65 publications from this institution
As the tourism marketplace is currently highly competitive, Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) need to have a thorough understanding of the actual perception of their destinations and even of the desired perception they should have to adequately implement measures to alter or maintain such images. In this context, the present chapter provides an overview of tourist destination image evaluation, from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. It outlines the role of conducting research in order to evaluate destination image as key strategic information which has to be provided to DMOs. The chapter provides a theoretical framework to destination image evaluation as well as a case study on the evaluation of a Romanian city's image as a tourist destination.
In recent years, Generation Z has had a pivotal influence across global industries, with tourism being significantly impacted. As the first generation fully immersed in digital technology, Generation Z members have travel preferences, behaviours, and values which differ markedly from previous generations, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the tourism sector. This study explores studies on Generation Z in the context of the tourism industry through key research questions, including the primary trends and thematic clusters in the existing literature, the most influential journals and authors, and the temporal evolution of research in this area. To address these questions, this article presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 217 publications on Generation Z and tourism, spanning from 2018 to 2024, sourced from the Web of Science. Using VOSviewer, the analysis maps the main trends, the most influential publications, and the emerging themes, providing insights into how Generation Z is reshaping the tourism landscape. The bibliometric analysis and VOSviewer mapping add a rigorous methodological approach, offering a structured overview of existing research while identifying gaps for further exploration, especially in this emerging field. The study highlights the most published and cited journals, providing a broad contextual view, followed by an in-depth exploration of thematic clusters within Generation Z tourism research. The results indicate that although research on this topic gained attention in 2018, it is still in its early stages, with significant room for expansion. Current studies primarily focus on social media marketing communications for Generation Z, as well as Generation Z tourism experiences and their attitudes and preferences towards tourism, suggesting areas for future exploration.
Tourism destination literature identifies place identity and place dependence as prominent dimensions of place attachment. Despite their importance, only limited research has been carried out to examine the likely influence of these constructs on satisfaction and loyalty in the context of an Eastern European post-communist country. Romanian coastal destinations were analyzed due to their high rate of domestic return visitors with possible connections to the fact that these were their only coastal tourism option during communist times. Our results reveal that place identity and place dependence for Black Sea coastal destinations significantly influence satisfaction and loyalty toward such destinations and that satisfaction has a significant mediating role between place attachment and loyalty intentions for these destinations. Findings also reveal that in the case of tourists with a low visitation frequency, satisfaction influences their intention to recommend the destination to other people. Our findings help Black Sea coastal destination marketers strengthen tourists' place attachment, satisfaction, and destination loyalty.
Considering the fact that international consumers are being increasingly ecologically conscious, the present study aims to capture tourists’ intentions to support environmental initiatives in a Romanian mountain destination, namely Poiana Brasov. Using a quantitative research method, a total of 331 tourists have been interviewed in their accommodation location. The main variables of the research refer to the following issues: tourists’ interest in supporting environmental initiatives in the visited destination, the type of environmental initiatives they would participate in, the profile of the environmentally friendly tourists in Poiana Brasov and tourists’ interest in donating funds for conservation projects. The results of this study outline the necessity for a responsible management of both the destination and tourism services providers in Poiana Brasov, in order to meet tourists’ interest to participate in environmental initiatives.
Tourism is a major management issue for many protected areas as the presence and actions of visitors can present serious problems for biodiversity conser- vation. Therefore, tourism has to be managed carefully and site managers must assess and balance the costs and benefits of tourism in protected areas. It is also important to find ways for local people and communities to benefit from tourism linked to con- servation. Using a stakeholder analysis, the article assesses benefits and threats of tourism development in Piatra Craiului National Park. Through a range of interviews with local stakeholders, the article identifies the main challenges that tourism brings to the protected area: ensuring the effective participation of communities in tourism development, effectively managing tourism to prevent it from undermining conser- vation goals, encouraging all stakeholders, particularly the private sector, to support the conservation of biodiversity and channelling a portion of tourism revenues towards supporting conservation. The ecotourism, as a responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves welfare of local people, is con- sidered the best solution for a sustainable tourism development in Piatra Craiului National Park.
