Netographic narratives of user-generated travelogues on tourist destination image of Thailand.

The image of a tourist destination is considered a vital aspect of international travel experiences, yet research in this area remains limited. Adopting a combination of netography and qualitative research methodology, this study aims to contribute to the scientific knowledge of destination image development in Thailand by analysing online travelogues to evaluate how Chinese tourists interpret the idea of destination image. To achieve this goal, 146,641 words of Chinese internet comments containing the keyword "Thailand" from four major media sources and Chinese bloggers were gathered and analysed using netography methodology. The findings showed that there was a rise in public interest, in public forums, in the destination image of Thailand among Chinese outbound tourists. The study's results may provide important fundamental theoretical insights and inspire further investigation into the issue of destination image construction.

A study on the influence of perceived distance on China's inbound Tourism and the interaction of non-economic distance: An analysis of dynamic extended gravity model based on 61 countries' entry data (2004-2018).

In the post-epidemic era, the restart of China's inbound tourism is imminent. However, there are gaps in our current understanding of how distance perception dynamically affects inbound tourism in China. In order to understand the past patterns of inbound tourism in China, we mapped the data of 61 countries of origin from 2004 to 2018 into a dynamic expanding gravity model to understand the effects of cultural distance, institutional distance, geographical distance, and economic distance on inbound tourism in China and revealed the dynamic interaction mechanism of non-economic distance perception on inbound tourism in China. Our research results show that cultural distance has a positive impact on China's inbound tourism, while institutional distance has a negative impact. The significant finding is that the dynamic interaction of the above two kinds of perceived distance can still have a positive impact on China's inbound tourism. Its practical significance is that it can counteract the influence of institutional distance by strengthening the cultural distance. Generally speaking, geographical distance and institutional distance restrict China's inbound tourism flow, while cultural distance, economic distance, and interactive perceptual distance promote China's inbound tourism flow.

Tourism cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative from economic and spatial insights.

This study examines the potential benefits of cooperation among Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries in achieving common goals within the international tourism cooperation network. Despite its significance, limited research has been conducted on this topic in terms of economic and spatial insights. To address this gap, we utilized the gravity model, social network, and quadratic regression. The revealed findings suggest that while the intermediary function among BRI countries is declining, the tourism cooperation network is gradually strengthening. Furthermore, reducing the gap between the governance and consumption levels of BRI countries can improve the network. The study offers new insights into the BRI tourism cooperation network, which could be critical for the future growth of regional tourism.

Analyzing the tourism efficiency and its influencing factors of China's coastal provinces.

Tourism efficiency has become an important role in promoting tourism competitiveness and driving sustainable development. It is particularly important to identify and agnalyze the factors and mechanisms that affect efficiency. This paper firstly evaluates the tourism efficiency of 11 coastal provinces regions in China from 2010 to 2020 by using the DEA-BBC model that includes undesirable outputs. After that, it investigates the internal driving mechanism of the efficiency change through the Malmquist index and its decomposition. Finally, it analyzes the external influencing elements of tourist efficiency by the Tobit model. The results show that: (1) Although the average value of the tourism efficiency was changed from 0.727 to 0.707, it does not achieve the target. Its trend shows fluctuating from 2010-2020, which indicates that the tourism efficiency of most provincial regions is not optimal. The main factor that restricts tourism efficiency is scale efficiency. (2) By analyzing the dynamic trend, it is found that the average increase of technical efficiency is 14.0%, the average increase of technical change is 9.5%, and the average increase of MI index is 25.4%. It indicates that the overall tourism efficiency of 11 coastal provinces region in China is on the rise. (3) The spatial difference of tourism efficiency is significant, but there is no obvious spatial correlation. (4) The influencing factors of tourism efficiency are consumer demand, industrial structure, labor force and urbanization.

