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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the current trends in development of the second largest cities in each Baltic state – Tartu (Estonia), Kaunas (Lithuania), and Daugavpils (Latvia) – as smart destinations, based on publicly available tourism information.

The study uses a case study employing a descriptive research method, and the authors reached their conclusions based on this material. Furthermore, the paper primarily focuses on literature and new research which deals with tourism in the 21st century, its innovations, changes, and trends.

The levels and directions of development of Tartu, Kaunas, and Daugavpils as a smart tourism destination are different. Although all three are the second largest cities in each Baltic State, their initial historical development, availability of resources, locations, and strategic development of the country show differences in development. Tartu conforms to the standards in all four categories. However, the category of digitalization receives the most attention and contributes to the positive smart destination result in the other three categories. Comparatively, Daugavpils records fewer current achievements according to the STDC, although the authors believe that there is potential that can be seen in the strategic policy documents. However, judging by all four categories, Daugavpils, similarly to Kaunas, currently demonstrates the greatest achievements in the culture heritage and creativity category.

This paper presents data and compares smart tourism development trends in the second largest cities in each Baltic country.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of two types of social media videos used for destination image development: induced/commercial-oriented content and organic content (where content is made without commercial interest, such as vlogs classified as user-generated content).

Experimental research using “Emotive EEG” (electroencephalogram) in a controlled environment was conducted with 30 participants (20 males, 10 females), age range 18 to 26. Emotive EEG recording was performed while the participants watched both types of video clips. Test results for both groups indicate that induced content is preferred over organic content.

This study opens up future research avenues where neuromarketing’s “Marketer Friendly” EEG equipment can be applied to the customer selection process.

Marketing analysts can gauge the interest and response of customers on different types of social media video content for destination marketing based on the findings of this study.

This paper seeks to revisit the interrelationship among tourists’ perceived value of the destination, tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty in the heritage tourism site of Hoi An. In addition, the moderating role of tourists’ perceived crowding, which has become remarkably common at the site, in such a triangle relationship will also be explored. In other words, this study aims to validate an extended model of perceived value – tourist satisfaction – destination loyalty – perceived crowding.

The study collects data from 403 tourists who visited Hoi An during peak season through an online questionnaire. The data were later analysed using AMOS and Warp partial least squares.

The results validate the significant and positive correlation among perceived value, customer satisfaction and destination loyalty. Also, perceived crowding was confirmed to affect the relationship among these three variables negatively. In terms of academic contributions, this paper empirically proved that low levels of tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty among tourists who highly value their visiting experience at World Heritage Sites (WHS) can be caused by perceived crowding.

So far, current literature has investigated the direct (either positive or negative) relationship between perceived crowding and post-visit behaviours of tourists (Nie et al., 2022; Papadopoulou, Ribeiro, & Prayag, 2023; Stemmer, Gjerald, & Øgaard, 2022). Broadening this area of research, the authors of this paper used the social interference theory and the stimulus-overload theory to explain the low level of tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty among tourists who highly value their visiting experience at WHS.

Understanding the multifaceted images of tourism destinations is critical for effective destination marketing and management strategies. Traditional approaches, including conceptualization of destination images or analysis of their antecedents and consequences, are commonly used. This study aims to advocate the inclusion of visitors’ latent profiles based on cognitive images to enrich the evaluation and formulation of destination marketing and management strategies.

The analysis focuses on Serbia, an emerging destination, that attracts an increasing number of first-time, repeat and prospective visitors. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the potential dimensions (tangible and intangible cultural destination; infrastructural and accessible destination; active, nature and family destination; sensory and hospitable destination; and welcoming, value for money (VFM) and safe destination) of the cognitive destination image factors scale while subtypes (profiles) were obtained using latent profile analysis (LPA).

The cognitive image component encompasses the perceived attributes of a destination, whether derived from direct experience or acquired through other means. The study identified the following profiles: conventional destination; sensory and hospitable destination; welcoming, VFM and safe destination; secure and active family destination and accessible cultural destination, which are presented individually with their sociodemographic assets.

