bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Aspergillus niger Six Constitutive Strong Promoters by Fluorescent-Auxotrophic Selection Coupled with Flow Cytometry: A Case for Citric Acid Production
Authors: Lu Yudan , Zheng Xiaomei , Wang Yu , Zhang Lihui , Wang Lixian , Lei Yu , Zhang Tongcun , Zheng Ping , Sun Jibin
Published: May 2022

Aspergillus niger is an important industrial workhorse for the biomanufacturing of organic acids, proteins, etc. Well-controlled genetic regulatory elements, including promoters, are vital for strain engineering, but available strong promoters for A. niger are limited. Herein, to efficiently assess promoters, we developed an accurate and intuitive fluorescent-auxotrophic selection workflow based on mCherry, pyrG, CRISPR/Cas9 system, and flow cytometry. With this workflow, we characterized six endogenous constitutive promoters in A. niger. The endogenous glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter PgpdAg showed a 2.28-fold increase in promoter activity compared with the most frequently used strong promoter PgpdAd from A. nidulans. Six predicted conserved motifs, including the gpdA-box, were verified to be essential for the PgpdAg activity. To demonstrate its application, the promoter PgpdAg was used for enhancing the expression of citrate exporter cexA in a citric acid-producing isolate D353.8. Compared with the cexA controlled by PgpdAd, the transcription level of the cexA gene driven by PgpdAg increased by 2.19-fold, which is consistent with the promoter activity assessment. Moreover, following cexA overexpression, several genes involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism were synergically upregulated, resulting in up to a 2.48-fold increase in citric acid titer compared with that of the parent strain. This study provides an intuitive workflow to speed up the quantitative evaluation of A. niger promoters and strong constitutive promoters for fungal cell factory construction and strain engineering.
Extracellular Enzymatic Activities of Oceanic Pelagic Fungal Strains and the Influence of Temperature
Authors: Salazar Alekseyeva Katherine , Herndl Gerhard J. , Baltar Federico
Published: May 2022

Although terrestrial and aquatic fungi are well-known decomposers of organic matter, the role of marine fungi remains largely unknown. Recent studies based on omics suggest that marine fungi potentially play a major role in elemental cycles. However, there is very limited information on the diversity of extracellular enzymatic activities performed by pelagic fungi in the ocean and how these might be affected by community composition and/or critical environmental parameters such as temperature. In order to obtain information on the potential metabolic activity of marine fungi, extracellular enzymatic activities (EEA) were investigated. Five marine fungal species belonging to the most abundant pelagic phyla (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) were grown at 5 °C and 20 °C, and fluorogenic enzymatic assays were performed using six substrate analogues for the hydrolysis of carbohydrates (β-glucosidase, β-xylosidase, and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase), amino acids (leucine aminopeptidase), and of organic phosphorus (alkaline phosphatase) and sulfur compounds (sulfatase). Remarkably, all fungal strains were capable of hydrolyzing all the offered substrates. However, the hydrolysis rate (Vmax) and half-saturation constant (Km) varied among the fungal strains depending on the enzyme type. Temperature had a strong impact on the EEAs, resulting in Q10 values of up to 6.1 and was species and substrate dependent. The observed impact of temperature on fungal EEA suggests that warming of the global ocean might alter the contribution of pelagic fungi in marine biogeochemical cycles.
Polysaccharides from Volvariella volvacea Mushroom: Extraction, Biological Activities and Cosmetic Efficacy
Authors: Sangthong Sarita , Pintathong Punyawatt , Pongsua Patcharee , Jirarat Areeya , Chaiwut Phanuphong
Published: May 2022

Polysaccharides from Volvariella volvacea (VVP) were investigated for their cosmetic-related activities and in vivo efficacy for use as a multifunctional active cosmetic ingredient. Three different polysaccharide extraction methods, including hot water shaking (HS), microwave-assisted (MA) and ultrasonic-assisted (UA), were used. Extractable yield, polysaccharide contents and biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-tyrosinase and anti-elastase activities, were compared. The polysaccharides from HS provided the highest extraction yield (15.58 ± 0.96% w/w) and the highest beta-glucan content (18.80 ± 0.81% w/w). The HS polysaccharides also possessed the highest inhibitory effects toward lipid peroxidation (IC50 of 0.0378 mg/mL), tyrosinase (51.46 mg KAE/g), and elastase (604.21 ± 73.66 mg EGCG/g). The cytotoxicity of the VVP was determined for safe use. A cosmetic gel cream containing VVP was developed and 0.2% VVP formulation was observed to be the most stable in color. UV protection factors, skin irritation by single patch test, and in vivo efficacy, including skin moisturization, anti-wrinkle and whitening, were measured. The VVP showed no cytotoxicity against human dermal skin fibroblast. The gel cream containing VVP provided less sun protection factor; however, it significantly exhibited the skin benefits of increasing moisture, gross elasticity, net elasticity, and skin firmness. Improvements to skin roughness, scaliness, wrinkles and in melanin content were also depicted gradually along 8 weeks. V. volvacea, therefore, could be a good source for polysaccharides being used as a moisturizing, anti-wrinkle, and whitening agent in cosmetic preparations.
Biomarkers Predictive of Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Authors: Romano Alberto , Del Vescovo Ester , Rivetti Serena , Triarico Silvia , Attinà Giorgio , Mastrangelo Stefano , Maurizi Palma , Ruggiero Antonio
Published: May 2022

