Selecting lifestyle entrepreneurship recovery strategies: A response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The devastating context of the Covid-19 pandemic has created a new reality in which tourism has practically come to a standstill, a situation that must be reversed. This study focuses on the revitalization of businesses run by lifestyle entrepreneurs, a very significant class, of pivotal importance in innovation in the tourism sector. Specifically, this study aims to identify the most relevant indicators to select the recovery strategies of these entrepreneurs. Using the Delphi method combined with the Q-sort technique, a ranking of the indicators was produced on the basis of input from a panel of 26 senior managers and academics. The top five indicators were: creativity and innovation, level of innovation, qualification, startups number, and turnover volume. Findings reveal that the priority is on innovation and the qualification of the entrepreneurs. Only afterward do the traditional indicators of competitiveness of tourist destinations emerge.

Marketing Communication and Creative Tourism: An Analysis of the Local Destination Management Organization

“…According to Liu [89], creative industries, such as creative tourism, "have experienced significant transformations in recent times, with features of flexibility, user engagement, technology advancement, open platforms and digitalization, and project-based short life cycles observed" (p. 14), highlighting the importance of a close relationship between stakeholders. This finding aligns with the open innovation dynamics that defend these strategic partnerships and shows a direct impact on firms' revenues [90], which were found to be especially important in the pandemic context [40].…”

“…Furthermore, employees who have traits of creativity can generate and develop original and out-of-the-box solutions [39], thereby influencing the way that external communication, such as marketing and advertising programs, is executed, along with building an effective brand image for the tourism destination in question. In addition, the characteristics of the tourism destination's staff can also play a positive role in the way they communicate with visitors, thereby providing active customer service [40]. Alongside this, stakeholder articulation with tourism organizations plays a significant role in providing the required information that leads to innovative developments as well as improvements [16].…”

“…Effective knowledge management facilitates the establishment and implementation of competitiveness in tourism destinations, considering that it represents a very active and progressive method [40]. As a result, to develop a sustainable and competitive tourism destination, a tourism destination must invest in strategic key planning and management [26].…”

Willingness to Stay of Tourism Lifestyle Entrepreneurs: A Configurational Perspective

“…TLEs are focused on preserving both the local lifestyle and the environment and traditions of the local community [6,7]. These characteristics align with the growing trends in the industry and those that are being enhanced by pandemic [8], generating the need to seek new market segments that value factors such as genuineness, sustainability, and innovation. TLEs are recognized for identifying and adapting to niche markets [9] and for promoting an innovation spillover effect in and between destinations [10].…”

Destination Resilience and Innovation for Advanced Sustainable Tourism Management: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…The Journal of Sustainable Tourism (H-index: 103) promotes the understanding of sustainability and its relationship with the tourism industry by stimulating The third scientific production period (2015-2021) counts 213 contributions. The themes of innovation and sustainability, resilience, e.g., [51,[103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110] and its related topics, such as disaster and crisis recovery, i.e., [104][105][106][107][108]; climate change, i.e., [111][112][113][114]; and overtourism, i.e., [115][116][117], start to emerge. Other papers stress the attention on smart destinations.…”