Urban Tourism Destinations Research Articles

De gueto a destino turístico urbano: um estudo da ‘regulierdwarsstraat’, Amsterdã, Holanda no contexto LGBTQ+

This article presents a spatial and functional interpretation of the traditional and eccentric Reguliersdwarsstraat as a tourist stronghold aimed towards the LGBTQ+ community. The concept of the Tourist Functional Area (Precinct) and the classic theory of expansion of tourist equipment in Miossec (1977), conferred the main theoretical support of the study which had field work, operationalized by the methodology of participant observation. In addition to discussing Urban Tourism, this article presents a characterization of the environment in which a historical perspective of the configuration of the Reguliersdwarsstraat prevails, reaching the current panorama. It can be concluded that the area has integrated into the dynamics of the city, overcoming a historical condition of the ghetto, and being more recently driven by the public which favored the consolidation of Amsterdam as a Cosmopolitan Urban Tourist Destination for the LGBTQ+ community.

Place Branding for Smart Cities and Smart Tourism Destinations: Do They Communicate Their Smartness?

Smart cities and smart tourism destinations integrate technological infrastructures and end-user devices with the aim of providing more satisfying experiences. They generate expectations of superior innovation, greater interactivity, participation and a better image. Therefore, they need to communicate their smartness and include it in their branding. The study analyses the smart content present in the tourist and non-tourist official Twitter accounts of a selection of smart cities and smart destinations, through semantic analysis, in order to find out which smart concepts are strategically branded to create a smart tourism destination image. The results show that the best cities in the ranking for each smart topic are not the ones with highest percentages of tweets on that topic. The study also shows that the number and percentage of tweets that communicate smart aspects on the platforms analyzed are low, showing the smartness is not included in their branding. It has also been observed that, almost all cities communicate or do not communicate the same concepts, evincing an undifferentiated branding strategy. The results of this study are interesting for urban policy-makers and tourism destination marketers to improve their branding.

The Urban Heritage Tourism Development Strategies in Gajah Mada Denpasar Heritage Area Based on The Visitors’ Satisfaction

Market driven is one of the aspect of tourism development strategy approaches. The purpose of this research is intended to formulate development strategies for Gajah Mada Denpasar Heritage Area as an urban heritage tourism destination based on the level of visitors’ satisfaction. This research is based on descriptive quantitative method. The data used in this study are qualitative and quantitative data that obtained through literature study, observation, interviews and questionnaires to 100 respondents who had experienced on visiting Gajah Mada Heritage Area before the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) and supported by descriptive analysis methods. The results showed that the development strategy needs to be emphasized on intensify the bad performance of the tourism destination elements in quadrant I and maintain the good performance of the tourism destination elements which are the part of quadrant II, based on the Cartesian quadrant’s result.

Sustainable Production and Consumption of Food. Mise-en-Place Circular Economy Policies and Waste Management Practices in Tourism Cities

Although previous researchers have explored the circular economy practices of different businesses in various contexts, currently, there are still a few contributions that are focused on the sustainable preparation and consumption of food in the tourism and hospitality industry context. Hence, this paper sheds light on case studies from hotels, restaurants, and cafes that are located in urban tourist destinations. This research suggests that catering businesses can implement a number of responsible initiatives by introducing preventative measures and recycling practices to curb food loss and the generation of waste. In conclusion, this contribution implies that there is scope for regulatory authorities and policymakers to encourage hospitality practitioners to engage in circular economy approaches and to incentivize them to minimize food waste in tourism cities.

