In Quest of a New AR Technology Application to Enhance the Sustainability of Cultural Tourism: The Olive Heritage in Madeira Through the Looking Glass of a ‘Sandbox’ Approach

This article presents the results of an exploratory investigation looking for new applications of augmented reality (AR) technology to enhance the sustainability of cultural tourism. The ‘sandbox’ approach was initially developed by programmers to experiment innovative solutions in safe conditions, being adopted later in other research areas for the same reason. In this case, the olive heritage at Madeira had been chosen as a background not because it is harmless, but on the contrary, for offering some challenging characteristics. The purpose is to stimulate creativity, forcing thought outside the box. This methodological path will lead to a new concept—the hyperplace of augmented visit (HAV)—conciliating several kinds of attractions in a sustainable way. The general idea is to create a hybrid tour. The user will have the possibility of interacting with a mixture of real objects and digital avatars, virtually reachable by the mediation of AR. The former will be found at the location where the user stands, and the others will be distributed in different areas of the same destination. The study leads to the conclusion that this concept will encourage travellers to spend more time in each spot and to include new points of interest, less popular or even unexplored, in their itinerary, and is also resilient in a context of public health crisis. At the close, HAV's potential will be evaluated and relevant issues mapped to design a suitable working plan to implement a pilot experience.

Collaborative Strategies and Tourist Competitiveness in Medium Mountain Destinations: Study on the Positioning of Tourist Actors in the Natural Park of Serra da Estrela

The tourism sector, due to its specificities, is one area of economic activity where collaborative strategies can most contribute to increasing productivity and competitiveness. The need for immediate responses to customer interests and requirements has led companies to become more proactive, which in turn leads to the pursuit of external collaboration to develop business networks that increase business dynamism and the operational flexibility of partners. Encouraging collaboration lies in the pressures brought on by globalization and increased competitiveness, supported by the development of information and communications technologies. Collaboration promoting strategic and organizational alignments in the field of tourism is revealed to be decisive for the qualification and sustainability of destinations, promoting new markets, and facilitating synergies of larger dynamism between companies. Serra da Estrela corresponds to a medium mountain destination, classified as a UNESCO World Geopark, where the development of collaborative relationships is valued as a resource for businesses and as expanding the offer of tourist products, as well as a source of competitive advantage.

Exploring Solutions and the Role of GDS Technology in Crossing the Current Pandemic Context in Tourism

In the current pandemic context, tourists increasingly need to receive assurances from the tourism and hospitality industry that their safety and health will not be endangered during their trip or their stay. Tourists increasingly prefer to plan their own trips and information technology is playing a very important role in the hotel and tourism industry. This study uses strategic management methods and comparative analysis to formulate strategies, measures, and solutions to maintain the safety and the health of tourists at the level of the tourism and hospitality industry. The aim of the paper is to provide solutions for the tourism industry in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, through a strategic managerial approach and by involving information technology and global distribution systems (GDSs) as a decision supporting tool. The results of the study are useful for small and medium enterprises to act efficiently in this pandemic context, but are also useful for GDS providers to reflect on possible improvements in system functionality to implement solutions and to support the decisions of tourists.

Data Processing and Legal Protection in Contracts in the Technologically Innovative Tourism Sector

This study aims to demonstrate that technological innovation in tourism represents a paradigm shift in law and is also changing the competition between tourist destinations. Technological innovation in the tourism sector is increasing the volume of data processing and calls for greater and more consistent (detailed) legal protection to combat dangers to private life, such as exclusion from ‘digital life’. The topics covered by the study include data processing in hospitality contracts, the enrichment of guest profiles, newsletter marketing, guest passes or discount cards in travel package contracts, and the question of whether data processing is necessary for fulfilling smart tourism contracts. The theoretical framework is based on contract and data protection law principles relating to purpose, data avoidance and transparency, the privacy rule by design and by default. The methodological approach is based on a careful balancing and weighing of the legal goods and values, and an assessment of the normative parameters. This research is responding to the need to develop appropriate policies on transformative innovations and is addressing different concerns relating to the adoption and diffusion of technological trends in tourism.

Circular Economy in Tourism and Hospitality: Analysis of Scientific Production on the Theme

In studies on tourism and hospitality, the sustainable aspect has been continuously treated. A current approach that expands the concept of sustainability is the circular economy, considered a closed economic model that aims to maintain the most significant utility and value of products, components, and materials at all times. This issue has been addressed not only in the productive sphere but also in the area of services. In this sense, the objective of this research was to understand how the circular economy is being treated in the tourism and hospitality sectors. A review of published articles accessed across four databases—Spell, CAPES Portal, SciELO, and Web of Science—was carried out. The main results indicate that studies in this area are still incipient, with a greater number of publications starting in 2019; European studies prevail; the publications are still theoretical, with little empirical research; and address the benefits of the circular economy, and the economic, social, and environmental aspects.

