research topic about tourism

200+ Best Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

“Interested in Tourism Research Topics for College Students? Tourism involves exploring different places, and it’s a popular subject for college studies. There are many exciting topics for students to research, like how we can travel responsibly, preserving cultural heritage, and how technology affects our travel experiences.

In this article, we’ll discuss various interesting research topic ideas for college students. Whether it’s about sustainable travel, keeping traditions alive, or how places are promoted to visitors, there’s a lot to discover. Let’s explore these topics together and see how they can help us understand the world of tourism better.

Table of Contents

What Is Tourism Research Topics?

Tourism research covers a lot of ground. Students and experts study different tourism topics to get a handle on how travel and hospitality work and how we can make them better. Some specific topics people dig into:

• How can we make tourism greener and more sustainable? This includes looking at the environmental impact of flights, cruise ships, hotels, etc.
• Cultural tourism – like understanding how tourism affects local arts, traditions, ways of life positively and negatively.
• Medical tourism – people traveling for cheaper healthcare.
• Adventure tourism – researching the thrill-seeking niche.
• Hospitality management – running hotels, airport logistics, etc. Behind the scenes.
• Marketing destinations and travel deals.
• Jobs and money – how tourism boosts or harms local economies.
• Tourism laws and policies – smart regulations?
• How technology is changing tourism – apps, VR trips, automation.

Basically, tourism research helps us get tourism. From green dream trips to mega resorts. Students pick topics to dive deep into all aspects of this giant industry and recommend future improvements. The goal is to pick up knowledge that helps people in the real world.

How Do I Find The Right Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students?

Here are some tips for college students on finding good travel and tourism research topic ideas:

1. Think About Your Interests

• What aspects of tourism are you most passionate about? Sustainability? Cultural preservation? Economics? Identify your interests first.

2. Look at Emerging Tourism Trends

• Explore rising issues like over-tourism, technology, and health and wellness trips. Researching a hot topic can be highly relevant.

3. Consult the Experts

• Ask your professors, librarians, and department advisors about gaps in current research. Finding an understudied niche can lead to great opportunities.

4. Scan Academic Journals

• Look at recent journals to see tourism topics other scholars are investigating. This can provide inspiration.

5. Consider Accessibility

• Can you realistically research this topic based on your location, budget, and resources? Localized tourism allows for interviews, surveys, and site visits.

6. Define a Specific Focus

• “Sustainable Tourism Strategies in Jamaica” is better than “Sustainability in Tourism.” Dig into a particular, well-defined angle.

7. Search Tourism Example Research Topics

• Look at other schools’ research prompts and samples for ideas. Discover what issues scholars tackle.

8. Make it Interdisciplinary

• Combine tourism with disciplines like business, anthropology, or communications for intriguing intersections.

What Are Some Good Topics Related To Tourism And Hospitality For My Thesis?

Here are some potential thesis topics related to tourism and hospitality presented in a table format:

List of 200+ Best Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

Here are the tourism research topics ideas for college students:

Sustainable Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Sustainable tourism practices and their impact on local economies
• Ecotourism: Balancing conservation and visitor experience
• Green initiatives in the hotel industry: A case study analysis
• Community-based tourism for sustainable development
• The role of government policies in promoting sustainable tourism
• Assessing the carbon footprint of popular tourist destinations
• Wildlife conservation and its influence on tourism strategies
• Sustainable transportation in the tourism sector
• The economic benefits of sustainable tourism in developing countries
• Evaluating the effectiveness of eco-certifications in the tourism industry

Cultural Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Impact of cultural festivals on tourism in different regions
• Heritage tourism: Preserving the past for future generations
• Cultural exchange programs and their contribution to tourism
• Role of museums and galleries in promoting cultural tourism
• Cultural diversity and its influence on tourist preferences
• The impact of indigenous tourism on local communities
• Revitalization of cultural heritage sites for tourism purposes
• Cultural differences in tourist behavior: A cross-cultural analysis
• The role of technology in preserving and promoting cultural heritage
• Religious tourism: Pilgrimages and their significance in the modern era

Medical Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Factors influencing the growth of medical tourism
• The impact of globalization on medical tourism trends
• Quality assessment in international healthcare services for medical tourists
• The role of advertising in attracting medical tourists to specific destinations
• Ethical considerations in medical tourism: A case study approach
• Economic implications of medical tourism for destination countries
• Integrating traditional and modern medicine in medical tourism destinations
• Medical tourism and its effect on local healthcare infrastructure
• Patient satisfaction in medical tourism: A comparative study
• Legal and regulatory challenges in the medical tourism industry

Adventure Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Risk management in adventure tourism activities
• Extreme sports tourism: Trends and challenges
• Adventure tourism and its impact on local ecosystems
• Psychological aspects of adventure tourism: A case study approach
• Adventure tourism marketing strategies in the digital age
• Cultural sensitivity in adventure tourism: A comparative analysis
• Community involvement in the development of adventure tourism destinations
• The role of technology in enhancing the adventure tourism experience
• Adventure tourism and its potential for community empowerment
• Adventure tourism and the concept of responsible travel

Dark Tourism Research Paper Topics & Ideas For College Students

• Motivations of Tourists Visiting Dark Tourism Sites
• Ethical considerations in dark tourism: A critical analysis
• Dark tourism and its impact on local communities
• The role of media in shaping perceptions of dark tourism destinations
• Historical preservation vs. commercialization in dark tourism
• Visitor experiences at war memorial sites: A comparative study
• Dark tourism and the representation of traumatic events
• The impact of guided tours on the interpretation of dark tourism sites
• Psychosocial effects of dark tourism on visitors
• Tourism and the commemoration of tragic events: A global perspective

Hospitality Management Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Trends in Hotel management: A Case Study Analysis
• The impact of online reviews on hotel bookings
• Employee satisfaction in the hospitality industry
• Technology adoption in hospitality services: Challenges and opportunities
• Sustainable practices in hotel operations
• The role of leadership in ensuring quality service in hotels
• Customer loyalty programs in the hospitality sector
• Impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry: A case study approach
• Innovations in hotel design and architecture
• Cross-cultural communication in the Hospitality Workforce

Tourism Marketing Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Digital marketing strategies for tourism destinations
• Social media influence on travel decision-making
• Destination branding: A case study of successful campaigns
• The role of influencers in promoting tourist destinations
• Event marketing and its impact on tourism
• Sustainable tourism marketing: Communicating green initiatives
• Niche tourism markets: Identifying and targeting specific segments
• Cultural sensitivity in international tourism marketing
• The impact of celebrity endorsements on destination popularity
• The role of technology in personalized tourism marketing

Economic Impact of Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Economic benefits of mega-events for host cities
• Tourism as a catalyst for rural economic development
• The role of small businesses in the tourism supply chain
• Economic diversification through tourism in developing countries
• The impact of tourism on income distribution in local communities
• Tourism taxation and its effects on destination competitiveness
• The role of infrastructure development in attracting tourism investments
• Economic resilience of tourist destinations in times of crisis
• Measuring the economic impact of cultural events on tourism
• Economic indicators and their correlation with tourism growth

Tourism Policy and Planning Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Analyzing the effectiveness of national tourism policies
• Community involvement in tourism planning and decision-making
• Tourism master plans and their implementation challenges
• Sustainable tourism development in protected areas
• Crisis management in tourism: Lessons from past events
• The role of public-private partnerships in tourism development
• Urban planning and its impact on tourism in major cities
• The influence of global events on destination planning
• Accessibility and its role in tourism destination development
• Stakeholder collaboration in regional tourism planning

Tourism and Technology Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Augmented reality in enhancing tourist experiences
• The role of artificial intelligence in personalized travel recommendations
• Big data analytics in tourism: Challenges and opportunities
• The impact of virtual reality on destination marketing
• Smart tourism destinations: Integrating technology for sustainable growth
• Blockchain technology in improving tourism security
• Mobile applications and their role in enhancing the tourist experience
• Online travel agencies and their impact on traditional tourism businesses
• The role of chatbots in customer service in the tourism industry
• Social media analytics for measuring tourism destination popularity

Tourism and Climate Change Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Climate change adaptation strategies for coastal tourism destinations
• Carbon offset programs in the travel industry
• The impact of climate change on winter tourism
• Sustainable transportation and its role in reducing tourism-related emissions
• Climate change awareness among tourists: A global perspective
• Green infrastructure in tourism destinations to mitigate climate change effects
• The role of tourism in raising awareness about climate change
• Sustainable energy practices in the hospitality sector
• Climate change and its influence on tourist behavior
• Policy measures for climate-resilient tourism development

Tourism Education and Training Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Curriculum development for tourism and hospitality programs
• The role of experiential learning in tourism education
• Internship programs and their impact on student preparedness for the industry
• The effectiveness of online learning in tourism education
• Industry-academia collaboration in shaping tourism curricula
• Soft skills development for success in the tourism sector
• Role of mentorship in career development in the tourism industry
• Diversity and inclusion in tourism education
• Lifelong learning in the ever-evolving tourism industry
• Bridging the gap between academia and industry in tourism education

Tourism and Cross-Cultural Communication Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Language barriers and their impact on tourist experiences
• Cultural sensitivity in tourism marketing materials
• Cross-cultural communication challenges in the hospitality sector
• Cultural exchange programs and their influence on intercultural understanding
• Role of interpreters in enhancing cross-cultural communication in tourism
• The impact of cultural training for tourism professionals
• Addressing stereotypes in cross-cultural interactions in tourism
• Cross-cultural negotiation in the tourism industry
• Tourist expectations and cross-cultural encounters
• Cultural adaptation strategies for tourism businesses in foreign markets

Tourism and Risk Management Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Crisis communication in the tourism industry
• Risk assessment in adventure tourism activities
• Emergency preparedness in tourist destinations
• The role of insurance in mitigating tourism-related risks
• Crisis management and its impact on destination image
• Cybersecurity threats in the tourism sector
• Health and safety standards in the tourism industry
• Natural disaster preparedness for tourist destinations
• The psychological impact of perceived risks on tourist behavior
• Legal aspects of risk management in the tourism industry

Tourism and Social Media Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Influencer marketing in the tourism industry
• The impact of user-generated content on destination perception
• Social media and crisis communication in the tourism sector
• Instagrammability and its influence on travel decisions
• The role of social media in promoting sustainable tourism practices
• Online reputation management for tourist destinations
• Social media analytics for measuring destination competitiveness
• The use of virtual tours on social media platforms
• Hashtag campaigns and their effectiveness in destination marketing
• The influence of online communities on travel behavior

Accessible Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Inclusive tourism: Addressing the needs of travelers with disabilities
• Accessible transportation options for tourists with mobility challenges
• Universal design in tourism infrastructure
• The role of technology in enhancing accessibility for tourists
• Inclusive marketing strategies for accessible tourism destinations
• Training programs for tourism professionals on accommodating diverse needs
• Legal frameworks and regulations for accessible tourism
• Accessible tourism and its impact on destination competitiveness
• Innovative solutions for making tourist attractions more inclusive
• Community engagement in promoting accessible tourism

Rural Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• The role of agritourism in rural economic development
• Challenges and opportunities in promoting rural tourism
• Cultural preservation in rural tourism destinations
• Community-based tourism initiatives in rural areas
• The impact of technology on rural tourism experiences
• Sustainable agriculture practices in rural tourism development
• The role of festivals and events in attracting tourists to rural areas
• Rural homestays and their contribution to local economies
• Ecological and cultural sustainability in rural tourism
• The role of local communities in shaping rural tourism policies

Film Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• The influence of movies and TV shows on travel decisions
• Film-induced tourism and its economic impact
• Movie location tours and their popularity among tourists
• The role of film festivals in promoting tourism destinations
• Collaborations between the film industry and tourism boards
• Celebrity endorsement and its impact on destination popularity
• Cultural representation in films and its influence on tourism
• Film-inspired marketing campaigns for tourist destinations
• Challenges and benefits of managing film tourism impacts
• The role of social media in promoting destinations featured in films

Tourism and Event Management Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Event tourism: Economic impacts and challenges
• Festival management and its role in Destination Branding
• The impact of mega-events on local communities
• Sustainable practices in event management for tourism
• Event sponsorship and its influence on destination promotion
• Cultural and historical events as tourist attractions
• Crisis management in the context of event tourism
• Technology integration in event planning for tourism
• Event tourism and its role in community development
• Evaluating the success of events in achieving tourism objectives

Volunteer Tourism Research Topics Ideas For College Students

• Motivations and expectations of volunteer tourists
• Ethical considerations in volunteer tourism programs
• The impact of volunteer tourism on local communities
• Volunteer tourism and its contribution to sustainable development
• Skill development through volunteer tourism experiences
• Challenges in managing volunteer tourism projects
• Cultural sensitivity in volunteer tourism initiatives
• Volunteer tourism and its potential for cross-cultural understanding
• Volunteer tourism as a tool for promoting responsible travel
• Evaluating the long-term impact of volunteer tourism on participants and host communities

100+ Most Interesting And Recent Tourism Research Topics Pdf

Here are the tourism research topics ideas for college students pdf:

Good Research Title For Tourism Students

Here are some suggested tourism research title ideas that college students could explore, presented in a table format:

Tourism research topics ideas for college students open doors to a world of possibilities. These topics offer diverse info, ranging from sustainable tourism practices to the influence of social media on travel decisions. As college students, these ideas provide a roadmap for investigation and discovery.

