PurposeExamines the discrepancy between sustainable perceptions and self-reported sustainable behaviours among Generation Z tourism students. Drawing on a tripartite conceptualisation of sustainability - environmental, economic and social - the research investigates whether perceptions predict behaviours within each pillar and whether the magnitude of the perception-behaviour gap differs across these domains.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative, cross-sectional design was adopted. Data were collected from a sample of 455 tourism students. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and paired-sample t-tests were conducted to assess predictive relationships and pillar-specific discrepancies between perceptions and behaviours.FindingsPerceptions significantly predict behaviours across all three sustainability pillars, although with varying strengths. An inverse gap was identified in the environmental dimension (behaviour exceeding perception), a pronounced gap in the economic domain (perception exceeding behaviour), and a moderate gap in the social pillar. These findings indicate asymmetric alignment between sustainability values and practices across the three domains.Research limitations/implicationsConceptualises the perception-behaviour gap as a multidimensional and domain-specific phenomenon. Practically, highlights the need for pedagogical strategies in tourism education that support the translation of sustainability values into consistent behavioural engagement, particularly in the economic and social domains.Originality/valueAdvances existing research by operationalising the perception-behaviour gap through parallel measurement across the three sustainability pillars and by providing a motivational interpretation of asymmetric gap patterns within an integrated analytical framework.

In the digital landscape of hospitality marketing, Facebook has emerged as a vital platform for fostering customer engagement and influencing decision-making. This study explores the digital strategies of leading hotel chains on Facebook, focusing on user engagement patterns and the impact of communal versus exchange relationship norms on interactions and behaviours. Using the Facebook page, data were collected from Facebook pages during the low season following the second COVID-19 lockdown. Additionally, insights from 23 professionals in the hospitality and tourism sectors were analysed to understand the perceived relational norms established by ten hotel chains. Findings highlight the evolving role of social media in shaping customer expectations and loyalty. The results also indicate that digital engagement on Facebook is driven by visual content, with photos generating the highest user interactions, and bilingual posts (in Portuguese and English) being the most predominant. Furthermore, consumer engagement is significantly influenced by relationship norms, with hotels adhering to exchange norms achieving higher levels of interaction than those adopting communal norms. The study concludes with theoretical contributions and practical recommendations for leveraging social media engagement strategies in the hospitality industry, as well as suggestions for future research avenues.

PurposeThis paper explores the importance of User eXperience (UX) in Digital Restaurant/bar Menus (DRM), emphasising that consumer-centred design is essential for product acceptance. It aims to identify the design requirements applied in DRM, understand users' perceived acceptance and examine the future of DRM usage.Design/methodology/approachThe study considers the perspectives of three stakeholder groups: restaurant/bar managers, information technology (IT) DRM designers and DRM users. Data were collected through 11 semi-structured interviews with managers, 12 with IT designers and 4 generationally segmented focus groups with 6-9 participants each.FindingsThree main themes were identified: (1) design requirements, (2) perceived user acceptance and (3) future expectations. Two types of requirements emerged - printed-inspired and digital-native. Managers observed good DRM acceptance among users under 40 but noted difficulties among those over 50. Stakeholders anticipate a fully digital future, though some suggest incorporating features reminiscent of printed menus to preserve familiar user experiences.Practical implicationsThe study offers actionable guidance for managers to reassess and improve UX in their DRMs, based on defined design criteria. Enhanced UX contributes to greater customer satisfaction and potentially increases average spending. IT designers can also refine DRM systems by aligning design with user needs, supporting technological innovation.Originality/valueThis study provides a structured guide to enhance UX and customer acceptance of DRMs, promoting digitalisation, cost reduction and service improvement. It offers relevant insights for both practitioners and researchers to better address challenges and opportunities in digital hospitality innovation.

This research explores accessibility challenges within the hospitality sector, focusing on the experiences of people with disabilities (PwD) during the pre-service stage - one of the most critical phases of the hospitality journey and the service encounter stage. The study employed a mixed-methods design. First, a qualitative focus group with seven PwD was conducted in Portugal, recruited through convenience and snowball sampling, to explore lived experiences during the pre-service stage. Findings highlighted the pivotal role of technology in planning accessible trips, the importance of knowledgeable service from hospitality staff, and persistent uncertainty about the reliability of accessibility information online. Building on these insights, a quantitative survey with 200 participants (PwD and non-disabled travellers) was conducted using a non-probabilistic, intentional, and snowball sampling strategy. The survey assessed perceptions of booking platforms against the W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Results confirmed significant differences in accessibility perceptions between PwD and non-disabled participants, underscoring the need for inclusive digital design. Ultimately, this research calls for a hospitality sector that goes beyond physical infrastructure to foster empathy, digital accessibility, and proactive customer care - enhancing the travel experience for PwD and advancing equitable access for all.

