European Tourism Research Articles

Differentiation of the attributes that influence tourist hunters’ satisfaction in Serbia

ABSTRACT Some hunter satisfaction surveys have been based on customer satisfaction research (importance-performance analysis, importance-grid analysis, penalty-reward-contrast analysis). This article applied a similar methodology on European hunting tourists. The goal was to identify determinants of hunting tourists’ satisfaction and specific elements of the hunting experience that influence overall satisfaction. Results suggested that “opportunity to see” and “to shoot game” most affected hunter satisfaction in Serbia. Variety of game species, large population size, and health of game populations were significant determinants of hunter tourists’ satisfaction, along with trophy value of game. Accommodation elements (comfort, ambiance, arrangement, equipment of hunting lodge) and additional tourist offerings (visiting nearest tourist sites) were not important for overall satisfaction.

Sustainable tourism indicators as policy making tools: lessons from ETIS implementation at destination level

This paper aims to analyse the roles sustainable tourism indicators (STIs) play in policy making processes at destination level through a three-dimensional framework: 1) instrumental (direct use of information for decision-making), 2) conceptual (awareness raising) and 3) symbolic (legitimate decisions). The European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) is taken as a reference system as the only common framework developed by the European Commission to measure and monitor tourism sustainability. Our empirical research follows a three-step approach. Firstly, we analysed ETIS to investigate its potential to be linked to tourism policy. Secondly, we took Zuid Limburg, the Netherlands as a case study, to assess the role of ETIS pilot implementation at the destination. Finally, we performed a comparative analysis of 11 destinations that have tested ETIS, to better frame the weight of the indicator roles in local policy making processes. We conclude that so far the STIs developed within ETIS have had limited instrumental and symbolic use, while their conceptual role, related to the social learning process resulting from their implementation, can be considered a pre-condition for other roles to emerge. Moreover, the indicators’ role within policy making is closely linked to the specific governance context, influencing and being influenced by it.

Tourist gaze through computer vision: where, what, how and why?

La mirada del turista a través de la visión artificial: ¿dónde, qué, cómo y por qué?ResumenDiseño/metodología/enfoqueCon un enfoque de visión artificial, este estudio ilustra una serie de mapas que reflejan dónde y qué miran los turistas, y compara las diferencias en las percepciones visuales entre los turistas asiáticos, europeos y norteamericanos en Hong Kong.ObjetivoEl estudio tiene cuatro preguntas de investigación:(1) ¿Dónde miran los turistas en el destino?(2) ¿Qué miran los turistas en el destino?(3) ¿Cómo miran los turistas de forma diferente?(4) ¿Por qué los turistas miran de forma diferente en referencia a la teoría pertinente?ConclusionesLas conclusiones confirman que la “mirada del turista” está influida por las condiciones geográficas y culturales. Las conclusiones aportan tres tipos de aplicaciones para las estrategias de gestión de destinos y abogan por un alto compromiso con la tecnología de visión artificial.Originalidad/valorEn teoría, este estudio demuestra que la “mirada del turista” está influenciada por las condiciones geográficas y culturales. La contribución metodológica del estudio radica en la aplicación de tecnología avanzada de análisis de contenido visual para big data relevante para el tema de la mirada del turista. En la práctica, los hallazgos que no se han logrado a través de encuestas anteriores servirán de referencia para las recomendaciones turísticas y el marketing de precisión. Además, su contribución práctica es que ofrece un medio para explorar las percepciones de los turistas sobre los destinos, y comprender el atractivo de los mismos para los turistas.

Promosi Pariwisata Bali Utara Berbasis Sastra Melalui Novel “Aku Cinta Lovina” dan “Rumah Di Seribu Ombak”

Tourism promotion can be actualized through brochures, advertising, films, literary works, and works of art by doing direct marketing or word of mouth recommendations to promote local tourist attractions. Literary works can also describe tourist attractions through myths, folklore, travel books, novels, and films. This study analyzed the promotion of North Bali tourism through novels. The novels used as research objects are the novel Aku Cinta Lovina by Sunaryono Basuki and Rumah di Seribu Ombak by Erwin Arnada. The novel Aku Cinta Lovina is considered as tourism promotion because it has a background story in Lovina, describing the tourist attraction of North Bali, the interaction between local people and foreign tourists, cultural diversity, the hospitality of the local people, and the story of cross-country travel between European tourist and Balinese girl. Meanwhile, the novel entitled Rumah di Seribu Ombak has been adapted into a film with the same title. The best-selling novel took the location of filming, most of which took place in North Bali. This study aimed to examine tourism in North Bali through the novel Aku Cinta Lovina and Rumah di Seribu Ombak as a literature-based medium for promoting tourism in North Bali. This study also contained the opinions of stakeholders related to tourism promotion through novels. The main theory used in this research is literary tourism theory, supported by promotion theory, host and guest theory. The relevant research approach used in this study was qualitative. The data analysis technique in this study used Content Analysis. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. This study concludes that the story's content in the novel Aku Cinta Lovina and Rumah di Seribu Ombak depicts natural and cultural tourist attractions, promoting North Bali tourism through natural beauty history, tradition, and culture of the local community.
 Keywords: literary tourism, North Bali tourism, tourism promotion.

