Academic literature on the topic 'Tourist Site'

Archaeological site Felix Romuliana is located in Eastern Serbia, on the 10th kilometer of Boljevac - Zajecar road. It represents the remains of the Roman emperor Gaius Valerius Maximian Gallery?s palace. The value and importance of this unique monument, which dates from the late Roman period, are shown by the fact that in 2007. it was included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. This paper introduces touristic - geographic location of Felix Romuliana, its artistic value, history and progress of archeological research as well as protection measures and site management system. The second part consist the tourist valorization results, made by Hilari du Cros model. Aim of the article is to determine the manner in which it is possible to make a presentation of cultural and historic values of the potential tourists (both domestic and foreign) and to point out the weaknesses and the opportunities in the tourist valorization. Finally, it can be concluded that the strategy for tourism development in this area should be based on the promotion of cultural tourism, which would be the holder of the Gamzigrad archeological complex.

Tourism place-making is a process of transform space to a quality destination. World Heritage Site destinations offer tourists a sense of heritage because of their unique universal value. Community involvement is crucial to the success of the tourism agenda at each destination. The addition of a change in tourist motivation makes tourist involvement a necessary part of the process of making the destinations. Conventional tourist destinations have been developed through the government through a bottom-up approach where factors of tourist need are paramount compared to the communities surrounding the tourist destination. Consequently, there is a management conflict that affects the interaction between the community and tourists due to the lack of involvement. This will result in the offering of a quality experience that is not in line with the status of the world's heritage sites. Therefore, continuous community and tourist involvement is required to maintain the status quo. This paper aims to build a theoretical framework to build world-class tourism sites. In conclusion, the joint involvement in the tourism-building process affects the community and tourists. The implications of this study provide guidance on the policies and management of WHS Melaka.

Tourists as the main actor in tourism industry play an essential role in achieving sustainable tourism. Tourist preference for physical environment and infrastructure development in the tourism destination can affect the achievement of sustainable tourism. This study aims at measuring tourist preference for sustainable tourism management and calculating the economic value of the tourism destination. For this purpose, the Pok Tunggal Beach tourist area in Yogyakarta Indonesia was considered as a case study site. A survey with 200 local tourists was conducted using the Choice Modeling (CM) technique to measure their preferences related to the development on the beach. This study found that tourists prefer to pay more fees to get better and more sustainable facilities. The economic value of the Pok Tunggal Beach is the amount of IDR 1,038,600 (USD 73.66). The main attributes in the destination, tourist's education, environmental awareness, and recreation costs are statistically significant in determining tourists' preferences. This study recommends Pok Tunggal beach quality improvement by considering the tourist preferences. This study also suggests a price for the entrance fees, not only to increase revenue but also to monitor and control the number of tourists who visit the beach.

Abstract Lake Toba area is one of the priorities for developing tourist destinations in Indonesia. As a strategic national tourism area, it is necessary to identify aspects of the tourism area development that are not yet optimal to increase the number of tourist visits to that location. This study aims to assess the cleanliness of tourist sites in Lake Toba based on the assessment of tourism site stakeholders, namely visitors, local businesses, and cleanliness managers. The tourist sites in Lake Toba studied were Pasir Putih and Bukit Holbung. This study found that Pasir Putih and Bukit Holbung were considered dirty, with a cleanliness index of 2.63 and 2.60. The assessment shows that access to the cleaning facilities in the two tourist sites is difficult to reach. However, regarding the completeness of the cleaning facilities, Pasir Putih is considered better with an average index of 2.94 compared to the cleaning facilities in Bukit Holbung, which are considered inadequate with an average index of 2.43. The number of tourists visiting a tourist site is directly proportional to the waste generated, and the habits of tourists who visit also affect the cleanliness of a tourist site.

<p>This paper contributes to presenting the relationship that exists in a certain tourism destination between the World Heritage Site (WHS) and the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), showing a segmentation of the tourists in Cuenca, Ecuador. The methodology used in this research has been the application of a multivariate technique of grouping items and the realisation of a post-hoc single-variate ANOVA analysis. The results show the existence of three motivational dimensions for visiting the city, two of a cultural nature and the third being hedonic. Depending on the motivation, four types of tourists are identified: the hedonic ICH-WHS tourist, the hedonic WHS tourist, the hedonic tourist and the ICH-WHS tourist. This research reinforces this theme, in a geographic area, Latin America, characterised by a recognised WHS but still little studied in the scientific literature.<strong></strong></p>

Dark tourism attractions and sites are gaining increasing attention, whereas dark tourism is considered one of the relatively recent and growing trends in the turbulent tourism market. Along with providing a theoretical framework, this paper aims to explore the tourism market of dark tourism and the motives of tourist demand. The perspectives of the population of the Republic of Croatia on dark tourism as a concept as well as the offer side of dark tourism are presented. These findings will be useful in designing and improving this kind of tourist offer, which also represents the main purpose of this paper. The research instrument was an original questionnaire. The main hypothesis of research refers to insufficient tourists’ awareness of their participation in dark tourism, which was confirmed by the carried research. The new frontier of research refers to their propensity of visit in case they would be aware of the tragic history related to a site; namely if they knew a site they visited previously is classified as a dark tourism site – would they still have chosen to visit it?

Situ Gede Tourist Site Tasikmalaya has a lot of potential as a tourist attraction, but natural it was neglected and had only a few visitors until the local Tourism Office has managed and promoted the tourist site. This study aimed to analyse the tourism promotion strategy of Situ Gede by the local Tourism Office using the concept of the promotion mix. This research is qualitative research in which data were collected through interviews with four key informants from the local Tourism Office. Informants were selected using purposive sampling technique. The results of the study show that the marketing strategy carried out by the Tourism Office including advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, personal sales, interactive marketing, public relations, has succeeded in increasing the number of tourists.

Tourism is one of the main sources of income in many countries; even some states depend highly on the tourism industry at present. The main purpose of tourism business activities is to create competitive tourist products in the international market. Achievement of these aims requires the development of the governmental regulation system, support of the tourism industry, the usage of promotion methods of tourism products. The article presents and assesses the state of development of the most necessary tourism products for the development of the tourism industry on the example of Aksa-Jabagly Nature Reserve in Kazakhstan. The results of the study show that if we consider the development level of the four most important tourist products, such as accommodation, transportation, tourist attractions and electronic service, then we can say that the level of their development and the conditions for providing quality services to tourists are relatively good according to the three previous indicators. Based on the analysis of the quality of electronic services in the field of research (the main criteria: telephone signal, Internet speed, electronic tickets, etc.), we found that the level of eservice development in this region is low, despite the fact that Kazakhstan has the potential of using highquality internet coverage in its current development status.

This paper explores the tourism trends emerging in post COVID- world. This pandemic was conscientious for an abrupt transformation in the way world travelled. This impulsive impediment in the tourism and hospitality industry was not only unconstructive to the growth of the industry but the imminent influences on future tourism are also looking dim and muted. Virtual Reality has emerged as a new innovative approach to attract viewers though providing them a virtual experience of tourism a tour destination with enhanced technological version. Virtual reality is the new normal in the digital world. People are slowly gaining access to digital tourism experiences through Virtual Reality tourism concept. The increase in virtual reality tourism trend is most welcome thing globally. This trend capitalizes on the use of technology to make viewers experience a touring destination. It includes Virtual Reality tours through which a tourist or viewer can experience a tourist destination, hotel interiors, restaurant interiors, outdoor tourist attractions, shopping sites, archaeological inputs, museums, etc sitting in home. This viewer is made to experience complete visit of the destination through VR head gears and comply with his aspirations of touring. Without being physically present on the tourist site a viewer can become a tourist and see all sites as naturally as a tourister. But this usage of technology driven virtual reality tools are challenged by several factors.

