Urban Destinations Research Articles

The relationships between happiness, wellness tourist motivation, and tourism destination among Finnish wellness travellers: insights from the world’s “happiest nation”

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationships between happiness, wellness tourist motivation, and tourism destinations among Finnish wellness travellers during crises, “the happiest country in the world”. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from Finnish wellness travellers via a survey (n = 520) in fall 2021. The findings highlighted that Finnish happiness is largely based on eudaimonic-oriented meaning-seeking focusing on long-term happiness rather than hedonic-oriented and short-term pleasure-seeking: relationships, nature, rest and relaxation, and health and well-being. These motivations echo Finnish wellness travellers’ destination preferences: spas, urban destinations, national parks, and outdoor recreation areas. This paper contributes to previous tourism literature by providing the industry with new insights into travel motivations and the sources of happiness, especially in Finland.

Urban Tourism Destinations in the World

Abstract In recent decades, cities have faced numerous problems related to the accelerated process of urbanization, which leads to ecological, spatial and social consequences. At the same time, globalization destroyed productive activities and created structural problems related to unemployment. For these reasons, cities are trying to attract new and growing industries that will provide jobs and enable the physical and economic regeneration of cities. One of the activities that increases employment and enables the urban regeneration of certain city zones is tourism. Urban tourism at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, with the process of globalization and the use of shorter vacations by tourists, experienced an expansion in the number of visitors, as well as the number of urban destinations. Urban destinations, as powerful financial, traffic, political, trade, etc. centers, in addition to cultural, architectural, construction, artistic, historical and environmental heritage, provide diversity and quality of tourist offer, completed by organizing congresses, professional gatherings, sports fairs, etc. Large world agglomerations, as the most important destinations of urban tourism, are visited annually by several million tourists.

Cultural Tourism After (COVID)-19: First Findings from Czechia

This article presents and discusses the visible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural tourism in Czechia, Europe. The pandemic has caused or accelerated certain changes. Mainly urban destinations focusing on foreign tourists (e.g., Prague) were affected by the pandemic. However, despite the significant decline in tourism as an industry, the seeds of positive changes can be traced. For example, domestic tourists have discovered the appeal of the rural regions of their homeland. The trend has started to evolve from mass tourism to a more individual one. The decline of the workforce in tourism will likely result in the increase of more self-service forms of activities. Even though e-tourism cannot replace real experiences, it will contribute to a more deliberate selection of tourist destinations and services. Therefore, investing in a higher quality infrastructure should be a priority. The latest observations show that the main obstacle is insufficient cooperation among local stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, public administration, or individual government departments. Czechia???s fundamental drawback is the lack of clear distinction of whether culture tourism falls into the economic sector or the cultural sphere.

Decoding the components of waterfronts people love

Waterfronts have become integral to urban landscapes globally, representing both a city's identity and its inhabitants' well-being. Their significance extends to ecological and natural systems, making their design, management, and enjoyment pivotal for creating livable and resilient cities. Defining a world-class waterfront involves understanding the elements that contribute to sustainable, transformative urban spaces while addressing the challenges of a changing climate. To assess the success of waterfronts, a framework of six essential qualities has been developed. These qualities, devised by Hassell Research Lead Camilla Siggaard Andersen, encompass originality, compactness, diversity, networking, dynamism, and regeneration. By integrating these qualities, vibrant and environmentally responsible urban destinations are crafted, aligning with global best practices in urban design. The interplay of these qualities creates captivating spaces that enrich people's lives. Hassell has actively engaged in revitalizing waterfront areas worldwide. Regardless of scale, the common threads of resilience and connectivity underscore the success of these projects. Notable examples include the West Bund in Shanghai, Colma Creek in San Francisco, and Longgang River in Shenzhen. Each project's unique blend of the essential qualities contributes to their accomplishments, illustrating the synergy required to ensure thriving waterfronts.

Fostering Urban Destination Prosperity through Post COVID-19 Sustainable Tourism in Craiova, Romania