Transient and Persistent Cost Efficiency in Hotels in the Canary Islands

The aim of this study is to determine the presence or otherwise of transient and/or persistent cost inefficiency in the lodging industry. To do so, we applied the method proposed by Filippini and Greene, within a stochastic frontier panel data framework. Our empirical analysis is based on data for the hotel industry in the Canary Islands (Spain), an important destination for European tourists, for the period 2002-2015. Using a stochastic translog cost frontier model, we show that the industry’s real output during the study period could have been achieved at 17% less cost if persistent (systematic) inefficiency were eliminated, and at 24% less cost in the absence of transient (nonsystematic) inefficiency. We also present evidence of factors that strongly influence hotels’ transient cost efficiency, such as the positive effects of market share (in total revenue terms) and certain management characteristics, including the degree of independence with respect to shareholders, the experience in the industry (years in business) and the number of subsidiaries.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on European tourism

The COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures imposed damaged the world economy severely. As a consequence of the stringent restrictions on business and social life, as well as the consequent economic downturn, tourism demand has seen a unique dramatic slump in the year 2020. This study concentrates on analysing and forecasting demand for international travel of the euro area in terms of tourism imports. Starting out from a description of the key macroeconomic factors, it then analyses their effects on tourism demand and develops a forecast model using contemporary approaches considering asymmetric income elasticities of tourism demand. Scenarios are elaborated to project demand for foreign travel of the euro area until 2022.

THE REALITY OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE CHALLENGES OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN GEORGIA

Due to the pandemic we discussed the challenges of the tourism industry. Problems of affected sectors close to the sector were identified. We got acquainted with the opinions, forecasts and assessments of the National Bank data from internal research sources in Georgia. We rely on the research conducted by Geostat, the analysis of the decrease in international visitors, the reduction of costs, the main part of tourism statistics. We reviewed assessments and observations by the World Tourism Organization and European organizations. Opinions of Galt & Taggart’s unparalleled expertise analysts on the current reality of tourism and tourism recovery. We compared the indices with foreign countries. For the purpose of this paper, it is important to analyze the socio-economic situation in the post-pandemic conditions, what are the indicators of restored tourism in Georgia, a global trend. Restaurants are open on weekdays for both indoor and outdoor service, and opened at weekends from 21 May for outdoor service only. Delivery/drive-through services operate every day of the week. Kindergartens and classroom schooling has resumed although distance learning remains in some cases. Shopping malls and open-air markets are open. Systematic COVID testing of staff working in trading, catering and teaching professions is taking place. Working from home continues to be recommended where possible. It is mandatory to wear masks inside shops, hotels and restaurants, and in outdoor public spaces. Failing to do so can result in a 20 L fine for an individual or 500 L for a legal entity. Tourism development priorities need to be defined according to market segments. If neighboring countries choose to vacation at sea and consider visiting mountainous regions in integration, European tourists are mainly interested in our old culture. Ecotourism and gastronomic tourism, which is an expression of the nation's identity, history and traditions, are also discussed in a harmonious union. Stimulating domestic tourism and involving self-governments in tourism management is essential. Domestic tourism will become a good platform for preparation for future tourist flows. Initially, stimulating domestic tourism will be necessary to start a commercial "movement" in the tourism sector. Obviously, different cities will have different challenges in this regard.