Diving into sustainable tourism, students can unravel the impacts of eco-certifications or delve into the economic benefits of green initiatives. Cultural tourism beckons with topics like heritage preservation and the role of museums in attracting visitors. For those interested in the intersection of healthcare and travel, medical tourism topics explore factors influencing its growth and ethical considerations.

The good tourism topics the daring, touching on risk management and the psychological aspects of extreme sports. Delving into the unique realm of dark tourism, students can examine visitor motivations and ethical concerns. Hospitality management topics invite exploration of trends, online reviews, and hotel leadership roles.

From tourism marketing to economic impacts and policy planning, these ideas are the best ideas for students to explore, offering academic enrichment and real-world implications for the industry. As students work on their research endeavors, these simple yet profound topics hold the potential to shape their understanding of the dynamic and evolving field of tourism.

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Qualitative Research in Tourism

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• Carina Ren 3  

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Qualitative research refers to research applying a methodology as well as one of a range of methods, which seeks to explore, interpret, understand, and potentially intervene into a given field or issue under study. Qualitative research in tourism takes its inspiration primarily from the humanities and the social sciences, such as cultural geography, anthropology, and sociology. Most often, the aim is to explore and search for meaning or to develop an understanding through the crafting of “thick” descriptions or the generation of other types of rich material, which may become subject to interpretation. It seeks to avoid making generalizations, grand claims, and reductions. Consequently, it strives to critically reflect on research positionality and to remain sensitive to power relations and ambiguity.

The concept of qualitative research covers a range of methodologies but is usually contrasted with and seen in opposition to quantitative and deductive research, as it attempts to...

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Ateljevic, I., A. Pritchard, and N. Morgan, eds. 2007. The Critical Turn in Tourism Studies: Innovative Research Methodologies . London: Elsevier.

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Wilson, E., P. Mura, S.P. Sharif, and S.N. Wijesinghe. 2020. Beyond the third moment? Mapping the state of qualitative tourism research. Current Issues in Tourism 23: 795–810.

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Ren, C. (2023). Qualitative Research in Tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_426-2

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• Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism
• Behaviors and Behavior Change in Tourism
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Transformative experiences and well-being of tourism, hospitality, and events stakeholders

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Tourism, hospitality, and events play a significant role in providing transformative experiences that have the potential to positively impact the well-being of individuals and communities. These transformative experiences lead to profound changes in individuals' worldviews, values, and behaviors, promoting ...

Keywords : Transformative experiences, Well-being, Tourism, Hospitality & Events stakeholders, Positive psychology, Transformative Service Research

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Tourism and Hospitality Dissertation Topics

Published by Grace Graffin at January 10th, 2023 , Revised On May 2, 2024

Introduction

As a tourism student, you will be required to study the basics of tourism, hospitality, and event management. Some important issues surrounding tourism include but are not limited to medicine, finance, culture, geography, and more.

We understand that choosing the right dissertation topic can be a bit overwhelming for you. Therefore,  our writers have provided a comprehensive list of topics for the tourism dissertation. These topics are recent, relevant, and exploratory enough for you to conduct a comprehensive research study.

We can even customise topics according to your needs. So, go through our list of dissertation topics, choose the one that interests you, and let us know if you would like any help from our writers.

Check our  dissertation example to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

You can review step by step guide on how to write your dissertation  here.

Latest Tourism Research Topics 

Investigating how the tourism industry has taken green and sustainable measures- a case study of uk.

Research Aim: This study will investigate the various aspects of the UK tourism industry geared towards making green and sustainable measures for environmental benefits. It will also look into the consumer’s perspective towards green tourism and its positive and negative impacts on the tourism industry and the tourists. It also helps you better understand the concept of a green environment and its influence on the tourism industry.

Environmental Management Systems and their Implementation in the UK- A Systematic Review.

Research Aim: This study will explore the quality of environmental management systems, environmental performance, improvements, and implementation in the UK. We will focus on different companies with high environmental impacts and how they have improved the environment and the use of environmental management systems (EMS). This study will also look into how it has changed or influenced the hospitality industry.

Investigating the impact of Social Media Recommendations on Hotel Booking in the UK.

Research Aim: Social media is a part of every aspect of our daily life. This research will investigate the influence of social media on tourism and specifically on choosing a hotel; it will also help you evaluate if consumers perceive social media-based recommendations differently than more traditional sources of internet-based marketing. Qualitative research will be used in this, followed by thematic analysis to find the role of social media in recommendations and influencing consumers’ searches. This will help us better understand how VR makes decisions and hotel bookings.

Assessing the Impact of Virtual Reality on Tourism.

Research Aim: Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology in tourism. This study will find the impact of virtual reality on the tourism industry. It will also investigate consumer behaviour towards it. We will better understand how VR has affected the tourism industry and significantly influenced the results. TAM research model will be developed to describe the nature of the 3D virtual world. It will also cover some psychological aspects to understand the consumer perspective.

Role of Social Media Marketing in deciding a Travel Destination- A Systematic Review.

Research Aim: This study investigates the role of social media marketing in deciding a travel destination. This study aims to find and understand how social media can achieve marketing objectives. Taking a quantitative approach, we will find the role of social media marketing and its effect on making travel choices through interviews and surveys. It will further explore the tourist’s perception, expectations, and experiences.

Investigating the Negative Impact of Travel Bans

Research Aim: This study explores the negative effects of travel bans on social, economic, cultural, and public health aspects. The study aims to analyse the repercussions of travel restrictions to inform policymaking. It will further investigate ways to avoid adverse consequences while promoting global mobility and cooperation. 

An Exploration of the Hospitality Industry Wages

Research Aim: To investigate the wage structures in the hospitality industry. This study explores factors influencing disparities and evaluates their implications. Insights will be provided on wage fairness, workplace satisfaction, gender discrimination, and industry competitiveness. It will also cover policies and practices to improve employee well-being and organisational performance.

Effects of Covid-19 on Tourism and Hospitality Dissertation Topics 

Topic 1: tourism after coronavirus pandemic - way forward for tourism and hospitality industry in the uk or any other country of your choice.

Research Aim: Tourism is a reason for most of the human mobility in the modern world. According to the World Tourism Organisation (2020), international tourism has indicated continuous growth for the tenth consecutive year, reporting 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019 and an estimated 1.8 billion international tourist arrivals by 2030 )people are forecasted to be. This particular research will focus on the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the tourism and hospitality industry in the United Kingdom or any other country of your choice.

Topic 2: Investigating the Long Term Effects of Prolonged and New Travel Restrictions on the UK Tourism Industry

Research Aim: Britain will require anyone entering the country to self-quarantine for two weeks, and other European countries are pondering similar measures, but the prospects of prolonged and even new travel restrictions are destroying what hopes the continent’s airlines and tourist industry have been harbouring of at least a partial coronavirus rebound. Can the tourism sector of the UK overcome these challenges?

Topic 3: Coronavirus: Dubai Tourism Insists Emirate's Hotel Sector is Healthy, Rejects Bloomberg Report but Is It Really the Case?

Research Aim: Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has denied a Bloomberg report about the emirate’s hospitality businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This research will employ primary research methodology to gather data from the key stakeholders of the Emirates hotel industry to assess whether or not the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is causing panic and financial damage to the hotel industry.

Topic 4: Will Easing the Travel Restrictions Benefit the UK Tourism Sector in the Short Term?

Research Aim: Many European countries, including the UK, are easing lockdown measures, including tourist destinations preparing for the summer. Cafes and restaurants in London and other cities hardest hit by the virus in the UK have opened two weeks behind the rest of the country. However, with most travellers preferring to stay home in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, how effective are these measures going to be?

Topic 5: Coronavirus outbreak: Caribbean Tourism Struggles as Visitors Stay Home

Research Aim: In the Caribbean, the government plans to require all visitors to undergo rapid Covid-19 testing upon entry. They hope provisions such as virus tests for all industry workers and socially distanced resort dining will make people feel comfortable travelling. This research study will explore whether the measures taken by the Caribbean government will actually encourage the visitors to leave the comfort of their home and travel in the midst of the Covid-19 Crisis.

Ecotourism and Community Participation Dissertation Topics 

Topic 1: online tourism agents and websites.

Research Aim: This research aims to study online tourism websites and travelling agents

Topic 2: Advances in Tourism and Hospitality Post-pandemic

Research Aim: This research aims to assess the advances in Tourism and Hospitality post-pandemic

Topic 3: Impacts of Social Distancing on Tourism Managements

Research Aim: This research aims to study the impacts of social distancing on tourism managements

Topic 4: Advances in Hotel Management Post-pandemic

Research Aim: This research aims to assess advances in Hotel management post-pandemic

Topic 5: The Linguistic Roots of the Word “Hospitality” across Different Languages

Research Aim: This research investigates the linguistic roots of the word hospitality across different languages and the semantic shifts over time.

Topic 6: The Relationship Between the Host and the Guest

Research Aim: This research explores the relationship between the host and the guest and how both need to act under laws and regulations.

Economic Conditions and Local Tourism Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: factors impacting destination selection for medical tourism.

Research Aim: Medical tourism is a growing trend. An increasing number of people travel to another country, seeking medical treatment which is expensive or unavailable on their own. Various factors impact the destination selection process for medical treatment purposes. The destination can be local or international. With limited evidence on the factors that impact destination selection for medical tourism, there is a need for a comprehensive study exploring these factors in detail.

Topic 2: Impact of Low budget Airline Services on Boosting International Tourism in Europe: A Case Study of Ryanair.

Research Aim: With increasing costs of air travelling, the demand for low-budget airline services is on the rise. Ryanair is one of the leading low-budget airline services based in the UK. Its cheap air tickets attract many regular travellers. Given this, the main aim of this research will be to explore whether or not low-budget airlines are actually helping to increase international tourism in Europe or not. This research will be conducted based on quantitative data which will be collected from a sample of Ryanair international tourism travellers.

Topic 3: Eco-friendly Practices and Their Effect on Hotel Selection Decision: A Case Study of UK Hospitality Industry.

