Dear reader,
over the last few decades, factors and processes leading to a more globalised and interconnected world have been providing us with increasing opportunities, ranging from extended work opportunities and new professions to multiple options for our leisure time and a virtually unlimited amount of information available at a very limited cost. Nevertheless, the same forces are posing unprecedented challenges and determining turbulent moments for our communities: social injustice, climate change, migrations, international political tensions, just to name few of them. These opportunities and challenges influence and, at the same time, are influenced by the role of tourism in our society and the way in which tourism stakeholders operate.
Keeping this in mind, Issue V of Tourism Destination Management Insights brings together contributions by tourism destination management students and educators at the Breda University of Applied Sciences. These contributions touch relevant themes that are dynamically co-evolving with the above-mentioned challenges, which have been made in even more complex by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The presented articles share the intention to increase awareness of a multiplicity of elements that are determining changes in tourism and within our societies. For instance, the increasing relevance of trans-national identities, a topic certainly deserving more attention when designing sustainable tourism experiences. Similarly, digital technology developments suggest exploring the link between online and offline spheres in tourism, revisiting connections among channels, customer journeys, and elements of attraction. New opportunities can arise, even in completely different contexts, such as within forms of community-based-tourism in Brazil, or concerning the cultural heritage of famous artists, such as Van Gogh in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, a fast-changing environment is leading to a skills gap between formal tourism education and human resources management in tourism, suggesting the need for more effective learning outcomes, achievable when students are better enabled to engage with a wider society. Moreover, tourism businesses and tourism professionals, are also confronted with challenges and opportunities linked with more hybrid forms of working.
Nevertheless, celebrating the dynamism of the world we live in, the TDMI team is also working on significant changes and aiming at opening the journal to a wider audience of readers and contributors. Stay tuned and, for now, enjoy your read.
Simone Moretti
on behalf of the TDMI editorial team