Differences in tourism economic development and its influencing factors among three major city clusters along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

An in-depth study of the mechanisms governing the generation, evolution, and regulation of differences in tourism economics holds significant value for the rational utilization of tourism resources and the promotion of synergistic tourism economic development. This study utilizes mathematical statistical analysis and GIS spatial analysis to construct a single indicator measure and a comprehensive indicator measure to analyze tourism-related data in the research area from 2004 to 2019. The main factors influencing the spatial and temporal differences in the tourism economy are analyzed using two methods, namely, multiple linear regression and geodetector. The temporal evolution, overall differences and differences within each city group fluctuate downwards, while the differences between groups fluctuate upwards. Domestic tourism economic differences contribute to over 90% of the overall tourism economic differences. Spatial divergence, the proportion of the tourism economy accounted for by spatial differences is obvious, the comprehensive level of the tourism economy can be divided into five levels. The dominant factors in the formation of the pattern of spatial and temporal differences in the tourism economy are the conditions of tourism resources based on class-A tourist attractions and the level of tourism industry and services based on star hotels and travel agencies. This study addresses the regional imbalance of tourism economic development in city clusters and with the intent of promoting balanced and high-quality development of regional tourism economies.

Segmentation by motivations in religious tourism: A study of the Christ of Miracles Pilgrimage, Peru.

The present study, focused on pilgrimages as part of religious tourism, aimed to achieve the following objectives: Identify the motivations of the demand for religious tourism focused on pilgrimages; analyze the segmentation of the demand; identify the relationship between demand segments with satisfaction and loyalty; and establish the sociodemographic aspects that characterize demand segments. The study was conducted during the Pilgrimage of the Christ of Miracles in Lima, Peru. The sample was taken on-site from 384 tourists. The statistical techniques used were factor analysis and the k-means clustering method. The results reveal five motivational dimensions: Religious Experience, Belief Experience, Escape, Touristic Experience, and Shopping. Three attendee segments were also identified: Believers, related to belief experience; Religious, related to religious experience; and Passive, tourists with low motivations. The Religious segment had the highest satisfaction and loyalty levels among these groups. Sociodemographic differences were also found in the demand segments. The findings will contribute to management guidelines for destination administrators with religious events and provide insights into academic literature.

Is the digital economy empowering high-quality tourism development? A theoretical and empirical research from China.

How digital economy (DE) empowers high-quality development of tourism (HQDT) has become a common concern among scholars. Given this, this study clarifies the theoretical connotation of DE enabling HQDT,and finds that: Micro, DE promotes efficiency improvements in tourism enterprises, with its economies of scale and Matthew effect reducing average costs, its economies of scope meeting diversified demand, and its long-tail effect improving supply-demand matching mechanism. Meso, DE can transform and upgrade tourism industry structure through industrial digitization and digital industrialization, and also form a new tourist industry form and value chain through cross-border integration. Macro, DE can stimulate innovation and flexibility of market players, increase new factor inputs in tourism, improve factor allocation efficiency, and advance macro regulation of the tourism market. Accordingly, the study conducts an empirical test based on panel data for 31 provinces in mainland China during 2011-2020. Results show that: ① DE positively influences HQDT, and the sub-dimensions all positively influence HQDT. ② DE has a heterogeneous impact on HQDT and shows spatial spillover effects. Finally, the study concludes with effective paths for DE promoting HQDT: "Promote digital infrastructure construction, accelerate tourism digital transformation, strengthen integration and innovation development, and overcome the challenges of tourism enterprises".

Spatio-temporal evolution of sports tourism industry integration: A empirical analysis of Xinjiang in China.

Since the issuance of the "Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Developing Sports Tourism" in 2016, the integration of sports and tourism has become a strategy in regional economic development. It creates new economic growth points, enhances local images, and promotes cultural communication. In the context of the "Tourism Makes Xinjiang Thrive" strategy, quantitatively investigating the integration of the sports and tourism industries helps people to better understand their interaction which can serve as the valuable input in policy-making for the comprehensive development of a region. This paper uses entropy weight method, stochastic frontier analysis and coupling coordination model to quantitatively analyze the effect of sports tourism industry integration in Xinjiang from the perspective of integration path. Meanwhile, the Dagum Gini coefficient and nuclear density estimation were used to analyze the regional differences and dynamic evolution of industrial integration quality. The result shows that (1) The sports and tourism integration quality in Xinjiang has not reached the optimal goal of complete integration. In the process of mutual industrial promotion, tourism promotes a higher degree of integration with the sports industry. (2) The industrial integration quality shows a phenomenon of "imbalance and inadequacy" among the regions. The regions with high quality of industrial integration were Urumqi, Ili, Kashgar, Altay and Changji, which have rich sports tourism resources. (3) The overall spatial difference in the quality of industrial integration presented a fluctuation downtrend. The difference between the tourism industrial belts was very significant.

