Séance 1 - Séminaire sur les modèles et méthodes de recherche en sciences économiques

Pedro Aznar (ESADE Barcelona) de 15h30 à 17h00, en anglais.
" Football tourism: A blessing or a curse for the hotel industry? The influence of the football regular season on the hospitality industry performance "

Football tourism can become an additional source of tourism demand in many cities:  supporters following their teams in regular seasons can contribute to moderating seasonality effects for some destinations. Despite the topic's relevance, the academic literature has not analyzed how football tourism in the regular season influences hotel performance. Using daily data from the hotel industry in Valencia, empirical analysis suggests that when one of the five top teams plays in the city it has a negative influence on hotel performance indicators. Both the Average Daily Rate (ADR) and the revenue per available room (RevPAR) see a statistically significant decline.  A likely explanation for the negative effect on hotel performance is the lower willingness of other types of tourists to visit the city when football's overcrowding effects are expected.

Sylvain Petit (UPHF) de 17h00 à 18h30, en anglais
" Are Tourism and Hospitality firms innovative?  Insights from European SMEs "

European tourism economies have undergone significant transformations driven by the adoption of new information technologies, globalization, deregulation, and intensified competition. In this context, innovation emerges as a crucial factor for the competitiveness and sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) sectors. This study evaluates the level of innovation in European T&H firms compared to other economic sectors, utilizing data from the European Community Survey (ECS) encompassing all European countries. Innovations are categorized into three types: product, process, and marketing. The results indicate that T&H firms exhibit slightly lower levels of innovation compared to other sectors, particularly in marketing innovations, suggesting a greater tendency to adapt existing innovations rather than develop entirely new solutions. Additionally, specific determinants influencing the innovative capacity of T&H SMEs are identified, such as female leadership, the adoption of information technologies, and a focus on quality. Robustness checks confirm the consistency of these findings, highlighting the need for differentiated innovation strategies within T&H subsectors. This study contributes to filling the existing empirical gap on innovation in the European tourism sector and offers recommendations for managerial recommendations to enhance innovation capacity and competitiveness.