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This research finds out to what extent companies’ names are influenced by the place’s attributes versus the official branding policies of a place and, consequently, whether and how local companies “buy into” the place’s strategies put forth by official bodies.

This paper is both conceptual and empirical, as a mixed quantitative and interpretive approach is used. The companies’ names of a tourist industry (the tour and guiding companies) in three destinations are compared and pitched against the branding of these cities. The companies' names are classified into categories to ascertain whether they reflect (or diverge from) the official strategies. Finally, a conceptual model is developed to explain the findings: the strategic naming model (SNM).

Our main finding is that the overall business features of a place being stronger determinants to the naming strategies than tourist destination branding initiatives. The intrinsic features of a place seem thus to be “above” destination branding policies. The researched features account for different naming strategies, such as highly original names, flat names or non-strategic names.

As the work is based on a convenience sample, it cannot claim strong representativity. The fact that each of the three data sets was processed by a different researcher might bring up personal biases.

This work is a call for a more intensive use of naming strategies to the companies’ advantages, as naming is found out to be strategy used to a very low degree. Thanks to this research, companies will understand the different naming possibilities and be able to apply them to their strategies by choosing names which express “uniqueness” or “belonging”. Practitioners will also be aware of whether they are communicating towards the industry or towards the market.

No works were found that empirically pursue our research goals. Therefore, this research might be considered as a novelty. The proposed SNM model explains and relates the most usual company naming techniques, which were unrelated up to date.

This study aims to examine the process of value co-creation (VCC) on digital ecotourism platforms and the role of perceived platform usefulness and user participation behavior in that process. The study also seeks to determine the extent to which the typology of the ecotourist moderates VCC.

A total of 420 users of a digital ecotourism platform participated in a study analyzing the factors that influence VCC. A mediation, moderation and conditional process analysis was used to test the proposed hypotheses. A K-means cluster analysis was also used to classify the ecotourists into four groups.

The results show that perceived platform usefulness has a strong influence on the generation of VCC and also on user participation behavior. In turn, user participation behavior is an important driver of VCC. This study also highlights the moderating role of the ecotourist typology in the formation of VCC on these digital platforms.

This study offers managers of digital ecotourism platforms a means to identify and motivate those ecotourists with the necessary skills and characteristics to become true co-creators of value.

This study contributes to the existing knowledge on how value is co-created on digital ecotourism platforms, confirming the important antecedent role of perceived platform usefulness and user participation behavior, as well as the moderating role of ecotourist typology.

El propósito de este estudio es examinar el proceso de co-creación de valor (VCC) en las plataformas digitales de ecoturismo y el papel de la utilidad percibida de la plataforma y el comportamiento de participación de los usuarios. El estudio también pretende determinar en qué medida la tipología del ecoturista modera la VCC.

420 usuarios de una plataforma digital de ecoturismo participaron en un estudio que analizaba los factores que influyen en la co-creación de valor. Se utilizó un análisis de mediación, moderación y proceso condicional para probar las hipótesis propuestas. También se utilizó un análisis de conglomerados K-means para clasificar a los ecoturistas en 4 grupos.

Los resultados muestran que la utilidad percibida de la plataforma tiene una fuerte influencia en la generación de VCC y también en el comportamiento de participación del usuario. A su vez, el comportamiento de participación del usuario es un importante impulsor de la VCC. El estudio también destaca el papel moderador de la tipología ecoturística en la formación de VCC en estas plataformas digitales.

El estudio ofrece a los gestores de plataformas digitales de ecoturismo un medio para identificar y motivar a aquellos ecoturistas con las habilidades y características necesarias para convertirse en verdaderos co-creadores de valor.

Este estudio contribuye al conocimiento existente sobre cómo se co-crea valor en las plataformas digitales de ecoturismo, confirmando el importante papel antecedente de la utilidad percibida de la plataforma y el comportamiento de participación de los usuarios, así como el papel moderador de la tipología del ecoturista.