In recent times, it has been noticed that cultural tourism attracts millions of people. One interesting aspect is the analysis of WHS (World Heritage Site) destinations or cultural destinations that have an inscription WHS. This research has the goal of analysing the different groups of tourists who visit a cultural destination with an inscription WHS, specifically the city of Granada (Spain). For this, segmentation was performed, studying the socio-demographic profile of the tourists and their assessment of the attributes of this destination. For the tourist segmentation, two models have been followed. Four different groups of tourists were found: alternative, cultural, emotional and heritage. In this last one, the relationship between curiosity about the culture of the tourist destination and the heritage visited has a determining role. This study makes an important contribution to the literature regarding the links between the tourist and the historic and monumental heritage they visit and their tourist behaviour.

The thesis aims to initiate a debate around the unexplored field of sites that are not museums but that are used as if they were museums. It addresses a practical issue: whether contemporary museum practices can be used at museum-like sites and yet preserve their original function. There are places that are not officially classified as museums, but present similar dynamics. These sites attract people for several reasons, they might hold special meaning, house artistic heritage, or stand as symbols. Places such as palaces, churches, natural parks, cemeteries, and urban squares both maintain their original functions and host visitors who come for other reasons. In these sites, museum-like behaviors add to the site-specific uses of the space. We identify all these behaviors (uses and practices) as rituals. In conducting a historical overview, we observe that similar examples were present in the past as well (i.e., the Basilica of Saint Denis in Paris), but the institutionalization of the museum complicates the contemporary understanding of historical examples of museum-like sites. As a consequence, there is a lack of literature about both historical and contemporary museum-like sites. This research aims to initiate a debate around the unexplored field of sites that are not museums but that are used as if they were. From the perspective of museography, the question that needs to be addressed is: Can contemporary museum practices be implemented at museum-like sites, while preserving the original function of the sites? The main research question leads to further queries. For example: when is a site also a museum? Can different collective social behaviors be considered rituals? How can different behaviors/rituals be managed in the same place? Can different behaviors coexist? If so, how? Which tools and design solutions can an architect apply? The research develops in two main parts. Following the introduction, the first part describes the theoretical framework, in which general concepts about museums and rituals are related to the research subject. The second is dedicated to the case studies. To answer to the research question, the study aims to construct a theoretical and multidisciplinary framework that helps to interpret complex situations. In fact, the theoretical part is a tool for understanding such spaces and their users. The analysis of the cases enables answering both the main questions and the sub-questions of the research. This dissertation focuses on the set of issues related to sites that are enjoyed as “museums,” while maintaining their original use. Given the lack of literature, the research requires initiating a discussion across multiple disciplines. The general framework of this study addresses the concept of a site-specific museum, and takes into account the several meanings of the word museum, as well as the current debate about what constitutes a museum. The lack of definitions and the necessity of a framework for a discussion of museum-like sites brings us to consider the concepts of museums in relation to defined notions, such as: museum-like structure, heritage, museum of itself, house museum, and non-Western museums. In addition, the presence of tourism at museum-like sites introduces further considerations regarding consumption of the space, introduction of specific policies, management of the visitors, the necessity of supplementary services, and safety regulations and features. Considering rites and rituals, a varied panorama emerges: religious and secular rituals, collective exceptional behaviors, and everyday rituals. Philosophers, sociologists, and anthropologists describe and classify certain behaviors and standardized manners as rituals. The latter might be specific to certain places, allowing the association of people and rituals to a site. In their works, scholars such as Durkheim, Callois, Eliade, Bourdieu, and Segalen describe some typologies of rites executed by groups of people. All the sites examined in this study share touristic use and interest; tourism might therefore be considered a ritual too. The links between rituals and sites are exemplified through an overview of theoretical studies made by architects (Rossi, Norberg-Schultz, and Lynch, Venturi, Scott-Brown and Izenour) and scholars from different disciplines (Augé and Clement). In order to produce consistent results, it is necessary to define a set of boundaries. The selected criteria led to the choice of case studies. Besides commonalities, we selected three different geographic locations. All of these sites host touristic rituals, are symbolic, popular, accessible, broadly known, part of the Western culture, and are tourist attractions. They have distinctive, site-specific elements, in particular their meanings and rituals. The selected case-studies are: · The Monumental Complex and Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy · The Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · The National September 11 Museum & Memorial in New York City, USA The Monumental Complex and Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, Italy Santa Croce is a sacred place for the Christian religion with an invaluable artistic and architectural heritage. Here, as well as in other European cathedrals, the touristic ritual mixes with the religious. The discussion of whether the church is a religious place or a museum has already begun (Pirazzoli and De Marchi 2011; Gathan, 2012), and remains unanswered. In addition, Santa Croce presents a complex situation from both the museographical and museological sides, and the museum designer must address a multifaceted place that is unchangeable and not flexible. The Maracanã Stadium, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Locally and universally considered to be the “temple” of soccer, the Maracanã Stadium is a must-see for supporters and tourists as well as the historical emblem of equality and social redemption for Brazilians. Moreover, given the close relationship between society and futebol, the stadium is considered to be a secular civic institution. The symbolic and cultural importance of the Maracanã Stadium can be explained only through a historical overview of soccer in Brazil that involves the history of the country, of Rio de Janeiro and, of course, the stadium. In this case study, the identified rituals are touristic and the “cheer” (Durkheim 1912 and Callois 1950). Time has determined different uses of the structure, and consequently, the presence of different rituals at particular moments. The National September 11 Museum & Memorial, New York City, USA The National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the victims of that day are linked to the commemoration of a tragedy, which imparts significant symbolic value. The place is a memorial and a public square, where rituals of commemoration join those of urbanism and tourism. Compared to the other cases, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum is the only project which, from its inception, included the memorial square, the underground museum, and the services for citizens, tourists, and the victims’ families. The memorial was erected knowing that it would have to be a tourist location. All the chosen sites are used as if they were museums, in addition to their primary functions. Besides the general research questions, each case raises additional issues. Each case is presented through the description of its history, architecture, meanings, rituals, current use of the spaces, and the public that visits it. The final part of each case chapter is devoted to a discussion of spaces, rituals, and museum settings, organized according to issues, potentialities, and perspectives. The goal is to start closing the gap in the literature through a coherent approach that can be used in different contexts, with solutions that will correspond to specific needs and issues.