In today's digital age, Facebook constitutes a powerful tool for hotel marketing and customer engagement. Its impact on customer behavior is substantial, with travelers increasingly relying on peer-generated content and feedback to make informed decisions about their bookings. The objectives of this study are related to the digital activity of hotel groups, users' engagement, and the relevance of communal and exchange relationships in shaping interactions and behaviors. To carry out the data collection, the Facepager digital tool was used for gathering data from Facebook and the period analyzed was low season, after the second lockdown. A second study was made, in which we asked 23 professionals in hospitality and tourism about the relationship norms that each of the ten hotel chains is believed to have established with its customers. In the end, new avenues for future research are presented, followed by theoretical and practitioner contributions.

Unlike past studies focusing on employees, customers, and hotel managers, this study expands sustainability research by examining the insufficiently considered roles of Hotel Marketing Consortia (HMC) managers and sustainability experts. Using a mixed-methods approach, it investigates their perspectives on environmental, social, and economic sustainability priorities; sustainability as a source of competitive advantage; measurement practices; and future trends in the hotel sector. Primary data were collected through five in-depth interviews with HMC managers and a survey of 41 sustainability experts. Findings reveal that hotels prioritise supporting local economies through hiring, sourcing, and community involvement. Reducing emissions is a central goal, with actions including energy efficiency and waste reduction. Effective and credible sustainability practices require involvement from staff, guests, and suppliers. Internal capacity-building through employee training is a key enabler of sustainability strategies. Success is measured by guest satisfaction, loyalty, and contributions to local development. This study contributes to stakeholder theory by exploring the perspectives of two underrepresented strategic actors - HMC managers and sustainability experts - who influence sustainability practices across hotel networks. It identifies HMC managers and experts as key actors in advancing sustainability and underscores the importance of training, local engagement, and key performance indicators (KPIs) as essential tools for implementing effective and competitive sustainability strategies.

This paper verifies the capacity of generative AI (ChatGPT in particular) to design a marketing strategy for a hotel by using the example of a 5-star property in the centre of Lisbon. The indicative solutions and reflexive tactics suggested by Dwivedi et al. (2023) were used to develop the prompts based on which ChatGPT designed the hotel's marketing strategy. The proposed approach incorporates the marketing mix elements, including digital marketing tips, the competitive set definition, a name for a marketing campaign, a logo, identification of an appropriate partner and suggested cross-selling actions. This is one of the first attempts to utilise generative AI to design a marketing strategy for a product/service. The findings of this research verify the previous assumption that ChatGPT can write it!

Purpose – The aim of this investigation is to explore opportunities for advancing cross-border tourism in the Iberian Peninsula. Methodology/Design/Approach – In this study, focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted to both public and private stakeholders in the cross-border regions. Findings – Findings indicate that the cross-border areas in Portugal and Spain are perceived by stakeholders from both countries as familiar territories and also that there are signs of transnational cooperation. This indicates there is significant potential for the advancement of cross-border tourism in the Iberian Peninsula. Nonetheless, the study concludes that more initiatives are required, beginning with the creation of an adequate organization to build the cross-border destination. Originality of the research – The research delivers managerial insights to assist public and private actors in developing this cross-border destination, such as the need to curtail contextual expenses or accentuate the public sector’s role in stimulating private sector’s involvement in the process.

Halal Tourism has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing and auspicious market segments within the tourism industry. The main goal of this study is to ascertain whether Portugal has the necessary capabilities to develop a sustainable and competitive halal tourism market and if it can attract Muslim travellers. This research applied a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with representatives of businesses companies and institutions from various subsectors of the tourism industry. Moreover, a netnographic technique was applied to gather secondary information. The results reveal that despite Portugal having full potential and all the conditions to develop halal tourism sustainably and competitively, there are still significant challenges to surpass, mainly a lack of products and services for this market, a lack of awareness from tourism agents, and the difficulty of complying with halal certification, as some businesses are not able to comply with the requirements or are not able to adapt to certain scenarios, mainly in the hospitality field. This study takes into consideration the tourism sector as a whole and not individual business needs. The outcome of this study aids decision-makers in Portuguese businesses and institutions in developing strategies and policies to generate significant competitive advantage in a crowded tourism market. The results provide a boost for halal tourism and help Portugal to become more competitive as a tourist destination. This facilitates a boost in Halal Tourism and helps Portugal as a touristic destination to become more competitive. Concerning the value of this research, to our knowledge, there is no study in Portugal of this depth which makes such a great contribution to halal tourism literature.

This paper verifies the capacity of generative AI (ChatGPT in particular) to design a marketing strategy for a hotel by using the example of a 5 -star property in the centre of Lisbon. The indicative solutions and reflexive tactics suggested by Dwivedi et al. (2023) were used to develop the prompts based on which ChatGPT designed the hotel's marketing strategy. The proposed approach incorporates the marketing mix elements, including digital marketing tips, the competitive set definition, a name for a marketing campaign, a logo, identification of an appropriate partner and suggested cross -selling actions. This is one of the first attempts to utilise generative AI to design a marketing strategy for a product/service. The findings of this research verify the previous assumption that ChatGPT can write it!

