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Technological advancements are reshaping the tourism industry, necessitating the adaptation of business models through digital technology utilisation for intelligent, sustainable and inclusive tourism offerings. The diverse nature of tourism businesses, encompassing size, technology access, risk aversion, labour intensity, and more, presents a spectrum of challenges and opportunities for business model innovation (BMI) and digital transformation (DT) to maintain competitiveness. This study focuses on the core aspects of DT and BMI within the tourism sector, offering pivotal insights to aid tourism companies embarking on the intricate journey of DT and BMI in this evolving landscape.

The study conducts an extensive literature review to identify critical issues and pathways for tourism businesses pursuing DT and BMI. The review is focused on the challenges, opportunities, risks and imperatives that tourism organisations have to navigate in the current DT landscape to renew their business model.

The findings underscore the pressing need for tourism businesses to undergo a holistic DT. While digital technologies are reshaping the essence of tourism value chains, the transformation extends beyond technology adoption to encompass a profound renewal of organisational culture, competencies, structure, leadership and operational models. This paradigm shift is indispensable for crafting more innovative, sustainable and more inclusive tourism development. The paper also provides strategic recommendations and outlines future research directions to fortify the transformational journey of the tourism sector.

The paper provides key insights into supporting DT and BMI in tourism businesses, advancing a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted challenges and opportunities tourism organisations face in the digital age.

This perspective article provides a compact view on past and promising future research of family business in tourism/hospitality research, an industry that is dominated and driven by family firms.

This article draws on a review of key literature from family business and tourism/hospitality research, and synchronizes this literature for understanding the groundings and development of the field.

The article finds that there are peculiar research gaps and needs concerning gender roles, sub-industries/family networks, later generation conflicts as well as differences in life cycle stages between emerging and developing countries.

This article summarizes the state of the art of research for family business in tourism/hospitality and provides a novel agenda for theory advancement and research of practical relevance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced much of the complexities of human life, which has affected the multifaceted socioeconomic dimensions and sectors around the world. One of the main consequences of the pandemic is the reduction in physical mobility and shifting toward a more digitally enhanced platform, where activities may be continued given the imposed physical limitations. Global supply chains were broken down into regional and even local ones and travel has been reduced significantly across leisure and nonleisure reasons, among others. While we recognize that these changes would require substantial capital and financial investments, these will not be put to waste given that emerging models, practices, and trends are the “silver linings” of the pandemic onto the tourism sector. Given that one emerging advocacy is the sustainability of tourism destinations under the backdrop of environmental awareness, care, and sustainable use, we also look at how tourism goods and services are put on sale given the adoption of new models. Finally, we envelope the pandemic experience and the induced iterations of local tourism initiatives as an opportunity to look for new and revitalized tourism innovations toward the “next normal.”

Anchored in the theories of brand gestalt and stakeholder perspectives, this study aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of the brand gestalt concept, emphasizing its multidimensional nature and the process of co-creation.

Focused within the context of the Wonderful Indonesia brand, the research draws upon a rich qualitative data set derived from in-depth interviews conducted with 18 international tourists, supplemented by netnography (or internet ethnography) of websites, social media and online articles related to Wonderful Indonesia. Using grounded theory methodology, the qualitative data undergo rigorous analysis to identify emergent themes and patterns.

The research elucidates the four dimensions (4S) comprising brand gestalt: storyscapes, sensescapes, servicescapes and stakeholderscapes. Each dimension is further delineated into essential categories, providing a comprehensive understanding of brand gestalt. This study highlights the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, emphasizing the involvement of multiple stakeholders in shaping the brand's identity and perception. Consumer perceptions of co-creation are identified as significant contributors to brand gestalt, enhancing the brand's value proposition.

Destination management and practitioners can use the insights from the research to refine their brand management and marketing strategies by leveraging the dimensions of brand gestalt. Recognizing the collaborative construct of brand gestalt can guide businesses in fostering meaningful relationships with stakeholders and aligning branding efforts with collective visions. Understanding the role of consumer co-creation in brand development can inform strategies aimed at enhancing brand equity and fostering consumer loyalty.

This study extends existing literature on brand gestalt by providing a comprehensive examination of its four dimensions and essential categories. By emphasizing the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, this study contributes to advancing the understanding of brand co-creation paradigms. The identification of consumer perceptions of co-creation as a significant factor in brand gestalt adds novel insights to the literature, offering valuable implications for brand management and marketing strategies.

