Consumers play a central role in transitioning to a circular economy, yet research often treats pro-circular behaviors in a generalized manner, overlooking sectoral dynamics. This study presents a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of 383 peer-reviewed articles, advancing an explicit sectoral framework to examine how pro-circular consumer behaviors are studied and what drives their adoption across primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. By using bibliometric analysis to map trends and thematic clusters, and then manually doing content analysis to categorize behaviors and drivers, the review traces the evolution of the field, identifies behavioral patterns, and enables a systematic, sector-specific synthesis of existing evidence. A key contribution of this research is its sector-based framework, which reveals differentiated research patterns and gaps, including a strong concentration of studies in the secondary sector (especially electronics and fashion), while the primary and tertiary sectors remain underrepresented. Four major consumer behaviors emerge academic literature: reduce consumption and waste, green acquisition, product lifetime extension, and end-of-life management. These are influenced by five categories of factors, established from literature: consumer characteristics, circular knowledge, attitudes perceptions, consumer-product attachment, product and brand characteristics, and contextual factors. By synthesizing and quantifying the diverse behaviors and factors across sectors, this study highlights the need for sectoral and behaviorally tailored strategies to promote circularity, particularly in service-based contexts. By clarifying how pro-circular behaviors and drivers differ by sector, this review provides a structured foundation for future research, theory development, and policy-making aimed at strengthening consumer participation in circular systems.

Over the last few years, festivals have been growing and adapting to the cultural diversity evident in a globalized world. More recently, researchers have been paying attention to the expenditure generated by these events and their implications for tourism. The aim of this article is to analyze the state of the art about expenditure at festivals, identify current scientific production and understand/explore the different approaches used. The originality of this study lies in its being the first systematic review of the literature on this subject. To achieve this objective, searches were carried out in two scientific databases, SCOPUS and Web of Science, and a total of 279 published documents were obtained, which after filtering, resulted in fifty-four articles that were considered relevant to this study. The main results were that most of the studies were carried out in the United States and South Africa on different types of cultural festivals. Accommodation, food and drink and transportation are the most studied expenditure components. Sociodemographic characteristics, such as age and income, are also the factors that most influence participants' spending. The article ends with a conclusion of all the results obtained and suggests avenues for future research.

As the circular economy (CE) gains traction as a sustainable alternative to linear production and consumption, understanding consumer behaviour becomes increasingly vital. Consumers participate in circularity not only through recycling but also by adopting behaviours such as repairing, sharing, refusing, and reusing. This chapter presents a systematic review of 339 empirical studies on pro-circular consumer behaviours, identifying four key behavioural categories across the product lifecycle: reduction of consumption and waste, green acquisition, product care and lifetime extension, and end-of-life management. The analysis highlights the dominant theoretical models used to explain behaviour and the main constructs and tools used to measure them. Special attention is given to the tertiary sector, where consumer circularity in services and tourism remains significantly understudied despite high potential. Findings reveal a need for more integrated models that account for the role of context, infrastructure, and experience in shaping behaviour. The chapter concludes by identifying research gaps and proposing sector-specific directions to support more effective engagement of consumers in the CE transition.

The impacts of Industry 4.0 on tourism originated the concept of Tourism 4.0, intertwining technological innovations with tourism activities. However, nowadays, Industry 4.0 has evolved into Industry 5.0, focusing on more social and sustainable components. These phenomena can be replicated in the hospitality industry. Regarding social factors, accessibility can be a central point, due to the benefits that technology can bring to establish accessible tourism conditions. Thus, technological impacts can also reflect in a more sustainable tourism. However, due to being such an innovative term, still, few researchers have focused on Tourism 5.0. To reach this paradigm, one must first understand how to make the transition from Tourism 4.0 to 5.0. Thus, it is indispensable to look at Tourism 4.0 and its technological drivers and understand how these can change accessible/sustainable tourism dynamics. This paper delves into enabling the transition from Tourism 4.0 to 5.0, focusing on the possible impacts that these drivers can have on accessible tourism (both social responsibility and sustainable components). This amalgamation not only paves the way for a more equitable tourism sector but also underscores the transformative potential of a digitally driven era in creating sustainable and universally accessible tourism experiences.