In accordance with the 2030 Agenda, the prosperity of tourist destinations holds a crucial role in the sustainable development of urban areas. Tourism represents an imperative solution in transitioning from survival to success after the COVID-19 pandemic. The stakeholders in the field should introduce new tourism forms that enable a more comprehensive strategy for managing and developing responsible tourism, bringing into focus new skills, resources, and levels for change to develop resilience, urban community satisfaction, and the unique intrinsic attraction of each tourist destination in Romania. This study develops a model of prosperity for urban tourist destinations, which can be applied to medium-large cities in Romania. We propose for the city of Craiova the use and identification of four spheres of sustainability, which in turn have a set of 17 indicators. The research method used to determine the indicators has two stages: (1) the analysis of the specialized literature to identify the appropriate indicators for an urban destination and (2) statistical analyzes and interviews with internal stakeholders (residents), which present their tourist perspective of the city. This article tackles an innovative concept, called prosperity and innovation in Craiova tourism, which can be implemented in all tourism niches and brings new development perspectives that correspond to the norms of sustainable development and their direction towards sustainability. The article addresses the concept of prosperity in tourism and contains information about: the definition of prosperity, the concept of prosperity (an engine of innovation in tourism and its implications), but also perspectives for a prosperous tourism policy in Craiova tourism.

Economic integration of temporary and permanent migrants: Between migrant and return migrant status

This article examines the economic integration and reintegration outcomes and processes of temporary and permanent migrants in the case of rural-to-urban migrants in China. Using a life-course perspective, I measure the integration levels of both temporary and permanent migrants in urban destinations and rural hometowns over time. Through this measurement, I investigate the differences between temporary and permanent migrants in terms of economic integration in urban destinations and reintegration in rural hometowns. The findings suggest that temporary migrants experience lower economic integration and reintegration levels than permanent migrants, highlighting the persistent advantages of permanent migrants over time. Additionally, I explore and compare the underlying processes that explain this gap for temporary and permanent migrants in both urban destinations and rural hometowns over time, including the selection process and the heterogeneous integration process. The results indicate that permanent migrants are consistently more educated than temporary migrants, reflecting a consistently positive selection of permanent migrants. Furthermore, temporary migrants rely more on individual traits, such as gender and marital status, than permanent migrants for integration and reintegration. By considering both the integration and reintegration of temporary and permanent migrants, this study provides a holistic and dynamic understanding of their integration outcomes and processes. The underlying mechanisms, the theoretical contributions of these mechanisms, and the implications of these findings to a broader migration context are also discussed.

Understanding Residents’ Intention to Adapt to Climate Change in Urban Destinations—A Case Study of Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration

While urban destinations have been affected by climate change, they are also at the vanguard of climate change adaptation. However, there is limited evidence from the urban destination point of view showing how they perceive or adapt to climate change influences. Therefore, this study bridges the gap by adopting the protection motivation theory to investigate residents’ perceptions of climate change risks and their adaptation intentions. Web-based questionnaires were developed and distributed to respondents, specifically residents in the CZT (Chang-Zhu-Tan) urban agglomeration. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to explore the underlying mechanisms. The findings show that the residents were already aware of the impact of global climate change and were well informed with regard to the relevant information. The key factors driving the residents’ intention to adapt to the changing climate were identified, and include information, risk perception, perceived adaptive capacity, and adaptive incentives. Importantly, receiving the relevant information can greatly enhance an individual’s risk awareness and adaptation appraisal ability. When people perceive greater climatic hazards and adaptive ability, they are more inclined to undertake climate interventions. Additionally, adaptive incentives have a considerable influence on adaptation appraisal, and greater incentives will mobilize residents to better adapt to climate change. The results provide useful suggestions, such as enhancing climate risk awareness and building adaptive capacity for urban destinations to generate better policies and strategies in climate adaptation and destination management.

PSR_ti model, an adapted pressure-state-response (PSR) framework for measuring tourism impacts: the case of Madrid

PurposeAssessing the impacts generated by tourism has become an essential element for the industry’s sustainability. The increasing intensity of the impacts and the need to evaluate them from a resident’s perspective calls for new approaches to assist tourism management. This paper aims to advance from the pressure-state-response framework (PSR) to measure the tourism impacts in urban destinations with a holistic model called PSR-ti.Design/methodology/approachA multiple linear regression method was adopted to apply the PSR-ti model in the city of Madrid, estimating the relationship between the pressure (objective) and state (subjective) variables. Local statistical yearbook data was used to construct the pressure variables. Regarding the state variables, a survey was designed to assess residents’ perceptions of tourism. A total of 652 responses were obtained.FindingsThe results obtained from the study of pressure indicators unveil that these indicators can support decision-making processes as an underused management tool. This work represents a step forward in considering the transversality of tourism concerning urban planning, the development of equipment and infrastructures or activities such as commerce and culture for the analysis of the state indicators; the results obtained determine the need to periodically evaluate the perception of residents on the impacts of tourism, given its crucial role in the sustainability of the destination.Originality/valueThe PSR-ti model offers a holistic vision, including objective and subjective indicators in the model, which enhances the appraisal of the impacts of tourism by identifying pressure and state factors as a starting point for possible responses by the decision makers of the tourist destination.