On pourrait dire que le projet de cette thèse consiste à comprendre l’articulation dans l’espace, du tourisme et de la communication dans des situations qui mettent en tension un sujet individuel, dévoilant toute la singularité de son désir dans des récits ou des pratiques et des acteurs collectifs engagés dans les politiques touristiques, les médias et les institutions du tourisme.Notre réflexion s’organise ainsi en suivant les modalités de l’articulation entre ces dimensions réelle, symbolique et imaginaire du tourisme. Dans le champ des SIC et particulièrement grâce à des modèles permettant de formaliser la médiation touristique, notre approche conceptuelle permet d’appréhender les significations du tourisme. Nous modéliserons les composantes, les liens et interrelations de la médiation touristique pour proposer une approche théorique de ce que l’on peut appeler la signification touristique de l’espace.En premier lieu, nous abordons les définitions, un état de la recherche en tourisme et le lexique du tourisme par l’étymologie et l’analyse lexicale des termes les plus fréquents : « tour », « tourisme », « touriste », « loisir », « villégiature », « vacances » et « voyage ».En second lieu, nous proposons de poser les bases du champ de la médiation touristique et de montrer que la pratique sociale du tourisme est une médiation. Nous présenterons, commenterons et analyserons, en nous fondant sur un schéma de la médiation touristique, les différentes relations de communication en jeu dans la médiation touristique. Puis nous présenterons les structures de la médiation touristique pour fonder « une théorie critique » de la médiation touristique.Par la suite, nous approfondirons le concept en présentant les opérateurs, les acteurs et les politiques de l’organisation du tourisme, en nous fondant sur l’analyse d’exemples et d’études concernant principalement la médiation et les médiateurs dans le cas de la France pour comprendre comment pratiques et scènes de tourisme s’organisent. Par la suite, nous décrirons et analyserons le système d’information touristique en deux points. Le premier concerne l’énonciation de l’espace produit par le touriste, les touristes et les médiateurs du tourisme (énonciation de la parole du guide par exemple) au travers des récits pluri et multimédias. L’autre concerne la mise en œuvre des stratégies par les destinateurs (opérateurs et acteurs de l’organisation du tourisme privés et publics) au travers des médias du tourisme (généralistes, spécifiques du tourisme et guide touristiques). Un travail d’analyse de discours porte sur des exemples de documents textuels et/ou iconiques des guides touristiques et des labels touristiques
It may be said that this thesis aims at understanding the spatial articulation between tourism and communication in such situations as those in which an individual subject – expressing the whole peculiarity of his or her desire through telling or practices – and collective actors are brought together.My reflection thus organises itself in accordance with the modalities of the articulation between the three dimensions of tourism: the practical dimension, the symbolic dimension and the imaginary dimension.Tourist activity consists in travelling and in visiting a site, a place or a destination; tourist mediation means the range of activities that are organised around tourism or those that are associated to it. Tourist mediation concerns the agents and the practices in the field of tourism. In this context, I wish to show that tourist mediation structures the perceptions, the interpretations and the practises of space.I address the definitions; give an overview of academic research on tourism and address the notions of tourism through the etymology of its main words (tour, tourism, and tourist) and through the differences that exist between tourism and other notions similar to it such as leisure, vacations, holiday and travelling. These notions are necessary to the comprehending of tourist mediation.I intend to lay the foundations of the field of tourist mediation and to demonstrate that the social practise of tourism is a form of mediation. I will present the tourist objects that structure the tourist practises of space. The structures of tourist mediation will then be laid; this will enable me to craft a “critical theory” of tourist mediation. With a view to understanding how the practises and the scenes of tourism organise, I will subsequently widen the concept by presenting the operators, the agents and the policies of the tourist organisation; the examples and the studies of the latter are mainly concerned with mediation and mediators in the case of France. I situate tourist mediation in relation to the experience of otherness and to the relationship to the others, to wanderlust, to the tourist imagination and to cultural imagination too. I then describe and give a two-point analysis of the tourist information system. The first point is concerned with the enunciation of space produced by the tourist, the tourists and by the tourist mediators (the enunciation of the guide’s discourse for instance) through various multimedia telling. The second point is concerned with the enunciation, through the tourist media (non-specialised or tourism media, tourist guides), by the speakers (e.g. operators and private or public agents of the tourist organisation) of the communication strategies and of the tourist descriptive signing. This discourse analysis relates to examples of textual and/or iconic documents

Heritage tourism and the concept of sustainability have some certain intrinsic associations between each other. They both possess the characteristics of inheritance and continuance. In 2015, World Heritage Convention has stated that it is critical to consider present and future needs from economic, societal and environmental aspects when conserving the heritage resources. The Great Wall is one of the most popular and well-known heritage tourism destinations throughout the world, which was designated on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987. Badaling Great Wall, as the study case in the thesis, is one of the eight sections of the Great Wall being located in Beijing. Based on the review of previous literature, there are a lot of research studying on heritage tourism within the context of sustainability from the aspect of local resident. However, there is little research studying from the perspective of tourist, who are the major consumers, financial support and a key group of stakeholders in heritage tourism. Hence, this thesis puts emphasis on exploring the current challenges to sustainability at Badaling Great Wall site, through investigating its current situation of sustainability from a tourist perspective. The research findings are that Badaling Great Wall site has confront several management-related challenges. Lack of commercial appeal and promotion, absence of cooperation between stakeholders, the negative effects caused by excessive visitors, lack of efficient energy, water and waste management, and absence of a sound scheme for monitoring the situation of heritage conservation and supervising negative tourist behaviors.

A promoção turística, dadas as características do turismo enquanto serviço, enfrenta um grande desafio: a tangibilização da oferta. A internet, particularmente os sites, oferecem um poderoso meio para vencer este desafio, proporcionando não apenas a possibilidade de tangibilizar a oferta por via da qualidade e quantidade da informação que podem disponibilizar, bem como permitem despertar o interesse e o desejo do viajante e facilitar todo o processo de planeamento e aquisição da viagem. Esta importância despertou o interesse académico e empresarial pelo tema da eficácia dos sites turísticos, permitindo referenciar na literatura, não obstante a relativa “juventude” do tema, inúmeras propostas de modelos que permitem avaliar a eficácia dos sites turísticos. Este estudo é mais um contributo para esta temática, e permitiu, por via de uma análise sistemática das propostas de modelos existentes e da contextualização do papel dos sites na promoção turística, propor um modelo que integra os contributos de muitos autores, acrescentando-lhe uma estrutura distinta que permite uma interpretação dos resultados mais operacional e direta. Efetivamente, o modelo proposto, assenta num conjunto de fatores que já haviam sido identificados na literatura como essenciais à eficácia do site mas organiza-os em torno das diferentes etapas do processo de compra do consumidor, permitindo avaliar não só a eficácia global do site mas também o seu desempenho na concretização destas diferentes etapas. Os resultados obtidos permitem assim, não só avaliar, mas também detetar vias de melhoria e/ou de adaptação do site aos objetivos definidos para a comunicação do destino. A aplicação do modelo proposto ao site turístico da cidade de Lisboa e dos seus principais concorrentes demonstrou esta sua capacidade, permitindo, por via dos resultados obtidos, determinar que os diferentes sites apresentam um elevado desempenho na sua capacidade em transmitir informação sobre o destino, nomeadamente sobre os seus produtos, atividades, cultura e costumes e na relação com o cliente, designadamente no que se refere à assistência do planeamento em viagem e no apoio ao cliente.
Tourism promotion, given the standards of tourism as a service faces a major challenge: supply tangibilization. The internet and particularly websites, offers a powerful way to overcome this challenge, providing not only the possibility of creating tangibility of supply by the quality and quantity of information provided, whilst captivating interest and desire of travelers and facilitating all travel planning, processing and acquisition. This matter has captivated academic as well as business-related interest regarding efficiency of tourist websites resulting in much literature on the subject, in spite of its recent development, namely numerous proposals of models for measuring efficiency of tourist websites. The present work is to be yet another contribution to the academic study of this matter, looking to allow through a systematic analysis of proposed and existing models and through the contextualizing of the role of these website in tourism promotion propose a new model that integrates the contribution of many authors, adding a distinct structure that allows a more operational and direct interpretation of the given results. The proposed model is based on a number of factors that have been identified in the literature referenced as essential to the efficiency of websites, but seeks to organize them around the different stages of the consumer’s buying process, allowing not only to evaluate the overall efficiency of the website but also its performance in achieving these different stages. The results obtained not only allow evaluation, but also detect ways to improve and/or adapt the website to the objectives planned for destination communication. Applying the proposed model to the tourist website of the city of Lisbon and its main competitors demonstrates this ability, allowing, given the obtained results to determine which different websites have high performance within their ability to transmit information about the destination, especially in regard to their products, activities, culture and customs and customer relationship, particularly in regard to assistance in trip planning and customer service.