本研究的主要目的是考察数字生态旅游平台上的价值共同创造（VCC）过程, 以及感知平台有用性和用户参与行为在该过程中的作用。该研究还试图确定生态旅游者的类型在多大程度上调节了VCC。

一个数字生态旅游平台的420名用户参与了一项研究, 分析影响价值共同创造的因素。使用调解、调节和条件过程分析来检验所提出的假设。还使用了K-均值聚类分析, 将生态旅游者分为4组。

结果显示, 感知的平台有用性对VCC的产生有很大影响, 也对用户的参与行为有很大影响。反过来, 用户参与行为也是VCC的一个重要驱动因素。该研究还强调了生态旅游者类型学在这些数字平台上形成VCC的调节作用。

该研究为数字生态旅游平台的管理者提供了一种识别和激励那些具有必要技能和特征的生态旅游者成为真正的价值共同创造者的手段。

本研究对数字生态旅游平台上如何共同创造价值的现有知识做出了贡献, 证实了感知平台有用性和用户参与行为的重要前因作用, 以及生态旅游者类型学的调节作用。

Souvenirs have been repeatedly studied as both a subject and as a variable for other tourism-related phenomena, but research into this issue is fragmented. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to analyze souvenir in tourism to provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review. Second, this paper contributes to identifying the directions for future search through reviewing existing literature. This study is one of the first papers to offer a systematic overview of the key themes in tourism souvenir research. In addition to the key themes, this paper also offers insights into future souvenir research.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of destination marketing and media profiling to re-engage international tourists. However, potential crisis-induced nation brand (NB) deficits must be addressed to re-ignite tourism demand. The study examines the possible intervening effect of the contemporary NB in the international destination marketing and media-travel motives nexus.

A deductive quantitative study was undertaken with an online Amazon Mechanical Turk sample of n = 454 respondents. Hypotheses were tested using PROCESS Macro, Model 4.

The results show that the NB [people and negative events] had a practically significant partial mediating effect in the destination marketing – nature-cultural oriented travel motivation nexus.

New insights are provided via a practical model which facilitates the measurement of potential nuances in the influence of destination marketing and media profiling on leisure tourists' travel motives amid crises. The intervening effect implies that a better understanding of the NB as an indirect antecedent to travel motivation may result in more effective crisis communications and tourism recovery-oriented marketing.

The study is amongst the first to extend marketing and behavioural theory to explore the interplay between the marketing and media profile, a nation's brand and tourists' travel behaviour amid a crisis. The study addresses a discernible dearth of knowledge related to the influence of the NB on tourist behaviour from an emerging market perspective.

Gastronomy can be a key destination choice factor. As tourists, people will be able to learn more about the culture of the place through its culinary assets. This paper aims to analyse the interest and the gastronomic motivations of tourists to the city of Granada (Spain), where two important UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS) are included.

To achieve the aim of this study, fieldwork was carried out on a representative sample of tourists in Granada (Spain). Specifically, a total of 1,612 valid surveys were filled out in culinary establishments and historical sites. In these surveys, the opinion of tourists regarding gastronomy and their motivations when travelling was assessed.

The results of this research allow to make a segmentation of tourists into three groups according to their position and their interest in gastronomy based on their destination choice, distinguishing among survivors, enjoyers and experiencers’ tourists. Additionally, it is confirmed that gastronomy is shaped as a motivation that influences the level of tourist satisfaction, performing as a differentiating element that can help increase the competitiveness of the destination.

This research contributes to the scarce academic literature on tourism experiences in a city with WHS recognitions. This study confirms the existence of a relationship between gastronomic motivations and the level of satisfaction achieved by tourists who visit the city of Granada, where no similar studies were found. In addition, this work confirms the connection between gastronomy and culture.

The study aims to analyze the relationship between tourists' satisfaction and their sense of belonging in a specific cultural destination by also investigating the moderating role of their on-site involvement, both offline (on-site activities at the destination) and online (social media activities). A further objective lies in exploring the relationship between tourists' sense of belonging and their adoption of environmentally responsible behavior while at the destination. Finally, the paper attempts to determine whether said behavior can predict tourists' pro-environmental behavior and recommendation intention.

To reach these objectives, a survey and a structural equation model, based on a sample of 647 visitors of an important world Heritage site UNESCO (i.e. Urbino), have been adopted.

Findings reveal a positive influence of sense of belonging on satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavior, which, in turn, influences pro-environmental behavior and Recommendation intention, thus triggering a virtuous process in the tourists' formation as responsible and loyal travelers. Moreover, results underline how the relationship between satisfaction and sense of belonging is significantly strengthened when tourists' on-site activity involvement increases. Conversely, the moderating role of social media involvement is not supported.

The present study offers important implications for different actors in the tourism sector, such as policy makers, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and tourism operators.

The present study explores the role of social media involvement, specifically during the tourist's holiday.

This study enriches the empirical evidence in the cultural tourism through an analysis focused on the tourists' perspective, especially by investigating the relationship between satisfaction and emotional constructs (i.e. sense of belonging) that are able to bring environmental and loyalty benefits to the destination. Moreover, although existing research has highlighted the positive influence of the tourists' involvement on their experience, there is a paucity of studies jointly analyzing the on-site and online activities in the sustainability field.

