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This paper systematically evaluates the existing literature of innovations in freight transport, including all modes, to uncover the key research themes and methodologies employed by researchers to study innovations and their implications in this industry. It analyses the role of transport and the impact of innovations during crises, such as COVID-19.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the innovations in freight transport unravels the pre-requisites of such endeavours in achieving a resilient and sustainable transport network that effectively and efficiently operates during a crisis. The authors performed keyword co-occurrence network (KCON) analysis and research focus parallelship network (RFPN) analysis using BibExcel and Gephi to determine the major resulting research streams in freight transport.

The RFPN identified five emerging themes: transport operations, technological innovation, transport economics, transport policy and resilience and disaster management. Optimisation and simulation techniques, and more recently, artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) approaches, have been used to model and solve freight transport problems. Automation innovations have also penetrated freight and supply chains. Information and communication technology (ICT)-based innovations have also been found to be effective in building resilient supply chains.

Given the growth of e-commerce during COVID-19 and the resulting logistics demand, along with the need for transporting food and medical emergency products, the role of automation, optimisation, monitoring systems and risk management in the transport industry has become more salient. Transport companies need to improve their operational efficiency using innovative technologies and data science for informed decision-making.

This paper advises researchers and practitioners involved in freight transport and innovation about main directions and gaps in the field through an integrated approach for evaluating research undertaken in the area. This paper also highlights the role of crisis, e.g. COVID-19, and its impacts on freight transport. Major contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) a qualitative and quantitative, systematic and effective assessment of the literature on freight transport through a network analysis of keywords supplemented by a review of the text of 148 papers; (2) unravelling major research areas; (3) identifying innovations in freight transport and their classification as technological and non-technological and (4) investigating the impact of crises and disruptions in freight transport.

The concept of hinterland is changing with a globalized economy, new needs between airports, stakeholders and the tourist destination challenge new dimensions of operation in the territory. Identifying new factors and actors in the influence zone of the hinterland will allow us to stage the importance of airports in the regional economy and the positive effects derived from these. The aim of this paper is to analyse the hinterland of Málaga Costa del Sol airport and its territorial and economic dimensions. Moreover, to provide an updated and clearer definition of hinterland, assuming future implications for airport operators, management of tourist destination by destination marketing organizations and scholars and practitioners interested in this topic. The results revealed that Málaga’s airport is modifying the hinterland of airport and its area of influence in economic and urban development terms.

Among the top management issues covered in this section are: leadership to promote change; issues of corporate culture; effective international strategy; environmental leadership; investment in Eastern Europe; and developing “world‐class” manufacturing strategy.

This paper aims to provide an assessment of tourism promotion in tourist destinations and airports (TPTDs) and to organize and classify the literature on tourism promotion, with the aim of staging the importance of this topic and encouraging future research in the projection of tourism and marketing sectors.

The paper uses the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) database to analyze the bibliometric in TPTDs topic from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, the paper also uses the visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer software to map graphically the bibliographic material. The graphical analysis uses bibliographic coupling, co-citation, citation and co-occurrence of keywords.

This study provides an amended new definition of tourism promotion, which is the efficient management of a destination’s resources and strategic plans by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to adapt the tourism supply to market trends and will empower tourists to visit such destinations. Furthermore, results also show a new paradigm applied to TPTDs topic and classified in five first-order research streams. Digital and mobile marketing, infrastructure, branding, quality, accessibility and information factors about a specific destination which are mostly demanded by tourists are considered as an important means of promotion for the tourism industry.

The contribution of this study is important to identify new challenges and opportunities for researchers, DMOs, airport and airlines operators and stakeholders, as disentangling existing contradictions and applying new theoretical framework to make better future decisions by researchers and organizations to provide higher quality to new research in the context of the TPTDs.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a stochastic optimisation model for integrating service and maintenance policies in order to solve the queuing problem and the cost of maintenance activities for public transport services, with a particular focus on urban ropeway system.

The authors adopt the following approaches: a discrete-event model that uses a set of interrelated queues for the formulation of the service problem using a cost-based expression; and a maintenance model consisting of preventive and corrective maintenance actions, which considers two different maintenance policies (periodic block-type and age-based).

The work shows that neither periodic block-type maintenance nor an age-based maintenance is necessarily the best maintenance strategy over a long system lifecycle; the optimal strategy must consider both policies.

The maintenance policies are then evaluated for their impact on the service and operation of the transport system. The authors conclude by applying the proposed optimisation model using an example concerning ropeway systems.

This is the first study to simultaneously consider maintenance policy and operational policy in an urban aerial ropeway system, taking up the problem of queuing with particular attention to the unique requirements public transport services.

This paper aimed to study the optimal way to implement and subsequently manage the new metropolitan lines in the Kuwait city as well as to justify them from a social and economic-financial viability standpoint and the most important aspects of transport infrastructure projects viability. The implementation of new modes of transport in an urban environment requires the study of several factors that allow their incorporation on the transport system in the most efficient method. These factors include reviewing the organization of the transport system. The concept of transport system organization, financing models and common trends was defined. Finally, the Public Transport Authority was created to define global objectives and establish specific policies to achieve them was suggested.

