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The purpose of this paper is to examine souvenir sellers as unconventional micro-entrepreneurs, focusing on non-economic motives for selling.

A qualitative methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 20 souvenir sellers in the Romanian city of Timişoara. These were analysed using thematic analysis which identified four non-economic motives for selling souvenirs.

Souvenir selling was a matter of choice rather than economic necessity. While these sellers were entrepreneurs who were seeking to generate income, non-economic motives were also important. These included passion, hobbyism and interpersonal interactions with customers. Some sellers considered themselves as cultural intermediaries, representing place and tradition to their customers.

In a European context, selling souvenirs can be a matter of lifestyle choice rather than economic necessity. Micro-entrepreneurs are frequently motivated by passion, hobbyism and interpersonal rewards as much as financial profit. This represents a particular form of unconventional or lifestyle entrepreneurship.

The encouragement of on-street souvenir sellers by urban managers can add vibrancy to a city, enhancing the experiences of local communities and visitors. This can also encourage the development of an artisan class to enhance a city’s reputation as a creative place.

Souvenir sellers are little researched, and this is one of few studies that has investigated this group outside Developing World contexts. This study emphasises the importance of unconventional entrepreneurship and non-economic motives for selling souvenirs in a European context.

本研究将纪念品销售商这类非传统微型企业家群体作为研究对象, 重点关注其销售纪念品的非经济动机。

本研究主要采用定性的研究方法, 对20位罗马尼亚蒂米什瓦拉市的纪念品销售商进行了半结构化访谈。通过对访谈结果的主题分析, 本研究发现并提炼出了纪念品销售商的4种非经济动机。

纪念品销售并非经济上的必然选择, 而更多地体现为一种个体的自主决策。尽管这些销售商本质上仍是追求经济回报的企业家, 其销售活动背后的非经济动机同样重要。这些动机包括对事业的激情、业余爱好, 以及与顾客之间的人际互动等。一些销售商视自身为文化传播的中介, (在销售活动中)向顾客展示地域与传统的象征。

在欧洲的语境下, 纪念品销售通常被视为一种生活方式的选择而非经济的迫切需要。微型企业家的销售行为通常受到对事业的激情、业余爱好以及人际关系的多重因素的推动, 而非单纯由经济利益驱使。这呈现出一种独特的非传统生活方式创业形态。

城市管理者可以通过默许纪念品销售商在市区进行销售活动的方式为城市注入活力, 提升当地社区和游客的体验。这同时有助于培养手工艺术家阶层, 进一步增强城市作为创意之地的声誉。

纪念品销售商的相关研究相对比较有限, 本研究在探讨这一群体时跳脱了发展中国家的框架, 同时强调了在欧洲环境下非传统创业和销售纪念品的非经济动机的重要性。

Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a 20 minoristas de recuerdos (souvenirs) de la ciudad rumana de Timişoara. Las entrevistas se analizaron mediante un análisis temático que permitió identificar cuatro motivos no económicos para la comercialización de recuerdos.

Este artículo examina a los comerciantes de souvenirs como micro emprendedores no convencionales, centrándose en los motivos no económicos para su venta.

La venta de souvenirs era una cuestión de elección más que de necesidad económica. Aunque estos vendedores eran emprendedores que buscaban generar ingresos, los motivos no económicos también eran importantes. Entre ellos, la pasión, la afición y las interacciones interpersonales con los clientes. Algunos vendedores se consideraban intermediarios culturales que representaban el lugar y la tradición ante sus clientes.

En un contexto europeo, la venta de recuerdos puede ser una cuestión de elección de estilo de vida más que de necesidad económica. Los micro emprendedores suelen estar motivados por la pasión, la afición y las recompensas interpersonales tanto como por el beneficio económico. Esto representa una forma particular de espíritu empresarial no convencional o de estilo de vida.

El fomento de los vendedores ambulantes de souvenirs por parte de los gestores urbanos puede aportar dinamismo a una ciudad, mejorando las experiencias de las comunidades locales y de los visitantes. Esto también puede fomentar el desarrollo de una clase artesanal para mejorar la reputación de una ciudad como lugar creativo.

Los comerciantes de souvenirs están poco investigados, y éste es uno de los pocos estudios que ha investigado este grupo fuera de los contextos del mundo en desarrollo. Destaca la importancia del espíritu empresarial no convencional y de los motivos no económicos para la venta de recuerdos en un contexto europeo.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of various cultural amenities on tourism demand in 168 European cities.

Using data from the European Commission’s Culture and Creative Cities Monitor 2017, a series of regressions are estimated to examine the impact of various cultural amenities on tourism demand while also controlling for other factors that may impact on tourism demand. Diagnostic tests are also conducted to check the robustness of the results.

The results reveal that cultural amenities in the form of sights, landmarks, museums, concerts and shows have a positive impact on tourism demand. By pinpointing the cultural amenities that are important for increasing tourism demand, the findings aid stakeholders in the tourism industry as they develop post-pandemic recovery plans.