Do positive and negative shocks of tourism development affect income inequality in a developed country?

Income inequality is an essential cause of violence, stagnant development, and political instability. This study will examine the positive and negative shocks in tourism development, and the distribution of the interaction between tourism development, economic growth, human capital, globalization, and income inequality will be discussed in Singapore, a developed and top-visited country. By adopting autoregressive distributed lag and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag approaches for panel data from 1978 to 2022, the results indicate an asymmetric cointegration among variables, and positive and negative changes in tourism development lead to decreased income inequality. More specifically, the asymmetric effect of tourism is found both in the short- and long-term, and positive shock has a greater impact than negative shock. At the same time, the findings also reveal that economic growth and globalization enhance, while human capital negatively affects income inequality in Singapore. These findings strengthen the belief of Singapore policy-makers and recommend several significant lessons for developing countries to promote tourism, sustainable development, and reduce income inequality.

Coupling development of sports industry and tourism industry based on internet of things.

This study investigates the positive coupling between the sports industry and tourism, exploring the ways to promote their interconnection. Under state guidance, the integration of sports industry services is facilitated to attract sports culture and tourism fairs, leveraging regional economic development advantages to enhance the industrial market appeal. The emerging leisure consumption mode of sports tourism injects vitality into the economy, fostering the core sports service industry. The coupling of the education and tourism sectors is strategically aligned with long-term national policies. Using IoT technology, this paper employs a grey relational analysis to assess the coupling between the sports industry and tourism, revealing a significant correlation. Experimental results demonstrate a positive coupling trend, likened to conjoined twins with a natural material basis and technical support. This coupling not only aligns with industry trends but also resonates with the "environmental protection era," "green era," and "ecological era," marking a pivotal aspect of industrial development. The study contributes valuable insights into the symbiotic relationship between the sports and tourism industries, emphasizing their interconnectedness and the positive implications for economic and environmental sustainability.

Risk perceptions and behaviors concerning rural tourism and economic-political drivers of COVID-19 policy in 2020.

When COVID-19 was first introduced to the United States, state and local governments enacted a variety of policies intended to mitigate the virulence of the epidemic. At the time, the most effective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 included stay-at-home orders, closing of nonessential businesses, and mask mandates. Although it was well known that regions with high population density and cold climates were at the highest risk for disease spread, rural counties that are economically reliant on tourism were incentivized to enact fewer precautions against COVID-19. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the multiple policies to reduce transmission, and the changes in outdoor recreation behavior had a significant impact on rural tourism destinations and management of protected spaces. We utilize fine-scale incidence and demographic data to study the relationship between local economic and political concerns, COVID-19 mitigation measures, and the subsequent severity of outbreaks throughout the continental United States. We also present results from an online survey that measured travel behavior, health risk perceptions, knowledge and experience with COVID-19, and evaluation of destination attributes by 407 out-of-state visitors who traveled to Maine from 2020 to 2021. We synthesize this research to present a narrative on how perceptions of COVID-19 risk and public perceptions of rural tourism put certain communities at greater risk of illness throughout 2020. This research could inform future rural destination management and public health policies to help reduce negative socioeconomic, health and environmental impacts of pandemic-derived changes in travel and outdoor recreation behavior.

An assessment of the perceptual elements of urban streets based on the context of urban tourism - The case of Sheffield.

Background: After COVID-19, more and more travelers are more inclined to walk in cities, and the sensory elements of streets can have a significant impact on urban tourism. Local residents and travelers have different perceptions of the street and preferences for its use. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyse the streets from the perspective of locals and travelers. Method: In this study, a questionnaire was designed to obtain local residents' and travelers' evaluations of the sensory elements of the street and a quadrant analysis of the street's sensory elements was carried out using the IPA-Kano model. Results: The results of the study show that travelers are particularly concerned about maps and signage guidance, while local residents are more concerned about the green environment of the surroundings and how well it is maintained. Conclusion: There is a difference in the indicators chosen by the two groups in the results of the comparison between locals and travelers, and this study is hoped to provide some data support for future urban managers and designers to learn from and refer to for street improvements and renewal.