Research Aim: Various technologies can be implemented to achieve eco-friendliness, such as; internet of things, automation technology, bamboo industrialisation, and sustainable building construction. On the other hand, eco-friendly practices include; water and energy conservation, renewable energy use, waste recycling and management, alternative plastic products, and more. Many hotels in the UK install solar panels and automated systems, which generate renewable energy and ensure complete automation for lights and water. It is worth evaluating how eco-friendly technologies and practices affect the hotel selection decision of guests in the UK hospitality industry.

Topic 4: How Economic Conditions of a Country Impact its Local Tourism: Identifying the Economic Factors Influencing the Tourism Sector.

Research Aim: Economic factors have a great impact on tourism. When a country is economically strong, it spends a great deal on tourism development. On the other hand, tourism could be adversely affected if a country is struggling with its finances. This research aims to investigate and critically analyse the economic factors which tend to affect the tourism sector of a country. The study will also weigh the economic upsides and downsides of these factors concerning local tourism.

Topic 5: Assessing the Impact of Social Media Platforms on Tourism Destination Selection.

Research Aim: These days, social media websites play a tremendous role for tourists in destination selection. The experiences and reviews that people share on online social platforms have a huge impact on making or breaking the future of any tourist destination. This research will analyze the role of different social media platforms in choosing tourism destinations among tourists. This research will also shed light on the rationale and factors people rely on social media to select their tourism destination.

Topic 6: Assessing the Impact of Government Rules, Regulations, and Policies on Tourism Development: A Case Study of Developing Countries.

Research Aim: The tourism sector of any country is greatly looked after by governmental and regulatory bodies. This research will analyze the role played by such bodies from the perspective of policymaking and regulation implementation. The study will also explore how the impact of policymaking and government regulations in developed countries might be different from that of developing countries.

Topic 7: Analysing the Impact of Natural Hazaresearch will measure the customer satisfaction of British lesbians after they have undergone gender reassignment at the Yanhee International Hospital in Bangkok.

Research Aim: Natural hazards can have a disastrous effect on the tourism industry of any country. The UK is one of the countries where the tourism industry has experienced huge success. Thus, this research will be carried out to analyze the impact of such hazards on the UK’s tourism sector.

Topic 8: Assessing the Factors and Preferences Impacting Tourist's Decisions to Travel to a Dark Tourism Site.

Research Aim: As a result of a shift in preferences of tourists and an urge to explore and learn, dark tourism has gained immense popularity and success in recent times. This research will explore the factors and reasons why tourists choose dark places as their tourism destination.

Topic 9: The Impact of Travel Bloggers and vloggers on the Tourism Industry.

Research Aim: Travel bloggers and vloggers are an important part of the tourism industry now. These people travel the world, document their experiences through their writing or videos, and influence people. Tourists throughout the world now depend on their reviews and choose their travel destinations accordingly. This research will aim to explore how these influencers have completely changed the tourism industry.

Educational Tourism Dissertation Topics

Tourism has gained tremendous popularity among academicians and researchers in recent times. Educational tourism primarily takes into consideration technical competencies and new knowledge gained outside the classroom environment.

Educational tourism brings to light the idea of travelling to learn about the cultures of other nations. Exchange student programmes are perhaps the most commonly employed educational tourism strategy, allowing students to learn about the culture of the host nation through research work and travel. Possible areas of research in this field of tourism for your dissertation are provided below;

Topic 1: Educational Tourism Programmes and the Popularity of Host Nations

Research Aim: This research will discuss the educational exchange programmes in detail and will also assess how educational tourism can add to the appeal of the host nations for prospective tourists.

Topic 2: Factors Affecting the Decision of British Students to Join International Student Exchange Programmes.

Research Aim: Even though student exchange programmes are popular throughout the world, there are certain countries where they are practised the most. This research will study one such country, the UK, concerning the factors that encourage British students to join international exchange programmes.

Topic 3: Factors Contributing Towards the Success of Work & Study Programmes in the UK

Research Aim: This research will analyse the factors that contribute towards the success of study programmes in the UK, i.e. benefits of studying in the UK and the attractiveness of the UK as a place to live and study.

Topic 4: To Analyse the Satisfaction of International Students Enrolled in Student Exchange Programmes in the UK

Research Aim: This research will cover an important topic, i.e., measure the satisfaction of international students enrolled in exchange programs in the UK – the same topic can be used for any other country such as the USA or Canada.

Topic 5: To Investigate Potential Marketing and Communication Tools to Promote “any country” as the Best Place to Pursue Higher Education.

Research Aim: This research will investigate and conclude the most successful marketing and communication tools that are used to promote exchange programmes in a particular country. The topic can be customised according to the country of your choice.

Topic 6: What are the factors Influencing British Students’ Decision to Join Academic Year Exchange Programme in Japan?

Research Aim: Japan is one of the most popular destinations when it comes to student exchange programmes. This research will assess the factors that influence a British student’s decision to go to Japan to pursue education.

Topic 7: To Examine the Popularity of Student Exchange Programmes Offered by Chinese-speaking Countries.

Research Aim: This research will explore the reasons for the popularity of student exchange programmes in countries where Chinese is the official language such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, etc.

Topic 8: To Investigate the Attitude and Perception of British Students toward Summer Camps.

Research Aim: Summer camps are extremely popular in the west. This research will explore the perceptions of British students towards summer camps and what motivates them to attend them.

Topic 9: Factors Affecting the Decision of University Students to Pursue a Placement Programme in the US?

Research Aim: This research will aim to understand the rationale of university students’ decisions to pursue placement programmes in the US,

Topic 10: To Examine the Satisfaction of University Students Returning from Cultural Exchange Programmes in the US.

Research Aim: This research will aim to understand the satisfaction of university students who are on their way back from exchange programmes in the US.

Medical Tourism Dissertation Topics

Medical tourism is a new area of study in the tourism industry. The gap in the prices of medical facilities available in developing and developed countries is significant, propelling many patients to travel to far destinations to benefit from economic, medical services.

Similarly, many financially well-off patients decide to have medical treatment in foreign countries with advanced and established medical systems that provide state-of-the-art medical facilities unavailable in their home countries.

Although there may be insufficient secondary data to analyse this tourism sub-topic, researching this area will prove to be interesting. You can choose your medical tourism dissertation topics from this list.

Topic 1: Investigating the Reasons Why British Citizens Travel to Different Countries for their Dental Procedures

Research Aim: This research will identify and discuss in detail the reasons why British citizens travel to different countries for dental treatment.

Topic 2: The efficacy of marketing and communication tools employed by Thai plastic surgery and extreme makeover service providers – An investigation into the attitude and perception of British travellers.

Research Aim: A large number of British citizens travel to Thailand for cosmetic and plastic surgeries. This research will aim to understand the attitudes and perceptions of British travellers who opt for these surgeries in a foreign country. The research will also assess the marketing and communication tools employed by Thai medical service providers.

Topic 3: To Identify and Discuss Critical Marketing Strategies to Promote a Weight Loss Centre in the UK.

Research Aim: This research will talk about the marketing strategies that are undertaken in the UK to promote weight loss centres.

Topic 4: Measuring Customer satisfaction of British Lesbians After Having Sex Reassignment at Yanhee International Hospital, Bangkok

Research Aim: This research will measure the customer satisfaction of British lesbians after they have undergone gender reassignment at the Yanhee International Hospital in Bangkok.

Topic 5: To Examine the Factors Influencing the Decisions of British Women to Buy Body Contour Tour Packages in East Asia.

Research Aim: This study will analyze the factors that influence the decision-making of British women when burying body contour tour packages in East Asia.

Topic 6: To Investigate the Extent to Which Swiss Weight Control Tour Packages Have Influenced Women in the UK.

Research Aim: This research will focus on the decision-making detriments of British Women who opt to purchase weight control tour packages in Switzerland.

Topic 7: How Young British Females Perceive Facial Lifting package Tours in East Asia?

Research Aim: This study will analyze how young British females perceive facial lifting package tours in East Asia.

Topic 8: To Understand and Discuss the Factors Affecting Buying Decisions to Benefit from Extreme Makeover Tour Packages in Eastern Europe.

Research Aim: This research will critically explore the factors that influence the buying decision of customers who purchase extreme makeover packages from Eastern Europe.

Topic 9: How Attractive are the Plastic Surgery Makeover Services to Female British Customers – A Qualitative Study

Research Aim: This research will understand and analyze the attractiveness of plastic surgery makeover services that influence British females to purchase them. The research will be descriptive in nature.

Topic 10: How Homosexual Men Choose Medical Tour Packages for Sex Reassignment.

Research Aim: This study will investigate gender reassignment tour packages that interest homosexual men and the factors influencing their decision-making process.

Tourism Management Dissertation Topics

Tourism management is perhaps the most interesting area of the tourism industry. It mainly involves travelling for the purpose of leisure and recreation. People travelling to other countries and outside their usual environment with the intent of leisure can be classified as tourists.

It should be noted that the phenomenon of tourism has grown tremendously in recent years, thanks to the impact of globalisation. There are many countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Maldives, and Fiji, whose largest source of income is tourism. In these countries, tourism generates huge revenue for the government and also provides employment opportunities for the working class as well as businesses.

The suggestions below can help you to narrow your research for your tourism dissertation.

Topic 1: How British Tourists Perceive Chinese World Heritage Tour – A Qualitative Study

Research Aim: This research will focus on how British tourists perceive Chinese heritage and what compels them to visit China.

Topic 2: Exploring the Factors that Make London the Most Popular Destination for Christmas Shopping

Research Aim: This research will analyse and explore the various factors that promote London as one of the most attractive destinations for Christmas shopping.

Topic 3: Investigating the Underlying Factors that British Citizens Consider when Choosing a Destination for Their Winter Holidays.

Research Aim: This research will analyse the various factors that British citizens consider and evaluate when choosing a destination for their winter vacations.

Topic 4: An Analysis of Factors Affecting Employees’ Motivation in Luxury Hotels of Dubai.

Research Aim: This research will study the factors influencing employee motivation in luxury and five-star hotels in Dubai. The study will make use of secondary data and primary research to establish the exact factors that motivate employees to work for luxury hotels in Dubai.

Topic 5: How the Tourism Industry of Thailand Responded to the Tsunami.

Research Aim: This study will dive into the past to establish how the Thai tourism industry responded to Tsunami.

Visit our topics database to view 100s of dissertation topics in your research area.

Topic 6: Factors Influencing British Customers’ Decisions of Purchasing Egypt Tour Packages.

Research Aim: This research will explore the factors that British citizens consider when planning their holiday to Egypt.

Topic 7: Attitude and Perception of British Tourists Toward Thailand as a Winter Holiday Destination

Research Aim: This study will research why the British choose Thailand as their winter holiday destination.

Topic 8: The Increasing Popularity of Cruise Travel in South Africa Among British Tourists

Research Aim: This research will consider the reasons why South African cruise is extremely popular amongst British tourists.

Topic 9: To Investigate the Efficacy of Integrated Marketing Communication Tools to Restore the Image of Amsterdam as the Best Tourist Destination in Europe

Research Aim: This research will explore the marketing and communication tools utilized to market Amsterdam as the best tourism destination in Europe.

Topic 10: Factors Influencing British Customers’ Decision to Choose a Particular Destination During the Summer/winter Holiday

Research Aim: This research will discuss all the factors that influence British citizens to choose a destination for their summer or winter holidays. This topic can be customized according to a country of your choosing.

Hospitality Dissertation Topics

Hospitality industry  consists of casinos, resorts, restaurants, hotels, catering as well as other businesses that serve the tourists. At its core hospitality can be defined as the relationship between a guest and the hotel.

Other aspects of hospitality include but are not limited to liberality, friendliness, warm welcome, entertainment, goodwill, and reception. Modern-day businesses pride themselves on their acts of hospitality. Thus, it is an extremely interesting sub-topic to base your dissertation on. Some topics in this area of tourism are suggested below.

