Blockchain technology framework: Current and future perspectives for the tourism industry

Blockchain's ability to increase the level of disintermediation in tourism represents this technology's most effective influence on the industry. The advent of online travel agencies has changed tourism's market structure by transferring power from suppliers to consumers. This paper aims to develop a blockchain-based framework for the tourism industry by employing a qualitative method that uses the semi-structured interview to determine how domain experts conceive the future of intermediaries were the tourism industry to adopt blockchain technology. The results show that when taking into account blockchain's influence on businesses, blockchain is considered an appropriate technology for eliminating mediators from the tourism industry's supply chain and also for banning new mediators from gaining access to this industry, thereby removing intermediaries from the tourism market.     

The future of the New Zealand tourism workforce in 2035

This paper uses scenario planning to explore what the New Zealand tourism workforce may look like in the year 2035. Based on a similar study on the Asia-Pacific tourism workforce, a three-round Delphi method was used. From ten drivers of change, immigration policies and the growing Asian market emerged as the most important. These formed the basis for the four alternative future scenarios, each of which presents various challenges and opportunities for employers and employees. The scenarios were named Manaakitanga is Found Here, Pick of the Labour Crop, Struggling for Respect, and Cheap and Plentiful. The study highlights the necessity of seeking a balanced solution for the workforce and striving for a quality tourism product that respectfully integrates indigenous culture.     

Innovation and the future of Caribbean tourism

Caribbean tourism is plagued with problems such as high winter/summer hotel occupancy variability and the sensitivity of tourism to domestic political conditions. This article argues that the future of Caribbean tourism will increasingly depend upon its innovativeness — its capacity to anticipate and to respond creatively to changes taking place in the international tourism marketplace. The importance of innovation is evident in Jamaica's Super Club hotels. With their ‘all-inclusive’ innovation, Super Club's performance has far outstripped that of traditional multinational corporations-affiliated hotels. The case for innovation is argued using empirical data collected in 1985 for Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.     

Autonomous vehicles and the future of urban tourism

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) have the potential to disrupt all industries tied to transport, including tourism. This conceptual paper breaks new ground by providing an in-depth imaginings approach to the potential future far-reaching implications of CAVs for urban tourism. Set against key debates in urban studies and urban tourism, we discuss the enchantments and apprehensions surrounding CAVs and how they may impact cities in terms of tourism transport mode use, spatial changes, tourism employment and the night-time visitor economy, leading to new socio-economic opportunities and a range of threats and inequities. We provide a concluding agenda that sets the foundation for a new research sub-field on CAVs and tourism, of relevance to urban planners, policymakers and the tourism industry.     

The relevance of mobile tourism and information technology: an analysis of recent trends and future research directions

Although there have been studies concerning information and communication technologies adoption in the tourism industry, the research trends of mobile tourism (m-tourism) are still not very clear due to the short development time and emerging nature of the technologies. To fill this gap, this study reviewed and analyzed articles related to online reviews of tourism and hospitality published in academic journals between 2002 and 2015. Through a keyword-driven search and content analysis, 92 articles are identified as relevant and classified into three topics. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of this promising research direction by presenting the interesting classification methods used by relevant publications and their insights. This paper also discusses significant topical and methodological trends, and contributes to an overall understanding of existing research and its limitations.     

The future of gorilla tourism in Rwanda

Until April 1994 Rwanda was an obscure central African country, renowned for its endangered mountain gorillas surviving in the Parc National des Volcans. They formed virtually the sole basis of the Rwandan tourism industry which generated substantial foreign exchange, part of which was returned to finance gorilla conservation programmes. Today, the name Rwanda conjures up images of massacre and genocide consequent upon the 1994 resumption of a tragic civil war. In addition to overwhelming humanitarian considerations many people have feared for the future of the mountain gorillas whose plight was first publicised in the 1970s by the scientist Dian Fossey. Recent research shows that the gorillas have survived the war unexpectedly well and increased political stability has permitted research and protection teams to return to the Parc. However, in the meantime neighbouring Uganda and Zaire have built up substantial competing gorilla tourism industries. The resumption of gorilla tourism in Rwanda is vital to provide both conservation resources and local employment. This paper assesses its future potential as assessed by fieldwork completed by the writer during November‐December 1993 with subsequent additional information added until December 1994.     

PR China's tourism industry today and its future development

In 1978 PR China began to open up to the outside world. The rich supply of tourism resources began to be exploited and considerable investment was made in tourism infrastructure. In 1985 visitor arrivals included 1.37 million foreign nationals. A comprehensive development programme was initiated in 1986 to deal with the shortfall in tourism services and facilities which were inadequate to cope with the rapid growth in visitor arrivals. The commitment of the PR China government together with the additional boost of foreign aid leads the author to envisage a successful outcome to the programme.     

