Generation Z, tourism and hospitality: the legacy of COVID-19

PurposeAs Generation Z (Gen Z) represents one of the most important segments in the travel and tourism sector, the present work aims to analyse Gen Z's behaviour in a post-pandemic scenario. In particular, the present work deepens the factors that may influence future accommodation choices.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data from a web-based questionnaire targeting Italian tourists belonging to Generation Z, reaching 221 complete responses. After the statistical analysis of the sample, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was then carried out.FindingsData provided evidence about the main factors affecting Gen Z tourist choices. In particular, these young consumers are positively influenced by the information (especially from institutional and verifiable sources), more flexible purchase terms (e.g. full refund in case of cancellation due to contagion of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and digital payments) and structure features (e.g. cleanliness, sanitisation, digitalisation and sustainability).Originality/valueThis work attempts to contribute to the academic literature by looking at the tourism experience from Gen Z's perspective. From this angle, this work underlines the influence some factors exert on the final accommodation choice, especially in the presence of exogenous events. Moreover, as this study focusses on a post-pandemic scenario, the study seeks to provide valuable indications, both at the theoretical and managerial level, for the tourism sector to boost the sector's recovery and prepare the sector to face similar events.

Sustainable and healthy purchasing behaviors towards palm oil-based food in Italy

Purpose: Palm oil is widely used in the food industry;however, there are two main controversies connected to its use, namely, its nutritional value and the environmental consequences deriving from its crop. In Italy, the use of palm oil has recently been criticized, insomuch that some important bakery companies decided to substitute it, creating a real food marketing case. Through a focus on biscuits, this study is aimed at profiling consumers with regard to palm oil issue to better comprehend if the presence of this ingredient truly influences their food purchases and if they care about the nutritional and environmental aspects, highlighting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on consumers' consumption. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was administered to 243 subjects in Italy, in order to apply a cluster analysis. Findings: The findings show the presence of three main kinds of consumers: (1) compromise finders (sensitive to cost savings but trying to privilege palm-oil free food), (2) brand-loyal consumers (palm oil does not influence their preferences) and (3) healthsensitives (the presence of palm oil profoundly affects their choices), who represent the majority of our sample. The results and implications are discussed. Originality/value: Research on palm oil is essentially focused on chemistry, natural sciences or on its industrial uses: this study analyzes the consumer point of view by applying a different methodology compared to existing studies. © 2023, Fabrizio Flavio Baldassarre, Savino Santovito, Raffaele Campo and Giacomo Dilorenzo.