The improvement in childhood cancer treatments resulted in a marked improvement in the survival of pediatric cancer patients. However, as survival increased, it was also possible to observe the long-term side effects of cancer therapies. Among these, metabolic syndrome is one of the most frequent long-term side effects, and causes high mortality and morbidity. Consequently, it is necessary to identify strategies that allow for early diagnosis. In this review, the pathogenetic mechanisms of metabolic syndrome and the potential new biomarkers that can facilitate its diagnosis in survivors of pediatric tumors are analyzed.
Advanced Molecular Characterisation in Relapsed and Refractory Paediatric Acute Leukaemia, the Key for Personalised Medicine
Authors: Galán-Gómez Víctor , Matamala Nerea , Ruz-Caracuel Beatriz , Valle-Simón Paula , Ochoa-Fernández Bárbara , Guerra-García Pilar , Pernas-Sánchez Alicia , Minguillón Jordi , González Berta , Martínez-Romera Isabel , Román-Pacheco Sonsoles , Estival-Monteliú Pablo , Ibáñez-Navarro Adrián , Pérez-Martínez Antonio , Escudero-López Adela
Published: May 2022

Relapsed and refractory (R/r) disease in paediatric acute leukaemia remains the first reason for treatment failure. Advances in molecular characterisation can ameliorate the identification of genetic biomarkers treatment strategies for this disease, especially in high-risk patients. The purpose of this study was to analyse a cohort of R/r children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic (ALL) or myeloid (AML) leukaemia in order to offer them a targeted treatment if available. Advanced molecular characterisation of 26 patients diagnosed with R/r disease was performed using NGS, MLPA, and RT-qPCR. The clinical relevance of the identified alterations was discussed in a multidisciplinary molecular tumour board (MTB). A total of 18 (69.2%) patients were diagnosed with B-ALL, 4 (15.4%) with T-ALL, 3 (11.5%) with AML and 1 patient (3.8%) with a mixed-phenotype acute leukaemia (MPL). Most of the patients had relapsed disease (88%) at the time of sample collection. A total of 17 patients (65.4%) were found to be carriers of a druggable molecular alteration, 8 of whom (47%) received targeted therapy, 7 (87.5%) of them in addition to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Treatment response and disease control were achieved in 4 patients (50%). In conclusion, advanced molecular characterisation and MTB can improve treatment and outcome in paediatric R/r acute leukaemias.
A Study of Private Equity Rounds of Entrepreneurial Finance in EU: Are Buyout Funds Uninvited Guests for Startup Ecosystems?
Authors: Miyamoto Hiroyuki , Mejia Cristian , Kajikawa Yuya
Published: May 2022

This paper studies the difference between startup investments by private equity funds (buyout funds; PE) and venture capital funds (VC). PEs, which have traditionally invested in mature companies, have been increasingly investing in later-stage startups in recent years. Based on Crunchbase’s data on EU startup investments from 2011 to the first half of 2021, we find that: (1) later-stage VC-backed startups and PE-backed startups differ in terms of the industry domain, (2) PE-backed startups tend to have higher revenue when they receive investments, and (3) VC-backed startups are more likely to exit via Initial Public Offering (IPO) and slightly less likely to exit via Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) than PE-backed startups. These results connect previous studies on VC and PE and deepen our understanding of later-stage startup investment. It also suggests that PE invests differently than VCs and provides new added value to the startup ecosystem. In addition, it adds insights into corporate behavior in new business domain expansion.
The Generalized Gamma Distribution as a Useful RND under Heston’s Stochastic Volatility Model
Authors: Boukai Benzion
Published: May 2022