基于区块链技术的旅游地低碳发展模式构建

旅游地是推进旅游业低碳化发展的重要实践主体,但长期面临旅游企业、旅游者低碳生产与消费内在动力不足,低碳发展长效落实机制缺乏,监督管理成本过高等问题。提升旅游地低碳发展系统协同效率,推动低碳发展措施高效实施是实现旅游业高质量发展的迫切议题。本研究以区块链技术为支撑,以低碳信息共享为基础,基于供需协同、低碳优先、共同参与、可持续性、系统性5项原则,尝试构建以旅游企业、旅游者、第三方评估机构、政府部门、社区居民五大利益相关者为主体,以低碳信息共享、低碳发展激励、低碳发展规制、低碳发展补偿4项区块链平台运行机制为支持的旅游地低碳发展模式,通过正向激励机制、反向规制机制、补偿机制推动低碳"信息互联网"向"价值互联网"转变,为旅游地低碳发展提供技术支撑。同时,本研究意图突破传统低碳旅游研究局限,拓展可持续旅游分析视角。     

Work values in tourism: Past,present and future

Although work values are important psychological variables in organisations, little research has been done to clarify the way in which work values are conceptualised. We address the need within the field to understand and engage with wider debates within social science literature by presenting an up-to-date review of work values in tourism research and a synthesis of paradigms pertaining to established value models and theories. We reconceptualise work values as a second-order projection of intrinsic, extrinsic, prestige and social types of values in the work settings of tourism. We then test the conceptual validity of this model through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis using data from Japanese tourism workers.     

Halal tourism: Concepts,practises, challenges and future

Tourism recognizes the growing interest in Halal tourism from both the perspectives of industry and research. Halal tourism can be summarized by any object or action which is permissible to use or engage in tourism industry, according to Islamic teachings. Therefore, the success of developing and marketing Halal tourism destination must be guided by the adoption of Islamic teachings and principles in all aspects of tourism activities. This paper explores the concept of Halal tourism along with the components which constitute the industry. It provides worldwide examples of some of the current best practises. The opportunities and challenges in developing and marketing Halal tourism are also discussed.     

物候学在旅游地理理论与实践中的应用基础和前景

在20世纪80年代应用地理大发展中应运而生的旅游地理学,因发展历程尚短、理论方法体系不十分健全和完善,对持续快速发展的旅游业支撑乏力,迫切需要从相邻学科吸收养分。物候学与旅游地理学交叉性质明显,可多方面支撑其发展。本文系统梳理了物候学对旅游业的学科支撑作用、具体实践应用领域、服务于旅游业高质量发展的6个维度以及气候变化对物候旅游资源和相关行业的影响。主要结论有：（1）物候概念有助于系统整合旅游系统中自然、人文和社会要素的相关旅游资源,而物候学应用亦可有效提升区域旅游业的服务支持子系统、交通子系统以及医疗健康子系统的效用;（2）物候学在旅游业发展中的实践应用主要涉及利用植物季相进行景观设计、观赏季划分与观赏期预报、体验类生态旅游活动的时间规划、花粉浓度预报与冰雪灾情预警以及旅游线路设计五大方面;（3）物候学可在要素、行业、过程、时空、方位和部门6个维度上服务于旅游业的高质量发展;（4）物候旅游资源和相关产业对于气候变化响应敏感,相关研究人员在未来应注重气候变化对其的风险影响研究,深入分析游客感知、行为反应所受影响,并积极参与中长期产业发展规划以及行业报告编制。从学科发展和产业应用的角度讲,物候学可为旅游学的研究提供自然科学的理论支撑,也为当今气候变化背景下旅游业的可持续发展提供科学指导。     

Balanced scorecard in the hospitality and tourism industry: Past,present and future

After its introduction in 1992, the balanced scorecard (BSC) has attracted considerable interest from both scholars and practitioners. This is evidenced by the increasing number of publications addressing BSC and the large number of professional events devoted to it. However, there is little research on BSC in the hospitality and tourism industry. This study aims to contribute towards filling this significant gap through studying 106 top-ranked journal articles on BSC, of which 37 belong to the hospitality and tourism industry. In so doing, the study highlights the research focus that has been placed so far on BSC and examines its trends and the relationships amongst its perspectives. It also provides valuable input to identify gaps currently impeding BSC development in the hospitality and tourism industry, recommends future research opportunities intended to improve understanding and practice of BSC along with building up on emerging research topics like sustainable tourism and new tourism management.     

