Purpose - The main objective of this paper is to provide a well-organized guide for the application of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in tourism research. In this way, ...the paper strives to encourage future tourism studies to use PLS-SEM and contribute to methodological advances in the field. Methodology - This paper systematically examines the application of PLS-SEM with a particular focus on the application of hierarchical constructs in tourism research and carefully analyzes and classifies the existing literature on PLS-SEM. Results - Specific steps for evaluating and interpreting the hierarchical latent variables of the PLS model are presented and explained. Implications - This paper contributes to advancing the application of PLS-SEM in tourism research by providing researchers with a valuable tool to improve both the rigor of empirical investigation and theoretical development in the field. The insights gained from this paper can guide subsequent research to investigate specific tourism-related scenarios, potentially leading to new transformative discoveries and paradigm shifts in our understanding of tourism dynamics.
This study aims to examine the motivation of young tourists to attend gastronomic festivals in rural areas in the Republic of Serbia. In addition, it seeks to find out whether their motivation ...differs depending on their knowledge of and interest in gastronomy. The research was conducted on a sample of 125 respondents. The collected data was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20), using descriptive statistics, the K-means clustering multivariate grouping technique, and nonparametric statistical procedures (Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test). The results have shown that the opportunity to try new and varied foods, as well as enjoying the atmosphere at the festival, are the main motives for young tourists to attend gastronomic festivals in rural areas in the Republic of Serbia. Additionally, it was discovered that the gastronomic motifs of young tourists are different and conditioned by their knowledge of and interest in gastronomy.
The main objective of this paper is to perform a detailed analysis of the scientific literature on cultural tourism in rural areas through a bibliometric study of the papers indexed in the Web of ...Science database. The bibliometric analysis was carried out using performance analysis and science mapping techniques. Authors’ keywords and KeyWords Plus were analyzed using RapidMiner software, and VOSviewer software was employed to create category maps and visualize the evolution of keywords. Content analysis of influential publications was used to show the evolution of knowledge and discover the most current issues. The results show the evolution of publications on cultural tourism in rural areas and identify the most influential journals, articles, authors, institutions and countries, as well as the most important research topics in the field. The paper concludes with recommendations for future bibliometric studies and offers guidelines for further research on cultural tourism in rural areas.
The paper investigates the most important factors that cause tourists to intend or to already use a website for booking accommodation in rural areas of the Republic of Serbia. On a sample of 212 ...respondents who had previously used websites to book accommodation in rural tourism, using a modified model of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the impact of four predictor variables (expected impact, expected effort, social impact and facilitation conditions) on the intention of tourists to use, and two independent variables (facilitating conditions and intentions of tourists) on the use of websites for booking accommodation in rural households in Serbia was examined. The SPSS software package was used for data analysis, using descriptive statistics and standard multiple regression. The conducted research indicates that the expected effect and facilitating conditions have a positive influence on the intention of tourists to use websites for booking accommodation, as well as that facilitating conditions and intentions of tourists have a positive impact on the use of websites when booking accommodation.
Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to examine the motivation of the attendees of the Annual Meeting of the Serbian Association of Seniors. The research aims to segment the senior participants ...according to their push and pull motivations for attending association meetings, by using cluster analysis to understand the role of destination personality in the segmentation process.Design/methodology/approach>The questionnaire, based on a seven-point Likert scale, was distributed among representatives and members of the Association of Pensioners of Serbia. The data collected were assessed with the use of SPSS 21 statistical software.Findings>The results of the study reveal the most important push and pull motives that drive senior citizens to take part in this type of event. It has also provided a better understanding of senior business event participants in relation to destination personality.Research limitations/implications>The data were collected from 124 questionnaires. In order to provide a more detailed insight into the senior citizens’ motivation to participate in events, a larger sample would be required.Practical implications>The research findings provide valuable information about senior business event visitor behaviour, which is of high importance for destination marketers and managers.Originality/value>Nowadays, business events motivation research is generally focussed on middle-aged and young attendees, so insight into the perception of senior citizens related to business event motivation provides a further understanding of this specific consumer segment. Additionally, gaining insight into seniors’ perspectives related to participation in association meetings after retiring from work assists in comprehending the complex nature of their motivation to participate in these types of business events, as well as underlining the fact that senior business event attendees have been, up until this point, largely neglected as a group in terms of similar research.
