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1 – 10 of over 5000
Article
Publication date: 24 April 2024

Haiyan Song and Hanyuan Zhang

The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of previous research on tourism demand modelling and forecasting and potential future developments.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to provide a narrative review of previous research on tourism demand modelling and forecasting and potential future developments.

Design/methodology/approach

A narrative approach is taken in this review of the current body of knowledge.

Findings

Significant methodological advancements in tourism demand modelling and forecasting over the past two decades are identified.

Originality/value

The distinct characteristics of the various methods applied in the field are summarised and a research agenda for future investigations is proposed.

目的

本文旨在对先前关于旅游需求建模和预测的研究进行叙述性回顾并对未来潜在发展进行展望。

设计/方法

本文采用叙述性回顾方法对当前知识体系进行了评论。

研究结果

本文确认了过去二十年旅游需求建模和预测方法论方面的重要进展。

独创性

本文总结了该领域应用的各种方法的独特特征, 并对未来研究提出了建议。

Objetivo

El objetivo de este documento es ofrecer una revisión narrativa de la investigación previa sobre modelización y previsión de la demanda turística y los posibles desarrollos futuros.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

En esta revisión del marco actual de conocimientos sobre modelización y previsión de la demanda turística y los posibles desarrollos futuros,se adopta un enfoque narrativo.

Resultados

Se identifican avances metodológicos significativos en la modelización y previsión de la demanda turística en las dos últimas décadas.

Originalidad

Se resumen las características propias de los diversos métodos aplicados en este campo y se propone una agenda de investigación para futuros trabajos.

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Vinod Bhatia and K. Kalaivani

Indian railways (IR) is one of the largest railway networks in the world. As a part of its strategic development initiative, demand forecasting can be one of the indispensable…

Abstract

Purpose

Indian railways (IR) is one of the largest railway networks in the world. As a part of its strategic development initiative, demand forecasting can be one of the indispensable activities, as it may provide basic inputs for planning and control of various activities such as coach production, planning new trains, coach augmentation and quota redistribution. The purpose of this study is to suggest an approach to demand forecasting for IR management.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is carried out, wherein several models i.e. automated autoregressive integrated moving average (auto-ARIMA), trigonometric regressors (TBATS), Holt–Winters additive model, Holt–Winters multiplicative model, simple exponential smoothing and simple moving average methods have been tested. As per requirements of IR management, the adopted research methodology is predominantly discursive, and the passenger reservation patterns over a five-year period covering a most representative train service for the past five years have been employed. The relative error matrix and the Akaike information criterion have been used to compare the performance of various models. The Diebold–Mariano test was conducted to examine the accuracy of models.

Findings

The coach production strategy has been proposed on the most suitable auto-ARIMA model. Around 6,000 railway coaches per year have been produced in the past 3 years by IR. As per the coach production plan for the year 2023–2024, a tentative 6551 coaches of various types have been planned for production. The insights gained from this paper may facilitate need-based coach manufacturing and optimum utilization of the inventory.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on rail ticket demand forecasting and adds value to the process of rolling stock management. The proposed model can be a comprehensive decision-making tool to plan for new train services and assess the rolling stock production requirement on any railway system. The analysis may help in making demand predictions for the busy season, and the management can make important decisions about the pricing of services.

Details

foresight, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 August 2023

Banumathy Sundararaman and Neelakandan Ramalingam

This study was carried out to analyze the importance of consumer preference data in forecasting demand in apparel retailing.

Abstract

Purpose

This study was carried out to analyze the importance of consumer preference data in forecasting demand in apparel retailing.

Methodology

To collect preference data, 729 hypothetical stock keeping units (SKU) were derived using a full factorial design, from a combination of six attributes and three levels each. From the hypothetical SKU's, 63 practical SKU's were selected for further analysis. Two hundred two responses were collected from a store intercept survey. Respondents' utility scores for all 63 SKUs were calculated using conjoint analysis. In estimating aggregate demand, to allow for consumer substitution and to make the SKU available when a consumer wishes to buy more than one item in the same SKU, top three highly preferred SKU's utility scores of each individual were selected and classified using a decision tree and was aggregated. A choice rule was modeled to include substitution; by applying this choice rule, aggregate demand was estimated.

Findings

The respondents' utility scores were calculated. The value of Kendall's tau is 0.88, the value of Pearson's R is 0.98 and internal predictive validity using Kendall's tau is 1.00, and this shows the high quality of data obtained. The proposed model was used to estimate the demand for 63 SKUs. The demand was estimated at 6.04 per cent for the SKU cotton, regular style, half sleeve, medium priced, private label. The proposed model for estimating demand using consumer preference data gave better estimates close to actual sales than expert opinion data. The Spearman's rank correlation between actual sales and consumer preference data is 0.338 and is significant at 5 per cent level. The Spearman's rank correlation between actual sales and expert opinion is −0.059, and there is no significant relation between expert opinion data and actual sales. Thus, consumer preference model proves to be better in estimating demand than expert opinion data.

