Papers by josep-francesc valls
An analysis of the 430 hotel, tourist destination, travel agency, transport, restaurant and leisu... more An analysis of the 430 hotel, tourist destination, travel agency, transport, restaurant and leisure activity websites offers a clear view of the communicative behaviour of Spanish tourism companies in terms of design, functionality and customer value. A tool containing 21 attributes related to e-commerce from a customer perspective has been constructed for measuring websites. The results obtained suggest significant interest in the websites’ design, with an emphasis on aesthetics: low levels of functionality in searches, in the development of e-commerce and in the low customisation of the offer; and little interest in transmitting customer value-added, i.e. customers are given scarce information on price and are, at the same time, directed straight to e-shopping. The transport sector and tourist destinations attain the highest overall rating, while traditional travel agencies and restaurants attain the lowest overall rating
This paper investigates the use of social media platforms and their value for companies in the to... more This paper investigates the use of social media platforms and their value for companies in the tourism industry. The analysis shows the value these platforms provide by focusing on communication facilities, brand exposure, traffic generation, web positioning, content, e-commerce functionalities, activities, and overall usability. This paper aims to answer the questions: how do social media networks add value to the tourism industry; and how can companies benefit from this knowledge?
From the origins of the low cost era in the early millennium, price has adopted a superior role i... more From the origins of the low cost era in the early millennium, price has adopted a superior role in consumer purchase decisions. This has occurred not only in the expansionary periods but also in recessions. This paper shows that in the period 2009-2013 price sensitivity increases on horseback from the economic recession. So the segment of buyers seeking value remains; rational buyers and those seeking for cheaper brands increases; and hybrid buyers decays. All this triggers the explosion of low cost brands, bringing the attributes between manufacturer and distributors brands closer, enhancing permanent promotions, and boosting discount channels, among other elements of the new scenario.
There is a traditional way of conceptualizing the Status Consumption Scale – SCS (Eastman, Goldsm... more There is a traditional way of conceptualizing the Status Consumption Scale – SCS (Eastman, Goldsmith, Flynn, 1999). On the one hand, the concept embraces the rigidity of the price, on the other hand, the competitive advantages of quality (involvement, innovativeness, and brand loyalty). The factors at the latter extreme minimize price sensitivity and in most cases are linked to higher prices. Price-based competitive advantage works the other way, raising price sensitivity and almost always coincides with lower prices. Over the last decade, a set of new factors has come into play, changing the traditional concept of price sensitivity, leading most consumers towards a new relationship, namely: pricing for value (De Jaime Escala, 2007). This new paradigm means a new ordering of criteria in consumers’ minds when they buy something, such that quality-linked factors (involvement, innovativeness and brand loyalty) and price-linked factors (low prices) break the old rules, spreading the par...
El comercio minorista en las ciudades turisticas se enfrenta a una serie de cambios que se han ac... more El comercio minorista en las ciudades turisticas se enfrenta a una serie de cambios que se han acelerado a raiz de la crisis economica. Los que se derivan del incremento de la competencia comercial acelerados por la crisis, de las modificaciones de los habitos de los consumidores, y de la presencia de turistas nacionales e internacionales. Estos cambios generan impactos negativos sobre el comercio, pero a la vez oportunidades para satisfacer las nuevas demandas. Tomando como marco los resultados de la Encuesta trimestral ICOB- ESADE, realizada entre 2010 y 2014, este trabajo se ha propuesto establecer una serie de clusteres de comercio urbano minorista, unilocalizados, desde la optica de la competitividad. Los cinco clusteres que aparecen, de mayor a menor nivel de competitividad, han sido obtenidos gracias a una serie de dimensiones de competitividad sometidas a una muestra de 500 comerciantes minoristas de Barcelona. Llama la atencion entre esas dimensiones que no resulta relevant...
Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2017
Governance models and future strategic visions for Spain's beach socialecological systems are ass... more Governance models and future strategic visions for Spain's beach socialecological systems are assessed using an online questionnaire. Beaches continue to represent the most valuable attraction for Spanish coastal towns, but their strategic vision regarding the beach consists more of it being a profitable attraction and of maintaining the traditional "sun and sand" model, rather than of planning strategically. There are three trends looking to 2020. First, beach resorts are becoming linked with culture and heritage, gastronomy, events and ecotourism to enhance their attraction capacity and competitiveness. Second, the coastal towns plan to reduce the strain on beaches by increasing the number of square metres of sand per user. Third, they plan to reduce the strain of the seasonal population compared to the year-round population. Two indices (Beach Quality and Governance Quality) and two factors (Beach Management Proximity and Tourist Resource Expectations) were developed to assess municipal beach governance frameworks, enabling us to construct a typology of four municipal governance models. The country follows a classical public hierarchical model of beach management. Other than at the local scale, beaches are not strategically managed. There is a lack of implementation of adaptive measures, collective actions, integrated management, or policy learning.