This study aims to examine the co-creation of customer experiences at different levels in service ecosystems, analyzing the case of a tourist destination.

A questionnaire was designed based on previously validated scales. The questionnaire was distributed through the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. The survey yielded 1,476 valid responses for three types of destinations. Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were performed to test the hypotheses.

Aggregate service experience and memorable customer experience (MCE) in service ecosystems are determined by customer experiences at a dyadic level. Service experience at the ecosystem level is formed from ordinary experiences at the actor level, while MCE is formed from extraordinary experiences at the dyadic level. The type of ecosystem moderates the relationships between the variables but does not alter the importance of each of them.

The relationship between the co-creation of customer experiences at different levels of service ecosystems (dyadic vs aggregate) is addressed. A relationship is established between the ordinary and extraordinary character of experiences and their memorability at the ecosystem level.

This study aims to explore the dimensions of perceived value of tourists with disabilities at heritage sites. Second, it examines the differences in the precedents of satisfaction and loyalty among tourists with disabilities in two different World Heritage Sites (WHS).

The sample consists of 150 and 184 questionnaires given to tourists with disabilities in Ecuador’s WHS of Quito and Cuenca, respectively. To test the hypotheses, data were analysed using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling.

This study suggests a five-dimensional structure for perceived value of tourists with disabilities in WHS. However, differences in the behaviour of people with disabilities are found depending on the specific WHS. While the perceived value factors that determine satisfaction are different according to the WHS, the loyalty precedents remain the same.

This study contributes to the formulation of actions and strategies towards a more sustainable and inclusive future, where all tourism stakeholders in WHS have role. By understanding the behaviour of tourists with disabilities, these stakeholders will be more informed about the destinations’ elements that need to be improved and enhanced to satisfy this loyal market segment.

Although the importance of accessible tourism is widely recognised, there is a dearth of literature investigating the behaviour of tourists with disabilities in heritage destinations. This study proposes a model to understand the role of perceived value in cultural heritage destinations.

The tourist industry has to adopt a big data-driven foresight approach to enhance decision-making in a post-COVID international landscape still marked by significant uncertainty and in which some megatrends have the potential to reshape society in the next decades. This paper, considering the opportunity offered by the application of the quantitative analysis on internet new data sources, proposes a prediction method using Google Trends data based on an estimated transfer function model.

The paper uses the time-series methods to model and predict Google Trends data. A transfer function model is used to transform the prediction of Google Trends data into predictions of tourist arrivals. It predicts the United States tourism demand in Italy.

The results highlight the potential expressed by the use of big data-driven foresight approach. Applying a transfer function model on internet search data, timely forecasts of tourism flows are obtained. The two scenarios emerged can be used in tourism stakeholders’ decision-making process. In a future perspective, the methodological path could be applied to other tourism origin markets, to other internet search engine or other socioeconomic and environmental contexts.

The study raises awareness of foresight literacy in the tourism sector. Secondly, it complements the research on tourism demand forecasting by evaluating the performance of quantitative forecasting techniques on new data sources. Thirdly, it is the first paper that makes the United States arrival predictions in Italy. Finally, the findings provide immediate valuable information to tourism stakeholders that could be used to make decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to widen the understanding of the shifts the tourism industry experienced as it went though the Covid-19 pandemic. To contribute to this question, an empirical comparison is made between the supply of guided tours and sights at an urban destination in the pre- and postpandemic eras, thus gauging the changes in the guiding tours industry after the pandemic.

By conducting a convenience data gathering and a double-level analysis (tours analysis and sights analysis) on the tours and attractions supply at an urban destination, underlying trends come to light, related to the changes in the postpandemic era. This empirical comparison (2019 vs 2022) allows the authors to assess what has and has not changed in the postpandemic context.

Guided tours and attractions supply are evolving in the researched destination, but at a slow pace. Therefore, we conclude that long-term processes in destinations prevail over short-term disruptions, no matter how strong these disturbances are.

The results are of interest to practitioners as they facilitate a better assessment of the impacts of a crisis and greater awareness of the evolution of attractions in urban tourism. While the “staple tours” in a destination are always there, practitioners should keep an eye on new spaces in the city which the sector is opening up and also new touring trends.

This study is one of the few to empirically compare a pre- and postpandemic situation, as far as city-guided tours are concerned. It helps practitioners and authorities in urban destinations to assess the new trends that have emerged in the postpandemic era, and offers a two-level tool for tour analysis that could be applied to any urban destination.