scholarly journals Smart Tourism Sustainability Narratives in Mature Beach Destinations. Contrasting the Collective Imaginary with Reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5083
Author(s):  
Joan Miquel Gomis-López ◽  
Francesc González-Reverté

This article contributes to the analysis of the relationship between urban renewal processes and sustainable development in mature beach destinations and the adoption of smart tourism. It takes as its case study Spanish destinations taking part in publicly-funded projects and plans designed to convert them into so-called “smart destinations” (SD). Its chief goals are to identify, through the Delphi technique, the smart tourism narrative behind the drive for creating SD, as well as to see how good a fit this is with the strategic positionings of mature destinations seeking to halt their decline or take on a new lease of life by introducing sustainability measures. Based on a review of the existing literature, we perform a critical analysis of this narrative to expose the contradictions arising when it is applied as a tool for urban renewal based on the implementation of sustainability strategies. The results aid with progress in two directions. Firstly, the article contributes new conceptual elements on the role of SD in the urban transformation of tourist destinations as a response to the challenges of global competitiveness. The second contribution, which is applied in nature and based on the study of a variety of Spanish tourist destinations, analyzes the impact the application of smart tourism-based technological solutions may have upon sustainability. Specifically, it examines the actions of different mass tourism beach destinations and discusses their actual ability to foster renewal in the field of tourism and offer solutions for overcoming urban sustainability problems. Lastly, it offers some recommendations for mature beach destination managers interested in implementing smart tourism projects based on sustainability criteria.

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 408
Author(s):  
Fernando Almeida-García ◽  
Rafael Cortés-Macías ◽  
Krzysztof Parzych

This study analyzes the role of residents in urban tourist destinations affected by the increase in tourist flows, which have generated various problems such as tourism, gentrification and the emergence of tourism as a threat to residents. The role of residents in tourist destinations has not been analyzed regularly during the development process of destinations. We study two cases of historic centers in European cities, with the aim of comparing tourism problems, which are common to most European urban destinations. This study was conducted by administering surveys amongst residents of these historic centers (378 in Málaga, Spain, and 380 in Gdansk, Poland). These cities show a similar demographic size and urban characteristics. This is the first comparative research on tourism-phobia and gentrification in destinations, a field of analysis that is still not studied much. We develop specific scales to measure gentrification and tourism-phobia; moreover, we study the impact of some tourist problems that affect residents (noise, dirt, occupation of public spaces, etc.), and we show the spatial distribution of tourism-phobia. The same analysis instruments are used for both cities. The results of this study show that the tourism-phobia situation is different in the analyzed destinations. It is more intense in the case of Málaga than in Gdansk. The two historic centers are especially affected by the processes of increased tourist flows and the growth of new forms of tourist accommodation. The research results show that the residents’ annoyance caused by tourism gentrification is more intense than tourism-phobia. Both case studies highlight the residents’ complaints regarding the inadequate management of problems by public stakeholders and control measures.


Author(s):  
Rade M. Ciric ◽  
Sasa N. Mandic

AbstractThe Republic of Serbia must make significant efforts to promote and exploit renewable energy sources and increase energy efficiency in all energy sectors to ensure energy security and economic competitiveness, reduce the negative impact on the environment from energy production and use, and contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. Within the paper several issues of integration of recently realized CHP plant are introduced and discussed. Firstly, the legal and energy policy issues in the Republic of Serbia regarding connecting CHP to the grid are presented. The challenges and technical solutions for CHP connection to the grid, as well as power quality issues and the role of the CHP plant during the restoration of power supply during the maintenance of the substation and unplanned loss of high voltage supply, are presented and discussed. Finally, the impact of prospective massive integration of CHP on the energy balance and CO2 emission reduction in the province of Vojvodina in Serbia is investigated and discussed. Since it is the first CHP plant realized in Serbia, it is crucial that experience be shared to all potential stakeholders in the future energy efficiency projects.


