The Ecosystem of Hospitality – Not without Culture and Creativity!

In a time of increasing global challenges and crises, of multiple parallel developments and trends, and of social systems that are as complex as never before, traditional spatial management approaches such as destination management or location management are proving not only to be limited, but also to be ineffective to face the rising negative side effects. The focus on spatial layers such as tourist destinations, economic locations or the living space of the local population has often caused issues such as overtourism, non-sustainable developments, unequal power distributions, negligence of stakeholder interests, or local protest movements (Dodds & Butler, 2019). Additionally, global megatrends such as digitalization, globalization, urbanization, demographic chance or climate change on the one hand, and changing behaviors on the demand side concerning sustainability, authenticity or individuality, among others, are forcing cities and regions to recalibrate their strategies and approaches (Philipp & Pechlaner, 2023). From a different perspective, space has become more and more relevant in the development of cultural and creative initiatives (CCI), as cultural and creative organizations are exploring new approaches that emphasize the participation of different audiences and valorize the territorial dimension (Biondi et al., 2020). Hence, more holistic and integrated management approaches are needed.

To achieve a broader context of community or regional development goals and foster these holistic, integrated approaches, the network approach may help. Networks are perceived as a set of actors and their relationships to each other (Schuhbert, 2021); as they are not restricted to organizational, societal or geographic boundaries (Pforr et al., 2014; Kofler et al., 2018), they are more flexible and adaptable and, thus, meet the requirements for global competition and challenges. One example within the network approach are ecosystems: derived from biological ecosystems, the term refers to all actors, elements, relationships and interactions in a specific setting and allows for a connection of the various spatial, social and economic networks. The Ecosystem of Hospitality is a recent proposition in this direction, allowing for a rethink of traditional tourism and destination structures and an integration of both tourists and residents in urban development processes (Pechlaner et al., 2022; Philipp et al., 2022). It focuses on “the individual and the opportunity for encounters between individuals [as well as] on issues surrounding quality of life, resilience, culture, mobility and connectivity” (Pechlaner, 2022, p. 12), which all together may allow for the establishment of a sustainable tourism culture.

Being an approach that is centered around visitors, target groups and stakeholders, local and regional culture and creativity are of particular importance in the Ecosystem of Hospitality. Culture and creativity are one aspect among others that constitute identity, which strengthens the coordination of actors and stakeholders as it creates a sense of specific actions (Borin & Juno Delgado, 2018). Within CCIs, cultural heritage holds an intrinsic value and promotes meaningful cultural experiences that enhance the authentic understanding of the local identity and could strengthen social cohesion among different audiences (Baioni et al., 2021).

Furthermore, the culture of hospitality promotes appreciation of personal encounters and considers them as vital for the quality of place and space development (Pechlaner, 2022). Culture fosters human encounters, authenticity, quality of life and the wholeness of tourism (Steiner, 2022), and, therefore, is a core element of integrated approaches. If embedded in the Ecosystem of Hospitality, the cultural and creative experiences better express the authentic intrinsic value of the cultural object and are more likely to give rise to transformative processes at the micro level of the individual actor participating in the experience. These processes are transformative of individual attitude, towards enhanced resilience; behaviors and values, inspired by a higher awareness of sustainable tourism culture. In other words: integrated approaches cannot work without putting emphasis on culture and creativity and their transformative potential (Borin & Donato, 2022). The proposed special issue entitled “The Ecosystem of Hospitality – Not without Culture and Creativity!” aims at deepening our understanding of this relationship and the importance of culture in terms of spatial development, tourism management, cultural and creative management, and hospitality.

The guest editors welcome submissions on (but not limited to) the following key topics for the outlined special issue:
• Culture and creativity in network approaches
• From cultural tourism to a new tourism culture
• Local and regional development processes involving residents and visitors
• The role of culture in sustainable tourism development
• Building a spatial identity through culture and creativity
• Coordinating stakeholders and their actions through a common culture and identity
• Commonality and diversity in culture and identity
• The impact of culture on human encounters, authenticity, and quality of life
• Human encounters in the local and regional space
• Authenticity and individualism in tourism destinations
• Spatial adaptations of the ecosystem logic
• Transformative Ecosystems in CCIs
• Transformative nature of CH
• Regional and urban regeneration processes

The deadline for first draft submissions is 15 October 2023.

References
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