Marta Jacob (UIB): “Tourists are increasingly seeking environmental attributes in accommodation.”

She was previously a full-time associate lecturer at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (1991-2000) and was an associate researcher at IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB) in 2001-2002. She was also General Director of R&D+I for the Balearic Islands government from 2004 to 2007, a member of several committees for the Cotec Foundation for Technological Innovation (2004-2007), assistant dean of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Business (UIB) and Head of Studies in Economics (2009-2013).

Her areas of research are international economics (agricultural economics), competitiveness and innovation in tourism sectors, pricing strategy in the hospitality sector, and the circular economy in tourism.

Marta has published articles in journals including the Journal of Agricultural Economics, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management and Tourism Economics; and has collaborated as an expert in consultation work with the government of Chile, the government of the Balearic Islands, the Cotec Foundation for Technological Innovation and the European Commission’s General Directorates for Regional Policy and Employment, among others.

When we talk about innovation in tourism, what exactly are we talking about?

Innovation is any knowledge-based change that generates value and has direct economic consequences for the enterprise.

Tourism involves two types of stakeholder: businesses and the destination (local administrations), and any analysis of innovation must take both of these into account. In effect, some changes that originate in the destination can lead to innovations at the business level.

Moreover, tourism has characteristics that differentiate it from industry and have implications for an analysis of innovation in tourism; namely:

• Simultaneous production and consumption. The tourist experience consists of multiple bi-directional encounters with tourism service providers throughout the tourist’s journey.
• A dependency on information exchange (information provided to tourists or accumulated by businesses about tourists). The tourism industry usually describes itself as dependent on ICT, and relies on the use of technologies from other sectors to innovate.
• The importance of the human dimension and organisational factors often linked with changes in management or innovation in processes, products or markets. Networks are essential for organisational inter-company innovation, particularly in terms of the destination.

What does the job of a tourism researcher entail?

A researcher in any field tries to generate new knowledge in their particular area of science. However, the first thing to point out is that tourism-related knowledge can be generated by the destination, the tourism company or the tourism value chain as well as by public-sector R&D.

So a tourism researcher working in public-sector R&D seeks to generate new knowledge (R&D), basically in at least one of four spheres; this knowledge can then be turned into innovation. Three of these spheres are related to the inputs of tourism themselves: the tourist or visitor, the environment or natural heritage of a destination and the culture or cultural heritage of a destination.

Knowledge is also generated in a fourth area: business management, relating to ways of improving this by increasing revenue and/or reducing costs; and we could add a fifth area, in which a researcher generates new knowledge relating to tourism as a wealth-generating activity.

Why do we need tourism research: to attract tourists or for the wellbeing of local populations?

Research into tourism is needed because, as with any sector, new knowledge can lead to changes that in turn generate innovation, and these changes can happen in the company or the destination, And innovation is essential for the survival and growth of any sector.

In fact, knowledge is the new asset that can help businesses and countries in their struggle for competitiveness. Research generates new knowledge, which is passed on to certain individuals through education, and subsequently becomes innovation.

What are the barriers to innovation in the Balearic business fabric? Do you think these are due to lack of talent, knowledge, funding, or another factor?

Empirical evidence on tourism innovation in the Balearics indicates that the main difficulties are first and foremost a lack of qualified or appropriately trained staff when it comes to innovative practices; secondly public procedures and, thirdly, the high cost of innovation and inner resistance to change (Jacob, Tintoré, Simonet & Aguiló, 2004).

Within the Balearic Islands’ tourism sector, for example, we often hear about the lack of IT staff, kitchen staff for hotels, staff with expertise in e-business and ITC or appropriate English language skills. Added to this is inadequate staff training and high staff turnover, which hinders company training programmes. Finally, the role played by public administrations occasionally obstructs the implementation of innovation. Administrations are heavily criticised for their conduct with regard to tourism, with complaints, for example, about lack of cooperation with the sector or excessive bureaucracy and regulatory burdens.

How do you think investment in R&D+I can be stimulated in the current circumstances?

Our investment in R&D+I is way below the EU average. This is partly due to the fact that the support framework by public administration is ineffective.

First of all, the legal and institutional framework should attempt to more effectively protect the rights of investors, because this incentivises company spending on R&D (López Iturriaga & López Millán (2011).

Bureaucracy and procedures should be more agile and rapid, because in Spain these processes are lengthy and costly for the business owner. Efforts should be focused on SMEs, since these make up the largest portion of the Spanish business fabric and, furthermore, it has been shown that the size of a business is often a determining factor when it comes to innovation. There should also be support for the flow of credit; liquidity needs to be increased for innovative companies.