The main contribution of the paper is the application of a novel method (LPA) for profiling visitor segments based on cognitive destination image. From a theoretical perspective, this research contributes to the extant body of literature pertaining to the destination image, thereby facilitating the identification of discrete latent visitor segments and elucidating noteworthy differences among them concerning a cognitive image.

Tourist destinations are constantly changing products, evolving as per the controls exerted by the stakeholders. The study aims to map the pattern of tourism development and identify the strategies formed at the destination over a seven-decade period for a state as a unit of analysis.

The paper evaluates tourism development through the tourism area life cycle (TALC) model and uses Mintzberg's strategy analysis process to identify strategies. The study involves time series analysis, pattern matching and explanation-building techniques. The TALC is plotted for the number of tourist arrivals from 1947 to 2019, and strategies are mapped for each stage.

The TALC shows a cycle-recycle pattern of tourism development. The research revealed several strategies at different stages. Both the central and state governments and entrepreneurs, distinctively and in conjunction, have formed strategies. The pattern shows the period of piecemeal and global strategic changes contributing to tourism development.

The research unearths the strategies that drive the development curves of TALC, emphasising the integration of TALC with other theories. The research also assesses the strategy formed in the pre-tourism stage.

The research brings to light the use of TALC as a strategic road-mapping tool. In addition, the study emphasises the significance of global and piecemeal strategic periods and stakeholder's regulatory and operational roles.

The research uses a unique methodology that maps the strategies, periods of strategic changes and incremental strategies for each stage of TALC, along with identifying the stakeholders.

According to the theory of push and pull factors, the current work aims to present two objectives: (1) to detect what attributes drive senior tourists to travel to the Azores islands, the role played by lecturing activities (LA) as push factors and their influence on the island's offer (pull factors) are analysed; and (2) to understand the personal and contextual barriers of tourists to provide information to the agents who form part of the tourism supply process on the island.

The data has been processed using the statistical package SmartPLS version 26. Using an exploratory methodology based on structural equation modeling (SEM) structural equations applied to small sample sizes, a tentative model has been generated to define the drivers of tourism for elderly people who visit the islands.

The research study reveals that LA are the key factor in completing the offering of tourist destinations in the Azores. Educational packages should be made available to senior tourists. Likewise, several tourism barriers, such as flight times, cost of the trip, concern about the safety of destinations, type of accommodation, language difficulties and medical and health care should also be revised by tourism authorities and flight stakeholders with regard to the Azores Islands.

The reduced sample has made the results impossible to show greater predictive power.

The role played by push factors, such as lecturing or educational activities, and pull factors, such as the tourism offering by the island, allows us to envisage educational packages based on the preferences of senior tourists, such as attending lectures on the history of the Azores, gastronomy (traditional food), active ageing flora, and interesting facts and legends of the islands.

As a push factor, social interaction has become the main motivation among senior tourists. Such tourists have conveyed not only their desire to meet other tourists but also their interest in socialising in tourist activities, relaxing and visiting other new places.

Even though LA are relatively common among university students and those with bachelor's degrees, educational packages for senior tourism are now gaining in popularity. Better socio-economic conditions worldwide and easier access to education for mature people have allowed them to expand their knowledge by travelling to exotic destinations such as the Azores. This paper links that interest with barriers to travel as well as to the Azores' rich touristic offering.

Tourism is considered one of the globe's most prominent sectors, generating considerable forex revenues and employment generation, contributing to world peace and solidarity among many nations. However, it is negatively influenced by different factors like the spread of diseases, terrorist attacks, outbreaks of war, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered unforeseen upheavals, resulting in demand and supply uncertainties in nearly every area of the economy (El-Erian, 2020). Thus, it is relevant to study the impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry. This chapter explains the journey of tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic by portraying the status of global tourism, how it impacted the Indian economy and its revival strategies, with special mention to Kerala tourism. The pandemic also resulted in a considerable change in the travel intentions of tourists, their travel preferences and their attitude towards travel. Hence, this chapter also presents the changed travel intentions of tourists that will help the industry players modify their products per the tourist's expectations. Finally, this chapter presents how the tourism industry recovered from the pandemic from both the supplier and demand perspectives, which will be helpful for all tourism stakeholders.