Topic 1: Examining How Popular Travel Agents Such as eBrooker and Opodo are Perceived by British Tourists

Research Aim: This research will evaluate some of the best and most popular travel agents such as Opodo and eBookers and how they assist British tourists with their destination planning.

Topic 2: Identifying the Factors that Influence Leisure Hotel Buying Decisions of British Customers

Research Aim: This research will identify the factors that influence British customers’ decision to opt for luxury hotels.

Topic 3: Identifying Features of a leisure hotel that attract British honeymoon couples

Research Aim: This research will identify features of a luxury hotel that attract British couples looking for a honeymoon location.

Topic 4: Investigating Hospitality Practices of Popular Leisure Hotels in Dubai

Research Aim: This study will investigate hospitality purchases of attractive luxury hotels in Dubai.

Topic 5: What are the Prime Factors Influencing Restaurant Selection Decisions of Young British Couples?

Research Aim: This research will explore the factors that influence British couples to select restaurants for their time out.

Topic 6: Investigating and Reviewing Strategies Employed by Hotel Restaurants and Pubs in London to Keep Their Employees Motivated

Research Aim: This research will study an important aspect of the tourism industry, i.e., how hotel restaurants and pubs in London keep their employees motivated.

Topic 7: Exploring the Relationship Between Culture and Leisure Hotel Buying Decisions in London.

Research Aim: This research will investigate the relationship between how customers in London choose a luxury hotel based on their culture.

Topic 8: Creating Brand Sales and Recognition Using Integrated Marketing Communication Tools.

Research Aim: This research will explore how brand sales and recognition are built using various marketing and communication tools.

Topic 9: Understanding the Relationship Between Customers’ Buying Decisions and Leisure Hotel Hospitality Features within the Context of Overseas Holidays

Research Aim: This research will explore the relationship between customers’ decision to choose a luxury hotel while visiting different countries.

Topic 10: The Impact of Hospitality Companies’ Brand Image on Tourists’ Buying Decisions.

Research Aim: This research will first talk about different hospitality companies and how their brand image impacts tourists’ buying decisions.

Black Tourism Dissertation Topics

Black tourism, also known as dark tourism and grief tourism, involves travelling to historical sites/places associated with death, casualties, and suffering.

Dark or black tourist sites such as battlefields, monuments, castles, Tsunami sites, and Ground Zero are man-made or natural. They are found commonly in Scotland, South Asia, China, and Eastern Europe.

Dark tourism may not be the ideal choice for many students. However, it is an exciting topic to explore. Possible research topics under this field of tourism are listed below:

Topic 1: How Local Communities Can Benefit Commercially and Socially from Tours to Death/Casualty Sites – A Qualitative Study

Research Aim: This research will explore the various benefits that local communities can experience from touring death or casualty sites.

Topic 2: Attitude and Perception of Tourists Towards Taj Mahal in India

Research Aim: Taj Mahal can be categorised as a dark tourism site because many people consider it a mausoleum. This research will discuss the attitude and perceptions of tourists when visiting the Taj Mahal.

Topic 3: To Investigate and Identify the Factors Influencing Tourists’ Decisions to Visit gGrief Sites in the UK

Research Aim: This research will explore the factors that influence the decisions of tourists to visit grief sites in the UK.

Topic 4: Is Mercat Tour in Scotland a Grief Tourism Site for Potential Tourists?

Research Aim: Mercat Tour in Scotland is considered a ghost site. This study will explore what makes this site a dark tourism destination.

Topic 5: Developing a Highly Effective Marketing Strategy to Promote London Dungeon Among the Tourists

Research Aim: This research will understand the various marketing strategies undertaken to promote the London Dungeon amongst tourists.

Topic 6: What are the Primary Factors Influencing British Tourists’ Decision to Choose Grief Sites?

Research Aim: This research will understand the various factors that influence British tourists’ decision to select a dark tourism site.

Topic 7: Developing a Marketing Strategy to Promote Beaumaris Prison in Wales as Another Black Tourism Site in Britain

Research Aim: This research will focus on developing a successful marketing strategy that will help promote Beaumaris Prison in Wales as a black tourism site in Britain.

Topic 8: How are Man-made Grief tourism Sites are Perceived by British Tourists?

Research Aim: This research will discover how British tourists perceive man-made dark tourism destinations.

Comparing the Man-made Black Tourism Sites with the Natural Disaster Grief Sites from the Perspective of Tourists

Research Aim: This research will compare manmade and natural dark tourism destinations with a focus on tourists’ perceptions.

Topic 10: Do the Local Communities Economically Benefit from Tourists Visiting Dark Tourism Sites?

Research Aim: This research will explore whether or not local communities are impacted in any way when dark tourist sites in their locality are visited.

Sustainability and Tourism Dissertation Topics

At its core, this field of tourism primarily focuses on the way tourists can live harmoniously with the planet earth. Ecotourist sites or sustainable tourist sites are those that promote fauna and flora and cultural heritage. Another objective of  eco-tourism  is to provide social and economic opportunities to local communities. Some interesting topics worth exploring, in this area, are suggested below:

Topic 1: Investigating the Impact of the Internet on the Growth of Eco-tourism in the UK

Research Aim: This research will study the impact of the internet on the rising eco-tourism trend in the UK.

Topic 2: Factors Affecting British Customers’ Decision of Choosing an Eco-tourism

Research Aim: This research will study the reason why British tourists opt for an eco-tourism site as compared to traditional destinations.

Topic 3: Establishing and Discussing Strategies to Promote Swansea as the Best Eco-tourist Spot in the UK

Research Aim: This research will discuss the various ways through which Swansea can be promoted as the best eco-tourist spot in the UK.

Topic 4: Analysing the Role of Price in the Selection of Eco-tourism Destinations

Research Aim: This research will understand the various factors that influence the tourists’ decision to choose an eco-friendly site for their next holiday destination.

Topic 5: Examining the Use of Integrated Marketing Communication Tools to Promote Eco-tourism in Great Britain

Research Aim: This research will study and analyze the different ways through which integrated marketing communication tools should be used to promote eco-tourism in the UK.

Topic 6: Comparing Developing World Eco-tourism Sites Against Western Eco-tourism Sites

Research Aim: This study will compare developing eco-tourism sites and developed or Western eco-tourism sites. The study will conclude which sites tourists prefer and what factors lead them to their decision.

Topic 7: Does Eco-tourism Develop Social and Economic Opportunities for Local Communities?

Research Aim: This research will explore whether or not eco-tourism helps develop social and economic opportunities in the local communities. If it does, the study will explore those factors as well.

Topic 8: Exploring the Factors Affecting the Buying Decisions of Customers Interested in Eco-tourism Sites

Research Aim: This research will identify and discuss the various factors that affect the buying decision of customers who are interested in eco-tourism sites. These factors will then be explored in detail in this study.

Topic 9: Analysis of the Potential of Edinburgh as an Eco-tourism Site in the UK

Research Aim: This research will compare manmade and natural dark tourism destinations and will also include tourists’ perceptions.

Topic 10: Assessing the Impact of Grass Root level Education in Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Europe – A Review of the Literature

Research Aim: This research will discuss the impact of grass root level education to promote sustainable tourism in Europe. The study will be based on the qualitative research method.

Important Notes:

As a tourism and hospitality student looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing tourism and hospitality theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

The field of tourism and hospitality is vast and interrelated with many other academic disciplines like civil engineering, construction, law, engineering management, healthcare, mental health, artificial intelligence, physiotherapy, sociology, management, marketing, and nursing . That is why it is imperative to create a project management dissertation topic that is particular and sound and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic; it is the basis of your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong: your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in  writing your dissertation as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the very initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best tourism and hospitality dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalizing your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please take a look at some of our sample tourism and hospitality dissertation topics to get an idea for your dissertation.

How to Structure Your Tourism and Hospitality Dissertation

A well-structured   dissertation can help students   to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems to be addressed. An outline of the structure of a dissertation  can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review: This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analyzing published and unpublished literature available on the chosen research topic in light of the research questions to be addressed. The purpose is to highlight and discuss the relative weaknesses and strengths of the selected research area while identifying any research gaps. A breakdown of the topic and key terms can have a positive impact on your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology:  The  data collection  and  analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes  research design, research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and  data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis: The findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include  graphs ,  charts, and  tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion  and  Conclusion: The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section is to establish the link between the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References:  Make sure to complete this in accordance with your University’s requirements
• Bibliography
• Appendices:  Any additional information, diagrams, graphs that were used to  complete the dissertation  but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to find dissertation topics about tourism and hospitality.

To find tourism and hospitality dissertation topics:

• Examine industry trends and challenges.
• Explore cultural, environmental, or tech impacts.
• Research niche areas like ecotourism or event management.
• Analyse customer behaviour and satisfaction.
• Consider sustainable practices.
• Select a topic aligning with your passion and career aspirations.

What is the best research topic for tourism?

There is no one best topic, but here is a trending topic. “The Impact of Virtual Reality Technology on Tourist Experience and Destination Promotion: A Comparative Analysis.” This research topic explores how VR technology affects tourist perceptions, engagement, and decision-making and its implications for destination marketing strategies, comparing traditional methods with VR-based approaches in tourism promotion.

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Tourism Management Research Project Examples

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

In my recent post ‘ how to get inspiration for your research project topic ’ I gave lots of tips on way to think of a great research project idea that suits you. In this post I will give you some tourism management research project examples to give you some guidance on what makes a suitable research project topic .

Remember, you can use a hypothesis or a research question, you will find examples of both below. Visit this post for more on the difference between a research question and a hypothesis .

Tourism management is a broad subject and you have the flexibility to explore a wide numbers of areas that interest you. Here are some previous topics that I have supervised to give you an idea of a suitable tourism management research project topic:

• Perception and attitude towards ecotourism in Albania among tourists .
• Does ecotourism economically benefit local communities: The Case Study of Nicaragua .
• Sustainable tourism practices in developing countries.
• The role of destination management organisation in promoting tourism in the European Union .
• Prices versus the environment: An analysis of consumer motivations.
• The sustainability practices within Formula One tourism.
• Why do young tourists prefer dynamic packaging to traditional package holidays?
• What can be done to help the fragile ecosystems of the Hawaiian Islands’ endangered plant and animal species?
• Does visiting a site of suffering and death socially and commercially benefit local communities?
• Perception and attitude of tourists towards the Jack the Ripper site.
• The ethics of dark tourism in Cambodia.
• Perception and attitude of foreign tourists towards the Edinburgh Dungeon.
• How to develop a marketing plan for the London Dungeon.
• Why do customers choose leisure hotels when they plan overseas holidays?
• Perception and attitude of British customers toward the Hilton Hotel in London.
• The impact of hotel brand on consumer choice in the UK.
• Examining the implications of the Internet towards online travel agents: The case study of Lastminute.com.
• The growth of the easy brand and its’ impact on market share.
• Examining perception and attitude of British customers towards online travel agents.
• Motivations for solo travel amongst millennials.
• Perception and attitude of millennials toward cruise holidays.
• Perception and attitude of tourist experiencing the sex economy in Thailand .
• Role of global terrorism in shaping the image of tourism destinations – Case study of Egypt .
• Perception and attitude toward Beijing’s world heritage tour among British tourists.
• Use of sporting events to develop tourism branding – Analysis of Qatar with regards to the FIFA World Cup.
• Perception and attitude toward extreme plastic surgery makeovers in South Asia among British customers.
• Emergence of Poland as medical tourism destination.
• How British customers choose medical tourism destinations for dental tour packages.
• Perception and attitude of international students towards work and study in the UK.
• The impacts of a gap year on skills and competencies in the workplace

Things to remember when choosing your tourism management research project topic

Whilst you might like the sound of some of the tourism management research project examples given above, remember that they might not always be feasible. Here are a list of things to consider:

• Can I gain access to the respondents that I will need?
• Can I complete this research project given the word count?
• Can I complete this research project given the time-frame?
• Is this research project realistic in terms of access (i.e. if you need to travel to a particular destination, is this possible?)
• Am I able to develop a conceptual framework to form a literature review?
• Is this a topic that is worthy of investigation?