Enlightening Tourism a Pathmaking Journal, 2012
In the current economic crisis, nations try to identify those sectors that can best help them fin... more In the current economic crisis, nations try to identify those sectors that can best help them find the path back to growth. Spain hopes that tourism will play this role. The problem is that the industry has been losing competitiveness over the last few years as a result of the structural problems arising from mass, low-cost tourism. Innovation seems to be the only way out of this morass and of improving competitiveness and leading the country out of recession. This paper looks at the relationship between innovation and competitiveness by identifying the nature and degree of innovation applied by Spanish firms in the tourism sector. This fieldwork found ten dimensions of innovation. Analysis of these revealed that Spanish companies tend to see innovation in a reactive way (cost-cutting, staff cuts, greater management and process control) rather than in an active fashion (creating products, re-engineering the business model, internationalisation). Thus the study makes both academic and practical contributions. On the one hand, the empirical work allows in the management field of the various tourism sub-sectors relating innovation with competitiveness-in which the former is vital for the latter (Larios, 1999; Porter, 1990). On the other hand, given the difficulties for companies in general and tourism firms in particular in articulating an innovation policy, the findings yield innovation models that could be applied to other Spanish and European companies.
Ocean & Coastal Management, 2015
Highlights A new Integrated Beach Management System (EBMS-Beaches) that introduces the principles... more Highlights A new Integrated Beach Management System (EBMS-Beaches) that introduces the principles of ecosystem management into these socialecological environments. Linking the Theory of Environmental Policy and the Practice of Environmental Management: application to beach management. Coupling Environmental and Risk Management Systems with the principles of Ecosystem Management A need of further innovation in beach management frameworks: the case of Spain *Highlight (for review)
Desde los origenes de la era low cost a principios del milenio, el precio ha adquirido un rol sup... more Desde los origenes de la era low cost a principios del milenio, el precio ha adquirido un rol superior en la toma de decisiones de los consumidores. Eso ha ocurrido tanto en los periodos expansivos como en los recesivos. De este paper se desprende que en el periodo 2009-2013 se incrementa la sensibilidad al precio, a caballo de la recesion economica. De modo que se mantiene el segmento de los compradores que buscan valor; aumenta el de los compradores de marcas baratas y los racionales; y decae el de los hibridos. Todo ello desencadena la explosion de las marcas low cost, el acercamiento de los atributos entre las marcas de fabricante y las de distribuidor, las promociones permanentes, e impulsa los canales de descuento, entre otros elementos del nuevo escenario.
Tourism Review, 2009
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse perceptions among European tourism experts special... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse perceptions among European tourism experts specialising in tourism planning regarding the impact that climate change may have on tourism management.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used was the double convergent Delphi Method. A total of 70 European experts in tourism planning were surveyed to determine their opinions. Two focus groups of experts were organised, first to fine‐tune the questionnaire before implementing the Delphi method and, second, to check the results afterwards.FindingsThe most noteworthy findings expressed were: climate change has already begun; life in the forthcoming decades will be subject to constant uncertainty; there is a clear perception of responsibility; there is a reluctance to accept repressive taxation but support for renewable energy incentives; and there is a call for responsible growth based on integrated destination management, public‐private co‐responsibility and the application of mitigati...
Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 2014
ABSTRACT Starting from the field work in seven European countries, the paper identify Europeans’ ... more ABSTRACT Starting from the field work in seven European countries, the paper identify Europeans’ attitudes towards and preferences for European cities. The purpose here is to show whether a city’s tourist attraction is linked solely with a given holiday format (city-break; 1-2 night stay; short holiday; 3-4 night stay; long holiday; 8-night stay or longer) or not. The results helped in the interpretation of contemporary urban tourism flows in Europe, offering a broader vision of such flows and furnishing useful data for city strategic planning to boost competitiveness.
This paper analyzes the innovative effort compared in the management areas and scopes of the Cata... more This paper analyzes the innovative effort compared in the management areas and scopes of the Catalan tourist industry, to know the effect towards the competitiveness of the sector. After identifying which are both and developing a fieldwork measuring the innovative intensity of the companies, the conclusion is that there is an innovative effort deficit in those areas and scopes related to the effective customer orientation, such as the technology, the channels of commercialization and sale, and the co-creation. This can negatively affect the tourist leadership of the tourist region, given that they are the key factors in digital transformation
Abstract: Barcelona's city tourism model over the last fifteen years has chalked up many suc... more Abstract: Barcelona's city tourism model over the last fifteen years has chalked up many successes in terms of soaring tourist numbers, overnight stays, cruise liner passengers, hotel beds and visits to priced sights. Growth in city breaks has soared to the point where Barcelona has become one of Europe's most visited cities. But this growth has come at a heavy price: mass tourism, concentration in certain neighbourhoods, competition for space between tourists and residents, lack of adequate inter-modal transport. All of these problems threaten Barcelona's competitive position. The paper reviews the city's competitiveness, comparing Barcelona to ten other European cities. Starting out from a qualitative analysis of internal players and a Delphi Study with external players, we find the city's tourism model needs correcting. We also identify the vectors and most important factors for achieving this repositioning. The vectors reinforce the competitiveness conce...
Sustainability
The slow tourism movement is gaining popularity as more destinations focus on the local environme... more The slow tourism movement is gaining popularity as more destinations focus on the local environment and heritage experience. The approach to slow tourism usually occurs either when traditional destinations exhaust their life cycle with an evident reduction in sustainability, or when newly emerging destinations decide to develop in this way. The case of Madeira is different; the island has several decades of tourism development without excessive pressure or overcrowding, and in planning for the future it wants to sustain these conditions. Seeking to understand Madeira’s perception of the development model, we surveyed entrepreneurs in Madeira’s lodging, restaurant and bar, shopping, transportation, intermediation, and tourist activity industries, as well as its public sector. Even without having encountered the popularized the ideas of slow tourism, Madeira’s tourism entrepreneurs show significant alignment with the values of quieter tourism. In contrast to its mature counterparts (i...
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Papers by josep-francesc valls