After the analysis of the “status quo” of transport systems organization, the financing and management schemes, both infrastructure projects and the provision of rail service were analysed. The characteristics of the PPP scheme (Public–Private Participation) contract, advantages and disadvantages, its structure, and the definition and share of risk (matrix of risk, rights and obligations of the parties) as a key element of the PPP contracts were defined. From this point onwards, the legal framework in force in Kuwait was analysed, particularly the administrative and commercial regulations applying to this project and the authors verified that the economic-financial viability analysis suggested before can be established under this framework.

For the viability of these alternatives, the authors developed a simulation economic-financial model that reflects Financial Statements for the “Society Vehicle Project” and are considered some minimum thresholds of profitability, both from the viewpoint of the partners sponsoring the project as from the standpoint of lenders, which make attractive participation of private initiative. Finally, there was a short socio-economic analysis to justify the project implementation from a social standpoint. It analyses and quantifies the reduction of operating expenses of other modes of transport, travelling times, accident rates, environmental pollution etc. All these factors affect the quality of life of the population of Kuwait and are the main reason to carry out this project. Several recommendations were raised that aimed at preparing the projects, bidding and selection of private partner and the articulation and implementation of projects.

This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge through setting the framework for metro projects in arid regions with the hottest temperature on Earth such as Kuwait where such projects are missing completely. This work will be very helpful to governments and municipalities in taking investment decisions. It sets the strategy for utilizing the best of decision-making theory, identifying the reliability advantages and finding the larger economic effects. This work identified, through the analysis of alternative management options generally used in underground and rail projects in different parts of the world, the most convenient alternative in developing countries. It also clearly showed, through the analysis carried out on governmental contributions, how to obtain economic viability for such types of projects. Finally, it helped drawing a roadmap for preparing the projects, bidding and selection of private partner and the articulation and implementation of projects in Kuwait and Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC).

Mobile travel apps (MTA) smart features were identified based on recent travel application (app) trends and a literature review of MTA smart features. Subsequently, the MTA features that could be prioritised to increase user interest in MTA were determined. The MTA smart feature development challenges that should be mitigated were also identified.

The app identification and selection were based on the one-stop solution characteristics containing the common function of travel apps and eight MTA smart features. A total of 193 Apple apps and 250 Google apps were identified, where 36 apps that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart were selected for evaluation.

The high user ratings for apps from both app stores revealed the acceptance of smart technology in the tourism industry. Geolocation tracking services, travel itinerary generators, and real-time personalisation and recommendation were the three major features available in the included MTA. The challenges of MTA with smart features were highlighted from the tourism organisation, app developer and user perspectives.

The findings can guide tourism organisations and app developers on the smart features that MTA should offer for user engagement. Technological organisations could optimise their technology stack by considering the identified smart features. The findings are valuable for scholars in terms of MTA aesthetics and usability to gain acceptability. The development challenges included significant investment in technology, location accuracy and privacy concerns when implementing MTA smart features.

The previous literature mainly focused on evaluating app quality, assessing app functionality, and user ratings using the Mobile Application Rating Scale, and scoping reviews of MTA articles. Contrastingly, this study is among the first in which MTA smart features were examined from a developer-centric perspective. Moreover, it is suggested that MTA includes integrated smart features for better tourism services and market penetration in the tourism industry.

This contribution aims to demonstrate that the adoption of a holistic approach to the development of infrastructures supporting the growth of cruise tourism can represent a trigger for a more sustainable urban and port planning in the Moroccan context. Although, along with this growth, there are global-local issues pertaining to sustainability and resilience that need to be addressed to support sustainable urban and social development of tourist cities.

Documents and literature review were used to develop an in-depth analysis related to the different fields involved in the proposed theoretical reflection. Scientific publications, data and international statistical reports have been used to validate the approach.

The work provides empirical insights to show the strengths of the country related to the sustainability, suggesting that they deserve to be integrated, involving urban planning, green energy transition, as well as the economic and social sustainability of tourism industry.

This paper aims to stimulate a debate among stakeholders and scholars involved on tourist port cities urban planning to avoid a “silos” approach and to favour a more sustainable infrastructure development process. In that sense, the paper fulfils the need to provide a basis to encourage the integration of different strategic topics and agenda concerning social and economic growth of tourist port cities.

The use of competitor analysis is a rapidly growing area of business activity, especially among major corporations, across the world. The old military stratagem “know your enemy; through knowing your enemy you can beat him/her”, has found new life in the contemporary business environment. Surveys carried out in Europe and the USA in 1989 found that two‐thirds of competitor analysis departments were less than three years old. Competitor analysis is becoming increasingly seen as a key component in strategy formulation, in particular, in forming marketing strategy.

While transport seems to be increasingly constrained in its mission to supply services which are continuous, costless and available in all directions, the telecommunications system seems to have no such constraints and to be developing ever more rapidly in terms of inter‐connectivity, falling costs and multi‐directionality. It would seem to be impossible to contemplate the future demand for transport in isolation from the future demand for telecommunications and the question of the optimal interaction between the two mobility modes. Reviews the benefits of the different forms of telecommunications and virtual logistics. Investigates the implications for freight logistics and the supply side of the transport industry. Suggests a way to re‐engineer the analytical framework.