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Neste estudo, examinamos as práticas turísticas sob o enfoque comunicacional, no contexto da midiatização, por meio do estudo de casos do site Tripadvisor e da página Trip Tips, com o objetivo de observar como tais práticas vêm sendo modificadas e permeadas por operações midiáticas e por suas lógicas. O problema de pesquisa eleito está centrado na seguinte questão: como se organizam e funcionam as práticas turísticas no contexto de midiatização complexificada? Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos os seguintes capítulos: a) estudo da arte, no qual observamos estágio, ângulos e questões sobre as pesquisas na área do turismo; b) construção de um marco teórico a partir do exame de elementos que caracterizam a “sociedade dos meios” e a “a sociedade em vias de midiatização”, buscando-se a construção de um quadro conceitual do momento atual, no qual se manifestam processos crescentes de miditização e suas afetações sobre as práticas sociais diversas, como é o caso das práticas turísticas; c) o trabalho empírico-conceitualizante, que passa pela construção de um olhar metodológico, visando à eleição dos procedimentos e ao trabalho de análise das duas práticas escolhidas como casos. Dessa forma e com base, principalmente, nas ideias de Braga (2006, 2012), Fausto Neto (2008, 2010, 2012, 2015), Gomes (2012, 2014) e Verón (1997, 2004, 2014), concluímos que as práticas turísticas estão sendo afetadas pelo cenário da midiatização, em que nos encontramos atualmente.
In this study, we examine the tourist practices under the communicational approach, in the context of the mediatization, studying the Tripadivisor cases and also Trip Tips website, in order to observe how practices has been modified and permeated by mediatization operations and its logics. The problem of our research involves the following question: how to organize and operate tourist practices in the context of complexified mediatization? Then, the chapters that were developed consists in: a) study of the art, in which we observe stage, angles and questions about the research in tourism area; b) the construction of a theoretical point of view from the examination of elements that characterize the "media society" and the "developing society of mediatization", trying to find out the construction of a conceptual framework of the current moment, in which manifest the growing of mediatization processes and their several affectations involving the social practices several affectations, such as the case of tourist practices; c) the empirical work through the construction of a methodological, aim to look to the election procedures and the analysis of two practices chosen as cases. Based on this, primarily on the ideas of Braga (2006, 2012), Fausto Neto (2008, 2010, 2012, 2015), Gomes (2012, 2014) and Verón (1997, 2004, 2014) we conclude that tourist practices are being affected by the setting of the mediatization coverage that we are today.

The theoretic part of the thesis is focused on definition of particular types of tourism, especially of the tourism with religious motives and pilgrimage trips. It also includes institutions that help to promote religious monuments in the Czech Republic. The practical part is engaged in the most important pilgrimage sites in Bohemia and Moravia, their promotion and the difference between the pilgrims and tourists.

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Esta dissertação examina sob a ótica da sustentabilidade as relações entre a cultura e o turismo no Centro Histórico de Salvador- CHS. Foi realizada com o método qualitativo, usando instrumentos de observação participante no estudo de caso: roteiro turístico do CHS. Complementadas com entrevistas com os representantes de segmentos do CHS como agentes e guias de turismo e os fóruns oficiais e privados da cultura e do turismo. A pesquisa analisa os elementos dessa relação, as implicações e as demais interações com o cenário levando em conta as dimensões do ambiente ecológico, social e o econômico. As quais condicionam o turismo e são compreendidas como bases do cenário cultural. No resultado dessa investigação destacam-se: primeiro, que o discurso constante nas políticas públicas não inclui em seu bojo a percepção sistêmica da atividade de roteiro turístico, e nem como elemento estratégico. Para o governo do Estado o roteiro é uma construção com dimensão unicamente privada e, por isso, não tem escopo no planejamento. Essa ausência impede o estabelecimento de parâmetros de sustentabilidade para a relação sistêmica da cultura e turismo. Em segundo, o Pelourinho é consumido como espaço simbólico da cultura negra e indígena e, nisso está presente tanto a gloriosidade quanto a contradição. A imagem que o senso comum tem do CHS é de ser um lugar não periférico e, por isso guarda e valoriza a cultura afro-descendente e a indígenas miscigenadas como bens globalizados. Os quais são decorrentes da trajetória de exclusão do sofrimento e da luta desses povos e, hoje alcançaram vínculos em diversos horizontes. E essa marca foi reforçada recentemente, em nome do desenvolvimento advindo do turismo, que manteve essa população ausente dos benefícios da revitalização do CHS. Nessa relação, o roteiro do CHS passeia no Pelourinho como um lugar dinamizado pelo acaso social que lhe ressignificou e, se somaram as ordens e edificações religiosas já presentes. Terceiro, o turismo ainda não flui como sistema e, suas relações com o ambiente são fragmentadas, míopes e se conduzem sem gestão sistêmica necessárias para atingir os resultados no turismo. As ações nessa esfera são políticas públicas para produções culturais a serviço da imagem mercadológica da cidade, como destino ideal com vistas a ações de desenvolvimento estratégico para o Estado. Essa realidade tem sido incapaz de estabelecer bases de sustentabilidade para as ações individuais e coletivas na relação cultura e turismo. E por último, as imagens dessa relação estão servindo mais como barreira para a contemplação dos bens simbólicos do que para a sua valorização e desenvolvimento. O cenário mostra um ambiente social frágil que induz o turista a não voltar para dar continuidade ao consumo de contemplar o patrimônio turístico do CHS. Essa pesquisa dá alguns indícios do processo de redução cronico nas possibilidades de produzir recursos e meios para criar o desenvolvimento sustentável dos bens turísticos de CHS.
Salvador

This paper seeks to explore a number of issues in relation to tourism, particularly cultural tours, in Cape Town from the apartheid era to the new political dispensation in South Africa. Cultural tourism is not merely about commerial activities. It is an ideological framing of history of people, nature, and culture, a framing that has power to reshape culture and nature for its own needs. In the South African context, this can be seen from the early decades of the twentieth century, but for the purposes of this study it will focus from the 1950s onwards to the present political period. The dominant ideology and political conditions at a given time shape cultural tourism.