For more guidance on writing your research project you might be interested in my posts how to write awesome aims and objectives and the difference between a research question and a hypothesis .  I also recommend that you use some of the excellent research methods books available to you- I recommend Social Research Methods by Bryman and Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners by Kumar . 

Do you have any good tourism management research project examples? I’d love to hear them- drop them in the comments box below!

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• Open access
• Published: 13 May 2024

The influence of rural tourism landscape perception on tourists’ revisit intentions—a case study in Nangou village, China

• Yuxiao Kou 1 &
• Xiaojie Xue 1  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  620 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Environmental studies

Rural tourism development has an important impact on optimizing the rural industrial structure and stimulating local economic growth. China’s Rural Revitalization Strategy has promoted the development of rural tourism nationwide and emphasized Chinese characteristics in the process of local development. Based on the theoretical analysis of landscape perception, this article uses the external Landscape Perception→Satisfaction→Revisit Intention influence path as a theoretical research framework to construct a structural equation model to analyze the willingness of tourists to revisit rural tourism destinations. We selected Nangou Village, Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province, as a key model village for rural revitalization, and conducted an empirical analysis. The empirical analysis results show that landscape perception has a significant positive impact on satisfaction and revisit intention. Tourist satisfaction has a significant positive impact on revisit intention and plays an intermediary role between landscape perception and revisit intention. The five dimensions of natural ecology, historical culture, leisure recreation, research experience, and integral route under landscape perception are all significantly positively correlated with revisit intention, with historical culture and integral route having the greatest impact on landscape perception. The survey about Nangou Village verifies the relationship between landscape perception, satisfaction, and tourists’ revisit intention. Based on the objective data analysis results, this study puts forward suggestions for optimizing Nangou Village’s tourism landscapes and improving tourists’ willingness to revisit from three aspects: deeply excavating rural historical and cultural resources, shaping the national red culture brand, and creating rural tourism boutique routes. It is hoped that the quantitative research method of landscape perception theory in Nangou Village can also provide a reference and inspiration for similar rural tourism planning.

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Introduction.

Rural tourism, which originated in Europe in the mid-19th century (He, 2003 ), has constructed a new type of urban–rural relationship—the attachment of the cities to the countryside and the integration of the countryside with the city (Liu, 2018 ). In the 1990s, with the continuous improvement of China’s urbanization level, rural tourism began to rise in response to the demand for returning to nature and simplicity (Guo and Han, 2010 ). The main body of rural tourism (i.e., the main target) is urban residents, and its object is a combination of enjoying the agricultural ecological environment, agricultural production activities, and traditional folk customs. These are presented through tourism industry planning and landscape product design, which is based on the unique production, life, and ecological resources in the countryside, and integrates sightseeing, participation, leisure, vacation, recuperation, entertainment, shopping, and other tourism activities (Zhang, 2006 ).

Rural tourism development is of great significance for optimizing the industrial structure in rural areas, realizing the linked development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, increasing farmers’ income, stimulating rural economic development, and accelerating the integration of urban and rural areas (Lu et al., 2019 ). Since the implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy, China has taken increasing rural tourism as one of the important ways to achieve it (Yin and Li, 2018 ) and has launched construction projects nationwide.

Rural tourism in China started with self-organized agritainment, with farming experiences and sightseeing leisure as the main projects (Guo et al., 2000 ). Early studies have found that rural tourism projects embodying regional characteristics, folklore, and participatory farming activities present stronger competitive advantages in terms of higher rates of tourists’ participation and revisit rates (Wang et al., 2005 ). In the process of the “localization” of rural tourism in China, rural tourism has undergone a top-down evolution. Since the central government’s comprehensive deployment of new rural construction in 2006, national departments and local governments have issued a series of policies to promote the development of rural tourism, leisure agriculture, and culture, which have promoted the prosperity of diversified, high-quality, and distinctive practices of rural tourism nationwide (Ma et al., 2007 ). The rural revitalization strategy is a crucial national policy at present in China, driving various initiatives such as the construction of beautiful countryside and the development of the rural tourism industry. This policy has given rise to trends like the inheritance of local culture, the promotion of green ecological concepts, and the integration of industries. However, there are still challenges encountered, such as the homogenization in tourism development and the necessity to coordinate the development of industries, culture, ecology, and economy. Under the policy guidance of developing the agricultural economy and revitalizing national culture, China has explored rural tourism landscape products that fit the national cultural context and market demand of the country. Its characteristics are mainly reflected at two levels: First, it focuses on the integration of ethnic and regional cultural perspectives. Rural tourism planning focuses on identifying geographical cultural aspects (Sun et al., 2008 ), integrating traditional Chinese red culture and local characteristics (Huang, 2003 ) into tourism landscape products, and creating Chinese cultural brands. Second, we should focus on upgrading traditional sightseeing, farming, folk customs, and leisure tourism projects, develop in-depth experiential research projects, and create a comprehensive boutique tourism route (Chen et al., 2021 ).

With the prosperity of rural tourism, the related research has gradually increased. Zhai ( 2015 ) pointed out that unique cultural and geographical landscapes are not only objects that should be emphasized and protected in the construction of the countryside but also important resources for the development of rural tourism. Zhang and Wang ( 2018 ) believed that the essence of rural tourism is the cultural experience of tourists in the countryside. Chen ( 2020 ) studied the “local sentiment” from an anthropological perspective as an important factor in promoting the development of China’s rural tourism market. Xu and Tang ( 2016 ) argued that local characteristics are essential for rural landscape construction, proposing the planning and construction strategy of “livability, suitability for industry, suitability for tourism, and suitability for culture”. Shi ( 2021 ) pointed out the significance of ecological esthetics theory to the planning and design of rural tourism landscapes and proposed the strategy of integrating local characteristics with ecological features and improving the ecosystems through artistic techniques. Most of the research has focused on the development and upgrading strategies of Chinese rural tourism landscapes from the supply-side perspective but lacks studies on what kind of experience and value tourists expect from the demand-side perspective, and the research methods lack scientific quantitative analyses.

Satisfaction and revisit intention are used to evaluate the perception and experience of rural landscapes, which directly reflect tourists’ actual feelings about the resource endowment, operational management effectiveness, social and cultural environment, and rural landscape planning in the area (Zhang et al., 2014 ). Landscape perception emphasizes the mutual influence of tourists’ perception of the tourism environment (Echtner and Ritchie, 1993 ), recognition of the location (Middleton and Hawkins, 1998 ), preferences (Zhang et al., 2017 ), and other aspects, while the revisit intention reflects tourists’ willingness to experience an activity again (Xu et al., 2014 ). Strengthening tourists’ revisit intention in rural tourism is of great significance for stabilizing and increasing rural income and promoting sustainable development in rural areas. It is an important measure of whether the quality and style of rural areas have been improved and whether rural revitalization has been promoted (Li et al., 2022 ). Therefore, based on the objective data analysis results of tourists’ perception and satisfaction with rural tourism landscapes and their revisit intention, we can objectively and reasonably propose upgrading and optimization strategies for rural landscapes. The relationship diagram is shown in Fig. 1 .

The figure illustrates the interaction between subject and object in rural tourism.

This study selected Nangou Village in Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province, as the research object. Based on the construction of traditional rural tourism facilities, Nangou Village has developed a certain number of distinctive tourism products that integrate production, learning, and research based on the Ansai folk culture and revolutionary humanistic resources in the region. However, as a key model village in China’s rural revitalization strategy, Nangou Village is still exploring a new round of optimization and upgrading. On the basis of the theory of landscape perception and a demonstrated impact mechanism between landscape perception and satisfaction, as well as revisit intention, combined with the perception results, this article proposes feasible strategies for the planning, design, and optimization of the tourism industry in Nangou Village.

Theoretical foundation

Landscape perception theory.

Landscape perception theory originated in the 1950s and is an independent theory developed for environmental psychology research. It combines the research paradigms and methods of environmental psychology and human geography (Deng, 2006 ) and aims to study people’s preferences (Guo et al., 2004 ), perception (Crompton, 1979 ; Fan et al., 2014 ), and satisfaction levels (Tribe and Snaith, 1998 ; Chi and Qu, 2008 ) of the objective environment. Ervin Zube et al. ( 1982 ) integrated the existing research paradigms of landscape perception—expert paradigm, psychophysical paradigm, cognitive paradigm, and empirical paradigm—and further proposed a theoretical model to unify humans, landscapes, and the results of their interaction into a closed loop. Landscape perception is essentially a process in which the human brain acquires environmental information through the sensory systems and then processes it (Purcell, 1987 ). In the interactive relationship between people and landscapes, the landscape is the perceived object while people are the main subjects of the environmental perception. The perception of landscapes is related to individual differences, involving experiences, memories, cognitive level, and social–cultural backgrounds (Qin, 2022 ; Cosgrove, 1984 ).

Based on subjective feelings and psychological evaluations of the surrounding environment, landscape perception further affects individuals’ emotions and environmental behaviors. An emotional state is a psychological product of individuals’ acceptance of external stimuli, combined with their own experiences and cognition, which is an important driving force that can promote individuals’ interactive behavioral responses. Motloch ( 2000 ) proposed that landscape perception will also generate emotional load after observation, recognition, and meaning attribution. Song ( 2013 ) summarizes it as a process of landscape stimulation, generation of feelings, sublimation of cognition, and emotional response. For such emotional reactions, scholars commonly use satisfaction and place identity to measure the positive affective state generated by landscape perception (Baker and Crompton, 2000 ). Behavioral responses are subjective reactions of people to approach or avoid external stimuli, which are especially influenced by their emotional state (Bitner, 1992 ; Mehrabian and Russell, 1974 ). Gobster ( 2008 ) argues that landscape perception is reflected both in cognitive and emotional aspects and that landscape preferences and emotional experiences can affect environmental behavior. Ostoić et al. ( 2017 ) believe that landscape perception emphasizes the mutual influence of tourists’ perceptions, recognition, preferences, and other aspects of the tourism environment, which can directly reflect the effectiveness of the tourism environment’s planning and design, and thus affect tourists’ behavior. In short, there are interactions between landscape environmental stimuli, emotional states, and behavioral responses, and landscape perception has a significant impact on an individual’s sense of environmental responsibility, environmental protection intention, and intention to revisit a destination (Wu et al., 2019 ).

Landscape perception and satisfaction, revisit intention

Satisfaction is a comprehensive feeling experienced by tourists during and after visiting a tourist destination (Chon, 1989 ). It can be an evaluation of a single dimension such as landscape products, tourism services, transportation accessibility, etc., or a comprehensive measure of overall satisfaction in multiple dimensions (Cole and Scott, 2004 ; Sailesh et al., 2023 ). Among them, the physical landscape environment is one of the most important dimensions that affects overall satisfaction (Chi and Qu, 2009 ). Oliver ( 1980 ) proposed the “expectation discrepancy model”, which refers to the process in which tourists form certain expectations based on their previous experiences before traveling, and then compare their expectations with their actual feelings during the travel process to determine their level of satisfaction. If the expectations are met, the tourists are satisfied; otherwise, they are not. The tourism landscape studied in this article is an important component in the study of tourist destination satisfaction, which directly affects the tourists’ selection of tourist destinations, consumption of tourism products and services, and willingness to revisit.

