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This paper analyses children's experiences of school or family visits to Hare Krishna eco-farms in Europe. The article evaluates the extent to which these encounters enable retention and recollection of memories and, consequently, trigger change towards more sustainable behaviour.

Participatory research, qualitative observations and theories of childhood memory are used to explore the nature of children's environmental encounters on Hare Krishna eco-tours.

Findings reveal that Krishna eco-tours offer a conducive environment for cerebral registering and future reminiscing through the following components: experiential learning of sustainable practices which are radically different to mainstream alternatives, sensory experiences, nature play and entertainment and freedom from everyday constraints.

The emerging literature on children's eco-tourism has largely focussed on market-related aspects and farmers' needs. In contrast, the authors’ conceptual framework, based on contemporary research in childhood memories, offers a tool to evaluate the impacts of eco-tourism from a more holistic perspective.

The purpose of this study is to exploring the factors influencing renewable energy consumption intentions and behaviors among eco-tourism visitors in Bangladesh, developing theory of sustainable consumption behaviors (TSCB).

Based on review of previous empirical studies and other literatures, and collection of 399 usable responses, the study is conducted through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) by using Smart PLS3.3.3.

The study results divulge that renewable energy consumption intentions significantly influence renewable energy consumption behavior; and the carbon mitigation norms and energy saving norms significantly impact on renewable energy consumption intentions among eco-tourists in Bangladesh.

The findings imply that availability of renewable energy consumption options may attract tourists towards eco-tourism in Bangladesh.

This study is one of the first attempts to developing the theory of sustainable consumption, exploring the integrated impacts of carbon mitigation norms, energy saving norms and renewable energy consumption intentions on eco-tourists’ renewable energy consumption behaviors in Bangladesh.

Innovative modern technologies are utilised in the hospitality and tourist industry to attract prospective consumers. Travel vlogs have emerged as a type of visual travel blog which includes information regarding tourist destinations, accommodation, cuisine, touristic activities, mode of accessibility, etc. The current study aims to investigate the influence of vlogger credibility on triggering the tourist intention to visit an eco-tourism destination.

The present study is a quantitative study, and it was conducted by surveying 218 respondents. A structured, close-ended and self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents.

The findings indicated that vlogger trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness significantly impact Bangladeshi tourists' intention towards visiting an eco-tourist destination.

The present study has several theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, the research framework illustrated how the vloggers' trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness on Bangladeshi tourists' visit intention to eco-tourist destinations. Practically, tourism industry practitioners, particularly destination marketers, will get benefit from the present study.

The role of children and young people is not outlined in the sustainability transitions literature. The aim of this work is to illustrate the significance of young people's agency by showcasing Hare Krishna eco-farms organising cultural/eco-spiritual events. This work forms part of a wider sustainability study focussing on food in spiritual communities in Europe. Data were collected through observation and interviews on three Hare Krishna farms. The agency of children and youths and the significance of their presence at eco-events emerged as an unexpected theme. Findings show that Hare Krishna events in Europe are visited by a relatively high number of children and young people who learn about more sustainable practices through extracurricular activities. By describing the cognitive and experiential encounters, the authors draw attention to the significance of children's involvement in ecologically geared events in the context of sustainability transitions.

Using Gibson and Tarrant's (2010) resilience triangle model, this study explores how small northwest Himalayan organisations respond to contextual challenges and opportunities and embed sustainability strategies in the organisations' operational values.

A qualitative exploratory design through individual and group interviews with owner-managers and employees was held in five small northwest Himalayan organisations.

The findings reveal multiple contextual challenges facing small organisations in northwest Himalayas, including ecological conditions, remoteness, underdeveloped infrastructure and human competencies. The investigated organisations respond to these challenges through reactive and innovation-based services like eco-tourism, conservation and educational initiatives. The organisations engage communities through participatory and educational activities. Owner-managers adjust the respective vision and mission statements, train employees on sustainability values and lobby the government on policy changes to embed sustainability strategies. Some organisations invest in resources and capabilities and others in process capabilities.

Small organisations can improve how the organisations predict contextual issues by developing the organisations' process capabilities, specifically by creating practical tools with parameters relevant to ecological conditions. These organisations can set the tools through participatory actions with the broader communities to ensure the (un)intended consequences of environmental issues are considered. Furthermore, improvements in process and human capabilities will provide new approaches to raising business opportunities, especially in post-pandemic business environments.

