The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak on the Accommodation Selection of Azorean Tourists. A Study Based on the Assessment of the Azores Population’s Attitudes

The Rural and Nature Tourism Development Potential in Islands

It has become evident that rural tourism grew significantly during the pandemic compared to mass tourism. However, at this time, all the forecasts were wrapped in considerable uncertainty regarding travel, which is not without the elevated associated risk. Therefore, we assessed the perceptions of the entrepreneurs in relation to rural tourism activities regarding the advantages of their rural tourism activity in the Azores for customers. Furthermore, the potential for developing this typology of tourism is pivotal for obtaining very reliable data and information on this topic and enabling us to provide guidelines for the leading regional players. In this regard, an exploratory method was used to assess the perceptions of the entrepreneurs with rural tourism activities in the Azores Islands regarding the customers’ experiences and some other important aspects concerning the promotion of this type of tourism in the region. Throughout this study, it was possible to verify that the most relevant obstacles to the development of rural tourism in the Azores region are the preservation and conservation of nature and endogenous resources and delivering proper infrastructures and regional accessibilities. Contrarily, the increase in community and regional funding and support for rural tourism could be key to the prosperity of this typology of tourism in this insular territory.

Different patterns of human activities in nature during Covid-19 pandemic and African swine fever outbreak confirm direct impact on wildlife disruption

Implementation of various restrictions to eradicate viral diseases has globally affected human activity and subsequently nature. But how can the altered routines of human activity (restrictions, lockdowns) affect wildlife behaviour? This study compared the differences between human and wildlife occurrences in the study forest area with acreage of 5430.6 ha in 2018 (African swine fever outbreak, complete entrance ban), 2019 (standard pattern) and 2020 (COVID-19 restrictions) during the breeding season. The number of visitors was lower by 64% in 2018 (non-respecting of the entry ban by forest visitors) compared to standard 2019, while in 2020, the number of visitors increased to 151%. In the COVID-19 period, distinct peaks in the number of visitors were observed between 8-11 AM and 4-7 PM. The peaks of wildlife activity were recorded between 4-7 AM and 9-12 PM. Animals avoided the localities that were visited by humans during the people-influenced time (24 h after people visit), which confirmed the direct negative impact of human activities on wildlife.

Innovativeness of Tourism Enterprises: Example of Poland

The main aim of this article was to define the innovativeness of the tourism sector in cross-industry terms. The specific objectives were to identify categories of innovations implemented by tourism enterprises with division by industry branches, and to identify the differences and similarities of the innovations implemented by tourism enterprises in terms of the industry in which they operate. A conceptual framework, based on existing literature, was developed to analyze the innovation process. The research was carried out using the method of a diagnostic survey with interview elements, according to a structured research questionnaire using the telephone interview technique. The results show that tourism enterprises are characterized by average and low innovativeness. From the point of view of assessing the impact of innovation on market behavior in the tourism sector, there are no so-called disruptive innovations, which could have a decisive impact on market changes and replace the existing and constantly improved products, services, and processes. There are sustaining innovations that improve the functioning of companies, which do not affect the market changes, but do compete with the existing solutions on existing terms. However, incremental and adaptive innovations constitute an important part of innovation; this process proves the development of tourism companies and has an impact on the improvement of the situation of the entire economy.