Progress in field experimentation for environmentally sustainable tourism – A knowledge map and research agenda

The global aspiration to mitigate climate change puts substantial pressure on the tourism sector – one of the most polluting industries – to operate in more sustainable ways. This study reviews intervention experiments in tourism and hospitality aimed at making tourist behaviour more sustainable. The analysis of 53 field experiments reveals the most promising intervention strategies. The resulting knowledge map highlights that past intervention studies were limited to only a small number of relevant target behaviours and intervention types, pointing to many unexplored areas that require urgent attention in future.     

Community attachment,tourism impacts,quality of life and residents’ support for sustainable tourism development

This study examined the formation of residents’ support for sustainable tourism development based on the social exchange theory and bottom-up spillover theory. A self-administered survey along with a structural analysis was used. Our result revealed that overall quality of life satisfaction influenced support for sustainable tourism development, and that material life domains and non-material life domains were two important determinants of overall QoL. Perceived sociocultural impacts of tourism had a significant relationship with non-material life domains. Perceived economic impacts of tourism influenced both material and non-material life domains. Community attachment and residents’ perceived impacts of tourism were significantly associated.     

What do tourism students know about sustainability and sustainable tourism? An exploratory study of Latin American students

While research has started to pay attention to the content and delivery of sustainable tourism education, little is known about what students actually know and feel with respect to sustainability. This preliminary study explores students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward sustainable tourism as well as their sense of competence and empowerment to make sustainability-related decisions. The focus was on Latin America, where tourism has caused severe negative impacts and where sustainability knowledge and skills are most needed to protect fragile natural and cultural resources. Results show that although most tourism students think sustainable tourism is important, they have limited knowledge of sustainability principles and technical aspects related to sustainable tourism. Implications for teaching are discussed.     

Examining tourism SME owners’ place attachment,support for community and business performance: the role of the enlightened self-interest model

This research examines how support for the local community by small tourism businesses influences their enterprise performance, and the extent to which the owners’ place attachment influences the level of support that they provide to the community. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the responses from the owners of 298 small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) operating in regional South Australia. Results of the analysis provide support for the validity of a structural model. The place attachment of tourism business owners has a significant positive effect on their support for the community which in turn has a significant positive effect on enterprise performance. The robustness of the structural model was tested through a series of invariance (equality) tests. Results demonstrate that the causal relationships among place attachment, support for community and enterprise performance hold true (are invariant) irrespective of the gender of the business owner, the size of the business, and/or the length of time the business has been operating. These findings have implications for research scholars in developing more robust tests of model relationships between and across groups, and for tourism policymakers aiming to support the sustainable development of regional tourism destinations.     

Human baristas and robot baristas: How does brand experience affect brand satisfaction,brand attitude,brand attachment,and brand loyalty?

This study investigates the antecedents and consequences of brand satisfaction with the moderating role of type of barista. For this, data were collected from customers who used a coffee shop operated by robot baristas and customers who used a coffee shop operated by human baristas. The data analysis results showed that the four types of brand experience, such as sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual brand experiences, help to enhance brand satisfaction, which positively affects brand attitude, brand attachment, and brand loyalty. Finally, the type of barista plays a moderating role in the relationship between (1) sensory brand experience and brand satisfaction and (2) intellectual brand experience and brand satisfaction.     

An integrated approach for spatial analysis of the coupling relationship between tourism footprint and environment in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China

This study aims at examining the spatial relationship between tourism footprint network and comprehensive environment which contains economic, social and ecological environment. The integrated approach combining network analysis and the coupling coordination degree model with spatial autocorrelation analysis was developed to analyze the network structure of regional tourism footprint, to evaluate the coupling coordination degree of tourism footprint network and comprehensive environment, and to explore the spatial pattern of the coupling coordination development. Data were collected from the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China. The results revealed that tourism footprints were concentrated in a few cities, and the regional coupling coordination degree showed a weak negative spatial autocorrelation. Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding had high agglomeration, while their spillover effect is not significant. Shijiazhuang and Qinhuangdao located in the High–Low area are potential growth poles. Findings indicate the integrated approach established is objective and effective, and contributes to macro policy-making of regional tourism development.