Research

Thematic Research Lines

The organizational structure of CiTUR has seven Thematic Research Lines:

Tourism Economics and Management;

Destination management organizations and companies need to adopt new business models and marketing principles in their management decisions. This research topic is closely linked with the other 5 topics and is focused on 4 main deliverables: development and capitalization of tourism economics decision support systems for public policy and business planning; efficient management accounting systems; tourism contributions to the circular economy; strategic and operational marketing instruments for business and destination competitiveness.

Tourism, Hospitality and Restaurants.

Topics to be highlighted: human resource management and the effects of new technologies on innovation practices and on their relationship with human resources. Alongside hotel management, there are specific dimensions of gastronomy, culinary arts and food production that need to be flagged. It is crucial to understand and to explore niches in the agro-food/food service/food industry sectors that have the potential to generate new innovative products and services underpinned by a health and safety perspective.

Technology and Innovation in Tourism

This includes applications for business management and tourist destinations promoting the digital transition. More specialized issues are also welcomed on many topics, like helping with risk management, local restaurants (e-menu), or local lodging (e-booking) and virtual reality. Hostels and other types of accommodation are now spread all over the country; the contribution of new types of economy, namely the collaborative economy and respective IT platforms, also innovate new process in the business tourism sector.

Territory and Tourist Destinations

Tourism is grounded on the creation of destinations with attributes that are acknowledged and appreciated by people outside the area. Although this research topic is attracting academic interest, research in this field is still underdeveloped, particularly with respect to the tourism policy tools adopted by local governments and their impact on local tourism development. On the other hand, for the development of any kind of tourism there is the need for transport networks and infrastructures. It is therefore important to consider these relations and to explore how the means of transportation can be combined in order to increase the demand for a destination.

Planning and Management of Tourist Products and Recreation

Tourism resources are understood and lived in very personalized ways. Their scope is diverse and global, ranging from different types of cultural interests to nature. The practice of nature tourism and adventure tourism activities will be given special attention, not only because of their sensitivity but because the CiTUR team has a track record of research on those topics. The concept of ‘animation’ should permit the authenticity of the experience and the market, and borders on the concept of leisure management.

Tourism, Culture, Society and Language

The broad area of the Human and Social Sciences is one of the oldest and most important when it comes to research in tourism issues. It includes the cultural and historical dimensions, the sociological and anthropological approaches to tourism, and the ‘tourism products’ (e.g. culture and religion, heritage, literature, gastronomy and a broad range of the so-called ‘new’ forms of tourism). Ethics and social responsibility in tourism have now become consolidated research topics. Locally-lived language practices also play a major role in tourism and mobility practices.

Neuroscience Applied to Tourism

Tourism as a field of study is mainly characterized as being multidisciplinary, so understanding tourism involves many disciplines. Given the role that tourism plays in the economy of countries, destinations, and business tourism, as well as the importance that tourists’ choices and behaviors play in tourism, neuroscience in the study of tourism has become vital in recent years. Neuroscientific methods in various areas of research have been growing exponentially because, above all, they enable the understanding of human behavior, particularly decision-making processes and emotional processing (e.g. empathy, social behavior, marketing, management, sensibility, emotional motivation, and others.