Inspiring CELTH contributions in 40th edition of Trend Report Tourism, Recreation and Leisure

This year too, the report was drawn up in collaboration with the market, education and government. NRIT, the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism & Congresses (NBTC), Center of Expertise Leisure, Tourism & Hospitality (CELTH) and Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) have compiled this report in close collaboration.

CELTH's partner universities of applied sciences, Breda University of Applied Sciences, HZ University of Applied Sciences and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, have written ten inspiring articles together with the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI) and HZ Kenniscentrum Kusttourisme, which are bundled in the Capita Selecta chapter. They deal with very topical themes such as balance for the living environment, entrepreneurship and receiving guests during a pandemic, prediction models for crowds, calculating the economic impact, the value of online sentiment data, entrepreneur and resident participation and circular entrepreneurship.

Familiarity, safety and trust at a cultural heritage site

Adriaan van Liempt, Pieter de Rooij and Coen van Bendegom discussed the risk perception and the intention of repeat visits during lockdowns. The results of this real-life study at Slot Loevestein suggest that targeting existing customers may be more successful than targeting new customers during a pandemic.

Economic impact studies to a higher level

Jeroen Klijs, Diana Korteweg Maris and Harm IJben describe a recently introduced methodology to take economic impact studies to a higher level. The guideline developed together with various research bureaus in the so-called KNEITER network should lead to more comparability of economic impact studies, which also indicates which choices must be made, what the consequences are and how they must be reported on.

Involvement of residents: a suitable tool for every purpose!

Maarten Soeters developed the 'Inspiratiegids Vergroten Supportvlak Tourism' to optimize residents' involvement in the development of tourism. This guide consists of 33 resources that are aimed at increasing support for tourism, on the one hand by directly involving residents and on the other by offering possibilities to manage tourist crowds, thereby reducing nuisance for residents.

Covid and King's Day: an ethical confrontation matrix for the event sector

The COVID crisis appears to be a major experiment for the events sector in which complex interests compete for attention: public health must of course be protected, but the economic interests of entrepreneurs in the events sector are also under pressure. The ethical dimension is quickly overlooked. To conduct this discussion in a structured way, Marco van Leeuwen developed an ethical confrontation matrix for the events sector.

In search of the 'holy grail': can tourist pressures be predicted?

Before the pandemic, predicting tourist crowds - due to overtourism at tourist hotspots - was already on the agenda. The pandemic has given that process an extra boost. Jasper Heslinga and Harm IJben went in search of the 'holy grail' and searched the literature for models to predict crowds. The 'holy grail' was not found. The researchers did, however, provide a handy overview to make a good and smooth start with prediction models and indicated which models are more promising than others.

Predicting tourism crowds in Zeeland based on GPS datasets

Mischa Beckers, Harm IJben and Jolene Cijsouw went one step further and tested whether it is possible to predict tourist congestion in Zeeland on the basis of GPS data sets. They use Machine Learning models for this. The experiments show that predicting tourist traffic with GPS data provides insight into tourist traffic and offers potential as a policy and management instrument for a tourist destination.

Online data analysis as a measure of tourism balance

Quinten Labruyère examines the question to what extent 'big data' from social media can be used to measure tourism perceptions and tourism balance, as well as to operationalize different models of tourism, in particular the Tourism Area Life Cycle model.

The value of online sentiment data

Evelien Visser and Diana Korteweg Maris investigated the value of online sentiment data. Can destinations use social media posts to visualize sentiment as a tool to understand their image? And can the sentiment be tracked over time so that destinations can respond more quickly to both positive and negative sentiments?

Developing knowledge, not for, but with entrepreneurs and the municipality

Sophie Adriaanse, Marije Noordhoek and Ellen Zuurveld-Goedegebuure have set up the regular beach survey in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland in co-creation with all those involved. This research approach revolves around involving clients in an interactive process to arrive at conclusions, recommendations and follow-up steps. The conclusion was that the result was widely supported and actions were immediately embraced and taken up.

Interreg 2 Seas project FACET helps tourist entrepreneurs with the step towards circular entrepreneurship

Anouk Evers and Eugène de Kok discuss the Interreg 2 Seas project FACET, which helps tourist entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, Belgium, England and France on their way to circular entrepreneurship. In the project they work with the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC). The TLBMC is based on the triple bottom-line approach of 'People, Planet, Profit' in which social, environmental and economic aspects have value, resulting in a positive impact. The three-layer model establishes how an entrepreneur can retain and generate value within the business.

Further in the Trend Report Tourism, Recreation and Leisure

In addition to these contributions in chapter 4: Capita Selecta, the Trend Report contains three other parts. In part one of the Trend Report, we provide a concrete and clear overview of the demographic, economic, technological and social developments within which the sector must operate. This section concludes with an overview of the most important policy documents affecting our industry. In part two of the report, edited by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), we provide an overview of the most important statistical developments in the field of tourism, holidays and leisure activities. In part three of the Trend Report on tourism, recreation and leisure, trends and developments in the seven domains of the hospitality economy are described in more detail.

Ordering information

The Trend Report Tourism, Recreation and Leisure was published today and can be ordered via the NRIT store.