• Energy Research

Nearly 20 years after the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic, we are facing another COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the aim of our study was to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism behaviour of international students in Poland. We paid attention to the overall impact of the pandemic on life, travel, choice of tourist destination, tourism activity, ecotourism preference, and health and safety issues. We formulated two research questions: What areas of international student tourism behaviour were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? What differences in travel behaviour occurred between international students from Europe and Asia? Participants were recruited from universities located in Warsaw between June and September 2020. A total of 806 questionnaires were collected, 87 of which were eliminated due to non-response. The research sample consisted of 719 people. Six factors were identified in the survey results: tourism inclination, impact on tourist destination, hygiene and accommodation, impact on life, impact on tourism, and mode of tourism. Impact on life and impact on tourism were attributed to the general impact dimension; tourism inclination and mode of tourism can be summarized as attitude and preference. Food and accommodation were assigned to hygiene and safety dimensions. In almost all aspects, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s lives was greater for Asian respondents. Asian respondents were more likely to say that they would avoid COVID-19-affected areas when choosing tourist destinations in the future, and avoid travelling to crowded large cities after COVID-19 ended. European survey participants’ responses were more moderate.

The main aim of this study was to determine how chains of modern international retailers can achieve a competitive advantage (CA) by introducing private labels (PLs) in the organic category and can, in turn, stimulate the consumption of food produced with respect to sustainability principles. The research was conducted with the use of a qualitative approach and involved two steps. First, in order to select retailers with organic private labels (OPLs) and producers delivering products under OPLs, in-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with the representatives of management boards of 17 enterprises. Second, in order to analyze the assortment-based competitive advantage of the OPLs in depth, 8 enterprises were analyzed. In order to explore the price-related competitive advantage, three products offered under PLs, organic PLs, producer brands, and imported brands were selected for subsequent analysis. For retail chains, it was found that the introduction of OPLs is the source of CA via six contributors, namely, price, range of assortment, type of PLs, image of the retailer, sustainability and specific process, and product-related attributes of organic food. Extension of offers with organic private labels makes it easier for consumers to buy organic food at more affordable prices and follow the principles of proper nutrition and a sustainable diet with low environmental impact. At the same time, the international retailers can position themselves as chains contributing to more sustainable consumption.