Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur skiddestinationsaktörer arbetar strategiskt hållbart i omställningen till året runt-destination. För att uppfylla syftet ämnar uppsatsen besvara frågor kring omvandlingsprocessen som behandlar möjligheter och utmaningar för en destination samt aktörers hantering av kommersiella kontra miljömässiga intressen. Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie där vi använde oss av Branäs skidanläggning som case. Studien har en metodologisk röd tråd där vi utifrån studiens problemställning har följt en tematisk modell där tre teoretiska teman; destinationsutveckling, planering och hållbar turismutveckling, varit vägledande genom hela studien, och således även utgjort studiens teoretiska ramverk. Studien genomfördes via fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med berörda nyckelaktörer för Branäs utveckling, samt dokumentanalys av ett planeringsdokument i form av en fördjupad översiktsplan för Branäsområdets utveckling. Det empiriska materialet har tematiskt analyserats för att identifiera mönster, skillnader och likheter i aktörernas svar som sedan ställts i relation till teori i studiens analyskapitel. I analysen har vi tagit avstamp i vårt teoretiska ramverk där vårt empiriska resultat diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning för att därefter i slutsatserna besvara våra frågeställningar, som bygger på studiens tematiska modell. Studiens slutsatser indikerar att det finns såväl möjligheter som utmaningar i samband med säsongsbetonade destinationers omställningsprocess och hur olika intressen hanteras. Studien visar att en säsongsförlängning inte automatiskt leder till ökad hållbarhet. Trots att säsongsförlängningen kan ha stora fördelar ur ett ekonomiskt, socialt och miljömässigt perspektiv, så kan det även bidra med utmaningar och konsekvenser för miljön. Utmaningarna ligger främst i att beakta och balansera olika miljömässiga och kommersiella intressen. Utvecklingsprocessen kan samtidigt resultera i att en spänning mellan kommersiella och miljömässiga och intressen uppstår. Denna spänning måste hanteras tidigt i planeringsprocessen via dialog och samverkan mellan olika aktörer. Samtidigt spelar lagstiftning, vilket ibland upplevs som ett hinder i utvecklingsprocessen, en viktig roll för att balansera olika intressen och främja miljömässig hållbarhet. / The purpose of this paper is to investigate how ski destination stakeholders’ work strategically sustainable in the transition to a year-round destination. To fulfill the purpose, the paper aims to answer questions about the transformation process that address opportunities and challenges for a destination and stakeholders’ handling of commercial versus environmental interests. The paper is based on a case study where we used Branäs ski resort as a case. The study has a methodological common thread where we, based on the study's problem, have followed a thematic model where three theoretical themes; destination development, planning and sustainable tourism development, have been guiding throughout the study, and thus also constituted the study's theoretical framework. The study was conducted through four qualitative interviews with key actors involved in the development of Branäs, and document analysis of a planning document of the Branäs area. The empirical material has been analyzed thematically to identify patterns, differences and similarities in the actors' responses, which were then placed in relation to theory in the study's analysis chapter. The analysis has been based on our theoretical framework where our empirical results are discussed in relation to previous research. In the conclusions we answer our questions, which are based on the study's thematic model. The study's conclusions indicate that there are both opportunities and challenges in connection with the transition process of seasonal destinations and how different interests are managed. The study shows that extending the season does not automatically lead to increased sustainability. Although seasonal extension can have great benefits from an economic, social and environmental perspective, it can also contribute to challenges and consequences for the environment. The challenges lie mainly in considering and balancing different environmental and commercial interests. At the same time, the development process may result in a tension between these interests. This tension needs to be addressed early in the planning process through dialogue and collaboration between different stakeholders. At the same time, legislation, which is sometimes perceived as an obstacle in the development process, plays an important role in balancing different interests and promoting environmental sustainability.

The thesis examines post-event displacement of households in the year following Hurricane Harvey. Using data gathered from a three-page mail survey conducted approximately 1-year after the storm, this study examines two primary research objectives. First this thesis aims to identify variables that predict displacement or non-displacement after the disaster. Second, this study explores patterns in the destination and duration of displaced households following Hurricane Harvey. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the extent to which household composition characteristics and level of damage sustained during Hurricane Harvey predicted post-disaster displacement. Next, independent sample t-tests and descriptive statistical analyses were used to identify patterns in the destination of post-event relocations. Research findings indicate in the overall binary logistic regression model that after Hurricane Harvey, being White, level of home damage, wind damage, and number of days a member of the household returned home post-Harvey increased the likelihood of a household being displaced. Analysis of the survey responses also indicated that many households made multiple moves following Hurricane Harvey and specifically, displaced households were more likely to stay with a friend or relative. Additionally, this study found that with each additional relocation, the duration of stay at each destination increased while the distance from their pre-disaster home decreased. This thesis advances understanding of what predicts household displacement after a disaster and offers new insights into where people go during the short-term and beginning of the long-term recovery phases.

This study aims to find out the impact of the credibility and content quality of social media influencers on the various stages of the customer's journey and the intention to choose a destination for the Saudi tourist. The target segment was Saudis in general, who are 18 years or above. To conduct this study, 618 usable questionnaires were collected. This study tested twenty-two hypotheses. The result of this study showed that the relationship between content quality, expertise, and similarity was significantly positive with the tourist's desire and information searching. As well, the relationship between the tourist's desire and information searching was significantly positive with the intention of choosing a destination. Conservatism, engagement, and gender were tested as moderators. Conservatism was not significant while the engagement was significant. Gender was only significant in the relationship between content quality and the tourist's desire. This study contributes to information and knowledge in the fields of tourism, hospitality, travel, marketing, tourist behavior, information science, and social media. Researchers and those interested in tourist and customer behavior can benefit from the results of this study. In the industrial field, this study will be very useful to the Saudi government, which has recently begun to rely on tourism and hospitality as a main source of income. As well, the study can be beneficial for tourism, hospitality and travel companies, hotels, restaurants, marketers of tourist destinations, and workers in the field of tourism and hospitality in general to know the best ways to attract tourists through social media influencers.