Competition in the hospitality industry is fierce and hotels need to enhance guest engagement in order to remain competitive. Building brand anthropomorphism (BA) and personality is acknowledged as a marketing strategy for achieving this goal. More and more, this engagement is taking place online, with hotels’ social media playing a critical role in the process. However, it is acknowledged that there is scarce knowledge on how hotels build BA and personality in online settings. Accordingly, this research aims at examining the implementation of BA and personality in hotels adopting a qualitative approach, by focusing on the study of the case of Lisboa Pessoa Hotel (Portugal) and its use of social media for this purpose. Netnography was applied in the analysis. Results provide evidence that developing BA and personality are strategies with the potential to increase guest engagement. As implications, hotel managers are recommended to attend to the need of humanising their hotel brand. This study is one of the first to examine implementation of hotel BA and personalisation through social media.

This study aims at analysing the development of digital co-creative strategies adopted by museums during the COVID-19 pandemic and the transformative potential of co-creative experiences with the help of digital tools to redefine the relationship between the museum and its audiences. This is exploratory research using online qualitative surveys applied to Portuguese museums during the COVID-19 pandemic for participation of virtual audiences for data collection and analysis. Results from this study contribute to managers' awareness of museum digital transformation around the world sharing similar contexts and that may want to develop the participatory approach with the support of digital technologies. Results show new avenues for the adoption and implementation of digital strategies in museum management. To the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore the participatory museum framework combined with the development of digital strategies applied to museums following COVID-19.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how hotel marketing consortia (HMC) manage cooperation among their members. This research aims to uncover processes of HMC networking. To achieve the research goals, an exploratory interview was addressed. After this, a questionnaire was applied to four-and five-star hotel managers in Portugal. Data was subsequently analysed for social network analysis. The results show that direct contact among HMC members occurs annually, during specific events. In consortia, cooperative behaviour relates to sharing experiences and market trends among members are similar in national and international consortia. The original contribution of the study is twofold: firstly, by identifying cooperative behaviours in HMC, and secondly, by focusing on the role of HMC in networking as an important business model in the hotel sector. Results will contribute to an understanding of the management perspective on HMC, which could be useful for assisting managers' decisions and strategies.

Tourism sustainability is a significant approach to forming a synergistic model of industry and ecology in ecologically vulnerable areas. Scientifically detecting the effect mechanism of tourism development on eco-environment resilience is important in achieving regional social-ecological system sustainability. In this work, empirical exploration is conducted on the tourism development index (TDI) and eco-environment resilience index (ERI) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) to study the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of TDI’s effect on the ERI. The results indicate significant growth in the TDI in the YREB, with the formation of tourist clusters around Shanghai and Chongqing as the core. Although the ERI typically exhibits a declining trend, the rate of decline has notably slowed, forming a “high at the sides and low in the middle” spatial pattern. The TDI and ERI are spatially dependent in the YREB, with predominantly high-high (HH) and low-high (LH) clusters in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu. Conversely, upstream regions with strong eco-environmental foundations exhibit low-low (LL) and high-low (HL) clusters. In general, the TDI promotes the ERI, but there is significant spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the YREB. Positive impact regions are expanding, while negative impact regions are shrinking. These results could provide scientific evidence for differentiated classification and control policies in the YREB.

Purpose This study aims to present a general approach for understanding and analyzing the thematic evolution of the concept of co-creation in smart environments within the tourism context. Design/methodology/approach This study performs a co-word analysis with a longitudinal framework that produces strategic diagrams to categorize the detected themes and concepts related to co-creation. Findings By combining the performance analysis of science mapping, the following clusters are distinguished: information technology, social media and behavior; tourism organizations, management and innovation; co-creation, technology and sharing economy; co-production and hospitality; and Smart tourism, destinations, sustainability and residents. Originality/value This study provides a valuable tool for tourism scholars and managers to effectively analyze the importance of different themes linked to co-creation in the concept of the smart environment. This research outlines the evolving issues in and around the touchpoints and associated emerging research topics for future research.

One of the ways hoteliers can gain a competitive advantage is by increasing their digital footprint, which includes a hashtag strategy. In fact, hashtags have become an integral part of social networks, but are often not properly implemented in the hotel sector. The purpose of this study is to explore the importance of hashtags as an effective tool for a hotel’s online marketing strategy, with a particular focus on Instagram. The objective of this research is to provide an in-depth analysis of the hotel chains’ Instagram accounts with the most followers in Portugal and Spain. To such end, ten hotel chains were analyzed in both countries. Desk research was carried out to identify the sample and to consider metrics such as: number of mentions, hashtag reach, likes, comments and followers. The hotel with the most Instagram mentions is the Ushuaia Beach Hotel in Spain and the Six Senses Douro Valley in Portugal. By means of this last example, results showed that the average of likes, and comments increased significantly with the use of hashtags. Therefore, it is possible to ascertain that the use of hashtags increases the engagement of followers with the hotel brand.