This study leverages an integrated framework that uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB), risk perception and sustainable behavior to investigate the COVID-19 risk perception of a potentially powerful consumer group – generation Z – on decisions to participate in the domestic tourism stimulus campaign and their willingness to practice socially responsible behaviors.

Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. The study adopts partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to examine the data with the final sample of 422 generation Z in Thailand.

The COVID-19 perceived risk positively affects attitudes, perceived behavioral control and the intention to join domestic tourism campaign, affecting the desire to engage in sustainable behaviors when traveling. Attitude and perceived behavioral control mediated risk perception and the decision to join the campaign. Unlike other studies, generation Z is conscious of the situation but is not risk-averse to travel.

The study offers recommendations (and domestic tourism campaign's features) for government agencies and tourism partitioners, especially developing tourism destinations, to effectively launch domestic tourism campaigns to target generation Z during and after post-pandemic crises.

This study contributes to our limited understanding of generation Z's travel behaviors. It contributes to the extended use of TPB, risk perception and socially responsible conduct of such a specific generation. It is one of the first studies integrating the COVID-19 risk perception of generation Z and their intention to utilize the stimulus campaign.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the metaverse platform in a social context to better understand the future of this tool in tourism cities and how this can help to improve the well-being of residents in both digital and physical scenarios.

In this paper, the current and probable developments in the metaverse, and its use in tourism cities and companies have been investigated. Moreover, this study develops, collects and examines the main metaverse definitions by expert authors and organizations as a methodology to ensure the transparency and credibility of the metaverse analysis.

Findings suggest that the fusion of the metaverse and tourism cities must create residents’ services and experiences in the new MetaTourPolis to help interact and connect citizens with the city’s institutions and companies, as well as make tourism cities more attractive, innovative, environmentally friendly and healthier places to live. Metaverse will bring new changes for residents and tourists, in fact, this virtual platform is already changing and improving the residents’ quality of life and people with disabilities in tourism cities. For instance, the metaverse platform has been implemented in Seoul, Santa Monica and Dubai MetaTourPolis to interact with their residents, including people with disabilities, to resolve bureaucratic and administrative problems, avoiding this group and the rest of the residents travelling by bus or car to the city’s institutions. In addition, several metaverse applications based on softbot tutors or metaverse virtual social centres have been developed to improve blind and impaired people, and elderly people’ quality of life, respectively.

A new concept called “MetaTourPolis” has been included to stage the relationship between tourism cities and the metaverse platform, where the fusion of metaverse and the new tourism polis of the 21st century will be at the service of citizens, tourists and companies, to create more sustainable, efficient, quantitative and environmental tourism cities.

Music and sound have been used pervasively to enhance the tourism and hospitality experience. Incorporating music into a brand’s identity has the potential to influence consumer perceptions and decision-making. This study aims to identify how sonic branding influences consumer attitudes and engagement patterns with hotel brands by using feelings as information theory and applying the effects of music on neurochemical phenomena in the brain. It also explores how sonic branding differentially influences the decision-making of consumer segments.

Experimental studies are used to examine how sonic brands influence consumer perceptions and engagement tendencies. Study 1 (n = 92) adopts a single-factor experimental design to investigate the main effects of sonic branding (presence vs absence) on customers’ responses. Study 2 (n = 204) uses a 2 (sonic branding: present vs. absent) × 2 (purpose of travel: leisure vs business) design to examine the interaction effects. Participants were recruited through Prolific.

Results indicate that the use of sonic branding increases engagement tendencies for a hotel brand. In addition, sonic branding interacted with the purpose of travel such that business travelers exhibited more favorable attitudes and higher engagement tendencies toward a hotel brand than leisure travelers when a sonic brand was used.

Given the proliferation of audio-centric environments, this research provides insight into how tourism and hospitality brands can engage and connect with customers by developing sonic brands that can be used throughout the customer journey.

