Recent studies have underscored the importance of tourism in enhancing individuals’ mental well-being through engagement with nature. This article examines the impact of nature-based tourism on alleviating symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among a group of 67 university students who exhibited extremely severe levels of these disorders. Participants were assessed both before and after a nature tourism experience in the Tinajillas Río Gualaceño Protected Forest, Ecuador. Mental health changes were evaluated using the DASS-21 scale, with assessments conducted pre- and post-activity, revealing significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress levels, with large and clinically relevant effect sizes. However, a 6-month follow-up indicated that these long-term benefits diminished and no longer held clinical significance, suggesting the need for more frequent interventions to sustain positive effects. This study concludes that nature-based tourism serves as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for improving mental well-being in the short term, although its sustainability requires continuous interaction with nature. These findings provide empirical support for nature-based tourism as a mental health strategy and highlight the importance of integrating it into public health policies and tourism management strategies.

La gestión de los museos, desde inicios del siglo XXI, ha mostrado una creciente implementación de las nuevas tecnologías (códigos QR, Apps, realidad aumentada, realidad virtual, gamificación, entre otros), en aras de proporcionar una mayor satisfacción a sus visitantes. De hecho, la pandemia de la COVID-19 ha acelerado dicho uso, que ya venía gestándose desde inicios de este siglo. Hoy, las tecnologías son recursos clave para la gestión de museos. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el uso de nuevas tecnologías en museos, a partir de una revisión de la literatura entre el período 2000-2019, etapa previa a la COVID-19. Se ha elegido el período pre-pandemia, puesto que la COVID-19 marca un punto de inflexión, el cierre de un ciclo y el inicio de una nueva etapa. Para este análisis, se recopilaron 130 artículos publicados en revistas del Journal Citation Reports (JCR). La investigación arrojó tres hallazgos principales: el primero indicó que los sistemas multimedia han sido las herramientas tecnológicas más frecuentes dentro de los museos, las cuales en su mayoría están destinadas a la satisfacción de los visitantes. El segundo hallazgo indicó que los artículos académicos con mayor colaboración entre autores, son los más citados en el área académica, independientemente al factor de impacto de la revista. Finalmente, el último hallazgo determinó que la colaboración entre investigadores sigue siendo escasa, especialmente entre investigadores de distintas disciplinas. Este documento contribuye con una evaluación precisa del desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías en el campo de los museos, en la era pre-pandemia.

Tourism has proven to be highly vulnerable to external disruptions, particularly in communities with low levels of tourism development. In this context, this study examines residents’ attitudes towards tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic and assesses the impact of public and private initiatives in the Cajas Massif Biosphere Area (CMBA), located in southern Ecuador. Employing a mixed-methods approach, 825 surveys were conducted alongside 25 interviews with key sector stakeholders. The objective was to determine whether these attitudes reflect genuine resilience or merely a survival strategy in response to the crisis. The findings indicate that, despite some collective efforts and mitigation plans, the primary focus remained on short-term income preservation, while government policies prioritised tourism promotion over addressing structural needs, ultimately proving inadequate for tourism recovery. This scenario placed the burden of adaptation on residents, with expressions of solidarity that, however, diminished as the crisis subsided. This study concludes that reactive measures may be mistaken for genuine resilience, highlighting the need for comprehensive policies and more equitable stakeholder participation to strengthen social cohesion and ensure the viability of tourism in the face of future crises.

Este artículo presenta un estudio cualitativo sobre los cambios en las dinámicas turísticas con base en la interacción del sector público, privado y comunidades de acogida durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Cuatro comunidades rurales ubicadas en el Área de Biosfera del Macizo del Cajas (ABMC), ubicadas en el sur de Ecuador fueron consideradas como casos de estudio para entender si la resiliencia fue un mecanismo usado para afrontar la crisis. Como método de recolección de datos se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con residentes de las comunidades, autoridades y empresarios privados involucrados en los territorios de estudio. Los resultados indican que los valores simbólicos de las comunidades emergieron durante la crisis. Sin embargo, lo privado mantuvo su intención de mantenerse a flote y lo público intensificó las acciones que venían realizando antes de la pandemia. Se concluye que la COVID-19 destacó las reacciones fragmentadas hacia el turismo. Por lo tanto, la resiliencia comunitaria, centrada en los recursos y capacidades locales se adapta utilizando sus activos, mientras que la resiliencia del sector turístico aspira a regresar a la normalidad.

Social impacts and other types of impacts such as economic and environmental have been studied extensively in the tourism field. The main aim of this research is to understand the differences in the social impacts of tourism between summer 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and summer 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) in a coastal tourism destination from the visitors' perspective. Data were collected using surveys carried out in the municipality of Platja d'Aro (Catalonia, Spain) in 2019 (pre-pandemic) (n=468 visitors) and 2020 (during the pandemic) (n=394 visitors). The responses were categorised into two main groups: “strengths and weaknesses of the destination”, in order to understand the possible social impacts of tourism. Results show that visitor profile differed in terms of origin and age during the pandemic. The level of satisfaction with the destination remains similar despite the adverse scenario caused by the pandemic. Social impacts are identified and compared between the two periods. This information can be used by tourism destination policymakers to analyse differences in social impacts between pandemic and pre-pandemic periods.