Research Methodology for Tourism Destination Resilience and Analysis of Its Spatiotemporal Dynamics in the Post-Epidemic Period

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, the global tourism industry is facing enormous challenges. There is an urgent need to explore an effective path for tourism to recover and revitalize. With the normalization of the epidemic, tourism destinations will pay more attention to the prevention, warning, and coping strategies of the epidemic, and this focus will also be evident in the study of tourism destination resilience in the post-epidemic period. Some studies on the epidemic and the resilience of tourism are currently underway, but few of them are integrated with research on the resilience of tourism destinations in the post-epidemic period, although no systematic research ideas or methods have been found. Based on resilience theory, this paper summarizes the general research ideas and develops an epidemic resilience model suitable for urban tourism destinations. The present study also proposes a set of research methods based on the index system to analyze the resilience and its spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of tourism destinations in the post-epidemic period. The methodology can be divided into three stages: Firstly, construct the conceptual model and evaluation system for tourism destination resilience; Secondly, select case sites for empirical analysis, measure the resilience of tourism destinations, and analyze the characteristics of spatiotemporal differences and subsequent factors of influence; And finally, establish an adaptive management mechanism for tourism destinations to use in response to the epidemic and in guiding the formulation of post-epidemic recovery policies.

Visual and aesthetic markers of gentrification: agency of mapping and tourist destinations

Framed within the context of contemporary place making and the urban tourism destination, a novel trans-disciplinary approach to mapping and interpreting gentrification and cityscape change is presented. A combination of multi-scalar cartographic and visual techniques, including Google Street View (GSV) and geo-tagged images (Photo Sphere), is applied within the setting of Valletta, Malta, to convey cartographically the dynamism of urban transformations and detect tourism-led gentrification in a rapid way through the identification of the visual and aesthetic markers of gentrification. Utilising a critical approach, such map-making can inform and transform the understanding of the processes underpinning urban change and their cartographic and visual representation. It identifies and highlights issues of image and street-level ‘realities’ for both (re)imagining and marketing place. Individual tourists are able to access and utilise GSV and other mobile digital imaging and cartographic tools, as well as social media, to create their own, potentially counter, place-imaginaries and interpretations of urban change, thereby encouraging and/or discouraging visiting the city.

The Relationship between Cities’ Cultural Strength, Reputation, and Tourism Intensity: Empirical Evidence on a Sample of the Best-Reputable European Cities

As the social phenomenon that takes into account cultural venues and facilities and cultural participation and attractiveness, the cultural strength of a city is a significant dimension of each city relevant for its inhabitants, as well as its visitors. The results of a research study on the nature of the relationship between cultural strength, on the one hand, and reputation and tourism intensity, on the other, are presented in this paper on a sample of the 20 European cities with the best reputation index according to the report entitled “The World’s Most Reputable Cities” (2018 City RepTrak®). The primary goal of the study is to determine the relationship between the cultural strength and reputation of these cities. The secondary goals are focused on determining the relationship between cultural venues and facilities as a segment of cultural strength and tourism intensity. The methodology used in the study comprises: the definition and analysis of the city reputation concept, as well as the determination of the differences in comparison with the reputation of an urban tourism destination, the identification of the constituents of the cultural strength of the cities and their role in tourist attractions, and finally, the investigation of the nature of the relationship between cultural strength, on the one hand, and tourism intensity, on the other. In order to conduct the analysis of these relationships and their interdependence, correlation and regression analyses are used. One of the conclusions of the paper is that cultural venues and facilities are not connected with the reputation of cities, whereas the correlation regarding cultural participation and attractiveness is confirmed. The results of the study also show the most important “cultural venues and facilities” indicator in relation to tourism intensity. In terms of this and based on the obtained research results of the study, the role that cultural strength plays in positioning cities in stakeholders’ perception through the strategic process of the creation and management of cities’ reputation, as well as the tourism attractiveness of cities and a consequent increase in the number of tourists as important stakeholders and ensuring their satisfaction, are presented in the paper.

Cultural heritage buildings for urban tourism destinations: portraits of Siantar, Indonesia, in the past

Background: This study was motivated by the failure to use historic buildings, plantations heritage, and modernization of Siantar. The problem is focused on the optimization of historic buildings, icons for urban tourism destinations. The study contribution is useful for the protection, utilization, and development of cultural heritage buildings into a tourist destination in urban areas. More specifically, the study aims to explore and discuss the optimization of urban tourism to support economic and territorial growth. Methods: The study was carried out qualitatively with a pragmatic methodological approach according to the tourism paradigm. The study departs from the colonial archives: photographs, maps, notes, and field research focused on the identification, significance, and contribution to urban history. The data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Raw information was reduced and coded according to the relevance of the study. Data are combined into categories and themes reflecting descriptive analysis, classification, and interpretation. Data validation was done through triangulation strategies, member checking, rich descriptions, and saturation. Results:The Historic Tours of Siantar and Its Surroundings, the findings of this study were carried out in three stages; development based on national consensus in law, utilization into public space, appreciation for managers, and management incentives, and determining urban tourism designs. Conclusions: Utilization of cultural heritage buildings for urban tourism destinations reflects the urban with plantation characteristics, portraits of cities in the past, packed into urban tourism experiences.

