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The aim of this study is to identify the travel constraints of people with special needs (PwSN) and the strategies used to overcome them. The article also intends to analyze the differences in travel constraints and negotiation strategies according to the type of disability and/or special need.

A qualitative study was conducted in which a sample of PwSN (people with disabilities – mobility, sensory and cognitive – seniors and people with food allergies) were interviewed in depth.

PwSN face a wide range of constraints when engaging in tourism activities. These constraints are very diverse and influence people with different intensity and have to be overcome using different negotiation strategies. However, differences in the constraints were observed according to the type of special needs.

One of the most significant practical implications of this research is the need for raising awareness regarding human diversity among tourism stakeholders. It is critical to link sectoral policies that are reflected in the social and business reality, creating public–private partnerships to raise the sharing of knowledge, equipment and services. By addressing the constraints that prevent PwSN from traveling, the tourism sector can create more opportunities for them to participate in social activities, improving their quality of life and contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive industry.

Traveling can present significant challenges for people with special needs, which affect the quality of their tourism experience. Despite growing academic attention to this issue in recent years, research in this field has primarily focused on specific aspects of disability. This study seeks not only to identify the barriers to travel faced by people with different special needs but also to explore the negotiation strategies used to overcome these barriers and the differences according to the type of special need.

This study investigated the travel intentions (TIs) of Chinese travelers and their utilization of virtual tourism technology during the Zero COVID-19 policy period by using a stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model. The study specifically examines the interplay between knowledge of policy, perception of risk, TI, usage of virtual tourism technology (UVTT) and the mediating role of personal values.

The data were collected from 333 Chinese travelers through an online questionnaire, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The study suggests that knowledge of policy and risk perception increase changes in personal values (PVs), which, in turn, affect Chinese travelers' TIs and the UVTT, with PVs playing a mediating role. Risk perception has a positive effect on the UVTT.

This study highlights the positive impact of tourism policy knowledge and risk awareness on individual values as a stimulus. Stakeholders need to implement industry-specific policies that are in line with scientific developments. Tourism managers should prioritize understanding the psychological reactions of tourists in crises and provide support to mitigate negative emotions. Anticipating changes in PVs is crucial, as instability affects tourists' behavior. The findings of the study also provide valuable insights for technology designers and underscore the substitutability of virtual technologies in improving the tourism experience.

This study is the first to examine the mediating role of PVs in the relationship between knowledge of policy, tourism risk perception (TRP), TI and the UVTT based on the SOR model. The insights gained from this analysis can assist policymakers and tourism managers in understanding the psychological changes of tourists, thereby facilitating the development of appropriate tourism planning.

This paper aims to focus on a medical goods distribution problem and pharmacological waste collection by plug-in hybrid vehicles with some real-world restrictions. In this research, considering alternative energy sources and simultaneous pickup and delivery led to a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and distribution costs, respectively.

Here, this problem has been modeled as mixed-integer linear programming with the traveling and energy consumption costs objective function. The GAMS was used for model-solving in small-size instances. Because the problem in this research is an NP-hard problem and solving real-size problems in a reasonable time is impossible, in this study, the artificial bee colony algorithm is used.

Then, the algorithm results are compared with a simulated annealing algorithm that recently was proposed in the literature. Finally, the results obtained from the exact solution and metaheuristic algorithms are compared, analyzed and reported. The results showed that the artificial bee colony algorithm has a good performance.

In this paper, medical goods distribution with pharmacological waste collection is studied. The paper was focused on plug-in hybrid vehicles with simultaneous pickup and delivery. The problem was modeled with environmental criteria. The traveling and energy consumption costs are considered as an objective function.

This study aims to minimize the transportation-related cost in distribution while utilizing a heterogeneous fixed fleet to deliver distinct demand at different geographical locations with a proper workload balancing approach. An increased cost in distribution is a major problem for many companies due to the absence of efficient planning methods to overcome operational challenges in distinct distribution networks. The problem addressed in this study is to minimize the transportation-related cost in distribution while using a heterogeneous fixed fleet to deliver distinct demand at different geographical locations with a proper workload balancing approach which has not gained the adequate attention in the literature.