Conservation features of the terrestrial Antarctic Peninsula.

Conserving landscapes used by multiple stakeholder groups requires understanding of what each stakeholder values. Here we employed a semi-structured, participatory approach to identify features of value in the terrestrial Antarctic Peninsula related to biodiversity, science and tourism. Stakeholders identified 115 features, ranging from Adélie penguin colonies to sites suitable for snowshoeing tourists. We split the features into seven broad categories: science, tourism, historic, biodiversity, geographic, habitat, and intrinsic features, finding that the biodiversity category contained the most features of any one category, while science stakeholders identified the most features of any stakeholder group. Stakeholders have overlapping interests in some features, particularly for seals and seabirds, indicating that thoughtful consideration of their inclusion in future management is required. Acknowledging the importance of tourism and other social features in Antarctica and ensuring their integration into conservation planning and assessment will increase the likelihood of implementing successful environmental management strategies into the future.

Management of cultural tourism in Ban Toon, Muang District, Phayao Province, Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background Add ABSTRACT above the background: The research aims to study the process of managing cultural tourism in the community and assess the socio-economic impact on the community with the help of eight key contributors to the project who play an essential role in the implementation of cultural tourism management. Methods: We prepared field notes from interviews and observations, and provided details from data collection (in the form of transcripts). Thematic analysis was employed to answer the research questions using a content analysis tool to obtain the community context in cultural tourism and tourism management dimensions. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was employed to meet the needs of stakeholders and test tourism routes through such routes. The tourism route development was evaluated using descriptive statistics. Results: There is one new cultural tourism route and the process of managing cultural tourism developed community-level organizations with spiritual leaders as the main advisors. The result of the net present value (NPV) analysis is 917,149 baht or 27,792$. The return from the implementation of this project (the internal rate of return (IRR)) is 11.32%. In addition, the ratio of the sum of the present value over the life of the project to the sum of the present value of the cost over the life of the project is 2.45 times, giving the project, if continued, an income 2.45 times greater than its expenditure. Conclusions: Cultural tourism management in Ban Toon, Muang District, and Phayao Province during the COVID-19 pandemic can be used as a guideline in other communities with similar contexts.

Ecotourism or ecological concerns? Tracing the impact of economic policy uncertainty and natural resources on tourism-driven ecological footprints.

The influence of tourism development and economic policy uncertainties on environmental sustainability is substantial. Promoting responsible tourism and using sustainable tourism practises, like offering eco-friendly lodging, is a key part of protecting natural habitats and lowering carbon footprints. Hence, this study tries to examine the relationship between tourism development, economic policy uncertainty, renewable energy, and natural resources on the ecological footprint of India during 1990-2022. This study applies a novel dynamic ARDL simulation approach for long-run and short-run analyses. The study also employs frequency-domain causality to check the causal relationship between the variables. The result reveals that tourism has a positive effect on the ecological footprint. Similarly, economic policy uncertainty has a positive and significant effect on the ecological footprint in India during the sample period. Additionally, natural resource rent shows a positive effect on the ecological footprint or deteriorating environmental quality in the short and long run in the sample period. However, renewable energy consumption indicates a negative effect on the ecological footprint. The results reveal that TDI and EPU have rejected the null hypothesis of no Granger cause in the long, medium, and short term. While renewable energy has a causal relationship with ecological footprints in both the long run and medium run, it is imperative for India to adopt measures that facilitate the advancement of sustainable tourism, with a particular focus on promoting environmentally friendly lodging options, enhancing public transportation systems, and implementing effective waste management strategies.

How policy promotes the integration of culture and tourism? A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis based on the Policy Instrument Theory.

