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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.

Although the concept of destination is often described as an economic term that describes places of interest for tourists and visitors, currently, there is still little awareness in the extant literature about regional, city, village, resort, or even standalone tourist destinations. This chapter aims to clarify the meaning of destinations. It distinguishes the differences between common locations and tourist destinations. It uses case studies to describe places, placemaking, and the experiencescapes of various destinations. This contribution implies that tourist attractions differentiate themselves from other places, as they offer accessible attractions with amenities.

Coopetition (simultaneous cooperation and competition of actors) is still a relatively new concept in business, management, and tourism. However, several coopetition studies have focused on tourism and tourism destinations. Also, compilation literature reviews of tourism and tourism destinations have been published (Rusko, 2018). This chapter focuses on underlying coopetition networks of tourism and specifically of tourism destinations. Because of the typical features of tourism destinations, multifaceted connections in competition and cooperation – and coopetition – are present in everyday business and activities among actors of the destination. These coopetitive relationships cover several levels, they are present in micro, meso, macro, and meta level interplay of tourism destination. Furthermore, the analysis shows that several studies about coopetitive networks in tourism destinations do not use terms “macro” or “meta” though these seem to be the main levels of the studies. This only reveals the fertile dimensions of coopetitive networks in tourism. These various relationships form coopetitive networks that represent several dimensions and levels of actors, competition, cooperation, and coopetition. This chapter introduces these multifaceted perspectives of coopetition networks, which have been described in the contemporary literature about tourism and tourism destination.

The importance and value of the leisure phenomenon are becoming more prominent daily as it becomes a determining indicator of both qualities of life and social welfare. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused severe disruptions in the lifestyles of individuals, has also made it inevitable to face the emergence of sociocultural conditions in which traditional daily life routines have disappeared and the reorganisation of the leisure space. In line with the conditions mentioned earlier, the characteristics of the ‘new’ and the ‘old’ have started to come together in the daily lives and leisure spaces of individuals in constant conflict. Under these conditions, individuals who spent their leisure time travelling from one place to another before the pandemic had to choose different leisure options. Therefore, the leisure space, which is an integral part of the social life of today's individual, has evolved into an unthinkable position independently of the COVID-19 pandemic effects. From this point of view, this study aims to examine the transformation of the leisure space due to the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of previous studies on this subject and to discuss it in the context of sustainability. For this purpose, firstly, a general framework is drawn on the historical development of the leisure concept, and then its relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic is evaluated. In the last part of the study, the new forms of leisure that have emerged due to the process, as mentioned earlier, are discussed over the critical issues in ensuring the sustainability of leisure practices.

A primary urban destination can be accessed through its regional periphery. Thus, while a city centre may be the primary attraction, by approaching it from and through the periphery, suburbs can become part of the place and marginalised people as part of the destination from a more holistic perspective. Tourists who are more attuned to the various layers of the transformation of a destination may be more attentive visitors and might empathise and engage with the lives and survival of others when given an opportunity to reflect on other elements of the destination beyond the central area. As part of a field trip to Rome, the Chair of Tourism of the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt explored the inequalities at the periphery of Rome as a destination with undergraduate students from the Faculty of Mathematics and Geography. The results show that a holistic impression and deep understanding of a destination can only be gained by visiting both: its centre and its periphery. Moreover, the centre and periphery of a destination can then be compared in terms of, for example, poor or rich, well kept or unkempt, or native or migrant. However, these comparisons should not be used to look at poverty or similar factors, but to develop an awareness of differences and to look behind the typical tourist zones of a destination. In this case, we suggest that tourist routes can be key in providing a more holistic experience in an historic city.

This chapter examines the role of heritage as a means of empowering destination communities and providing deeper and more meaningful encounters between tourists and their destination, which contributes to the notion of Destination Conscience by highlighting more sustainable and humane ways of ‘doing’ tourism and opening places up to greater community involvement and access by visitors. This includes heritage concepts such as Indigenous communities, local spirituality and religious traditions, public archaeology and ordinary heritage, and how these translate into deeper engagement between residents and tourists, community empowerment and a more creative and holistic tourist experiences. Conceptually, this chapter highlights notions of empowerment, tourists' experiences and Destination Conscience.

In this chapter, we plan to describe the effects of war on tourism. Battlefield tourism was discussed within the effects of War on tourism. It is aimed to analyse the wars in world history and the consequences of these wars. War is a modern security problem with long-term severe consequences engraved on society. Wars, on any ground, always impact people's memories and activities (Smith, 1998). Wars leave their mark on society and are among the never forgotten events in history (Aliağaoğlu, 2008). Some of these events end with victory, while others end sadly. Wars affect tourism both positively and negatively. This chapter is essential to identify the contribution of tourism in battlefields, a different type of tourism, to the countries. In the context of battlefield tourism, this chapter will present a framework. It attempts to explain battlefield tourism through case studies. Document review and case study methods will be used. It is assumed that this chapter will bring the battlefields to tourism.