Poster Session
Asynchronous Session
New! Coastal Ecologies: New Tendencies for the Production of Spaces for Enjoyment
Poster Session Sasha Zanko
New! Coastal Ecologies (N!CE) Research is positioned within the cross-section of spatial and social studies disciplines, establishing a link between architecture and leisure culture. N!CE reviews tourism as an industry developed through programming services for leisure practices, analyzes and compares different architectural responses that create a space for leisure, as the fields where new tendencies for producing areas for enjoyment have emerged. The research focuses on the analysis of the coastal area and the development of seaside resorts as a generic type of resort. More specifically, the case studies are located on the Mediterranean coast of Croatia. In addition, N!CE reviews, analyzes and investigates alternative realities focused on the following questions: What made leisure possible throughout history? What will leisure be? What kind of new services is the tourism industry launching on the market? And what kind of space accommodates these services? Finally, what and where is the space that responds to the tourist gaze offered to a demographic cohort of the emerging generation searching for a life-changing, adrenalin-pumping, awe-inspiring adventure, and experience, living in the reality of the metaverse?
"The Times They Are A-Changin' ": Tourist Infrastructures as Vehicles Towards Well-being and Social Sustainability View Digital Media
Poster Session Cândida Cadavez
The purpose of this ongoing research is to understand how far tourist infrastructures, such as museums, restaurants and hotels, can be considered as vehicles leading to the implementation of good practices towards wellbeing and social sustainability. In a world where conflicts, loneliness and mental health issues are more and more a current issue, voices of academics (Brighenti, 2021; Gil, 2022, Kristeva, 2011; Monteiro, 2017) claiming for a New Humanism make more sense than ever. On the other hand, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) call our attention to the need of doing a lot more for those in need and being somehow neglected. Within this context, it is important to understand if “the times they are a-changin’” also in tourism. Hence, the current research aims at identifying tourist infrastructures which have as a core goal the implementation of practices and policies that will help implement a much-needed New Humanism and the SDG as a way to comfort and care for the most vulnerable members of the society. So far, several museums and hotels have been identified as role models to refer to within this framework. In a second stage, this research intends to understand how far this new trend might influence not only the creation of the destination image, but also the decision-making moment.
New Forms of Cultural Tourism in Adriatic: The Potential Role of Ancient Maritime Wine Routes
Poster Session Greta Spineti
Dubrovnik and Venice are probably the most touristically overloaded cities in Europe: their rate of tourists per inhabitant, according to an analysis carried out by Holidu, makes them the most afflicted towns by overtourism. This awareness should lead us to rethink the tourism industry in Adriatic, to decompress overbooked places, and to promote social and economic growth in (still) undeveloped tourist destinations. Wine is one of the motivations that lead tourists to choose a destination over others, both because wine regions are usually pleasant places and because food and wine tourism can connect visitors with local producers, thus local population, culture, and identity. This kind of experience can push towards new routes of cultural tourism able to bring visitors to minor destinations to discover unknown but attractive territories and their culture. Building on the legacy built by Interreg Adrion projects such as Approdi and Approdi Plus, we have focused on the Adriatic Region as a maritime and cultural region, a liquid territory, and an individual entity of the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. Investigating two archive collections, i.e. the Provveditori Generali in Dalmazia e Albania from the State Archives in Zadar and the Cinque Savi alla Mercanzia in Venice, we are tracing wine trades between the two sides of the Adriatic in the centuries XVII and XVIII. Combined with a critical analysis of previous attempts to promote the cultural heritage of the Adriatic space, the ultimate goal is to draw up an analytical proposal for new cultural tourism itineraries focused on wine.
“Yeah, Here We G(l)o(bal)”: The Impact of the National Football League International Series on Tourism Intentions and Consumer Behaviors
Poster Session Sean Pradhan, Arman P. Medina
For decades, sports have been drivers of tourism in various countries. In the United States, the National Football League (NFL) has implemented an International Series in an effort to expand their global presence. Currently, the NFL schedules at least four international games per season in several markets, such as the United Kingdom (UK), Mexico, and Germany. By and large, these games have been successful in attracting fans in the locality (satellite fans) based on relatively high attendance levels. Prior work has shown that satellite fans of the NFL clearly exist and have a diverse set of opinions related to teams relocating to their local market. However, research on the specific impact of the International Series on tourism intentions and related consumer behaviors and attitudes towards the United States is scant. Using a quantitative approach, the current research further studies satellite fans of the NFL, particularly located in the UK, Mexico, and Germany. We measure their levels of fandom towards American football, team identification, consumer behaviors (e.g., purchase and viewership), as well as attitudes towards and intentions to visit the United States. Findings from our study reveal critical insights regarding these satellite fans of the NFL that scholars and practitioners can consider in light of such expansion initiatives by professional sports leagues.