We present the Generalized Gamma (GG) distribution as a possible risk neutral distribution (RND) for modeling European options prices under Heston’s stochastic volatility (SV) model. We demonstrate that under a particular reparametrization, this distribution, which is a member of the scale-parameter family of distributions with the mean being the forward spot price, satisfies Heston’s solution and hence could be used for the direct risk-neutral valuation of the option price under Heston’s SV model. Indeed, this distribution is especially useful in situations in which the spot’s price follows a negatively skewed distribution for which Black–Scholes-based (i.e., the log-normal distribution) modeling is largely inapt. We illustrate the applicability of the GG distribution as an RND by modeling market option data on three large market-index exchange-traded funds (ETF), namely the SPY, IWM and QQQ as well as on the TLT (an ETF that tracks an index of long-term US Treasury bonds). As of the writing of this paper (August 2021), the option chain of each of the three market-index ETFs shows a pronounced skew of their volatility ‘smile’, which indicates a likely distortion in the Black–Scholes modeling of such option data. Reflective of entirely different market expectations, this distortion in the volatility ‘smile’ appears not to exist in the TLT option data. We provide a thorough modeling of the option data we have on each ETF (with the 15 October 2021 expiration) based on the GG distribution and compare it to the option pricing and RND modeling obtained directly from a well-calibrated Heston’s SV model (both theoretically and also empirically, using Monte Carlo simulations of the spot’s price). All three market-index ETFs exhibited negatively skewed distributions, which are well-matched with those derived under the GG distribution as RND. The inadequacy of the Black–Scholes modeling in such instances, which involves negatively skewed distribution, is further illustrated by its impact on the hedging factor, delta, and the immediate implications to the retail trader. Similarly, the closely related Inverse Generalized Gamma distribution (IGG) is also proposed as a possible RND for Heston’s SV model in situations involving positively skewed distribution. In all, utilizing the Generalized Gamma distributions as possible RNDs for direct option valuations under the Heston’s SV is seen as particularly useful to the retail traders who do not have the numerical tools or the know-how to fine-calibrate this SV model.
A Review of the Monograph by T. Pimonenko, O. Lyulyov, N. Letunovska "Stochastic Modeling of the Roadmap for Harmonizing Domestic and European Standards of Energy Market Regulation: Transformational Shifts to a Circular and Carbon-neutral Economy”.
Authors: Kwilinski Aleksy
Published: May 2022

The European Green Deal is a new European climate strategy presented by the European Commission in 2019. The central postulate of this strategy is the growth of renewable energy sources share in the energy balance of the European countries. The Pro-European integration vector of Ukraine envisages the country to synchronize the national energy policy with the EU strategic guidelines for transition to a circular and carbon-free economy. This monograph aims to explore the experience in implementing the principles of the European Green Deal and the best practices in improving energy policy among the EU countries. Therefore, the findings would be instrumental in developing a balanced and structured roadmap for Ukrainian energy policy synchronization with the EU requirements. The European Commission poses significant challenges to European producers. In turn, transition to the principles of the European Green Deal is particularly relevant for Ukrainian exporters competing with European producers within the European Union and abroad. The comprehensible implementation mechanism of the new European Green Deal tools is a prerequisite for the successful adaptation of national energy policy and the modernization of approaches to managing local businesses and industries that depend on energy resources.
Taxation of Accommodation Services Provided in the Framework of the Collaborative Economy in the Slovak Republic
Authors: Vartašová Anna , Červená Karolína , Olexová Cecília
Published: May 2022

The collaborative economy is currently experiencing a re-comeback in an innovated form given the development of digital platforms. This model of the economy was further supported by the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, when as a result of the introduced lock-downs, traditional forms of the economy have so far been dampened by states, especially in tourism (accommodation and gastronomic services). From the states' point of view, the collaborative economy is an area of interest in terms of legal regulation, including tax policy settings, and in the context of its expansion, its non-taxation may represent a tax revenue gap (especially for local governments in the context of local taxes). In the paper, the authors analyse the existing legal regulation of taxation in the field of tourism, focusing on the provision of accommodation services in the Slovak Republic, in connection with its possible application to the model of the collaborative economy. The authors aim to answer the research question of whether the existing tax legislation in the Slovak Republic is applicable to economic activities in the field of accommodation services carried out under the collaborative economy model. For this purpose, using the method of legal analysis, analysis of secondary data from available databases (Eurostat), partial comparisons with other EU countries and using induction, deduction and scientific synthesis, the authors conclude in terms of a formulated scientific question.
Online Food Delivery: An Overview and Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Badenes-Rocha Alberto , Enrique Bigne  , Carla Ruiz
Published: May 2022

Academic works on online food delivery so far have focused on the economic and social aspects of OFD. The economic interest and evolution of this activity sector contrasts with a scarce and fragmented approach from the academic perspective. This work intends to account for the existing literature on online food delivery through a descriptive and bibliometric mapping analysis. A bibliometric analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer, a platform for analysing bibliometric networks. The results show an increasing interest on the topic, that start booming in 2019. Sources that gather online food delivery articles usually belong to one of two kinds: 1) customer-related variables in tourism and hospitality and 2) business/management publications. Since it is an emerging research area, not many authors hold a distinguished position in terms of articles published, with leading authors holding no more than 4 articles. Analysing keyword co-occurrence we find differentiated thematic approaches: technological support and features of online food delivery, health issues related to food delivery, logistic chain of food delivery and a particular field of interest relating it to COVID-19.