Tourist Experience and Innovative Hospitality Management in Different Cities

The complexity of modern tourism and hospitality management because of competition in the destination market, and especially in urban tourism destinations, has created a demand for creativity and innovation. To satisfy heightened tourist expectations for a specialized experience, hospitality organizations emphasize local culture characteristics and the urban community. The purpose of this paper is to examine how an urban hospitality organization emphasizes community and social values in its hostels, and how the tourist experience is adapted to each city’s culture and atmosphere (Nazareth, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv). The theoretical framework is based on the link connecting urban hospitality with the tourist experience, and how tourism innovation and creativity is managed, during this age of competition and specialization. The qualitative methodology includes participant observation, document review, and in-depth interviews. The findings of this study add a new dimension to the existing knowledge, namely the role of creativity and innovation in helping the management of an urban hospitality organization to shape the tourist experience. The study developed a new unique model for “implementing innovation in urban hospitality management” which describes the framework of connections and interactions between the various sustainable community based and social aspects. The novelty of this research model lies in the emphasis on how management uses innovation and creativity to brand the whole chain so as to realize the vision and values it wishes to promote. This also entails a system of sub-positioning that aligns the vision and values with the distinctive culture of each city and with each local community’s nature and traditions.

Stakeholder views on sustainability in an urban destination context: an inclusive path to destination competitiveness

Purpose Mass tourism in urban settings has proven to be economically significant in many parts of the world. To date, however, the academic debate on sustainable tourism has focused primarily on the ecological and socio-cultural sustainability of tourism in rural and coastal, rather than urban, settings. This paper aims to review the emerging debate on sustainable urban tourism, its complexities and challenges, and questions how urban destinations that are striving to become sustainable cities, can leverage benefit from the implementation of sustainable policies and practices to achieve tourism ‘destination’ competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a qualitative, exploratory research approach using in-depth interviews to seek responses from key stakeholders on their views and experiences of sustainability in the context of an urban destination. Thematic analysis is used to analyze and present the findings. Findings This study concludes that destinations need to be viewed in their broader regional context. Rather than be viewed solely as destinations that are ‘kind to the environment,’ sustainable urban destinations need to demonstrate a deeper commitment to all stakeholder groups, and especially local residents, to provide a fair and desirable ecosystem for achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Originality/value This paper reflects on the potential relationship between ‘urban sustainability’ and the ‘destination competitiveness’ of an urban tourism destination. This then will provide the platform for sustainability to truly contribute to future destination competitiveness.

Identifying attributes of public transport services for urban tourists: A data-mining method

The current work focuses on Quality of Service (QoS) of Public Transport (PT) attributes in urban tourist destinations. In particular, we aim to reveal which attributes are most significant for tourists prior to their arrival at their destination, as reflected in questions posted in TripAdvisor Question and Answer forums, a widely used social media platform.We used a data-mining method to classify questions into categories relevant to QoS, using a sample of 8905 items posted between 2005 and 2018 in TripAdvisor forums for seven urban destinations in the United States and Western Europe. We found four PT-QoS attributes: Pricing and ticketing, Accessibility, Trip duration, and Service availability (hours of operation and frequency). These attributes have similar relative significance for all destinations, origins, seasons, and years we checked. Hence, they can help service operators and policymakers to understand tourists' preferences and to adjust PT services accordingly.

