Attributes and Analysis
Recovery of an Abandoned Singular Infrastructure as Key Factor for Regional Sustainable Development: “El Caminito del Rey” - The King´s Little Path” Case Study View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Antonio Esteban Lopez, Antonio Peña García, Agustín Castillo Martínez
Although sustainable development has been sharply associated to energy savings and decrease of contamination, the concept deserves more comprehensive consideration. It encompasses a broad variety of technical, economic, cultural, and behavioral issues. In the light of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, the recovery of abandoned singular infrastructures for alternative uses (leisure time activities for human welfare) are studied. In this research, the so called “El Caminito del Rey” is analyzed as paradigmatic model of successful achievement. The path is located in Málaga, and was originally built to provide access to a hydroelectric power plant. Due to the construction of new routes, the track and walkways were progressively abandoned. The recovery enterprise was conceived in the framework of a circular economy-based planning and full respect to environmental requirements. The facts and figures of this singular case show that the rehabilitation of obsolete infrastructures located in natural spaces is suitable, feasible and profitable. The main objective of the current work is to demonstrate that obsolete abandoned facilities can be rehabilitated into worthwhile amenities that may turn into key factor for the sustainable development of determined rural areas. And, more in particular that “El Caminito del Rey” experience could represent a model for similar development projects. Upon this basis the rehabilitation of the “Tranvia de Sierra Nevada” route for similar uses may be worth additional study.
Passengers’ Purchase Intention and Their Perception of Cruising Safety and Security View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shadi Bahattab, Alessandro Demurtas
The aim of this study is to determine the existence of causal correlation between the variables of cruise ships safety/security measures, passengers’ security perceptions, and passengers’ purchase intentions. Moreover, this study also examines the impact of gender on such variables. Generally, through the use of quantitative method, the findings show that passengers’ purchase intention is high when feeling safe onboard. Also, passengers’ perception of security raises together with the number of safety/security measures on cruise ships. Moreover, no differences were found in the correlation based on male and female passengers. Further, t-test results indicates that the variable of cruise ships safety/security measures is not gender dependent, while both variables of passengers’ security perception and purchase intention are gender dependent, where female passengers responded with lower evaluation compared to male passengers. The outcomes of this study shows that further research is needed to understand in which contexts, and under which circumstances does gender impact the purchase intention of cruise passengers in relation to their cruising safety and security perception.
Differencies in Tourist Accommodation Sector Efficiency by Establishment Typology in Spain: A Meta-Frontier Analysis View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session María Pilar Ibarrondo Dávila, Cristina Maria Campos Alba, Perez Lopez Gemma, Vela Victoria Jesús
The tourism industry is one of the most important economic sectors, not only internationally but also for the specific case of Spain, which is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. This sector is characterized by high competitiveness among companies because of globalisation. The main aim of this work is to determine the efficiency considering different types of accommodation establishments and their relationship with its size and geographical location by Autonomous Communities. To understand better the firms’ performance, an efficiency analysis of the Spanish tourist accommodation sector is carried out using the meta-frontier approach estimated by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In addition, the Kruskal Wallis test was used to test for possible differences in efficiency according to types of tourist accommodation establishments. Findings show that Hotels category shows higher levels of efficiency than others, while Campsites are lower. When the size is considered, our results show that Hotel accommodation is more suitable when the company size is over 10 employees. Regarding the location of the companies, Hotel accommodation is more efficient in sun and beach tourist-specialised regions. This analysis could be used as a benchmarking tool by national and regional public institutions to establish regulatory policies for achieving a higher efficiency for the operating enterprises, especially in the post-pandemic period. It is also useful for the company managers as this study compares the efficiency of different establishment categories considering their size and location.