Cultural/heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry because there is a trend toward an increased specialization among tourists. This trend is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek adventure, culture, history, archaeology and interaction with local people (Hollinshead, 1993). Especially, Americans' interest in traveling to cultural/ heritage destinations has increased recently and is expected to continue. For example, cultural/heritage sites are among the most preferred tourism experiences in America. (Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 1998) The recent studies about cultural/heritage tourism focused on the characteristics of tourists who visited cultural/heritage destinations. The study attempts to investigate the relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourist satisfaction, and to identify the relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourist satisfaction in terms of selected tourists' demographic characteristics and travel behavior characteristics. The expectancy-disconfirmation theory provided a conceptual framework for this study. The expectancy-disconfirmation theory holds that consumers first form expectations of products or service performance prior to purchasing or use. Subsequently, purchasing and use convey to the consumer beliefs about the actual or perceived performance of the product(s) or service(s). The consumer then compares the perceived performance to prior expectations. Consumer satisfaction is seen as the outcome of this comparison (Clemons & Woodruff, 1992). The study area for this study was Virginia Historic Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown). Virginia Historic Triangle has been called the largest living museum in the world. Furthermore, it is one of America's popular vacation destinations, attracting more than 4 million tourists each year. The data of this study were collected from the on-site survey method. The sample population for this study was composed of tourists who visited Virginia Historic Triangle between June and August in 2001. The survey was conducted at five different sites in the Virginia Historic Triangle. Out of 300 questionnaires, 251 were usable. Therefore, the data from 251 respondents were analyzed in this study. Appropriate statistical analyses such as frequencies, descriptive, factor analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regressions, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were used according to respective objectives and descriptors. The factor analysis was conducted to create correlated variable composites from the original 25 attributes. Using factor analysis, 25 destination attributes resulted to four dimensions: General Tour Attraction, Heritage Attraction, Maintenance Factors, and Culture Attraction. These four factors then were related with overall satisfaction. Correlation analysis revealed that four factors were correlated with tourists' overall satisfaction. The multiple regression analysis revealed that there was relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourists' overall satisfaction. MANOVA revealed that there was significant difference between derived factors in relation to only total household income and the length of stay among 10 demographic and travel behavior characteristics. ANOVA revealed that there is a significant difference in the overall satisfaction of tourists by gender, past experience, and decision time to travel. Finally, MANCOVA revealed that only one of the control variables (past experience) controlled the relationship between the overall satisfaction of tourists and derived factors. Based upon the results of this study, several recommendations can be made to increase tourists' satisfaction with the Virginia Historic Triangle. First, comprehending what tourists seek at cultural/heritage attractions will help tourism marketers better understand their customers. Second, identifying which attributes satisfy the tourist who visit cultural/heritage destinations will help tourism planners develop appropriate strategies to attract their customers and serve them effectively. Third, knowing who the satisfied tourists are may help reduce marketing costs and maintain cultural/heritage destinations' sustainability.
Master of Science

AbstractAccording to Xu, Buhalis & Weber [1], gamification can enhance the on-site tourist experiences and be a marketing tool. However, the use of games in tourism development by DMOs is still an unexplored topic.The King’s Road in Finland combines the idea of gamified and storified live experiences with a video game. The development idea of a video game introduces King’s Road to a broader audience. The idea of a storified mobile game leads tourists on-site and rebuilds historical sites with augmented reality while leading tourists to less crowded attractions.This paper aims to provide new insights and increase understanding of gamification in tourism. To understand the innovation acceptance among Finnish DMOs, the gamified concept idea of King’s Road was presented to them. With the inductive approach, their feedback was analysed thematically. The findings highlight the obstacles and possibilities of the proposed gamification concept from the DMOs’ point of view. This paper aims to extend the previous research in innovation acceptance by identifying the level of acceptance regarding gamification in this case study and presenting solutions to advance it. Hence, this knowledge works as a basis for future research and development.

AbstractThis study focuses on how virtual reality applications might evoke nostalgic sensations in travellers during cultural heritage tourism. While extensive research on the tourism experience has revealed different extrinsic and intrinsic dynamics that affect the tourist experience, this research aims to explore what feeling of back in time VR users experience in an archaeological destination. The gap in visitor experience employing VR research still persists, despite the rising adoption rate of immersive technology, such as virtual reality. In this study, a qualitative method has been applied to analyse online reviews of VR users who visited the Olympia Archaeological Site in Greece and used the ‘Back in Time Olympia’ VR application. The findings drawn from the results show that nostalgia, presence, engagement by learning, and service experience are essential determinants of tourist VR experiences in such cultural heritage destinations.

Abstract This chapter examines the symbiosis of heritage conservation and tourism development at a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) cultural heritage site, one of the most popular touristic sites in Vietnam. Bui, Le and Jones present findings derived from a longitudinal study over 5 years spanning before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2016 to 2020). Although Hoi An has dramatically benefited from mass tourism, the excessive increase in visitor numbers and concentration in the core heritage zone of the city has negatively impacted the economic wealth of the residents of the ancient town. COVID-19 halted the development of tourism, which attracts attention to the overdependence of the city on tourism, and offers an opportunity for administrators to rethink and revise Hoi An's existing tourism policies.

AbstractIntegrated efforts and strategies are needed to promote tourism; thereby, branding plays an important role in imaging a tourism destination and becomes one of the important indicators in determining the success and image of a tourist area. Furthermore, branding can integrate strategic elements in a single formula to create characteristics and a positive image and increase the competitive advantage to achieve regional goals. Branding can be used as a differentiator or identity for a product, including tourism. The research was conducted for a year with a quantitative approach. The population in this study was tourists who visited Lake Lau Kawar, North Sumatra, to spend their free time. The number of populations in this study was not clearly known and the sample size was 210 respondents online and offline. All data were analyzed using Structural Equation Model (SEM). This study aims to investigate the effect of Customer Engagement, Brand Advocacy on Brand Value Co-Creation in Lake Lau Kawar, North Sumatra.

Abstract Because each and every destination has unique challenges, managing overtourism is a complex task and is fraught with the opinions of stakeholders who do not agree on the contribution of tourism culturally, socially, or economically. The impact of overtourism varies and is rooted in effective planning and development of the site. There is typically a lack of agreement among the stakeholders about what is meant by 'effective planning and development'. There continues to be the controversy of 'quality over quantity' when it comes to the number of tourists, which is basically the battle between cultural heritage and tourism. The situation is even more complicated in areas where tourism is the primary revenue generator in the economy such as in developing countries. The bottom line is that 'one size does not fit all' and processes such as the one outlined here are necessary to customise the planning and management to attempt to arrive at more effective planning and development of the specific tourism destination.

Purpose – Understanding how and why people travel, decide and select a specific place, and what they expect from their destination to meet their actual needs is also a highly important topic. The goal of this article is to investigate the elements that influence Serbian visitors' decision to visit Croatia (Cratian coastline) as a destination. The most important characteristics, components, and types of tourism destinations are analysed. The definition of consumer behavior is explained, as well as the idiosyncrasies of the decision-making process. The most important internal and environmental elements that influence tourist decision-making are summarized. An examination of the cultural, societal, and personal psychological aspects that influence decision-making of Serbian tourists to travel to Croatian cost with different attributes like see, cultural and natural attractions, image, price, human resources is done. Methodology – As a result, the decision-making process is extremely difficult, particularly when determining which factors are more significant than others. The Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method, which has a strong mathematical foundation, could be used to find a good solution to this problem. The Analytical-hierarchy process (AHP) is a systematic way to solving complicated problems that leverages hierarchical structures by generating priorities for various options decided by decision makers. AHP can aid tourism decision-making by examining a large number of decision factors (e.g., factors influencing destination choice, motives for visiting a place, hotel site selection, tourist indicators) and measuring the relevance of each component impacting the decision. The questionnaire used for this manuscript was taken from the paper Blešić et al. (2018). The questionnaire consist of five factors that include 22 items. Findings – Destination amenities, tourism infrastructure, cultural attractions, human resources, price, environmental features are the importnant attributes for choosing Croatian coast as tourism destination. Contribution – this study makes a valuable contribution by highlighting tourists’ motives for visiting coastline destinations in Croatia. Finally, understanding the motivations and preferences of tourists is critical to realizing the full potential of tourism. Consumer behavior research is crucial for tourism sector stakeholders because it can provide important insights into who the tourist is and how stakeholders (travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, food producers, cultural organizations, and so on) can target and develop markets successfully. This research will help researchers better understand what inspires Serbian tourists to visit a Croatian coastal location. The findings will indicate the most common travel motivations that lead Serbian travelers to choose Croatia as their vacation location.

