Analysis of tourism competitiveness and the key influencers

The aim of this research is measure and analyse the tourism competitiveness, which has become one of the great challenges of tourism researchers in recent years. We analyze the relationship between tourism competitiveness and major tourist magnitudes, relations with most tourist destinations, and some pillars that measure competitiveness such as sustainability. A methodology for calculating an indicator of tourism competitiveness based on a double reference point is proposed, taking into account a level of aspiration and reserve level for each pillar of competitiveness. They are considered different degrees of offset between the pillars so that a series of synthetic indices are calculated. Later the rankings obtained for each country are analyzed and conducted a series of analyses. This tool provides managers with a useful and accurate tool, an interactive flexible and easy to use multi-criteria decision on their part. Allows simulation of situations, monitoring and control of various indicators. Later statistical tools for analyzing and comparing tourism competitiveness and other quantities are used.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Entrevistas realizadas a Antonio Fernández Alba en el periódico ABC

Entrevistas realizadas a Antonio Fernández Alba en el periódico AB

Religious experiences of travellers visiting the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe (Spain)

El Real Monasterio de Guadalupe ha sido uno de los destinos religiosos más importantes de España desde el siglo XIV, cuando se encontró la escultura de madera negra de la Virgen María (esculpida en el siglo I d. C.). Fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO) en 1993 y actualmente es un turismo atracción de interés internacional. Es visitado por más de 60,000 turistas anualmente, incluidos peregrinos y otras personas interesadas en el patrimonio cultural y natural de la zona. El objetivo de este estudio fue descifrar las formas en que los turistas experimentan la religiosidad con diferentes motivaciones, es decir, para comprender mejor cómo la religión está vinculada al turismo a través de nociones encarnadas de la piedad en diferentes modalidades de turismo. Se entrevistó a un total de 242 visitantes en el verano de 2017. Se les preguntó sobre las principales motivaciones para sus visitas, que se clasificaron en cinco grupos (razones religiosas, culturales, ambientales, sociales y educativas) y se utilizaron como variables latentes en un modelo de ecuación estructural de camino (SEM). El modelo mostró un fuerte poder predictivo (R2 = 87.5%) informando una influencia positiva significativa de las motivaciones religiosas, culturales y ambientales en el turismo religioso en esta región.The Royal Monastery of Guadalupe has been one of the most important religious destinations in Spain since the 14th century, when the black wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary (sculpted in the 1st century AD) was found. It was declared a World Heritage Site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) in 1993 and is presently a tourism attraction of international interest. It is visited by more than 60,000 tourists annually, including pilgrims and other people interested in the cultural and natural heritage of the area. The aim of this study was to decipher ways that religiousness is experienced by tourists with different motivations, i.e., to better understand how religion is linked to tourism through embodied notions of godliness in different modalities of tourism. A total of 242 visitors were interviewed in the summer of 2017. They were asked about the main motivations for their visits, which were classified into five groups (religious, cultural, environmental, social, and educational reasons) and used as latent variables in a path structural equation model (SEM). The model showed strong predictive power (R2 = 87.5%) reporting a significant positive influence of religious, cultural, and environmental motivations on religious tourism in this region.peerReviewe

Religious travellers' improved attitude towards nature

La peregrinación es una de las formas más antiguas de turismo. Hoy en día, se está convirtiendo en un fenómeno de masas que puede conducir a graves problemas de degradación ambiental en sitios valiosos. En este trabajo, hemos analizado mediante un modelo de ecuación estructural cómo la conciencia religiosa se inspira en la religiosidad / espiritualidad de cada peregrino. Podría predecir sus efectos en los turistas con respecto a una actitud mejorada (es decir, sensibilizada y más sostenible) hacia la naturaleza. El estudio se llevó a cabo en Guadalupe, España, que es un destino de peregrinación comúnmente conocido desde 1389. Se encuestó a un total de 203 visitantes utilizando un cuestionario compuesto por 16 preguntas, divididas en 4 dimensiones (actitudes enriquecidas hacia la naturaleza, conciencia religiosa, desarrollo sostenible y desarrollo humano ambiental), que se utilizaron como construcciones en el modelo. Los resultados mostraron cómo la conciencia religiosa influye positivamente en el desarrollo sostenible (β = 0.657, t = 11.306) y el desarrollo humano ambiental (β = 0.566, t = 8.255) explicando el 75.6% de las actitudes más sensibles de los viajeros religiosos hacia la naturaleza. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que aún se necesita una investigación más profunda, sobre el papel desempeñado por la religiosidad como una semilla para fomentar la sostenibilidad.Pilgrimage is one of the most ancient forms of tourism. Nowadays, it is becoming a mass phenomenon that can lead to serious problems of environmental degradation in valuable sites. In this work, we have analysed by means of a structural equation model how religious consciousness is inspired in the religiosity/spirituality of each pilgrim. It could predict its effects on tourists regarding an improved (i.e., sensitised and more sustainable) attitude towards nature. The study was carried out in Guadalupe, Spain, which is a commonly known pilgrimage destination since 1389. A total of 203 visitors were surveyed using a questionnaire composed of 16 questions, divided into 4 dimensions (enriched attitudes toward nature, religious consciousness, sustainable development, and environmental human development), which were used as constructs in the model. The results showed how religious consciousness positively influences sustainable development (β = 0.657, t = 11.306) and environmental human development (β = 0.566, t = 8.255) explaining 75.6% of religious travellers’ more sensitive attitudes towards nature. Our findings suggest that a deeper research, on the role played by religiosity as a seed of fostering sustainability, is still needed.• Research Institute for Sustainable Territorial Development (INTERRA). Patrocinio • Universidad de Extremadura. AyudapeerReviewe

