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The purpose of this paper is to analyse museums and theme parks as a tourist package and how the proximity of airports to the city and public transport influence the development of this tourist package to stimulate tourism demand in cities.

Qualitative and quantitative indicators have been applied in our methodology to measure the most visited European theme parks and museums from 2012 to 2022. Moreover, the localisation of airports has allowed us to address the importance of theme parks and museums in cities and their regional economies.

The results suggest that the location of the city, entertainment complementary activity, airport proximity, intermodal passenger transport, air and train accessibility, tourism demand and supply, and a high concentration of population in cities have a high influence on the development of a tourist package that includes museums and theme parks to stimulate the tourism demand in European urban cities. London and Paris are two of the most visited cities in the world, and these are the most attractive European cities for tourists in terms of efficiency because tourists can optimize much better their space and time to visit the city’s tourist attractions during their holidays. Another important finding is that the public transport service plays an important role in museums and theme parks’ visits and the optimization of space-time for tourists when they are visiting a city and its tourist attractions on holidays, especially subways, trains and buses. Although time-space measures of accessibility in public transport in cities must be improved to optimize the time of the native population and tourists.

This research shows the complementary role of museums and theme parks as an attractive tourist package and an entertainment, cultural and educational activity to improve the quality of tourism supply and redistribute tourist flows in European countries. Moreover, there are limited studies that tackle the theme of parks and museums in a tourism context.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the theme park industry, particularly following the financial stresses induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. CAPEX drivers are poorly understood due to the idiosyncratic nature of this industry, which is dominated by a few large players. It also aims to identify the variables influencing both the growth and maintenance components of CAPEX among U.S. theme park operators.

The paper uses contingency theory to analyze both financial and nonfinancial data from U.S. theme park operators between 2009 and 2021. The paper also uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to manage issues of multicollinearity and to ensure robustness in the findings.

The analysis identifies several key determinants of CAPEX. Resources and the presence of competing theme parks in proximity to an operator’s parks positively affect CAPEX. Conversely, higher leverage, dividend payouts, intellectual property (IP) dominance and population density in areas with their active parks correlate with reduced CAPEX. The paper also notes distinct trends in maintenance versus growth CAPEX post-COVID-19, with maintenance CAPEX increasing as operators invest in existing assets while growth CAPEX trending downwards.

The study’s scope is confined to U.S.-based theme park operators, limiting the generalizability of the findings internationally. Moreover, data limitations restrict the sample size due to the consolidation of the industry players, potentially affecting the statistical power of the analysis.

This research offers significant insights for theme park operators, industry analysts and policymakers. Understanding the factors influencing CAPEX can aid operators in strategic planning and investment decisions, especially in a post-pandemic economic environment where efficient capital allocation will be crucial for recovery and growth. A major contribution of this research is the development of a new measure for IP dominance, which allows theme park operators to quantify the impact of IP on their investment strategies.

This study contributes uniquely by incorporating both financial and nonfinancial determinants in analyzing CAPEX within the theme park industry, a sector significantly impacted by the pandemic. It introduces novel metrics for assessing the impact of IP on CAPEX and differentiates between the factors driving maintenance and growth expenditures. The findings enrich the existing literature on hospitality management and provide actionable insights that could guide the strategic financial decisions of theme park operators.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the interrelationship between film-induced tourism and visits to theme parks by tourists and examine the most viewed movies worldwide (2010–2022) which are related with theme parks and their attractions.

The methodology used in this study is a set of qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuring the most visited theme parks worldwide and the most viewed movies that have allowed to answer the research questions.

This research provides a new contribution to tourism and entertainment industries. Results have shown that film-induced tourism can be the perfect marketing tool to attract more tourists to theme parks through movies and their real or fictional characters represented in films such as Marvel, Minions, Avatar, Harry Potter and Disney, amongst many others. These famous characters are part of theme park’s rides to attract tourists to visit film theme parks These rides allow users to travel in a fantasy experience and interact with film characters of cartoons or fictions. There is a high correlation between film-induced tourism and theme parks’ attractions. Film-induced tourism provides great benefits to the society, theme parks, cinemas and tourist destinations. Indeed, movies help to increase the number of visitors to theme parks. In 2019, 215 million people visited the top 20 theme parks worldwide analyzed in this study, this figure is quite lucrative to entertainment and tourism sectors, local and regional economies where these theme parks are localized.

