International Journal of Tourism Policy (10 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Sustainability in European tourism policy-making after the treaty of Lisbon  
  by Tania Pantazi 
  Abstract: Tourism policy in the European Union is an area of supporting competence and coordination, with a limited legal basis for action introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. Sustainability has been on the agenda of European policymakers for at least thirty years. This paper reviews, categorises and chronologically presents institutional documents and studies prepared for European bodies, mainly collected from the Publications Office of the European Union, in order to identify in which way sustainability has been incorporated into tourism policy-making since 2007. Findings reveal a gradual change in political priorities after 2015 and the emergence of sustainability as the principal matter of discussion in European tourism documents. The current European action plan has the green and digital transition at its core, but EU action remains supplementary in nature and the most important advancements are expected to occur in the context of other European policies.
  Keywords: European Union; sustainability; tourism policy; institutional documents; green and digital transition.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10065673
   
  
• Residents’ empowerment in tourism contexts: a structured literature review and future research agenda  
  by Vageesh Neelavar Kelkar, Giridhar B. Kamath, Amol S. Dhaigude, Jyothi Mallya 
  Abstract: This research examines empowering residents and highlights various theories, research countries, top-cited papers, methodologies, contexts, and opportunities for further study. It employs the recommended Scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature review (SPAR-4-SLR) techniques to systematically review, synthesise, and integrate the literature on resident empowerment using the theory-context-methodologies (TCM) framework. The findings revealed that a large number of studies are conducted in rural contexts, and Scheyvens’ framework was adopted by the researchers. This comprehensive overview provides a foundation for future research. It contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between residents’ empowerment and tourism development by analysing the most commonly used theories and methodologies and studying the context in the resident empowerment domain.
  Keywords: sustainable tourism development; resident empowerment; structured literature review; theory; contexts; methodology.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10068222
   
  
• Tourism crisis management and recovery policy of the post: pandemic Greek hospitality sector  
  by Aimilia Vlami, George Tsamos, Panagiotis Mitropoulos 
  Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of public policies for the management of the COVID-19 crisis and the resilience of the Greek hospitality sector, using a twofold methodological approach. The first part utilises a qualitative analysis of secondary sources to systematise policies and illustrate the evolutionary path of the crisis. The second part includes a survey of 541 hotels, using ordinal regression analysis to assess their satisfaction with stakeholders policies. The findings of this study underline the importance of the crisis management framework, highlighting the roles of government measures in support, communication, marketing and resilience. A government coordination committee with representatives from all ministries and tourism organisations have enabled effective collaboration. The COVID-19 crisis has not yet appeared to be a catalyst for sustained, large-scale change. Targeted support for vulnerable hotel segments, stronger local and regional collaboration, improved supplier relationships can significantly enhance hotel satisfaction and resilience to future crises.
  Keywords: crisis and disaster management; public policy; hospitality sector; recovery; hotel satisfaction; COVID-19.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10069089
   
  
• Tourism value paradox: integrating service ecosystems and institutional perspectives  
  by Rama K. Jayanti, Rajat Sharma 
  Abstract: We interface institutional theory with service ecosystem perspective to propose novel mechanisms for service value creation. By linking the institutional theory-based plurality of logics of market-based progression and tradition to service ecosystem insights on value co-creation, we propose a value paradox of value creation and value reduction in a service ecosystem. Our phenomenological study of the lived experiences of a local community surrounding a national park suggests a multiplicity of value evaluations that a service ecosystem might seed in response to tourism development. We tease out this multiplicity to provide valuable insights to design a holistic service ecosystem that initiates and nurtures purposeful value for the entire ecosystem.
  Keywords: tourism value paradox; institutional theory; service ecosystem; development logics; tradition logics.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10069468
   
  
• Guest satisfaction in food and beverage services: exploring issues for a resort  
  by Md. Sohan Ali, Md Ariful Hoque, Md. Ashikur Rahman Avi, Muhammad Shoeb-Ur- Rahman 
  Abstract: This research explores the key determinants in food and beverage services emphasising guest satisfaction. Drawing on the value-percept theory, data have been collected using semi-structured interviews and the review of customers’ opinions on online platforms within the case of Momo Inn Park and Resort, a five-star luxury resort in Bogura, Bangladesh. Findings reveal that food and relevant services quality, price range, menu variety, and the availability of up-to-date ancillary facilities influence guest satisfaction in a resort context. However, the pivotal role of food hygiene and menu diversity sets the essential priorities for hospitality managers operating in similar competitive global markets. The study reinforces particular initiatives such as training and development programs, sanitation protocols, and valuing guest feedback can foster business performance through creating satisfied customers. This study provides important insights to the relevant businesses of the broader consequences of ensuring guest satisfaction while contributing to the extant hospitality literature.
  Keywords: customer satisfaction; food and beverage; services; value-percept theory; food hygiene; menu diversity; resort; hospitality; Bangladesh.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2025.10070321
   