This study formulated the transportation problem as a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fixed fleet and workload balancing, which is a combinatorial optimization problem of the NP-hard category. The model was solved using both the simulated annealing and a genetic algorithm (GA) adopting distinct local search operators. A greedy approach has been used in generating an initial solution for both algorithms. The paired t-test has been used in selecting the best algorithm. Through a number of scenarios, the baseline conditions of the problem were further tested investigating the alternative fleet compositions of the heterogeneous fleet. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Hsu’s MCB methods to identify the best scenario.

The solutions generated by both algorithms were subjected to the t-test, and the results revealed that the GA outperformed in solution quality in planning a heterogeneous fleet for distribution with load balancing. Through a number of scenarios, the baseline conditions of the problem were further tested investigating the alternative fleet utilization with different compositions of the heterogeneous fleet. Results were analyzed using ANOVA and Hsu’s MCB method and found that removing the lowest capacities trucks enhances the average vehicle utilization with reduced travel distance.

The developed model has considered both planning of heterogeneous fleet and the requirement of work load balancing which are very common industry needs, however, have not been addressed adequately either individually or collectively in the literature. The adopted solution methodologies to solve the NP-hard distribution problem consist of metaheuristics, statistical analysis and scenario analysis are another significant contribution. The planning of distribution operations not only addresses operational-level decision, through a scenario analysis, but also strategic-level decision has also been considered.

The planning of distribution operations not only addresses operational-level decisions, but also strategic-level decisions conducting a scenario analysis.

Posting and sharing about food on social media has surged in popularity amongst younger generations such as Millennials and Generation Z. This study aims to analyse and compare food-tourism sharing behaviour on social media across generations. First, this study specifically investigates the factors influencing the intention to share food experiences on social media; second, it examines the impact of sharing intention on actual behaviour and loyalty; and third, it determines whether Millennials and Generation Z differ in these relationships.

A survey was carried out of Millennial and Generation Z travellers who shared food experiences on social media. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-group analysis were performed to examine the cause-and-effect relationship in both generations.

The findings reveal differences in motivation, satisfaction, sharing intention, sharing behaviour and loyalty between generations (Millennials and Generation Z).

This study contributes to the literature on the antecedents of food-sharing behaviour in online communities by indicating factors that influence the sharing of culinary experiences and brand or destination loyalty across generations. Suggestions for future research include exploring online food-sharing behaviour through cross-cultural comparisons in various regions.

As Millennials and Generation Z will expand their market share in the coming years, the findings of this study can help improve marketing strategies for culinary tourism and generate more intense food experiences for both generations.

The outcome of the research provides new insights to develop a conceptual model of food-sharing behaviour and tourism on social media by drawing comparisons across generations.

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 paper aims to investigate how different knitted structures affect the illuminative effect of polymeric optical fibres (POFs).

Knit prototypes were constructed using a 7-gauge industrial hand flat knitting machine. The textile prototype swatches developed in this study tested POF illumination in three types of knitting structures: intervallic knit and float stitch structures; POF inlaid into double plain and full cardigan structures; and double plain and partial knitting structures. The illuminative effects of the POFs in seven prototype swatches were analysed and compared.

It is possible to use an industrial hand flat knitting machine to knit POFs. Longer floats expose more POFs, which boosts illumination but limits the textile’s horizontal stretchability. The openness of the full cardigan structure maximises POF exposure and contributes to even illumination. The partial knitting in different sections achieves the most complete physical integration of POFs into the knitted textiles but constrains the horizontal stretchability of the textiles.

The integration of POFs into knitted textiles provides a functional illuminative effect. Applications include but are not limited to fashion, architecture and interior design.

This study is novel, as it investigates new POF knitted textiles with different loop structures. This study examines how knit stitches affect POFs in intervallic knit and float stitch, inlaid POF double knit, double plain and partial knit and the illuminative effects of the knitted textile.

This study compares the motives of holding cash between developed (Australian) and developing (Malaysian) financial markets.

For the period 2006–2020, the t-test, fixed-effect and generalised method of moment (GMM) model have been applied to a sample of 1878 (1,165 Australian and 713 Malaysian) firms.