Plural and fluid place attachment amid tourism-induced neighborhood change in a disadvantaged neighborhood in South Korea

Many urban neighborhoods have emerged as new urban tourist destinations since increasing numbers of visitors seek to experience ‘authentic’ mundane experiences. Ihwa Mural Village (IMV), a disadvantaged urban neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea, is such a case whereby a public art project implemented by the government to regenerate disadvantaged areas has led to the touristification of the neighborhood. The socioeconomic reconfiguration of IMV has complicated people–place relationships and has engendered controversial outcomes. This research draws upon recent debates of ‘fluid and relational’ place attachment and employed qualitative methods to demonstrate how people continuously construct, adapt, and reshape their connections to place and attachments and respond to such dynamics during tourism-induced neighborhood change. Findings reveal that people’s place attachment is plural as it may not necessarily only premised on rootedness. Also, place attachment is multidimensional and fluid that could either amplify or attenuate during the trajectory of neighborhood change contingent upon the proximity to tourism hotspot, diverse neighborhood events affecting their quality of lives, and conflicting benefits. Comprehending the plurality and fluidity of place attachment is imperative to understand neighborhoods experiencing tourism-induced change since it could minimize the potential neighborhood conflicts.

Tourism Impacts, Tourism-Phobia and Gentrification in Historic Centers: The Cases of Málaga (Spain) and Gdansk (Poland)

This study analyzes the role of residents in urban tourist destinations affected by the increase in tourist flows, which have generated various problems such as tourism, gentrification and the emergence of tourism as a threat to residents. The role of residents in tourist destinations has not been analyzed regularly during the development process of destinations. We study two cases of historic centers in European cities, with the aim of comparing tourism problems, which are common to most European urban destinations. This study was conducted by administering surveys amongst residents of these historic centers (378 in Málaga, Spain, and 380 in Gdansk, Poland). These cities show a similar demographic size and urban characteristics. This is the first comparative research on tourism-phobia and gentrification in destinations, a field of analysis that is still not studied much. We develop specific scales to measure gentrification and tourism-phobia; moreover, we study the impact of some tourist problems that affect residents (noise, dirt, occupation of public spaces, etc.), and we show the spatial distribution of tourism-phobia. The same analysis instruments are used for both cities. The results of this study show that the tourism-phobia situation is different in the analyzed destinations. It is more intense in the case of Málaga than in Gdansk. The two historic centers are especially affected by the processes of increased tourist flows and the growth of new forms of tourist accommodation. The research results show that the residents’ annoyance caused by tourism gentrification is more intense than tourism-phobia. Both case studies highlight the residents’ complaints regarding the inadequate management of problems by public stakeholders and control measures.

Komparativna analiza ponude gradskog turizma Beograda i Sofije

In this paper a comparative analysis was conducted of the tourist offer of the cities Belgrade (Republic of Serbia) and Sofia (Republic of Bulgaria), which are recognizable as urban tourist destinations on the tourist market. The basic elements used to compare the tourist offer of the mentioned cities are their qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Qualitative characteristics refer to natural features, transport infrastructure, tourism resources and associated facilities, which are significant for the urban tourism development. Quantitative characteristics include tourist traffic ( total number of tourist arrivals and overnight stays) and population. The objectives of the comparative analysis are to identify best practices in the development of this form of tourism and ways and measures to improve the position of Belgrade and Sofia on the tourism market. The results of the comparative analysis showed that both of analyzed cities have a developed offer of urban tourism.

Tourism Network in Urban Agglomerated Destinations: Implications for Sustainable Tourism Destination Development through a Critical Literature Review

This study analyzes tourism network in urban agglomerated destinations and puts forth implications for future sustainable development through a critical and extensive review of related literature. First of all, with a bibliometric analysis of 2670 selected articles from three research fields of urban tourism, urban agglomeration tourism and tourism destination network, we analyzed their respective research themes and classified them accordingly. Then, the study further investigates the role of tourism network in urban agglomerated destinations by identifying the differences and connections between urban agglomeration tourism and urban tourism. Finally, a basic architecture is established for the study of tourism networks in urban agglomerated destinations context. Study findings highlight that urban agglomeration tourism emphasizes the interconnectivity and social network relationships. However, research on the destination network of urban agglomerations is limited, especially from the tourism development perspectives. Therefore, the evolution process, structural effects, determinants and dynamic mechanisms of the tourism network in urban agglomerated destination are among the opportunities for future research. Moreover, the research architecture shows that the network relationship emerges as a new direction for the study of urban agglomeration system to better integrate and harness destinations’ resources and thereby promote sustainable development in urban agglomerated areas.