音乐和声音被广泛用于提升旅游和酒店体验。将音乐融入品牌的身份有可能影响消费者的感知和决策。本研究旨在通过使用感觉作为信息理论和应用音乐对大脑神经化学现象的影响, 识别声音品牌如何影响消费者对酒店品牌的态度和参与模式。它还探讨了声音品牌如何对不同消费者群体的决策产生差异化影响。

采用实验研究来检验声音品牌如何影响消费者的感知和参与倾向。研究1（n = 92）采用单因素实验设计, 调查声音品牌（有 vs. 无）对客户反应的主要影响。研究2（n = 204）采用2（声音品牌：有 vs. 无）× 2（旅行目的：休闲 vs. 商务）设计, 检验交互效应。参与者通过Prolific平台招募。

结果表明, 使用声音品牌会增加消费者对酒店品牌的参与倾向。此外, 声音品牌与旅行目的的交互作用表明, 当使用声音品牌时, 商务旅行者比休闲旅行者对酒店品牌表现出更有利的态度和更高的参与倾向。

鉴于音频中心环境的普及, 本研究提供了旅游和酒店品牌如何通过开发声音品牌在整个客户旅程中与客户互动和联系的见解。

La música y el sonido se han utilizado de forma generalizada para mejorar la experiencia del turismo y la hostelería. La incorporación de la música a la identidad de una marca tiene el potencial de influir en las percepciones y la toma de decisiones de los consumidores. Este estudio pretende identificar cómo influye la marca sonora (o audio branding) en las actitudes de los consumidores y en sus patrones de compromiso con las marcas hoteleras utilizando los sentimientos como teoría de la información y aplicando los efectos de la música en los fenómenos neuroquímicos del cerebro. También explora cómo influye diferencialmente la marca sonora en la toma de decisiones de los segmentos de consumidores.

Se emplean estudios experimentales para examinar cómo influyen las marcas sónicas en las percepciones y las tendencias de compromiso de los consumidores. El estudio 1 (N = 92) adopta un diseño experimental de factor único para investigar los efectos principales de la marca sonora (presencia frente a ausencia) en las respuestas de los clientes. El estudio 2 (N = 204) utiliza un diseño 2 (marca sonora: presente frente a ausente) × 2 (Objetivo del viaje: ocio frente a negocios) para examinar los efectos de interacción. Los participantes fueron reclutados a través de Prolific.

Los resultados indican que el uso de la marca sonora aumenta las tendencias de compromiso con una marca hotelera. Además, la marca sonora interactuó con el objetivo del viaje de forma que los viajeros de negocios mostraron actitudes más favorables y mayores tendencias de compromiso hacia una marca hotelera que los viajeros de ocio cuando se utilizó una marca sonora.

Dada la proliferación de entornos audiocéntricos, esta investigación ofrece una visión de cómo las marcas turísticas y de hostelería pueden captar la atención de los clientes y conectar con ellos desarrollando marcas sonoras que puedan utilizarse a lo largo de todo el viaje del cliente.

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines has undergone the “new normal” transition, creating a strategic recovery effort to reinvigorate the industry. In tourism, these transitions aim to safeguard employees' and guests' health and safety, ensure continuity of business operations, boost tourism confidence leading to satisfaction, and establish a resilient and sustainable tourism industry in the postpandemic era. Hence, this chapter employs a system thinking leveraging a causal loop diagram (CLD) to construct a comprehensive roadmap for Philippine tourism's postpandemic resurgence through the system thinking lens. The CLD visually illustrates the inter-related factors influencing the recovery process, encompassing collaborative engagements, innovations, economic revitalization, and health and safety protocols. By analyzing the causal relationships among these variables, this chapter explicates the dynamic and interconnected nature of the postpandemic recovery leading to the recovery of the Philippine tourism industry, especially in the context of thinking small. Through this chapter, thinking small could involve a shift toward localized solutions and community-focused initiatives that allow them to foster local economies, build resilience, and create a more inclusive and sustainable postpandemic recovery.

Tourism and hospitality employment have long faced widely recognised challenges with regard to employment, its workforce and the workplace environment, issues that have been addressed by generations of policymakers and practitioners without evident success or solution. These wicked problems are frequently characterised by inherent paradoxes and, therefore, accepting the tenets of paradox theory provides the basis for recognising the need to accept contradictions as a reality which a search for solutions will not resolve. This chapter presents six examples of wicked problems in tourism and hospitality employment, which are underpinned by paradoxes as proxies for the much wider range of intractable problems that beset policy-making and practice in this vital area of tourism and hospitality. The chapter concludes by suggesting ways in which wicked problems can be accommodated, and stakeholders can learn to understand and live with paradoxes.