Considering the fact that international consumers are being increasingly ecologically conscious, the present study aims to capture tourists’ intentions to support environmental initiatives in a Romanian mountain destination, namely Poiana Brasov. Using a quantitative research method, a total of 331 tourists have been interviewed in their accommodation location. The main variables of the research refer to the following issues: tourists’ interest in supporting environmental initiatives in the visited destination, the type of environmental initiatives they would participate in, the profile of the environmentally friendly tourists in Poiana Brasov and tourists’ interest in donating funds for conservation projects. The results of this study outline the necessity for a responsible management of both the destination and tourism services providers in Poiana Brasov, in order to meet tourists’ interest to participate in environmental initiatives.
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the use of social media, particularly Facebook, by destination management organizations (DMOs) for promoting tourism destinations has become increasingly significant. However, the particularities of using this powerful tool in promoting ecotourism destinations have not been sufficiently debated in the literature. To fill this gap, the present study brings a new perspective with the aim of understanding how the Facebook communication strategies of ecotourism destinations in Romania affect user reactions. This research was based on secondary data obtained by examining Facebook posts from seven Romanian ecotourism destinations during a period of six months. The initial step was to analyze the Facebook posts of the selected destinations and to extract major themes present in the posted content. These posts are categorized into themes such as nature, leisure, culture, and hospitality, providing a comprehensive view of the content strategy adopted by these destinations. The findings reveal that posts related to culture and nature are predominant and receive higher user interactions in the form of likes, comments, and shares. Most user reactions were expressed in the form of likes, while the number of comments and shares was quite modest. The analysis of factors influencing user reactions reveals that only the number of posts has a significant impact. Moreover, the post content and post format do not have a significant influence on users’ reactions to destinations’ posted content on Facebook. This study concludes that for the effective online promotion of ecotourism destinations, DMOs should focus on increasing the number and frequency of posts, and on creating content that aligns with audience preferences, particularly emphasizing the main features of the destination. These insights are crucial for DMOs in strategizing their online communication to enhance user reactions and promote their destinations effectively in the competitive sphere of global tourism.
This paper is set on the context of tourism marketing and it investigates the concept of segmentation as an important tool in the management of urban tourism destinations. Segmentation presumes the existence of heterogeneity among customers in the market, and has received considerable support within the tourism literature while urban tourism has been the object of intensive research for several years. Based on a quantitative research, the present study, aims to provide a deeper insight into the typology of tourists visiting Romanian urban tourism destinations, with a focus on the city of Brasov. The survey reveals that the studied sample can be grouped into different clusters according to their socio-demographic and travel characteristics. As the results demonstrate that each of the identified tourists segments has different profiles, the implications for destination management are discussed. Recommendations are also highlighted in order to assist destination managers to formulate marketing strategies adapted to the different market segments, aiming to better position Brasov as an urban destination on the competitive national and international market.
No abstract is provided for this article.
The present paper aims to investigate the factors which influence the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors by the citizens of Brasov, as well as the means, resources and tools that local authority offers to residents in order to stimulate this behavior. In this sense, a qualitative research was conducted, using semi directive in-depth interviews, among 13 residents from the city of Brasov, Romania. The selection of the interviewed subjects was based on their involvement in environmentally friendly activities. The results outline several influence factors of the respondents’ environmentally friendly behaviors, such as: the level of environmental education, the awareness concerning environmental problems, the time required for the adoption of environmentally friendly activities, the standard of living in Romania, development of specific local infrastructure, the institutional and legislative framework on environmental protection, the comfort and willingness to conform to group norms. Thus, the involvement of individuals in environmentally friendly activities should be based on the judicious combination of all factors that influence the adoption of such behavior.
This article presents the findings of a research conducted with small and medium accommodation managers in Brasov, Romania, with the purpose of investigating their environmental responsibility and attitudes towards environmental management. Based on a qualitative exploration of their perceptions and experiences, the general understanding of the sustainable tourism concept is examined; the practical application of different voluntary environmental instruments is analyzed as well as managers’ interest in environmental policies. The research findings show that the studied accommodation units have low performance on water conservation, responsible waste management, environmental awareness, necessary knowledge about and interest in the environmental protection and environmental policy. The interviewed managers’ environmental initiatives arise mostly from immediate economic gains that result from minimizing expenses by means of cost reduction measures. Based on the outcomes of the study, a series of recommendations are mentioned in order to promote the adoption of environmental management in small and medium accommodation units from the studied destination.