This study presents the importance of theme parks at tourist destinations because theme parks are an extension of movies, thus is, the end of the physical perfect experience at theme parks which began in a movie seat or on your TV/videogame/PC screens.

本文的主要目的是分析电影引起的旅游和游客参观主题公园之间的相互关系, 并研究与主题公园及其景点有关的全球最受欢迎的电影（2010-2022年）。

本研究使用的方法是一套定性和定量的指标来衡量全球访问量最大的主题公园和观看次数最多的电影, 使我们能够回答本研究中提出的问题。

这项研究为旅游和娱乐业提供了新的贡献, 结果表明, 电影引起的旅游可以成为完美的营销工具, 通过电影及其影片吸引更多的游客到主题公园。通过电影和他们在电影中所代表的真实或虚构的人物, 如漫威、小人、阿凡达、哈利波特、迪斯尼等, 主题公园。这些著名人物是主题公园景点的一部分, 以吸引游客参观与电影有关的景点。这些景点让游客有一个幻想的体验, 并与卡通人物互动。电影引起的旅游和主题公园景点之间存在着高度的相关性。我们必须认识到, 电影引发的旅游为社会、主题公园、电影院和旅游目的地提供了巨大的利益。事实上, 电影有助于增加主题公园的游客数量。2019年, 有2.15亿人参观了本研究中分析的世界前20大主题公园, 这个数字对于娱乐和旅游部门、这些主题公园所在的地方和区域经济来说是相当有利可图的。

本研究揭示了主题公园在旅游目的地的重要性, 因为这些旅游景点是电影的延伸, 也就是说, 主题公园及其基于电影和动画的景点是游客在主题公园生活体验的最后一部分, 而这种体验是从电影院的座位上、电视、视频游戏或电脑屏幕前开始的。

El principal desafío de este artículo es analizar la interrelación entre el turismo inducido por las películas y las visitas a los parques temáticos por parte de los visitantes, y examinar las películas más vistas en todo el mundo (2010-2022) relacionadas con los parques temáticos y sus atracciones.

La metodología utilizada en este estudio es un conjunto de indicadores cualitativos y cuantitativos para medir los parques temáticos más visitados a nivel mundial y las películas más vistas que nos han permitido responder a las preguntas planteadas en esta investigación.

Esta investigación proporciona una nueva contribución a las industrias del turismo y el entretenimiento. Los resultados han demostrado que el turismo inducido por el cine puede ser la herramienta de marketing perfecta para atraer más visitantes a los parques temáticos a través de películas y sus personajes reales o ficticios representados en películas como Marvel, Minions, Avatar, Harry Potter, Disney, entre muchos otros. Estos personajes famosos son parte de las atracciones de los parques temáticos para atraer a los visitantes a visitar las atracciones relacionadas con las películas. Estas atracciones permiten a los visitantes tener una experiencia de fantasía e interactuar con personajes de películas de dibujos animados o ficción. Existe una alta correlación entre el turismo inducido por el cine y las atracciones de los parques temáticos. Debemos reconocer que el turismo inducido por el cine ofrece grandes beneficios a la sociedad, parques temáticos, cines y destinos turísticos. De hecho, las películas ayudan a aumentar el número de visitantes a los parques temáticos. En 2019, 215 millones de personas visitaron los 20 parques temáticos más importantes del mundo analizados en este estudio, esta cifra es bastante lucrativa para los sectores de entretenimiento y turismo, y la economía local y regional donde se encuentran estos parques temáticos.

Este estudio revela la importancia de los parques temáticos en los destinos turísticos, dado que estas atracciones turísticas son una extensión de las películas, es decir, los parques temáticos y sus atracciones basadas en películas y animaciones son la parte final de una experiencia vivida por los visitantes en dichos parques y que comenzó en un asiento de cine, frente a su TV, un videojuego, o pantalla de ordenador.

