This paper presents an analysis of the current relationships between three fundamental constructs in the decision-making process of the visitor - motivation, satisfaction and loyalty - of a tourist ...destination World Heritage Site like the city of Quito, Ecuador. The results demonstrate the existence of three motivational dimensions among foreign visitors to visit the city: firstly cultural, secondly circumstantial and finally hedonic-gastronomic. Additionally, and tending to the motivational schemes, four types of foreign visitors have been identified: a hedonic-gastronomic cultural tourist, a hedonic-gastronomic tourist, a circumstantial hedonic-gastronomic cultural tourist and an alternative tourist. The reasons or motives of the visit reveal that only the hedonic-gastronomic dimension discriminates significantly as far as the degree of perceived satisfaction and loyalty declared by the visitors are concerned.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the attitude declared by the tourists towards the local gastronomy as a variable of tourist interest in a WHS destination. Gastronomic tourism ...strengthens and consolidates the tourist destinations.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is based on a survey conducted on foreign travellers who visited the city of Quito. In total, 516 valid surveys of foreign tourists were conducted, using convenience sampling. As for the data analysis, a multivariate technique of grouping cases (K-mean clusters) was applied with the objective of analysing the similarity existing among those surveyed, taking as a reference variables that indicate greater or lesser interest in the local gastronomy.FindingsThe results show evidence on the existence of different attitudes towards gastronomy as a variable of interest in the choice of a tourist destination. There is a direct relationship between their attitude towards gastronomy and their expenditure.Research limitations/implicationsThe principal limitation of this research is found in the time period in which the surveys were conducted.Practical implicationsThe study allows the hotel/restaurant companies and tourism rooted in the city of Quito to know the importance of the local gastronomy as variables of interest for the foreign tourists as well as the segmentation carried out with regard to their attitudes.Originality/valueGastronomy is used as a source of inspiration in tourist destinations. This research reinforces this theme, taking on the study of food tourism in an important heritage destination, such as the city of Quito, in a geographic area, Latin America, characterised by a recognised gastronomy, but still little studied in the scientific literature.
Fragility fractures represent a health problem in Mexico and in the world. This paper reviews and puts forward the implementation of Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) as a feasible and cost-effective ...alternative in health institutions in our country through the identification, treatment, and follow-up of this type of fractures.
Analysis of Satisfaction. The Gastronomy in Samborondón (Ecuador). Samborondón is
a city of Guayas Province visited by national and international tourists, where you can find local restaurants that ...offer a varied gastronomy which attracts the attention of visitors. The objective of this paper is to analyze the visitor´s satisfaction of typical gastronomy in Samborondón and the demand characteristics for this type of establishments. The results suggest important evidence about the most valued variables in service satisfaction of typical food restaurants, which are: the installations, taste and quality of food, and establishment´s atmosphere. The three most important attributes of the service are: taste and quality of food, service and courtesy of employees, and variety of dishes. The overall satisfaction of the demand is high. The obtained results will assist restaurant service providers with improvements the gastronomic supply according to demand.
Samborondón es un cantón de la provincia del Guayas muy visitado por turistas
nacionales e internacionales, en donde se pueden encontrar establecimientos de restaurantes que ofrecen una gran variedad de gastronomía que llaman la atención de sus visitantes. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la satisfacción de los visitantes sobre la gastronomía típica del cantón y las características de la demanda de este tipo de establecimientos. Los resultados sugieren evidencia importante acerca de las variables más valoradas en la satisfacción del servicio en los restaurantes de comida típica, las cuales son: las instalaciones, el sabor y la calidad de la comida, y el ambiente del establecimiento. Los tres atributos más importantes del servicio son: el sabor y la calidad de la comida, el servicio y cortesía de los empleados, y la variedad de los platos. El grado de satisfacción general de la demanda es alto. Los resultados obtenidos servirán para que los prestadores de
servicios de restaurantes mejoren la oferta gastronómica acorde a la demanda.
This paper presents a fieldwork-based analysis on the sociodemographic characteristics, travel arrangements, motivations and travel experience evaluation of tourists visiting Quito, Ecuador. The ...results of this research show differences in the profile of tourists in terms of travel arrangements, their motivation and their evaluation of the destination, based on tourists’ geographical origin. The main practical implication of this research is to better understand the characteristics of tourists who visit Quito, with the purpose of designing cultural and touristic products that meet the needs of different groups of travelers.
Este artículo presenta un análisis, fundamentado en un trabajo de campo, sobre las características sociodemográficas, las formas de preparación, las motivaciones y las valoraciones del viaje de los ...turistas que visitan Quito, Ecuador. Los resultados de la investigación muestran la diferenciación del perfil del turista en cuanto a preparación, motivación y valoración del destino, dependiendo del área geográfica de la cual proceda. La principal aplicación práctica de esta investigación es comprender las características de los turistas que visitan Quito, con el objetivo de concebir productos culturales y turísticos que satisfagan las necesidades de los distintos grupos de turistas.
