Search results

The purpose of this study is to find the underlying variables of travel motivations associated with a coastal and marine destination, and the motivations that predict satisfaction and the intention to return and recommend a destination, as loyalty variables.

Coastal and marine destinations are highly visited by travelers for their variety of tourist activities. Motivation is one of the crucial aspects to understand visitors’ behavior in these tourist places. This in situ research was conducted in Acapulco, a major tourist destination in Mexico. The 441 questionnaires gathered were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and the stepwise multiple regression method.

The results show six underlying variables or motivational factors: heritage and nature, learning, sun and beach and physical activities, authentic coastal experience, social interaction and novelty. The “novelty” dimension is the most important and influential predictor of satisfaction and loyalty, followed by “social interaction” and “learning.”

Timing was the main limitation of the present study, considering that the survey was administered in March and April, and the demand could vary in different seasons. The findings will contribute to academic literature and will offer valuable information to tourist destination planners.

Acapulco’s potential for coastal and marine tourism has been identified. This destination should organize activities related to the motivational factors found, for example, visits to museums, craft markets and walks can increase visitors’ “heritage and nature” motivations. Community visits can help to promote the “authentic coastal experience” dimension. Increasing the offer of water sports will better position the “sun & beach and physical activities” motivation. As “novelty” is the most predictive variable, activities that include the novelty component and related to beach festivals, coastal events, educational workshops, sports contests, parades, gastronomic activities and navigable tours should be carried out.

The results will serve as management guides for the destination management organizations and as sources of information for the companies involved in marketing to develop products according to the demand found.

Until now, tourism studies have been carried out on the influence of motivations as predictive variables of satisfaction and loyalty in different types of destinations. However, research in coastal and marine destinations is scarce, representing a gap in the academic literature.

It is essential to understand how the countries with the highest number of tourist arrivals have managed to recover or not based on the competitiveness of the tourism industry during the pandemic stage. It is necessary to evaluate the policies implemented by each government to maintain the competitive performance of their industries. This chapter proposes a comprehensive review of the policies implemented in the 10 most visited countries according to UNWTO data. Most of these policies are geared toward economic and financial flexibility strategies for companies and individuals in the industry under study. The effectiveness of these policies is evaluated with statistical information extracted from a unified UNWTO database to reduce biases in the effectiveness analysis. Finally, concluding remarks are offered on the effectiveness of the policies and their contribution to the sector's recovery.

In a pandemic framework (COVID-19), this chapter explores the impact of the global economy and socio-cultures concerning three axes: recreational, tourism, and hospitality. Although we slowly see an economic revival, it is well known that this sector of study is very susceptible to being affected by the context of nations. Following restrictions and measures taken by governments around the world to reduce the number of cases of coronavirus infections, many nations closed their borders, affecting international travel and by 2020 tourism had been reduced to the near cessation of operations due to the imminent fear of this poorly studied disease, and the service sector was negatively affected. It should be added that, according to the World Tourism Organization's projections, a decrease of between 20 and 30% is forecast for 2020 compared to the previous year.

Coastal cities offer great ecological, cultural and economic benefits due to their tourism potential. The objective of this research is to (1) identify tourists' post-pandemic motivations, (2) establish a post-pandemic demand segmentation and (3) determine the relationship between post-pandemic segments and loyalty.

This study was carried out in Lima, Peru, a tourist destination on the Pacific Ocean coast. The sample was collected between June and July 2020, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In total, 354 valid questionnaires represented the sample size of this quantitative study. For data analysis, factor analysis and K-means non-hierarchical clustering were used.

The results show four post-pandemic motivational dimensions in coastal cities: “novelty and escape,” “learning and culture,” “destination safety” and “service safety.” Likewise, there are two post-pandemic segments in coastal cities: “safety seekers” who want to feel safe at the destination and with its services, and “multiple motives,” motivated by several reasons simultaneously, such as safety, novelty and escape, and learning and culture. The multiple motives group shows higher return intentions, making it a crucial post-pandemic segment in coastal cities.

The limitations of the present study were the online sampling and the timing when collecting the data since the demand can vary due to seasonal reasons.

Since coastal cities have natural and cultural attractions appealing to many travelers, they should adopt the necessary biosecurity measures to attract the safety seekers’ segment, who wants to feel safe at the destination and with its services. Similarly, the multiple motives’ segment favors safety over other recreational activities in the coastal area, so it is necessary that activities such as sports on the beach, walks, observation of flora and fauna, navigation and interaction with the community, meet the required biosecurity standards.

The results will be used to plan the following actions in coastal destinations and meet the tourists’ demands when this health crisis ends.

In this context, up to date, demand segmentation by motivations in coastal cities during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been investigated. Such a study will help to obtain post-pandemic results regarding the tourism demand for these destinations. To date, there are no studies in coastal cities that analyze demand segmentation and its motivations for the post-COVID-2019 pandemic.

Food insecurity in the Latin American region has become a complex problem that significantly impacts people's physical and mental well-being. The factors causing food insecurity are varied, ranging from social, political, and economic causes. Ensuring access to food is not a task with limited responsibilities; on the contrary, both public and private institutions must contribute to creating sustainable and innovative solutions. In general, it is necessary to ensure that the food system flows correctly, ensuring the availability of balanced and nutritious food for the diet of the inhabitants of a given nation. Alternative solutions apart from the government's help include sustainable cultivation, finger millet, and close cooperation with the farmers from the agriculture sector. The present research aims to consolidate theoretical information on the Latin American situation and seek the leading solutions of the parties involved.