Gastronomy can be a key destination choice factor. As tourists, people will be able to learn more about the culture of the place through its culinary assets. This paper aims to analyse the interest and the gastronomic motivations of tourists to the city of Granada (Spain), where two important UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) are included.

To achieve the aim of this study, fieldwork was carried out on a representative sample of tourists in Granada (Spain). Specifically, a total of 1,612 valid surveys were filled out in culinary establishments and historical sites. In these surveys, the opinion of tourists regarding gastronomy and their motivations when travelling was assessed.

The results of this research allow to make a segmentation of tourists into three groups according to their position and their interest in gastronomy based on their destination choice, distinguishing among survivors, enjoyers and experiencers’ tourists. Additionally, it is confirmed that gastronomy is shaped as a motivation that influences the level of tourist satisfaction, performing as a differentiating element that can help increase the competitiveness of the destination.

This research contributes to the scarce academic literature on tourism experiences in a city with WHS recognitions. This study confirms the existence of a relationship between gastronomic motivations and the level of satisfaction achieved by tourists who visit the city of Granada, where no similar studies were found. In addition, this work confirms the connection between gastronomy and culture.

Accessibility is critical in tourism planning for protected islands, especially when balancing tourism and conservation interests. This study aims to explore the dimensions of accessibility that impact tourists’ decisions to visit protected islands and encourage tourism. The accessibility dimension is essential in designing sustainable tourism management of protected islands.

This study was conceptualized by integrating the concept of accessibility in the context of transport accessibility, accessible tourism, protected areas and protected islands. In a sample of 487 surveys, factor analysis and structural equation model-partial least squares were used to examine the physical and nonphysical accessibility dimensions.

The primary objective of this study is to build a conceptual framework for the tourism accessibility of protected islands. This study confirms that accessibility is perceived in three dimensions: destination accessibility, individual accessibility and protected island accessibility. It is also found that all three accessibility dimensions have a significant influence on the decision to visit, with protected island accessibility as the lowering factor. This study demonstrates that, theoretically, tourism accessibility in protected islands should be treated as a convenience and restriction to balance the function of protected areas and tourism.

The findings of this study can be generalized because the notion of accessibility dimensions is derived from a theoretical investigation of several contexts (transport accessibility, accessible tourism, protected areas and island characteristics) to identify more particular aspects. In addition, the results of the theoretical investigation were tested using quantitative methods with high statistical power (80%). However, saturation has not been reached, because thorough research on tourism accessibility on this protected island is still scarce. Within the same framework, application and duplicate research are required to increase the generalizability of the proposed concept. Therefore, the authors recommend further studies to validate the protected islands’ accessibility concept in a broader context by replicating the study in a more diversified timeline, sample and destination setting.

This study concludes that all dimensions of accessibility in protected islands must be considered from two perspectives: convenience and constraints. Conveniences can be constructed through tourists’ perceptions of accessibility. Destination accessibility should be designed with a “back to nature” mindset, excluding hedonistic elements. Individual accessibility is achieved by applying high safety, hygiene and health standards as well as environmental ethics standards that are consistent with the natural characteristics of the environment. This balance between constraint and convenience demonstrates that, while tourism accessibility must be made as comfortable as possible for all individuals, there are particular areas whose accessibility must be controlled to preserve them. The convenience of accessibility for universal access should not be allowed to lead to mass tourism that affects the ecosystem in protected areas.

