Although user-generated content is widely examined in tourism research, the non-social emotions expressed in comments on festival-related YouTube vlogs remain underexplored. This study characterizes such emotions in comments on videos documenting the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Philippines. Ten vlogs were purposively selected, and 8,897 meaningful comments were extracted and analyzed using Phronetic Iterative Qualitative Data Analysis. The analysis yielded a conceptual model, Grand Festival as a Magnetic Field for Non-Social Emotions, which organizes these responses into two clusters: pride-driven and promise-driven emotions. The findings extend scholarship on tourism and digital emotions and offer useful insights for the management and marketing of festival destinations.
This study analyses residents' perceptions towards the effects of tourism in a low-density cross-border region between northern Portugal and Spain. Based on Social Exchange Theory, it examines how tourism dependence, gender, and length of residence shape perceptions of the economic, sociocultural, and environmental effects. Quantitative survey was conducted with 622 residents from 10 municipalities on both sides of the border, and statistical tests were applied. Results indicate favourable attitudes towards tourism, driven by perceived economic benefits, while concerns remain moderate. Tourism dependence significantly influences positive and negative perceptions, whereas gender and length of residence do not. The findings suggest that, in early-stage and low-intensity cross-border destinations, traditional predictors of residents' attitudes operate differently from those observed in saturated tourism contexts.
Mediterranean islands are particular socio-spatial systems that their landscapes have changed significantly due to mass tourism and urban sprawl, constituting a major irreversible consequence. This study examines short-term rentals as a new driver of spatial change. While short-term rentals have been widely studied in tourist cities, research on smaller, less densely populated but internationally recognized island destinations remains limited. This research focuses on Paros, an island of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, where a spatial analysis and mapping of the built-up area and short-term rentals is carried out. The results suggest that a laissez-faire approach to short-term rentals can lead to an intense touristic exploitation of the housing stock and encourage continuous built-up area expansion in exurban areas.
This study examines how user-generated content and brand-created content on social media shape consumer trust, attitude, and purchase intention in the restaurant industry, an experimental comparison not previously attempted with simultaneous cognitive and affective mediators. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response framework, a between-subjects experiment exposed 314 participants to realistic restaurant posts that differed only in content source. Perceived marketing efforts predicted purchase intention directly and indirectly through brand trust and brand attitude, with attitude the stronger mediator. User-generated content amplified the pathways to intention, whereas brand-created content raised baseline intention. Authenticity and control therefore operate through distinct, complementary mechanisms rather than a trade-off, confirming the dominance of affective over cognitive processes in hedonic services.
This study develops a machine learning framework for forecasting monthly tourism demand in Polignano a Mare, Italy using tourism statistics, climate indicators, digital search trends, and air transport data. The model combines bidirectional long short-term memory networks with Transformer architecture and Bayesian optimization to capture complex temporal relationships. Results show strong predictive accuracy and robust performance under climate, accessibility, and mobility policy scenarios. Simulations indicate that extreme heat events and reduced air connectivity may significantly decrease tourism demand, while traffic restriction policies have more limited effects. The findings support climate adaptation, seasonality management, and sustainable tourism planning in coastal destinations. The study also highlights the usefulness of integrated forecasting models for evidence-based tourism governance.
The originally urban concept of the cultural church, developed in response to building-use pressures, highlights tensions between the relatively autonomous systems of culture and church. In rural contexts, expanded cultural use creates hybrid spaces that reinterpret church buildings and function as sites of discourse between secular culture, religious tradition, and regional identity. Through cultural engagement, churches also gain relevance as local attractions within rural tourism. The characteristics of rural social structures enable churches to assume new social functions as cultural locations within regional development. This article therefore examines cooperation between culture, church, and regional development. The empirical findings identify four central tensions: (1) exchange versus isolation, (2) creativity versus hierarchy, (3) bridging function versus polarity, and (4) integration versus exclusion.
This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) - enabled digital technologies influence the formation of memorable rural tourism experiences (MTEs). Through a mixed-methods approach combining surveys and interviews across rural Iran, findings reveal that accessibility, informativeness, interactivity, and personalization each contribute meaningfully to both MTEs and tourist satisfaction. A striking qualitative finding - termed the Limited Accessibility Paradox - shows that intermittent connectivity can, counterintuitively, heighten experiential value. User competence (UC) proves to be a key moderating factor that shapes how these relationships unfold. Drawing together MTE, AI, and UC perspectives, the study extends current theoretical understanding while offering grounded practical guidance for inclusive, culturally sensitive digital transformation in rural tourism.