Research implications

There has been a considerable amount of work done in choice-based models. There is a lot of scope in working in deterministic models.

Practical implication

The proposed consumer preference-based demand estimation model can be beneficial to the apparel retailers in increasing their profit by reducing stock-out and overstocking situations. Though conjoint analysis is used in demand estimation in other industries, it is not used in apparel for demand estimations and can be greater use in its simplest form.

Originality/value

This research is the first one to model consumer preferences-based data to estimate demand in apparel. This research was practically tested in an apparel retail store. It is original.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 March 2024

Zabih Ghelichi, Monica Gentili and Pitu Mirchandani

This paper aims to propose a simulation-based performance evaluation model for the drone-based delivery of aid items to disaster-affected areas. The objective of the model is to…

172

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a simulation-based performance evaluation model for the drone-based delivery of aid items to disaster-affected areas. The objective of the model is to perform analytical studies, evaluate the performance of drone delivery systems for humanitarian logistics and can support the decision-making on the operational design of the system – on where to locate drone take-off points and on assignment and scheduling of delivery tasks to drones.

Design/methodology/approach

This simulation model captures the dynamics and variabilities of the drone-based delivery system, including demand rates, location of demand points, time-dependent parameters and possible failures of drones’ operations. An optimization model integrated with the simulation system can update the optimality of drones’ schedules and delivery assignments.

Findings

An extensive set of experiments was performed to evaluate alternative strategies to demonstrate the effectiveness for the proposed optimization/simulation system. In the first set of experiments, the authors use the simulation-based evaluation tool for a case study for Central Florida. The goal of this set of experiments is to show how the proposed system can be used for decision-making and decision-support. The second set of experiments presents a series of numerical studies for a set of randomly generated instances.

Originality/value

The goal is to develop a simulation system that can allow one to evaluate performance of drone-based delivery systems, accounting for the uncertainties through simulations of real-life drone delivery flights. The proposed simulation model captures the variations in different system parameters, including interval of updating the system after receiving new information, demand parameters: the demand rate and their spatial distribution (i.e. their locations), service time parameters: travel times, setup and loading times, payload drop-off times and repair times and drone energy level: battery’s energy is impacted and requires battery change/recharging while flying.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 May 2022

Assem Abu Hatab and Yves Surry

A better understanding of the determinants of demand through accurate estimates of the elasticity of import demand can help policymakers and exporters improve their market access…

1029

Abstract

Purpose

A better understanding of the determinants of demand through accurate estimates of the elasticity of import demand can help policymakers and exporters improve their market access and competitiveness. This study analyzed the EU's demand for imported potato from major suppliers between 1994 and 2018, with the aim to evaluate the competitiveness of Egyptian potato.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted an import-differentiated framework to investigate demand relationships among the major potato suppliers to the EU's. To evaluate the competitiveness of Egyptian potato on the EU market, expenditure and price demand elasticities for various suppliers were calculated and compared.

Findings

The empirical results indicated that as income allocation of fresh potatoes increases, the investigated EU markets import more potatoes from other suppliers compared to imports from Egypt. The results show that EU importers may switch to potato imports from other suppliers as the import price of Egyptian potatoes increases, which enter the EU markets before domestically produced potatoes are harvested.

Research limitations/implications

Due to data unavailability, the present study relied on yearly data on quantities and prices of EU potato imports. A higher frequency of observations should allow for considering seasonal effects, and thereby providing a more transparent picture of market dynamics and demand behavior of EU countries with respect to potato import from various sources of origin.

Originality/value

The study used a system-wide and source differentiated approach to analyze import demand. In particular, the empirical approach allowed for comparing different demand models (AIDS, Rotterdam, NBR and CBS) to filter out the superior and most suitable model for that data because the suitability and performance of a demand model depends rather on data than on universal criteria.

Details

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-0839

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2024

Zhixue Liao, Xinyu Gou, Qiang Wei and Zhibin Xing

Online reviews serve as valuable sources of information, reflecting tourists’ attentions, preferences and sentiments. However, although the existing research has demonstrated that…

Abstract

Purpose

Online reviews serve as valuable sources of information, reflecting tourists’ attentions, preferences and sentiments. However, although the existing research has demonstrated that incorporating online review data can enhance the performance of tourism demand forecasting models, the reliability of online review data and consumers’ decision-making process have not been given adequate attention. To address the aforementioned problem, the purpose of this study is to forecast tourism demand using online review data derived from the analysis of review helpfulness.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors propose a novel “identification-first, forecasting-second” framework. This framework prioritizes the identification of helpful reviews through a comprehensive analysis of review helpfulness, followed by the integration of helpful online review data into the forecasting system. Using the SARIMAX model with helpful online review data sourced from TripAdvisor, this study forecasts tourist arrivals in Hong Kong during the period from August 2012 to June 2019. The SNAÏVE/SARIMA model was used as the benchmark model. Additionally, artificial intelligence models including long short-term memory, back propagation neural network, extreme learning machine and random forest models were used to assess the robustness of the results.