“Don Valley” is more than a historic or geographic location, - it is an official name of a wine-making area, proposed by Rostov Region administration for consolidation of local wine-makers under the single mega-brand. Specialized regional cluster “Don Valley” is “an association of leading scientific, educational, industrial, engineering and innovative organizations and enterprises of the Rostov region, operating in the following areas: wine-making, manufacturing of components for wineries, scientific-research and educational programmes, development of retail infrastructure, promotion of wine-tasting and gastronomic tourism, and viniculture”3. The creators of the cluster official web-site declare “Made on the Don” brand communication as their primary goal, along with promotion of wine in the region. The article reviews the specifics of Don region from a standpoint of its attractiveness as a tourist destination. The mandatory components are named that together with the enogastronomic sphere can contribute to the growth of demand for tourist routes of various content and duration. The key role of cultural and historic component in successful promotion of the Don winemaking in the tourism market is emphasized. It is noted that enogastrotourism can be developed successfully in Don region through socio-cultural project management based on the thorough analysis of specifics of the region as a whole and its individual components affecting the marketing and advertising solutions.

There are presented the essence, basic terminology, methodology and scientific perimeter of the discipline "Ethno-cultural landscape studies". By use of a brief historic overview, there is traced the development of the cultural landscape as a scientific notion from its onset to present times. Regulatory postulates of UNESCO are taken into consideration, which explain the meaning of the terms "tradition", "intangible cultural heritage" and "cultural landscape". There are also summed up the practical and applied benefits from studying the discipline: a model for making an ethno-cultural landscape profile of the tourist site as a ground for creating unique tourist products based on traditional culture and turning folklore rituality into a generator of touristic plots.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and social media engagement on destination brand loyalty. These concepts are not fully understood, especially in the context of sustainable development of nature-based tourism, which makes managing the negative impact on the environment more challenging. The study developed a parsimonious model to investigate the interrelationship between CSR and destination loyalty by incorporating social media engagement as a mediating variable to study the impact mechanism of tourists’ CSR activities on tourists’ destination brand loyalty in a nature-based tourism context. The data used was collected from 240 inbound and outbound tourists that visited a well-known marine park site in Malaysia. In addition, a Partial Least Square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was utilized to analyse the data. The result showed that CSR and social media engagement had an influence over destination brand loyalty. These results suggest some practical implications for destination operators designing CSR activities as a strategic technique for ensuring sustainable success.

Kotler's 2002 definition of place marketing is as follows: "Place marketing means designing a site to meet the needs of its target markets. The development of places means the development for a place of a systematic long-term marketing strategy, directed towards the identification and development of the natural and potential attributes of an area”. The elaboration of a marketing mix for the tourist destination is the main tool for marketing planning and for adopting the most appropriate strategies. Given that each tourist destination has its specificity, the marketing mix must contain its own elements, adapted to the objectives set. In this paper we chose to exemplify a way to apply and combine the components of the following marketing mix: product, price, distribution, promotion, staff, partnerships, packaging, security, process management for the tourist destination Brasov Area.

The striving for achieving a more even development of Bulgarian tourism both in time and in territorial terms makes the topic of the report especially relevant. Although widespread, anthropogenic tourist resources are not evenly distributed throughout Bulgaria. The purpose of the paper is not only to examine the unevenness of their territorial location, but also to indicate the reasons for this, as well as the reflection of this fact on the tourism industry. The analysis is at the level of administrative areas. The areas that are presented with dignity in terms of sites and events (anthropogenic tourist resources) are the cultural centers of our country. Accordingly, they are most attractive to tourists. The data reviewed in the paper show that the tourism industry of the districts that make full use of their anthropogenic tourism resources is more competitive than that of most of the other districts.

This paper explores how a certain country is described on official tourist sites whose main aim is to achieve more tourists (formal communication sources) and in informal tourists comments, who want to exchange their opinions. It shows that the difference in aims impacts the construction of country image as a set of different items reflecting real aspects of a certain country. The semantic and contextual analyses of Russian and German formal and informal tourism related sources shows the predominance of cognitive items (compared with affective ones) in both sources types, but cultural items colored positively prevail in formal sources (and thus an elaborated image is developed) whereas different cognitive and affective items are common for informal sources.

Cash is still widely used in Colombia, even among merchants that accept payment cards. Indeed, 60% of these merchants use dissuasive strategies to make their clients pay with cash. This shows that merchant service costs (MSC) for cards are not optimal in the sense of the Tourist Test. We present estimates of MSC compatible with the Tourist Test, such that merchants are indifferent between being paid with cash or cards. We find that cash is less costly than cards at the average retail-sales transaction-value, hence there is no positive optimal MSC at this ticket value. For the average card transaction ticket, the optimal MSC would be positive but far below the rates charge by the industry (0.74% in a short-term scenario). Yet, the additional incentive that sales-tax evasion provides to cash payments reduces the Tourist Test MSC to 0.44%. Our estimates for long-term scenarios yield even lower optimal MSC. An average price cap regulation that strikes a middle ground between these figures, and is complemented with sales-tax evasion measures, should discourage merchant strategies that deter consumers from paying with cards and will accommodate the wide heterogeneity in merchants´ scale, payment processing processes and ticket size. These results should be taken as a guideline as the estimations depend on the underlying assumptions and only consider the merchant´s side of the card industry.

Coffs Harbour on the north coast of NSW is a highway city sandwiched between the Great Dividing Range and the Pacific Ocean. For thousands of years it was the traditional land of the numerous Gumbaynggirr peoples. Tourism now appears to be the major industry, supplanting agriculture and timber getting, while a large service sector has grown up around a sizable retirement community. It is major holiday destination. Located further away from the coast in the midst of a dairy farming community, Bellingen has become a centre of alternative culture which relies heavily on a variety of festivals activated by energetic tree changers and numerous professionals who have relocated from Sydney. Both communities rely on the visitor economy and there have been considerable changes to how local government in this region approach strategic planning for arts and culture. The newly built Coffs Harbour Education Campus (CHEC) is an experiment in encouraging cross pollination between innovative businesses and education and incorporates TAFE NSW, Coffs Harbour Senior College and Southern Cross University as well as the Coffs Harbour Technology Park and Coffs Harbour Innovation Centre all on one site. The 250 seat Jetty Memorial Theatre is the main theatre in Coffs Harbour for local and touring productions while local halls and converted theatres are the mainstay of smaller communities in the region. As peak body Arts Mid North Coast reports, there is a good record of successful arts related events which range across all genres of music, art, sculpture, Aboriginal culture, street art, literature and even busking and opera. These are mainly managed by passionate local volunteers.

Like other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Caribbean island economies have intrinsic characteristics that make them vulnerable to external shocks. The recent pandemic highlights the structural problems of small island economies. Due to their remote location and small size, islands lack economies of scale and rely on global supply chains, which are currently disrupted. Islands depend either on service-based economic activities like tourism, which are being affected during the current crisis, or on a single commodity, which makes them extremely vulnerable. Islands must rethink their approach to development, adopting one of sustainable development. The Sustainable Islands Platform aims to create a new approach that targets the needs of Caribbean islands and prescribes circular economy-inspired interventions in key areas such as sanitation, waste management, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, energy, transportation, and health. Traditional approaches have not proven successful in solving developing problems on SIDS. Therefore, a new concept that considers islands in a new way should be considered.

