Purpose: Tourism may have important positive and negative economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts. However, cultural and natural resources are also the base to the development of competitive destinations and changes in these resources can have an important impact on tourism development. Despite the considerable literature regarding the impacts of tourism, a limited number of studies examine the impact of the environment on tourism, specifically the impact of air quality (AQ). Therefore, this paper aims to review what is known about the impact of AQ on tourism demand, analysing the different methods and approaches used, as well as the results obtained. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review method was used to examine the state of the art in this topic and identify research gaps and new research directions. Only 26 papers were identified that examine the impact of AQ on tourism demand. Findings: The majority of the studies were carried out in China and investigate the impact of AQ on tourism from the perspective of tourism demand. Both global (tourism demand) and individual (tourist perceptions) approaches have been used to investigate the impact of AQ on tourism. Originality/value: This is the first systematic literature review on the impact of outdoor AQ on tourism demand. Moreover, this paper analyses the methods and approaches that have been used in the literature to examine the impact of outdoor AQ on tourism demand. The paper ends with a discussion on the identified research gaps concerning the influence of AQ on tourism development.

The tourism sector is presently facing new challenges resulting from the increasing digitalization of society. Boosted by industry 4.0, new tourism dynamics are emerging. Nonetheless, the real significance of this revolutionary trend and its implications still lack further development. Aiming to assess the state-of-the-art about the digital transformation on the tourism sector, triggered by the 4.0 paradigm, the present study followed a systematic literature review approach, adopting the PRISMA protocol guidelines. A total of 44 manuscripts were considered relevant for analysis. The findings illustrate that the 4.0 paradigm is being embraced from three main perspectives: the visitor-technology interaction and its influence on decision-making, the digital competencies in tourism students, and the technology penetration in different sub-sectors of the supply chain. However, studies conceptualizing the 4.0 paradigm in the tourism sector are lacking, beyond empirical research on areas such as digital skills, pros and cons of industry 4.0 technologies, and spatial consequences.

The pandemic caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (associated to the disease named COVID-19) is having a global impact that affects health, the economy and the environment. These impacts are negative in most of the sectors but benefits also occurred in specific fields. Tourism was one of the most negatively affected economic sectors, and in terms of benefits, the improvement of air quality can be highlighted, with positive health implications. This paper aims to evaluate the impacts on these two particular fields—tourism and air quality—focusing on Portugal due to the relevance of tourism in the country. The research carried out in this paper enables us to find the most critical areas and identifies lessons learnt and recommendations for the post-COVID period. Tourism and air quality data were collected for both 2019 and 2020 and compared in terms of quantitative and spatial analysis. The Lisbon metropolitan area—the geographical area where the capital of the country is located—was the area that suffered the most negative impacts in terms of tourism activity but was also the one where highest benefits in terms of air pollution reduction and human exposure were felt. Recommendations for future strategies are suggested, including new concepts of tourism connected to the environment; the investment in online/virtual tourism activities; promotion of the domestic market; mitigation of the over-tourism problem and using environmental issues, such as air quality, as new attractiveness criteria for tourism destinations.

Despite the growing influence of air pollution on people’s behaviour, little attention has been given to visitors’ behavioural intentions towards air pollution episodes. Understanding visitors’ behaviours is crucial in developing effective marketing strategies and preventing damaging consequences for both visitors and destinations. This paper presents a segmentation analysis based on visitors’ behavioural intentions towards a hypothetical episode of air pollution, based on a visitor survey (N = 625) applied over the Central Region of Portugal. Two clusters with different behavioural intentions were obtained. Differences were found between groups regarding attitudes towards the environment, risk perceptions, travel behaviour and sociodemographic profile.

Due to the growing awareness concerning environmental problems, specifically air pollution, it is crucial to understand the relationship between perceptions of air quality and the pro‐environmental behaviors of visitors. This study segments visitors based on self‐reported pro‐environmental behaviors. A survey was carried out in Portugal (N = 602). Three clusters with different pro‐environmental profiles emerged: eco‐transportation seekers; environmentally committed visitors; and environmentally insensitive visitors. Differences were detected among the clusters regarding pro‐environmental behaviors at home, environmental attitudes, perception of the destination air quality, and perception of the impact of air quality on health, as well as sociodemographic and travel characteristics.