Findings

The results demonstrate that online review data are subject to noise and bias, which can adversely affect the accuracy of predictions when used directly. However, by identifying helpful online reviews beforehand and incorporating them into the forecasting process, a notable enhancement in predictive performance can be realized.

Originality/value

First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to focus on the data issue of online reviews on tourism arrivals forecasting. Second, this study pioneers the integration of the consumer decision-making process into the domain of tourism demand forecasting, marking one of the earliest endeavors in this area. Third, this study makes a novel attempt to identify helpful online reviews based on reviews helpfulness analysis.

Details

Nankai Business Review International, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-8749

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Rahul Arora, Nitin Arora and Sidhartha Bhattacharjee

COVID-19 has affected the economies adversely from all sides. The sudden halt in production has impacted both the supply and demand sides. It calls for analysis to quantify the…

Abstract

Purpose

COVID-19 has affected the economies adversely from all sides. The sudden halt in production has impacted both the supply and demand sides. It calls for analysis to quantify the impact of the reduction in economic activity on the economy-wide variables so that appropriate steps can be taken. This study aims to evaluate the sensitivity of various sectors of the Indian economy to this dual shock.

Design/methodology/approach

The eight-sector open economy general equilibrium Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model has been simulated to evaluate the sector-specific effects of a fall in economic activity due to COVID-19. This model uses an economy-wide accounting framework to quantify the impact of a shock on the given equilibrium economy and report the post-simulation new equilibrium values.

Findings

The empirical results state that welfare for the Indian economy falls to the tune of 7.70% due to output shock. Because of demand–supply linkages, it also impacts the inter- and intra-industry flows, demand for factors of production and imports. There is a momentous fall in the demand for factor endowments from all sectors. Among those, the trade-hotel-transport and manufacturing sectors are in the first two positions from the top. The study recommends an immediate revival of the manufacturing and trade-hotel-transport sectors to get the Indian economy back on track.

Originality/value

The present study has modified the existing GTAP model accounting framework through unemployment and output closures to account for the impact of change in sectoral output due to COVID-19 on the level of employment and other macroeconomic variables.

Details

Indian Growth and Development Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8254

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 April 2024

Adrián Mendieta-Aragón, Julio Navío-Marco and Teresa Garín-Muñoz

Radical changes in consumer habits induced by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic suggest that the usual demand forecasting techniques based on historical series are…

Abstract

Purpose

Radical changes in consumer habits induced by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic suggest that the usual demand forecasting techniques based on historical series are questionable. This is particularly true for hospitality demand, which has been dramatically affected by the pandemic. Accordingly, we investigate the suitability of tourists’ activity on Twitter as a predictor of hospitality demand in the Way of Saint James – an important pilgrimage tourism destination.

Design/methodology/approach

This study compares the predictive performance of the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) time-series model with that of the SARIMA with an exogenous variables (SARIMAX) model to forecast hotel tourism demand. For this, 110,456 tweets posted on Twitter between January 2018 and September 2022 are used as exogenous variables.

Findings

The results confirm that the predictions of traditional time-series models for tourist demand can be significantly improved by including tourist activity on Twitter. Twitter data could be an effective tool for improving the forecasting accuracy of tourism demand in real-time, which has relevant implications for tourism management. This study also provides a better understanding of tourists’ digital footprints in pilgrimage tourism.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the scarce literature on the digitalisation of pilgrimage tourism and forecasting hotel demand using a new methodological framework based on Twitter user-generated content. This can enable hospitality industry practitioners to convert social media data into relevant information for hospitality management.

研究目的

2019冠狀病毒病引致消費者習慣有根本的改變; 這些改變顯示,根據歷史序列而運作的慣常需求預測技巧未必是正確的。這不確性尤以受到大流行極大影響的酒店服務需求為甚。因此,我們擬探討、若把在推特網站上的旅遊活動視為聖雅各之路 (一個重要的朝聖旅遊聖地) 酒店服務需求的預測器,這會否是合適的呢?