The empirical results reveal that firms in developed financial markets hold higher cash compared to the developing financial markets. The findings confirm that motives to hold cash differ between developed and developing financial markets. The GMM findings further show that cash holdings (CH) in Australia are higher due to higher ratios of cash flow, research and development (R&D) and return on assets (ROA), and lower due to larger dividend payments. In the Malaysian market, however, cash flows and R&D are ineffectual, ROA falls and dividend payments rise CH.

The study helps managers, practitioners and investors understand that firms' distinct economic, institutional, accounting and financial environments are important. To attain the desired outcomes, they must thus comprehend and consider these considerations while developing suitable liquidity strategies.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the initial research demonstrating how varied cash motives and their ramifications are in developed and developing financial markets. Therefore, this study identifies the importance that CH motives varied among financial markets and that findings from a particular market cannot be generalised to other markets because of the market and financial structural variations.

The purpose of this research is to analyse the accessibility of Spanish beaches for blind people and their guide dogs as an inclusive tourist destination for national and international tourists.

This empirical research used a quantitative and qualitative methodology from public and private organizations, which intends to give voice to blind people to improve their quality of life.

This study presents a new and surprising contribution to the issue of accessibility of beaches for blind people and future studies related to this topic. Findings revealed that Spain has only nine adapted beaches for blind people, and most Spanish tourist destinations exclude blind people and its guide dogs from enjoying the beach and the sun and their facilities. In Spain there are in total 3,547 beaches; 10.3% of these are adapted beaches for people with reduced mobility, whereas only 0.25% are adapted beaches for blind people. Indeed, results also suggest that more efforts are required in response to the needs of blind people in tourism and transport activities by researchers, academics and government bodies.

The contribution of this paper is especially important for the management of the accessibility of Spanish beaches for blind people and their guide dogs by public and private organizations.

这项实证研究采用了来自公共和私人组织的定量和定性方法, 旨在让盲人发声以改善他们的生活质量。

本研究的目的是分析作为国内和国际游客包容性旅游目的地的西班牙海滩对盲人及其导盲犬的可达性。

这项研究对盲人的海滩可达性和与该主题相关的未来研究提出了新的和令人惊讶的贡献。 调查结果显示, 西班牙只有9个适合盲人的海滩, 大多数西班牙旅游目的地都将盲人及其导盲犬排除在享受海滩和阳光及其设施外。 西班牙共有 3,547 个海滩, 其中 10.3% 是适合行动不便人士使用的海滩, 而只有 0.25% 是适合盲人使用的海滩。 事实上, 结果还表明, 研究人员、学术界、政府机构、私营企业以及一个更加公平、团结和慷慨的社会需要做出更多努力来满足盲人在旅游和交通活动中的需求。

本文的贡献对于公共和私人组织管理盲人及其导盲犬在西班牙海滩的可达性尤为重要。

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar la accesibilidad de las playas españolas para personas ciegas y sus perros guía como destino turístico inclusivo para turistas nacionales e internacionales.

Esta investigación utilizó una metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa apoyada con datos de organizaciones públicas y privadas, con la finalidad de dar voz a las personas ciegas para mejorar su calidad de vida.

Este estudio presenta una nueva y sorprendente contribución sobre la accesibilidad de las playas para personas ciegas y futuros estudios relacionados con este tema. Los resultados revelaron que España tiene solo 9 playas adaptadas para invidentes, la mayoría de los destinos turísticos españoles están excluyendo a las personas invidentes y sus perros guía para disfrutar de la playa y el sol, y de sus instalaciones. En España hay un total de 3.547 playas, el 10,3% son playas adaptadas para personas con movilidad reducida, mientras que solo el 0,25% son playas adaptadas para invidentes. De hecho, los resultados también sugieren que se requieren más esfuerzos en respuesta a las necesidades de las personas ciegas en las actividades de turismo y transporte por parte de investigadores, académicos, organismos gubernamentales, empresas privadas y una sociedad más justa, solidaria y generosa.

La contribución de este trabajo es especialmente importante para la gestión de la accesibilidad de las playas españolas para personas ciegas y sus perros guía por parte de organismos públicos y privados.