Following the increasing trend of artificial intelligence (AI) research in hospitality literature, this critical reflection paper aims to identify AI-assisted mindfulness as a critical yet under-investigated issue and to contribute feasible directions for future research.

The authors first conceptualize a framework explaining the effects of mindfulness design in AI interventions on improving human mindfulness. The authors then identify opportunities for interventions in AI-assisted mindfulness for the tourism, hospitality and events industries. Finally, the authors propose potential themes for AI-assisted mindfulness research.

This study contributes three major conceptual works. First, we conceptualize a framework of AI-assisted mindfulness, showcasing that the scope of AI-assisted mindfulness spans from AI interventions to state mindfulness and then to trait mindfulness. Second, the authors offer two approaches to strategic thinking, one from mindfulness (i.e. mindfulness-focused niche markets and activities) and one from AI applications (i.e. AI-facilitated devices and platforms), to identify opportunities for AI-assisted mindfulness interventions. Third, for both management- and marketing-oriented AI-assisted mindfulness research, the authors propose 18 themes.

This critical reflection paper offers directions for future knowledge creation in AI-assisted mindfulness in the tourism, hospitality and events industries.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this critical reflection paper serves as the first in hospitality and tourism literature to systematically propose the research issue of AI-assisted mindfulness, offering directions and themes for future research.

This study aims to uncover marketing strategies to restore a positive image in times of pandemic crisis to bring tourists back to a popularly affected tourism city in China, Wuhan in Hubei Province. The paper argues that the process of restoring city image requires understanding the perceptions of Generation Z, a segment of the population who have a high propensity to travel after COVID-19.

This study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the perspectives of China’s Generation Z consumers of Wuhan’s future image to restart tourism. The data is collected through semi-structured interview of 29 respondents and analyzed with the initial, focused and theoretical coding process.

Start by narrowing the gap between projected and perceived image, the findings suggest that Generation Z could be pulled to visit Wuhan city through four core products such as dark tourism activities, special-interest leisure, heroism and storytelling.

The destination image restoration framework after health-related crisis is creatively proposed. It combines the analysis of crisis and urban characteristics from the perspective of the target audience (Generation Z) and provides specific strategies to restore the tourism city image from cognitive, affective and conative dimensions. Significantly, two novel characteristics of Generation Z (i.e. lighthearted and patriotic) emerge in addition to the typical features of this generational cohort. This study also found a high preference for a technologically oriented type of attraction that reverses the morbid COVID-19 memories into an entertainment tool.

The integration of tourism, artificial intelligence (AI) and travel has ushered in a new era of exploration. This book chapter delves into their interconnectedness and their transformative influence on the future of tourism. Firstly, it examines the concept of the metaverse – a virtual realm that enables immersive interactions between users and their surroundings. This virtual world presents novel opportunities for the travel sector, allowing tourists to experience destinations in captivating ways, without the constraints of physical travel. AI plays a pivotal role in the advancement of tourism, processing vast amounts of data to offer personalized recommendations, streamlining travel planning and providing round-the-clock customer service through AI-powered chatbots. Additionally, AI contributes to the development of virtual tour guides, offering tailored experiences based on travellers' interests, preferences and abilities. However, the chapter also addresses the broader implications of these technologies on the tourism industry, considering potential job displacement and economic impacts on local communities. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of utilizing these innovations in a manner that benefits both travelers and localities. In summary, this chapter provides an extensive exploration of the convergence of tourism, AI and travel, shedding light on the potential for growth and innovation in the industry while acknowledging the challenges and considerations associated with the metaverse in tourism and travel.

This paper examines the changes in Macao's gaming public policy following the 2022 revision of the gaming law. The revision introduces more regulations on the gaming industry and highlights the gaming industry's contribution to economic diversification, anti-money laundering and national security. The paper analyzes the economic, cultural and political factors that motivated these changes and evaluates the effectiveness of the new gaming public policy.

This paper compares the different versions of Macao's gaming laws and the gaming laws of Nevada and New Jersey, using a qualitative approach to interpret the meanings behind the law text.

