Tourists’ information literacy self-efficacy: its role in their adaptation to the “new normal” in the hotel context

Purpose – This research aims to determine whether the consumer’s information literacy self-efficacy plays a role in their intention to resume their consumption of tourist services—specifically, hotel accommodation—in the context of the ‘new normal’ brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative empirical study is performed on hotel accommodation consumers, and a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is used to verify the proposed relationships. Findings – The findings reveal that (i) the tourist’s information literacy self-efficacy— their ability to find the information they need, use it efficiently, and discount fake news— positively influences their perception of hotel safety; and (ii) perceived hotel safety increases tourist intention to return to consuming hotel services. Originality – This study represents an advance in the literature as it demonstrates—as a novelty—the vital role of consumer information literacy self-efficacy in encouraging people to begin visiting hotels again in the ‘new normal’. Practical implications – The results show how the consumer’s intention to return to using hotel services can be enhanced thanks to their management of information, especially in a crisis context. Hotel firms must position the provision of safety information at the heart of their marketing and communications strategies, and adapt this information to the different processing capabilities of consumers. Social implications – This study provides valuable insights into the hotel industry—a major contributor to GDP and employment worldwide that is being particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 crisis.Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Grant FPU 15/07264)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2019-110941RB-IOO

Brand personality in cultural tourism through social media

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the effect of the use of social media on the perception of brand personality and to identify its effect on customer brand engagement. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted an exploratory approach, adapting Aaker's Brand Personality Scale (1997) to the context of cultural tourism before carrying out a quantitative study resorting to a structural equation modeling (SEM) in order to obtain empirical evidence to identify these relationships. Findings: The findings reveal that the use of social media has a positive effect on the perception of brand personality and that brand personality, likewise, has a positive effect on customer brand engagement. Research implications: This study indicates that transmission of an attractive brand personality according to the desires of the public, combined with dissemination through social media, is a valid strategy to improve customer brand engagement. Originality/value: This study represents an advance in the specialized literature on the value that consumers place on information transmitted through social media. Specifically, it sheds light on how the transmission of brand personality through social media affects customer brand engagement.Spanish Ministry of Education and Vocational Training under Grant FPU 15/0726

Revenue management and CRM via online media: The effect of their simultaneous implementation on hospitality firm performance

The study seeks to identify the effects of the simultaneous implementation of Revenue Management and CRM on business performance among hospitality firms and to determine whether Market Orientation constitutes a suitable business culture for fostering this joint approach in the online environment. A quantitative empirical study among chain hotels, based on structural equation modeling, is conducted. The results indicate that the simultaneous implementation of Revenue Management and CRM in the online environment positively influences business performance, and that the adoption of online Market Orientation is an antecedent of the implementation of both of these marketing processes.Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional from Spain under Grant FPU 15/07264Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad from Spain under Grant Research Projects ECO 2015-65306-RResearch support program of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Granada (Spain

Antecedents and consequences of strategic online-reputation management: moderating effect of online tools

Purpose – This study examines the antecedents and consequences of strategic onlinereputation management among tourism firms. It is proposed that a) customer relationship management (CRM) is an antecedent of strategic online-reputation management, b) brand equity is a consequence of strategic online-reputation management, and c) the use of online tools moderates the effect of strategic online-reputation management and CRM on brand equity. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative empirical study is conducted among online marketing managers of chain hotels. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to verify the proposed relationships. Findings – The results show that CRM is an antecedent of strategic online-reputation management and that strategic online-reputation management and CRM exert a positive effect on brand equity among firms that frequently use a range of online tools. No such effect is found in cases of limited usage of online tools. Practical implications – Tourism firms seeking to achieve greater brand equity by means of strategic online-reputation management should implement CRM and make extensive use of online tools. Originality – The main contributions of this study are that it: (i) analyses the antecedents and consequences of strategic online-reputation management jointly and empirically; (ii) studies the moderating role of the use of online tools in the effect of online strategies— such as online-reputation management and CRM—on brand equity and; (iii) studies the consequences of CRM in online media.Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (Grant FPU 15/07264)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación from Spain (PID2019-110941RBI00

What shapes tourists’ visit intention in different stages of public health crises? The influence of destination image, information-literacy self-efficacy, and motivations

This empirical study aims to identify the components of destination image and tourist motivation that help explain tourist visit intention during different stages of a major public health crisis. It also seeks to determine how tourists’ information-literacy self-efficacy influences that image. The research focuses on two stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) tourist behavior before the alleviating effect of a public vaccination program is felt among the general public and 2) tourist behavior after the alleviating effect has reached most individuals. The results show that, in stage 1, visit intention is shaped by a “safe and secure” destination image, affective image, and tourists’ stimulus-avoidance motivation. In stage 2, visit intention is influenced by both cognitive and affective image and by intellectual, social, competence, and stimulus-avoidance motivations. Information-literacy self-efficacy influences destination image in both stages. These findings enable tourism managers to develop mechanisms to lessen the adverse effects of health crises