This work contributes to literature by outlining the different theoretical basis considered in OFD research, and providing practical implications for a variety of agents (suppliers, restaurants, retailers, etc.). Guidelines for future research are offered in this emerging and relevant field of interest.
Demand for Domestic Marine and Coastal Tourism Demand for Domestic Marine and Coastal Tourism
Authors: Deely John
Published: May 2022

Domestic marine and costal tourism has increased in importance over the last number of years due to the impacts of international travel, environmental concerns, associated health benefits and COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Consequently, this paper conceptualizes domestic marine and coastal tourism within an economic framework. Two logit models examine the factors that influence participation in the coastal day trips and overnight stays markets, respectively. Two truncated travel cost models are employed to explore trip duration, one analyzing the number of day trips taken and the other examining the number of nights spent in marine and coastal areas. Although a range of variables predict participation, no one variable had a significant and consistent affect in every model. A division in access to domestic marine and coastal tourism is also observed based on variation in household income. The results also indicate a vibrant day trip market and large consumer surpluses.

The decision to use logit participation models and travel cost models applied to day trips and overnight stays is a direct result of the audiences this paper aims to inform. Firstly, by presenting the decision making process for domestic marine and coastal tourism in this depth, evidence based decision makers can gather a better understanding of how domestic tourist decided to participate in marine and coastal tourism, who the larger beneficiary are of the different types of marine and coastal tourism and how policy focused solely on overnight stays can adversely affect particular segment of society, often those less well off financially. Secondly, the academic literature has presented a dearth of information comparing day trip participation to overnight stays in marine and coastal tourism, as such, this paper provides a valuable source of information.
Fostering Accessible Tourism: Stakeholders’ perspective in Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim
Authors: Ferreira Fernanda , Liberato Dália , Liberato Pedro , Coentrão Raquel
Published: May 2022

Nowadays, tourism is considered an important social phenomenon, stimulating the mobility of millions of tourists around the world. Accessible tourism is becoming increasingly visible and is considered a growing market segment. For this, it is essential to adapt infrastructures, making them fully accessible. This research seeks to raise awareness in the tourism sector for the creation of accessibility conditions necessary and aimed at all types of demand. In this way, it is intended to deepen the knowledge about Accessible Tourism, as well as evaluate, on the supply side, the awareness and consciousness of the importance of this segment and ascertain whether Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim, meet all the necessary conditions to receive these tourists. This study adopts a qualitative approach with the application of interviews to seven entities, representative of the supply in the destinations, dealing daily with mobility impaired people. The main results show that, despite Accessible Tourism being an increasingly important market segment for the tourism industry, the existing tourism offer in the cities of Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim (North of Portugal), is not yet fully aware and adapted to receive and serve people with reduced mobility.
A study on the positive impact of eWOM in eco-tourism destinations of Vietnam
Authors: Hoang Sinh , Dey Sandeep , Nguyen Vy , Tuckova Zuzana
Published: May 2022

This research study focuses on the positive impact of eWOM in determining the selection of eco-tourism destinations. A positive review of tourism destinations has significant images, content and experience. Its natural beauty, environment-friendly practices, sustainability, and other factors determine an eco-tourism destination. The paper's findings suggest that tourists research before selecting a destination. An honest review of a previous consumer has more impact on a potential customer. Travellers opt for online and offline media to judge the authenticity of the destination. This research paper also examines how electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) impacts the tourists' decision to select and visit eco-friendly destinations?
Potential of Voluntourism in Central Finland
Authors: Röntynen Rositsa , Tunkkari-Eskelinen Minna
Published: May 2022

Voluntourism is a relatively new type of tourism considered to contribute to the sustainability of the industry because of its ties to the local community and the destination. In recent years, with the strong impact of covid-19 crisis on the travel economy new practices and directions of tourism development were driven, and the requirement for sustainability has been emphasized. This research investigates the question: What is the potential for voluntourism in the province of Central Finland? Three studies were conducted. Firstly, existing secondary data was investigated, such as online reviews, blogs and media articles regarding voluntourism in Finland. Secondly, a questionnaire was conducted, which targeted municipality actors, such as mayors, business representatives, as well as regional developers and Leader local action groups, rural entrepreneurs, farm owners, village associations and other parties of interest. Thirdly, theme interviews were conducted with key actors about their current activity and interest in voluntourism to discover examples of existing uncoordinated voluntourism activity in the region. The results, which regard the identification of the voluntourism term, the existing concepts in Finland and the activity in Central Finland, revealed both opportunities and challenges. The term is unknown, and it does not cover all the activity that could be developed in Central Finland. The need is evident for multifaced and complex networking, as well as for the planning and funding of concrete piloting actions of voluntourism in the province. The data gathered could also be applied to the building of a national operating model of voluntourism. This study is a part of “The Value Project: Central Finland as a Leading Province for Volunteer Tourism”, which is implemented in cooperation between Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and Central Finland Villages Association, and co-funded by the European Union.
Organizational Culture and Group Dynamics in the tourism industry
Authors: Ntalakos Angelos , Belias Dimitrios , Koustelios Athanasios , Tsigilis Nikolaos
Published: May 2022

