EditorialtotheSpecialIssue‘Health,Sport andTourism:SearchingforFutureSynergies’ AndrejaTrdina UniversityofMaribor,Slovenia andreja.trdina@um.si MihaLesjak UniversityofPrimorska,Slovenia miha.lesjak@fts.upr.si https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.15.5-10 Tourism has become a significant modality through which our social life is organized. While more and moreresearchhasbeenundertakenonsporttourism andwell-beingtourism,thereisstillastrongneedto enrichtourismstudieswithsocial andculturaltheo- ries,providinganalternativetothe‘existingpositivist and managerially oriented material which predomi- nates in the current literature in tourism’ (Franklin & Crang, 2001, p. 20). This Special Issue with the ti- tle ‘Health, Sport and Tourism: Searchingfor Future Synergies’ thus approaches tourism as a social phe- nomenon and sets out to examine the relationship between tourism and related fields of social inquiry, those of health and sport, investigating what wider ramificationstheycarryforeachotherundertoday’s unsettling circumstances. Similar to participation in tourism,healthpromotionandsportengagementsare nowadaysfacingmanysignificantchallengesthatare reflected in rising socio-economic inequalities, epi- demiological pressures, and changes in patterns of communication and technological development, as well as in the shifting expectations, motivations and attitudes of local communities and tourists alike. By addressing these topics, the Special Issue seeks to broaden the existing knowledge and challenge the dominant views in order to enrich our understand- ingsof(future)juncturesoftouristpractices,physical activity,andhealthandwell-being. TheideaforthisSpecialIssuegrewfromthefruit- ful discussions at the Bet on Health online interna- tional conference 2020, organized by the Faculty of TourismUniversityofMaribor,whichofferedaforum forleadingresearchersandexpertstosharetheirexpe- riencesandresearchresultsonsports,well-beingand healthissuesandtheroleoflocalcommunitiesinplan- ning,implementingandevaluatingpublichealthpoli- ciesandpractices. AcademicaTuristica:TourismandInnovationJour- nal (at-tij)kindlywelcomedourinitiativeforinvit- ingthemosthigh-impactandcompellingconference papers,intermsoftheoreticalrichnessandmethod- ological rigorousness, to be considered for publica- tion, whilst extending the call for papers and hoping togatherafewadditionalinnovativecontributionson thetopicinordertoputtogetheracoherentissue.To thisend,theFacultyofTourismUniversityofMaribor teamedupwiththeFacultyofTourismStudies–Tur- istica UniversityofPrimorska in editorialeffortsand broughttogetherthepresentissue. Mobilities scholars have been amongst the most convincinginsuggestingthatmobilityisthedefining featureofcontemporarysocieties(Urry,2000;Sheller &Urry,2006;Larsenetal.,2016). Diversemobilities arebecomingofcrucialsignificanceinnegotiatingthe growingcomplexityofmodernlivingandthusinun- derstandingone’srelationtotheworld.Assuch,these are essentially indicative of material reconstruction of the ‘social as society’ into the ‘social as mobility,’ as suggested by Urry (2000, p. 2). According to Co- hen and Cohen (2012, p. 2181), the progressive blur- AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022 |5 AndrejaTrdinaandMihaLesjak Editorial ring of boundaries between differenttypes ofmobil- ities has provokeda de-differentiationof the domain of tourism from other mobilities, such as for exam- ple commuting, labour or retirement or lifestyle mi- gration, second home visits, volunteering, and also sportingactivities.Theseaccountsdestabilizeconven- tional tourism scholarship by generating construc- tive insights into the complexities and variations of movementsincontemporarysocieties.Whatismore, thebasicdichotomiesonwhichthesociologicaltheo- riesoftourismhavebeensofarunreflectivelyformed havebeenamplyproblematizedtotheverypromotion of radical ideas about the ‘end of tourism’ (Hannam 2009).However,intheircuttingpolemic,Doering& Duncan(2016)arguethatamorenuancedre-reading of philosophical assumptions of the new mobilities paradigmultimatelysignalsareturntotourismstud- iesratherthanmovingbeyondit.Accordingtothem, thinking through the mobilities paradigm means a critical returnto tourismstudies, thistime by multi- plyingthemeanings,uses,functionsandmovements oftourism(s). Tourismscholarshavebeenusedtodemarcating tourism as the opposite to ‘everydayness.’ Yet, many touristendeavoursaremundaneandinformedbyev- eryday habits, thus not particularly dissimilar to our everydaylife.Or,toechoLarsen(2019),muchtourism is strikingly ordinary, no longer antithetical to rou- tines and everyday life, as tourism practices are ac- tually, in part, fuelled by our daily practices and ev- eryday socialities. In general, the advanced blurring ofboundariesbetweentouristpracticesandeveryday practices has been likewise widely discussed. In this context, Franklin and Crang (2001, p. 10) note ‘the routinizationoftouristicsensibilitiesineverydaylife’ in a globalizing society where people are becoming more routinely mobile, while Craik (1997, p. 125), in her discussion of the culture of tourism, points out the trend towards de-differentiation among all sorts ofsocialandculturalspheres,resultingalsoin‘acon- vergence or blurring between tourist and everyday leisure activities’ (p. 125). This implies that tourism scholars should also become more sensitive to how tourismintersectswitheverydayleisureandsportac- tivitiesaswellasomnipresentconcernsforone’shealth andwellbeing. Therefore,thisSpecial Issue reiterates arguments about the de-differentiation of social life and the weakening of the conventional boundaries between distinct domains, such as work and leisure, studyandentertainment,ordinarylifeandextraordi- naryholidays(Cohen&Cohen,2012).Themainaim istopresentcurrentinsightsintothefieldsoftourism, healthandsports,andaddresstheirsignificantinter- sections at the background of complex cultural and socialprocesses. Current profound cultural, social, economic, and technologicaltransformationsundeniablybringabout weightyimplicationsfortravelandtourismaswell.It istheresearchthatcanhelpusmakesenseofthese transformationsforthelikelyfutureofscarcityandin- security,notnecessarilyby allowingustoforeseethe future prospects in their totality but by equipping us withanalyticaltoolstocomprehendthecomplexityof theprocessestakingplace.AsemphasizedbyCaletrío (2019), in light of the growing awareness about our impact on climate,significant segmentsof the popu- lation in westernsocieties are relocating their activi- ties around their home, which certainly also implies theresettingofcoordinatesof whatis consideredor- dinaryandextraordinaryintourism,leadingtoare- discoveryofholidaysnearhome(theso-calledstayca- tionphenomenon).Whatismore,withflightshaming discourseortheso-calledGretaThunbergeffect,the normativediscoursesofwhatconstitutesalegitimate (low-carbon)holidaythatstandsasagreencredential arechanging,whiledesirestoslowdowntheacceler- atedpaceoflife,or‘thecultureofspeed’(Tomlinson, 2007)welivein,spillovertoourtravelstylesandva- cation habits. According to Euronews Travel (2020), thepoint-to-pointholiday,wherebytravellersflytoa singlelocationandthenreturnhome,willberivalled by an emerging trend for trips that take in multiple domesticlocations,occurataslowerpace,andareas muchaboutthejourneyandtheimmersiveexperience astheultimatedestination.Suchanalysesofprofound redefinitionsofholidaysandtourismtodayarethusof growingimportanceas(im)mobilitybecomesincreas- inglysignificanttovariouswaysoflife. Withinthiscontext,wearguefortheacknowledg- ment of the transformative role of tourism in global 6|AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022 AndrejaTrdinaandMihaLesjak Editorial society. Unlike what the prevailing marketing logic sustains,bydesigningtheoffertheprovidersnotonly addressthealreadyexistingneedsandmotivesof tourists,butalsoco-createorconstructthem.Through tourismproducts,practicesandtravelstylesthatpro- mote sustainable and healthy living, well-being and mindfulness,weastouristspracticesustainability,re- inforceourenvironmentalawarenessandembodythe so called ‘return to nature.’ From this perspective of imagining tourism with its regenerative potency, we supportawiderconceptualisationoftourismasaso- cialforceanditsroleintoday’sglobalcommunitythat goes beyond the hegemonic discourse of tourism as anindustryonly(Higgins-Desbiolles,2006).Itisthus urgenttoreviveandreinforcenotonlytheideaofthe restorative function of tourism for an individual (in termsofpurposefulandmeaningfulactivitiesrestor- ingourwell-being),butalsoitsbroadertransformative roleintoday’ssociety.Thereasonthatsuchanagenda is vital andpromisingmightbe seen in the powerof tourismpracticesmakingimportantcontributionsto thevaluesofsocialandenvironmentaljustice,rebuild- ingtherenewedframeworkofourfuturesociety.This, inturn,assumesthatitisimperative,toborrowthe concluding remarksof Hosta and Plevnik from their contribution,‘tosupporttheeffortsoftheindustryto realignitstrendstotheserviceofhumanityandnature asjointventure.’ Divided into 3 thematic sections below, the con- tributions in this Special Issue, authored by scholars fromdiversescientificandgeographicalbackgrounds (from Europe, Asia and North America), take dif- ferent starting points to consider the interactions of tourist practices, health issues, and physical activity or sport engagement. This in turn allows each pa- pertouniquelycontributetothebroadeningunder- standingoftheseintersections,providingcomprehen- siveandrigorousexaminationsofmanyrelatedissues andconcepts,whetheronthemicrolevelofindividu- als,mezzoleveloflocalcommunitiesorproviders,or macrolevelofdestinations.Groundedintheperspec- tivethattourismtoday is performedand not experi- enced antithetically to our everyday life, and should thusbeunderstoodthroughavarietyoftemporaland spatialframes,thedifferentpapersinthisissuebegin to articulate the dynamic nature of intersections be- tween everyday sport/leisure activities, health issues andtouristpractices,withspecialattentionbeingpaid tothepromisingsynergiesresultingfromtheseinter- sections.Whilstattimestheymaynotbeabletopro- vide the full answer to the pressing questions posed, they,nevertheless,doofferalternativelensesandless conventionalmethodsthroughwhichtoconsiderthe complexitiesoftravelandtourisminrelationtowell- being,sportandhealthissuestoday. ComplexityofTourism’sImpactsonWell-Being andHealth Mosttourismresearchhasnotsufficientlygraspedthe complexity of tourism’s impacts on health and well- being. The contributions in this first section address theurgentneedtoconfrontthemattermoresubtly and within a number of different contexts to reveal rather more nuanced understandings of the inter- weaving of tourism practices, health and well-being. In their compelling and insightful conceptual paper that is grounded within the current cultural debates inpraiseofslownessintheotherwiseacceleratedpace of life, Farkić, Isailović, and Lesjak argue that places of otium, where ‘doing nothing’ is encouraged, may inmanywaysenhancetouristwell-being.Byemploy- ingintourismstudiestheso-farneglectedconceptof idleness,theydiscussspatial,temporal,andexistential dimensionsoftouristidleness,andultimatelyexpose thepotentialforthedevelopmentofanewwell-being experientialtourismproductinanaturalenvironment basedonthebenefitsofbeingidle.Inthismannerthey unsettle predominantconceptualisations of an active holiday in nature, arguing that ‘doing less, not more’ can be an equally meaningful and restorative tourist activity. Their reflection on the topic is in line with the above argument about the transformativerole of tourismintoday’sacceleratedsocietygovernedbythe dictateoftimeandtheimperativeofbeingalwaysac- tiveandperformanceorientated,andforthatreasonis ofimmeasurablevalueinthinkingabouttheredefined waysofbeingandlivinginthefuturesociety. Relatedtothis,thenextarticlesimilarlyacknowl- edges the rising interest in nature-based experiences asanantidotetomodernurbanlife,claimingthatthe AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022 |7 AndrejaTrdinaandMihaLesjak Editorial quest forwell-beingandtherapeutictourismwilles- sentiallyopennewopportunities,especiallyforrural areas.In herin-depth discussion offorestwell-being andforesttherapytourism,basedonanextensivere- viewofliteratureandanoverviewofglobalgoodprac- tices,Cviklproposesresponsibleuseofsocio-cultural forestvaluesintourismfortherapeuticandwell-being purposes, indicating high prospects for implemen- tation of forest therapeutic tourism in Slovenia. Ac- cording to Cvikl, the main problem in the practice offoresttherapeutictourismthatstillremainsishow to capture ‘empirical knowledge and horizontal in- tegration in the field of different professions such as health,tourism,environment,andsocialscienceswith researchgroupsfromdifferentdisciplinesandprofes- sions,suchasforestry,psychology,andlandscaping.’ Reverting the focus to local communities, Godo- vykh, Fyall, Pizam and Ridderstaat’s study aims to explorethedirectandindirect effectsof tourismde- velopment on residents’ health through income and environmental pollution in the case of three neigh- bouring European countries: Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary.Thearticleclearlyandconvincingly proves thattheeffectsoftourismonresidents’healthmight havedifferentvalenceandpowerintheshorttermand the long run. In addition to its significant contribu- tioninthedevelopmentofnewcompositemetricsfor tourism impacts on residents’ health and well-being thatisbasedonthesecondarydata,theimplications ofthestudyareofequalimportanceandrelateinpar- ticulartothereflectionaboutdeterminingthebalance betweenthenegativeshort-termimpactsandpositive long-term impacts of tourism development on res- idents’ health. According to the authors, long-term health impacts should be consideredas more impor- tantoutcomesoftourismdevelopmentandthustaken intoaccountbytourismstatistics,tourismbodies,and destinationmanagementorganizations. Embeddedinbroaderdebatesonscientificproduc- tion of knowledge, built dominantly around Knorr Cetina’s idea (1999) of epistemic cultures, the article of Rančić Demir and Zečević provides a bibliomet- ricanalysisofacademicresearchcoveringthefieldof wellnesstourism.Throughunderstandingofpastre- search undertakings and by mapping the areas that have been of special importance to researchers over time, they reveal the development of the wellness tourism research field, detecting important patterns and journals in this field. Therewith, Rančić Demir andZečevićproblematizethebroaderissueofknowl- edgeproductionthatoftenremainsunquestioned,and convincinglydemonstrateasignificantincreaseinthe numberofpublicationsinwellnesstourisminthelast tenyears,whiledetectingfourthematicclusterswithin wellness tourism research. Their contribution high- lights the importance of becoming more reflectiveof the ways and frameworks within which we produce andlegitimizescientificknowledge. MeaningfulPhysicalActivityintheContext ofValues,Motivations,andPromotions The followingsectionbrings togetherdiscussionson issuesrelatedtophysicalactivity,especiallywithre- gardtoeithertourists’perceivedbarriersinhibitingit ononesideortheirvaluesinformingitontheother, whileexaminingalsotheroleofthetourismsectorin promoting it. In their comprehensive conceptual pa- per,HartnettandGormanaddresstheissueofanage- ing population and the significance of active leisure. Reflectingontheseissues,theydevelopa framework ofmeaning-makingtoactiveleisure,focusingonper- ceptionsandmotivationsofaruralbasedpopulation inIreland.Althoughtheirstudyisgeographicallyand culturally situated in rural Ireland, their conclusions resonateglobally,astheyhighlightthesignificantrole of various social categories (age groups, gender and rural-urbandistinction)instructuringpeople’sactiv- ities,amplifyingeachother’seffectalsoonthepercep- tionoffreedominleisure,perceivedsubjectivehealth and,thus,physicalactivity.Buildingonthis,theyfur- therexaminetheimpactofbeingphysicallyactiveon participatingintourism.Finally,atthebackgroundof theso-calledlongevityrevolutiontoday,theyarguefor the necessity of understanding perceived barriers to physical activity (in terms of motivation, social sup- port,andlackoftime)havinganimpactonparticipa- tionlevelsinordertodevelopmoreeffective‘activeag- ing’strategiesthatwouldimprovethehealthandqual- ityoflifeofpeoplelivinganeverlongerlife. Groundingtheirresearchin a prominentconcept 8|AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022 AndrejaTrdinaandMihaLesjak Editorial ofphysicalliteracyascrucialforestablishingahealthy