Are there governance in management destinations? Case studies

En la literatura sobre gestión de destinos turísticos es cada vez más utilizado el término gobernanza. La creciente complejidad de las relaciones entre los diferentes tipos de actores implicados en la gestión de un destino exige generar un marco consistente que facilite la negociación, discusión y cooperación de todos ellos para la consecución de los objetivos establecidos. Con la misma velocidad que se genera literatura científica sobre gobernanza turística, han ido apareciendo destinos turísticos que se reconocen, o son reconocidos, como casos de éxito en la aplicación de la gobernanza. Sin embargo, en este artículo se demuestra que, en la mayor parte, se trata más de una declaración de intenciones que de un hecho real, pues no se cumplen todos los principios que aseguran la buena gobernanza. Para ello, se utiliza la metodología del estudio de casos, que permite combinar información de distinta naturaleza –cualitativa y cuantitativa, subjetiva y objetiva, interna y externa - para comprender el fenómeno estudiado y obtener conclusiones.In the literature on destination management is increasingly used the term governance. The increasing complexity of the relationships between different stakeholders involved in the management of a destination requires generating a consistent framework to facilitate negotiation, discussion and cooperation of all for achieving the objectives. With the same speed as scientific literature on tourism governance is generated, have appeared destinations that are recognized as cases of successful implementation of governance. However, this article shows that, in most, it’s more of a statement of intent than a fact, because not all the principles that ensure good governance met. For this, the case study methodology, which combines information of different nature –qualitative and quantitative, subjective and objective, internal and external - to understand the phenomenon studied and used to draw conclusion

Is it still valid the paradigm of sustainable tourism? Insights from the recent literature

El de sostenibilidad se ha convertido en un término recurrente en la agenda política de la mayoría de gobiernos y organismos internacionales, así como en documentos de empresas turísticas, organizaciones no gubernamentales y, por supuesto, en la agenda de los investigadores. A pesar de ello, hay una coincidencia generalizada en que, en la realidad, se ha avanzado poco en materia de sostenibilidad, en general y en el ámbito del turismo. Incluso, estos escasos avances hacen pensar si no se tratará de un concepto utópico, referido a un estado armonioso inalcanzable y que, en consecuencia, debe de ser abandonado cuanto antes, evitando con ello un coste de oportunidad innecesario. En este artículo se analiza el estado actual del debate, especialmente respecto al turismo sostenible, y se plantean un conjunto de argumentos que justifican la necesidad de aplicar, en un momento como el actual, el paradigma del desarrollo sostenible a la actividad turística.Sustainability has become a recurring term in the political agenda of most governments and international organizations, as well as documents of tourism companies, NGOs and, of course, on the agenda of researchers. However, there is widespread awareness that, in general, little real progress has been made in sustainability, and particularly in the field of tourism. These few advances suggest that this is a utopian concept, referred to an unattainable harmonious state and therefore it should be abandoned as soon as possible, avoiding an unnecessary opportunity cost. In this article the current state of the debate is discussed, especially with regard to sustainable tourism. This study raises a set of arguments to justify the current need to apply the paradigm of sustainable development in tourism field

Low optical polarisation at the core of the optically-thin jet of M87

We study the optical linear and circular polarisation in the optically-thin regime of the core and jet of M87. Observations were acquired two days before the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) campaign in early April 2017. A high degree ($\sim 20$ per cent) of linear polarisation (P$_{\rm lin}$) is detected in the bright jet knots resolved at $\sim 10\, \rm{arcsec}$ to $23\, \rm{arcsec}$ ($0.8$-$1.8\, \rm{kpc}$) from the centre, whereas the nucleus and inner jet show P$_{\rm lin} \lesssim 5$ per cent. The position angle of the linear polarisation shifts by $\sim 90$ degrees from each knot to the adjacent ones, with the core angle perpendicular to the first knot. The nucleus was in a low level of activity (P$_{\rm lin} \sim 2$-$3$ per cent), and no emission was detected from HST-1. No circular polarisation was detected either in the nucleus or the jet above a $3\sigma$ level of P$_{\rm circ} \leq 1.5$ per cent, discarding the conversion of P$_{\rm lin}$ into P$_{\rm circ}$. A disordered magnetic field configuration or a mix of unresolved knots polarised along axes with different orientations could explain the low P$_{\rm lin}$. The latter implies a smaller size of the core knots, in line with current interferometric observations. Polarimetry with EHT can probe this scenario in the future. A steep increase of both P$_{\rm lin}$ and P$_{\rm circ}$ with increasing frequency is expected for the optically-thin domain, above the turnover point. This work describes the methodology to recover the four Stokes parameters using a $\lambda/4$ wave-plate polarimeter.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 10 pages, 8 figure

Analysis of the readiness to buy cultural tourism online by means of latent variable models

The offer of tourism products online has increased considerably in recent years. The degree of acceptance of this new form of purchasing tourism products and services on the demand side is influenced by variables of different nature. While today's tourists routinely use online consultation for any particular destination, online booking is not as common as might have been expected, and actually purchasing online is decidedly uncommon. The aim of this study was to determine which aspects most affect the readiness to buy tourism products online. To this end, the data from a survey were used as input to different latent models with errors of measurement to segment demand in terms of attitude towards online purchases of tourism products and services