Omicron variant threatens Caribbean tourism recovery

Significance The move -- a response to the Omicron variant -- comes just weeks after the country reopened fully to international tourists. With tourism across much of the Caribbean having only recently started to rebound, Omicron’s emergence poses a major threat to island economies, and could stifle recovery before it has even really begun. Impacts Investment in tourism projects may pause while investors evaluate the potential impacts of Omicron. Businesses that survived 2020 lockdowns may struggle to endure another disrupted high season. Domestic tourism within source markets such as the United States may increase if people are deterred from visiting the Caribbean. The cruise industry may be particularly vulnerable, with cases among passengers causing sailings or port visits to be cancelled.

The impact of seasonality on efficient airport capacity utilization

The major cause of under-capacity or overcapacity at smaller airports is seasonality. Such airports are finding it difficult to determine the capacity to meet the demand and adequately handle passengers in both high and low season. If the capacity is not optimally defined, excessive congestions and waiting times occur, resulting in lower service quality. Airports greatly benefit from capacity utilization analysis in terms of more accurate planning, designing, and adjusting capacity to the current demand in order to encourage further development as well as to reduce additional costs. Using queuing theory, this paper aims to answer the following question: is the passenger capacity at Rijeka International Airport (Croatia) optimally determined to meet the demand promptly, both in high and low season, without causing excessive congestions and waiting times. The results obtained indicate the occurrence of overcapacity since high season demand can be well served, even with reduced capacity used in the low season when demand is significantly lower.

The challenges of presenting traditional music in gastronomic establishments – the case of Slovenian Istria

Purpose Through investigation and comparisons between tourists and restaurant managers regarding their understanding of traditional music and their attitudes, expectations and assigned importance to it, this paper aims to identify the most problematic aspects of the (non)inclusion of traditional music in restaurant settings in tourist destinations. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a field survey of tourists and managers/owners of catering establishments in the four municipalities of Slovenian Istria. Findings The results show that tourists attach a relatively high importance to this element of cultural heritage and that it is not sufficiently included in the overall product of the destination and in the catering establishments. Differences in the understanding of traditional music between the two groups were also found. Research limitations/implications The research limitations are, namely, a relatively small sample of managers for the quantitative analysis, the particular nature of the chosen destination which does not allow generalization of the results and finally, the study was conducted in the high season when the structure of tourists is significantly different compared to that in the mid and low season. Practical implications The findings bring some useful insights into tourists’ expectations and understanding of traditional music as part of the tourism experience for catering establishments’ managers and destination management organizations. By addressing the identified gaps, they can enrich the overall tourism product of the destination, while catering operators can achieve better business results. Social implications The more frequent and cogent inclusion of traditional music in the hospitality sector would provide a new social function and raison d'être for this segment of cultural heritage, which is in danger of being forgotten in many tourist destinations. Originality/value This research addresses a widely overlooked area of two interrelated fields of research, namely, hospitality and cultural heritage. Unlike the majority of previous research on this topic, which only involves actual guests, the present research is designed as a comprehensive investigation and comparison of the attitudes of the general population of actual tourists in the destination (as potential guests of the inns/restaurants) and managers of catering businesses operating in the destination.

Critical Analysis of a World Heritage Site in Terms of Conservation and Tourism Promotion: The Case of “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture” (Ibiza, Spain)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites (WHS) have great prestige. Each year, candidatures are presented by advocates seeking to raise awareness of the importance of certain cultural and natural sites, to achieve better protection and to make them known, which can promote tourism to benefit the surrounding regions. One of these cases is Ibiza, which, after a first rejection in 1986, obtained the inscription of “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture” in 1999. This WHS is made up of various cultural and natural elements of the island, although the best known is the fortified Upper Town of Ibiza (Dalt Vila). Since then, important restoration and musealization actions have been carried out in the old town, and some tourism promotion events have been held, but there have been failures in its conversion into a tourist product: Both residents and tourists see this as complementary to the traditional offer (sun and beach tourism); confusion has been generated in communication, focusing on the old town and forgetting the other elements; tourist visits to the registered elements have not taken off and are concentrated in the summer months (the traditional high season); some decisions have been politicized, among other problems. Finally, different lines of tourism development are proposed.

