The tourism sector faces severe challenges due to the economic impacts from changing natural environments as seen with the increased frequency of natural disasters. Therefore, analyses of disaster impacts models are necessary for managing successful tourism recovery. Typically, disaster assessments are conducted on a countrywide level, which can lead to imbalanced recovery processes, and a distorted distribution of recovery financing or subsidies. We address the challenges of recovery using the tourism disaster management framework by Faulkner. To calculate precise damage assessments, we develop a micro-level assessment model to analyze and understand disaster impacts at the micro-level supporting tourism recovery in an affected destination. We examine economic consequences of a disaster at a small regional scale arguing recovery from a natural disaster is more difficult in individual areas because of differences in geographic location or infrastructure development. The island of Dominica is chosen as an example for the model using statistical data from the tourism sector to outline and detail the consequences of a disaster specifically for communities. The results highlight the importance of damage assessments on a small-scale level, such as communities in order to distinguish between individual regions facing severe changes for resident livelihoods and the local tourism sector. We argue that only after identifying regional impacts it is possible to apply adequate governmental subsidies and development strategies for a country's tourism sector and residents in a continuously changing environment in the hopes of mitigating future financial losses and future climate change impacts.

Between one-quarter and one-third of the population in developed economies do not travel, but our understanding of this group is rather limited. Studies looking at constraints and motivation often treat non-travelers as an homogeneous group compared to a spectrum of traveler types. Non-travel is also often implied as being a deficit rather than a voluntary decision. A mixed-method approach is applied in this study to explicitly explore the variety within non-travelers in general and voluntary non-travelers in particular. Qualitative interviews with non-travelers were used to gain a more in-depth understanding of the underlying reasons for non-travel. Non-travelers were then segmented based on constraints and motivation in a large-scale survey representative for Germany. The resulting non-traveler typology clearly shows distinct non-travelers types. By adding a pro non-travel preference instead of using deficit-oriented arguments, voluntary types of non-travelers were identified. This implies that non-travel is not necessarily something people want to overcome.

Recent EU environmental and spatial policies notably strive towards the development paradigm of green growth and economic competitiveness. However, operationalizing spatial policies through growth-driven GDP logics promotes an unequal race towards narrowly defined developmental ‘success’, while perpetuating social, economic and environmental inequalities. Meanwhile, the EU’s territorial cohesion approach has remained a conceptual ‘black box’, its apparent inadequacy for notably mitigating territorial disparities leading to renewed questions about territorial policy’s relevance, delivery and evaluation. In this paper, we add to calls for redesigning territorial cohesion by proposing a turn towards spatial justice for territorial sustainability. Pointing out the need to refocus on regional capabilities and alternative development trajectories, we argue that the ‘right to not catch up’ enables a more locally meaningful and globally sustainable development. Drawing from regional statistics, policy analyses and an empirical case study of three European Territorial Cooperation programs in the heterogeneous Austrian-Czech-Slovak-Hungarian border region, we illustrate how current EU spatial policy approaches evolve in regional practice and why current policy aims fall short for sustainable transformations. Through interrogating development discourses and their alternatives, we contribute to emerging new perspectives on sustainable territorial development at the European as well as at regional levels.

This paper analyzes the success factors of health tourism based on natural attractions in selected European spa and health destinations. The natural resources included in the offers, such as water, salt, and air, play a central role in this context, as their evidence-based effects have a high relevance for the health and wellbeing of tourists. Due to its specific geographical location and considering the threat of climate change, however, this offer is facing increasing challenges which make adaptation strategies necessary. In addition to a conceptional introduction to the topic, this paper contains a descriptive analysis of tourism statistics and the results from self-administered questionnaires with six selected representatives from alpine health destinations (DE, FR, IT, AT, CH, SI). The results show varying forms of health tourism based on natural attractions, which are also reflected in online marketing, with potential for optimization. The web research and the responses to the questionnaire revealed that evidence-based studies hardly play a role in promoting health touristic offers. Furthermore, climate change effects on natural attractions are considered extremely small and tend to prompt the development of new offers. Health destinations are advised to generate a clearer focus on the risks of climate change regarding natural resources.

Cities are popular destinations for international tourism that in recent years have increasingly become the target of terrorist attacks affecting the tourism industry. In this study, the economic damage caused by the terror attacks is calculated for the destination Paris, differentiated by sectors and source markets. For this purpose, the revenue shortfalls caused by the terrorist attacks of 2015 for the tourism industry in Paris are calculated. Taking into account the decreasing number of visitors, discounts granted by the accommodation sector as well as additional expenditures for marketing or loss of revenue by tourism service providers (e. g. in the transport sector), the shortfall of revenues in the tourism sector amounts to at least € 2 bn in the period 2015 to 2017.

Being a unique hazard, COVID-19 led to various global distortions. Tourism was significantly affected, and numerous authors are discussing future implications for the industry. However, only a few studies consider the effects of...