Payment for ecosystem services (PES): a holistic tool for sustainable forest management-a case study from Pakistan

Economic valuation of ecosystem services is a new concept in forest management. Economic valuation provides basis for payment for ecosystem services (PES). Therefore, objective of this study was to evaluate eco-tourism and carbon stock services of the Maindam valley, District Swat, Pakistan. For the carbon stock calculation, a sample size of 155 plots of 0.1 hectare (Ha) was taken using preliminary survey at 95% confidence interval and 10% allowable error. The data for tourism services was collected from owners of all the hotels, 100 tourists and key informants of the area at 10% sampling intensity on pretested questionnaire for twenty years period (1997-2017). Results showed that Miandam valley has carbon stock worth US$ 16,306,000 while the value of eco-tourism was US$ 1,578,458 on annual basis. The results also showed that trend of tourism has drastically declined after the 9/11 incident for foreigners and locals and the situation was further deteriorated during the era of Talibanization or militancy from 2008-2011. This study recommends implementation of PES strategy at the rate of 5%, thus a total of US$ 78,922 can be earned from eco-tourism and carbon crediting in the study area annually, which could play important role in sustainable forest management.

The Utility of Blockchain Technology in the Electronic Commerce of Tourism Services: An Exploratory Study on Romanian Consumers

Blockchain technology is considered one of the most revolutionary innovations that has much to offer the tourism industry, having a positive impact among consumers with the help of interactive applications but also easy to use. Tourist services must constantly evolve in a society where the consumer has everything a click away and his requirements are demanding when it comes to quality leisure. Blockchain technology has the power to change the course of the travel experience, offering the customer more autonomy, but the applications developed by the providers can offer transparency and trust to the customers from the moment T0, when the desire to go on a trip is born, until the end at which it should provide feedback. So far, digital and tourism specialists have not agreed on the development of blockchain-based applications, although the benefits are great for both consumers and tourism service providers, as in this publication we can see a series of advantages that blockchain technology can offer the tourism field. This paper also investigates the satisfaction that the Romanian consumer has after purchasing tourist services through e-commerce applications, a satisfaction that can be an additional motivation for specialists to implement blockchain technology. Following the research in this paper, it can be seen how important it is to develop a series of easy-to-use applications, because if the consumer does not manage to use the applications, this affects the degree of satisfaction and the intention to continue using the online applications for the purchase of tourism services.

Evaluation Index System of Surgical Tourism Service Organizations in China: An Empirical Research

Background: Healthcare tourism is an emerging economy with the most potential in China's health industry before the COVID-19 pandemic. Surgical medical health tourism accounts for a large part of medical tourism services in China, which has higher requirements for quality and safety. By contrast, measurement tools and theoretical research are insufficient in China. The aim of this study was to develop a set of reliable and feasible indicators by augmenting the original Donabedian’s quality model to evaluate surgical tourism services’ quality.Methods: Literature review and focus group interview were used to generate indicators for surgical tourism services’ quality. The basic framework of the evaluation system was based on the structure-process-outcome Donabedian model. The screening and weight setting were conducted through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a two-round Delphi consultation with 13 panelists. Validity and reliability of experts were tested by the experts' positive coefficient, authority coefficient, and coordination coefficient. Reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by a pretest distributed within an international medical department of a public hospital in China.Results: Based on the Donabedian’s quality theory, the novel evaluation system of surgical tourism service institutions with 3 dimensions, 9 first-level items and 39 second-level items was constructed. The three dimensions consist of structure (0.315), process (0.287), and outcome (0.398), with each dimension set several indicators and each indicator given a weight. Of the two rounds of Delphi consultation, the response rates were 86.67% and 100%. The coordination coefficient of expert opinions in the two rounds of consultation were 0.49 and 0.65 (p<0.05). For the empirical study, the self-evaluation score of a public hospital was 86, which could obtain a rating of two stars.Conclusions: The established evaluation system identified three different dimensions of surgical tourism services’ quality which fit for practical healthcare improvement in safety and quality. It can reflect the access criterion of surgical tourism institutions, provide references on better choices of surgical services for tourists, and can be applied by healthcare managers and policy makers to allocate resources more efficiently and promote more surgical tourism services to international standards.