The Role of Gamified Environmental Interpretation in Boosting Destination Perceived Value

This study examines the effectiveness of a strategy designed to enhance destination perceived value (PV) by raising tourists’ awareness and understanding of sustainability. The approach uses information and communications technologies—specifically, gamification—to design an environmental interpretation (EI) program for tourists. While the literature has tended to approach gamification from a systemic perspective, this study addresses a significant gap by adding the experiential dimension. The research (a) designs an EI program based on a holistic gamified approach that takes game objectives, features, the context of the application, and the participant experience into consideration; (b) measures the tourist’s perspective on the design to test whether it successfully generated a motivating and enjoyable (gameful) experience that could positively impact their behaviours; and (c) determines whether a gameful EI experience positively influences destination PV. The results show that the proposed strategy contributes to enhancing destination PV. The gamification of EI experiences is thus found to be a valid strategy for enhancing destination sustainability, tourist behaviours, and, ultimately, destination competitiveness.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad from Spain (Research Projects ECO2015-65306-R)

The Effect Of Residents' Place Attachment On Their Attitude Towards Development Of Religious Tourism: The Moderating Effect Of Personal Benefit

Residents’ attitude towards tourism development in religious tourism destinations is especially relevant for tourism planning. Nevertheless, there are few studies that analyse how residents’ attitude towards development of religious tourism is formed. This paper analyses the effect of residents’ place attachment on their attitudes towards development of religious tourism, considering perceived impacts of tourism as mediator and the personal benefit derived from tourism as moderating effect. On the basis of a sample of 410 residents of Montecristi, a religious tourism destination of Ecuador, and using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results show that place attachment directly influences the attitude towards development of religious tourism, but mainly through the perceived impacts of tourism. Moreover, this paper finds that the influence of the perceived impacts on the support for the development of religious tourism is higher in residents with a lower personal benefit than in residents with a higher personal benefit. These findings enable a series of recommendations to be made to the agents concerned regarding the development of religious tourism in sacred destinations

Can co-creating a “slow destination” image boost sustainability?

This work was supported by the Cátedra de Gestión Turística, Empleo y Desarrollo from the Junta de Andalucía. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA.The aim of this study is to determine whether a “slow tourism” image, coupled with value co-creation, can help develop sustainable tourist destinations. The study adapts a “slow destination image” scale and proposes that online value co-creation can be a valid strategy in the quest to encourage pro-environmental behaviors among visitors. A quantitative empirical study is conducted on a sample of Spanish domestic tourists (n = 681) and a covariance-based structural equation modeling analysis is performed. The findings of the study add value to the literature, providing empirical evidence that a “slow destination” image has a positive effect on tourist proenvironmental behavior and that online value co-creation has a positive and significant effect on “slow destination” image and tourist pro-environmental behavior. The study will also be of practical use to destination/ tourism agents, both public and private, by indicating how to develop a type of tourism—slow tourism—and a marketing strategy online value co-creation—that are useful for building sustainability and applicable to any tourist destination.Junta de AndalucíaUniversidad de Granada / CBU

The use of gamification in environmental interpretation and its effect on customer-based destination brand equity: The moderating role of psychological distance

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion from Spain (Research Projects PID2019-110941RB-I00) . Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUAThis study seeks to contribute to the literature dealing with the formation of customer-based destination brand equity (CBDBE) using an environmental interpretation strategy. It aims to establish whether (i) participation in an environmental interpretation experience with a gamified design may exert a greater effect on CBDBE than participation in a non-gamified version; (ii) CBDBE is influenced by the tourist’s psychological distance relative to the destination in question; and (iii) psychological distance moderates the effect of environmental interpretation (gamified vs. non-gamified) on CBDBE. A quasi-experiment is designed in which the environmental interpretation is manipulated (gamified vs. non-gamified). The results show that the effect of a gamified environmental interpretation experience on CBDBE is greater than that of a non-gamified version; and that it is greater among participants who perceive the destination to be psychologically near. The study also finds that there is a regulatory construal fit between the use of a gamified design and psychological distance, such that perceived psychological distance exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between interpretation type (gamified vs. non-gamified) and CBDBE. It is identified that, when the destination is perceived to be psychologically distant, the gamified environmental interpretation generates significantly greater CBDBE than the non-gamified version. By contrast, when it is psychologically near, there are no significant differences in CBDBE between a gamified and a non-gamified environmental interpretation experience. These results are relevant both for the literature and for the professional tourism sector, which, by its very nature, operates in an international context.Spanish Government PID2019-110941RB-I0