Accessible tourism plays a significant role in promoting a more inclusive society, yet it remains a complex topic due to the persistent barriers faced by people with special needs. Information technologies can help overcome these barriers, leading to the creation of the access@tour by action. This is an application designed to provide reliable and user-friendly information about the accessibility of tourism destinations and services. However, with the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is expected that innovations will occur across tourism information platforms, further enhancing accessible tourism. To address these impacts, this article explores the transformative role of AI in enhancing access@tour by action functionalities. By integrating AI tools, such as natural language processing, virtual assistants, and predictive analysis, the access@tour by action has the potential to improve travel experiences based on individual accessibility needs, refining real-time navigation and communication. These innovations not only enrich the user experience for people with special needs but also contribute to more accurate, dynamic, and inclusive tourism. Integrating diverse accessible tourism stakeholders, innovations in access@tour by action serve as a potential example of how AI can empower accessible travel through adaptive design and intelligent decision-making. The study also addresses the ethical and technical challenges of deploying AI in accessible tourism contexts and highlights future opportunities for broader integration. In doing so, it makes a case for AI as a critical enabler of accessibility in tourism.

Purpose This paper aims to explore customers’ pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) adopted at hotels that implement green practices. A method to examine the gap between self-reported and actual PEBs is presented. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study is divided in two parts. The first one comprised a survey questionnaire administered to 136 customers who stayed in Portuguese hotels (Sample 1). The second one consisted of 495 in-room consumer PEBs observations (Sample 2). A method was developed to compare self-reported and actual PEBs, combining the answers given to the questionnaire and the observed PEBs implemented by customers during their stay. The aggregate observations of in-room consumer’s PEBs enabled the development of an index to assess the actual PEBs (ACTUALPEBI). This index was then compared with the self-reported PEB index (REPORTEDPEBI). Findings The majority of guests indicated adopting environmentally friendly practices while at the hotel, and 50% of REPORTEDPEBI rank similarly to ACTUALPEBI. Research limitations/implications Understanding and measuring both actual and reported PEBs of guests offers valuable insights for hotel managers and marketers. This information can be used to target specific consumer segments with green marketing campaigns and develop educational programs that effectively encourage guest participation in hotel sustainability efforts. While the survey participants were international, the research itself was limited to hotels in Portugal. Therefore, future research should involve more participants and be conducted across different countries. Practical implications Understanding and measuring both actual and reported PEBs of guests offers valuable insights for hotel managers and marketers. This information can be used to target specific consumer segments with green marketing campaigns and develop educational programs that effectively encourage guest participation in hotel sustainability efforts. Originality/value This study proposes an alternative method for analyzing customers’ PEBs by observing actual PEBs during their stay and comparing them to self-reported PEBs, thereby reducing answer biases.

Despite the increased research on the tourism practices of people with disabilities (PwD), few studies focus on people with intellectual disabilities (PwID). Most of these analyse the viewpoint of caregivers, frequently ignoring the narratives of PwID, especially due to ethical and methodological difficulties in collecting information through their voices. The intention of this study is to contribute to filling this gap by including interviews with Portuguese PwID and the social organizations (SO) that support them, and with a survey addressing Portuguese PwID in a mixed-method approach. The results reveal that many PwID have never undertaken a tourism trip, despite being highly motivated to do so. This mismatch between motivations and actual practices concerns this group's numerous travel constraints, with the interpersonal and the structural apparently being the most difficult to overcome without support from caregivers, who play a crucial role in both planning and sharing travel experiences and activities.

Information plays a crucial role in tourism travel planning, especially when travelers have special needs that require more rigorous planning based on updated information about the accessibility of tourism destinations and products. The literature highlights that one of the main barriers faced by people with special needs (PwSN) when planning tourism activities is the lack of information about the accessibility of products and the provision of information in inaccessible formats. To overcome these barriers, it is essential, not only to assess whether tourism supply agents (TSA) provide information about the accessibility level of their spaces and products but also to verify if the channels to disseminate this information are accessible to everyone. To address these challenges, this study analyzes the Portuguese reality from the perspective of tourism supply. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of TSA agents (n = 654). The results reveal that few agents provide information about the accessibility of their products, and the communication channels they use most frequently (websites) are not accessible (do not meet many of the criteria required by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines—WCAG 2.0). However, some statistically significant differences were observed among supply agents. Based on the problems identified, some strategies to overcome these problems should be implemented to transform tourism into a more accessible and inclusive industry.

It is undeniable that technology is changing accessible tourism conditions. This study aims to explore the transition from Tourism 4.0 to Tourism 5.0 by analyzing the possible impacts that technological drivers can have in terms of social responsibility components (accessibility) in tourism information systems. To achieve this goal, a two-stage methodology is used. First, a scoping literature review was conducted to identify technological drivers in the scope of digitalization. Then, a proposal is presented for integrating those drivers within an emergent mobile platform for accessible tourism: access@tour by action. This platform focuses on delivering information about accessible tourism conditions in an accessible way. Overall, results showed that when integrated with technological drivers such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, access@tour by action can significantly enhance its capability to promote and ensure accessible tourism conditions. The synergy between these technologies and access@ tour by action can facilitate real-time, personalized, and user-centered services, offering a more dynamic and tailored experience. This amalgamation not only paves the way for a more equitable tourism sector but also underscores the transformative potential of a digitally driven era in creating universally accessible tourism experiences.

