CACTUS

By Ling Ling, Timothy Webb, Zvi Schwartz

<p>Rate disparity remains a widely used but poorly understood pricing strategy in the hotel industry. While previous research generally assumes that lower prices shift demand toward less expensive channels, this study investigates whether such effects occur in practice. Using high-frequency booking and pricing data from five full-service hotels across multiple online travel agencies (OTAs), we analyze how rate disparity relates to the distribution of demand across channels. The findings show that the impact of price differences is limited, highly non-linear, and strongly dependent on contextual factors. Channel market power and hotel-specific characteristics seem to play a more significant role than price advantages under the observed conditions. Rate disparity reallocates demand across channels rather than increasing total demand within the sample studied, and its effectiveness varies across demand seasons and competitive environments. These results challenge the prevailing focus on price-based competition and suggest that platform dynamics and hotel attributes may play a more central role in distribution outcomes.</p>

By Jitka VOLFOVÁ, Kamila MATYSOVÁ, Vlad DIACONESCU, Andrada-Jawel ISTANBOULY

<p>As digital transformation accelerates and artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more accessible, tourism organizations display uneven adoption patterns. This study examines how Romanian tourism organizations cluster based on cultural-strategic profiles and whether objective demographic characteristics are associated with membership in specific maturity profiles. Using survey data from 325 Romanian tourism professionals, the article applies K-means cluster analysis to seven cultural-strategic dimensions: the four archetypes of the Competing Values Framework and the three dimensions of strategic agility. The resulting typology is validated with ANOVA tests on external variables, and associations with organizational demographics are analyzed using chi-square tests and binary logistic regression. The analysis identifies three ordered maturity profiles – Laggards (16.6%), Moderates (36.0%), and Leaders (47.4%)—with medium to large differences across AI adoption, technology-organization-environment (TOE) readiness, digital culture, strategic agility performance, and perceived digital transformation impact. None of the demographic predictors in the logistic model (organization size, geographic scope, respondent experience) significantly predicts Leader membership, and organization type is also non-significant in chi-square analysis. However, geographic scope and organization size have independent effects on actual AI adoption levels. These findings indicate that digital maturity in tourism is closely linked to cultural-strategic capability patterns, while objective resources do not determine profile membership. Given the cross-sectional and self-reported nature of the data, the results should be interpreted as associative rather than causal. The study has implications for policies and managerial interventions that integrate capability-building with measures addressing resource constraints, particularly in SME-dominated tourism contexts.</p>

By Hongfei Bao

<p>Smart tourism has become an important means of enhancing the competitiveness and service quality of theme parks. However, limited research has explored how visitors perceive the importance and performance of specific smart service components in Chinese theme parks. This study assesses tourists' perceptions of smart tourism services at Ningbo Fangte Oriental Dawn using a case study approach, a questionnaire survey, and the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) framework. A total of 387 valid responses from actual park visitors were analyzed. The results indicate that contactless payments, electronic map updates, ticketing convenience, social media publicity, and intelligent parking were perceived as both important and satisfactory. In contrast, mobile tourism services, online ticket discounts, and visitor-flow diversion were placed in the "Concentrate Here" quadrant, highlighting areas that require managerial attention. The findings provide clear decision-making references for theme park managers to optimize operations and allocate resources effectively, offering valuable practical implications for aligning smart tourism service investments with tourists' perceived value</p>