The travel-related applications on a smartphone help tourists make a reservation before their trip conveniently; use a map, direction guidance, and translation services during the travel; evaluate and recommend travel services communicating with others after their journey. This study examines the relationships among affordances and constraints provided by the mini-program, users’ perceived value, and travel-related mini-program (TRMP) usage by analyzing the structural equation modeling. An online questionnaire was developed from the available scales in the published literature. A total of 651 TRMP users responded to the survey, and 448 valid responses were included for analysis. Affordance, including physical, cognitive, sensory, and functional affordance, significantly influenced the hedonic value of TRMP; utilitarian value except for cognitive affordance. There were negative relationships between unfamiliarity and both types of value. The utilitarian and hedonic value of TRMP significantly influenced both the exploitative and explorative use of TRMP. Travel-related mobile applications are dramatically increased in the tourism field. This research sheds light on TRMP usage, as a new and smart device, from a user's perspective based on the affordance theory. This study represents a valuable direction regarding the emerging travel-related online platforms in tourism.

Yoon H, et al. Nutr Res Pract. 2021 Dec;15(Suppl 1):S110-0. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2021.15.S1.S110

As South Korea rapidly transitions into a multicultural society, multicultural families continue to face social exclusion, psychological withdrawal, and systemic barriers to belonging. This study investigates the role of inclusive, welfare-based tourism programs as a tool for the social integration of multicultural and diaspora families. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, a quantitative survey was administered to 87 families participating in the travel program. Results show that Overall Travel Satisfaction explains 69.9% of the variance in perceived Socio-Cultural Impact; all four attributes were individually significant predictors of Socio-Cultural Impact, with Tour Operator Service and Experiential Program the numerically strongest. A mediation analysis further shows that Socio-Cultural Impact fully mediates the relationship between travel satisfaction and participants’ intention to continue engaging with such programs. Korean-language proficiency and length of residence in Korea—but not gender, age, or nationality—significantly differentiated in perceived Socio-Cultural Impact. A qualitative follow-up using online interviews with four families was then conducted in August and September 2025. Qualitative findings reveal that travel functions as a “cultural bridge”, shifting participants’ identities from outsiders to respected members of Korean society.

Destinations increasingly offer curated leisure tours to business visitors, but little is known about the people who take part in them. This foundational study profiles participants in pilot bleisure tours run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, compares three participant types (meeting and exhibition attendees, corporate business travelers, and accompanying persons), and examines how participants evaluate the tours. Post-tour survey data from 554 participants (May–September 2026) were analyzed with Holm-corrected chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis tests and partial least squares structural equation modeling. Participants were mostly first-time visitors from North America and Europe with one or two days of free time who mostly joined because they had spare time. The participant types differed in travel party, region of origin, and free time; no significant differences were detected in leisure preferences, information sources, concerns, or desired support, although questionnaire changes and unequal subgroups limit these comparisons. Tour quality was positively associated with satisfaction (β = 0.399) and recommendation (β = 0.332), with a small indirect path through satisfaction. Evaluations differed more across tour programs than across participant types. The findings provide a baseline for designing and promoting bleisure tours for business visitors.