic scenario, and today it is found in undertourism. This calls for transformative decisions of fully engaged tourism policymakers and practitioners to thrive in the post-COVID-19 tourism scenarios in terms of sustainability.

Divergencia empresarial en la productividad total de los factores en el período de crisis y recuperación económica en el sector turístico español

The main aim of this research is to contrast the existence of a positive relationship between the total factor productivity (TFP) of companies in the Spanish tourism sector and their use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). in the understanding that the trend is for companies to opt for ICT in‑ vestment and development to improve their TFP and their interaction with the international market (export and import) also leads to an improvement in TFP in the context of the “New” new trade theory. Likewise, the current debate on the dispersion of TFP has affected all economic sectors. In this case, the hy‑ pothesis revolves around the existence of a divergence of this variable between a period of crisis (2007‑2011) and a period of economic recovery (2012‑2017). The data from the Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System (SABI) were extracted fto the ends of the correct development of this research which has allowed the TFP to be estimated using MCO, EF and LP, as well as the correct verification of the hypotheses using the SEM method. Three conclusions are reached: i) that the Spanish tourism sector seems to have a low level of ICT adoption in its business structure; ii) that TFP dispersion is demonstrated with respect to the two subperiods analysed (crisis and economic recovery), and that iii) internationalisation has a significant result on TFP.

COVID-19 Impacts and Recovery Strategies: The Case of the Hospitality Industry in Spain

The health crisis caused by the pandemic COVID-19 has been of such magnitude that the drop-off in economic and tourist activity in most countries is generating an economic crisis with consequences that are still difficult to measure. The present work analyses the origins and evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and reviews the literature related to the impacts and recovery strategies that were implemented in previous crisis situations affecting the hotel industry. In order to focus the study on one country, Spain was selected based on tourism indicators, the importance of tourism for this country and the importance of Spain as a leader in international tourist destinations. The influence of the pandemic on the Spanish tourism sector and, more specifically, on its hospitality industry is explored in depth. In addition, the main initiatives to support the tourism and hospitality sector that have been undertaken at the global, European and national levels are highlighted and, finally, the response and recovery strategies of the five largest Spanish hotel chains to guarantee a COVID-19-free stay in their facilities and to recover the accommodation activity are discussed.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish tourism sector

We examine in this note the impact of COVID-19 on the Spanish tourism sector by using a strong dependence model. Daily data from five equity markets are used and we find that the coronavirus crisis has increased the persistence in the data, moving in some of the series from a mean reverting process to a non-mean reverting one. Thus, shocks that were expected to be transitory have become permanent, implying the need of strong policy measures to come the series back to their long-term projections.

The financing of SMEs in the Spanish tourism sector at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis: Lessons to learn?

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a powerful economic engine in many European countries. Moreover, tourism SMEs are particularly important in the economies of countries in southern Europe due to the climate and sociodemographic situation, among other reasons. In Spain, specifically, these enterprises are a vital economic asset. Nonetheless, neither the importance of SMEs in the tourism industry nor the main factors that influence their capital structure have been sufficiently studied. We used panel data methodology with a regression model to analyse the capital structure of SMEs in the tourism sector at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. Our results show the significance of SMEs within the tourism industry as well as the need to take into account the main factors that influence their capital, which are type (micro, small or medium enterprise), profitability, number of employees and size (logarithm of total assets). Furthermore, despite the robustness of these companies, they have been affected by the crisis. This study is of great interest as it provides indicators to understand the strength of tourist SMEs to confront potential crises.

AN ANALYSIS OF TOURISM SECTOR SEASONALITY AND ITS RELATION TO THE ECONOMIC CYCLE: THE CASE OF SPAIN

This study analyzes the changes caused by seasonal trends in the Spanish tourism sector 2007-2016. The methodological originality of the analysis stems from its multi-dimensional index of tourism seasonality, which uses the DP2 indicator. This method enables us to analyze changes in the intensity of destinations’ seasonality and to determine both the variables with the greatest power to explain this phenomenon and the variables with the greatest discriminant value among destinations. The results indicate that urban destinations are the most sensitive to variations in the economic cycle, primarily due to the effect of variations in the arrivals of national tourists.