ABSTRACT Fair-trade handicrafts, characterized by ethical production practices, have the potential to contribute to resilience within the tourism sector. To capture a multitude of perspectives from actors across the value chains in both conventional and fair-trade handicrafts, a qualitative case study approach was adopted with 91 semi-structured interviews to explore perspectives towards fair-trade practices, and how fair-trade practices can address economic disruption. Findings demonstrate that fair-trade principles were not understood, and when they were, it was often paired with an assumption that they would be difficult to implement. Additionally, findings revealed the importance of fair-trade principles being adopted by all actors across the value chain to see empowerment of the most marginalized actors across the tourism handicraft value chain. Finally, findings suggest that fair-trade handicrafts can contribute to enhancing the resilience of tourism destinations by providing market connections during disruptions, building trust between actors, and empowering producers across the value chain.

ABSTRACT This research seeks to examine the strategies employed by social media travel influencers (SMTIs) in managing their organic and sponsored posts, as well as their interactions with followers. This qualitative study utilized in-depth interviews with 24 SMTIs who possess a significant presence on social media platforms. The findings indicate that followers exhibit a preference for organic content. The strategies employed in sponsored content by influencers encompass the timing of posts, the number of product images, tie-in strategies, the creation of valuable and engaging content, and the use of implicit advertising language. The way SMTIs disclose sponsorships is perceived negatively by followers. This study highlights the tension between authenticity and commercial interest, offering insights for both academics and practitioners in digital marketing and tourism promotion.

ABSTRACT Despite a decent global recognition as the engines for rural community development, over 50% of community-based tourism businesses (CBTBs) fail within a decade of operation due to fragmented literature on the behavioral determinants. The gap exists in host–visitor interdependence that demands an integrated behavioral model. This study aims to validate a novel co-production framework by integrating host–visitor interactions using a multi-group structural equation-modeling framework supported by confirmatory factor analysis, reliability and validity tests, and corrective procedures for common methodological bias on the cross-sectional survey data of 532 respondents, including CBTB operators and the destination visitors. Findings reveal that the integrated framework for CBTB management is statistically significant in predicting sustainable outcomes. This study contributes to the academic literature by adding theoretically grounded and empirically validated dual behavioral model to understand the dual behavioral determinants of CBTB management and offers actionable policy inputs for sustainable community-based tourism development.

ABSTRACT This study examines how residents’ sustainability perceptions shape satisfaction, institutional trust, and tourism participation intentions during the governance transition from pilot to quasi-national park status in China. Drawing upon the prism of sustainability and Social Exchange Theory, we extend the framework by integrating satisfaction and institutional trust as serial mediators. This research employs a mixed-methods design combining Structural Equation Modeling (N = 519) with longitudinal interviews (N = 57) across three gateway communities. Quantitative results show that in the current quasi-phase, socio-cultural and institutional sustainability perceptions exert stronger influences on resident satisfaction and participation intention compared to the economic dimension salient in the pilot phase. Satisfaction and trust function sequentially as mediators, linking sustainability perceptions to tourism participation intention. Qualitative findings further reveal that residents increasingly prioritize education, healthcare, social equity, and transparent governance, explaining why socio-cultural and institutional factors dominate in shaping satisfaction and tourism participation.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between inbound tourism and national economic development in Brazil, focusing on the intermediary role of the hospitality industry. Using a 25-year time series dataset (1998–2023), the research examines how international tourist arrivals influence key hotel performance indicators such as Average Daily Rate (ADR), Occupancy Rate, and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), and whether these operational metrics contribute to macroeconomic outcomes such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita. A robust econometric approach combining stationarity testing, Granger causality, two-stage least squares (2SLS), and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to identify both direct and indirect effects. Results indicate that while international arrivals positively affect hotel performance metrics, these improvements do not consistently translate into national economic gains. In some cases, hotel revenue was negatively associated with GDP, underscoring the complexity of tourism’s developmental impact. These findings challenge the universal applicability of the Tourism-Led Growth Hypothesis (TLGH) and highlight the need for more nuanced, sector-specific analyses when evaluating tourism’s role in national development, particularly in emerging economies.

ABSTRACT Urban tourism presents a governanceparadox: it drives economic growth yet often heightens resident discomfort andsocial tensions under overcrowding. While prior research has examinedregulation, sustainability planning, and economic impacts, their combinedinfluence on residents’ perceptions remains underexplored. This study employs adual-method design—Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA)—to identify governanceconfigurations shaping resident attitudes in saturated contexts. A stratifiedsurvey of 450 Málaga residents shows that regulation and sustainable planningfollow an inverted U-shaped pattern: discomfort rises when governance is eitherweak or overly rigid, and decreases at moderate levels. Perceived equitableeconomic benefits reduce discomfort, while fsQCA highlights multiple pathwayslinked to both high and low discomfort, underscoring that no single strategy isuniversally effective. These findings emphasize adaptive, context-sensitivegovernance integrating resident perspectives and equity, offering anevidence-based framework for socially sustainable policies in high-pressureurban destinations.

ABSTRACT The concept of inclusive growth focuses on the relationship between economic growth, poverty and inequality and has started to receive greater attention in tourism research. A Tourism-driven Inclusive Growth Diagnostic Framework (T-DIGD) to systematically analyse factors that constrain tourism’s ability to drive inclusive growth and identify policy priorities at national level has been proposed. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study applies the T-DIGD to a local destination in the Northeast of Brazil to assess its practical applicability, identify any gaps, and enhance its value as a diagnostic tool for tourism-driven inclusive growth. Findings confirm the framework’s strength in analysing constraints for tourism-driven inclusive growth in a systematic manner. It is argued that governance, power in terms of access to networks and connections, as well as the political economy should be more explicitly incorporated into the T-DIGD, and further attention should be given to equality in non-monetary outcomes of tourism opportunities.