The University of A Coruña is partner of the GRAZELIFE LIFE preparatory project (LIFE 18 PRE/NL002). We contributed to the main aim of the project of promoting sustainable grazing by large herbivores, with the study of the particular case of Galician wild ponies as a natural grazing semi-wild land use model, and alternative land uses of short and long-term afforestation, extensive grazing and abandonment. We selected two sub-areas in Galicia representing different situations in dominant land uses and the wild ponies’ system. Xistral, in the north, is a protected Natura 2000 site covered by wet heaths and bogs, ponies are owned by commoners that are mainly cattle farmers. Groba, in the south, is a drier area with dominance of forestry use and high frequency of wildfires, where ponies are owned by non-professional farmers. We performed twenty personal semi-structured interviews with pony owners, land owners and related experts from different sectors (afforestation, tourism, conservation NGOs), and performed two focus groups. We discussed topics such as their relation with ponies, the challenges they face, their demands and feelings on the policies, including CAP subsidies or compensations for wolf attacks, and their expectations for the future. In the field, we selected representative stands of each land use model in each sub-area and performed a systematic record of plant species, measures of plant biomass, and collected soil samples. Measures were used as proxies of biodiversity changes, carbon storage and wildfire risk, to compare between the selected models.

The University of A Coruña is partner of the GRAZELIFE LIFE preparatory project (LIFE 18 PRE/NL002). We contributed to the main aim of the project of promoting sustainable grazing by large herbivores, with the study of the particular case of Galician wild ponies as a natural grazing semi-wild land use model, and alternative land uses of short and long-term afforestation, extensive grazing and abandonment. We selected two sub-areas in Galicia representing different situations in dominant land uses and the wild ponies’ system. Xistral, in the north, is a protected Natura 2000 site covered by wet heaths and bogs, ponies are owned by commoners that are mainly cattle farmers. Groba, in the south, is a drier area with dominance of forestry use and high frequency of wildfires, where ponies are owned by non-professional farmers. We performed twenty personal semi-structured interviews with pony owners, land owners and related experts from different sectors (afforestation, tourism, conservation NGOs), and performed two focus groups. We discussed topics such as their relation with ponies, the challenges they face, their demands and feelings on the policies, including CAP subsidies or compensations for wolf attacks, and their expectations for the future. In the field, we selected representative stands of each land use model in each sub-area and performed a systematic record of plant species, measures of plant biomass, and collected soil samples. Measures were used as proxies of biodiversity changes, carbon storage and wildfire risk, to compare between the selected models.