Online Reservations and Hotel Distribution Channels in European Tourism: A Case of Croatia

Technologies transform the total marketing mix of hotel products in the dynamic tourism market, where the distribution is detected as a key factor of market placement and profitability. The main goal of this paper is to explore the distribution channels in the hospitality industry and to identify the most successful elements of online distribution for the purposes of realising future excellence in post-COVID-19 tourism. The online distribution elements that could enhance competitiveness and incentives for reservation were identified and ranked. This was realised by choosing the most representative sample and by researching it using a structured questionnaire, where the mix of competitiveness and marketing elements were evaluated. The research findings present the importance of online travel agents (OTA), tour operators, social networks and conferences (MICE segment). The potential of Global Distribution Systems (GDS) systems is detected and, although not fully valorised in practice, implicate future franchising and contracting with global hotel brands and consortia. The answer to the question: “Which tools and techniques of innovative online distribution should be used and what product elements enhance sales in the hotel industry of the future?” is explored by the scientific methodology, which supports the purpose and presents the main contribution of the paper. Implications for Central European audience: The paper represents a considerable contribution in the perception of the distribution channels, affirmed for exchange in the Central European tourism market as an emissive market for the receptive offer of Croatian tourism. Considered in the context of the accessibility of Croatia as a car destination that realises both long-term and short-term “impulsive” bookings, promptness, propulsion and dynamism of online distribution channels used by the hotel offer have exceptional importance for income management and profitability. Correspondingly, a positive perception is being developed of the Central European market demand, as well as tourism awareness about closeness and market potentials, which represents a platform for the development of applicative strategies in communication and business. Recognising the effect on intensification of tourist exchange through the affirmation of innovations and technology contributes to the development of science and practice of the hospitality industry.

European outbound tourism expansion on the islands of Cape Verde

The main objective of this article is to shed light on the determinants of international tourism demand expansion in Cape Verde. The research involves cointegration analysis to test the existence of a long-term equilibrium relationship between the variables included in tourism demand using the autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach. The results showed high income elasticity and price inelastic demand. Moreover, turmoil in traditional tourist destinations in non-European Mediterranean basin countries, coupled with the investments of tour operators and hotel groups who are key players in the European source markets, significantly and positively affected international tourism demand. Supply side changes associated with foreign investment were necessary to increase the number of tourists. Finally, lower level of income in European countries following the financial crisis of 2008 might have favored the shift of European tourists from more expensive destinations to Cape Verde. The concentration of tourism, economic growth, jobs creation, and population growth on two islands may have affected island communities, resources, and other aspects of inter- and intraisland relationships.

Chain of Reflective Experiences: How Tourists Give Meaning to Intangible Cultural Heritage Experiences

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is a tourist offer that is embedded within the people of a destination and their lifestyles. Given this nature of ICH, this paper aims to explore how tourists give meaning to ICH experiences especially in the absence of formal sources of information. It employs a qualitative phenomenological stance with a sample of 21 European tourists. The Appropriation Theory was used for theoretical support. Findings indicate that recollections and reflections of past travel experiences contribute to the interpretation of ICH experiences. Specifically, such recollections and reflections create a sense of familiarity with new ICH experiences allowing tourists to connect with them more, resulting in subjective meaning assignment which may or may not be the meaning envisioned by destination marketers and the host community. This study also initiates a discussion on ‘chain of reflective experiences’, through which further exploration of the effects of past travel experiences on new experiences are encouraged.

Estimating transportation-related CO2 emissions of European city tourism

The present study develops a methodology to assess transportation-related CO2 emissions of European city tourism. In doing so, not only is travel distance considered, but also the chosen transportation modes and the particularities of the different cities’ source markets. The major contribution of this study is the implementation of this learning methodology into a decision support system for destination management organizations of cities. Based on a sample from 2018 of 48 European cities with at least 40 source markets, the range of aggregate transportation-related CO2 emissions of European city tourism is estimated. Moreover, a longitudinal analysis of the exemplary city of Vienna covering the period of 1990 to 2018 is carried out. Finally, some policy recommendations of how destination management organizations can contribute to make the estimated transportation-related CO2 emissions even more precise and on how to make European city tourism more environmentally sustainable are drawn.

Quality and preservation of local resources in coastal destinations from the tourists’ perspective. The case of Hua Hin

Purpose of the paper: This paper investigates whether the quality and preservation of natural and cultural resources meet tourist expectations and whether they have an influence on their satisfaction and re-visiting intentions. Methodology: A quantitative questionnaire was developed and administered to European tourists in Hua Hin, one of the most visited coastal destinations in Thailand. To identify and analyse possible effects, importance-performance analysis, principal component analysis and structural equation modelling have been employed. Results: Results show that the visitors’ expectations in terms of quality and preservation of local resources are not adequately met, thus should be improved. Findings also show that they affect tourist satisfaction and intention to return. Limits: The main limitations of this paper are the characteristics of the sample, which do not allow a complete generalization of the results, and the limited number of variables considered in the analysis. Implications: The study suggests that the quality and preservation of local resources are issues on which coastal destinations in developing countries should concentrate and invest in, in order to meet a growing tourists’ demand for sustainability. Originality of the paper: This paper is one of the few contributions examining if quality and preservation of tourism resources affect tourist loyalty in coastal destinations in developing countries.