López Iturriaga & López Millán (2011). Does the institutional environment foster R&D expenditures? An international analysis.  Globalization, Competitiveness & Gobernability 5 (3), 50-.62

Within tourism, where is there the most and least innovation? And what does it look like?

Empirical evidence shows that innovation in tourism tends to be less organised (there is no specific department for R&D+I, as there is in industry; it is spread across various parts of the company), and more incremental, with a predominance of process innovation and very little product innovation; and non-technological innovation is fairly important (one in every four innovations). There is a positive relation between the size of the tourism business and its innovative activity: the bigger the size, the more innovation occurs.

How can we transfer knowledge and facilitate the relationship between the public-sector R&D+I system and the economic context?

We need to design a system to encourage research groups from universities or other public-sector R&D+I centres to collaborate with businesses, and vice versa.

But for this to happen it is extremely important that, first of all, the researcher knows the context thoroughly in order to be in a position to generate knowledge that meets the needs of the business fabric and the destination, and to transfer this knowledge and, secondly, that universities are equipped with a framework and infrastructure to encourage this transfer, partly through support for research groups. There is a need to establish more effective legal mechanisms to facilitate interaction and, alongside these, economic support (private or public) so that the relationship between public and private sectors is fruitful, particularly for the productive sector.

Similarly, R&D+I should be a priority of state policy, and this should be reflected in a clear commitment among organisations that back innovation to collaboration between public-sector R&D+I and the private sector. And lastly, universities should also seek to align the education of students to the needs of the business sector, thus increasing their students’ likelihood of finding employment.

The result of doing this would be greater alignment between the talent and skills of the workforce and the needs of the business community, of companies, and the skills they need their staff to have.

In practise, is it possible to run a sustainable business while at the same time maximising the efficiency of tourism companies and minimising their negative impact?

There are cases of companies that have done just that in various sectors.

Businesses that operate sustainably are generating economic, social and environmental value in the short and long term. By doing this, they contribute to the wellbeing and prosperity of their local areas. In fact, a business that carries out its work sustainably does so taking into account its belonging to a certain setting, productive and economic ecosystem, and is not determined by its economic capacity.

This sustainable development creates synergy for the business and will impact its income statement and its survival in the market, and affect its brand image, reputation and relations with interest groups or key stakeholders. It will also help the company to reduce costs, enjoy benefits and tax exemptions and improve its access to finance, since many financial institutions are now including Environmental, Social and Governance aspects (known as ESG criteria) in their investment requirements; and potentially improve the working environment within the company.

Indeed, according to Spainsif, an association that promotes Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in Spain, the current situation has shown that “companies that perform positively in social, environmental and governance aspects withstand crisis better and recover sooner”. There is a positive correlation between sustainability and the financial profitability and creditworthiness of a business.

Your research tells us that tourists show attitudes and behaviour that are circular/sustainable, even in long-established seaside destinations. Can we conclude that people are increasingly looking for sustainable travel alternatives? Are we looking at a new kind or tourist or tourism model?

The results we obtained in the Rodríguez, Jacob and Florido study (2020) refer to a mature sunshine and beach location, Gran Canaria: a long-established island destination with similar characteristics to Mallorca. Our results indicate that older tourists and women have more circular/sustainable attitudes and behaviours. Similarly, Germans, Swedes and tourists with a higher level of education display a more proactive approach to environmental practices implemented by hotels.

More than 60% of tourists would be prepared to pay higher prices to stay in hotels that are green or environmentally sustainable. Over 85% of tourists show the same environmental/circular behaviour at home as on holiday.

Tourists are increasingly seeking environmental attributes in accommodation and, in many cases, these are becoming essential requisites for some tour operators.

They say every crisis is an opportunity. How do you think this crisis can be an opportunity for some tourism businesses?

The crisis caused by Covid-19 has forced many companies to reflect on the sustainability of their business and what it entails; this has become a strategic issue for them. Companies include sustainability targets in their overall strategies because they understand the benefits of doing so, both in the short term (improved performance) and in the medium term, by enhancing their company reputation (image) and competitiveness. This also allows them to identify new business opportunities and develop innovative products and services.

The current crisis will enable many tourism companies to accelerate their shift towards more sustainable models which give them greater resilience in the face of unexpected and/or critical events or circumstances in the future, with the uncertainty these bring.

For Joaquín Garralda, president of the Spainsif association, which promotes Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in Spain, “companies that perform positively in social, environmental and governance aspects withstand crisis better and recover sooner. Investors can see that there is a positive correlation between sustainability and the financial profitability and creditworthiness of a business”.