Mining Flickr to Better Understand Tourist Behavior

The aim of this chapter is to present an automated instrument collecting the enormous amount of information available online allowing urban planners, public administrations, tourism services suppliers, and researchers to easily understand the spatial and temporal distribution of tourist behaviors towards tourist attractions in a specific area. Geo-located photos provided by Flickr are used to identify points of interest (POIs). The developed application has been tested with data automatically retrieved and collected in L'Aquila province (Italy) during the years 2005-2018. Given the richness of information, these data are able to show how POIs changed over time and how tourists reacted to the 2009 earthquake. Results demonstrate the importance of using analytics and big data in tourism research. Moreover, by using the province of L'Aquila as pilot study, it emerges that tourist behaviors change over time and space, varying among different typologies of tourists: residents, domestic, and international visitors.

The Resilience of Rural Tourism and Adjustment Measures for Surviving The COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Indonesia

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has generated an unprecedented impact on all aspects of life, including rural tourism. This study aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of homestay businesses in Gubukklakah Village, Malang Regency, and their adjustment measures to get out of the pandemic. A survey research with descriptive and quantitative approaches was conducted on 47 active homestay owners. 98% of the respondents stated that the pandemic affected their homestay business activities. About 44.6% of them said that the pandemic would not last long, while more than 50% of them said that the pandemic would last a long time. The pandemic has decreased the number of active homestays from 47 to 11, coupled with an 81% decline in income. Due to the pandemic, about 85.1% of the respondents returned to farming activities. The study suggests several actions that can be done to respond to the pandemic, namely the application of health protocols in various activities, the provision of cash or non-cash assistance to pandemic affected families, the strengthening of the agricultural sector and skilled human resources in tourism services, and the innovation of outdoor tourism products based on local uniqueness.

International Standardization in Tourism Services

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the importance of international standardization in tourism services with a view to the elimination of barriers to free movement of tourism services and its importance for consumers: visitors in tourism, when the international standards encourage consumers responsibility, enforce their legitimate demands, expectations, safety, and security. This contribution also describes the basic guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the tourism industry. These measures will contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector and restore the confidence of the traveler. Furthermore, the measures emphasize the possibilities of greater acceptance of international standards for tourism services in the post-COVID-19 period. They will also contribute to faster renewal of individual sectors/tourism services. At the same time, they contribute to reopening and engaging individual destination/countries in international tourism.

CREATING SUSTAINABILITY NATURAL TOURISM DESTINATION

Indonesia have many beautiful natural view but there are still a lot of un explore and unnoticed natural tourism destination to be discovered. That has potential for tourism. There are several natural tourism destination that already well-known, such as Bali, Bintan or Raja Ampat, but still have more natural tourism destination still have original a very view and not really noted. In this research, Sawarna Beach chosen as a research location. Sawarna Beach is very beautiful beach with various coastal characteristics. This beach has a complex and unique physiography, morphology and geological setting. The geological wealth of Sawarna coast can be a tremendous asset for tourism. This location has an outstanding potential to become a favorite tourist destination, given the natural beauty displayed. Sampling method used purposively method, data were collected by direct observations and interview, then the data were analyzed descriptively. The physical condition of the Sarwana Beach area is still not polluted, considering that the physical characteristics of the water on these areas are still below the threshold. The socio-economic conditions of the people in the Bayah area needs to be improved. The development itself is provide tourism services from the community is low considering that tourism development in this region is low. Lodging facilities have begun to develop but are limited to lodging, there are no hotels. The restaurants are limited to small restaurants that are not well organized. Local government efforts to organize natural tourism areas only need to be increased and carried out comprehensively. Efforts to make Sawarna Beach as a sustainable tourist de stinations can be achieved with the joint efforts of all parties including the community, government and academia.