The Impact of Economic Instability on the Development of the European Tourism Market

The paper studies modern trends and factors of instability in the European tourism market. Using the methods of statistical analysis, the authors explored the impact of crises on the dynamics of the tourism market indicators. The low but steady growth rate of the tourism industry in European countries over two decades was only once disrupted by the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. Until 2020 the European tourism has been showing good adaptability to instability factors and a high rate of abilities to recover from crises. The 2020 crisis has given rise to the worst external shock to the European tourism market in its history. Using two methods (arithmetic mean of normalized partial stress indices and principal component analysis), an integral stress index for the tourism industry were constructed, allowing to identify the onset of economic instability for the tourism industry. This index was composed of such private indicators as tourist arrivals, overnight stays, occupancy and tourism turnover, and calculated for four EU countries (Italy, Spain, Germany and Finland). Based on its dynamics, we identified the periods of increasing stress for each country’s tourism market and made conclusions about a significant correlation of tourism stress indices of the countries under consideration.

Old World Homecomings: Campaigns of Ancestral Tourism and Cultural Diplomacy, 1945–66

This article examines the history of ancestral tourism and its development as a form of cultural diplomacy between 1945 and 1966. The phenomenon often referred to as ‘roots tourism’ has during the last decades increased in popularity, especially in Old World countries that historically have sent large numbers of people to North America. While previous scholarship has focused on its existential dimensions and its relation to the twenty-first century tourism and heritage economies, this article looks at how ancestral tourism grew out of European attempts at expanding the tourism industry after 1945. It studies the international spread of ‘person-to-person’ programs that sought to turn travelers into ‘ambassadors’, and the subsequent transformation of such initiatives into ‘homecoming’ campaigns through notions of co-descent, targeting Americans of European descent. By exploring the case of the 1966 Homecoming Year campaign in Sweden, the article shows that the attraction of ancestral tourism was grounded in its ability to combine economic and political incentives articulated in the Marshall Plan. It developed out of a liberal-democratic ideology that vested individual travelers with diplomatic agency. In the process, European tourist agencies calcified the notion that ancestral tourism served not only individual experiences, but also national economies and international relations.

Stationary Traffic as a Factor of Tourist Destination Quality and Sustainability

Since the Republic of Croatia is one of the most popular European and world tourist destinations, the aim of this paper is, from the user’s (n = 596) point of view, to research the importance of stationary traffic in tourist destinations. The purpose of this paper is to point out the possibilities of improving the tourist destination quality and sustainability through an adequate parking service. In order to corroborate constructed scientific hypotheses, a larger number of scientific methods were used from which a polling method, analysis and synthesis method, descriptive statistics method, t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) should be singled out. The major finding of this paper indicates a relatively big importance of stationary traffic (M = 6.51; SD = 2.21) as an element of tourist destination quality. Moreover, regarding the quality of tourist destination, the results of this paper suggest that the parking space availability is more important than the way parking or parking payment are organized. Between the experienced parking problem in a tourist destination and age on one side and evaluation of the importance of stationary traffic as an element of tourist destination quality on the other side, a statistically important connection was established. Gained knowledge can be particularly helpful to hotel industry managers but also to traffic managers whose duty is to provide an adequate number of parking spaces in tourist destinations.

Pan-European meteorological and snow indicators of climate change impact on ski tourism

Ski tourism plays a major socio-economic role in the snowy and mountainous areas of Europe such as the Alps, the Pyrenees, Nordic Europe, Eastern Europe, Anatolia, etc. Past and future climate change has an impact on the operating conditions of ski resorts, due to their reliance on natural snowfall and favorable conditions for snowmaking. However, there is currently a lack of assessment of past and future operating conditions of ski resorts at the pan-European scale in the context of climate change. The presented work aims at filling this gap, as part of the ”European Tourism” Sectoral Information System (SIS) of the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S). The Mountain Tourism Meteorological and Snow Indicators (MTMSI) were co-designed with representatives of the ski tourism industry, including consulting companies. They were derived from statistically adjusted EURO-CORDEX climate projections (multiple GCM/RCM pairs for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) using the UERRA 5.5 km resolution surface reanalysis as a reference, used as input to the snow cover model Crocus, with and without accounting for snow management (grooming, snowmaking). Results are generated for 100 m elevation bands for NUTS-3 geographical areas spanning all areas relevant to ski tourism in Europe. This article introduces the underpinning elements for the generation of this product, and illustrates results at the pan-European scale as well as for smaller scale case studies. A dedicated visualization app allows for easy navigation into the multiple dimensions of this dataset, thereby fulfilling the needs of a broad range of users.