The novelty of this study lies in the finding that the tourism accessibility of protected islands can be divided into three types: destination accessibility, individual accessibility and protected island accessibility. This study also demonstrates the significant influence of accessibility on tourists’ decisions to visit. Accordingly, the protected island accessibility dimension can create a perception of difficult accessibility and lower tourists’ decisions to visit. This study concludes that all elements influencing the perception of tourism accessibility on a protected island must be considered to sustainably manage convenience and restrictions to avoid mass tourism. Therefore, it is recommended that these three dimensions be considered in visitor management programs.

这项研究的概念是通过将交通可达性、可达性旅游、保护区和受保护岛屿的背景下的可达性概念结合起来。在 487 次调查的样本量中, 因子分析和 偏最小二乘结构方程模型法采用于检查物理和非物理可访问性维度。

可访问性在受保护岛屿的旅游规划中至关重要, 尤其是在平衡旅游和保护利益时。 本研究探讨了影响游客决定访问受保护岛屿并最终鼓励旅游业的可达性维度。 因此, 探索受保护岛屿的旅游可达性维度是设计可持续旅游管理的基础。

这项研究的主要目的是为受保护岛屿的旅游可达性建立一个概念框架。 本研究证实, 可达性被认为是三个维度, 即目的地可达性、个人可达性和受保护岛屿的可达性。 研究还发现, 所有三个可达性维度对访问决定都有显着影响, 受保护岛屿的可达性是降低因素。 从理论上讲, 本研究表明, 保护岛屿的旅游可达性应被视为便利和限制, 以平衡保护区和旅游的功能。

本研究的成果易于概括, 因为可达性维度的概念源自对几种背景（交通可达性、可达性旅游、保护区和岛屿特征）的理论研究, 以确定更具体的方面。 此外, 理论研究的成果已经采用定量方法进行了检验, 具有很高的统计功效（80%）。 然而, 由于对这个受保护岛屿的旅游可达性的深入研究仍然很少, 因此尚未达到饱和。 在同一框架下, 需要应用和重复研究来增加所提出概念的普遍性。 因此, 作者建议进一步研究, 通过在更多样化的时间线、样本和目的地设置中复制研究, 在更广泛的背景下验证受保护岛屿的可达性概念。

本文章的结尾是, 必须从两个角度考虑保护岛屿的所有方面的可达性：便利性和约束性。 便利性可以通过游客对可达性的感知来构建。 目的地可达性应以“回归自然”的心态进行设计, 不包括享乐主义元素。 通过应用高安全、卫生和健康标准以及与环境自然特征相一致的环境伦理标准来实现个人无障碍。 约束和便利之间的这种平衡表明, 虽然必须使所有个人的旅游可达性尽可能舒适, 但必须控制某些特定区域的可达性以保护它们。 不要让普遍访问的便利性导致影响保护区生态系统的大众旅游。

本文章的新颖之处在于发现保护岛屿的旅游可达性分为三种类型：目的地可达性、个人可达性和保护岛可达性。 本研究还证明了可达性对游客访问决策的显着影响。 因此, 受保护岛屿的可达性维度可以产生一种难以进入的感觉, 并降低游客的访问决定。 本研究的理论反思得出结尾, 必须考虑影响受保护岛屿旅游可达性感知的所有因素, 以可持续地管理便利和限制, 以避免大众旅游。 因此, 建议在访客管理程序中考虑上述三个维度。

Este estudio se conceptualizó integrando el concepto de accesibilidad en el contexto de la accesibilidad del transporte, el turismo accesible, las áreas protegidas y las islas protegidas. En una muestra de 487 encuestas, se utilizó el análisis factorial y el PLS-SEM para examinar las dimensiones de accesibilidad física y no física.

La accesibilidad es fundamental en la planificación turística de las islas protegidas, especialmente cuando se trata de equilibrar los intereses del turismo y la conservación. Este artículo explora las dimensiones de la accesibilidad que influyen en la decisión de los turistas de visitar las islas protegidas y fomentar el turismo. Por lo tanto, la dimensión de la accesibilidad es esencial para diseñar una gestión turística sostenible de las islas protegidas.