Information search is central in the potential tourist’s decision-making process yielding the selection of the personally most appealing tourist destinations and attractions to visit, as well as experiences to engage in. Previous research has shown diverse information search behaviors amongst tourists. A sound knowledge of this behavior is key to effective tourism marketing, helping tourism agents improve their market communication to attract valuable traveler groups. This rationale is illustrated through a segmentation study of visitors of rural wine routes in Portugal. The use of distinct information sources, before and during travel, assessed through a visitor survey in three wine routes, is the basis of a cluster analysis revealing five distinct information-seeking visitor segments. Additional comparative analysis between these segments provides important complementary insight helping both to evaluate segments and to develop corresponding destination marketing strategies.

Image plays a crucial role in travel decision-making and in destination selection. Various factors affect the image people hold of destinations, such as the sociodemographics, travel motivations, information search, and destination features like tourism development level. Although tourism generates both positive and negative impacts in territories that can affect visitors’ destination image, the few studies analyzing the influence of the tourism development level on perceptions were carried out among residents. Moreover, the image visitors hold of tourism destinations not only affects their travel plans, but also the decision of others with whom they share their views, including sharing comments on web platforms. Therefore, this study aims to assess the image visitors hold of the Central Region of Portugal (CRP) based on user-generated content (UGC) visible on Tripadvisor, analyze the information most shared, and compare the perceptions on areas with different levels of tourism development. A content analysis of 5095 comments shows that visitors tend to share mainly positive views and information on attractions (cultural and natural), landscape, facilities, and sports/recreational activities. Differences were detected on perceptions of areas according to their tourism development level. Insights are provided on how to maximize potential benefits of the images visitors hold and to improve these perceptions.

Planning is the pillar of tourism. Over the years, different authors have focused on tourism planning and have made important contributions to the development of the concept. This bibliometric analysis study aims to understand the state of the art of the concept of regional tourism planning. Based on bibliometric analyses and using the Scopus databases, 202 publications published between 1977 and 2024 were collected. The data collected was analysed and VOSviewer software was used to analyse co-authorship and co-occurrence keywords. The results show that the topic of regional tourism planning has been studied over the years, with the highest number of publications in 2021, and that it is a multidisciplinary topic. The study contributes to increasing knowledge about regional tourism planning, to understanding which authors have dealt most with the subject and how the concept of the subject has developed for future research.

Accessible tourism intends to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to experience tourism activities without constraints. The enhancement of accessible tourism conditions can be facilitated by integrating technology. Notwithstanding, there is great difficulty in understanding the stakeholders of the accessible tourism market, as converting requirements into tangible system functionalities is a complex task. Additionally, it is often necessary to use a multidisciplinary team to overcome logistical constraints to reach the target audience, making the process of creating technologies for this market more challenging. This article aims to explore a user-centered design approach to collect and systematize data in a way that can be useful to support development processes, culminating in the proposal of a set of Personas. The outcomes of a combination of data collection methods (interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups) led to the creation of nine Personas. With these representations, it was possible to establish a common language to fully convey requirements, illustrating the needs and motivations of different groups of stakeholders. The combination of methods leads to the proposal of an assistive solution named access@tour by action. The findings of this study could be used as guidelines to support the creation of future accessible technological innovations, especially in the scope of accessible tourism.

To ensure the success of accessible tourism information systems, it is crucial to involve and consider the perspectives of people with special needs (PwSN). With this goal in mind, this study aims to identify the requirements most valued by people with special needs to design a web-based information system that enhances tourism accessibility. To achieve this, questionnaires were used, which allowed the identification of the most important information requirements as well as accessibility functionalities that an eventual platform should have. PwSN particularly values retrieving information about the accessibility of diverse tourism facilities and the accessible format in which this information reaches them. Simple language, easy navigation, and connection with assistive technologies were considered crucial factors, too. After retrieving these requirements, some developed interfaces from an information technology solution prototype are presented. These interfaces intend to illustrate the conversion of the requirements into actual functionalities. Overall, this study provides an overview of the perspective of people with special needs on information technologies, specifically within the context of accessible tourism.