Migration and health: Exploring the effect of destinations on the health outcomes among rural-urban migrants in India

Conservative estimates of the census of India pegged the number of rural-urban migrants at 78 million, out of the total internal migrant population of 456 million, in 2011. Despite their sizable number, larger than several European nations, very little is known about whether the type of urban destination matters for the physical health of these largely poor populations. Using data from two waves of the India Human Development Survey (2004–05 and 2011–12), we conduct multi-level analyses to explore the impact of metropolitan versus non-metropolitan destinations on the odds of short-term and long-term illnesses among rural-urban migrants across residential durations. Findings show that rural-urban migrants to metropolitan cities experience higher likelihood of suffering from overall and pollution-related major illnesses relative to their counterparts in non-metropolitan urban areas. On the other hand, migrants to metropolitan cities experience lower odds of suffering from minor illnesses than non-metropolitan rural-urban migrants. However, these significant effects of urban destination disappear when we compare health outcomes between shorter versus longer-duration migrants. We subject these multi-level analytic findings to robustness checks that corroborate our foregoing mixed results. Our findings generate initial evidence on health disparities among rural-urban migrants by destination and duration. These findings underscore the importance of health needs among migrant populations, that require attention particularly in the short-term of their relocation to cities.

Technology Acceptance and Readiness among different Generations of Urban Touists

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER Several motivators and inhibitors for technology acceptance and readiness have been identified, however, propensity to use digital tools can vary according to different factors, one of them being the users’ age. This study seeks to explore the technology acceptance and readiness of different generations of tourists in an urban destination. METHODOLOGY This qualitative study comprised 94 face-to-face interviews conducted during autumn 2019 and the spring of 2020 (before COVID-19) to foreign visitors from different age groups close to the main attractions in Budapest, Hungary. Interviews gathered visitors’ thoughts, experiences, and perceptions about tourism and technology. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and content analysed applying a deductive approach. MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS Baby Boomers are more inhibited than motivated in terms of technology readiness due to the lack of technical knowledge and challenges of use. Generation X are more optimistic about the usage of technologies driven by convenience and social influence. Younger generations use a wider range of digital tools while travelling due to greater levels of optimism and innovativeness. However, some participants from Generation Y1 and X consciously limit the use of technologies as they consider them disruptive. Findings also show that motivators tend to be more closely related to utilitarian rather than hedonic factors for all generations. Smartphones and Google Maps are the most used digital tools. This novel study focuses on different models and approaches for technology acceptance and readiness from a generational perspective exploring the so-called ‘digital gap’. Furthermore, this study explores the correlation between different determinants of the proposed models. The context of an urban destination is also relatively novel, as many previous studies have focused rather on individual sites. RECOMMENDATIONS Urban destinations should facilitate conditions to encourage acceptance and readiness of technology among urban tourists. This not only includes digital infrastructure (e.g. WI-FI), but digital solutions and apps (e.g. tour guides in different languages) designed to attract different target markets (i.e. generations).

Thoughts on Spanish urban tourism in a post-pandemic reality: challenges and guidelines for a more balanced future

PurposeThis study aims to identify the challenges faced by urban destinations in Spain in the current transitional stage towards a new reality of tourism, caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the ongoing global changes in the tourism industry.Design/methodology/approachAn extensive literature review and an analysis of current debates were conducted to identify the different factors that have influenced the recent tourism phenomenon and the development of destinations on a global, regional-national and local-urban scale.FindingsFour main challenges are identified, including the new mobility patterns of the population; information and communication technologies and the digitalisation process in urban and tourism management; sustainability, as a factor of the competitiveness, stability and viability of urban destinations; and governance in urban destinations.Originality/valueThe study’s findings provide valuable insights for urban destination managers to make informed decisions and adapt to the new reality of tourism.

The Biosecuritization of the Tourist City

The impact of COVID-19 on tourism has been enormous across the globe. The successful recovery of the tourism industry at the local, national, and global levels is strictly dependent on the efficient contention and mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic at the global level and on the capacity of tour operators, governments, and other actors to generate complete trust among tourists. In this article, we examine the biosecuritization of Lisbon (Portugal) and the efforts carried out by the administration to preserve the city as a COVID-free urban destination. In this sense, we will examine two main strategies that have received little attention from the scholarly community, namely (i) the strengthening of repressive, punitive, and criminalizing policies against suburban working-class youths ('the perilous') within the scope of guaranteeing a COVID-free city for tourists ('the untouchables'), and (ii) the (in)governance of the urban night of Lisbon during the current pandemic. In the last section, we will argue how mobility restrictions, lockdowns, and nighttime curfews have shown us how central culture, arts, entertainment, and leisure are for not only the cultural and social life of many young and adult people in Europe but also for their socio-emotional wellbeing.

