Teresa Villacé-Molinero

Purpose – Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) have increased the use of Instagram to potentiate social media-induced tourism. Based on the agenda-setting theory, this research longitudinally analyses DMOs’ marketing strategies on Instagram (2020-2023) to compare them in crisis, post-crisis (short and long term) and return to normalcy periods. For that, the National DMOs of France’s and Spain’s Instagram profiles (the two most visited countries worldwide) were studied. Besides, the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model was used to investigate their followers’ interaction across their customer journey in the four examined years. Methodology/Design/Approach – Through a mixed methodology (quantitative content analysis and thematic analysis), this study comparatively and longitudinally examined the visual and text content of both Instagram profiles and their respective audiences’ interaction. Findings – Both DMOs’ profiles’ institutional agendas coincided in content and tourism products and differed in the format and storytelling narrative. As for the interaction, audiences reacted better to the most promoted content and tourism products and preferred photographs to videos. However, a huge decrease in both audiences’ interaction is observed across the four studied periods. Originality of the research – This research provides insights for DMOs’ planning and development of Instagram marketing strategies in post-crisis stages in the long term.

This chapter explores the shifts in tourist motivations, perceptions, and the determinants affecting post-pandemic travels compared to those during the COVID-19 crisis. This study analyses the significance of risk perception and other variables, particularly age, in influencing tourists’ decision-making in both periods. Additionally, it investigates how the different crisis and post-crisis marketing strategies were adapted to tourist behaviour by examining the crisis communication strategies of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in Spain. During the pandemic, Spanish DMOs designed their campaigns to influence consumer behaviour by considering the risk perceptions of different generational audiences. In the recovery stage of the pandemic, TourSpain, the national tourism organization (NTO), six local and regional Spanish DMOs, and TripAdvisor and Expedia developed an innovative co-op marketing campaign. It was tailored according to other factors aside from risk perception that influenced tourists’ travel behaviour in the post-crisis scenario.

Purpose: The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the factors that influence the acceptance of social robots in museum environments and determine if this influence depends on the visitor's profile (age, gender, education and occupation).Design/methodology/approach: Data collected from an electronic questionnaire include 433 responses from Spanish visitors. The authors subjected the variables proposed by De Kervenoael et al. (2020) adapted to museums. The initial descriptive analysis only showed significant differences by age (under or over 30 years old). Based on these previous results, an exploratory factor analysis was carried out to test the applicability of the questionnaire to museums. After identifying the factors, the authors applied an ANOVA test to determine whether there are age-related differences between the factors related to robot acceptance in museums.Findings: The authors developed a multidimensional instrument for measuring willingness to accept social robots in museum contexts. Willingness is determined by three factors: museum visitor experience (which is a factor specific to museums), empathy and personal engagement (which are both usually relevant in other tourist sectors as well). The younger individuals (under 30 years old) have a higher degree of acceptance than do visitors over 30.Originality/value: Social robot use in museums is still very low, so the key factors for their acceptance have yet to be ascertained. The specific skills of social robots could prove to be a major draw for young people and contribute significantly to the future of museums.

Since 1990, both people’s recognition of the need for sustainability around the world and environmental management systems in the tourism industry have been growing. Academic studies have primarily focused on the willingness of consumers to pay more to stay in major hotel chains, finding that the incorporation of environmental management systems (EMSs) is a way to save money by reducing costs, while improving the image and competitive advantage of these chains in the market. However, the aggregate environmental impact of tourism activity does not only depend on the practices of industry leaders. It also relates to the degree to which all stakeholders adopt these practices. Boutique hotels fall under the category of small-sized accommodation and are characterized by their size, independent management, and respect for the local environment. Hotel consumers display positive attitudes with respect to green hotel practices, which provides a starting point for motivating hotels to continue working on improving their environmental impact performance. For this reason, the objective of this paper is to determine whether boutique hotel clients are willing to pay more for a hotel with an environmental management system. Two dependence techniques are applied, logit regression and linear regression. The results show that the respondents’ age and income, as well as the strength of their environmental commitment, are determinant factors of whether clients would pay more to stay in a boutique hotel with an EMS. This preliminary study tries to investigate the “willingness to pay” in the Spanish boutique hotels. The originality of this article responds to the demand for a more holistic perspective on the hospitality sector, contributing to the understanding of hotel clients and their willingness to pay more for an EMS.

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Loyalty programs are a consolidated marketing instrument whose adoption in many sectors has not been associated with appropriate comprehension of either their management elements or their effects. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge about the effect of loyalty programs on repeat purchase behavior. More specifically, it seeks to see discover whether joining a program changes the buying behavior of its members, and, if so, to study the profile of those whose behavior changes most. The intention was also to provide new study variables pertaining to multi-vendor loyalty programs, such as where they are joined or purchases in associated outlets as a result of behavioral loyalty. Research was carried out using a sample of 1,200 individuals (31,746 purchases) belonging to a multi-vendor loyalty program. The study period was 13 years, 4 months, and split into two phases: before and after the joining the program. Different methodological approaches, such as the use of transactional databases that included pre-program-enrollment data and of the same sampling units throughout the study, were incorporated into the research with the aim of advancing academic knowledge regarding multi-vendor loyalty programs. Moreover, a type of program and market hardly dealt with in the relevant literature was analyzed. The results showed while the loyalty program had managed to reduce the time between purchases, it had not affected purchase volume or average expenditure. They also demonstrated the existence of a differential profile of customers who had changed their buying behavior to a greater extent. Finally, recency was identified as being the decisive variable in behavioral change.