Co-creating Sustainable Urban Mobility Solutions for Guests and Citizens: The Experience in the Elba Island

This chapter illustrates a co-creation approach engaging stakeholders and citizens to develop a shared agenda of sustainable transport solutions, responding to travel needs which are qualitatively and quantitatively different for residents and tourists. The chapter is articulated in three sections. The first section illustrates the co-creation approach and the topics addressed in all six DESTINATIONS demonstration sites where this approach has been used to a greater or lesser extent. The second section describes more extensively the application of the co-creation approach in the Elba island case, illustrating the process and its main outcomes, including the definition of a strategic agenda of goals and actions included in a draft Sustainable Mobility Plan for the whole Elba island, and a hypothesis of new bus services operating in the high season co-created with the engagement of managers from the regional Public Transport Authority (Osservatorio della Mobilità—Provincia di Livorno) and from the Transport Operator (CTT-Nord). The third section discusses some lessons that can be drawn from the successes and failures of the co-creation approach in the Elba case. The application has demonstrated the feasibility and suitability of the co-creation process to effectively engage stakeholders and groups of visionary citizens (the “change agents”) in the formulation of sustainable mobility plans and agendas. On the other hand, follow-up was lacking—no formal procedures to implement decisions based on the shared agenda were initiated—and the concluding section of the chapter discusses some reasons for this failure, and possible remedies for better anchoring the co-creation approach in future policymaking

DETERMINING TOURIST’S CARRYING CAPACITY BASED ON ECOLOGICAL APPROACH IN TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN PARK, MALAYSIA

ARTICLE INFO Article History: Received: 9/3/21 Accepted: 19/4/21 Published: 31 Dec 21 Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) is a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and a famous tourist destination in Sabah. The possible long-term negative impacts on the ecology and sustainability of the Park due to the very high number of tourists is of much concern to the Park management authority. This study was conducted to determine the ecological and tourism carrying capacity in three islands in TARP, Manukan, Mamutik and Sapi islands. The Effective Carrying Capacity (ECC) concept is applied in this study, in which the results are expected to provide the Park Authority with data and effective management actions. Calculation of carrying capacity in this study was based on three distinct visiting patterns or seasons: i) Regular season; ii) High season, and iii) Festive season in order to ensure optimal tourists' satisfaction and revenue, while still maintaining ecological sustainability. ECC was calculated after considering the various limitations imposed by physical, climate, ecological, and management capabilities. Land and ocean areas were considered and calculated separately as they occupied different variables. Our findings showed that Manukan island recorded the highest ECC, while Mamutik and Sapi island shared almost similar ECC value. Optimization of Carrying Capacity (CC) in different seasons was also achieved with a few Correction Factor (CF) adjustments. It shows that Festive season recorded the highest ECC, followed by High Season and Regular Season. The ECC obtained was suggested to be implemented to TARP management as to preserve and sustain the ecological value of the Park.

Prevalence of malaria in an area receiving seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Niger

Background Malaria transmission is highly seasonal in Niger. Despite the introduction of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in the Magaria District, malaria incidence remains high, and the epidemiology of malaria in the community is not well-understood. Methods Four cross-sectional, household-based malaria prevalence surveys were performed in the Magaria District of Niger between October 2016 and February 2018. Two occurred during the peak malaria season and two during the low malaria season. Individuals in each of three age strata (3–59 months, 5–9 years, and 10 years and above) were sampled in randomly-selected households. Capillary blood was collected by fingerprick, thick and thin blood films were examined. Microscopy was performed at Epicentre, Maradi, Niger, with external quality control. The target sample size was 396 households during the high-season surveys and 266 households during the low-season surveys. Results Prevalence of parasitaemia was highest in children aged 5–9 years during all four surveys, ranging between 53.6% (95%CI 48.8–63.6) in February 2018 and 73.2% (66.2–79.2) in September 2017. Prevalence of parasitaemia among children aged 3–59 months ranged between 39.6% (33.2–46.4) in February 2018 and 51.9% (45.1–58.6) in October 2016. Parasite density was highest in children aged 3–59 months during all four surveys, and was higher in high season surveys than in low season surveys among all participants. The prevalence of gametocytaemia in children aged 3–59 months ranged between 9.9% (6.5–14.8) in February 2018 and 19.3% (14.6–25.2) in October 2016. The prevalence of gametocytaemia in children aged 5–9 years ranged between 6.3% (3.5–11.1) in February 2018 and 18.5% (12.7–26.1) in October 2016. Conclusions Asymptomatic malaria infection is highly prevalent in this area, even during the season with low incidence of clinical malaria. The high prevalence of parasitaemia in children aged 5–9 years warrants considering their inclusion in SMC programmes in this context.

RoomTetris in room committing: why the role of minimum-length-of-stay requirements should be revisited

Purpose This study aims to analyze how different room-committing practices affect the occupancy and profitability of hotels and it critically reviews the role of minimum-length-of-stay (MLOS) requirements given these findings. Design/methodology/approach The approach uses statistical analysis of simplified contexts to develop understanding, and simulations of more complex situations to confirm the relevance in realistic contexts. Findings The study demonstrates that proper solutions of the room-committing problem improve occupancy and profitability, in particular, for hotels working in high-season and high-occupancy situations. Smart committing algorithms diminish the role of MLOS requirements. More demand can be accepted without sacrificing late-arriving long reservations. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work, building upon a previous one cited in this paper, is the first to rigorously study the room-committing problem and to demonstrate its relevance in practical situations and its implications on MLOS rules.