lifestyle, Kokot and Turnšek investigate the role of health resorts in increasing the physical literacy of their elderly patients undertaking medical rehabili- tation.Employingaqualitativeapproach,theyanalyse theexperiencesofrehabilitationpatientsinSlovenian healthresortsbefore,during,andaftermedicalreha- bilitation. The research opened an important ques- tiononhowtoextendthehabitsconnectedtophysi- calactivitytotheperiodafterthemedicalrehabilita- tionandaddresseditsystematicallywithreferenceto whatpreciselyarethefactorshinderingorpromoting this process. Their findings imply that the actions of health resorts target two dimensions of physical lit- eracy in particular (the competence and the knowl- edge/understandingdimension),whilethemotivation dimension of physical literacy is ignored and should thusbeaddressedmoreinthefuture. Addressingthetopicofoutdooractivitiesandun- dertakingaquantitativestudyofSlovenemountaineer tourists,Špindler,LesjakandGorenakinvestigatethe significantdifferencesbetweengroupsofrespondents of different generations, gender and membership in mountaineeringassociationsintermsoftheirmoun- taineering values. On the basis of their results, they conclude that in order to increase the effectiveness ofpromotingsustainabletouristbehaviourinmoun- tains, a different approach for tourists with different characteristics is needed. By providing an in-depth understanding of the values of sports tourists, more preciselyactivesportstouristsinthemountains,their research is of great value. Namely, the findings can certainly help in ‘attracting new members to moun- taineering organizations, mountaineering pedagogi- calwork,preservingmountaineeringcultureandsus- tainabledevelopmentoftourisminthemountains,’as convincinglyputbytheauthors. In order to understand the importance of high- performance centres as a support for the develop- ment and growth of sports tourism in destinations, the article of Costa et al. takes the case of Portu- gal. It highlights the importance of infrastructure of recognized quality for international travel and stays of professional athletes (whether for sports intern- ships, the maintenance and/or improvement of their performances or for participation in sports competi- tions/events).Costaetal.usequalitativemethodology tohighlightthat,althoughthereisasportofferinthe CentralregionofPortugal,thenumberofsportsex- periences or activities offered is limited, concluding thatitisvitalforthedestinationtodiversifythetypes of sports offered to meet the needs of different visi- torswhoseeksport,eitherasthemainmotivationfor visitingadestinationorasasecondaryone. ImaginingHealthy,SafeandResilientTourism Future(s) Thefinalthreecontributionsdealspecificallywiththe implications of the covid-19 pandemicfor tourism, andfromdiverseperspectivesfollowacommoncen- tralideaofchartingaresilientandhealthytourismfu- ture.Usingtheveryillustrativeanalogyof covid-19 acute respiratory collapse and the concept of hyper- ventilationtodescribethehyperinflatedmasstourism boom in recent years, Hosta and Plevnik’s paper of- fersanorganicinterpretationofthecrisisthathitthe industry in the recent pandemic. Using a case study methodology and reasoning by the analogy, they, in a very unconventional and original manner, discuss a healthy and resilient future of the tourism sector. Proposing resilient solutions for tourism recovery in thepost-covidperiod(comparabletotherecovery ofanorganwithinaliving organism–society), their outcomes can be used in designing preventive and post-covidhealthregenerativeretreatsasinnova- tivetouristproducts,andasamodeltosupportthe tourism industry with an organic understanding of sustainableniche-marketsolutions. Chersulich Tomino and Perić take a different ap- proachastheydealwith predictingfuture participa- tioninthesport-tourismeventindustryonwhichsig- nificantrestrictionshavebeenimposedbythe covid- 19pandemic.Theirempiricalstudy,basedonasurvey among the running community in Croatia, investi- gate active runners’ intention to attend future run- ning events, and their perception of the importance of safety-related protective measures at those