The impact of sustainable tourism indicators on destination competitiveness: the European Tourism Indicator System

We aimed to evaluate the impact of sustainable tourism indicators on destination competitiveness with reference to the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS), a scheme funded by the European Commission to address the evidence gap in tourism policy making. To do this, we evaluate the absorptive capacity of destination management organisations (DMOs) to implement and use sustainable tourism indicators to make policy decisions. We provide evidence of how DMOs have acquired knowledge about the importance of sustainable tourism indicators through ETIS, and how they have assimilated it by developing their own systems based on the principles of ETIS. However, we find that the European Commission had unrealistic expectations that DMOs, or their policies, would be transformed as a result of the use of indicators, or that indicators would be exploited to improve tourism sustainability and competitiveness. We contribute to the study of policy science by showing how absorptive capacity can be used to analyse and evaluate policy interventions, despite being a linear rational approach to explaining a complex policy context.

Heat, Hills and the High Season: A Model-Based Comparative Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Factors Affecting Shared Bicycle Use in Three Southern European Islands

Bicycle sharing systems (BSSs) have been implemented in cities worldwide in an attempt to promote cycling. Despite exhibiting characteristics considered to be barriers to cycling, such as hot summers, hilliness and car-oriented infrastructure, Southern European island cities and tourist destinations Limassol (Cyprus), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) and the Valletta conurbation (Malta) are all experiencing the implementation of BSSs and policies to promote cycling. In this study, a year of trip data and secondary datasets are used to analyze dock-based BSS usage in the three case-study cities. How land use, socio-economic, network and temporal factors influence BSS use at station locations, both as an origin and as a destination, was examined using bivariate correlation analysis and through the development of linear mixed models for each case study. Bivariate correlations showed significant positive associations with the number of cafes and restaurants, vicinity to the beach or promenade and the percentage of foreign population at the BSS station locations in all cities. A positive relation with cycling infrastructure was evident in Limassol and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, but not in Malta, as no cycling infrastructure is present in the island’s conurbation, where the BSS is primarily operational. Elevation had a negative association with BSS use in all three cities. In Limassol and Malta, where seasonality in weather patterns is strongest, a negative effect of rainfall and a positive effect of higher temperature were observed. Although there was a positive association between BSS use and the number of visiting tourists in Limassol and Malta, this is predominantly explained through the multi-collinearity with weather factors rather than by intensive use of the BSS by tourists. The linear mixed models showed more fine-grained results and explained differences in BSS use at stations, including differences for station use as an origin and as a destination. The insights from the correlation analysis and linear mixed models can be used to inform policies promoting cycling and BSS use and support sustainable mobility policies in the case-study cities and cities with similar characteristics.

Profiling for sustainable tourism: young travellers’ self- transcendence values and motivations

Young people seek meaningful, participative, and co-created experiences. Yet young tourists seem less attracted than expected by tourism offers that emphasise involvement, such as sustainable tourism. A possible explanation lies in values and travel motivations specific to young travellers. Although travel motivations have been extensively researched, few have attempted to categorize the resulting list of travel motivations. Research on values is systematized but has limited predictive power because it is generally conducted without reference to immediate causes of behaviour such as motivations. This study proposes to segment young travellers using values and motivations simultaneously and, to account for socio-economic conditions, to investigate young travellers in China and Italy. Multivariate analysis revealed clusters that offer strong opportunities for a sustainable tourism proposition both in the Italian and the Chinese sample. Out of the other identified clusters, some offer similar opportunities yet require a different framing of the tourism offer, while some seem only interested in hedonic experiences. How this more sophisticated picture of young tourists may account for their tepidity towards sustainable tourism is discussed, alongside limitations, suggestions for future research, and a reflection about the re-start of European tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the neglected voices of children in sustainable tourism development: A comparative study in six European tourist destinations

For years, sustainable tourism has commanded the attention of academics and practitioners given its achievement through participatory planning. However, much research in the area has neglected to consider all voices of those (i.e., children) affected by tourism. This study, employing a post-test only experimental design, addresses this gap by including the voices of 498 children from six diverse European destinations concerning perceptions of tourism. Results show that children are willing to express their opinions given the opportunity. Moreover, their attitude towards tourists is negative, while they perceive locals to hold a subordinate position to tourists. In general, this study offers insight into children’s attitudes to tourism from the host perspective, demonstrating that there is a unique insider’s perspective that needs further research.