The tourism industry is one of the most dominant industries at a global level that affect the world’s economy (Belias et al., 2017), as the tourism industry contributes to a very high percentage of the Gross Domestic Product of many countries (such as United States, China, Japan, Italy, France and Spain) (Statista, 2021). On the other hand, researchers have acknowledged the importance of organizational culture (Cook & Yanow, 1993; Schein, 1993) as well as the importance of group dynamics, (Crossan et al., 1999; Wastell, 1999) on the members of an organization. Over the latest decades, globalization has made cultural diversity a world-wide phenomenon. Tourism and Hospitality is a field where someone can recognize the importance of cultural differences among different cultural groups. In an organization, such as a hotel company, there are a lot of cultural diversities not only among the employees of the hotel but also among the guests of the hotel (Rampley, 2005; Bavik, 2015). So it is essential for a hotel company to establish its organizational culture which will be consist of several values, rules and priorities that everyone who is involved in it (employees and guests) has to follow. The aim of this paper is to examine the current literature concerning the relationship between organizational culture and group dynamics in general, as well as in the tourism industry. The methodology which will be used is literature selection of papers, studies, articles and journals retrieved from online bibliographic databases (such as Science Direct and Google Scholar). Although, there is a significant amount of papers discussing the organizational culture or the group dynamics in an organization there seems to be a research lack in the connection between organizational culture and group dynamics especially in the touristic and hospitality services. With the current paper we try to shed some light in the above field in order to trigger for future theoretical as also empirical research.
Development of a Tourist Information Search Support System that Reflects Interests Based on User's Gaze
Authors: Mori Taiga , Hoshino Yuko , Yamada Mitsuho , Ishii Eriko
Published: May 2022

In 2014, Tobii Tech and Eye Tribe released the first inexpensive non-contact eye tracking device, and eye tracking technology has been attracting more and more attention. It has long been said that gaze information can be used to infer a person's interests and attention, and the analysis of gaze position by eye tracking technology is also used for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In addition, with the spread of information and communication technology, the Internet has become the most used media for "obtaining information on hobbies and entertainment," surpassing books, magazines, and television for all age groups except those in their 60s in Japan, The majority of information gathering has shifted to web browsing. As a result, the information gap between those who can use the Internet to collect information and those who cannot use it well, so-called digital divide, has become one of the social problems. Based on these background, we attempted to develop an interaction system that presents search keyword to get related information by using the user's eyes while browsing the web. Based on analysis of user's gaze and accumulation of web pages viewed by each user, this system can provide search keywords that reflect a user's interest, such as Tourism information or history information. We believe that this system can support users' web browsing by assisting them in gathering information on sightseeing and travel, presenting them with unexpected facilities that they did not know about, and making it easy for them to obtain a variety of related information.
The use of the Airbnb collaborative platform in Romania: a survey-based research
Authors: Badulescu Allina , Stiubea Elena , Simut Ramona , Badulescu Daniel
Published: May 2022

Recent years have witnessed a wide and strong development of the sharing economy in various industries. As a result of the wide spread of intelligent mobile devices and customers’ increasing digital skills, the use of collaborative platforms in tourism, in particular for accommodation services, has become an important alternative for many tourists. In this paper we try to investigate relevant aspects of the profile, motivations and habits of the Romanian tourists who are using Airbnb for renting accommodation services. Survey-based research was conducted during the summer of 2021, a period when very few COVID-19-related restrictions were being enforced in Romania regarding people’s mobility and travel. The questionnaire was designed to capture not only the demographic, economic and social profile of the consumers, but also and more importantly the main aspects related to the type of travel (leisure versus business), the motivations of getting involved in the collaborative use of platforms etc., from a demand-side perspective. We have grouped the motivations for using Airbnb taking into account the following main classes of factors: price; comfort; ease of use and functionality; authenticity and local connection. Other investigated issues pertained to analyze the place of Airbnb compared to classical accommodation units, considering factors such as trust and efficacy. We found that there is a certain amount of conformity among the population in making the decision to book accommodation, but there is also an innovative trend, expressing people's desire to try other forms of accommodation that offer authenticity and new experiences, characteristics that are less common in traditional accommodation forms. Indirectly, we can identify several trends in respondents' preferences for tourist accommodation and consumption habits. Trends may include greater availability of accommodation alternatives, including through collaborative platforms and, gradually, the transformation of these alternative experiences into tourism consumption habits.
Sustainability and holidays plans in Covid times: an analysis of Portuguese residents' intentions
Authors: Oliveira Fernanda , Eurico Sofia , Lopes Maria Sofia
Published: May 2022

