Influence of peroxometallic intermediaries present on polyoxometalates nanoparticles surface on the adipic acid synthesis

The cyclohexene oxidation by hydrogen peroxide catalysed by polyoxometalates (POM) has been shown as an adequate green route for the adipic acid synthesis. In this study, it has been demonstrated that POM's salts are effective catalysts for this reaction and how peroxopolyoxometalates intermediaries are the truly responsible species of the POM's salts catalytic activity and solubility. However, the latter can be reduced by calcining the catalyst previously. Polyoxomolybdates salts generally present a higher activity than polyoxotungstenates salts. Finally, it must be remarked the positive effect exerted by the acetic acid stabilising the peroxide of hydrogen against its decomposition.

Direct versus indirect channels: Differentiated loss aversion in a high‐involvement, non‐frequently purchased hedonic product

Purpose – This article aims to investigate whether intermediaries reduce loss aversion in the context of a high-involvement non-frequently purchased hedonic product (tourism packages). Design/methodology/approach – The study incorporates the reference-dependent model into a multinomial logit model with random parameters, which controls for heterogeneity and allows representation of different correlation patterns between non-independent alternatives. Findings – Differentiated loss aversion is found: consumers buying high-involvement non-frequently purchased hedonic products are less loss averse when using an intermediary than when dealing with each provider separately and booking their services independently. This result can be taken as identifying consumer-based added value provided by the intermediaries. Practical implications – Knowing the effect of an increase in their prices is crucial for tourism collective brands (e.g. “sun and sea”, “inland”, “green destinations”, “World Heritage destinations”). This is especially applicable nowadays on account of the fact that many destinations have lowered prices to attract tourists (although, in the future, they will have to put prices back up to their normal levels). The negative effect of raising prices can be absorbed more easily via indirect channels when compared to individual providers, as the influence of loss aversion is lower for the former than the latter. The key implication is that intermediaries can – and should – add value in competition with direct e-tailing. Originality/value – Research on loss aversion in retailing has been prolific, exclusively focused on low-involvement and frequently purchased products without distinguishing the direct or indirect character of the distribution channel. However, less is known about other types of products such as high-involvement non-frequently purchased hedonic products. This article focuses on the latter and analyzes different patterns of loss aversion in direct and indirect channels.

Research in Tourism Course Presentation

Research in Tourism is an optional course that is taught during the second semester of the fourth year of the Undergraduate Degree in Sociology. It is directly linked to Sociology of Tourism. It is held in English.

Economic crisis and tourism competitiveness in Spain: permanent effects or transitory shocks?

This paper considers the influence of business cycles and economic crises on Spain's tourism competitiveness. This competitiveness is measured by its share in world tourism. Analysing the presence of unit roots in the market share series from 1958 to 2010, the permanent effects of economic crises on competitiveness are evaluated. The evidence from standard linear unit root tests indicates that crises on Spanish market shares are highly persistent. When we account for endogenously determined structural breaks, we obtain greater support for stationarity, but breakpoints are identified with major economic crises. Therefore the main conclusion obtained is that the effects of the economic shocks are not neutral on competitiveness, with the negative effects being more persistent in highly intensive crises. These crises reinforce a natural downward trend of the Spanish world tourism market share caused by the natural emergence of new competing destinations and by the maturity of the Spain's principal tourism product.

A Sociocybernetics Data Analysis Using Causality in Tourism Networks

The aim of this paper is to propose a mathematical model to determine invariant sets, set covering, orbits and, in particular, attractors in the set of tourism variables. Analysis was carried out based on a pre-designed algorithm and applying our interpretation of chaos theory developed in the context of General Systems Theory. This article sets out the causal relationships associated with tourist flows in order to enable the formulation of appropriate strategies. Our results can be applied to numerous cases. For example, in the analysis of tourist flows, these findings can be used to determine whether the behaviour of certain groups affects that of other groups and to analyse tourist behaviour in terms of the most relevant variables. Unlike statistical analyses that merely provide information on current data, our method uses orbit analysis to forecast, if attractors are found, the behaviour of tourist variables in the immediate future.

Costa Blanca: Public Space And Perceived Image as Key to Tourism Competitiveness

Los destinos turísticos tradicionales del litoral español se enfrentan a profundas transformaciones debidas a varios factores, entre los que se encuentran cambios notables en el comportamiento de la demanda y un intenso crecimiento de la competencia a todos los niveles, que puede poner en duda la pervivencia del modelo de desarrollo de estas áreas maduras. Lejos de ser una excepción, la situación que se describe para la Costa Blanca es extrapolable a otros destinos turísticos en otras regiones y en ámbitos urbanos, que se enfrentan al reto de incorporar nuevas estrategias de renovación, diversificación y reestructuración de su tejido urbano y turístico, como clave de reorientación de su ciclo de vida. A partir del estudio del caso de la Costa Blanca, pero con una vocación globalizadora, se tratan a continuación argumentos referidos a los cambios en la demanda turística y de ocio cotidiano, y cómo ello afecta a la necesidad de intervenir de un modo distinto en el diseño y gestión del tejido urbano que perciben los visitantes y residentes. Se percibe de forma clara que se ha de trabajar de un modo distinto tanto la escena urbana como el territorio turístico a partir de la potenciación de valores diferenciadores: por una adecuada intervención urbanística en los espacios públicos con acciones capaces de distinguir al destino de sus competidores, por la incorporación de nuevos elementos de atracción e innovación urbana, o por una gestión más eficiente de los servicios y las funciones urbanas de los destinos turísticos. A partir de varios indicadores se demuestra que la competitividad de los destinos tradicionales, sean áreas costeras o ciudades, ya no sólo reside en sus recursos patrimoniales, litorales o climáticos, sino que su valor diferenciador se vincula también a la calidad urbana percibida y a la capacidad de incorporar en las acciones de futuro las nuevas necesidades de residentes y visitantes, cada vez más exigentes e impredecibles.