Small accommodation businesses such as agritourism boarding houses (ATBHs) provide a large share of accommodating capacity in certain rural destinations. Despite their small accommodation capacity, ATBHs consume substantial quantities of water and energy; this consumption implies high environmental costs. The present study aims to explore opinions of ATBH owner-managers regarding water and energy consumption in their businesses, what motivates them to adopt environmental practices, and the specific saving measures used within the tourist accommodation units they manage. A qualitative research was conducted, using semi-structured interviews among 12 Romanian ATBH owner-managers. Data analysis revealed that the interviewed owner-managers understand the importance of natural resource conservation in tourist destinations but they are not willing or have insufficient financial, time, organizational resources, etc. to engage in serious water and energy saving initiatives. Moreover, most interviewed managers indicated that tourists cannot make a significant contribution to natural resources conservation in accommodation units and perceive water and energy saving systems as more effective than the environmental education of visitors in their facility. These findings may be useful to tourism policy-makers and environmental organizations in order to develop effective environmental strategies in ATBHs.
Considering that there are few success chances for isolated businesses, public-private partnerships represent the basis of tourism businesses' sustainable development, aiming to attract increasing numbers of visitors in tourism destinations. Within this context, the main aim of the present paper is to identify tourism stakeholders' intentions to participate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism development of urban destinations. Focused on the increased importance of partnerships between tourism stakeholders, with the common goal of sustainable tourism development, a survey was conducted among the tourism service providers from the Romanian urban destination, Braşov. The research results outline the defi ciencies in the analyzed destination, which lead to a low notoriety of the destination's management and marketing organization among local tourism stakeholders. In addition, the results show a low level of involvement of tourism operators in supporting the collaboration efforts of this organization. Based on the research results, a theoretical model was proposed for the identifi cation of the signifi cant factors which infl uence local stakeholders' intentions to participate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism development.
In an increasingly competitive marketplace, viable destinations must develop competitive products in a framework of responsible development. Many destinations operate within highly competitive environments where customers have a wide range of choices even within a country or a region. The challenge is for destinations to develop a service culture, physical environment and a set of products that can satisfy not only first-time visitors but attract repeat visitors. Due to the obstacles of ensuring a quality destination experience many communities are missing significant opportunities to create productive employment for the residents and realize opportunities for poverty reduction due to the ineffective planning and management. Maintaining and improving high quality supply in Romanian tourist destinations situated inside or close to protected areas is fundamental to meeting the challenges of competitors and increasing their market share. Integrated Quality Management (IQM) is an argumentative and efficient method proposed by the European Commission to reach and maintain tourist products and services quality in destinations. This paper aims to explain how Integrated Quality Management (IQM), as an integrated management tool, can improve the level of sustainability in Piatra Craiului National Park keeping its comparative advantages and enabling long-term market competitiveness. Improving the quality of this tourist destination is essential in satisfying tourists' needs, making the local tourism industry more competitive and ensuring that tourism development is in a balanced and sustainable way.
The article analyzes visitor management techniques as a way to develop sustainable tourism in protected areas. Visitor management is an important tool in recreational and protected areas, as increasing use levels can negatively impact the quality of recreational experience as well as natural resources. To meet the requirements of both nature and visitors, a prudent and careful management is necessary. In order to manage protected areas within acceptable ecological and social carrying capacities, tourism planners need to monitor visitor numbers, leisure activities and behaviour and understand expectations and motivations.
Generation Z, known for its digital fluency and distinct consumer behaviors, is an increasingly influential demographic in the tourism industry. As a sustainability-focused generation, their preferences and behaviors are shaping the future of travel. This study explores the tourism experiences of Romanian Generation Z members, focusing on their travel patterns, motivations, information sources, and service preferences. A bibliometric analysis of the existing literature was conducted to identify research trends and gaps in understanding Generation Z’s tourism behaviors. Using a mixed-method approach, the study integrates survey data from 399 respondents with AI-generated insights from ChatGPT 4o mini to compare traditional research methods with AI-driven analysis. It examines how AI interprets and predicts travel behaviors, highlighting the reliability and biases inherent in AI models. Key discrepancies between the two methods were found: The survey indicated a preference for car travel and commercial accommodation, while AI predictions favored air travel and private accommodation. Additionally, AI emphasized a growing interest in eco-friendly transportation and connections to natural and cultural environments, offering a broader scope than the survey alone. Both methods revealed a trend toward digital platforms for travel planning, moving away from traditional agencies. The findings suggest that AI can complement traditional research by providing actionable insights, though its limitations emphasize the need for a balanced integration of both methods. This study offers new perspectives on Generation Z’s tourism experiences.