Abstract: This study focuses on micro-environmental factors (Casado-Aranda et al, 2021) related to changes in consumers' travel behaviours, arising from COVID-19. It seeks to understand if risk perception associated with COVID had an impact on travel intentions of residents in Portugal and if there are changes, regarding more sustainable choices, in 2021 summer holiday’s intentions. Data was collected through an online questionnaire between December 2020 and March 2021 (overlapping the first 3 months of the vaccination process, corresponding to 5% of the full vaccination of the Portuguese (Our World in Data, 2021) and reflects short-term effects (Miao et al, 2021) on the travel behaviours of residents in Portugal (n=610). Almost half of the participants (48,5%) responded positively to the probability of going on holidays in 2021. From these, the majority (64,2%) intended to travel only to domestic destinations, mostly justified by the willingness to help the country (54,5% of those who considered likely to go on holidays) and not as much as a risk perception associated to the pandemic (only referred by 26,8%). As for holiday’s consumption intentions, residents expressed concerns that may have a positive impact on the socio economical sustainability of the destinations. In fact, from those who considered likely to travel, 71,6% referred that they will prefer national products, 64,5% will value more than before certified touristic services and 57,4% intends to shop mostly in small traditional business. In terms of environmental sustainability, 59,5% will have an increased concern in reserving touristic services environmentally responsible. Results emphasize the need for reflection on the effective positioning of sustainability issues concerning the tourism sector’s future. COVID-19 has created an opportunity for tourism to review and relaunch itself, based on more responsible and sustainable approaches (Brouder, 2020; Casado-Aranda et al, 2021; Jones and Confort, 2020). It’s important to understand to what extent consumers are willing to assume more sustainable behaviours in their future travel options. These results ask for future research regarding the importance of understanding the difference between tourists’ stated intentions and effective actions when it comes to sustainable travel behaviour.
Wellness tourism from consumers’ perspective – An exploratory analysis
Authors: Hekmat Nasim , Marques Jorge , A. Quintela Joana , Ramazanova Makhabbat
Published: May 2022

This paper summarizes the perspectives of health and wellness tourism consumers, to better understand the factors that influence this tourism product. A quantitative approach was adopted to collect primary data through the application of an online survey to effective and potential health and wellness tourism consumers between January and April 2021. Results show that growing number of consumers tend to value health and wellness tourism as a holistic experience, in which not only products specifically related to health and wellness treatments are of particular importance, but also activities related to leisure, recreation and culture. This paper provides a basis of research and analysis for global wellness and tourism industry stakeholders. The aim is to help the industry understand consumer behaviour and preferences in the traveller’s process of choosing a destination for a wellness vacation. This is achieved by predicting wellness tourism trends and developments, by acknowledging the gaps in the research available for understanding wellness tourism and reflecting the experience economy perspective in the sector.
Aquatic Event(S) in the Cultural and Nautical Diversity of a Destination
Authors: Lopes Eunice , Fernandes Manuela
Published: May 2022

Events are important drivers of attractiveness for tourist destinations. All types of events represent an opportunity for projection for the territory where they are developed. The holding of events has been a strong strategic bet to boost tourism and local economies. The impacts arising from the events affect not only the local community, but the entire territory. Therefore, the events sector has been playing a fundamental role in terms of the attractiveness and competitiveness of tourist destinations. The contribution is notable above all in the impetus given to the creation and development of new tourist products seen as a necessity for the holding of events and the territory where they are held. The development of events leads to investment in spaces conducive to practices associated with the realization of events and the improvement of infrastructure conditions, ending up being catalysts for a “territorial renewal”. It can also lead to awareness of the protection of heritage resources through the promotion of cultural and tourist activities that design these spaces, contributing to a greater knowledge and attractiveness of these resources. In this sense, we intend to present a case study related to the event – “Wakeboard Open Days”. Event related to nautical tourism and carried out geographically in the Central region of Portugal and in a territorial scope linked to the river Zêzere, Medio Tejo. The main objectives of this study are the approach to wakeboard combined with nautical tourism and the verification of the impacts of this practice in the territory where the event is held. To achieve both objectives, a quantitative analysis was carried out. From the preliminary results, some reluctance on the part of residents about knowledge of the wakeboard modality is identified, with practical implications for verifying social impacts, among others. Therefore, there is a need for greater interaction between all managers of the territory to increase the quality of the nautical tourist offer. This study will contribute to a greater perception of the need to expand knowledge about the impacts of this event on the territory, valuing it through fluvial-nautical practice.
Sustainable Management of Tourism: Insights from Portugal
Authors: Mendonça Fátima , Maguire Kelly , Almeida Nuno
Published: May 2022