This paper examines the Ruta del Bakalao (1978-1995) as a case of rural and peri-urban place-making driven by a music ecosystem in the periphery of Valencia, Spain. While research on music, tourism and place has focused on urban centres and planned destinations, this study explores how informal cultural production transformed agricultural landscapes and secondary roads into a significant node of European electronic music culture. Drawing on historical-documentary analysis, oral histories, press archives and spatial reconstruction, it analyses how cultural actors, mobility practices and regulatory ambiguity produced territorial imaginaries of modernity and nightlife. The findings show the "Ruta" functioned as a dispersed cultural system generating tourism-like effects and later heritage-making. The paper contributes to debates on place-based tourism and rural cultural geographies.
Family tourism plays a crucial role in enhancing well-being, strengthening familial bonds, and creating lasting memories. This study extends Travel Constraints Theory by analysing family travel constraints through a data-driven examination of peer-to-peer knowledge exchange platforms, such as TripAdvisor and Reddit, using text mining and topic modelling. The findings reveal that travel constraints are highly context-dependent, varying significantly across different types of family travel. The study challenges the conventional three-category constraint model (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural) and proposes a refined two-level classification framework, offering a more insightful understanding of family travel decision-making. Highlighting the diverse challenges families face, it offers valuable insights for the tourism industry, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches to addressing travel constraints in family tourism.
Tourism public policies cannot be developed unless tourism issues are prioritized within the public policy agenda. However, how these issues reach the agenda remains understudied. This paper investigates tourism in Iran's public policy agenda from 2013 to 2021, analysing three key elements: issues, actors, and the broader policy environment. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with tourism policy experts, findings indicate that tourism remains peripheral in national policymaking. Sector-specific stakeholders often lack influence, whereas trans-sectoral actors dominate agenda-setting. The study introduces the concept of public policy agenda filter, illustrating how dominant actors' perceptions and priorities shape tourism's inclusion. Despite growing recognition of its economic value, tourism remains viewed as a luxury industry, limiting its policy prominence and integration into national development policies.
This study examines how institutional trust, social participation, and place-based identity shape sustainable tourism development in Mesara, Crete. The study is grounded in place-based development theory, institutional governance literature, and multi-level governance frameworks. The research adopts a predominantly quantitative design enriched with qualitative insights. Data were collected from 133 stakeholders across the tourism industry, agri-food production, public administration, academia, and civil society. Statistical analysis included correlation, analysis of variance, regression, and exploratory factor analysis. Findings indicate that institutional trust significantly strengthens sustainability perceptions, while social participation enhances acceptance of collaborative development models. Regional branding linked to gastronomy and agritourism is structured around cultural identity and institutional credibility, contributing to territorial cohesion.
Glamping tourism, combining glamour and camping, is increasingly popular globally as travellers seek immersive nature experiences. This study explored the motivations, constraints, and negotiation strategies of glamping service providers in Vietnam through in-depth interviews with fifteen site owners and managers, which were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed motivations driven by passion for travel, Vietnam's tourism potential, and economic benefits. Glamping service providers face both intrapersonal and structural constraints, including limited management knowledge and regulatory challenges. Effective negotiation strategies include time management, skill development, leveraging social and financial resources, and enhancing customer experiences. This research enriched the understanding of Vietnam's glamping industry and offers insights for its sustainable development, aligning with global ecotourism trends.
This qualitative study examines how food-behavioural intentions form among domestic tourists visiting Vietnamese heritage sites with moderate to high culinary involvement. Twenty-three interviews were thematically analysed, revealing four dynamics: companionship as a social accelerator of culinary risk-taking; contextual authenticity cues as evaluative standards; prior experience and preferences as risk-calibrating anchors; and culinary involvement as a capability converting exposure into action. Integrating Social Learning Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the analysis shows how modelling, encouragement, and visible preparation translate into attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control across pre-visit, in-situ, and post-visit phases. Findings are context-specific to domestic Vietnamese travellers, offering implications for designing model-rich, authenticity-forward programs that foster tasting, structured participation, and sustained advocacy within Vietnam's gastronomic heritage.
Located within a globally recognized heritage landscape, the thermal water of Pamukkale and its neighbouring destination, Karahay & imath;t, face an escalating sustainability crisis. This study investigates the current condition of thermal resources in southwestern T & uuml;rkiye, identifying primary threats to their long-term viability. Drawing on interviews with hotel managers, engineers, and academics, the research explores stakeholder awareness, current management practices, and potential solutions. Results highlight that, alongside climate change, overextraction, unauthorized drilling, and inefficient management accelerate resource depletion. To mitigate risks, the study proposes a comprehensive approach involving stricter monitoring, enhanced water management, and increased public engagement. This research contributes to the literature on thermal resources sustainability and emphasizes the urgent need for coordinated action to preserve the region's natural heritage.