Author(s):  
Oriol Ríos-González ◽  
Mimar Ramis-Salas ◽  
Juan Carlos Peña-Axt ◽  
Sandra Racionero-Plaza

Background: Men who develop behaviors connected with the model of hegemonic masculinity present several health problems. Previous research has shown the types of problems that men commonly suffer in this regard such as chronic diseases, dietary disorders, and traffic accidents. To combat and overcome this situation, several campaigns, policies and recommendations have been undertaken, and consequently, their influence has been analyzed. However, there have been few investigations into the role of men’s friendship in the reduction of these physical health problems. The findings presented in this article are focused on this issue, illustrating the impact of male friendship on the shaping of healthy behaviors. Methods: Drawing upon a qualitative-based methodology articulated in a case study of the Men in Dialogue association, located in Spain, the study has followed the premises of the communicative approach, a total of 15 structured online open-ended questionnaires have been performed and analyzed. The median age of the participants is 37.5 years. Results: The findings show how men involved in Men in Dialogue are promoting a kind of masculine friendship that is improving men’s emotional well-being and, consequently, their physical health.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 327-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Plé

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the combining of marketing and organizational literature. This paper seeks to evaluate the relationships between multichannel coordination and customer participation, as seen through the lens of potential customer opportunism. It aims at showing the impact of this opportunism on the organizational design of multiple channels structures.Design/methodology/approachThe research reports on an exploratory case study in a French retail bank. A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted, and the use of other sources enabled data triangulation.FindingsThe results show first that an increase in the number of distribution channels is liable to favor customer opportunistic behavior. To counter this, the bank mainly relies on impersonal coordination modes. An emerging result highlights the role of the customer as a “perceptual filter” between the different channels of employees.Research limitations/implicationsCustomer opportunism is studied via channels employees perceptions. An investigation using a customer survey may help to better understand this construct, e.g. to identify its antecedents, and to measure it precisely. Moreover, further qualitative and/or quantitative studies with larger sample sizes are needed to try and generalize these results.Practical implicationsIt is recommended not to forget that customers can facilitate or hinder multichannel coordination. Retail banks have the power to use them conveniently, provided that they are fully conscious of the scope of the “partial employee” role played by the customer.Originality/valueThis paper broadens understanding of how multichannel distribution structures are coordinated, and in a way belies traditional organizational design literature. The emerging result gives birth to the concept of “reversed interactive marketing”, which has interesting theoretical and practical repercussions.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 890
Author(s):  
Paolo Di Giamberardino ◽  
Rita Caldarella ◽  
Daniela Iacoviello

This paper addresses the problem of describing the spread of COVID-19 by a mathematical model introducing all the possible control actions as prevention (informative campaign, use of masks, social distancing, vaccination) and medication. The model adopted is similar to SEIQR, with the infected patients split into groups of asymptomatic subjects and isolated ones. This distinction is particularly important in the current pandemic, due to the fundamental the role of asymptomatic subjects in the virus diffusion. The influence of the control actions is considered in analysing the model, from the calculus of the equilibrium points to the determination of the reproduction number. This choice is motivated by the fact that the available organised data have been collected since from the end of February 2020, and almost simultaneously containment measures, increasing in typology and effectiveness, have been applied. The characteristics of COVID-19, not fully understood yet, suggest an asymmetric diffusion among countries and among categories of subjects. Referring to the Italian situation, the containment measures, as applied by the population, have been identified, showing their relation with the government's decisions; this allows the study of possible scenarios, comparing the impact of different possible choices.