Behavioral intention is the result of rational cognitive processing of situational information by tourists, resulting from psychological comparison and judgment (perception value or satisfaction). In the existing research, tourists’ behavioral intentions are often described as tourists’ recommendation behavior and revisiting intention. Revisit intention refers to the behavioral intention of tourists to visit the destination again in the future (Hung and Petrick, 2011 ). Chen proposed that revisit intention should include two levels of behavioral intention: the intention of the tourists themselves to revisit this place, and the intention to recommend this place to their acquaintances. Xiu, on this basis, included whether tourists would prioritize this attraction in their travel choices into the evaluation indexes of revisit intention (Guo, 2016 ). In addition, some scholars have demonstrated that destination image perception, especially landscape perception, is a direct driver of tourists’ recommendation behavior and intention (Chew and Jahari, 2013 ; Nisco et al., 2015 ; Prayag et al., 2017 ), and satisfaction with the tourism destination is one of the strongest factors affecting revisiting behavior (Campo-Martínez et al., 2010 ; Humagain and Singleton, 2021 ).

In summary, the relationship between landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention has been demonstrated in relevant studies. In spite of this, it remains necessary to further the research on the influence paths of these three factors. For example, Xu et al. ( 2023 ) took the Qilian Village landscape renovation project as the subject of a case study to identify users’ perceptions of landscape characteristics through structural equation modeling. Although they explored the impact of landscape perception on satisfaction, no further study was conducted on users’ behavioral intentions via the influence paths. Similarly, Qu et al. ( 2023 ), referring to the ancient villages in southern Anhui as an example, explored the path to high-quality development of rural tourism from the perspective of the authenticity of rural landscapes. Despite the SPSS data analysis conducted to verify the positive correlation between satisfaction and revisit intention, they ignored the optimization strategies of landscape as the carrier of tourism, which thus affects the applicability of this research. Additionally, in China, there are few papers that quantitatively present tourists’ landscape demands and support planning strategies, with most research focusing on the subjective discussions of tourism landscape planning strategies from the perspective of the supply side. In conclusion, it remains imperative to conduct further research on the strategies of optimizing the design of rural tourism landscapes based on a complete demonstration of the influence paths of landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention, with the results of quantitative data analysis as guidance.

Research hypotheses

Landscape perception theory has been widely applied in tourism-related research and has gradually permeated into the research on rural tourism landscapes (Yang et al., 2022 ; Fan, 2020 ). The rural tourism landscape studied in this article, perceived as a physical environment, usually includes rural ecological landscapes, authentic historical and cultural landscapes, agricultural leisure and entertainment facilities, and experiential red revolutionary landscapes, and it also involves diachronic overall tourism routes.

Some scholars have explored the rationality of the path mechanism of the landscape perception–satisfaction–revisit intention in related studies, and they used the relevant results as a strategic basis for optimizing the development of rural tourism. For example, Acharya et al. ( 2023 ) showed that the better the tourism ecological environment is, the higher the satisfaction and revisit intention of tourists are, and the path from the ecological environment to the revisit intention of tourists needs to be connected by satisfaction. Geng et al. ( 2010 ) analyzed and demonstrated the positive impact of rural natural landscape satisfaction and sightseeing route satisfaction on tourists’ revisit intention using logistic model analysis. Queiroz ( 2017 ) found that cultural experiences can better reflect the authenticity of rural areas, and tourist satisfaction can be improved through the enhancement of cultural facilities, thereby promoting tourists’ willingness to revisit. Yang et al. ( 2022 ) believe that developing recreational activities with rural characteristics can stimulate tourists’ interest and participation, thereby enhancing their satisfaction and willingness to return. Zhou et al. ( 2016 ) posited that recreational facilities and entertainment activities are both important factors that attract tourists to choose rural tourism; in addition, a higher attractiveness of the tourism landscape increases the satisfaction of tourists, creating a greater impact on revisit intention.

Some scholars have further proposed and demonstrated that satisfaction plays a mediating role in the impact path of tourists’ landscape perception on their revisit intention. For example, Kim et al. ( 2013 ) conducted a survey in rural areas and found that satisfaction plays an intermediary role between tourists’ rural image perception and tourists’ revisit intention.Tu et al. ( 2017 )proposed that the internal mechanism of tourists’ behavioral intentions based on destination image perception may be achieved through the mediating effect of positive emotions such as satisfaction. Meng ( 2018 ) argued that in rural tourism, rural landscapes, and related service facilities are important manifestations of rurality, which affect tourists’ satisfaction with their travel experience and indirectly affect their revisit intention.

In summary, this study took Nangou Village as a research sample to explore the influence mechanism between rural tourism landscape perception and its associated satisfaction and revisit intention, and the following hypotheses were made (Fig. 2 ).

The figure presents the hypothesized relationship between the three variables.

Hypothesis 1 (H1) . Rural tourism landscape perception will positively affect the overall satisfaction of rural tourism.

Hypothesis 2 (H2) . Rural tourism landscape perception will positively affect the rural tourism revisit intention.

Hypothesis 3 (H3) . Rural tourism satisfaction will positively affect the rural tourism revisit intention.

Hypothesis 4 (H4) . Satisfaction will act as a mediator in the relationship between rural tourism landscape perception and revisit intention.

Study design

Nangou Village, the research object of this study, is located in Gaoqiao Town, Ansai District, Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province, China, covering approximately 1716 hectares with seven natural villages under its jurisdiction, which are typical loess hilly villages (Fig. 3 ). As a key model village for rural revitalization, Nangou Village has a good natural ecological foundation and abundant agricultural and regional culture resources and has achieved preliminary linkages between the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. In the first rural tourism development, Nangou Village built the Nangou Paradise for sightseeing and its supporting facilities, the Nangou Soil and Water Conservation Demonstration Park of Ansai District of Yan’an City, and the Agricultural Picking Experience Park, the red military camps based on Yan’an Red Culture, and various characteristic landscape pieces under the influence of Ansai’s unique regional culture, which form a comprehensive cultural tourism village. With the deepening of rural revitalization in China, Nangou Village will serve as a key area for the Ansai District to build a five-billion-level cultural tourism industry cluster, further expanding and upgrading the existing tourism landscape facilities. Therefore, this article aims to propose a scientific strategy for the upgrading and transformation of Nangou Village through subjective evaluation methods.

The figure presents the geographic location of the Nangou village.

Evaluation index construction

Based on the analysis and organization of the existing literature and the construction of the theoretical framework mentioned earlier, this study constructed evaluation indicators for three variables: landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention (Table 1 ).

LP—The research on rural tourism landscape perception is not yet perfect; this study tentatively divided the LP scale into five dimensions on the basis of previous research and combined with a review of the literature. Among them, the Natural Ecology sub-dimension involves the evaluation of the rural landscape’s pastoral characteristics, the quality of the ecological environment, and the integration of landscape facilities and natural ecology (Xie et al., 2002 ; Marianna et al., 2023 ). The Historical Culture sub-dimension involves the evaluation of the regional history and culture of the rural tourism landscapes, the recognizability of the cultural symbols, and the authenticity of the cultural preservation (Huang et al., 2015 ). The Leisure Recreation sub-dimension involves the evaluation of the suitability, attractiveness, and abundance of recreational facilities in rural tourism landscapes (Yuan, 2017 ). The Research Experience sub-dimension involves the evaluation of the attractiveness, abundance, brand value, and impressiveness of the research experiences for tourists (Fan and Liu, 2016 ; Wang and Wang, 2010 ; Huang et al., 2018 ). The Integral Route sub-dimension involves the evaluation of the prominent theme features in the routes, an abundance of scenarios and experiences, and the attractiveness of the integral route (Li, 2003 ; Yan, 2021 ).

SA—This is the evaluation of whether the overall quality and experience of the rural tourism landscapes meet expectations. Here, the overall satisfaction, expectation, and competitiveness of rural tourism landscape quality and experience are used as the evaluation indexes (Chen, 2012 ; Wang et al., 2005 ).

RI—This is the evaluation of tourists’ loyalty to rural tourism destinations, with loyalty, willingness to revisit, and recommendation behavior as the evaluation indexes (Wang et al., 2006 ; Stylos et al., 2015 ).

Questionnaire design and collection

The questionnaire was designed in four parts. The first part covers the demographic characteristics, including gender, age, education level, and occupation. The second part is the evaluation of cultural image perception, while the third part is the evaluation of environmental design, and the fourth part is the evaluation of place perception. The items in these last three parts corresponded to the evaluation indexes shown in Tables 2 – 4 , respectively, and a 5-point Likert scale was used to rank the perception level.

In November 2022, the study conducted a field survey in Nangou village, complemented by an online questionnaire from November 15, 2022, through September 12, 2023. The introduction section of the questionnaire included the research objectives, the anticipated societal benefits, and the scope of information that would be collected. Before proceeding, participants were asked to review this introduction; their agreement to participate was taken as informed consent. In total, the study received 344 valid responses, serving as the sample data. The sample size satisfies the requirements for structural equation modeling that a desirable sample size should be over 200, with at least ten responses correlating to each variable under observation (Barrett, 2007 ).

Quantitative analysis methods

The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 27.0) and AMOS 27.0. Frequency analysis of the demographic characteristics and reliability analysis were conducted.

In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the core method, and the three concepts of landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention were set as latent variables, and SEM was utilized to verify the hypotheses on the relationship between the three aspects. First, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was introduced to test whether the relationship between the factors and the corresponding measurement items was as expected, and to further revise the relationship model between the latent variables and the indicator question items and between the indicator question items (Li and Chen, 2010 ). Second, the interaction mechanism between the latent variables was analyzed by SEM to verify or falsify the research hypotheses (Gu et al., 2022 ). Finally, the bootstrap method was used to validate and analyze the indirect effects (Wen and Ye, 2014 ).

Results analysis

Demographic variables and statistical results of travel characteristics.

Using SPSS software to analyze the demographic characteristics of the 354 questionnaires, the sample was found to be well-balanced in terms of gender. The age distribution was broad and predominantly consisted of young and middle-aged people. The occupational status covered various fields, while most respondents had received middle and higher levels of education. The middle-income group accounted for a larger proportion of the sample, which is a good representation of the population (Fig. 4 ).

The figure presents the statistical results of the demographic variables for the 354 questionnaires.

The survey results showed that tourists preferred to choose research experience and historical culture landscape projects at the destination, followed by natural ecology and leisure recreation. In terms of tour length and size, tourists who chose one-day and two-person tours accounted for most of the tourists, and very few tourists chose multiday tours. The majority of tourists who came to this destination came as a unit, and the least frequent response was as individual tourists. The majority of tourists visited this village for the first time, and the number of tourists choosing to revisit the place again was very few (Fig. 5 ).

The figure presents the statistical results of the travel characteristics for the 354 questionnaires.

Reliability analysis results

In this study, the latent variables were tested using Cronbach’s α (Table 2 ), which showed that the Cronbach’s α values of landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention were 0.898, 0.803, and 0.845, respectively, and the scales’ overall Cronbach’s α value was 0.913. The Cronbach’s α values of the sub-dimensions under landscape perception ranged from 0.805 to 0.863, which are all greater than 0.8. In summary, the reliability test coefficients of each sub-dimension scale exceed 0.7, which indicates that the internal consistency of the data was good (Eisinga et al., 2013 ).

Latent variable evaluation results

As shown in Fig. 6 , the overall average landscape perception score was 3.748, which is close to a good level. Comparing the average evaluation score, the five latent variables can be ranked as NE > HC > RE > LR > IR, with scores of 3.976, 3.906, 3.889, 3.836, and 3.826, respectively. The overall average score for satisfaction was 3.625, between average and satisfactory. The overall average score for revisit intention was 3.452, between average and willing, but not reaching the desired level.

The figure presents the statistical results of the latent variable average scores. NE Natural Ecology, HC Historical Culture, LR Leisure Recreation, RE Research Experience, IR Integral Route, LP Landscape Perception, SA Satisfaction, RI Revisit Intention.