Examining urban tourists’ attitudes: The case study of Belgrade (Serbia)

Personal characteristics have an important role in shaping tourists’ attitudes. The purpose of this study is to examine tourists’ attitudes to elements of the tourist offer of the city of Belgrade, the main urban destination in the Republic of Serbia. The primary research aim is to examine the influence of these personal characteristics on such attitudes. A survey was conducted on a sample of 319 tourists, who visited the city. The collected data were processed in the statistical program SPSS25 while the formed hypotheses were tested using appropriate statistical tests. The research results indicated that tourists highly rated the diversity of the gastronomic offer and the quality of nightlife, while organized tours for visiting tourist attractions and the quality of traffic infrastructure were ranked as elements in which there are opportunities for improvement. Further, the research results showed that origin and education influenced differences in tourists’ attitudes. The theoretical and practical implications as well as research limitations are defined, and recommendations made for the future research based on the theoretical background and research results.

Mass tourism urban destinations and climate change in small islands: resilience to extreme rainfall in the Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are one of the main destinations for mass tourism in the European context, characterized by the absence of seasonality in tourist activity. Moreover, the level of activity increases during the winters, coinciding with a greater probability of extreme rainfall events, whose danger seems to be increasing as a result of climate change. Owing to its pronounced orography, the southern coast of the island of Gran Canaria houses several tourist settlements built along ravines and steeply sloping terrain. This scenario presents considerable risk because of spatial probability of landslide occurrence. The case of San Agustín, especially, serves to test the model of tourist urbanization along the hillside, demonstrating its high fragility in the face of extreme rainfall events. Especially owing to its importance in providing assistance in emergency situations, its vulnerability has been analyzed with regard to accessibility, which is entirely dependent on road mobility. The growth model of San Agustín serves as an example of mass tourism in small islands, allowing urban planners and designers to assess corrective measures based on managing its existing road infrastructure and open spaces right from the planning stage.

Identifying drivers of evaluation bias in online reviews of city destinations

Online reviews are a significant part of decision-making processes of customers and organizations. Varying user rating behaviors and lack of consistency between ratings and expressed user opinion in reviews have been a subject of recent studies. This paper provides insights into forms of bias affecting users` evaluations in urban destination reviews. Our opinion mining approach identifies context-specific, intrinsic terms associated with rating levels. We assess the individual impact of negativity, positivity and user characteristics on ratings using regression and classification methods, to verify two main sources of biased rating behavior. First, opinion-related evaluation asymmetries, namely positivity bias, negativity bias and bias related to positivity of low arousal. Second, bias associated with users` past rating behavior. Building upon results, we distinguish five user clusters with distinct evaluation bias characteristics. Results enhance understanding of users` formation of rating choices, while our simplified segmentation approach can be useful for relevant user profiling practices.

Beyond the Great Wall: Exploring Strategies for Enhancing City Tourism in Contemporary China

This paper introduces an innovative conceptual model that aims to bolster city tourism in modern China. We examine the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in the Chinese urban tourism landscape, including the diverse cultural, historical, and geographical dimensions of China's cities. Through a detailed analysis of various case studies, we propose an integrated approach that balances the preservation of cultural heritage with the pressures of urbanization and globalization. The paper also explores how the adoption of sustainable and tech-driven strategies can drive the transformation of city tourism, fostering economic growth while enhancing visitor experience. This paper's primary contribution is a roadmap for decision-makers, urban planners, and tourism stakeholders to navigate the complex dynamics of city tourism in China, ultimately contributing to more sustainable, resilient, and culturally rich urban destinations.

Township, County Town, Metropolitan Area, or Foreign Cities? Evidence from House Purchases by Rural Households in China

In the context of China’s New Urbanization Strategy, it is of great practical significance to study rural–urban population migration from the perspective of house purchases by rural households. In this paper, the Huai’an Rural Survey Dataset (872,414 households) was used to study the heterogeneity of rural households’ house purchases in different classes of urban destinations, and its influencing factors were analyzed with GeoDetector. The results show that the urban house purchase destinations preferred by farmers were county towns, townships, foreign cities, and metropolitan areas, indicating that in situ urbanization has become the main path of urbanization for farmers in Huai’an. Among the environmental influencing factors, the rural environment had the greatest influence on house purchases locally (in the township and county town), and this influence decreased with the outward shift of house purchase destinations. The housing environment, the settlement environment, and the population and family environment were the main environmental impact elements. The natural environment and the policy environment had little influence on the house-purchasing behavior of farmers, and the location environment was critical in exotic locations (metropolitan areas and foreign cities). Therefore, this paper argues that a higher demand for housing is growing in China’s less developed rural areas, creating a situation in which the metropolitan area is the core and the county town is the main contributor. In terms of policy improvements, it is important to pay more attention to small cities such as counties and to offer housing concessions and welfare to “new citizens” from rural areas, as well as to significantly improve the housing, earnings, and public service environment for those who prefer to stay in the countryside.

