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The seasonality in the behavior of travelers is something that goes back to the origin of the trips themselves. This seasonality is due to multiple factors, some easy to counteract and others difficult to solve. But, regardless of the causes, it is a phenomenon that generates significant negative impacts on society and the environment in which the phenomenon of tourist seasonality occurs. All tourist destinations have seasonality, but in some cases, it is very high and in others it has a minimal incidence. The objective of this chapter is to ponder the impacts and consequences of seasonality in regions with a strong tourism development, allowing to put into context the aspects of society impacted by this phenomenon and the positive implications that the reduction of seasonality would have. For this, an analysis of a theoretical model with two regions in opposite situations is carried out, raising the possible effects of a high seasonality. The cases of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are also reviewed, as real examples of the regional typologies taken into consideration in the theoretical model. This seeks to ponder the problems attributable to seasonality. As a final reflection, the enormous typology of negative impacts generated and the need to continue analyzing the seasonality and its impacts are emphasized.

The aim of the paper is to examine and analyse the thematic literature on tourism seasonality and the causes and effects thereof.

The paper is based on a review of scientific and theoretical research by various authors on tourism seasonality, in order to systematically analyse the causes and effects of the seasonal patterns in tourism activity.

Seasonality is one of the most important features of tourism demand, and it has a significant effect on many aspects of the tourism industry. The literature review suggests that tourism seasonality is caused by natural and anthropogenic factors that have a very significant bearing on the geographical location of a tourist destination, as well as institutional and economic factors. Assessments of the effects of seasonality in the scientific literature differ. The effects of seasonality analysed in the relevant literature can be divided into four major categories: economic, employment, social and cultural as well as ecological.

The paper presents a systematic literature review on tourism seasonality and the causes and effects thereof.

A convenient payment system is increasingly recognized as an asset of tourism destinations. By using data on payments with cards issued in foreign countries, together with other monthly tourism flow variables, the authors assess the importance of card payments to identify seasonality in inbound tourism in Portugal.

The authors compute seasonality measures using Portuguese data on card payments from 2003 to 2019, together with data on nights spent and the Balance of Payments travel credit. The authors also assess seasonal behaviour in the timespan of the different tourism strategic plans in place during this period.

Card payments grew at a faster pace than the other inbound tourism variables and show a seasonal pattern similar to the other variables. Seasonality decreases when variables measured in quantities are considered (nights spent and number of card transactions). However, when the authors use value variables (Balance of Payments travel credit and value of card transactions), seasonality in 2019 is higher than in 2003.

The widespread use of digital payments makes card payment information an even better proxy of tourism activity and since it is available in a short time-span it has informational potential for tourism stakeholders and for researchers in this field.

The authors study the seasonal behaviour of foreign card payments along with other international tourism flow variables. The authors’ results highlight the informational potential of card payment data and the importance of electronic payment infrastructure for tourist activity.

Seasonality in tourism has a profound impact on the management of human resources in organizations operating in a seasonal context. Tourism employment in Canada is profiled and its seasonality examined in Atlantic Canada, where seasonal tourism employment is common. A model for managing seasonality in employment is proposed as a continuum, ranging from “embracing” to “challenging” seasonality. For each approach, differing human resource management practices are identified and operational impacts are discussed, providing possible strategies for employers operating in seasonal tourism contexts. Ongoing research is planned in Atlantic Canada’s accommodations sector, testing the model for managing seasonal tourism employment.

This paper adopts a thematic approach to a review of the literature relating to seasonality in small island developing states.

The paper uses a qualitative approach by retrieving data from academic sources and official public documents from the Government of Cyprus. Thematic analysis is employed to provide information in relation to the numerical aspects of seasonality through statistics and the steps taken by official tourism authorities to alleviate seasonality.

The findings reveal a significant seasonality problem in Cyprus, especially in the high season months and stagnation during the low season months in winter. This causes problems at the national economic level and results in unemployment. However, in recent years, the government has been trying to tackle the problem by rebranding the destination for all seasons, offering a broad spectrum of varied activities, such as niche, special interest, and cultural tourism.

The paper offers a review-based perspective on seasonality in small island developing states and discusses the merits of developing all-year-round tourism.

This paper provides an overview and explains the context of the theme issue. The paper outlines the approach and profiles the articles written in response to the strategic question as to how the Republic of Cyprus could reduce the impact of seasonal tourism on long-term sustainable development.

The paper outlines the approach to exploring ways of reducing the impact of seasonal tourism on long-term sustainable development in Cyprus. The strategic question is tackled in articles containing literature reviews, data and evidence reviews, interactions with practitioners and practical solutions.

