In the last few years, natural protected areas have been facing great challenges and degradation around the world. Among this, environmental sustainability has become a priority to create harmony between tourists and nature. Tourists visiting protected areas are becoming progressively more concerned regarding the environment. Moreover, the United Nations (UN) “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” have highlighted the potential role of young tourists to contribute to sustainable tourism. However, very few studies have focused on tourists’ environmentally sustainable behavior towards natural protected areas. To fill the existing gap in the literature, this study aims to provide a theoretical framework that includes environmental sustainability awareness (ESA) in measuring millennial tourists’ environmentally sustainable behavior (ESB). Thus, this study delivers an integrated approach based on the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the concept of the new ecological paradigm (NEP) towards protected areas. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted from one of the protected areas located in the north of Sichuan province of China, and 511 responses were obtained for statistical analysis. Results of the structural statistical analysis showed that the unified model includes a satisfactory level of predictive power for tourists’ ESB, which was superior to existing theories and concepts. The findings also revealed that all proposed relationships of the variables were significant and identified the positive influence of environmental sustainability awareness in generating the ESB. This study contributes towards sustainable tourism development and the conservation of protected areas, with several practical implications for local authorities in terms of millennial participation.

Tourism has become one of the most important sectors in many countries, significantly contributing to their economic growth and development. However, the expansion of tourism has also brought about various environmental and social challenges. The relationship between tourism, economic growth, trade openness, and the environment is diverse and complex. The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the international tourism development index, GDP per capita, CO₂ emissions, trade openness index as well as the energy intensity index in EU 27, over the 1995–2019 period. A composite index for international tourism was developed using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Panel Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach is used to reveal the long- and short-run impact of GDP per capita, CO₂ emissions, trade openness index as well as the energy intensity index on the tourism development index. Panel ARDL estimates confirm some of our research hypotheses: at the level of EU countries, there is a short-run relationship between tourism and GDP per capita, but only in a few EU countries, trade openness influences tourism development index. Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test confirms long-run feedback relationship between tourism development index and trade openness, between tourism development index and CO₂ emissions, and between tourism development index and GDP and unilateral causality running from tourism development index towards energy efficiency.

Agricultural products have taken center stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic as countries strive to become self-sufficient and independent. Despite this, Agri-products supply chain management has largely been ignored. Farmers are typically in charge of getting these products to market. The local market suffers because of the significant quantity of agricultural products wasted along the Agri-Food supply chain (AFSC), and export revenue is at risk. To address the issue of food waste in AFSC, this study identified the sources of food waste and proposed corrective measures for the local farming industry. Stakeholders from the farming community, transportation companies, and retailers were conducting semi-structured interviews and coding them using open-source coding. Lack of cold storage and improper handling and packaging of products have been found to have a negative impact on the distribution process in developing countries. In this regard, a well-designed supply chain strategy, network design, and information system can alleviate these issues. Farmers and transporters must be taught how to minimize damage during transport. Recycled packaging material can also be used, saving money while reducing the likelihood of product damage. This is among the pioneer studies that focus on the causes of food waste in AFSC in Pakistan.

Sustainable tourism has become a new method of practicing tourism. It has emerged in the last part of the 20th century, from the efforts of academia as a response to the increasing negative effects of mass tourism, noticeable all over the world. At the same time, sustainable tourism is considered by some a utopia, a narrow niche of the tourism market, with limited perspectives. From a theoretical standpoint, it is highly debated with no consensus regarding its definition, features and principles. In recent years, although significant steps have been taken especially by international organizations, like UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and UNWTO (The World Tourism Organization), sustainable tourism still faces numerous challenges. In the present paper, we have collected information from several authors and organizations and have presented some contemporary challenges for sustainable tourism. For our research, we have tried to identify several common challenges for six selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe – The Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, and also go into a more detailed look in the case of Romania. Finally, we consider that if we can identify specific regional challenges, we might find regional solutions and answers. Considering the numerous similarities between the six countries, there might be common solutions for the benefit of the entire region.

This study analyzes visitors’ perceptions of three major cultural events in Oradea—the Easter Fair, the Medieval Festival, and the Christmas Fair. The objective compares visitors’ perceptions of three cultural events in Oradea to assess whether statistically significant differences exist across key dimensions of the festival experience. Data was collected through 325 structured questionnaires administered on-site at the three events. Visitors’ evaluations were analyzed using Chi-square tests to assess categorical differences, Kruskal–Wallis tests for ordinal distributions, and Welch’s t-tests/ANOVA for subgroup comparisons by age and residency. The analysis indicates the varying strengths between the three events in Oradea. The Christmas Fair achieved the highest ratings in gastronomy and attracted a wide audience from different age groups, mainly due to its festive atmosphere. In contrast, the Medieval Festival was particularly appreciated for its artistic content, especially among older participants. Furthermore, the results show that both the Christmas and Medieval Festivals consistently outperform the Easter Fair in terms of atmosphere, authenticity related to local and handmade products, and organizational elements such as cleanliness and safety. Subgroup analyses show that younger visitors place greater emphasis on atmosphere, while older participants prioritize safety. Local residents tend to be more critical of organizational aspects. In particular, the Easter Fair seems to be the most inconsistent, presenting significant differences within the same group in terms of food offerings, atmosphere, safety, information, and facilities. Overall, these results highlight the fact that each festival offers a unique experience that attracts different audiences. The Easter Fair requires strategic improvements to enhance authenticity and organizational clarity, while the Christmas Fair and Medieval Festival demonstrate greater coherence but still demand target adjustments.

This research investigates the factors influencing organizational participation in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically examining the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) attributes and the moderating influence of stakeholder pressure. Utilizing fuzzy-set Quantitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on a dataset of 220 Chinese firms, this study identifies that high SDG engagement arises from multiple, equally effective configurations of CEO characteristics (age, education, experience, CEOs in family and non-family firms, digital and financial literacy) and shareholder pressure as a moderator. Our research shows three distinct configurational paths towards participation in SDGs. Young–Skilled–Pressured (Path A): Younger, highly educated CEOs with strong financial and digital literacy, operating under significant stakeholder pressure, are more likely to participate in SDGs. Older–Experienced–Family–Pressured (Path B): Older, experienced family CEOs, supported by at least one form of literacy (financial or digital), and facing strong stakeholder pressure, tend to participate in SDGs. Professionalized Non-Family (Path C): Highly educated CEOs in non-family firms with robust financial and digital literacy, who are also under strong stakeholder pressure as moderators, participate in SDGs. Crucially, strong pressure from external stakeholders is found to be a near-constant prerequisite (quasi-necessary condition) for achieving high SDG participation. This study contributes to Upper Echelons Theory by demonstrating the conjunctural nature of CEO attributes in impacting strategic outcomes. It also reinforces Stakeholder Pressure Theory by confirming its critical and moderating role in driving sustainable practices. Practically, the findings suggest that boards should strategically design leadership teams and foster robust stakeholder engagement, as this external pressure is nearly always required to enhance SDG participation.