events. Thefindingssuggestthatthesafety-relatedmeasures arenotrecognisedasdistinctlyimportantforrunners; atthesametimetherearenomajordifferencesinatti- AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022 |9 AndrejaTrdinaandMihaLesjak Editorial tudesbetweenthegroupsofrunners,whichsupports optimismforthefutureofsporttourism.Nevertheless, theauthorsreasonablyqualify themainfindingsand carefullyplacetheminthecontextofsafetyconcerns (for participantsand organizersas well as host com- munities) being of utmost importance in any event planning. Thefinalcontributiondiscussespublichealthstrat- egiesinTaiwan’shospitalityindustry,againinthecon- textofthe covid-19pandemiccrisis.ChangandKim undertakeanextensiveempiricalstudyinwhichthey explore the public health strategies that hotel com- panieshavebeenadoptingtorestorecustomerconfi- denceandtoprotectthehotelstaffandcustomers,and investigateifthesestrategiesdifferwithrespecttoho- tels’differentlocations,customers,andperformance. The paper concludes with important recommenda- tionsforcrisismanagementandcrisispreparationfor thehospitalityindustry. In sum, the collection as such provides a unique andbalancedviewofboththeoreticaldiscussionsand empiricalstudiesfromdifferentculturalcontexts,thus offering a global perspective on issues, while at the same time undertaking very diverse methodologi- cal approaches. Overall, the diversity and interdisci- plinary nature of the contributions within this issue inviteustore-examineourunderstandingsoftourism inrelationtoothersocialdomainsand,asLarsenar- gues(2019),encouragesustoremainattentivetomore mundane,trivialformsoftourism,andrelatethemto otherfieldsofsocialinquiry,inourcasethatofwell- being,healthandphysicalactivityinparticular.Here, we thus maintain that tourism needs to be explored in relation to other types of mobilities as well as to everydayleisureactivitiesandhealthconcernsingen- eral. All of these needto be brought togetherwithin researchinordertobetterunderstandtheircomplex interrelationshipsandtheperplexitiesarisingfromit. Westronglybelievethat,byaccentuatingthewaysin whichourtouristchoicescontributeto,andarerepre- sentativeof, persistentprocessesof de-differentiation in present-day social life, this collection of papers is valuablereadingforstudents,researchers,andprofes- sionalsinthefieldsoftourism,healthandwell-being, andsport. References Caletrío, J. (2019). The Tourist Gaze, by John Urry. Mobile LivesForum.https://en.forumviesmobiles.org /publication/2019/03/25/tourist-gaze-john-urry-12911 Cohen,E.,&Cohen,S.A.(2012).Currentsociologicalthe- oriesandissuesintourism.AnnalsofTourismResearch, 39(4),2177–2202. Craik,J.(1997).Thecultureoftourism.InC.Rojek&J. Urry (Eds.), Touring cultures: Transformations of travel andtheory(pp.113–136).Routledge. Doering, A., & Duncan, T. (2016). Mobilities for tourism studiesand‘beyond:’Apolemic.Tourism Analysis, 21(1), 47–59. EuronewsTravel.(2020). Travelafter2020:Whatwilltourism looklikeinournewreality,(TravelTrendReport).https:// static.euronews.com/website/pdf/euronews-trend -report-travel-after-Oct-2020.pdf Franklin,A.,&Crang,M.(2001).Thetroublewithtourism andtraveltheory. Tourist Studies, 1(1),5–22. Hannam,K.(2009).Endoftourism?Nomadologyandthe mobilitiesparadigm.InJ.Tribe(Ed.),Philosophicalissues intourism(pp.101–113).ChannelViewPublications. Higgins-Desbiolles,F.(2006).Morethanan‘industry:’The forgotten power of tourism as a social force. Tourism Management,27(6),1192–1208. KnorrCetina,K.(1999). Epistemiccultures:Howthesciences makeknowledge.HarvardUniversityPress. Larsen,J.(2009).Ordinarytourismandextraordinaryev- erydaylife:Rethinkingtourismandcities.InT.Frisch,C. Sommer,L.Stoltenberg,&N.Stors(Eds.),Tourism and everydaylifeinthecontemporarycity(pp.24–41).Rout- ledge. Larsen, J., Urry, J., & Axhausen, K. (2016). Mobilities, net- works,geographies.Routledge. Sheller,M.,&Urry,J.(2006).Thenewmobilitiesparadigm. EnvironmentandPlanningA,38(2),207–226. Tomlinson, J. (2007). Thecultureofspeed:Thecomingofim- mediacy.SagePublications. Urry, J. (2000). Sociology beyond society: Mobilities for the twenty-firstcentury.Routledge. 10 | AcademicaTuristica,Year15,No.1,April2022