The importance of achieving effective sustainability performance in destinations worldwide has long been renowned (Cohen, 2002; UNEP and UNWTO, 2005; Castellani and Sala, 2010; Franzoni, 2015; McLoughlin and Hanrahan, 2019). Destination policy makers and planners have been working towards a continual and ongoing transition towards the development of sustainable industries for the past three decades. This has subsequently been influenced through the development, provision and implementation of sustainable tourism plans, policies and strategies at International, European, National and local levels. Such plans and strategies are aimed at promoting balanced development that ensures “tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, while at the same time addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities” (UNEP and UNWTO, 2005). However, sustainability is a transition and learning process (Miller and Twining-Ward, 2006) and managing tourism growth together with addressing the needs of the industry, society and the environment as a whole has become a challenge for policy makers and DMO’s alike. Nevertheless, it is incremental that destinations look to develop new ways of planning and seek to achieve new strategic positions to ensure the long-term sustainability, competitiveness and resilience of destinations moving into the future.

In Portugal, tourism growth has been exponential with tourist activity accounting for €18.4 billion in tourism revenue and responsible for employing over 416,000 people (Instituto Nacional de Estatística, 2020).Although, the industry has been impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are positive signs that tourism numbers are beginning to increase once again and are expected to rise to pre-covid figures by the end of 2022, according to the European Commission (Costa, 2021). With this in mind, there is a fundamental need to make sustainability the “new normal” for destinations when planning for and managing tourism in both the short and longer term. Thus, for the purpose of this research, it is essential to understand the various impacts, both positive and negative, that can be generated by tourism activity to the economic, socio-cultural and environmental resource base in order to permit an examination into the current level of sustainable management of tourism in Portugal.
Internal Control and Risks Mitigation in Tourism Sector in Portugal
Authors: Pereira Cristiana , Costa Oliveira Helena , Bastos Susana
Published: May 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic affected the operational risk of organizations, requiring its management through Internal Control Systems (ICS). The tourism sector in Portugal, one of the largest and most competitive, was also one of the most affected by the pandemic, which emerged in March 2020. The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the perception of tourism managers about the relationship between the existence of internal control and risk mitigation in their companies. We present a quantitative study carried out by questionnaire, sent to 830 managers from tourism companies in the region of Porto, Portugal. Most participants consider crucial the implementation of ICS and a competitive advantage in the current pandemic context. They also consider that the implementation of ICS is not accessible to all companies, but its absence does not necessarily make them more fragile. The study also concludes that besides internal control, the role of the Portuguese Government was crucial to overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic and to ensure companies’ recovery. Financial support from the government allows companies to invest in procedures to overcome the pandemic situation, such as strengthening cleanliness measures, focusing on new technologies and creating products and/or services more attractive to consumers. This study contributes to the perception of tourism managers about internal control, highlight the need to implement risk analysis routines to manage risks that may threaten the company activities and highlight the government´s role in business recovery.
Impact of Covid-19 in the VAICTM in the hospitality industry: the Portuguese case
Authors: Costa Vânia
Published: May 2022

This work aims to identify the efficiency of intellectual capital in companies in the hospitality sector and to analyse the impact that the Covid pandemic has on the efficiency of intellectual capital in Portuguese regions. This study applies the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) method according to Pulic (1998). The economic and financial data come from the Iberian Balance sheet Analysis System (SABI). The study was conducted with a selection of active companies with turnover in the years 2019 and 2020, resulting in a sample of 4.383 hotels in Portugal in the pre-pandemic period (the year 2019) and in the pandemic period (the year 2020). This study identifies the value added that contributes to value creation in organizations and analyses this value between Portuguese tourism regions because of the impact of the Pandemic Crisis in the sector. The average results for the total sample show that tourism businesses had a significant decrease in VAICTM from 2019 to 2020. The results show that the Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, Açores, and Algarve regions have the largest decrease in the value of VAICTM in the year 2020. The Alentejo region was the region that felt the least the impact of the pandemic crisis. These results reveal that the more mature tourist areas lost the most intellectual added value.
Developing a Destination Management Information System: A Case Study of Ottawa, Canada
Authors: Novotny Michelle , Dodds Rachel
Published: May 2022