Causal Maps and Indirect Influences Analysis in the Diagnosis of Second-Home Tourism Impacts

This paper proposes a method for diagnosing the impacts of second-home tourism and illustrates it for a Mediterranean Spanish destination. This method proposes the application of network analysis software to the analysis of causal maps in order to create a causal network model based on stakeholder-identified impacts. The main innovation is the analysis of indirect relations in causal maps for the identification of the most influential nodes in the model. The results show that the most influential nodes are of a political nature, which contradicts previous diagnoses identifying technical planning as the ultimate cause of problems.

Economic crises and tourism competitiveness: A Markov swtiching regression approach

Authors discuss the effects that economic crises generate on the global market shares of tourism destinations, through a series of potential transmission mechanisms based on the main economic competitiveness determinants identified in the previous literature using a non-linear approach. Specifically a Markov Switching Regression approach is used to estimate the effect of two basic transmission mechanisms: reductions of internal and external tourism demands and falling investment.

High Speed Rail Passenger Profile in Sun and Beach Tourism Destinations: The Case of Alicante (Spain)

This paper aims to study and highlight the profile of the high speed rail (HSR) passenger in the case of the well-known sun and beach destination of Alicante, located in the Southeast of Spain. This region, which is directly connected with Madrid, differs from others because of its warm and sunny weather. The province is a tourist destination for both Spanish citizens and foreigners. However, the studies on the dynamics of the corridor towards Madrid and Alicante regarding HSR are quite recent and it is not possible to draw final conclusions about its impact on tourist mobility.

Nuevas perspectivas de la contratación on line de servicios turísticos y paquetes dinámicos de turismo

La implementación de las nuevas tecnologías o TIC’s en el sector turístico se ha visto favorecida, en los últimos años, por las posibilidades que Internet ofrece de poder comprobar instantáneamente la existencia real del proveedor del servicio, la veracidad del servicio prestado o las condiciones en que se presta.. El aumento de la contratación electrónica de servicios turísticos exige que los proveedores de estos servicios y los turistas tengan en cuenta las diferentes normas jurídicas que resultan de aplicación en el ámbito de los servicios de la sociedad de la información, principalmente, la Ley 34/2002, de 11 de julio, de Servicios de la Sociedad de la Información y de Comercio Electrónico (LSSI), las normas reguladoras del consumo, en concreto, el Real Decreto legislativo 1/2007, de 16 de noviembre, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios y otras leyes complementarias (TRLGDCU) y su modificación por la Ley 3/2014, de 27 de marzo, así como las diferentes normas autonómicas reguladoras del turismo que existen en la actualidad. En definitiva, un estudio detallado de las implicaciones que la contratación electrónica de servicios turísticos supone realizar una descripción legal del régimen jurídico que resulta de aplicación a los diferentes oferentes e intermediarios que intervienen esta nueva modalidad contractual y a los denominados paquetes dinámicos de turismo.

The effects of economic crises on tourism success: an integrated model

This paper provides a theoretical model of the influence of economic crises on tourism destination performance. It discusses the temporary and permanent effects of economic crises on the global market shares of tourism destinations through a series of potential transmission mechanisms based on the main economic competitiveness determinants identified in the literature. The proposed model explains the non-neutrality of economic shocks in tourism competitiveness. The model is tested on Spain's tourism industry, which is among the leaders of the global tourism sector, for the period 1970–2013 using non-linear econometric techniques. The empirical analysis confirms that the proposed model is appropriate for explaining the changes in the market positions caused by the economic crises.

Exploring the research process through the innovation journey of tourism entrepreneurs case study

Presentation for the I International Seminar of Tourism and Hospitality Research, Alicante, April 18th, 2016.

Tourism potential analysis of the castles of Vinalopó, Spain: an opportunity for social and tourist development of cultural heritage

Within the overall framework of the renewal process of coastal tourist destinations, cultural heritage has frequently been used as a key argument for the introduction and development of strategies for the diversification and differentiation of the traditional tourist product based on sun and sand. This is the situation of the province of Alicante, identified with the Costa Blanca geotourism brand, where there are important economic issues that could contribute to the renewal of this coastal tourist destination. One of the most significant heritage values of this space consists of a series of medieval fortresses located along the axis of the Vinalopó River, which has acted since prehistoric times as a natural route from within the provincial mainland to the coast. It is precisely the argument of this historical, territorial and landscape content that has been used repeatedly in recent years to develop initiatives aimed at the creation of a tourist product, currently inexistent, based on the route of the castles of Vinalopó. This communication aims to analyse the degree of tourism potential of the fortresses located in the towns of Biar, Banyeres de Mariola, Sax, Villena, Novelda, Elda, Petrer and Elche, which constitute the core of municipalities where these medieval fortresses are located, finally pointing out some proposals for the creation of a heritage tourism product.