Reopening for Business Post-COVID-19: Augmented Reality as a Strategy for Attracting Visitors to a Tourist Destination

Critical thoughts about tourist destinations overcoming and mitigating impacts from COVID-19 lie in the opportunities created by the pandemic. In this paper, an innovative way to attract tourists to Madeira Island and specifically for the Caminho Real (CR) is proposed, assisted by augmented reality. There are important considerations for developing software suitable for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; values and benefits for sustainable tourism development and for being an educational experience respecting social distancing; and services included in the augmented reality application. Therefore, some propositions are presented to evaluate the possibility of augmented reality as a secure opportunity to show historical, cultural, and ethnographic aspects when visiting a tourist destination, while respecting social-distancing constraints.

The Role of Micro-Influencers in the Consumer Decision-Making Process in the Hospitality Field

The aim of this research is to understand the role played by social media influencers in consumers’ decision-making processes concerning hotels. To achieve this general objective, the following specific aims were defined: (1) to understand the profile of the micro-influencers that share user generated content (UGC) about hotels and the main networks within which they operate; to this end, a study was made by means of interviews to ascertain the profiles of 16 unpaid micro-influencers who share content about Portuguese hotels, and (2) to adopt the information acceptance model (IACM) put forward by Erkan and Evans (2016), to examine the influence of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in social media on cosumer's behaviour intention in hotel industry, based on the profile of 166 consumers who follow these micro-influencers. Findings suggest that micro-influencers play a significant role in terms of influencing consumer purchase decision-making in the hospitality area; about 79% of surveyed consumers who follow micro-influencers’ content feel their choice is influenced and consider that the contents shared enable consumers to form an idea of what their stay will be like, due to some of the micro-influencers’ characteristics. The adoption of the IACM model demonstrates that the credibility of eWOM information positively affects the usefulness of the information. However, the quality of eWOM information, needs of eWOM information, and attitudes toward eWOM have a medium effect on the usefulness of eWOM information, but also in the attitudes toward eWOM and usefulness of eWOM in the adoption of eWOM information. The followers’ behavioural intentions are strongly explained by their attitudes toward eWOM information and adoption of eWOM information.

Impact of Mobile Applications in Changing the Tourist Experience

This exploratory study investigates the impact of technology on the tourist experience. This research analyzed the effect of new technologies on the behaviour of new tourism consumers, the importance of mobile technology in the tourism industry, and the phenomenon of mobile tourism in the change of the tourism experience. It also studied the spillover effect that these changes have had on the use of mobile applications in tourism, trying to understand their impact on the tourism experience. A quantitative and qualitative analysis supported this investigation through a survey of 110 Portuguese tourists using applications and two interviews with administrators of mobile application development companies, and, finally, through the analysis of four case studies. The main conclusion is that smartphones and mobile travel applications can substantially alter the tourist experience. Tourists assume that smartphones have motivated changes in the activities and emotions experienced, especially in social applications that allow them to maintain contact with their friends and families and increase security levels.

Augmented Reality in Shopping Tourism: Boosting Tourism Development Through Innovation in Barcelona

This research explores the attractiveness and innovation of shopping tourism in the Gaudí neighbourhood in Barcelona, Spain, along with the potential for augmented reality (AR) experiences, as well as the impact of visitors’ tolerance of technologies. An online survey detected outcomes and offered insights for enrichment similar tourism areas using AR. The findings are positive, demonstrating significant funding for making use of augmented reality initiatives. This investigation confirms the strength of the Technology Adoption Model (TAM) within the framework of innovative use in a touristic neighbourhood. The study, thus, supports the current use and expansion of the TAM hypothesis by focusing on the less studied shopping tourist's context. The outcomes provide recommendations for the design of AR projects for segmented tourism experiences, comprising the importance of making AR tourism experiences more enjoyable, pleasant, and exciting, and this research demonstrates that AR practices can enhance tourists’ perceived value. By examining the data collected from 415 tourists in the Gaudí neighbourhood who were willing to enjoy shopping experiences, the outcomes illustrate a correlation between AR tourism experiences and perceived value. Hence, this validated that AR acceptance enables the connection between tourists’ perceived value of the Gaudí neighbourhood and AR technology's usability.

Analysis of scientific production on Technological Innovation in Tourism

Until the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was one of the sectors with the greatest growth potential on a global scale. It is now highlighted as one of the hardest hit sectors in economic terms and requires strategic recovery capacity coupled with technological innovation. Technology and innovation could provide a strong contribution to the development of tourism by integrating knowledge about tourism products, services and experiences and the new needs and behaviours of consumers. This study analysed the scientific productions on technological innovation in the tourism sector using literature review and bibliometric analysis techniques, with data collected from the main databases of international relevance, Web of Science and Scopus. This study presents the mapping and cluster structures for the trends and dynamics of the investigations on the discovered research themes using the VOSviewer software. The results indicate that research related to innovation and technology in tourism has evolved in recent years, as well as highlighting the main areas of activity and presenting contributions to possible future lines of research.