The findings of the theme issue focus on long-term sustainable development and the alleviation of seasonality in Cyprus. The issue provides insights into the history, current state of development and progress made by the impact of seasonal tourism and sustainable development on the tourism and hospitality industry.

This theme issue outlines the causes and effects of seasonality in the tourism industry in a small island developing state (SIDS) that is highly dependent on income generated by tourism activity. In SIDS, where seasonality is a threatening factor for tourism development, it is essential to understand what measures can be taken to lower seasonality. The articles in this theme issue provide insights into the causes and effects of tourism seasonality, climate change, alternative and special interest tourism, future destinations and young travellers' behaviour, air transportation, the remedy to seasonality and gastro tourism.

Most of the European Mediterranean countries are suffering from seasonality and the problems caused by it. By applying different methods, this study proposes to measure seasonality in a Mediterranean country, Turkey. Studying seasonality and its measurement with the comparison of different methods could first provide useful guidelines for the countries, which may have similar problems, and could also broaden the current view in the related literature since the focus is also on the comparison of the widely used methods in the literature.

The study depends on the current literature and makes evaluations based on the secondary data acquired from the statistical publications of The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The findings reveal that none of the methods is superior to any other. They complement the weaknesses of one another. Therefore, it is suggested that destinations, when measuring their seasonality, should evaluate seasonality by applying different methods in order to give a proper decision to solve the problem caused by seasonality.

The study contributes to the seasonality literature by employing different measurement methods in a holistic way. It reveals differences and similarities among the different methods, using the case of a Mediterranean country, Turkey.

Seasonality in tourism has traditionally been regarded as a major problem which needs to be overcome, but relatively little research has been conducted on the patterns or causes of this phenomenon. The paper begins with a discussion of the characteristics of seasonality and develops a methodology to study the phenomenon in more detail. Seasonality in parts of Scotland are analysed in order to test the approach suggested and to determine if the measures proposed are practical. Two basic questions are examined, whether seasonality in tourism in the study area has changed significantly over a thirty year period, and whether there are spatial dimensions to seasonality that can be detected in the study area. The paper concludes that the variation in seasonality over the time period studied is more complex than anticipated and results are not consistent throughout the area and the measures used. Evidence of spatial variation in seasonality was confirmed. The study concludes that while the measures and approach used would appear to have merit and applicability, further research is needed to produce definitive answers and to fully understand the process of seasonality in tourism.

This concluding article aims to summarize the key points and outcomes from the theme issue question: How could the Republic of Cyprus reduce the impact of seasonal tourism on long-term sustainable development? Which is a follow-up issue to the Cyprus sustainability theme issue published in Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes volume 13 number 6 2021.

The paper summarizes the findings of the theme issue in relation to how stakeholders in the Republic of Cyprus can reduce the impact of severe tourism seasonality on long-term sustainable tourism development.

The findings of the articles in this theme issue explore the depth of the seasonality problem and its impact on the long-term sustainability of the small island state of Cyprus. Further, the articles in this collection explore potential remedies and ways to mitigate seasonality with the help of alternative, special interest tourism activities, improved air connectivity, established cluster-based activities, and improved accessibility to the island.

The articles in this issue provide perspectives from academics, practitioners, industry professionals, and policymakers on what steps could be taken to tackle increasing tourism seasonality that has profound effects on economic, social, and environmental sustainability in the island of Cyprus.

The aim of this article is to examine Cyprus, an island highly dependent on tourism, by bringing together the aspects of accessibility as a holistic approach to sustainable tourism development and exploiting the potential for mitigating seasonality problems. Accessible tourism has remarkable potential as an emerging market in providing for the holistic development of destinations. Additionally, it can act as a market that can provide year-round demand through activities for people with disabilities (PwD). Seasonality is a significant issue, especially in small island destinations (SIDs) as there is a prevailing mass tourism mindset with a limited tourism season.

In total, 15 semi-structured interviews took place with tourism practitioners, the tourism industry's main stakeholders, and representatives of disability associations in Cyprus.

The study results suggest that a destination developed to satisfy the needs of PwD is beneficial in many aspects. Additionally, the increasing market of PwD offers an opportunity to address the problem of seasonality. However, this requires the development of a sustainable framework for tourism, including those facilities and activities that can satisfy the needs of PwD and provide opportunities for extended traveling throughout the year.

The study deals with an original topic of discussion since it examines accessibility in sustainable development and the effect on seasonality in SIDs.