This study develops a framework that enhances the understanding of how process capabilities, leadership, people and knowledge capabilities are critical to developing and embedding sustainability strategies in small organisations.

After completion of the case study, the participants would be able to understand the challenges in building a sustainable homestay tourism business; develop a positioning statement for La Pinekonez which builds a unique competitive advantage; and outline elements of the business strategy to profitably sustain and grow a sustainable tourism homestay in terms of service offering, pricing, marketing and operations.

La Pinekonez Homestay, located in the beautiful region of Himachal Pradesh, India, is the subject of this case study, which explores both its successes and its difficulties. In August 2022, Arvind, the dedicated sole proprietor of La Pinekonez, grappled with multifaceted challenges, the first being the foray of established hotel chains into the homestay business. As the protagonist, was is in dilemma of preserving La Pinekonez’s unique identity amidst corporate competitors, particularly with regards to differentiating from the expanding hotel chains. The clash between customer expectations for hotel-like amenities and the homestay’s commitment to sustainable tourism presented a crucial challenge. Negative reviews questioning the authenticity of La Pinekonez’s green initiatives heightened the complexity. Adding to Arvind’s predicament were the seasonal fluctuations in tourist inflow and his aspiration to embrace immersive tourism trends. This case study facilitates exploration of strategic positioning, sustainability management and marketing strategies in the dynamic and competitive hospitality industry. It also offers insights into the complexities of balancing differentiation, customer satisfaction and sustainability while navigating the evolving landscape of tourism trends.

This case study is suitable for students of tourism and hospitality management at postgraduate level. The case study can be discussed once the basic concepts of hospitality management and service dimensions are covered.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS 12: Tourism and hospitality.

This study examines the significance of Oman’s sustainable strategies to mitigate overtourism. The study adopts a quantitative study design with a survey method to investigate the strategies’ effectiveness. Two hundred twenty participants were recruited through random sampling, most of whom were male. The data was collected from October to November 2020, and the data collection process lasted for four months, from December to March 2021. This study also reviews the role of economic challenges in causing overtourism in Oman. Further, it analyses the sustainable strategies adopted by the Omani government to overcome the overcrowding of tourist places in Muscat and Salalah and prevent the deterioration in the quality of tourism-related services and products. The significance and impact of the sustainable strategies were investigated through factor analysis. We developed the following hypotheses: (i) the economic challenges have resulted in overcrowded tourism in Oman; (ii) the sustainable strategies or framework(s) are sufficient to overcome overtourism in Oman; and (iii) there is a significant impact of sustainable strategies or framework(s) to overcome overtourism in Oman. The study concluded that economic challenges directly impacted the quality of the services and the entire hospitality and tourism sector in Oman, concerning overtourism. However, the government of Oman has adopted sustainable strategies and frameworks to address this overtourism challenge. Most respondents asserted that the steps taken to mitigate overtourism were significant in eliminating the challenge of overtourism in Oman.

This paper aims to draw the attention of the academic scholars to how marketing of horti-tourism can take action to contribute to tourism agenda 2030.

Reviewing literature on tourism, this paper builds a case for marketing horti-tourism based on the research gaps in literature, and future research directions are proposed to aid in the achievement of tourism agenda 2030.

Scholarly research on horti-tourism remains scarce, and more research attention is suggested on this subject matter. The tourism sector produced varied forms of tourism where horti-tourism is associated with horticulture farms, vegetable gardens and flower gardens which provide direct gains such as employment creation, foreign currency earnings, income generation source, poverty reduction and other gainful commercial activities. Despite the importance attached to this form of tourism in literature, less research has been conducted to market its relevance to nations and businesses. Much academic studies are needed to project this form of tourism.

This perspective paper serves as a call for tourism firms, governments and other stakeholders within and outside to make theoretical and practical contributions by marketing horti-tourism destinations to visitors which aid in the UN Tourism Agenda of 2030.

这篇文章提出观点和视角, 旨在引起学术界学者对 2030 年旅游议程的关注, 通过园艺旅游营销, 如何采取行动为推动 2030 年旅游议程做出贡献。

本文回顾了旅游业的相关文献, 根据文献中的研究空白构建了营销园艺旅游的案例, 并提出了未来的研究方向, 以帮助实现 2030 年旅游议程。

关于园艺旅游的学术研究仍然很少, 建议对该主题进行更多的研究关注。旅游业产生了多种旅游形态, 其中园艺旅游与园艺农场、菜园和花园相关, 提供直接收益：如创造就业、外汇收入、拓展收入来源、减贫和其他有收益的商业活动。尽管在众多文献中都很重视这种旅游形态, 但很少研究其与国家和企业的相关性, 需要大量的学术研究来预测这种形式的旅游。

这篇观点文章呼吁国内外的旅游公司、政府和其他利益相关者通过向游客营销园艺旅游目的地来进一步取得理论和实践成果, 以帮助推动联合国 2030 年旅游议程。

Este documento tiene como meta analizar cómo el marketing de Horti-turismo puede contribuir al desarrollo de la agenda del turismo 2030.

