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This study aims to understand how legislation and technology can enhance socio-economic development in low-density population territories, focusing specifically on the dynamics of local tourist accommodation over the past decade.

A case study was conducted for five municipalities in one of the most significant tourism regions of Portugal – the Algarve – based on a systematic investigation of relevant laws, regulations and electronic platforms. Official statistics were compiled and analyzed for the five territories’ registered local accommodation services, population, overnight stays and additional local services.

The results reveal that public entities’ regulations favor micro-entrepreneurship initiatives in local accommodation and that digital tools supported by online platforms have quite visible effects on low-density territories. The findings also reveal that the local tourist accommodation supply has experienced an especially dynamic, sustained growth over the past decade. This expansion has been accompanied by an increased supply of other services, suggesting that accommodation can positively influence the existing and/or future socio-economic development of low-density territories.

Further studies focusing on other areas with low-density populations are needed to determine more clearly how local accommodation influences socio-economic development.

Public regulations supported by digital platforms that favor micro-entrepreneurship initiatives in local accommodation can strengthen local development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze how local tourist accommodation can foster socio-economic development in low-density territories.

Consumer trust plays a key role in the development and maintenance of long-term relationships in the tourism sector. This study aims to examine the antecedents of trust in the local accommodation sector, which faced a disruptive period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also addresses the trust–loyalty relationship.

A survey was administered to a sample of rural accommodation tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method approach was used to analyse data; in particular, a PLS-SEM approach was used, followed by a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

This study confirms and reinforces the importance of a positive influence of affective evaluation, reputation, perceived security and the destination image on perceived trust. It also demonstrates the impact of trust on loyalty. Using fsQCA, it was found that perceived security is a necessary condition to achieve perceived trust. However, there are multiple paths to achieving high trust.

This article provides a practical and theoretical contribution to this phenomenon during the pandemic crisis. This study concludes that implementing specific measures to increase perceived security (e.g. clean and safe seal) was critical to increase trust and loyalty.

Although the decrease in visits has had a significant impact on economic activities, the nature of the context, in particular the rural context, proved that the combination of agricultural activities with tourism services offering also revealed to be a promising complementary strategy to help owners and minimize the lack of visitors.

This study is one of the earliest to understand trust and its antecedents and trust loyalty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper used input‐output analysis to compare the initial and flow‐on economic effects of tourism spending by two different types of tourists from Australia to Sri Lanka. The two groups of tourists were Sri Lankan migrants resident in Australia and Australians born either in Australia or in a country other than Sri Lanka. The paper also covered the needs and perceptions of the target audiences. The two sample surveys undertaken revealed that different expenditure priorities are evident between the two groups. Non‐expatriate tourists were found to constitute only a small proportion of total tourist numbers. This group spent more on food and beverages with relatively higher flow‐on effects. Expatriate expenditures focused on the retail and wholesale sector and on local transport with relatively lower flow‐on effects. The mean expenditure incurred by migrants was more than twice that of the non‐migrants. The results indicate that small markets like Australia merit close scrutiny by the Ceylon Tourist Board and that travel by expatriates generally merits closer examination.

This study aims to assess the online presence of three Portuguese low-density territories and analyze the communication strategies employed by public and private entities within each municipality. The alignment between public and private entities within each municipality is also examined as a potential factor that could impact the effectiveness of digital communication strategies.

A qualitative methodology that employed content analysis and interviews to gather data from selected public and private entities in each of the municipalities under study was used.

Despite the widespread availability of digital communication tools, the municipalities under study are yet to fully exploit their potential to promote and publicize their offerings. This could be attributed to several factors such as a lack of knowledge and/or resources and a defective strategic approach to digital communication.

The major obstacle in maximizing the potential of digital communication tools in low-density destinations was not solely a result of restricted access. Rather, it was largely due to insufficient knowledge and resources required for their effective utilization, coupled with a lack of aligned vision among various stakeholders.

The competitive landscape in which tourist actors operate has transformed significantly because of the widespread adoption of digital communication led by social networks. However, studies exploring digital communication in low-density territories are still scarce. This study adds new insights into the main factors that hinder the efficient use of digital communication in these regions.

Mega-infrastructure development plans pave the way for policies to upgrade the infrastructure, environmental management and different aspects of locals’ well-being. These developmental dynamics can positively affect rural tourism including heritage sites destinations. The quality of life of local people can be linked to this positive developmental change through long-term and sustainable economic revitalization projects. In terms of this process, developing large-scale infrastructure and incorporating tourism sustainability can improve the quality of life-related to different dimensions that are critical to the community's well-being. Therefore, researchers have attempted to address this issue.

Data were collected between September and October 2020. The study sample size was the residents of Zhabagly village, including Zhabagaly, Abaiyl and 115 Railway settlements. Moreover, the residents were older than 18 years. A systematic random sampling technique was utilised to reach the targeted sample size and the researchers received 243 responses from the locals. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for analysis.