研究設計/方法/理念

本研究比較 SARIMA 時間序列模型與附有外生變數 (SARIMAX)模型兩者在預測旅遊及酒店服務需求方面的表現。為此,研究人員收集在推特網站上發佈的資訊,作為外生變數進行研究。這個樣本涵蓋於2018年1月至2022年9月期間110,456個發佈資訊。

研究結果

研究結果確認了傳統的時間序列模型,若涵蓋推特網站上的旅遊活動,則其對旅遊需求方面的預測會得到顯著的改善。推特網站的數據,就改善預測實時旅遊需求的準確度,或許可成為有效的工具; 而這發現對旅遊管理會有一定的意義。本研究亦讓我們進一步瞭解朝聖旅遊方面旅客的數碼足跡。

研究的原創性

現存文獻甚少探討朝聖旅遊的數字化,而本研究不但在這方面充實了有關的文獻,還使用了一個根據推特網站上使用者原創內容嶄新的方法框架,進行分析和探討。這會幫助酒店從業人員把社交媒體數據轉變為可供酒店管理之用的合宜資訊。

Details

European Journal of Management and Business Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2444-8451

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2024

Weijie Zhou, Tao Wang, Jianhua Zhu, Yuan Tao and Qingzhi Liu

This paper aims to investigate how perceived working conditions affect employee performance, including safety compliance and task performance, through employee well-being (i.e…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how perceived working conditions affect employee performance, including safety compliance and task performance, through employee well-being (i.e. job satisfaction) in the context of the coal mining sector in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the job demands-resources model to test the relationships between working conditions, including job demands (work pressure as a challenge demand and perceived risks and hazards in the workplace and ineffectiveness of the safety system as hindrance demands), job resources (interpersonal harmony), job satisfaction and performance. This study adopts a two-wave design with a three-month lag to reduce possible common method bias.

Findings

Employees who experienced high level of challenge demands, e.g. time pressure workload, reported higher levels of task performance, and this positive relationship seemed to be robust. There is a direct effect of perceived ineffectiveness of the safety system on task performance, while the relationship between perceived risks and hazards and task performance was fully mediated by job satisfaction. Challenge demands, i.e. work pressure, did not impact much on employees’ well-being, and thus job satisfaction did not mediate the relationship between work pressure and performance. Perceived ineffectiveness of the safety system was negatively associated with safety compliance. This result is not surprising since a lack of effective safety system reflects management’s ignorance of workplace safety, which demotivates employees to enact safe behaviors. In contrast, the presence and implementation of an effective safety system would be interpreted by employees as management exhibiting a high level of commitment. Work pressure was positively not negatively related to safety compliance. One possible explanation for this finding is that the effects of work pressure on safety compliance behaviors might be dependent on contextual factors such as safety climate. Interpersonal harmony moderated the relationships between work pressure and employee performance (both safety compliance and task performance) and the relationship between perceived risks and hazards and task performance, but the role of interpersonal harmony appeared more complex. There was no significant correlation between challenging job demands and individual employee performance when there were higher levels of interpersonal harmony. The relationship between perceived risks and hazards, a hindrance job demand and task performance became positive as interpersonal harmony increased but negative as interpersonal harmony decreased.

Originality/value

This paper provides a robust integrative theoretical framework that better explains the various types of job demands and job resources in the working environment of coal mining sector in China and their relationships to employee performance. The findings also offer valuable guidance for managers trying to identify effective ways to enhance employee performance and safety in the workplace.

Details

Chinese Management Studies, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-614X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 November 2023

Flavian Emmanuel Sapnken, Mohammed Hamaidi, Mohammad M. Hamed, Abdelhamid Issa Hassane and Jean Gaston Tamba

For some years now, Cameroon has seen a significant increase in its electricity demand, and this need is bound to grow within the next few years owing to the current economic…

46

Abstract

Purpose

For some years now, Cameroon has seen a significant increase in its electricity demand, and this need is bound to grow within the next few years owing to the current economic growth and the ambitious projects underway. Therefore, one of the state's priorities is the mastery of electricity demand. In order to get there, it would be helpful to have reliable forecasting tools. This study proposes a novel version of the discrete grey multivariate convolution model (ODGMC(1,N)).

Design/methodology/approach

Specifically, a linear corrective term is added to its structure, parameterisation is done in a way that is consistent to the modelling procedure and the cumulated forecasting function of ODGMC(1,N) is obtained through an iterative technique.

Findings

Results show that ODGMC(1,N) is more stable and can extract the relationships between the system's input variables. To demonstrate and validate the superiority of ODGMC(1,N), a practical example drawn from the projection of electricity demand in Cameroon till 2030 is used. The findings reveal that the proposed model has a higher prediction precision, with 1.74% mean absolute percentage error and 132.16 root mean square error.

Originality/value

These interesting results are due to (1) the stability of ODGMC(1,N) resulting from a good adequacy between parameters estimation and their implementation, (2) the addition of a term that takes into account the linear impact of time t on the model's performance and (3) the removal of irrelevant information from input data by wavelet transform filtration. Thus, the suggested ODGMC is a robust predictive and monitoring tool for tracking the evolution of electricity needs.

Details

Grey Systems: Theory and Application, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-9377

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 5000