El objetivo principal de esta investigación es construir un marco conceptual para la accesibilidad turística de las islas protegidas. Este estudio confirma que la accesibilidad se percibe en tres dimensiones: la accesibilidad del destino, la accesibilidad individual y la accesibilidad de la isla protegida. También se constata que las tres dimensiones de la accesibilidad influyen significativamente en la decisión de visitar `la isla, siendo la accesibilidad de la isla protegida el factor que más influye. Este estudio demuestra que, teóricamente, la accesibilidad turística en las islas protegidas debe ser tratada como una conveniencia y restricción para equilibrar la función de las áreas protegidas y el turismo.

Los resultados de este estudio pueden generalizarse porque la noción de dimensiones de accesibilidad se deriva de una investigación teórica de varios contextos (accesibilidad del transporte, turismo accesible, áreas protegidas y características de las islas) para identificar aspectos más particulares. Además, los resultados de la investigación teórica se comprobaron mediante métodos cuantitativos con una elevada potencia estadística (80%). Sin embargo, no se ha alcanzado la saturación, ya que la investigación exhaustiva sobre la accesibilidad turística en esta isla protegida sigue siendo escasa. Dentro del mismo marco, se requiere una aplicación y una duplicación de la investigación para aumentar la generalizabilidad del concepto propuesto. Por lo tanto, los autores recomiendan la realización de nuevos estudios para validar el concepto de accesibilidad de las islas protegidas en un contexto más amplio, replicando el estudio en un marco temporal, una muestra y un destino más diversificados.

Este estudio concluye que todas las dimensiones de la accesibilidad en las islas protegidas deben considerarse desde dos perspectivas: la conveniencia y las limitaciones. Las conveniencias pueden construirse a través de las percepciones de los turistas sobre la accesibilidad. La accesibilidad del destino debe diseñarse con una mentalidad de “vuelta a la naturaleza”, excluyendo los elementos hedonistas. La accesibilidad individual se consigue aplicando elevadas normas de seguridad, higiene y salud, así como normas de ética medioambiental que sean coherentes con las características naturales del entorno. Este equilibrio entre restricción y conveniencia demuestra que, si bien la accesibilidad turística debe hacerse lo más cómoda posible para todos los individuos, hay zonas particulares cuya accesibilidad debe controlarse para preservarlas. La conveniencia de la accesibilidad para el acceso universal no debe conducir a un turismo de masas que afecte al ecosistema de las zonas protegidas.

La novedad de este artículo radica en la constatación de que la accesibilidad turística de las islas protegidas puede dividirse en tres tipos: accesibilidad del destino, accesibilidad individual y accesibilidad de la isla protegida. Este estudio también demuestra la importante influencia de la accesibilidad en la decisión de los turistas de visitarlas. Así, la dimensión de la accesibilidad de las islas protegidas puede crear una percepción de difícil accesibilidad y disminuir la decisión de los turistas de visitarlas. La reflexión teórica de este estudio concluye que todos los elementos que influyen en la percepción de la accesibilidad turística en una isla protegida deben ser considerados para gestionar de forma sostenible la conveniencia y las restricciones para evitar el turismo de masas. Por lo tanto, se recomienda tener en cuenta estas tres dimensiones en los programas de gestión de visitantes.

The purpose of this study is to find out the factors that influence dental travelers’ revisit intention (RI) to Tijuana, Mexico.

Based on the push and pull model, five constructs were included: quality service, price, supporting services, cultural proximity and quality information. The information was obtained by applying an online survey to a sample of 384 dental tourists in Tijuana, Mexico, who were repeat patients of a dental clinic in Tijuana after the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploratory factor analysis, average variance explained and composite reliability were conducted to ensure the validity of each construct. Multiple regression analysis was done to identify predictors of travelers’ RI.

The results obtained show that cultural proximity, quality service, price and supporting services influenced the travelers’ revisit behavior after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge on travel behavior in dental tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which has been scarcely studied. Also, RI was analyzed, focusing on repeated travelers to propose a model mainly for borders or frontiers where developed and developing countries co-exist and interact.