Air quality (AQ) is gaining considerable visibility within the tourism sector. However, despite several studies analysing the impact of tourism activities on the AQ of destinations, little is known about the inverse relation. This paper analyses the role of AQ on travel planning and the factors influencing it, specifically the influence of environmentally friendly daily behaviours and concerns with AQ impacts on visitor health. To accomplish this, a questionnaire survey (N = 834) was carried out to visitors. Two Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and two multivariate regression models were used to identify the factors influencing the role of AQ in travel planning. Results reveal that despite AQ not having a substantial role in travel planning of tourism activities, the environmentally friendly daily behaviours of visitors have a positive influence on the role of AQ in travel planning. The paper ends with some theoretical and practical implications.

The prospective sustainability of regions often hinges upon the interconnected networks comprising the tourism sector in numerous destinations. The presented research seeks to enhance our comprehension of how networks are applied within the realm of tourism, providing a roadmap for future investigations, and thereby advancing the implementation of tourism networks in different regions. By considering the Scopus database, which encompasses the largest repository of articles related to this subject matter, and adopting the PRISMA methodology, we identified and examined eighteen case studies for our study. The results of our analysis highlight the significant role that networks play in facilitating the adoption of sustainable practices, ultimately contributing to the potential of long-term sustainability for tourism destinations. However, our findings also underscore the existing gap in achieving comprehensive sustainability, indicating that there is still a considerable journey ahead for both private companies and public entities. Encouragement and support for practices that promote sustainable destinations remain essential components of this ongoing endeavour.

Although access to leisure is a right for all, people with disabilities (PwD) face great constraints in exercising this right. Using a qualitative approach, this study examines the view of a group of Portuguese social organizations (PSO) that support PwD concerning the needs, motivations and constraints that they face when participating in tourism activities, as well as the benefits obtained through the participation in these activities. The results highlight that PwD are strongly motivated to participate in tourism activities, but they face a great number of constraints (intrapersonal, interpersonal and structural). Moreover, according to the view of PSO, PwD feel the benefits obtained from their participation in tourism activities intensely, which contributes to enhancing their well-being. The paper ends with strategies that should be implemented in tourism destinations to overcome the travel constraints faced by PwD to increase their participation in tourism activities.

Aim: Information systems can help improve accessible tourism conditions. During the development of accessible technology, a crucial phase is testing. Notwithstanding, usability testing methodologies often dismiss accessibility. To overcome this gap, this work contributes with an innovative mixed-method testing methodology that integrates accessibility and usability components in technology evaluation. The capabilities of this methodological process are demonstrated through testing the prototype of a mobile solution for accessible tourism - access@tour by action. Methods: Nine experts evaluated the platform and helped correct accessibility failures. Afterward, 78 end-users tested the prototype. The procedure includes a set of tasks to be performed in the prototype and a final questionnaire. This questionnaire was specifically created for accessibility markets and is itself a significant contribution. Results: Testing with experts helped improve the prototype's accessibility before it reached end-users. The results with end-users are provided in two distinct ways. First, the task performance measures are presented, which showed overall good completion rates. Second, the results obtained from the questionnaires are disclosed. Overall, the platform was considered relevant, accessible, and easy to use. Still, some minor flaws were identified regarding interface connectivity, symbology, and reading sequence. Thus, improvements are suggested based on obtained feedback. Conclusion: The testing procedure was essential to gather input from a user point of view, ensuring the final version of the access@tour by action is accessible and, therefore, "usable". This allowed for validating the methodological method, significantly contributing to future research on evaluating technology accessibility.

PurposeThe aim of this study is to identify the travel constraints of people with special needs (PwSN) and the strategies used to overcome them. The article also intends to analyze the differences in travel constraints and negotiation strategies according to the type of disability and/or special need.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative study was conducted in which a sample of PwSN (people with disabilities – mobility, sensory and cognitive – seniors and people with food allergies) were interviewed in depth.FindingsPwSN face a wide range of constraints when engaging in tourism activities. These constraints are very diverse and influence people with different intensity and have to be overcome using different negotiation strategies. However, differences in the constraints were observed according to the type of special needs.Practical implicationsOne of the most significant practical implications of this research is the need for raising awareness regarding human diversity among tourism stakeholders. It is critical to link sectoral policies that are reflected in the social and business reality, creating public–private partnerships to raise the sharing of knowledge, equipment and services. By addressing the constraints that prevent PwSN from traveling, the tourism sector can create more opportunities for them to participate in social activities, improving their quality of life and contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive industry.Originality/valueTraveling can present significant challenges for people with special needs, which affect the quality of their tourism experience. Despite growing academic attention to this issue in recent years, research in this field has primarily focused on specific aspects of disability. This study seeks not only to identify the barriers to travel faced by people with different special needs but also to explore the negotiation strategies used to overcome these barriers and the differences according to the type of special need.