Severity of illness and risk of mortality in Mayo Clinic’s virtual hybrid advanced care at home program: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundIn July 2020, Mayo Clinic launched Advanced Care at Home (ACH), a high-acuity virtual hybrid hospital-at-home model (HaH) of care at Mayo Clinic Florida and Northwest Wisconsin, an urban destination medical center and a rural community practice respectively. This study aims to describe demographic characteristics of ACH patients as well as their acuity of illness using severity of illness (SOI) and risk of mortality (ROM), to illustrate the complexity of patients in the program, taking into account the different diagnostic related groups.MethodsMayo Clinic uses All Patient Refined-Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRG) to calculate SOI and ROM on hospitalized patients. APR-DRG data, including SOI and ROM, were gathered from individual chart reviews from July 6, 2020, to March 31, 2022.Results Out of 923 patients discharged from ACH, the average APR-DRG SOI was 2.89 (SD 0.81) and ROM was 2.73. (SD 0.92). Mean age was 70.88 (SD 14.46) years, 54.6% were male patients and the average length of stay was 4.10 days. The most frequent diagnosis was COVID-19 infection with 162 patients (17.6%), followed by heart failure exacerbation (12.7%) and septicemia (10.9%). The 30-day readmission rate after discharge from ACH was 11.2% (n = 103) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1.8% (n = 17). There were no in-program patient deaths.ConclusionsSOI and ROM from patients at the ACH program have been shown to be in the range of “moderate/major” according to the APR-DRG classification. The ACH program is capable of accepting and managing highly complex patients that require advanced therapeutic means. Furthermore, the ACH program has an in-program mortality rate of 0 to date. Therefore, ACH is rising as a capable alternative to the brick-and-mortar hospital.

The experience I will remember: The role of tourist personality, motivation, and destination personality

Providing memorable experiences is considered very effective strategy for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Memorable tourism experience (MTE) is still a relatively novel concept, hence its antecedents and outcomes are not completely identified. The primary goal of this research was to explore tourist personality and travel motivation as antecedents and the perceived destination personality, satisfaction, and revisit intention as outcomes of an MTE. The study was conducted on a sample of 614 foreign visitors to three biggest urban destinations in Serbia (Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Nis). For testing hypothesis, SEM (structural equation modelling) was applied. The results show that personality trait openness to experience and motivational factor knowledge and experience showed the strongest influence on MTEs. Also, all seven dimensions of memorable experience affected perceived destination personality. Practical implications and potential future research approaches are also highlighted in the conclusion.

Performances of Holiday Climate Index (HCI) for Urban and Beach Destinations in Sri Lanka under Changing Climate

Climate change has had a significant impact on the tourism industry in many countries, leading to changes in policies and adaptations to attract more visitors. However, there are few studies on the effects of climate change on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and income, despite its importance as a destination for tourists. A study was conducted to analyze the holiday climate index (HCI) for Sri Lanka’s urban and beach destinations to address this gap. The analysis covered historical years (2010–2018) and forecasted climatic scenarios (2021–2050 and 2071–2100), and the results were presented as colored maps to highlight the importance of HCI scores. Visual analysis showed some correlation between HCI scores and tourist arrivals, but the result of the overall correlation analysis was not significant. However, a country-specific correlation analysis revealed interesting findings, indicating that the changing climate can be considered among other factors that impact tourist arrivals. The research proposes that authorities assess the outcomes of the study and conduct further research to develop adaptive plans for Sri Lanka’s future tourism industry. The study also investigated potential scenarios for beach and urban destinations under two climate scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) for the near and far future, presenting the findings to tourism industry stakeholders for any necessary policy changes. As Sri Lanka expects more Chinese visitors in the future due to ongoing development projects, this study could be valuable for policymakers and industry stakeholders when adapting to changing climate and future tourist behavior. While more research is needed to fully understand the effects of climate change on Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, this study serves as a starting point for future investigations.