The findings from the structural equation modelling suggest that sustainable tourism increases due to the positive effect of mega-infrastructure development and positively impacts the locals' quality of life. Notably, no direct effect of mega-infrastructure development on quality of life reveals the pivotal role of sustainable tourism. Therefore, during the COVID-19 period, the dimensions of sustainable tourism – economic, market, socio-cultural and environmental – played a role in securing the positive impact of mega-infrastructure development on the locals’ quality of life.

This research highlighted the fact that when infrastructure projects are implemented to their full potential, they will generate sustainable tourism activities, provide eco-adventure activities, relax, treat signatories and boost the economy of all stakeholders. The study used AMOS to test the hypotheses. Qualitative research methods, including interviews with citizens, government officials and tourism managers, require further study.

The infrastructural development on a mega-scale means building an upscaling tourism ecosystem. This ecosystem is marked by the availability of drinking water, waste and energy management facilities that support the elevation of living material, community, health, safety and emotional well-being. It reflects the policy-level implications for future Belt and Road initiatives (BRIs). The tourism industry's resilience during COVID-19 has practical lessons for other industries.

Large-scale infrastructure construction must create favourable conditions for the rapid development of tourism. The availability of clean water, waste and energy management facilities contributes to the food production, social cohesion, physical and mental health and general well-being of the ecosystem. This is one of the few studies that used sustainable tourism as a mediator between the impact of large infrastructure projects and their impact on the quality of life of locals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aksu-Zhabagly, a World Heritage Site in Kazakhstan, was the site of this field study.

This chapter aims to qualify Local Area as Smart Tourism Local Service Systems (S-TLSS), whose competitiveness and reputation depend on sharing strategies and processes of cohesion based on equifinality among/for stakeholder. The methodology envisages the integration of Service Science Management Engineering and Design (SSME+D) and the Viable Systems Approach (VSA). Thus it describes a S-TLSS in terms of local service system, whose viability requires a ‘smart governmentality’, able to guarantee the management of equity, sustainability and resilience. Referring to human resources coherent with value co-creation processes, S-TLSS implies T-shaped professionals: new kind of individuals who have proficiency in a specific field/discipline (deep professionality) and, at the same time, show capacity to understand and participate in complex projects/systems (broad professionality). Finally, the authors will show a practical application of the system attempting to enhance an Italian territory that is not very attractive to tourists and local residents.

This study aims to examine the impact of a mega-sporting event “2014 FIFA World Cup” on hotel pricing strategies and performance.

The present project examines the host regions’ response to the 2014 FIFA World Cup which was established by the variance in the main hotel key performance indexes: occupancy, average daily rate, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and supply. Using data gathered from STR, this research distinctly shows how the Brazilian host regions reacted to the World Cup.

Results suggest that the key performance indicators of Brazil’s lodging sector reacted differently to the World Cup. Although all hosting cities experienced significant RevPAR growth because of the increase in hotel room rates during the event, the supply and occupancy performed differed from each city.

Research is limited to the case of hotel performance at the country level for mega-events. The study focused on the reaction of revenue managers in the Latin America context. Other contexts may generate different results.

The study helps revenue managers to examine how the FIFA World Cup travel demand affected pricing strategies and revenue management practices in the Brazilian hotel sector in areas undergoing seasonal growths in overnight tourism. This study serves to inform hoteliers and practitioners about revenue management pricing strategies to improve hotel performance during mega-sporting events.

This study reveals that the benefits brought by a mega-event are not always translated into strong hotel revenue performance. This study highlights an important but understudied research area of revenue management pricing strategies and the effect of mega-sporting events in the hotel sector. This study contributes to the literature as one of the few investigations to benefit hotel pricing strategies and overall revenue performance.

This study is one of the few studies about exploring the reaction of revenue managers during the execution of a mega-sporting event. The value of the present study lies in the fact that the authors extend previous studies examining the impact of the most important sporting event in the hotel industry at the country-level perspective. This study serves to inform hoteliers and practitioners about revenue management pricing strategies to improve hotel performance during mega-sporting events.

When researching the role of microentrepreneurship in equitable and sustainable development, the question of how tourism microentrepreneurs forge relationships between place, community, and resources is significant. Two case studies from CREATOUR, a project investigating creative tourism, a novel type of cultural tourism that includes active participation in creative activities and connection to place, examines how these relationships are developed and implemented. Findings indicate that creative tourism microentrepreneurial activities in two small cities are being shaped by, and shaping, place in multifaceted ways. Creative tourism activities stimulate new perspectives on place, are designed synergistically with the “seasonal” fluctuations of the type of visitors, are embedded in personal networks of collaborators, and actively encourage alternative patterns of tourism consumption.