High precision data from household travel survey (HTS) is extremely important for the transportation research, traffic models and policy formulation. Traditional methods of data collection were imprecise because they relied on people’s memories of trip information, such as date and location, and the remainder data had to be obtained by certain supplemental tools. The traditional methods suffered from intensive labor, large time consumption, and unsatisfactory data precision. Recent research trends to employ smartphone apps to collect HTS data. In this study, there are two goals to be addressed. First, a smartphone app is developed to realize a smartphone-based method only for data collection. Second, the researcher evaluates whether this method can supply or replace the traditional tools of HTS. Based on this premise, the smartphone app, TravelSurvey, is specially developed and used for this study. TravelSurvey is currently compatible with iPhone 4 or higher and iPhone Operating System (iOS) 6 or higher, except iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus and iOS 8. To evaluate the feasibility, eight individuals are recruited to participate in a pilot HTS. Afterwards, seven of them are involved in a semi-structured interview. The interview is designed to collect interviewees’ feedback directly, so the interview mainly concerns the users’ experience of TravelSurvey. Generally, the feedback is positive. In this study, the pilot HTS data is successfully uploaded to the server by the participants, and the interviewees prefer this smartphone-based method. Therefore, as a new tool, the smartphone-based method feasibly supports a typical HTS for data collection.

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The tourism industry has been faced with immense growth worldwide. Due to the industry being resource-heavy, this development has been problematic in terms of sustainable development. This has resulted in overtourism becoming the reality of multiple destinations, which have then faced ecological and social degradation. Therefore, it is important to explore alternative pathways toward sustainable development that do not prioritise growth. The pathway that will be explored in this thesis is degrowth. In the past, degrowth has been under-researched within tourism studies, especially in terms of practical solutions. This research aims to fill that research gap by exploring the compatibility of Icelandic tourism lifestyle entrepreneurs running small to medium -sized businesses in rural Iceland. But Iceland has been one of the destinations that have been faced with overtourism. This research is conducted by using an exploratory research design where data was collected through eight in-depth interviews with tourism lifestyle entrepreneurs across Iceland. The findings of this thesis suggest that while Icelandic tourism lifestyle entrepreneurs are compatible with the degrowth concept, it is important for the sake of sustainable tourism development to re-shift the focus away from growth and more towards well-being.

Identificar las motivaciones de viaje en los turistas para poder determinar la influencia en la imagen de un destino turístico es muy importante para el desarrollo de este. Por lo que la presente investigación tuvo como principal objetivo determinar las motivaciones de viaje que influyen en la imagen de destino del Santuario Histórico Bosque de Pómac. Como instrumento se utilizó el cuestionario el cual fue realizado a 386 visitantes nacionales, hombres y mujeres, entre los 18 a 64 años que acudieron al destino desde enero del 2022 hasta la fecha en que se aplicó el presente estudio. Después de obtener los datos de las encuestas realizadas a los visitantes, se procesaron usando el programa SPSS, posteriormente siendo analizadas con la ayuda de tablas y así identificar la influencia entre variables. Los resultados indicaron una influencia baja debido a que algunos componentes de las dimensiones tuvieron poca importancia como principales motivaciones, sin embargo, se infiere que el destino posee un gran potencial para en un futuro obtener una influencia alta entre las motivaciones de viaje con relación a la imagen percibida del Santuario Histórico Bosque de Pómac. Por esa razón, los gestores turísticos tendrían en cuenta dichas motivaciones por parte de su demanda y por lo tanto pueden llegar a ofrecerles un valor extra y así superar sus expectativas, lograr que el destino sea recomendado y por ende más conocido. / Identifying the travel motivations of tourists in order to determine the influence on the image of a tourist destination is very important for its development. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to determine the travel motivations that influence the destination image of the Bosque de Pomac Historic Sanctuary. A questionnaire was used as an instrument, which was administered to 386 national visitors, men and women, between 18 and 64 years of age, who visited the destination from January 2022 to the date of this study. After obtaining the data from the visitor surveys, they were processed using the SPSS program and subsequently analyzed with the help of tables to identify the influence between variables. The results indicated a low influence because some components of the dimensions had little importance as main motivations; however, it is inferred that the destination has a great potential to obtain a high influence in the future among travel motivations in relation to the perceived image of the Bosque de Pomac Historic Sanctuary. For this reason, tourism managers would take into account these motivations on the part of their demand and therefore could offer them extra value and thus exceed their expectations, making the destination recommended and therefore better known.

No / According to annual reports of European and North American ski resort corporations, winter sports destinations are facing stagnating markets and at the same time challenges in the management of environmentally sensitive mountainous areas and villages. The survival and development of winter sports destinations are to a large extent centred around strategies for creating competitive advantage and at the same time meeting the criteria of sustainable tourism laid down by the WTO. In this paper, performance on these two dimensions is combined into the concept of strategic performance. Sustained value creation is suggested as a goal of strategic performance in winter sports destinations.Two new models related to the strategic analysis of winter sports destinations are developed. The first is a suggested configuration of value creation in winter sports destinations¿the ¿value fan¿¿and the second is a conceptual organisational model providing a framework for analysis at strategic level of such destinations. The models have emerged from examining the central body of literature in the field of strategic management. Development of the models is part of ongoing research into what kind of organisational structure of winter sports destinations will lead to superior performance in terms of strategic success. Here the concepts of the ¿community model¿ and the ¿corporate model¿ of destination management are introduced.