Making Roubaix More Attractive

The purpose of our study is to show how the city of Roubaix could rebuild its attractiveness. To that purpose, the offer and competitive advantages of the city were studied with the help of the Porter’s Diamond and CERISE REVAIT® models which are considered as tools for measuring attractiveness. A case study method has been chosen to carry out this study. The historical and documentary approach, together with the thematic analysis of interviews were used used to showcase the attractiveness through the study of the competitive advantages of the city. Findings show that attractiveness constitutes an indisputable link between Porter’ s Diamond and CERISE REVAIT® models, because they allow us to study the offer in its entirety, measure its attractiveness and bring to light the competitive advantages. It is stated that the art and culture sector is the most attractive and competitive in this territory and contributed to its development as urban tourism destination. This sector has been strongly supported by the public authorities and remains symbolic of Roubaix.

The Making of a ‘Big 5’ Game Reserve as an Urban Tourism Destination: Dinokeng, South Africa

Since 2000, against the background of chronically high levels of city unemployment and of the stagnation or rundown of the manufacturing sector, many urban governments across South Africa pivoted towards the building of competitive tourism economies as an anchor for local economic development, employment creation and small enterprise development. With the tourism sector being the most popular sectoral focus for local economic development programming in South Africa, the evolution of place-based development initiatives around tourism is a topic of policy relevance. This paper contributes to tourism scholarship concerning new product innovation and development for urban tourism in South Africa. It investigates the unfolding planning and challenges of a unique tourism development project for the creation of a ‘big 5’ game reserve located on the periphery of the country’s major metropolitan complex and economic hub, Gauteng province. The evolution of the project and the challenges of destination development are themes under scrutiny.

Conceptualizing peer-to-peer accommodations as disruptions in the urban tourism system

In urban destinations, Peer-to-peer accommodations (P2PAs), e.g., Airbnb, HomeAway, have experienced exponential growth and are shifting the vertices of the residential and tourism landscapes. As the nodes of visitor access appear deeper within backstage places, resident non-hosts face socio-cultural impacts that can influence their attitudes towards P2PAs and subsequent P2PA success in urban destinations. Predicated upon the resident non-host stakeholder’s attitudes towards P2PAs, this paper offers a conceptual model situated within socio-ecological systems and chaos theories to help guide P2PA management and planning within urban tourism destinations. The proposed model posits that P2PA density, location, and the pace of their growth can propel a destination towards its critical social carrying capacity or delay reaching this critical threshold depending on how urban destinations leverage P2PA disruptions.

Research on the Evaluation of Tourist Satisfaction in Wuhan City Tourism Destinations Based on the Quadrant Graph Model

Based on the research review of urban tourism and tourist satisfaction, this paper builds a tourist satisfaction evaluation model for urban tourism destinations to obtain tourist satisfaction and importance values of different evaluation indicators, and uses the quadrant graph model to evaluate the urban tourism status of Wuhan Conducted empirical research, analyzed various factors influencing tourist satisfaction and included them in the advantage zone, maintenance zone, opportunity zone and repair zone respectively, and put forward corresponding suggestions for improvement.

Methodological discussion of Airbnb's hedonic study: A review of the problems and some proposals tested on Bordeaux City data

Sharing economy-based accommodations has grown dramatically worldwide. Given the crucial role of pricing, academics have used hedonic methods to estimate a large number of implicit prices and accommodation characteristics. It is now time to question our estimation methods. Based on the hedonic methodological literature, this article outlines five proposals to improve model performance: extended specification of attributes, flexible specification of functional forms, market segmentation, and treatment of time and spatial heterogeneities. Each proposal is tested on 13,991 Airbnb listings in Bordeaux, one of the world's top urban tourism destinations. Findings offer significant guidelines for future studies and more relevant information to market players but also suggest that low performance on specific segments is not due to technical problems.