This study focuses on the reasons leading health organisations to adopt a cooperation strategy and the benefits they can draw from that inter-organisational relation.

To this end, a mixed research approach – qualitative and quantitative – was adopted, taking a real case between a Health Centre Group in inland Portugal (ACeS-CB) and the Faculty of Health Sciences at a university situated in the same region (FCS-UBI). To gather information, a questionnaire survey was directed to medical students in this faculty, together with semi-structured interviews with those in charge of both types of organisation in the inter-organisational cooperation studied here.

After content analysis of the interviews and descriptive analysis of the questionnaires, it was concluded that this cooperation is based on a relation of a formal nature, as each organisation is independent from the other, as are their administrative and management organs. The benefits obtained from this cooperative relation regard mainly the share of human resources, particularly elements of the clinical staff in ACeS-CB who have taken on teaching duties at FCS-UBI.

Articulation of theoretical training with clinical practice and the exchange of knowledge were other benefits identified. The study also reveals that students perceive this inter-organisational cooperation as satisfactory, corresponding to what was defined by those in charge of the institutions as its main objectives.

This study focuses on the reasons leading health organisations to adopt a strategy of cooperation with other organisations in the same sector and the benefits they can obtain from that relation. It represents a tool to support managers in health organisations and other stakeholders in an inter-organisational cooperation relation, in planning strategies and understanding the impact of this type of cooperation.

This study attempts to identify and explicate the unique segmentation of the increasingly growing virtual reality (VR) user market based on the user experience. Consequently, it collects five hundred forty-five online survey questionnaires through the Prolific platform and deploys cluster analysis to identify mutually exclusive groups of VR users. The research variable, user experience, contains 16 indicators explained by four dimensions. As a result, this study is able to unveil three mutually exclusive markets which are labeled as (1) beginner, (2) aficionado, and (3) utilitarian. The unique features of these three groups are further compared based on their VR tour behaviors. In the conclusion section, it offers managerial implications for devising novel marketing strategies.

Cooperative agreements between universities and firms (U–F) have gained prominence. However, the literature on organisational culture and the formation of cooperation agreements is scarce. This study aims to analyse, from the perspective of the managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those in charge in universities, the perceptions of the influence of organisational culture on this type of U–F cooperation.

To this end, multiple case studies were adopted, involving cooperation agreements between a Portuguese and eight SMEs incubated in UBImedical. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather information, aiming to understand the meaning, importance and possible obstacles caused by organisational culture in this U–F cooperation agreement.

Content analysis of the results obtained leads to the conclusion that cultural compatibility is a crucial factor for successful U–F cooperation. The exchange of knowledge, mutual trust and flexibility between those involved are identified as key determinants to build shared norms that allow a more productive, assertive union.

The study represents an important tool to support SME managers and those in charge of universities, as the evidence obtained can help them to define policies and actions with regard to the U–F cooperation process. More precisely, these SME and university managers could give more attention to culture in future cooperation agreements.

This study advances understanding of the role of organisational culture in a cooperation agreement since this was a gap identified in the literature on the topic. It also contributes to the existing body of work on U–F cooperation, demonstrating that organisational culture is considered important by partners in these agreements and should be adjusted towards compatible alignment of each party’s expectations.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, its importance, and its difficulties have been defined. This chapter seeks to present the digital tools that have been used during the pandemic period and that have been focused on promoting STEM education at different levels. The efforts made by educational organizations worldwide are mentioned. Different regions are shown presenting the best experiences of digital tools that enhance the elements of STEM and can be extended to different levels of education from elementary school to university. On the other hand, successful experiences of the use of technological tools from the teachers' point of view are shown, depicting the tools that have worked the most during the process of adapting to online classes to devise a much better educational plan that continues to take advantage of digital tools for STEM education.

In recent years, tourists have been progressively increasing their interest in the natural environment and its enjoyment. The objective of this study was: (1) identify the underlying variables or motivational dimensions in ecotourism; and (2) analyze the demand segmentation in ecotourism.

The empirical analysis was carried out in “Puntilla de Santa Elena” Fauna Production Reserve in Ecuador. The sample consisted of 369 surveys obtained in situ. For the data analysis, a factor analysis and a nonhierarchical K-media segmentation were performed.

The results show six motivational dimensions in ecotourism: “Self-development and Interpersonal relationships,” “Building personal relationships,” “Escape and ego-defensive function,” “Marine nature,” “Terrestrial nature” and “Rewards.” Also, according to their motivations, three segments of ecotourists emerged: “Reward and escape,” “Marine nature” and “Multiple motives.”

The limitation is the temporality with which the study was carried out. Another limitation was the number of the samples used. As future lines of research, it is proposed to investigate the offer related to ecotourism products and services adapted to the demand segments found.

Among the practical implications, operators and companies linked to the tourism sector can plan more efficient strategies, adapted to the specific needs of each segment to improve the satisfaction of tourists and the intentions of returning to the destination, providing greater benefit to the tourists, to the sustainable development of the destination and the community.

The findings of this research can help public institutions and private companies to improve the tourism supply, create sustainable plans and potentially develop more efficient marketing planning. Protected areas will benefit from information about demand. The communities will be able to elaborate products according to the motivations and found segments. Administrators will be able to create sustainable management plans for ecotourism.

As ecotourism grows, it is vital to understand the ecotourists' motivations and segmentation to improve each segment service offering. This study presents original results of the motivations and segmentation of the demand for ecotourism based on a reserve area for the production of coastal marine fauna. To obtain valid results, a study was carried out in Ecuador, this being a country with a great variety of flora and fauna ideal for ecotourism.