This paper presents a fieldwork-based analysis on the sociodemographic characteristics, travel arrangements, motivations and travel experience evaluation of tourists visiting Quito, Ecuador. The results of this research show differences in the profile of tourists in terms of travel arrangements, their motivation and their evaluation of the destination, based on tourists’ geographical origin. The main practical implication of this research is to better understand the characteristics of tourists who visit Quito, with the purpose of designing cultural and touristic products that meet the needs of different groups of travelers.
este artigo apresenta uma análise fundamentada em um trabalho de campo sobre as características sociodemográficas, as formas de planejamento, as motivações e as apreciações sobre a viagem que têm os turistas que visitam Quito (Equador). Os resultados da pesquisa mostram a diferença do perfil do turista quanto ao planejamento, à motivação e à apreciação do destino, dependendo da área geográfica da qual proceda. A principal aplicação prática desta pesquisa é compreender as características dos turistas que visitam Quito, com o objetivo de conceber produtos culturais e turísticos que satisfaçam as necessidades dos diferentes grupos de turistas.
Cet article présente une analyse, basée sur un travail de terrain, des caractéristiques sociodémographiques, les formes de préparation, les motivations et les évaluations du voyage des touristes qui visitent Quito, en Équateur. Les résultats de l'enquête montrent la différenciation du profil du touriste en termes de préparation, de motivation et d'évaluation de la destination, en fonction de la zone géographique d'où il provient. La principale application pratique de cette recherche est de comprendre les caractéristiques des touristes qui visitent Quito, dans le but de concevoir des produits culturels et touristiques qui répondent aux besoins des différents groupes de touristes.
Osteoporosis (OP) is a chronic disease that affects older adults’ quality of life, with fragility fractures (FF) being its most significant consequence due to their impact on healthcare systems in ...terms of morbidity, and economic and caregiving burden. FF are defined as fractures resulting from low-energy trauma, defined as falls from a standing height or less, and are usually considered osteoporotic 1. World demographic projections warn of a significant increase in adults aged 65 and older by 2050. These demographic changes mean that OP and FF will soon become an even greater challenge for healthcare systems, where prevention programs should be a priority.
In Mexico, FF is also a public health challenge, with an initial reported incidence of nearly 2,000 cases per 100,000 population, and a projected seven-fold increase by 2050. Given this scenario, there is an urgent need for policy- and decision-makers to change their approach and formulate health policies that guarantee that people aged 65 and older are screened for fractures and have access to appropriate care. These policies should be part of a strategy to minimize FF and ensure active and healthy aging according to the WHO's Decade of Healthy Ageing.
In this context, a group of Mexican experts representing different health organizations interested in the burden of OP and FF met to discuss possible strategies to reduce their burden for the next decade and summarize them in this Call to Action to promote public policies that prioritize an evidence-based approach to the prevention and treatment of OP and FF.
The aim of the present work was to develop food-grade materials capable of releasing antimicrobial agents. Montmorillonite (Mt), a raw, abundant inexpensive clay mineral approved as a food additive, ...was used as support material. The immobilized antimicrobial agent was pure nisin (Danisco, UK). A series of antibacterial compounds were prepared, and the antimicrobial activity of the resultant montmorillonite–nisin (MtNis) immobilized systems was determined against Enterococcus faecium C1. The characterization of the antimicrobial powders showed evidences of nisin adsorption on by means of a “frustrated intercalation” model with a nisin loading (NL) saturation value close to 0.24CEC (cation exchange capacity) of Mt. The antibacterial powders with NL above this value completely inhibited E. faecium C1 during 24h of contact. These results are encouraging for the development of nisin-based bioprotectors immobilized on raw Mt.
Display omitted
•A series of food-grade montmorillonite nisin nanocomposite powders were obtained.•Nisin interacted with the clay mineral by means of a “frustrated intercalation”.•Antibacterial powders with nisin loading >0.24CEC fully inhibited E. faecium C1.•Clay immobilization could protect nisin inhibitory activity in complex environments.
Individual changes over time in cognition in patients with psychotic disorders have been studied very little, especially in the case of first episode psychosis (FEP). We aimed to establish whether ...change in individual trajectories in cognition over 2 years of a sample of 159 FEP patients was reliable and clinically significant, using the reliable change index (RCI) and clinically significant change (CSC) methods. We also studied a sample of 151 matched healthy controls. Patients and controls were assessed with a set of neuropsychological tests, as well as premorbid, clinical and functionality measures. We analysed the course of cognitive measures over time, using analysis of variance, and the individual trajectories in the cognitive measures with the regression-based RCI (RCI
SRB
) and the CSC. The RCI
SRB
showed that between 5.4 and 31.2% of the patients showed deterioration patterns, and between 0.6 and 8.8% showed improvement patterns in these tests over time. Patients showing better cognitive profiles according to RCI
SRB
(worsening in zero to two cognitive measures) showed better premorbid, clinical and functional profiles than patients showing deterioration patterns in more than three tests. When combining RCI
SRB
and CSC values, we found that less than 10% of patients showed improvement or deterioration patterns in executive function and attention measures. These results support the view that cognitive impairments are stable over the first 2 years of illness, but also that the analysis of individual trajectories could help to identify a subgroup of patients with particular phenotypes, who may require specific interventions.
PDF