Service quality in the hotel industry has become one of the most important factors that influence customer confidence building, loyalty and create a sustainable competitive advantage in the turbulent ...tourism market. Considering that one of the characteristics of the service sector is the inability to try the service before purchasing, the importance of the information has gained particular importance. The aim of the paper is to analyze reviews of Serbian mountain hotels, published on the website Booking.com, in order to determine satisfaction with the service quality in mountain hotels in Serbia. The research included 26 mountain hotels, for which a total of 5,292 reviews were analyzed. The results showed that the reviewers were generally satisfied with the quality of hotel service in Serbian mountain hotels. The significance of this research is that it provides insight into the service quality in mountain hotels, from the perspective of hotel guests. The obtained results can help hotel managers in making good business decisions regarding the quality of hotel service.
The coronavirus pandemic has a major impact on the global hotel industry. Hygiene, cleanliness, and safety have become crucial components in any hotel's recovery plan during the pandemic. Based on ...reviews from Booking.com, this paper examines the satisfaction of domestic guests in hotels in Vrnjačka Banja during the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, by using the "Clean & Safe" certificate as a criterion for hotel classification, this paper seeks to discover whether there is any difference in the satisfaction of domestic guests depending on whether the facility has been certified in accordance with international quality standards as adequately prepared for virus control. Using a text mining approach, the components that led to guests' satisfaction or dissatisfaction were discovered and visualized with a word cloud. A sample of 206 reviews revealed that domestic guests are generally very satisfied with the hotels they stayed in during the pandemic. A slight difference in the components that affected guests' satisfaction, i.e., dissatisfaction, was noticed among the hotels that were certified (or not certified) as safe facilities for performing tourism activities. This paper provides a valuable insight for hotel managers to help them improve guest satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic.
Travel fairs are someof the most important events in the field of business tourism. Due to their international character, they are exposed to numerous influences, among which the influence of ...political instability is nowadays especially pronounced. Figuring as one of the factors that affect all aspects of the tourism industry, the examination of the perception of political instability of various stakeholders in the tourism industry is gaining importance. Travel fairs are someof the best sources of the information about the impact of political instability on various providers in tourism. This paper investigates the connection between the exhibitors’ perception of political instability and their unique characteristics. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire distributed to exhibitors during the 39th Belgrade Travel Fair. The data was analyzed through the SPSS platform, using frequency analysis, descriptive statistics and one way ANOVA. The results have shown significant differences in the exhibitors’ perception of the political instability in relation to their level of education, the size of the company and the sources of information about travel fairs.
For several decades there has been a growing trend of a tourist getting informed about the destination and its aspects using the Internet and other media. Nowadays, this is increased to a higher ...level by the fact that, after initial search, more and more tourists start to arrange their trip, accommodation and additional services by themselves. These facts put a traditional travel agent in a very demanding position. Namely, he/she needs to be capable of performing all the activities in a much effective way, which would make them still competitive in the market. The main objective of this study is to investigate the behavior of contemporary young tourists in Serbia, in order to determine what aspects of business modern travel agents and online booking systems should improve to meet their needs. The results of this study could be used as a guideline by travel agents and designers of online services for their further development.
Purpose
This study aims to understand the impact that the experience environment has on the nightlife experience, as well as to identify the factors from the nightlifescape that most influence the ...tourists’ experience in Belgrade. Additionally, this study seeks to discover whether these factors changed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the study’s objectives, 679 tourist reviews were collected from one of the most popular travel platforms, TripAdvisor, and analyzed using RapidMiner, the popular software for data/text mining.
Findings
The perception of the physical aspects of the experience environment, the presence of other tourists and the feeling of acceptance are identified as the key factors that influence tourists’ nightlife experience. This study also found that certain factors from the social and sensory environment, such as staff, the presence of other people, the atmosphere and music, had a positive impact on the tourist experience and their intention to recommend the nightlife experience in Belgrade. Moreover, it was discovered that the COVID-19 pandemic did not provoke changes in the main factors influencing tourists’ nightlife experience.
Originality/value
The perception of tourists about Belgrade during the night contributes to the growing body of tourism literature on destination image. Focusing solely on the perception of tourists about Belgrade during the night, this study adds a temporal determinant to the destination image, which can be considered as a valuable add on to the current knowledge in the field.
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