1.1 Macroeconomic summary Economic recovery has consistently outperformed the technical staff’s expectations following a steep decline in activity in the second quarter of 2020. At the same time, total and core inflation rates have fallen and remain at low levels, suggesting that a significant element of the reactivation of Colombia’s economy has been related to recovery in potential GDP. This would support the technical staff’s diagnosis of weak aggregate demand and ample excess capacity. The most recently available data on 2020 growth suggests a contraction in economic activity of 6.8%, lower than estimates from January’s Monetary Policy Report (-7.2%). High-frequency indicators suggest that economic performance was significantly more dynamic than expected in January, despite mobility restrictions and quarantine measures. This has also come amid declines in total and core inflation, the latter of which was below January projections if controlling for certain relative price changes. This suggests that the unexpected strength of recent growth contains elements of demand, and that excess capacity, while significant, could be lower than previously estimated. Nevertheless, uncertainty over the measurement of excess capacity continues to be unusually high and marked both by variations in the way different economic sectors and spending components have been affected by the pandemic, and by uneven price behavior. The size of excess capacity, and in particular the evolution of the pandemic in forthcoming quarters, constitute substantial risks to the macroeconomic forecast presented in this report. Despite the unexpected strength of the recovery, the technical staff continues to project ample excess capacity that is expected to remain on the forecast horizon, alongside core inflation that will likely remain below the target. Domestic demand remains below 2019 levels amid unusually significant uncertainty over the size of excess capacity in the economy. High national unemployment (14.6% for February 2021) reflects a loose labor market, while observed total and core inflation continue to be below 2%. Inflationary pressures from the exchange rate are expected to continue to be low, with relatively little pass-through on inflation. This would be compatible with a negative output gap. Excess productive capacity and the expectation of core inflation below the 3% target on the forecast horizon provide a basis for an expansive monetary policy posture. The technical staff’s assessment of certain shocks and their expected effects on the economy, as well as the presence of several sources of uncertainty and related assumptions about their potential macroeconomic impacts, remain a feature of this report. The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, continues to affect the public health environment, and the reopening of Colombia’s economy remains incomplete. The technical staff’s assessment is that the COVID-19 shock has affected both aggregate demand and supply, but that the impact on demand has been deeper and more persistent. Given this persistence, the central forecast accounts for a gradual tightening of the output gap in the absence of new waves of contagion, and as vaccination campaigns progress. The central forecast continues to include an expected increase of total and core inflation rates in the second quarter of 2021, alongside the lapse of the temporary price relief measures put in place in 2020. Additional COVID-19 outbreaks (of uncertain duration and intensity) represent a significant risk factor that could affect these projections. Additionally, the forecast continues to include an upward trend in sovereign risk premiums, reflected by higher levels of public debt that in the wake of the pandemic are likely to persist on the forecast horizon, even in the context of a fiscal adjustment. At the same time, the projection accounts for the shortterm effects on private domestic demand from a fiscal adjustment along the lines of the one currently being proposed by the national government. This would be compatible with a gradual recovery of private domestic demand in 2022. The size and characteristics of the fiscal adjustment that is ultimately implemented, as well as the corresponding market response, represent another source of forecast uncertainty. Newly available information offers evidence of the potential for significant changes to the macroeconomic scenario, though without altering the general diagnosis described above. The most recent data on inflation, growth, fiscal policy, and international financial conditions suggests a more dynamic economy than previously expected. However, a third wave of the pandemic has delayed the re-opening of Colombia’s economy and brought with it a deceleration in economic activity. Detailed descriptions of these considerations and subsequent changes to the macroeconomic forecast are presented below. The expected annual decline in GDP (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2021 appears to have been less pronounced than projected in January (-4.8%). Partial closures in January to address a second wave of COVID-19 appear to have had a less significant negative impact on the economy than previously estimated. This is reflected in figures related to mobility, energy demand, industry and retail sales, foreign trade, commercial transactions from selected banks, and the national statistics agency’s (DANE) economic tracking indicator (ISE). Output is now expected to have declined annually in the first quarter by 0.3%. Private consumption likely continued to recover, registering levels somewhat above those from the previous year, while public consumption likely increased significantly. While a recovery in investment in both housing and in other buildings and structures is expected, overall investment levels in this case likely continued to be low, and gross fixed capital formation is expected to continue to show significant annual declines. Imports likely recovered to again outpace exports, though both are expected to register significant annual declines. Economic activity that outpaced projections, an increase in oil prices and other export products, and an expected increase in public spending this year account for the upward revision to the 2021 growth forecast (from 4.6% with a range between 2% and 6% in January, to 6.0% with a range between 3% and 7% in April). As a result, the output gap is expected to be smaller and to tighten more rapidly than projected in the previous report, though it is still expected to remain in negative territory on the forecast horizon. Wide forecast intervals reflect the fact that the future evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant source of uncertainty on these projections. The delay in the recovery of economic activity as a result of the resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter appears to have been less significant than projected in the January report. The central forecast scenario expects this improved performance to continue in 2021 alongside increased consumer and business confidence. Low real interest rates and an active credit supply would also support this dynamic, and the overall conditions would be expected to spur a recovery in consumption and investment. Increased growth in public spending and public works based on the national government’s spending plan (Plan Financiero del Gobierno) are other factors to consider. Additionally, an expected recovery in global demand and higher projected prices for oil and coffee would further contribute to improved external revenues and would favor investment, in particular in the oil sector. Given the above, the technical staff’s 2021 growth forecast has been revised upward from 4.6% in January (range from 2% to 6%) to 6.0% in April (range from 3% to 7%). These projections account for the potential for the third wave of COVID-19 to have a larger and more persistent effect on the economy than the previous wave, while also supposing that there will not be any additional significant waves of the pandemic and that mobility restrictions will be relaxed as a result. Economic growth in 2022 is expected to be 3%, with a range between 1% and 5%. This figure would be lower than projected in the January report (3.6% with a range between 2% and 6%), due to a higher base of comparison given the upward revision to expected GDP in 2021. This forecast also takes into account the likely effects on private demand of a fiscal adjustment of the size currently being proposed by the national government, and which would come into effect in 2022. Excess in productive capacity is now expected to be lower than estimated in January but continues to be significant and affected by high levels of uncertainty, as reflected in the wide forecast intervals. The possibility of new waves of the virus (of uncertain intensity and duration) represents a significant downward risk to projected GDP growth, and is signaled by the lower limits of the ranges provided in this report. Inflation (1.51%) and inflation excluding food and regulated items (0.94%) declined in March compared to December, continuing below the 3% target. The decline in inflation in this period was below projections, explained in large part by unanticipated increases in the costs of certain foods (3.92%) and regulated items (1.52%). An increase in international food and shipping prices, increased foreign demand for beef, and specific upward pressures on perishable food supplies appear to explain a lower-than-expected deceleration in the consumer price index (CPI) for foods. An unexpected increase in regulated items prices came amid unanticipated increases in international fuel prices, on some utilities rates, and for regulated education prices. The decline in annual inflation excluding food and regulated items between December and March was in line with projections from January, though this included downward pressure from a significant reduction in telecommunications rates due to the imminent entry of a new operator. When controlling for the effects of this relative price change, inflation excluding food and regulated items exceeds levels forecast in the previous report. Within this indicator of core inflation, the CPI for goods (1.05%) accelerated due to a reversion of the effects of the VAT-free day in November, which was largely accounted for in February, and possibly by the transmission of a recent depreciation of the peso on domestic prices for certain items (electric and household appliances). For their part, services prices decelerated and showed the lowest rate of annual growth (0.89%) among the large consumer baskets in the CPI. Within the services basket, the annual change in rental prices continued to decline, while those services that continue to experience the most significant restrictions on returning to normal operations (tourism, cinemas, nightlife, etc.) continued to register significant price declines. As previously mentioned, telephone rates also fell significantly due to increased competition in the market. Total inflation is expected to continue to be affected by ample excesses in productive capacity for the remainder of 2021 and 2022, though less so than projected in January. As a result, convergence to the inflation target is now expected to be somewhat faster than estimated in the previous report, assuming the absence of significant additional outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff’s year-end inflation projections for 2021 and 2022 have increased, suggesting figures around 3% due largely to variation in food and regulated items prices. The projection for inflation excluding food and regulated items also increased, but remains below 3%. Price relief measures on indirect taxes implemented in 2020 are expected to lapse in the second quarter of 2021, generating a one-off effect on prices and temporarily affecting inflation excluding food and regulated items. However, indexation to low levels of past inflation, weak demand, and ample excess productive capacity are expected to keep core inflation below the target, near 2.3% at the end of 2021 (previously 2.1%). The reversion in 2021 of the effects of some price relief measures on utility rates from 2020 should lead to an increase in the CPI for regulated items in the second half of this year. Annual price changes are now expected to be higher than estimated in the January report due to an increased expected path for fuel prices and unanticipated increases in regulated education prices. The projection for the CPI for foods has increased compared to the previous report, taking into account certain factors that were not anticipated in January (a less favorable agricultural cycle, increased pressure from international prices, and transport costs). Given the above, year-end annual inflation for 2021 and 2022 is now expected to be 3% and 2.8%, respectively, which would be above projections from January (2.3% and 2,7%). For its part, expected inflation based on analyst surveys suggests year-end inflation in 2021 and 2022 of 2.8% and 3.1%, respectively. There remains significant uncertainty surrounding the inflation forecasts included in this report due to several factors: 1) the evolution of the pandemic; 2) the difficulty in evaluating the size and persistence of excess productive capacity; 3) the timing and manner in which price relief measures will lapse; and 4) the future behavior of food prices. Projected 2021 growth in foreign demand (4.4% to 5.2%) and the supposed average oil price (USD 53 to USD 61 per Brent benchmark barrel) were both revised upward. An increase in long-term international interest rates has been reflected in a depreciation of the peso and could result in relatively tighter external financial conditions for emerging market economies, including Colombia. Average growth among Colombia’s trade partners was greater than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. This, together with a sizable fiscal stimulus approved in the United States and the onset of a massive global vaccination campaign, largely explains the projected increase in foreign demand growth in 2021. The resilience of the goods market in the face of global crisis and an expected normalization in international trade are additional factors. These considerations and the expected continuation of a gradual reduction of mobility restrictions abroad suggest that Colombia’s trade partners could grow on average by 5.2% in 2021 and around 3.4% in 2022. The improved prospects for global economic growth have led to an increase in current and expected oil prices. Production interruptions due to a heavy winter, reduced inventories, and increased supply restrictions instituted by producing countries have also contributed to the increase. Meanwhile, market forecasts and recent Federal Reserve pronouncements suggest that the benchmark interest rate in the U.S. will remain stable for the next two years. Nevertheless, a significant increase in public spending in the country has fostered expectations for greater growth and inflation, as well as increased uncertainty over the moment in which a normalization of monetary policy might begin. This has been reflected in an increase in long-term interest rates. In this context, emerging market economies in the region, including Colombia, have registered increases in sovereign risk premiums and long-term domestic interest rates, and a depreciation of local currencies against the dollar. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in several of these economies; limits on vaccine supply and the slow pace of immunization campaigns in some countries; a significant increase in public debt; and tensions between the United States and China, among other factors, all add to a high level of uncertainty surrounding interest rate spreads, external financing conditions, and the future performance of risk premiums. The impact that this environment could have on the exchange rate and on domestic financing conditions represent risks to the macroeconomic and monetary policy forecasts. Domestic financial conditions continue to favor recovery in economic activity. The transmission of reductions to the policy interest rate on credit rates has been significant. The banking portfolio continues to recover amid circumstances that have affected both the supply and demand for loans, and in which some credit risks have materialized. Preferential and ordinary commercial interest rates have fallen to a similar degree as the benchmark interest rate. As is generally the case, this transmission has come at a slower pace for consumer credit rates, and has been further delayed in the case of mortgage rates. Commercial credit levels stabilized above pre-pandemic levels in March, following an increase resulting from significant liquidity requirements for businesses in the second quarter of 2020. The consumer credit portfolio continued to recover and has now surpassed February 2020 levels, though overall growth in the portfolio remains low. At the same time, portfolio projections and default indicators have increased, and credit establishment earnings have come down. Despite this, credit disbursements continue to recover and solvency indicators remain well above regulatory minimums. 1.2 Monetary policy decision In its meetings in March and April the BDBR left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.75%.