Reimagining People and Places through Virtual Heritage View Digital Media
Poster Session Michael Vallance
Engaging in natural language discourse with historical figures in virtual reality supports an immersive, interactive experience that showcase time-dependent perspectives of cultural heritage. The inspiration to research virtual heritage was brought about by an unexpected encounter with historical artifacts concealed among the mountains of Hakodate in Hokkaido, Japan. The context is Unbeaten Tracks in Japan; an account of Isabella Bird's journey from Yokohama to Hokkaido in 1878 which delivered illuminating perspectives on the lives of rural Japanese. She witnessed economic hardship, with families living in impoverished conditions, lacking medical facilities and formal education. The subsequent design of a 19th-century Japanese town as a virtual heritage environment was developed with considerations for interaction, immersion, user participation and photorealism. To motivate users to explore the virtual heritage environment 3D models of a hat, a compass, a map, a bag and a book were located throughout the town, each accompanied by a chalkboard displaying a question related to 19th-century Japan. Three AI Non-player Characters were created: Isabella Bird (a British female explorer), Yukichi Fukuzawa (the founder of Keio University), and Takayoshi Kido (an influential statesman during the Meiji Restoration). Each character was carefully developed with core descriptions, motivations, identities, personalities, emotions and historical knowledge to automatically respond to spoken questions, specifically assisting users in their search for information related to 19th-century Japan. The impact of communicating with the AI non-player characters in virtual reality is analyzed from observational data in order to determine the efficacy of virtual heritage in reimagining people and places.
Adaptive Performance in the Tourism Industry: The Role of Inclusive Leadership, Creativity and Work Engagement
Poster Session Kleanthis Katsaros
Based on the optimal distinctiveness theory, the paper proposes a moderated mediation model to evaluate the role of employee creativity and work engagement in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Data were collected from 164 employees in the Greek tourism industry and their supervisors in three sequential phases. Firstly, we hypothesize that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Secondly, we hypothesize that work engagement moderates the relationship between employee creativity and adaptive performance, as well as, that the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance through employee creativity is moderated by work engagement, such that the relationships are stronger under high work engagement. The findings reveal that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Further, they suggest that work engagement moderates the relationship between employee creativity and adaptive performance, as well as, the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance through employee creativity. The originality of this study lies in the finding that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. In addition, the findings illustrate the moderating role of work engagement. The research also refers to the rapidly changing tourism industry which plays a critical role to the Greek economy. The results disclose that should managers achieve to positively influence employees’ creativity by employing inclusive procedures; they will enhance their adaptive performance. Further, they note that employees’ creativity may serve as a facilitating factor during change.
Adaptive Performance in the Tourism Industry: The Role of Inclusive Leadership, Creativity and Work Engagement View Digital Media
Poster Session Kleanthis Katsaros
Based on the optimal distinctiveness theory, the paper proposes a moderated mediation model to evaluate the role of employee creativity and work engagement in the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Data were collected from 164 employees in the Greek tourism industry and their supervisors in three sequential phases. Firstly, we hypothesize that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Secondly, we hypothesize that work engagement moderates the relationship between employee creativity and adaptive performance, as well as, that the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance through employee creativity is moderated by work engagement, such that the relationships are stronger under high work engagement. The findings reveal that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. Further, they suggest that work engagement moderates the relationship between employee creativity and adaptive performance, as well as, the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance through employee creativity. The originality of this study lies in the finding that employee creativity mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employee adaptive performance. In addition, the findings illustrate the moderating role of work engagement. The research also refers to the rapidly changing tourism industry which plays a critical role to the Greek economy. The results disclose that should managers achieve to positively influence employees’ creativity by employing inclusive procedures; they will enhance their adaptive performance. Further, they note that employees’ creativity may serve as a facilitating factor during change.