This study examined the relationship between the latent and observed variables in the measurement model through CFA to determine the reasonableness of the scale construction by convergent and discriminant validity. For convergent validity, there are usually three discriminating criteria: (1) standardized factor loadings are all greater than 0.5 (Bailey and Ball, 2006 ); (2) average variance extracted (AVE) is greater than 0.5 (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988 ); and (3) composite reliability (CR) is greater than 0.7 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ). Satisfying the above criteria indicates good convergent validity. As shown in Table 3 , the standardized factor loading ranged from 0.686 to 0.891, which meets the criterion of greater than 0.5. The minimum value of CR was greater than 0.8, which is greater than the threshold value of 0.7, and the AVEs were all greater than 0.5, which indicates that the scale has a good convergent validity.

For discriminant validity, if the correlation coefficients between a factor and the other factors are all less than the square root of its AVE value, it indicates good discriminant validity between the factors (Hair et al., 2010 ). As shown in Table 4 , the correlation coefficients between landscape perception and the two factors of its sub-dimension are only slightly larger than the square root of the AVE, and the square root of the AVE values of the rest of the factors is higher than the correlation coefficients between the factor and the other factors, which indicates that the present scale has good discriminant validity.

Theoretical model validation

Under the premise of ensuring the reliability and validity of the measurement model, structural modeling was further performed to verify the hypothesized relationships among the three variables of landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention. First, the results of model fit showed that CMID/DF = 1.097, GFI = 0.949, AGFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.995, TLI (NNFI) = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.017, and SRMR = 0.037 (Table 5 ), and all the indexes were in line with the standard, which indicated that the model had a good fit (Hayduk, 1987 ; Scott and Willits, 1994 ).

This study further used AMOS 27 to establish a structural model and measure the causal relationships between the three latent variables, LP, SA, and RI. As shown in Table 6 and Fig. 7 , (1) Landscape perception has a positive and significant effect on Satisfaction, with a path coefficient of 0.559 ( P  < 0.001); (2) Landscape perception has a positive and significant effect on Revisit Intention, with a path coefficient of 0.434 ( P  < 0.001); and (3) Landscape Satisfaction had a positive and significant effect on Revisit Intention, with a path coefficient of 0.377 ( P  < 0.001) (Cabrera-Nguyen, 2010 ). This proves that hypotheses H1, H2, and H3 are supported.

NE Natural Ecology, HC Historical Culture, LR Leisure Recreation, RE Research Experience, IR Integral Route, LP Landscape Perception, SA Satisfaction, RI Revisit Intention.

Mediation analysis of satisfaction

This study adopted the bootstrap method suggested by McKinnom to test the possible mediating effect of SA in the relationship between LP and RI, and the bootstrap sample size was set at 5000 (MacKinnon et al., 2002 ). Usually, if the bootstrap confidence interval does not contain 0, then the corresponding indirect, direct, or total effect exists (MacKinnon et al., 2004 ). The test results show that at a 95% confidence level, the confidence interval of indirect effect was [0.141, 0.314], the confidence interval of direct effect was [0.456, 0.755], and the confidence interval of total effect was [0.682, 0.961], which all exclude 0, indicating that the indirect effect exists, and the ratio of the indirect effect was 0.27. The results of the mediation test support hypothesis H4 (Table 7 ).

Discussion and recommendations

Coupling relationship among lp, sa, and ri.

This study established a hypothesis model based on the a priori theory of the influencing relationship between Landscape Perception→Satisfaction→Revisit Intention, and explored and confirmed the influence paths of LP on SA and RI with Nangou Village as the research object. In the SEM results, the coefficient of LP’s influence path on SA was 0.559, and the coefficient of LP’s influence path on RI was 0.434. LP influences tourists’ revisit intention to the destination through the overall satisfaction of the tourist landscapes, which confirms that the landscape quality and experience of the destination is an important influencing factor that affects tourists’ satisfaction, which then enhances tourists’ revisit intention. This result is consistent with that of many previous studies, such as those conducted by Cao ( 2019 ) and Li ( 2022 ), in which quantitative analysis is conducted under different contexts to investigate the influence paths of landscape perception. Their research also confirms that tourists’ perception of the landscape contributes to enhancing satisfaction and revisiting intention. At present, the intention to revisit Nangou Village has not reached the desired level. Based on the LP → SA → RI influence path, this study concludes that it is necessary to upgrade the tourism landscapes as a whole in the new round of rural tourism planning, to effectively improve the attractiveness of the destination from the environmental level.

Coupling relationship among LP and its sub-variables

Different from previous studies, we defined LP as a second-order variable containing five sub-dimensions: natural ecology, historical culture, leisure recreation, research experience, and integral route. The fitted data showed that the five sub-variables were an accurate representation of the LP structure. In the results of the structural equation, all five latent variables involved in the LP dimension showed significant positive correlations with LP ( P  < 0.01), and the influence path was IR > HC > LR > NE > RE. In the correlation analysis, IR, HC, LR, RE, and IR also showed significant positive correlations with revisit intention, with correlation coefficients in the order of NE > IR > HC > LR > RE (Table S1 ), and the correlation coefficients in the order of IR > LR > LR > RE (Table 2 ). All of these results emphasize the important influence of historical culture and integral route on landscape perception and revisit intention. In the actual evaluation of landscape perception, the evaluation results of the five sub-dimensions did not reach a satisfactory level; therefore, in order to further increase the revisit intention of the destination, it is necessary to upgrade the landscapes of Nangou Village in all dimensions as a whole, and in particular, it should focus on upgrading the historical culture, the integral routes, as well as the facilities of the research experience that tourists are more inclined to choose.

Recommendations

Deeply excavating rural historical and cultural resources.

Rural tourism itself is a large-scale cultural exchange; any tourism product or tourism mode has its own cultural connotation, which is a necessary condition to attract tourism (Li and Wang, 1999 ). Rural culture is both productive and fragile; therefore, cultural protection and inheritance in rural tourism development is essential. Emphasizing the characteristic regional culture can not only improve the visibility, dissemination, and attractiveness of rural tourism destinations, but also enhance the vitality, efficiency, and effectiveness of rural development. The rural landscapes are both the end product of rural tourism and the carrier of rural culture. Based on the principle of protecting the authenticity of rural culture, integrating the elements of native culture into the tourism landscape designs of traditional villages and optimizing the tourism content is conducive to strengthening the attractiveness of traditional villages to tourists (Sun and Zhang, 2020 ). The results of the survey on the preference of tourism types in Nangou Village show that the historical culture and landscapes are popular aspects. Meanwhile, the SEM model results show that historical culture is an important factor influencing tourists’ revisit intention. Therefore, future tourism planning in Nangou Village should strengthen the development of vernacular cultural landscapes and highlight its own distinct characteristics. The tourism landscapes developed in the first round in Nangou Village have problems such as low cultural taste and inconspicuous characteristics. The new tourism planning for Nangou Village should sufficiently mobilize the regional cultural resources of the Ansai District, utilizing the region’s primitive village landscapes and folk cultural resources to create a rich “composite vernacular complex” type of landscape facilities. For example, we could introduce traditional activities such as horse riding, cattle riding, and Paper Cuttings with Ansai characteristics to the local culture experience hall; renovate cave dwelling homestays with distinctive Shaanxi characteristics; and integrate agricultural and folk activities such as tasting farmhouse meals and picking agricultural products into the homestay experience. In summary, the new tourism landscape should showcase the inherent qualities of Nangou Village, such as locality, authenticity, and humanity, from four aspects: food, housing, transportation, and work.

Shaping the National Red Culture Brand

Red cultural resources, as the Chinese excellent culture refined during the revolutionary era, play a prominent role in enhancing national self-confidence and building a strong nation. Meanwhile, the red tourism industry, which inherits and carries forward the red culture, has also become a unique path in China’s rural revitalization (Liu, 2020 ). The purpose of rural red tourism is to jointly develop traditional green ecological resources and red resources with humanistic characteristics. Through the development model of red and green integration, we can carry forward the narrative and dissemination power of the red spirit concept. At the same time, based on the comprehensive development of red tourism routes, sites, events, symbols, and other resources, we can enhance the popularity of rural tourism brands, expand market entities, and attract more visitors (Hong, 2021 ). Nangou Village is located in the red Yan’an revolutionary hometown, which occupies a place in China’s revolutionary history. In the first round of development, Nangou Village built red culture experience facilities, mainly serving units with red education and training needs in the surrounding areas. However, Nangou Village has insufficient scheduling of classic resources such as red sites, red stories, red history, and red characters, and has not established a more competitive and penetrating red tourism culture brand that serves a comprehensive audience. Therefore, we suggest that Nangou Village expand the scale of red travel facilities, create multi-dimensional red tourism experience scenarios, enhance the cultural connotation of red tourism scenic spots, and create educational and training routes with prominent themes of the red spirit. In addition, rural culture, red tourism resources, and natural ecological resources should be integrated under specific local conditions, for example, temperature-controlled greenhouses, characteristic agricultural planting, folk culture experiences, and other projects around the red tourism areas can be incorporated. This is conducive to enhancing the “red tourism integration” brand effect for its greater influence on surrounding facilities. Therefore, the connection between the cultural dimension and tourists’ perception of landscapes can be reinforced. In turn, it enhances the favorability and visibility of the “Red Yan’an” brand, which gives full play to its economic potential while promoting the inheritance of red cultural genes.

Creating rural tourism boutique routes

Rural tourism boutique routes are an arrangement and scientific organization of characteristic tourism landscapes, which is an important strategy for rural tourism destinations to attract tourists. The creation of boutique tourism routes is based on the integration of regional resources, forming a “string of points into a line, with a line leading to the surface, the overall promotion” of the joint development of the countryside, which is able to better utilize and display rural resources, and promote the integrated development of industries and the cultivation of new business models (You, 2014 ; Wang, 2015 ). According to the SEM results, it can be seen that the integral route sub-dimension of Nangou Village had the greatest impact on landscape perception. However, at present, tourists gave the lowest rating for aspect, which affected their satisfaction and led to a low willingness to revisit. At present, the tourism landscape projects in Nangou Village have problems, such as dispersion, small scales, individual operations, a single rural tourism product, and imperfect industrial and economic structures. Therefore, the upgrading strategy should incorporate the cultural theme of “Ansai Five Business Cards” into the integral tourism routes, and form the regional tourism development routes, rural tourism routes, and red knowledge education and training routes in the Greater Nangou area, which rely on the characteristic resources of Nangou Village. Moreover, it should connect the regional construction with the routes, and form a diversified tourism industry integrating “agricultural science popularization + folklore experience + parent-child amusement + leisure agriculture”. Finally, the tourism route planning should make full use of the Nangou Village brand, taking rural culture and tourism as the engine to optimize and expand primary industries, achieve coordinated development of the village and urban economy, and focus on the development of tertiary industries, in order to cooperate with the new rural industrial development system in Nangou Village.

Conclusions

With the gradual evolution of urbanization and the extensive promotion of China’s Rural Revitalization Strategy, rural tourism has become more and more popular and has developed rapidly. Landscape perception is the process of human interactions with the landscape, and the positive or negative results of this perception will directly affect the satisfaction of the tourists with the destination, thus affecting the tourists’ revisit intention. This study was based on the theory of landscape perception, and selected Nangou Village as the research object, on the basis of validating the influencing relationship of Landscape Perception→Satisfaction→Revisit Intention, to put forward reasonable suggestions for the optimization and upgrading of Nangou Village. The results of the research show the following: (1) Tourists’ landscape perception significantly influences tourists’ satisfaction and revisit intention. (2) Tourists’ satisfaction with the destination plays an intermediary role in the influence of landscape perception on revisit intention. (3) Landscape perception contains five dimensions (natural ecology, historical culture, leisure recreation, research experience, and integral route), all of which significantly influence tourists’ satisfaction and revisit intention. Among these dimensions, historical culture and integral route have the greatest influence, which indicates that the cultural and integral nature of the landscape is the core element that drives tourists to generate positive emotions. (4) Tourists prefer landscape projects with historical culture and research experience. (5) The overall landscape planning of Nangou Village was not evaluated highly, and it needs to be upgraded in a focused way. Using the empirical results as a reference, this study proposes strategies for upgrading the tourism landscapes of Nangou Village: deeply excavate rural historical and cultural resources, shape the national red culture brand, and create rural tourism boutique routes. Therefore, exploring the factors affecting revisit intention and thinking about the construction of rural tourism landscape perception elements can provide theoretical guidance for solving the next stage of rural tourism planning in Nangou Village and providing a direction for the construction of beautiful villages in the future.

