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Understanding the factors that contribute to tourism competitiveness in developing economies is essential for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers, as these countries still struggle to fully capitalize on their tourism potential. The residents' perspective, often overlooked in Tourism Destination Competitiveness (TDC) models, is crucial because they are the primary stakeholders who directly experience the consequences of tourism activities in their daily lives. Their positive attitudes can contribute to a welcoming and friendly environment, enhancing the competitiveness of the destination in the global tourism market. Up to now, there have been a few studies that relate residents' attitudes to tourism destination competitiveness. However, none have focused on developing a tailor-made model for measuring residents' perspectives on TDC. To develop such a specific model and contribute to the existing theory in this area, our research applied a multi-step approach, including a literature review of existing models, pilot testing for indicator selection, and model validation through CFA. The data were collected through a survey of residents in Serbia, chosen as an example of a developing country. The final model of the study consists of five factors: Natural and Cultural Resources, Quality of Tourist Offer and Infrastructure, Situational Framework of Tourism Development and Management, Destination Perception and Experience, and Pollution, containing 32 indicators. Practical applicability of the model and theoretical contributions are discussed in the paper, as well as the TDC evaluation for Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) is an initiative that promotes European cultural diversity with the aim of economic, cultural, and social revitalization. Measuring complex impacts is a constant challenge for both practitioners and academia. Thus, the paper presents a comprehensive impact assessment framework (iECoC) quantified through an integral aggregation operator based on a novel use of fuzzy measure (Choquet integral). The iECoC results in a single number, but has an inherent value of reviling its segmented structure, which separately depicts the impact on three segments: culture, economy, and community, thus providing insights into trends for sectoral decision-making. The impact is measured in three years span on the example of Novi Sad—European Capital of Culture 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many technologically driven societies currently experience a "pandemic of loneliness". The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to conceptualize loneliness as a persistent and widespread issue among consumers that has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly spills over into the travel and tourism domain. This issue creates many challenges for smart tourism design as it implies changed consumer perspectives on smart tourism and needs for smart tourist experiences. This viewpoint paper is based on a review of relevant academic literature and online resources regarding the issue of loneliness, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential solutions in smart tourism settings. Loneliness has been completely overlooked by the smart tourism research agenda despite its tremendous implications for engagement, value co-creation, and the need for experience enhancement. This viewpoint paper proposes a framework for designing a loneliness-sensitive smart tourism ecosystem (LoSSTE). The purpose of this paper is to start a debate on how to mobilize smart tourism research for combating loneliness in the post-pandemic era and to outline areas for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]