Vol. 5, no. 2/2023

In Memoriam – Professor Gabriela-Cecilia Stănciulescu

By Claudia-Elena Țuclea, Gabriela Țigu, Delia Popescu

An extended application of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model in predicting tourist loyalty: the mediating role of desire in health & spa tourism

By Lucian Breabăn, Remus-Ion Hornoiu, Ionuț-Andrei Militaru

This research sought to examine the predictive power of an extended version of the Theory of Reasoned Action(TRA) model that incorporates desire to understand tourists' loyalty intentions towards a health & spa center. The findings substantiate the model's high explanatory capacity and underline its relevance in the context of health tourism. It was found that positive attitudes towards health tourism services and the influence of subjective norms, which embody the opinions of tourists' social contacts, significantly influence loyalty intentions. Importantly, desire, which was included as an extension of the traditional TRA model, emerged as a crucial factor in this relationship, serving as a significant mediator between both attitudes and subjective norms and loyalty intentions. Our study highlights the central importance of understanding and considering desires when designing management strategies and recommends the implementation of targeted marketing campaigns, personalized offers and the continuous collection of customer feedback based on desire-based segmentation. This study contributes to the existing literature by extending the application of the TRA model to the health and wellness tourism sector and emphasizing the crucial role of desire as a mediator in promoting customer loyalty.

Wellness Tourism Services Innovation: A Bibliometric Review and Future Research Agenda

By Wang Li, D. Myagmarsuren, Qin Yuanhao, Z. Yadmaa

This research analyzes 657 studies in the Web of Science (WOS) and 288 studies in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database from 2010 to 2023. This research employs the scientific quantitative knowledge graph method to analyze literature characteristics, core author, institution network, hotspots, and trends. The CiteSpace software analysis results show that the number of published papers is rising but fluctuates slightly. A core group of authors has not yet formed in this field, and the cooperation density between authors and institutions is low. Their distribution spreads in space with significant regional differences, mainly in European and Asian countries. The causes, impacts, and solutions of multi-actor engagement in service innovation are the focus of WOS and CNKI literature. However, scholars discuss the enterprise supply side, customer demand side, and government policy side in WOS, while scholars mainly discuss the interaction between variables in CNKI. A lack of an evaluation system for service innovation in wellness tourism restricts further research on service innovation. There is an essential potential for topics such as multi-actor engagement in the wellness tourism service innovation, digital technology, knowledge management, service innovation ecosystem performances, and wellness tourism development in developing countries. This study promotes an overview and reference for future scholars' research of service innovation in the wellness tourism industry.

Unveiling the potential: exploring prospects and challenges for a high-yielding tea tourism segment

By W.G.V.D Kumari, A.C.I.D Karunarathne, G.H.V Harshani

Tea tourism is a striking segment around the world due to the widespread tea lovers. Even though there is a huge potential to attract tourists for tea tourism while generating economic benefits for the host community, it has not developed properly as a product in Sri Lanka. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to identify the prospects and challenges of Sri Lankan tea tourism industry to make it a high-yielding tourism product. The mixed methodology was adopted as the research design and conveniently selected a sample of 350 (of local and foreign tourists) and 10 service providers involved in tourism businesses to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis and content analysis were used to meet the study objectives. The findings highlighted that push motive factors are more influencing for tourists to visit tea tourism establishments than pull motive factors. Moreover, tea tourists’ overall perception has a significant positive impact on their perceived experience about tea tourism. This author further stated that perceptions might be of two different kinds: external stimuli (resulting from the evaluation of destination qualities) and internal (personal) stimuli (depending on how the person wishes to perceive that destination). Further the researcher has identified attractions towards tea industry, demand to Ceylon tea, available activities and resources and future plans of the service providers as prospects in tea tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the researcher has identified challenges in tea tourism industry under political, economic, environmental, operational and technological challenges.

Belgrade and Sarajevo. Analysis of dark tourism spectrum and supply in post-conflict societies of the Western Balkans

By Adrian Lucian Kanovici, Viorel Mionel, Oana Mionel

In the early 1990s, the Balkans faced some of the most violent military confrontations since the end of the Second World War. As a result of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the borders have been redesigned on the map of Europe and new states have emerged. Some of these countries have succeeded in becoming members of Euro-Atlantic structures. While Montenegro and North Macedonia became NATO members, and Slovenia and Croatia have integrated into both NATO and the European Union, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be affected by frozen conflicts and interethnic tensions. The research aims to analyze the evolution of tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, focusing on the tourist potential of the capitals of these states, Sarajevo and Belgrade, respectively. The novelty of the research is to identify and analyze the potential of dark tourism in Sarajevo and Belgrade. The methodology used implied field research in both countries, in order to identify the tourism potential- with emphasis on dark tourism heritage on both countries. Also, the touristic offer in the two cities was analyzed, focusing on the dark tourism spectrum proposed by Philip R. Stone in 2006.

Implications of virtual reality in developing tourism – the case of Transylvania, Romania

By Iulia Ruxandra Ticau

Technological advancements are constantly changing developing industries and impacting all players in the field. Among the most well-known revolutionary technologies is virtual reality (VR), a three-dimensional concept that offers its users the possibility to simulate new environments by visualizing the real world from their own location. This research article raises the question of the extent to which such technologies can influence the tourism potential of a much-discussed region in Romania, namely Transylvania. As a result, case study research with qualitative data was conducted, leading to an extended analysis of the current topic. By adopting a three-fold division of VR’ potential destination: marketing tool, planning and managerial and entertainment tool, the study aimed at providing relevant insights upon the importance of VR for both service providers in the field, but also potential beneficiaries of touristic services. The results show that VR is of great benefit to the development of the tourism industry, but that factors such as costly implementation costs and "resistance" to innovation can occur. The research findings have implications for researchers in the field, but also for stakeholders in the tourism and technology sectors.

Dark Tourism in Romania: The Bellu Cemetery

By Maria Alexandra Sandu

This article focuses on the most important aspects of dark tourism and deals with the Romanian population's perception of the Bellu Cemetery of Bucharest, a must-see dark tourism attraction. The main purpose of this research was to collect and analyze the opinions of Romanians regarding dark tourism, especially their opinion about the practice of tourism in this cemetery. The objectives to be achieved were (1) to determine the main motives for visiting the cemetery, (2) to determine the most popular gravestones, (3) to determine if and why people believe the cemetery is haunted, and (4) to determine the ethical concerns of being a tourist there. Accordingly, a survey was conducted for the defined scope. It was found that Romanians of all ages are positive about the concept of dark tourism and are willing to practice it.

HoReCa: an economical sector which reinvents itself

By Laurent Picheral

This paper provides an overview of current trends and challenges within the Hospitality, Restaurant, and Catering(HoReCa) industry. It examines how the industry is responding to these new paradigms, particularly focusing on the evolution of Food and Beverage (F&B) activities to offer guests a distinctive and immersive experience, fostering a sense of belonging. Additionally, it explores how Hospitality and F&B sectors are addressing guest expectations aligned with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, emphasizing minimalist approaches and proposing solidarity and eco-friendly initiatives. Furthermore, the paper discusses the evolving criteria influencing talent acquisition and retention in the HoReCa sector, particularly emphasizing the adaptability demanded by Generation Z, reflecting ongoing changes in the industry.