Author(s):  
Rizki Mohamed

The Tagueleft basin is geographically located in the northern edges of the Middle High Atlas, which is a geomorphological fragile area. The impact of human activity has accelerated water erosion in this mountains area. This is reflected in dynamic and unstable foothills, a decrease in forests density and degradation in the production of the land. On the other hand, land degradation due to human overexploitation of natural resources has increased land degradation in the area. The interest in the risk of erosion on the foothills in the area under study comes in the context of our contribution to clarify the role of geomatical and geomorphological approaches in explaining and identifying the mechanisms responsible for current foothills dynamism through water erosion and its negative impacts on the environment and local development. The aim of the study was to use the EPM (Erosion Potential Méthod) which is formulated by Slobodan Gavrilovic for erosion in mountainous areas and to test the reliability of its results based on fieldwork and remote sensing data. The results of the erosion assessment and its quantification by applying the coefficient (W) for the theoretical model in the area under study have shown that erosion is very important and it touches on wide areas as it appears through the domain classification of the distribution erosion in Tagueleft basin.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huafei Yu ◽  
Yaolong Zhao ◽  
Yingchun Fu ◽  
Le Li

Urban rainstorm waterlogging has become a typical “city disease” in China. It can result in a huge loss of social economy and personal property, accordingly hindering the sustainable development of a city. Impervious surface expansion, especially the irregular spatial pattern of impervious surfaces, derived from rapid urbanization processes has been proven to be one of the main influential factors behind urban waterlogging. Therefore, optimizing the spatial pattern of impervious surfaces through urban renewal is an effective channel through which to attenuate urban waterlogging risk for developed urban areas. However, the most important step for the optimization of the spatial pattern of impervious surfaces is to understand the mechanism of the impact of urbanization processes, especially the spatiotemporal pattern of impervious surfaces, on urban waterlogging. This research aims to elucidate the mechanism of urbanization’s impact on waterlogging by analysing the spatiotemporal characteristics and variance of urban waterlogging affected by urban impervious surfaces in a case study of Guangzhou in China. First, the study area was divided into runoff plots by means of the hydrologic analysis method, based on which the analysis of spatiotemporal variance was carried out. Then, due to the heterogeneity of urban impervious surface effects on waterlogging, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was utilized to assess the spatiotemporal variance of the impact of impervious surface expansion on urban rainstorm waterlogging during the period from the 1990s to the 2010s. The results reveal that urban rainstorm waterlogging significantly expanded in a dense and circular layer surrounding the city centre, similar to the impervious surface expansion affected by urbanization policies. Taking the urban runoff plot as the research unit, GWR has achieved a good modelling effect for urban storm waterlogging. The results show that the impervious surfaces in the runoff plots of the southeastern part of Yuexiu, the southern part of Tianhe and the western part of Haizhu, which have experienced major urban engineering construction, have the strongest correlation with urban rainstorm waterlogging. However, for different runoff plots, the impact of impervious surfaces on urban waterlogging is quite different, as there exist other influence factors in the various runoff plots, although the impervious surface is one of the main factors. This result means that urban renewal strategy to optimize the spatial pattern of impervious surfaces for urban rainstorm waterlogging prevention and control should be different for different runoff plots. The results of the GWR model analysis can provide useful information for urban renewal strategy-making.


Dementia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 3161-3164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudi Coetzer

The paper explores the important role of relatives in designing assistive technologies in collaboration with practitioners. A brief case study reports the collaborative design of a 24-hour clock to reduce the impact of visual–spatial impairment on a family member's ability to read time and prevent temporal disorientation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-262
Author(s):  
Onuma Suphattanakul

Purpose: This study evaluates the role of transformational leadership in effective strategic implementation. The purposes of this study are; first, to examine the degree of transformational leadership of administrative officials; second, to assess the degree of effective strategic implementation; third, to investigate the impact of transformational leadership on effective strategic implementation. Finally, this study examines the roles of organizational culture as a moderator of the association between transformational leadership and effective strategic implementation. Methodology: This study uses the case study of municipalities in Trang Province in Thailand. This research employs quantitative methods. The questionnaires are collected from administrative officials of municipalities in Trang Province. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the data. This study uses Pearson correlation analysis to achieve the associations between two variables. In addition, regression analysis is applied as a suitable statistical tool to test the hypotheses. Implication: This study combined the framework of strategic management, leadership, and organizational culture for testing the conceptual model. The study is particularly useful for improving the roles of administrative officials in order to achieve effective strategic in municipalities.


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