Željka Kordej-De Villa (p), Andrea Mervar

Vífill Karlsson

The study of tourism competitiveness/demand has been a significant area of research for a long time. Despite some signs of saturation and a lack of new insights, it remains an important field. In the past, research on tourism demand has mainly emphasized the role of economic and sometimes political factors in determining the level of tourism activities. However, in more recent times, there has been growing recognition of the significance of environmental quality, as well as other factors such as climate change and sustainable tourism practices in general. Unlike many other industries, the relationship between the tourism industry and the environment is highly complex. The demand for tourist products is partly determined by the quality of the related environment while at the same time, growing tourism activities affect - more often negatively than positively - the environmental quality. In some cases, tourism development helps better protect the environment, defined as natural and non-reproducible historical and cultural resources, but it usually also brings along increased air emissions from passenger transport, water quality degradation, waste management problems, etc. In this review, we aim to analyze the literature on the relationship between tourism competitiveness and environmental quality with a special focus on Croatia, an economy that heavily relies on tourism while attempting to balance the benefits of mass tourism and environmental protection. We will identify the key findings from the most influential previous research and highlight gaps that require further investigation. Attention will also be devoted to the (un)explored possibilities of including environmental quality indicators in the empirical analysis.
Note: This work was made as part of the project "Challenges Facing Local and Regional Development in Croatia" at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb and funded/co- funded within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 - NextGenerationEU.

Elena Maggi (p), Andrea Scagni, Alessia Tagliabue (p)

Željka Kordej-De Villa

The electric bicycle (e-bike) is a promising and versatile solution for promoting sustainable mobility. It aligns with the imperative for environmentally responsible transportation, and it has a positive influence on various societal aspects. The potential impact of electric bikes on cycle tourism is noteworthy, broadening the range of options for sustainable and responsible travels.
The field of e-bike tourism has experienced significant growth in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue in the future. The analysis of this emerging phenomenon is however still in its infancy. To navigate the changing landscape of sustainable mobility in tourism and cater to the growing interest in electric bicycles, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of their impact on bike tourism. This study aims to address the knowledge gap by examining the changing profile of bike tourists after the introduction of electric bicycles. The study provides some insights into the evolving dynamics of sustainable mobility in the context of e-bike tourism.
The study's empirical section examines the characteristics of cyclists who have taken trips in Italy or Europe in recent years. The University of Insubria Varese-Como (Italy), in collaboration with FIAB-Italian Federation Environment and bicycle, Active Italy, and CIAB- Club Business Friends of the Bicycle, conducted an online survey to collect data, resulting in 2,800 observations. The survey examines demographic factors such as gender, age, education level, job position, income, as well as cycling and travel preferences.
Through these data the differences between e-bike and traditional bike tourists in terms of gender, trip durations, destination choices, and the impact of socio-economic factors are investigated, showing how these characteristics change between e-bike tourists and traditional bike tourists.
Key findings indicate a preference for e-bikes among older individuals, highlighting the appeal of their assistive features. Higher household income is associated with increased e-bike usage, indicating the influence of socioeconomic factors on e-bike adoption patterns. The research highlights the impact of e-bikes on bike tourism, revealing different perspectives on factors such as trip planning, travel distances, and terrain choices, as e-bikes allow for longer journeys and more challenging terrains.
In summary, this research aims to be a starting point for a better understanding of the multifaceted effects of e-bikes on bike tourism. It emphasises the important role of e-bikes in redefining the composition of cyclists and their approach to plan bike travel.

Giulia Contu , Cinzia Dessì, Carla Massidda, Marco Ortu (p)

Alessia Tagliabue

Positive results in terms of tourism satisfaction influence the development of a destination and the profitability of private businesses, stimulating tourist expenditure, repeat visits, positive recommendations, and reputation enhancement. Consequently, measuring tourism satisfaction and its
determinants becomes crucial for policymakers and managers. Several empirical studies focus on these issues following both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Among these, recently, increasing interest has emerged in measuring customer satisfaction directly or indirectly from online reviews with various scopes and methods
Our purpose is to understand if there are differences in topics used by customer reviewers in their online review, and how these differences impact customer satisfaction between coastal and inland geographical areas.
We apply a new method recently proposed by Ortu et al.
(2022). This method, called TOpic modeling Based Index Assessment through Sentiment (TOBIAS),
allows modeling the effects of the topics, moods, and sentiments of the customers’ comments describing a phenomenon, such as the perception of the quality of a service, over the level of satisfaction expressed by customers. This method's novelty relies on the combination of natural
language processing and causal inference to explain customers’ assessment of a phenomenon.
TOBIAS is built by combining different techniques and methodologies. Firstly, Sentiment Analysis identifies sentiments, emotions, and moods, and Topic Modeling finds the main relevant topics inside comments. Then, Partial Least Square Path Modeling estimates how they affect an overall rating that summarizes the performance of the analyzed phenomenon.
Our contribution is threefold: first, we contribute to tourism literature on customer satisfaction;
second, we contribute at the statistical level proposing a new model for analyzing consumer
satisfaction; finally, we contribute at the level of policymakers through the interpretation of results
by offering strategies to be adopted for the tourism destination.

Rachele Vanessa Gatto (p), Francesco Scorza

Marco Ortu

Tourism emerges as a pivotal sector for economic expansion and regional progress, acknowledged in European industrial development strategies. The fundamental premise is that tourism, seen as both an economic catalyst and a territorial asset, harbors significant potential to rejuvenate regional resources. However, the benefits derived from the tourism sector often suffer from uneven distribution and a lack of clear delineation, posing a challenge in assessing their potential impacts within strategic development frameworks and policies. Despite the concerted efforts of numerous organizations and governments to promote sustainable tourism, a shared framework guiding the design of sustainable tourism strategies remains elusive, resulting in adverse effects on information sharing, comparability of approaches, and lessons learned.
The conducted research aims to delineate the tourism ecosystem through a taxonomic framework explicitly grounded in spatial components, encompassing attractors, services, and tourism facilities. The analysis centers on tourism destination areas, integrating analytical perspectives derived from big data, local tourism systems, and tourism specialization. The theoretical and analytical framework utilized seeks to construct a comprehensive understanding of spatial complexity in defining and managing tourist systems at the territorial scale.
A specific case study area, the Vulture district in the Basilicata region of Italy, is examined to assess the complex network of relationships among territorial agents and values. The findings contribute to providing a conceptual framework for tourism strategic planning with established operational concepts, facilitating a deeper exploration into the process underlying the analysis, modeling, and comprehension of the territorial structures and local geographies.

Vífill Karlsson (p)

Rachele Vanessa Gatto

For many centuries Iceland was an economy of farmers where fisheries were their secondary resource to rely on. It has been argued that wealthy farmers in Iceland resisted the development of fisheries into an independent branch, at that time, to avoid competition of the input factors. Tourism is a relatively new industry in Iceland. Is there any such tendency to be found against tourism? The number of tourists has increased rapidly in Iceland and increased intolerance against tourism has been detected among the locals in particular places. Is that because of increased competition? Is opposition to the increase in the number of tourists greater among particular industries and perhaps those who have been dominant in the relevant business areas? The consumer and regional qualities will also be addressed as specific aspects in this regard. Whether intolerance is greater in areas where there are many tourists, but no less whether demographic, economic or social factors such as age, origin, income and form of cohabitation have any effect on people's attitudes concerning tourists and tourism in general. An attempt will be made to answer these questions, as various statistical methods will be applied to the data of the 2023 Population Survey of the regions, in which more than 10,000 people participated throughout the country.