Apartment, Hotel, or Aparthotel: Post-Covid-19 Tourist Behaviour in Gipuzkoa (Basque Country)

Proceedings of The 3rd International Conference on Tourism Management and Hospitality

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Apartment, Hotel, or Aparthotel: Post-Covid-19 Tourist Behaviour in Gipuzkoa (Basque Country)

Giuseppe Aliperti, Aurkene Alzua-Sorzabal, Basagaitz Guereño Omil

ABSTRACT: 

This study focuses on post-pandemic tourist behaviour regarding their accommodation-choice. Every year the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council (Basque Country, Spain) supports research initiatives to investigate tourism trends and identify innovative strategies to promote its territory. Statistical trends emerging in the first post-emergency Covid-19 summer highlighted the recovery of the tourism industry and suggested different reactions of the accommodation sector, especially when comparing Apartments and Hotels. By applying the Mental Model Approach, we investigated different stakeholders’ perspectives regarding these emerging trends. We identified as key stakeholders the local government, the local organisations/enterprises operating in the accommodation sector, and the University. Interviews were carried out in November 2022. Findings of this qualitative study describe how different stakeholders agree on some potential causes of these tourism trends and the expected future trends in 2023. However, several misconceptions emerged from the analysis, highlighting the need to improve the communication between these three fundamental actors. Managerial implications include suggestions to reinforce the multi-stakeholders dialogue and facilitate the coexistence of different types of accommodation such as apartment, hotels, and aparthotels in the same territory.

keywords: COVID-19, accommodation, tourism trends, destination, Gipuzkoa