The methodology of empirical research as applied in this study, along with the corresponding data analysis conducted in the case study of Nangou Village, aims to reveal the influencing factors for revisit intention. By adopting a reverse-thinking approach to constructing the elements of rural tourism landscape perception, theoretical guidance is provided for the next phase of rural tourism planning in Nangou Village. Meanwhile, it gains the strategic insights crucial for local governments and collaborative planning agencies to develop, manage, and market rural tourism destinations. Additionally, the research methods used in this study provide a reference for relevant government and planning agencies to carry out rural tourism planning. Firstly, rural tourism relies heavily on tourism landscape facilities as its primary support system. Therefore, rural tourism is supposed to focus on increasing the attention paid to tourists’ demands from the perspective of the supply side. This can be achieved by constructing landscape perception scales that are more tailored to the advantages and characteristics of tourism destinations. Through the surveys of rural tourism landscape perception elements based on combined scale analysis, tourists’ expectations and demands can be better satisfied. Thus, their satisfaction and revisit intention can be enhanced. Secondly, in the practice of rural tourism marketing, the SEM (structural equation modeling) quantitative results of landscape perception, satisfaction, and revisit intention can be referenced to guide targeted promotion and advertising efforts for landscape elements perceived more strongly by tourists. In this way, the attractiveness to tourist groups can be improved. Lastly, planning agencies can apply the scale developed in this study to measure the satisfaction level of rural tourism industries in tourists’ minds at various stages. By assessing the scores in different dimensions, planning agencies can better identify their strengths and weaknesses, which enables them to maintain their advantages while making improvement.

Some limitations should be noted, which need to be addressed in the future. Firstly, the division of landscape perception dimensions in this study was somewhat subjective and innovative, and there are some immaturity issues. Secondly, the data collection time was short, which may not represent the average situation throughout the year. Finally, this article intended to propose optimization suggestions for Nangou Village at the landscape level, but this should be integrated with the industrial transformation, planning and propaganda, and enhancing service quality and other influencing factors of tourism destinations in the overall tourism planning.

Data availability

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material ( S2 . Dataset), further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

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This research was funded by the Academy of Agricultural Planning and Engineering, MARD of China “Study on the transformation of rural space and planning response in the suburbs of Xi'an from the perspective of social change”, grant number XC2X2DKT-20230916 and by the Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Project of China “Study on Reshaping the Spatial Value of Cultural Memory of Industrial Heritage and the Path of Local Identity”, grant number 2022JM-289.

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Kou, Y., Xue, X. The influence of rural tourism landscape perception on tourists’ revisit intentions—a case study in Nangou village, China. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 620 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03129-8

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The Interview: Marta Soligo

The hospitality researcher uncovers human interaction in the context of tourist attractions.

Marta Soligo is the director of tourism research at the UNLV Office of Economic Development in the Harrah College of Hospitality. She studies the dynamics of human interactions in tourist-centric environments. (Becca Schwartz/UNLV)

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My focus is on hospitality and tourism from a sociological perspective. My main two areas of research are tourism and social problems — such as poverty, discrimination, racism, environmental justice, etc. – and tourism and entertainment.

What was an a-ha moment that shaped your career?

When I was in Italy, I fell in love with Los Angeles and the film industry. I always thought about moving to L.A., but I wasn’t an actress or a screenwriter or a filmmaker. I figured I was in the wrong field if I wanted to work there. Then, when I was studying for my master’s degree, my professor told me there was an entire field of research that studies theme parks, movies, and entertainment from a sociological standpoint. Then I learned from another professor about the important conflicts and social problems between tourists and local communities.

What inspired you to get into hospitality?

My life was a bit of a constant trip. I grew up in Italy, which is full of art and museums and culture. When I was five, my dad got a job near Venice, so we would go to Venice during the weekends and see all the attractions. Then, when I was 13, I had to decide the major of my high school education, and I chose tourism because I went to a tourism technical high school.

Traveling as a kid, I wanted to soak up everything. As we went down the streets, I wanted to stop and ask everyone about their experiences. I think that’s where the sociology part came in. I wanted to learn more about people and their way of thinking.

Tell us about your current research project.

I’m collaborating with the Office of Economic Development to study how we can diversify Southern Nevada’s tourism economy and its beneficiaries, and we’re concentrating on three kinds of tourism: medical, sports, and cultural.

For cultural tourism, we’re focused on the Historic Westside. It’s an underserved community that experienced segregation, so we’re trying to create sustainable and respectful forms of tourism that also share the community’s story. I’m working with Claytee White from UNLV Libraries to interview activists, community members, property owners, business owners, politicians, etc. to get a sense of what they want and need. Then, we’ll use that to support the development of a tourism project that is not only for the community but also by the community. We want their voices included. 

Are there any industry trends you’re excited about?

From a research perspective, I like to see academia challenging old theories. I really like the idea of regenerative tourism and theories that look at tourism as both a positive and negative tool. Yes, tourism can be a tool for exploitation, gentrification, and displacement, but it can also be a tool for regeneration, especially if the voices of the people are included.

For example, one of my favorite things to read about lately is the reflection of degrowth. We’ve always looked at the success of destinations exclusively based on how much money they make. Now we’re challenging that. Why are we only using money as a criterion? Why aren’t we measuring community well-being? Why don’t we measure Indigenous knowledge, inclusion, and strategy? Profits are very important, but there are other standards to look at. If you have a healthy community, the money will eventually come.

What do you think about space tourism?

The first idea that I always try to teach students is that, in today’s society, anything can become a tourist attraction. The first article I had published was about cemeteries in Hollywood. People go to the graves of Marilyn Monroe or Michael Jackson. They go to the house where a famous murder happened. And now, even space can become a destination!

On the other hand, I think it’s a bit dangerous and inaccessible. Would I go? I think it depends on how it’s proposed and how safe it is.

What have you learned from students?

I think these new generations are well-prepared to address social issues regarding poverty, equality, and the environment. I wasn’t as aware when I was their age. I learn a lot from them.

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Spain | Analysis of national tourist flows in real time between January and April of 2024

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Published on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 | Updated on Tuesday, May 14, 2024

According to BBVA credit card data, the first months of the year have been characterized by a slowdown in the growth of tourist spending in Spain compared to the last months of 2023, weighed down by the decline in consumption by Spaniards and despite the rebound of foreign tourism.

• Key points:
• Between January and April 2024, total tourist spending (domestic and foreign) grew by 8.1% y/y (5 pp less than in the previous quarter).
• In the same period, tourist spending by Spaniards outside their usual province of residence registered a drop of 2.7% y/y (+9.3% y/y in the previous quarter), while spending by foreigners in Spain accelerated its growth to 20.0% y/y, 2 pp more than the previous period.
• During Easter 2024, total tourist spending fell 1.4% year-on-year compared to the same holiday period last year. The drop was entirely due to the domestic segment, while the foreign segment showed progress.
• National tourist spending grew in only five communities in the first four months of 2024. The Balearic Islands stood out, which is also the only region where growth accelerated compared to the previous period. On the other hand, Madrid, the Canary Islands and Aragón registered the greatest declines.
• All regions except Madrid presented an increase in total tourist spending (national plus foreigners) in the first four months of the year. The growth in the islands, C. Valenciana and Andalusia, stood out. Foreign tourism supported growth in all regions and especially in the islands, Navarra and the Mediterranean coast.

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• Giancarlo Carta BBVA Research - Senior Economist

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Stem cell injections in Mexico can be hazardous. Report identifies US victims.

Health experts are alerting travelers considering medical care abroad about a trio of recent drug-resistant bacterial infections caused by stem cell injections at Mexican clinics.

After stem cell treatments abroad, three Americans became infected by mycobacterium abscessus, a distant relative of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy. In a report published Thursday , U.S. medical experts said they fear additional infections from the injections could have been missed. Two patients shared bacteria with identical genetic material even though their procedures happened in clinics hundreds of miles apart. The incidents have raised concerns about others who sought stem cell injection treatments abroad. The procedure is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“It's hard to put an exact number, because unfortunately, nobody seems to be monitoring this very closely,” said Dr. Charles Daley, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health, a hospital in Denver. “There's very little oversight.”

Medical tourism: Why are more people traveling abroad for cosmetic surgery, and what are the risks?

Medical tourism, when Americans travel abroad for treatments, has been on the rise in recent years. As many as 320,000 U.S. citizens travel internationally for medical care each year, according to the State Department . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of medical tourists each year is likelier in the millions. Mexico is a common destination for dental and plastic surgery. There isn't firm data on the prevalence of travel for embryonic stem cell injections, but studies have shown the dangers of undergoing the unproven treatment . Several websites promote what they say are cheap, safe and legal options for injections in Mexico.

Hospitals often refer people with abscessus infections to the National Jewish Health’s mycobacterial and respiratory infections division, where Daley is chief. He and other researchers published their findings Thursday afternoon in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 

The abscessus bacterium can cause infections – often in the skin or lungs – that are difficult to treat, even with antibiotics. They fester in open wounds or injections. Infections of this type are often caused by medical devices that haven’t been properly disinfected. They can cause boils and pus-filled cysts, according to the CDC. Other symptoms of infection are fever, chills and muscle aches. Infections are associated with cosmetic surgeries. 

In spring 2023, Daley saw an Arizona man in his 60s with an abscessus bone and joint infection on his right elbow after he'd gone for embryonic stem cell injections at a clinic in the Mexican state of Baja California the previous year. 

In October 2022, a Colorado woman in her 30s traveled to a different Baja clinic to get embryonic stem cells injected into her spine to treat multiple sclerosis. She developed headaches and fevers similar to meningitis, an infection that inflames fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord. After being treated at the University of Colorado in Aurora later that year, she was referred to National Jewish Health. 

National Jewish Health treated a third case, a Colorado man in his 60s, who received stem cell injections in his knees for osteoarthritis in October 2022 in Guadalajara, an urban hub in central-western Mexico. He subsequently developed infections in both knees. 

Researchers found all three patients had received stem cell injections. They then worked to sequence the bacterium’s genetic material. In the cases of the Arizona man and the Colorado woman who had received injections in Baja, they found the same rare sub-species of the bacterium. The Baja clinics were 167 miles apart. 

The details for the third case, the Colorado man, remain unclear. Daley said cultures for his bacterium strain weren’t saved by Mexican officials. 

Health officials with Colorado, Arizona and the CDC contacted health authorities in Mexico, where staff said they weren’t aware of the infections, Daley said. It doesn’t appear there’s any investigation into a possible outbreak, he added. 

Over a year-and-a-half after their treatments, all three patients are still in ongoing treatment for their infections. Daley said they are on a combination of antibiotics commonly used to treat pneumonia and leprosy.

Doctors are searching for additional cases of patients who may have developed infections after stem cell injections. Daley said it makes sense why Americans might opt for cheaper options abroad, but people should have a "buyer beware" notice.

“We understand the pressure to do it,” Daley said. “But it comes with risks that I don't think people understand.”