Amir Shani

Tourism routes – also referred to as themed itineraries, scenic byways, or heritage trails – have emerged as a key instrument in spatial tourism planning and regional development. Broadly defined, ...

Purpose: Home-based commercial hospitality (HBCH) is the focus of this study. This community-based tourism (CBT), which has received little research attention, is examined to reveal the meaning of commercially hosting visitors in private homes for experiential meetings on a variety of topics such as food, art, culture, folklore and various workshops.Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research method was adopted, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with HBCH providers in the desert town of Arad, located in southern Israel.Findings: The study reveals the impact of this unusual occupation on the host's quality of life, the factors that encourage and suppress involvement in this entrepreneurship, as well as the positive and negative consequences of HBCH on the local environment.Practical implications: The findings could offer important guidelines to municipalities and local governments seeking to encourage CBT and sustainable micro-enterprises.Originality/value: HBCH is a recent phenomenon and, as such, has been little researched. This study of one community raises issues that may be shared by HBCH enterprises. The findings could contribute to developing such initiatives elsewhere, avoiding the obstacles faced in this pioneering effort.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to capture consumers' conceptualization of ethnic food and ethnic restaurants, focusing on what it takes for ethnic restaurants to be perceived authentic.Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative research, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews which were transcribed and subjected to inductive thematic analysis.Findings: The findings conceptualize what ethnic food and ethnic-authentic restaurant are, leading to formulating the criteria that authentic ethnic restaurant should meet.Research limitations/implications: Findings have practical implications for restaurateurs interested in establishing themselves as ethnically authentic and for businesses focusing on ethnic food. This study was based on Israeli-Jewish participants; studies with other populations will contribute to the findings' trustability.Originality/value: This study provides novel and critical insights into ethnic restaurant managements and to the customer conceptualization of the concept of ethnic authentic, demonstrating it being a multifaceted concept.

Sun exposure, although beneficial and enjoyable, has negative consequences, most prominently an increased risk of developing skin cancer. While sunbathing and other forms of sun exposure play a major role in tourism, they have been scarcely researched, and the objective of this study is to bridge this gap in the literature. The study examines the differences between the tourism and routine sun exposure patterns, attempting to reveal when and why individuals perceive sun exposure as dangerous. For this exploratory study, in-depth, semistructured interviews (N = 31) were conducted. The findings revealed three distinct behavioral patterns under different circumstances: (1) during everyday activities, participants did not use protection, as they did not perceive this exposure as dangerous; (2) at the beach or pool during nontourist leisure pastime, exposure to the sun is perceived as dangerous and protection is routinely used; and (3) in the course of vacations abroad, participants tend to expose themselves to the sun intensively, including for tanning purposes, without proper adherence to the use sun protection measures. These findings are consistent with the view of tourist spaces serve as "liminal zones" that allow individuals to take risks. The study suggests that relevant stakeholders such as public health authorities, tourism marketers, and holiday destinations should act to promote responsible sun exposure in the tourist context, to prevent skin cancer and other sunrelated diseases.

Mortality salience, a key term in Terror Management Theory, refers to self-awareness of one’s vulnerability and ultimate mortality. This exploratory study, based on psychology and tourism literature, clarifies the degree to which a visit to a heritage site of death and atrocities evokes mortality salience as well as the relationship between mortality salience and various dimensions of the visit experience. The findings indicate that not only was mortality salience evoked during the visit, it is also an important component in understanding the motivation to visit dark sites, the emotional experience of the visit, and the impact of the visit on visitors. We therefore propose that the conceptualization and management of a death-centered heritage site can be enriched by the integration of sense of mortality salience. Additionally, the high Cronbach’s alpha suggests that the study can provide an initial basis for a scale to quantitatively measure Mortality Salience.