The review aims to explore fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) as a bridge between the qualitative and quantitative paradigm divide in tourism, leisure, and hospitality management studies and explain why and how field scholars employ it. A comprehensive systematic review of complete and original articles from 31 top-tier tourism, leisure, and hospitality journals was conducted on the basis of the PRISMA framework. Since its inception in the field, fsQCA has been employed as a mixed method and analysis technique for theory development, testing, and data analysis. Its application in the field has grown because it acts as a back up in addressing complex sets through rigorous qualitative and quantitative approaches. Complexity, fuzzy set, planned behavior, chaos, and motivation are the leading theories consistently used; behavior, intention, motivation, performance, attitude, satisfaction, crisis, and experience are the complex research themes in the field that most frequently employ fsQCA.

This study investigates how staycations enhance the experiences of staycationers and foster stakeholder collaboration to promote sustainable tourism. A qualitative case study approach, guided by constructivist narrative inquiry, involved in-depth interviews with 21 key stakeholders and a comprehensive analysis of staycation packages from 10 four- and five-star hotels during a crisis. The study draws on stakeholder, collaboration, and social exchange theories, integrated with triple-bottom-line (TBL) principles, to highlight the resilience power of staycations and its contributions to sustainable tourism development. The findings revealed that staycations significantly enhance the sustainability of the industry. Remarkably, stakeholders demonstrated exceptional collaboration, forming an inclusive public–private partnership to address the crisis and advance sustainable tourism development. It emphasises the need for stronger stakeholder collaboration, advocating for a unified approach to destination management over counterproductive competition. Furthermore, a roadmap is proposed for future investigations, focusing on the role of staycations in promoting positive experiences and enhancing stakeholder collaboration for the sustainable development of the tourism industry during crises. The study emphasised the need for further investigation into specific stakeholders to address competitive imbalances during crises, offering insights that serve as a call to action for practitioners and scholars, thereby laying the groundwork for advancing the industry and enhancing destination reputations.

Staycations have emerged as a compelling alternative to long-haul travel, attracting visitors through their inclusivity, wallet-friendliness, and eco-consciousness. However, significant gaps remain in theory-based research on its role in resilience, effects on staycation experiences, and stakeholder collaboration for sustainable tourism during crises. Thus, this study investigates how staycations enhance the experiences of staycationers and foster stakeholder collaboration to promote sustainable tourism. A qualitative case study approach, guided by constructivist narrative inquiry, involved in-depth interviews with 21 key stakeholders and a comprehensive analysis of staycation packages from 10 four- and five-star hotels during a crisis. The study draws on stakeholder, collaboration, and social exchange theories, integrated with triple-bottom-line (TBL) principles, to highlight the resilience power of staycations and its contributions to sustainable tourism development. The findings revealed that staycations significantly enhance the sustainability of the industry. Remarkably, stakeholders demonstrated exceptional collaboration, forming an inclusive public-private partnership to address the crisis and advance sustainable tourism development. It emphasises the need for stronger stakeholder collaboration, advocating for a unified approach to destination management over counterproductive competition. Furthermore, a roadmap is proposed for future investigations, focusing on the role of staycations in promoting positive experiences and enhancing stakeholder collaboration for the sustainable development of the tourism industry during crises. The study emphasised the need for further investigation into specific stakeholders to address competitive imbalances during crises, offering insights that serve as a call to action for practitioners and scholars, thereby laying the groundwork for advancing the industry and enhancing destination reputations.

The research landscape in tourism and hospitality often feels like a house divided. On one side, there is the quantitative camp searching for broad, linear patterns; on the other side, there are qualitative scholars who prefer deep, contextual dives. This division suggests that scholars may overlook valuable insights in the middle. Therefore, this study examines how Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) are transforming the landscape and bridging the methodological and analytical divide. For this purpose, authors analyzed 91 peer-reviewed articles using PRISMA 2020 systematic review principles from six databases. The findings highlight that this multi-methodological triangulation addresses causal asymmetry, acknowledging that the drivers of success are not necessarily mirror images of those of failure. The study implies that, in theory, it bridges the gap between qualitative nuance and quantitative rigor, moving from universal linear assumptions to complexity theory. Methodologically, it allows for a prioritized roadmap in which NCA pinpoints exact operational thresholds and fsQCA provides strategic flexibility. In practice, the findings offer a two-tiered decision-making framework for industry managers: first, addressing non-negotiable bottlenecks, and second, selecting the strategic configuration that best aligns with their unique resource base. The review concludes that, while challenges such as data calibration and interpretative complexity remain, integrating these paradigms offers a more authentic and comprehensive understanding of the volatile landscape of tourism and hospitality.

Tourism and hospitality studies struggle with a methodological divide, forcing scholars to choose between generalizability and contextual understanding while often failing to capture complex causal relationships like equifinality and conjunctural causation. This reliance on conventional approaches can obscure the critical insights needed for strategic decision-making and development within the industry. Thus, this review aims to demonstrate how fsQCA elucidates diverse configurations of conditions that lead to specific outcomes, while NCA identifies critical bottleneck conditions essential for achieving those outcomes, thereby enriching understanding of complex causality and effectively bridging bipolar methodological and analytical frameworks. To support this exploration, the authors conducted a systematic review of 89 articles. The results reveal that these set-theoretic methods effectively bridge long-standing methodological divides, integrating qualitative depth with quantitative rigour, moving beyond variable-oriented analyses to embrace case-oriented insights, explicitly modelling asymmetrical relation-ships, encouraging configurational thinking, enhancing causal inference, addressing data characteristics and limitations of traditional methods. It also enhances theoretical development by fostering more nuanced, context-sensitive causal models that align with the principles of complexity theory. Practically, the findings empower managers and policymakers with strategic flexibility by highlighting diverse pathways to success and enabling prioritised resource allocation by identifying non-negotiable necessary conditions. While acknowledging limitations such as a focus primarily on methodological application and the exclusion of grey literature, the study proposes future research directions, including integrated fsQCA-NCA frameworks, longitudinal studies, multi-level analyses, and exploring emerging phenomena and niche markets, to further advance scholarly understanding and practical applications in the field.

Tourism is a dynamic and multifaceted industry shaped by numerous push and pull factors that determine how and why tourists visit attractions. Understanding this dynamic relationship is necessary for stakeholders seeking to attract and retain tourists in a competitive landscape, offering profound insights into the evolving nature of modern tourism. Thus, this qualitative case study investigates the attributes that enhance or diminish tourist magnetism, examining the contrast between pull factors such as dis-tinctive cultural experiences, natural landscapes, and iconic landmarks and push factors like economic conditions, social influences, and personal motivations across four countries on different continents: South Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, and England. The analysis examines whether the captivating nature of attractions or the fulfilment of personal desires significantly influences travel choices. Each destination features distinct attractions ranging from stunning natural landscapes to luxurious built environments that appeal to diverse tourist motivations. The study reveals that while attractions significantly satisfy tourists’ needs, their effectiveness varies according to the unique motivations and pref-erences of different tourist groups. Although most leisure tourists are drawn to destina-tions due to the presence of attractions, business tourists often seek the fulfilment of specific personal needs. Therefore, the evolving landscape of tourism demands a shift from tra-ditional push-pull motivation theory to a more inclusive marketing approach that ad-dresses diverse motivations for experience, well-being, and authenticity. Then, the study proposed a new Travel Need-Career-Attraction Nexus framework, highlighting the necessity of understanding and adapting to changing tourist motivations, emphasising that attractions serve as means to broader experiences rather than ends.