Studia Periegetica

The Role of Stereotypes in the Way Polish Tourists Perceive Romania as a Tourist Destination: A Pilot Study

Michał Żemła — 2025-03-16

The aim of this article is to highlight how negative stereotypes can shape the image of a destination by analysing Polish tourists’ ideas about Romania. To investigate this problem, the authors analysed verbal and visual associations collected using an online survey involving two groups of respondents: one representing Polish tourists in general (the general public) and the other representing people who were knowledgeable about and interested in Romania (the experts). Representatives of the general public were found to perceive Romania negatively, and their ideas were largely shaped by traditional stereotypes about poverty and the Roma. These stereotypes were not present in the experts’ responses. The results reveal Poles’ poor knowledge of Romania and the need for communication measures in order to reduce the impact of increasingly outdated stereotypes.

Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Recreational Development: The Case of Szachty Park in Poznań, Poland

Dawid Abramowicz — 2025-03-28

Given the growing demand for active leisure, and consequently, the increasing emphasis placed on recreation, the proper management of recreational facilities and development is becoming particularly important. The authors propose a three-stage assessment of recreational infrastructure, which takes into account both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The proposed approach can be a useful tool for determining directions of development of recreational facilities in areas with varied characteristics, and can also help create a decision-making framework regarding changes in recreational development in a given area. By analysing strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the current state of recreational development, as well as local environmental and planning conditions, it is possible to identify aspects that require improvement or modification. The methodological assumptions described in the article were applied to assess the recreational development of Szachty Park in Poznań.

Racism and Discrimination in South Africa’s Apartheid Tourism Landscape

Christian Rogerson — 2025-03-16

Tourism scholarship has devoted only a small amount of attention to issues around racial discrimination. This article represents a novel contribution to historical research on racial discrimination and understanding the racialization of tourism landscapes. Under scrutiny is the case of South Africa with its extensive history of racial discrimination during the years of apartheid. As context, the study is situated against the historical record of the racialized landscape of tourism during the Jim Crow era in the United States. Using a range of archival material and secondary sources an analysis is presented of the restricted mobilities of the African population, the evolution of segregated tourism spaces and the contours of the racialized tourism landscape of apartheid. The production of a series of guidebooks in the 1960s by the South African Institute of Race Relations to assist Africans navigate the hostile tourism environment is argued to be comparable, in many respects, to the Green Books of Jim Crow USA.

Traveling without Limits? Opportunities and Challenges of Virtual Reality in Tourism for People with Disabilities

Maciej Śledź — 2025-04-30

The purpose of this article is to assess the utility of virtual reality (VR) technology as an alternative to traditional tourism for people with disabilities, especially those incapable of physical travel. Using Michael Heim’s theory of virtual space, the authors analyzed the functionality and interaction mechanisms of four VR applications taking into account the degree of immersion, interaction and telepresence. It was concluded that although the VR applications under review enable realistic sightseeing and have educational value, their utility is limited by the high price of hardware, reliance on physical interaction and a small number of locations available in narrative applications. While VR technology is a promising form of accessible tourism, it requires further development, especially improvements in the flexibility of interfaces and hardware capabilities, in order to be better suited to the needs of people with different degrees of disability.

Segmenting Digital Tourists: Perceptions, Preferences and Motivations

Mavis Chamboko-Mpotaringa — 2025-05-28

The fundamental insight behind marketing segmentation is consumer diversity. Ignoring digital tourist heterogeneity can disadvantage tourism businesses and destinations. Using a multidimensional framework, this study segments digital tourists based on their perceptions, preferences, and motivations for digital marketing. Based on a survey administered to tourists (n = 401), findings revealed two factors, each for perceptions and preferences and one factor for motives as the segmentation basis. Cluster analysis revealed three segments (the tech-savvy digital tourists, sceptical digital users, and balanced digital enthusiasts). Through the findings in terms of the identified segments, the study’s contribution extends the segmentation theory by demonstrating the diversity of digital tourists, especially in digital engagement and trust in digital marketing, while enriching the understanding of digital consumer behaviour. The implications include advancing the understanding of tourist behaviour in the digital era. The study recommends incorporating demographic insights into digital marketing strategies to enhance tourist engagement and satisfaction.

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Nexus between Digitalisation and Sustainability in Rural Small, Micro, and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMMTEs)

Njabulo Ndlovu — 2025-06-11

Thanks to their size and versatility, small, micro, and medium tourism enterprises (SMMTEs) have been able to use digitalisation to achieve many sustainable development goals. While rural communities are also trying to adopt digital technologies, their effective utilisation remains a challenge that hinders their efforts aimed at achieving sustainability. Improved digital access and support could minimise the digital divide, thereby promoting the effective use of affordable digital platforms. This paper provides a systematic review of papers on digitalisation and sustainability in rural SMMTEs using PRISMA guidelines. A bibliometric and network analysis covering the period from 2014 to 2024 is based on a set of 318 articles from the Scopus database. The study discusses many opportunities to transform rural SMMTEs through affordable digital technologies.

The Impact of HRM Practices on Employee Satisfaction, Loyalty and Hotel Performance: A Case Study of Antalya Hotels

Mohammadsadegh Omidvar — 2025-06-16

Human resource management (HRM) plays a crucial role in all businesses, particularly in the hospitality industry, which focuses on customer service and people-oriented activities. This study aims to examine the effects of HRM practices (variable 1) on employee satisfaction (variable 2), employee loyalty (variable 3), and ultimately on hotel performance (variable 4). Using insights from the literature, the author proposes a conceptual model representing links between these four variables and puts forward 5 hypotheses. The model was assessed by applying structural equation modelling (SEM) using quantitative data collected in an online survey of 423 hotel employees in Antalya, Turkey. SEM results were found to support all study hypotheses, indicating that HRM practices significantly and directly affect employee satisfaction and employee loyalty. Moreover, employee satisfaction was found to directly and significantly affect their loyalty.

Tourism Specialization of Small Island Developing States and Their Level of Human Development, Wealth and Poverty

Michał Jasiński — 2025-07-03

The purpose of this article is to discuss the theoretical basis of the concept of Small Island States Developing States (SIDS), highlight controversies surrounding the criteria for classifying SIDS and examine the relationship between tourism specialization of individual SIDS and the level of their
human development, wealth and poverty. The importance of tourism in the group of 38 SIDS was
assessed using a composite index of tourism specialization based on data for 2023 regarding the
number of population and foreign tourists as well as the amount of tourism exports and GDP. The level of development and the standard of living were measured by the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita for 2022. The level of poverty was assessed by the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for 2022 and the share of people living below $2.15 per day (averaged for 2012–2023). Values of the composite index indicate that there are 5 countries which largely depend on tourism: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Maldives, Seychelles and St. Lucia. Taking into account the component measures of the index, 10 other countries can be included in the group: Barbados, Belize, Fiji, Grenada, Jamaica, Cape Verde, Samoa, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All these countries are characterized by higher levels of human development, a higher standard of living and lower indicators of poverty.