  
• Barriers towards implementing green practices in Thai boutique hotels: a hotel manager’s perspective  
  by Kevin Fuchs, Dongqi Shi 
  Abstract: This study explores the barriers to implementing green practices in Thai boutique hotels. This is a crucial issue given the growing environmental challenges the tourism sector faces. The research aims to understand the key obstacles hotel managers encounter when adopting sustainable initiatives. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 hotel managers in Phuket, providing in-depth insights into their experiences. Thematic analysis revealed five key barriers: financial constraints, lack of knowledge and awareness, operational challenges, limited government support, and cultural and market influences. These findings suggest the need for more substantial government incentives, industry collaboration, and capacity-building programs to support sustainability efforts. This study offers a perspective on the challenges faced by boutique hotels, which are often overlooked in broader discussions of sustainability in hospitality. The results of the research contribute to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable tourism by highlighting context-specific barriers and proposing practical solutions.
  Keywords: sustainability; green practices; sustainable tourism; boutique hotels; environmental barriers; hotel management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2025.10070043
   
  
• Challenges and policies to address tourism leakages in Malawi: a business ownership structure perspective  
  by Noah Edson Nansongole, Andrea Saayman 
  Abstract: Leakages present a policy dilemma for developing countries seeking to accelerate economic growth through tourism. This research aims to evaluate current policies, identify challenges and prioritise strategies to reduce tourism leakages in Malawi, a developing country. This is done with cognisance of the interplay between locally-owned and foreign-owned companies. Quantitative data was collected nationally from randomly selected stratified samples comprising tourist accommodation, tour operators and airline companies. The study identified poor sector and industry linkages, a lack of robust national airlines, gaps in legislation, and a fragmented approach to handling leakages as the main policy challenges in country-level causes of leakages in Malawi. The results also show that different ownership structures agree to some extent with these challenges and strategies, although differences in priorities do exist. The study recommended changes in tourism investment, taxation, trade, economic and tourism training policies to reduce tourism leakages in Malawi.
  Keywords: tourism leakages; international tourist income; foreign-owned businesses; local tourism business; developing countries; policies.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2025.10070042
   
  
• Elevating tourism destination competitiveness: a stakeholder-centric strategic intervention  
  by Saurabh Gupta 
  Abstract: ourism industry is a dynamic industry and competition is the driving force behind development and growth of tourism. Enhancing competitiveness of destination is important in terms of attracting and retaining tourists by standing out among other destinations. The study aims to identify the various determinants of tourism destination competitiveness enhancing strategic interventions (TDCESI). The five dimensions of TDCESI have been extracted through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis technique. The results of this study are helpful to researchers and policy makers in building strategic plan and identify success factors for the tourism destination development and competitiveness.
  Keywords: tourism destination; destination competitiveness; strategic interventions; destination development; stakeholder.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10066217
   
  
• Senior tourism: a systematic review and research agenda  
  by Sarath Krishna, Daly Paulose Meppurath 
  Abstract: Reviews papers in Senior tourism - tourism undertaken by elderly, have largely adopted bibliometric and scoping designs. This framework-based review using Theory-Context-Characteristic-Methods (TCCM) and employing Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4 SLR) protocol, thoroughly synthesizes the state of knowledge, identifies research gaps and proposes directions for future research. The authors examine 54 articles from 2001 to 2023 sourced from SCOPUS, taking care to minimise risk of bias. Findings reveal that studies on senior tourism are mostly quantitative, confined to limited theoretical frameworks and employ tried and tested methodologies. Publication interest appears sectoral, mostly featuring tourism journals. Research from the developing world is sparse, as are multicountry and inter-disciplinary studies. Authors recommend using longitudinal designs to map antecedents, outcomes and spatio-temporal aspects of travel. Though physical, psychological, and social well-being are well documented travel outcomes, concepts like spiritual well-being, retirement migration, and technology enablement mandate further attention.
  Keywords: senior tourism; systematic review; research agenda; elderly; literature review; travel.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10066356
   
  
• Sustainable tourism education: current status and future agenda  
  by Dilip Kumar, Abhinav Kumar Shandilya, Jyothi Mallya 
  Abstract: To systematically review the sustainable tourism education literature, this study adopts an integrative review approach, a combination of bibliometric and systematic review. A total of 62 documents retrieved from the Scopus database were used in the analysis. The study identifies sustainable tourism education (STE) literature’s most influential research constituents, such as journals, authors, and papers. The study also identifies essential clusters of STE literature using keyword cooccurrence and bibliographic coupling analysis. The findings suggest that the STE papers’ main contribution evolved after the sustainable development goal’s (SDG) formulation and Australia emerged as the primary contributor. Eco-educational tourism, pedagogy, resilience, integration, synergy, and harmony emerged as the major themes of STE literature. The findings of this study are helpful for future researchers, academicians, and educational policymakers in the STE domain.
  Keywords: sustainable tourism education; pedagogy; curriculum; sustainable development goal; SDGs; resilience; STE.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.10068180