Iconic Destination: a Snapshot of Sustainable Tourism in Pisa

Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries. According to the World Tourism Organization, Italy is the fifth most visited country in the world, with more than 47.7 million tourists a year (2013). At the same time, the increasing number of studies focused on sustainable tourism demonstrates a growing interest about the topic. In addition, practitioners’ attitude is changing and the most important actors of the market are acting in a more sustainable way and developing reports on their eco-friendly performances. Nowadays, the entire supply chain maybe environmentally sustainable. From the reservation to the post-holiday phase, it is possible to select the more eco-friendly suppliers. The main companies operating in the different stages of the process are demonstrating a concrete interest on sustainable development. This new challenge is generated through the information flow between local authorities, private firms and final customers. We propose to make a reflection based on the latter actors’ attitude. Our research aims to investigate the level of sensitivity of tourists about environmental sustainability from two different perspectives: self-evaluation and real purchasing behavior. We conducted a face-to-face survey among tourists in Pisa, in Piazza dei Miracoli, during May 2015. By using a structured questionnaire, we gathered primary data from a sample of 406 respondents. We selected respondents randomly. Pisa is the perfect location to obtain information from several typologies of tourists, with different levels of awareness of sustainable issues. Itis one of the most important tourist destination in Italy and it is an iconic destination recognized worldwide thanks to the attractiveness of the leading tower. The results of our study is a snapshot of the current level of awareness among tourists. The analysis of the questionnaires revealed tourist profiles, their eco-friendly behaviors, their concerns about sustainability planning their vacations and their habits during the stay. In the questionnaires, three main aspects of tourist services were considered: transport, accommodation, food and beverage. Our study offers a photography of the state of the art of tourists’ awareness on sustainable issues. It represents a starting point for future investigations on strategic decisions in terms of general and local policies (destination & corporate level). The provided data can be useful to generate new inputs for academic research and to point out managerial implications at destination and corporate level. Moreover, our study generates food for thought with regard to several emerging topics. Further research can investigate the discrepancy between self-evaluation and real behaviors among tourists, the perception of the grade of sustainability of the tourist services and the willingness to pay for more sustainable tourist services

Risk Communication to Tourists: Towards the Definition of a Research Agenda for a more Effective Disaster Preparedness in Japan

The Japanese government has recently demonstrated interest in increasing tourists’ disaster preparedness. This is in part due to the need to develop an efficient disaster preparedness plan for the upcoming Olympic Games in 2020 that will be held in Tokyo. The aim of this paper is to present opportunities for future research able to facilitate a more effective risk communication between communicators and tourists regarding disaster preparedness information in Japan. The article is based on an analysis of the literature. The paper identifies research gaps in four main research topics including tourists’ risk information seeking process, cross cultural analysis, the role of tourism suppliers within the risk communication process, and comparison of mental models of communicators and tourists. Opportunities for further research are also provided

From Epidemics to Pandemic: Tips from the Past

The World Tourism Organization proposed to examine studies on previous infectious disease outbreaks (epidemics), in particular the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic of 2002–2004, to better managing the impact of the COVID-19 on the tourism industry. We followed this suggestion by analysing tourism-related literature concerning previous outbreaks. We consequently identified the differences and similarities between past epidemics and the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluated recovery strategies previously adopted by tourism destinations, and suggested a research agenda to facilitate the tourism destinations’ recovery. To provide theoretically grounded research suggestions, which are urgently needed by the tourism industry, only contributions from high-quality peer-reviewed journals were considered in this literature review

Risk Factors for Post-ERCP Pancreatitis: A Prospective Multicenter Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75082/1/j.1572-0241.2006.00380.x.pd

Psychosocial Characteristics and Pain Burden of Patients With Suspected Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction in the EPISOD Multicenter Trial

Patients with several painful functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are reported to have a high prevalence of psychosocial disturbance. These aspects have not been studied extensively in patients with suspected Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD)

Effect of Endoscopic Sphincterotomy for Suspected Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction on Pain-Related Disability Following Cholecystectomy: The EPISOD Randomized Clinical Trial

Abdominal pain after cholecystectomy is common and may be attributed to sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Management often involves endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with manometry and sphincterotomy

Can patient and pain characteristics predict manometric sphincter of Oddi dysfunction in patients with clinically suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction?

Biliopancreatic-type postcholecystectomy pain, without significant abnormalities on imaging and laboratory test results, has been categorized as “suspected” sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) type III. Clinical predictors of “manometric” SOD are important to avoid unnecessary ERCP, but are unknown