Se ha realizado una revisión de la literatura en bases de datos científicas de impacto a nivel internacional sobre la comercialización del horti-turismo.

La investigación prospectiva sobre horti-turismo sigue siendo escasa y se sugiere más atención científica sobre este tema. El sector turístico produjo variadas formas de turismo donde el horti-turismo está asociado con granjas de horticultura, jardines vegetales y jardines de flores que proporcionan beneficios directos como la creación de empleo, ganancias en divisas extranjeras, fuente de generación de ingresos, reducción de la pobreza y otras actividades comerciales lucrativas. A pesar de la importancia atribuida a esta forma de turismo en la literatura, se ha prestado menos atención en la comercialización a las naciones y las empresas. Se ha puesto de manifiesto la necesidad de desarrollar más estudios para formentar esta forma de turismo.

Este artículo exploratorio permite a las empresas de turismo, los gobiernos y otras partes interesadas dentro y fuera realizar contribuciones teóricas y prácticas a fin de comercializar sus productos en destinos de horti-turismo y, con ello, fomentar el desarrollo Agenda de Turismo de las Naciones Unidas de 2030.

The learning outcomes of this case study are as follows: Students will be able to comprehend and visualize the initial hiccups and operational hurdles faced by digital start-ups in an emerging market. Students will be able to evaluate the importance of digital marketing for promoting start-ups dealing with sustainable products in the service industry, thereby helping them to develop digital marketing strategies to organically promote a service. Students will be able to perform strategic positioning of a start-up based on perceptual mapping methodology. Students will be able to identify the various aspects for identifying and creating a viable business model. Students will be able to use Osterwalder’s business model canvas for identifying the important operational aspects of the start-up. Students will be able to visualize the entrepreneurial challenges in an emerging market.

This case study highlights the dilemma the protagonist, Prerna Prasad, faced in her travel start-up venture, Ecoplore. Ecoplore is an aggregator platform that onboards only eco-hotels. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, Ecoplore is India’s only platform that promotes and onboards only those hotels made up of mud, wood, bamboo, stone or any local architecture and that maintain at least 30% green space on their premises. Ecoplore has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Program for fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal 12 and has also been bestowed with the Gold Award by Indian Responsible Tourism Awards 2019. Prasad had already identified her target market. Prasad took conscious steps towards reaching her target audience, and her first step towards that was designing Ecoplore’s website. Being aware of the importance of content marketing, Ecoplore’s content was curated with fresh and quality write-ups, pictures, blog posts, etc. Ecoplore’s website was also optimized for mobile and desktop versions to deliver a great user experience. Features like easy navigation and the website's speed were also taken care of. Being active on social media platforms, Prasad made sure that the pages of Ecoplore across various social media platforms were well connected with her website. Despite doing so much, it was found that the number of visitors was few after a span of two years. Conversion on the website was low, which ultimately affected the return on investment. Prasad was befuddled as to why the conversions were low despite having a great website that was considered a window to the organization. She faced the challenge of reaching her target audience despite being present online. Upon detailed analysis, Prasad found that Ecoplore was showing up in the search engine research pages (SERP) in only a few keywords, meaning the keyword density was low. Also, the website lacked backlinks, which would eventually help them to rank high on search engine optimization (SEO). This means that Ecoplore will need to revisit its SEO strategy if Prasad wants to promote her organization organically. Now, to increase visibility and ranking on SERP, Prasad had two options before her; first, she could do it organically via SEO or through search engine marketing. She was keen to build the traffic organically, knowing its long-term benefits. As a marketer, what should be Prasad’s strategy? This case study can be used for class discussion purposes for the students pursuing the courses on digital marketing, SEO and digital marketing optimization.

This case study is suitable for students learning the fundamentals of digital marketing (basic and advanced) course, marketing management students and digital marketing workshops. The level of difficulty is medium. The knowledge pre-requirement is marketing management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.