Over the last decade, the concept of smart destination management has been gaining momentum (Boes et al, 2016; Buhalis and Amaranggana, 2013, 2015; Del Vecchio et al, 2018a; Gretzel et al, 2015; Ivars-Baidal et al, 2019; Lamsfus and Alzua-Sorzabal, 2013; Xiang et al, 2015). As the tourism industry seeks recovery from the devastations of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, several authors have argued that it is more important than ever for destinations to become “smart” in efforts to build back in a more sustainable and regenerative way (Abbas et al, 2021; Assaf and Scuderi, 2020). Though called on globally to guide destinations through this era of change and adaptation, Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) continue to struggle to obtain adequate and reliable data. Specifically, those representing smaller regions often lack the internal capacity to perform the analyses required to become smart destinations (Dodds and Butler, 2019; Dredge, 2016; Gretzel et al, 2006). While the literature has pointed to Destination Management Information Systems (DMISs) as the solution to smart destination management, current applications have been limited and evidence remains primarily anecdotal. Therefore, guided by Höpken et al’s (2011) Knowledge Destination Framework Architecture, this study aimed to develop and empirically test a DMIS for Ottawa Tourism in its capacity to support smart destination management. Findings indicated that while it serves as a valid process in the development of a DMIS, a DMIS’s capacity to support smart destination management is limited by the quality of its inputs. Opportunities for future knowledge generation and knowledge application in the tourism industry are discussed along with areas for future research.
University-based hospitality centers: popularity and effective advertising models
Authors: Kiryakova-dineva Teodora , Vladimirova Beatris
Published: May 2022

Hospitality-based centres are not common units within the university’s structures. Nowadays, successful universities must offer a variety of both new educational visions and opportunities for a rich campus life and university’s public value (Sternberg, 2014). In this context, the challenge to combine more attractive possibilities for events hosting is focusing on special appeals. On the other side, and within the academic life, a cultivation of academic imagination (Lugosi, 2016) could be a competitive tool. Hospitality products show significant levels of importance of what an inspiring university should be. It can be so due to the meetings, events, exhibitions and conference tourism. When mixed up with the academic scene, this can become of exceptional advantage. University’s increased popularity can be viewed in regard to the opportunities for rich academic and social experiences along with relaxation in such a form that breaks down walls (López, 2019). For its commercial hospitality space, university-based hospitality centers or university campus hotels (Hay, 2020) should be considered in the overall marketing strategy of the academic organization (Gibbs and Knapp, 2002). Developing effective models of advertising aimed at integrating tourism, events and social being into the university life can extensively contribute to the sense of community (Henry, 2012), thus to the popularity of the university itself. Networking could be easier to achieve, literacies on more different levels can be gained (Spasov, 2021) or secondary profits for academicians, students, guests, and visitors of the university with additional recreational benefits might arise. In this research, the authors show the results of an exploratory survey of the university-based hospitality center of the South-West University “Neofit Rilski” in Bulgaria and discuss possible implications on planning and management through effective advertising models. The emphasis lies on the unique combination between tourism product and university organizational academic culture. Results were utilized for the development of a more holistic understanding of the university activities’ offer under the realm of hospitality.
Can Volunteer Tourism be a sub-segment of Wellness Tourism?
Authors: Lopes Maria
Published: May 2022

Wellness tourism is a segment of tourism that has been widely studied, including the motivations that undertake the trip. Throughout the literature review it was possible to observe that the motivations that are the origin of this type of tourism are diverse, highlighting, the achievement of physical and mental well-being, self-development and personal reward, relaxation and escape, exploration and reflection, and enjoyment of a new experience.

Smith and Kelly, 2006 approach the concept from a broader perspective, encompassing several segments: new age tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism, yoga tourism, spiritual and religious tourism, and voluntary tourism. Also, Ali-Knight (2009) and GWI (2018) consider voluntary tourism an integral segment of wellness tourism as well as thermal tourism, spa tourism, nature tourism, retreat tourism, and social tourism. In addition to the fact that the authors mentioned above consider voluntary tourism a sub-segment of wellness tourism, a study by Coghlan (2015) found, through a project of travel experience in the context of volunteering, in which various social activities were carried out, which can achieve a beneficial health outcome, in addition to an improvement in the well-being and mental health of participants.

However, throughout the literature review, it was found that studies addressing the motivations of volunteer tourists are scarce, and none are known to address the relationship between the motivations of wellness tourists and volunteer tourists.

In order to fill this gap, a qualitative approach was developed based on semi-structured interviews with individuals who have travelled in the field of voluntary tourism. Thus, we were able to compare the motivations recognized in these interviews with those verified in the literature review in the field of wellness tourism, and to realize that, from an altruistic perspective, the motivations of tourists from both segments are coincident. This finding allows us to consider that, from the perspective of motivations, voluntary tourism can comprise one of the sub-segments of wellness tourism.

This study will contribute to increase knowledge about the motivations of wellness and voluntary tourism and understand the similarities between these types of tourism.