ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has already had significant impact on tourist flows worldwide. The requirements of safe models of tourism in the time of COVID-19, avoiding crowded localities and providing individual types of accommodation, can largely be met in second homes. This study aims to examine whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions impacted the usage patterns of second homes in terms of: (1) the number of visits and length of stay, (2) the purpose of the second-home utilisation. An integral part of the study was to recognise how these new and existing im/mobilities were determined by a range of personal, social, contextual, and relational factors. The data collected from direct interviews and online surveys was tested using sign and Wilcoxon tests, while the interactive classification tree (C&RT) model was used to explain the reasons for changing or maintaining an existing second-home usage pattern. The research results showed that for most second-home owners their home-usage pattern remained the same as in 2019. If it changed, it was more common to extend the stay by moving in, working at a distance, or commuting to work, rather than to shorten the stay at the second home. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes in all the areas of life, and has inflicted many societal costs. The negativities in the field of health and economy are the prominent ones. The whole process significantly affected human behavior, preferences, and priorities. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the motivations of international second home tourists (ISHOT). In addition, motivations for buying or renting a second home in the pre-pandemic period, the push and pull factors affecting their decision to stay in a destination, and the emotional experience they had during the pandemic were also interpreted in the study. Qualitative data research method was used with semi-structured interview forms. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 ISHOTs living in Alanya, coastal Turkey. The results proved that there were significant differences between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic motivations of ISHOTs for second homes. In the pre-pandemic period, increasing the quality of life, being happy, providing mental health and well-being, emotional relaxation, and getting away from stress were in the frame among the reasons that pushed ISHOTs to acquire second homes. During the pandemic, it was determined that these motivations were replaced by feelings such as anxiety, complaint, protection instinct, uncertainty, and a trust pledge. Low risk, information provision, hygiene, and health system were important reasons that pulled ISHOTs to their second homes during the pandemic process. Insecurity, late intervention, the health system, the risk of being infected, and inadequate precautions were the reasons pushing them away from their home countries. © 2022, Geographical Institute "Jovan Cviji" of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
What is the thread that unites tourism and migration? A review of existing literature suggests two forms of tourism linked to migration: visiting friends and relatives and second home tourism. Tourism related to visiting friends and relatives can be stimulated by migratory movements, and, in turn, gives rise to new migrations. Second home ownership, however, serves as the main connection between tourism and migration, promoting tourism that generates from or relates to current and past migrations. This exploratory study is based on a qualitative systematic literature review and focuses on the characteristics of second home and visiting friends and relatives-related tourism, and migration, in order to clarify little studied linkages among them that can affect tourism-related development. The study shows that many of the migration-led tourism segments reflect factors that may promote sustainable development.
ABSTRACT
To date, studies that provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the cottage in Finland are lacking in the literature. This paper explored this phenomenon, which has great cultural and economic importance for Finland, through interviews from the perspective of experts. Key findings based on main themes including cottage buyers, characteristics of the dream cottage, diversified cottages, the regulation of cottages in municipalities, and challenges in the regulation of cottages, highlighted that: (1) cottage buyers were reported to be mostly in their 50s and wealthy;(2) buyers were in high demand for easy solutions and cottages with a similar level of equipment to a primary home;(3) environmental issues were considered interesting, but buyers primarily paid attention to the cleanliness of the nature and especially the body of water surrounding their cottage;(4) distance to the cottage and closest services were deciding factors, and there was greater demand for waterfront cottages;(5) popular cottage sizes varied widely, and the diversification was among the highlights;(6) while changes in use were possible under certain circumstances, sewage and wastewater regulation, and sizing of beach construction were considered challenging. It is believed that this paper will contribute to the balanced territorial development of cottages in Finland and the vitality of cottage-rich municipalities.
ABSTRACT
Purpose Being necessarily proactive, spatial plans should consider national and global developments. In Turkey, after legislative amendments of the 2000s, legal obstacles for foreign investment in house ownership were eradicated, raising a significant demand for second homes. If the current planning process does not turn this demand into an opportunity, it will probably be one of its main threatening factors. This study aims to uncover the criteria affecting the locational choices of construction companies for their project area in supplying second homes for those investors, and rank them according to their importance. Design/Methodology/Approach A three-stage AHP was utilized. First, the objectives, criteria and sub-criteria affecting the locational choices of construction companies were determined and a hierarchical structure was set. Secondly, pairwise comparisons were made with the company officials. Thirdly, the relative and general weights of the criteria and sub-criteria were calculated and locational preferences for the project area were uncovered. The city of Trabzon, where the second home supply for the citizens of the countries in Arabian Peninsula increased after 2012, was chosen as the case. Findings It is concluded that the development plan decisions are very effective in the locational selection of the project areas. The most important criteria in the selection process are found to be the nearby plan decisions, high unit/m(2) sale price of flats, and plan decisions on the parcel, in turn. Moreover, the ones for the sub-criteria were found to be having nearby a CBD plan decision, development order, and having a nearby recreational area plan decision, in turn. Research Limitations/Implications Although there are many such construction companies, only two company officials volunteered to participate, yet the study still provides a basis for future work and an awareness for international dynamics of the city. Originality/Value The criteria affecting the locational choices of construction companies for their project area in supplying second homes for foreign investors were revealed and ranked. Pairwise comparisons in AHP were made simultaneously with the participants using a videoconference application, considering the risk of Covid-19. The study contributes to housing supply literature and guide spatial plans by introducing locational preferences of the firms.
ABSTRACT
This study aims to demonstrate how hedonistic Second Home Tourism (SHT) trips and eudaimonic community participation will retrieve tourist flow and revive tourist destination from the COVID-19 crisis. Q methodology was followed to measure the subjectivity of scholars, researchers and practitioners of tourism industry for the appreciation of SHT in the crisis. Q Method Software was used to conduct factor analysis. The result of the study concludes that short haul mobility/trip within periphery and/or travel bubble accelerates the % change of international tourist arrivals. The study also implores that how future SHT trips will ensure community resilience through social intuition (cultural integrity and knowledge exchange) and financial retention through economic empathy (demand-supply balance and revenue generation). © 2021 Editura Universitatii din Oradea. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
According to the hygiene and biodiversity hypotheses, increased hygiene levels and reduced contact with biodiversity can partially explain the high prevalence of immune-mediated diseases in developed countries. A disturbed commensal microbiota, especially in the gut, has been linked to multiple immune-mediated diseases. Previous studies imply that gut microbiota composition is associated with the everyday living environment and can be modified by increasing direct physical exposure to biodiverse materials. In this pilot study, the effects of rural-second-home tourism were investigated on the gut microbiota for the first time. Rural-second-home tourism, a popular form of outdoor recreation in Northern Europe, North America, and Russia, has the potential to alter the human microbiota by increasing exposure to nature and environmental microbes. The hypotheses were that the use of rural second homes is associated with differences in the gut microbiota and that the microbiota related to health benefits are more diverse or common among the rural-second-home users. Based on 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing of stool samples from 10 urban elderly having access and 15 lacking access to a rural second home, the first hypothesis was supported: the use of rural second homes was found to be associated with lower gut microbiota diversity and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway levels. The second hypothesis was not supported: health-related microbiota were not more diverse or common among the second-home users. The current study encourages further research on the possible health outcomes or causes of the observed microbiological differences. Activities and diet during second-home visits, standard of equipment, surrounding environment, and length of the visits are all postulated to play a role in determining the effects of rural-second-home tourism on the gut microbiota.