The paper reveals that Macao's gaming public policy has changed significantly. The revised policy focuses more on economic diversification than the growth of the gaming industry and imposes more responsibilities on the gaming operators. It predicts that Macao's gaming industry will face more difficulties in increasing its market share in the next decade.

The findings of this paper can help the Macao government assess its gaming public policy and other governments learn from the complex situation when developing their public policies.

The findings of this paper can enhance the understanding of Macao's gaming laws and the reality of Macao's gaming industry.

This paper is the first in academia to address Macao's new public policy toward gaming.

This study explores the spatial and temporal relationship between tourism activities and transportation-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the United States (US) from 2003 to 2022 using advanced geospatial modeling techniques.

The research integrated geographic information systems (GIS) to map tourist attractions against high-resolution annual emissions data. The analysis covered 3,108 US counties, focusing on county-level attraction densities and annual on-road CO₂ emission patterns. Advanced spatial analysis techniques, including bivariate mapping and local bivariate relationship testing, were employed to assess potential correlations.

The findings reveal limited evidence of significant associations between tourism activities and transportation-based CO₂ emissions around major urban centers, with decreases observed in Eastern states and the Midwest, particularly in non-coastal areas, from 2003 to 2022. Most counties (86.03%) show no statistically significant relationship between changes in tourism density and on-road CO₂ emissions. However, 1.90% of counties show a positive linear relationship, 2.64% a negative linear relationship, 0.29% a concave relationship, 1.61% a convex relationship and 7.63% a complex, undefined relationship. Despite this, the 110% national growth in tourism output and resource consumption from 2003–2022 raises potential sustainability concerns.

To tackle sustainability issues in tourism, policymakers and stakeholders can integrate emissions accounting, climate modeling and sustainability governance. Effective interventions are vital for balancing tourism demands with climate resilience efforts promoting social equity and environmental justice.

This study’s innovative application of geospatial modeling and comprehensive spatial analysis provides new insights into the complex relationship between tourism activities and CO₂ emissions. The research highlights the challenges in isolating tourism’s specific impacts on emissions and underscores the need for more granular geographic assessments or comprehensive emission inventories to fully understand tourism’s environmental footprint.

The aim of this study is to ascertain the fundamental characteristics that influence the theme park experience during the period following the pandemic, using the experiencescape framework.

To obtain electronic word-of-mouth data, this research leverages Google Maps reviews and uses diverse Python libraries for computational and natural language processing-based analyses.

In the context of theme parks during a pandemic, visitors tend to convey favorable attitudes and engage in discourse pertaining to six primary themes or subjects, i.e. health and safety protocols, ride and queue management, sanitation measures, promotional pricing, family-oriented amenities and exciting escapades.

This study highlights the continued relevance of the experiencescape framework during the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamic nature of its five dimensions. Furthermore, it underscores the intricate interplay between these dimensions and advocates for a comprehensive approach to experiencescape management.

The research addresses a notable gap in existing literature by examining the pandemic’s impact on theme park experiences, using natural language processing techniques for insights gleaned from online reviews. In doing so, this study contributes a more profound and nuanced comprehension of the theme park experience in the post-COVID era.

Drawing on person–environment fit theory, this study aims to investigate how the relationships between service task types (i.e. utilitarian and hedonic service tasks) and perceived authenticity (i.e. service and brand authenticity) differ under different conditions of service providers (human employee vs service robot). This study further examines whether customers’ stereotypes toward service robots (competence vs warmth) moderate the relationship between service types and perceived authenticity.

Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, Study 1 examines a casual restaurant, whereas Study 2 assesses a theme park restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyze the data.

Both studies reveal that human service providers in hedonic services positively affect service and brand authenticity more than robotic employees. Additionally, the robot competence stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services, service and brand authenticity, whereas the robot warmth stereotype moderates the relationship between hedonic services and brand authenticity in Study 2.

Restaurant managers need to understand which functions and types of service outlets are best suited for service robots in different service contexts. Robot–environment fit should be considered when developers design and managers select robots for their restaurants.

This study blazes a new theoretical trail of service robot research to systematically propose customer experiences with different service types by drawing upon person–environment fit theory and examining the moderating role of customers’ stereotypes toward service robots.