This paper identifies two key aspects of the cultural tourism literature that require deeper investigation and aims to address these aspects. Firstly, while many studies focus on a specific or narrow range of cultural amenities, this study includes a series of measures to capture a range of cultural amenities. Secondly, while many studies are narrow in geographical scope, this paper includes data on 168 European cities across 30 countries.

Although the metaverse has gained popularity in recent days, research on metaverse tourism in urban destinations is still lacking. Drawing on existing cases in Chinese urban destinations, this paper aims to provide valuable insights into the development of metaverse tourism in China and provides managerial implications for future urbanmetaverse tourismplayers.

Literature from Chinese and international sources was reviewed to highlight the current status of metaverse tourism in the context of Chinese urban tourism. This paper also draws on information provided by online materials, especially the official websites of tour organizers and news media.

This paper outlines important aspects of metaverse in Chinese urban tourism. First, cities are the hotbeds of metaverse development, and the metaverse has become a new way to attract urban tourists and a significant element in various exhibitions. Second, the combination of metaverse with China’s extensive and profound traditional culture has made urban tourism full of vitality. Third, China’s game companies are progressively empowering the metaverse tourism industry.

This paper contributes to the existing knowledge on metaverse tourism based on the Chinese urban tourism context. Furthermore, it highlights the state of the metaverse in Chinese urban tourism during and after the pandemic situation. Lastly, it provides thoughtful implications for tourism players and future tourism development.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It is an industry that aims at having a low impact upon the environment and local culture, generating income and employment, and ensuring the conservation of local ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which the development and promotion of a new tourism product based on unique rural heritage and traditions contribute to the development of sustainable tourism strategies in Romania.

This paper includes a literature review on the topic of sustainable tourism in post-conflict destinations and provides arguments for the adoption and development of sustainable tourism. Using a case study methodological approach, this paper provides an example of a sustainable tourism destination from the Central development region of Romania (Alba County, Transylvania) to depict specific sustainable tourism practices and their impact on the place, in a post-communist and post-conflict context. The study uses a comprehensive desk-research based on secondary data from key industry and academic sources.

The research findings show that rural tourism can greatly support the (re)development of post-conflict destinations, and it makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the Romanian tourism industry, in general, and rural economies in particular, as shown in the case examined in this paper.

This paper illustrates that fostering the unique rural heritage and traditions of a post-conflict destination can contribute to the revival and sustainable development of the place. Sustainable tourism practices contribute not only financially to a destination but also to its social infrastructures, jobs, nature conservation, adoption of new working practices and the revitalisation of passive and poor rural areas.

This paper examines and depicts rural tourism development as an innovative and sustainable strategy for Romania, a post-conflict destination that experienced severe political and social turmoil during the communist regime, and ethnic conflicts and violent events in the 1990s. The research findings may be applicable to other geographic regions and post-conflict destinations with similar contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to extant literature on socioeconomic transition in Central and Eastern Europe through using a spatial lens in order to address, at the level of individual experience, some of the changes that have affected Polish society post‐1989.

This paper adopts Taylor and Spicer's three‐fold conceptualisation of organizational space as a framework to present and discuss qualitative data collected through interviews.

This paper finds that socioeconomic restructuring has brought about changes in space conceived of as distance, as materialisation of power relations and as experience. In the narratives of research participants, present experience of space within the city they live and work in is related to their past experience and to their movement in the space. Different spaces are interconnected to form the individual's “mental map” of the city. The spatial dimension of postsocialist transition has an important impact upon the identities of individuals, and an analysis of narratives allows for gaining rich insights into the ambiguities and contradictions involved in evaluating its significance.

An awareness of the link between the transformation of the city and social change contributes to the understanding of postsocialist transition.

By applying a spatial lens to analysis of the processes of social differentiation, as experienced at the micro‐level of individuals, this paper contributes to the literatures on organizational space and postsocialist transition.

The purpose of this paper is to study the sustainable impact of adaptive reuse of shopping malls built during communism in Kosovo.

The present study uses qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with architects, civil engineers, real estate developers and facility managers.

The study found that it is the predominant opinion of respondents that the economic impact of adaptive reuse of old shopping malls in Kosovo is reflected through extension of useful life of the malls, lower cost of reuse vs demolition, economic and tourism development of the neighborhood, job creation and increase of property prices in the surrounding area. In addition, the study found that it is the predominant opinion of respondents that by adaptive reuse of old shopping malls, the revitalization and social dynamism of the surrounding area will be improved and collective memory and identity of these shopping malls will be extended, including the increased traffic, space utilization and security. The study concludes that operational CO₂ emission of the old shopping malls will be reduced after their sustainable adaptation and also the embodied energy of the building materials will be reused.

The study has several implications. For real estate developers, it shows that is less costly to adapt and refurbish rather than redevelop. For authorities, it shows that by adapting old communist shopping malls, they would extend the collective memory of those locations, improve the social life and utilization of public spaces in the surrounding areas. The final implication is for municipal authorities and environmentalists that but allowing adaptation rather than demolition and redevelopment the embodied CO₂ emission will be significantly reduced.

The study is the first qualitative study about the impact of adaptive reuse of old communist style commercial centers in Kosovo.