Crafting pertinent policies to facilitate the high-level integration of culture and tourism has now become a vital agenda within the current discourse in China. However, relatively little is known about the actual implementation of various policies to achieve a high-level integration, especially how combinations of policy instruments are deployed in the process of realization. Based on the Policy Instrument Theory, this study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on a sample of 31 provincial administrative regions in China to investigate the influence of typical policy instruments on the integration level of tourism and culture. The results show that each single policy tool is not necessary for high-level integration of culture and tourism. On the contrary, only through an organic combination of different policy tools can affect the integration level. This study also summarizes five policy instrument configurations, which can be grouped into four driving modes of culture-tourism integration: the environment-driven supply-demand coordination mode, supply-driven demand-environment coordination mode, supply-driven mode, and supply-driven environment coordination mode. This study considerably provides critical theoretical and practical insights into the integration of culture and tourism from the perspective of governmental policies.

Eco-friendly hotels and guesthouses as a new opportunity for resilience and sustainability: Evidence from the Czech Republic.

The economic recovery of the tourism industry after the Covid-19 pandemic to find modern and efficient trends to increase profitability is accompanied by the adoption of comprehensive accommodation approaches towards resilience and environmental sustainability. The research aims at the application of environmental management elements and measures in all types of accommodation facilities in the Czech Republic (n1 = 1,016). A qualitative focus group method complemented the quantitative research using correspondence analysis, Levene's, Kruskal-Wallis, and Tukey's HSD tests (n2 = 9 + moderator). The results indicate that the differences in the number of environmental measures implemented were minimal for the monitored hotels and guesthouses. On the other hand, the star rating of accommodation facilities is not a key parameter in the environmental impact assessment. The most used environmental measures were devices reducing electricity consumption (hotels 94%, guesthouses 94%), separating waste (hotels 88%, guesthouses 89%), and water consumption reduction (hotels 85%, guesthouses 86%). At the same time, the most minor used were measures reducing chemical consumption (hotels 23%, guesthouses 22%) communication and environmental education of employees and guests (hotels 32%, guesthouses 18%).

Building resilience in primate tourism: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic and future directions.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed the vulnerability of the tourism industry, triggering a call for a structural shift. This study focuses on COVID-19 impacts on primate tourism sites using the resilience-based wildlife tourism study of Jones et al. (2023) as an interpretive framework. Using an online survey, we collected data on impacts, changes, and challenges experienced at primate tourism destinations in various parts of the world. Based on 33 responses, the study found that the most profound impacts were financial, compromising the ability to run facilities and facilitate tourism due mainly to limitation of access to sites for tourists and/or staff/researchers. Seventeen respondents reported that their sites did not make substantial changes in response to the pandemic. This warrants further study to elicit the reasons for the lack of response. It may indicate difficulties in adaptation or implementation due to limited resources or other factors amid COVID-19 pandemic. We suggest that the framework proposed by Jones et al. (2023) has limitations in effectively addressing rapid and extensive repercussions of a disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does tourism development, financial development and renewable energy drive high-quality economic development?

Tourism development is generally agreed upon to be a key tool in promoting economic growth, and green development has emerged as a significant idea and an efficient approach to accomplish this goal in a manner that is environmentally responsible. It is common knowledge that making the switch to renewable sources of energy may act as a catalyst for economic development in both developed and developing nations. Therefore, people all over the globe are beginning to realize the significance of advancing renewable energy's rising importance that suggests that it will be used extensively in the years to come. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect that increasing tourism and adopting renewable energy sources impact on green economic growth development in the region using the AMG test BRICS nations from 2001 to 2022. This research additionally makes use of a rigorous check by means of the CCEMG exam and the DCCEMG test. According to the findings, green economic growth is influenced favorably by the expansion of the tourist industry, renewable energy, and the digital economy, but urbanization and the rise financial industry are detrimental to green economic growth. D-H panel causality test results show that tourism development is causally related to green economic growth, green economic growth to urbanization, and green economic growth to the usage of renewable energy sources. According to these results, the management authorities of BRICS nations should embrace policies of green growth while also controlling environmental pollution in order to achieve sustainable economic development whereas in rural areas. The findings have major policy implications for the nations that make up the BRICS bloc. These implications pertain to the enhancement of tourist development, the digital economy (DIG), and financial institutions, all of which have the potential to improve environmental quality.