The modernities of heritage and tourism: interpretations of an Asian future

Recent years have seen the emergence of a number of regional-based charters and declarations; all of which attempt to address the Eurocentric biases of the global heritage movement. For example, the Nara Declaration, China Principles, Hoi An Protocols and Seoul Declaration all reflect a desire to develop heritage frameworks that are sensitive to, and in tune with, the complexities and socio-cultural specificities of the Asian region. With the primary concern of these initiatives being the development of more appropriate ‘conservation philosophies’ or notions of ‘authenticity’, they have given less attention to the interface between heritage sites and their consumers, or tourists, and the rapidly changing nature of tourism in Asia. Indeed, the vast majority of reports and studies produced by UNESCO, ICOMOS, IUCN and others continue to talk of ‘the tourist’ as a singular, homogenous construct. The rapid growth of travel for leisure and recreation within Asia today, however, demands a re-appraisal of how such terms are used and deployed within the heritage industry. Accordingly, this article examines why Asian tourism is presenting new and unfamiliar challenges for policy makers regarding the management and presentation of heritage sites in Asia. More specifically, it considers the industry familiar discourse of ‘site interpretation’ against a backdrop of Asian modernities in order to ask questions about aesthetics and the politics of heritage narration.     

Fashioning a destination tourism future: The case of Slovenia

Achieving competitive advantage for any destination in times of rapid global change requires tourism stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the direction of change and its implications for business or destination management. The challenges are particularly acute for emerging destinations such as Slovenia. The paper discusses tools for measuring destination performance with particular focus on Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). Using IPA the paper develops a priority ordering for Slovenian tourism stakeholders to debate, modify and to adopt actions that can help them prepare for the challenges arising from global trends. The survey instrument used for this study asks respondents to highlight both the important areas that should be addressed by tourism stakeholders in Slovenia and also the performance of Slovenia in respect of the success or otherwise of the strategies that are currently being pursued to enhance destination competitiveness. The findings reveal that there are a number of areas in which the Slovene tourism industry considers itself to be underperforming in the implementation of strategies to eliminate drift. The paper explores some of the implications of the findings for strategic action and implementation, making some concluding comments on destination development strategy while highlighting areas for further research.     

New perspectives in Caribbean tourism

Forests are an important store of carbon within the global carbon cycle and increasingly play a role in climate change adaptation and mitigation. The review illustrates that the cultural, economic and environmental services of forests that are utilized for tourism and recreation are being affected by climate change. In addition to the changes to the distribution and composition of forests as a result of climate change, forest tourism is also affected by changes in frequency and intensity of fires, storm damage and the introduction of alien species. On examining the relevant literature on forests, tourism and climate change, the review identifies the need for a greater understanding of tourist perception of forest change as a major research task. There is also a need for better understanding of systemic effects of tourism-related climate change adaptation and mitigation policies on forest conservation and deforestation. The need for further research of urban forests and woodlands for climate change adaptation and mitigation and their potential implications for tourism and leisure is also highlighted.     

Hospitality and tourism marketing: recent developments in research and future directions

This study reviews marketing research published in selected hospitality and tourism journals for the period of 2002–2003. The review includes summaries of research topics, industry applications, and methods of study design and data analyses. Significant topical research trends are identified and discussed to raise issues for future research. Included also are the industry-specific current trends and issues that dictate immediate research attention. The gaps between hospitality and tourism marketing research and industry's research needs are addressed to encourage additional research on neglected topics. The study concludes with general suggestions for future hospitality and tourism marketing research.     

Space tourism: Research recommendations for the future of the industry and perspectives of potential participants

This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it proposes a set of research dimensions for the further investigation of the emerging space tourism industry and secondly, it examines the perceptions of potential space travel participants on key factors that influence their motivation, behaviour and decision-making. The research methodology adopted in this study involved collecting quantitative data from British residents in Southern England to explore and understand their perceptions of space tourism. In addition, qualitative data was gathered by interviewing key informants connected to the space tourism industry including Virgin Galactic, Airbus and EADS Astrium to understand their views on people’s motivations, perceptions and the future of the industry. Data analysis shows that intentional need for adventure and exploration is the motivational force in space tourism. Willingness to undertake space travel is also influenced by the perception to risk, which plays a central role in potential tourist behaviour. Furthermore, factors such as type of space travel (orbital/sub-orbital),type of launch and design of the spacecraft, location of spaceports, training required, duration, insurance, health and reputation of the operating company also seem to have some influence on tourist decision-making. The paper contends that while global research dimensions are necessary it is also important to understand perceptions on a country-specific and regional basis.