Tour Operators Research Articles

Acceptance of offshore wind farm in Southwest Sardinia in Italy. Do regional energy policies matter?

Purpose The social acceptance of wind energy is increasingly conditioning the Italian Government and regions to authorize the construction of these plants. The proposal of offshore wind farm in the south-west of Sardinia has raised many perplexities both from the marine environmental point of view and from concern about increasing the electricity production in a region that already exports electricity to the peninsula. The purpose of this study is to evaluate what are the factors that most affect the coastal residents’ acceptability of an offshore wind farm. Design/methodology/approach The data is based on a Sardinia-wide in-person survey with about 512 participants in the period between May and June 2023. Respondents were selected randomly from five different locations in Carloforte region. Multiple regression analysis investigates the factors that influenced acceptability to construction and development of offshore wind power plant. Four independent variables were selected in the regression models such as (i) interest towards wind energy, (ii) attitude towards renewable energy production, (iii) perceived regional energy policy and (iv) attitude towards offshore wind farm. The dependent variables are the rates of coastal local residents’ acceptance of offshore wind farm for respondents in five coastal towns. Findings Fishermen and summer tourism operators’ respondents expressed significant reluctance to accept the new project because they perceive a strong risk of environmental impact on both tuna fishing and marine recreational activities in the vicinity. The distance between the turbines at sea and local residents along the coast and surrounding small islands does not have an influence to accept wind energy. The energy policy of the Region of Sardinia, which is perceived by respondents as an expansive energy policy in the production of electricity that exceeds their needs, not being accompanied by a scenario of reducing that from fossil fuels, is the variable that led about 70% of respondents to express a negative opinion towards this project. Research limitations/implications A potential problem associated with the survey is that local response produced sample selection bias. The proportion of respondents with secondary education and no school certificate is quite high. It is possible that respondents who provided valid questionnaires were more low-educated and therefore, the sample may be biased towards lower-educated people. While this does not invalidate the results of this study, it is important to note that the sample was on average less educated than the overall population in Italy. In addition, people with lower incomes were more likely to complete the questionnaires; the results are more representative of a portion of the population with incomes below the national average. Practical implications Results showed how coastal communities are in favour of wind energy within their island, but not within a marine protected area that is considered unique for its beauty and marine ecosystem. Wind energy developers should, before submitting a proposal for an offshore wind farm project, consider among other things the long approval time and understand the activities carried out by local communities and their attachment to those places. Politicians and developers should develop a coherent energy transition policy based on a long-term vision of zero emissions, because according to the findings of this study, it was the regional energy policy that is the most controversial reason for residents to reject the project. Originality/value The contribution of this study is to fill a part of the research gap linking to ongoing energy transitions. In particular, this study analysed for the first time in Italy the acceptability level of an offshore renewable energy project considering the environmental implications and risks in the fragile marine ecosystem of Carloforte waters. This study also made it possible to analyse the impact of the regional energy policy on the acceptability of residents towards the development of offshore wind farms, which is scarcely discussed in the literature.

Perancangan UI/UX Pada Rebranding Website Line Wisata Karimunjawa Sebagai Media Informasi Pariwisata Kepulauan Karimunjawa

One of the most popular marine destinations for tourism is the Karimunjawa Islands. One unique draw of the Karimunjawa Islands is their pristine seas and breathtaking scenery. The local economy, particularly the tourism industry and Tour Operator, may benefit from this. The quality of the agency itself also affects a Tour Operator credibility, as does the ability of the portfolio it offers to potential clients to draw them in and utilize its services. The research will focus on UI/UX design for the rebranded Karimunjawa Tourism Line website, which uses the design thinking methodology to create a modern, user-friendly, and educational tourism information medium for the Karimunjawa Islands. Tests that were conducted using a Likert scale showed excellent results that the general public could use. To make the information on potential visitors' travel needs easy to grasp and accessible, the website has been built to present it in a concise, easily understood, and organized manner.Keywords: UI/UX, Website, Karimunjawa Tourism, Rebranding

Governing summer in Mount Lebanon: Istiyaf, tourism, and mobility in the interwar Arab East

ABSTRACT This article examines the lattice of dynamics, networks, and perceptions underpinning the blanket label of ‘tourism’ in Lebanon and the broader Arab East during the interwar (mandate) era. It analyses guidebooks, pamphlets, government correspondence and travelogues published in the Middle East and Europe. Hoteliers, tour operators, merchants, and journalists distinguished between siyaha (tourism) and istiyaf (‘summering’) to create different tourist publics – one western, the other regional Arab. Separate guidebooks were written for each, pinpointing different sites of interest, cuisines, and leisure destinations, based on assumed cultural attributes, travel practices, and desires. While historiography argues that Europeans created mass tourism as an industry, istiyaf was rooted in a legacy of indigenous travel practices and economies. By drawing Arab travellers to Mount Lebanon’s village resorts, istiyaf enabled residents to produce, narrate, and exhibit Lebanon–not just aesthetically or geographically, but also climatologically and gastronomically. Different classes and genders could claim ownership of this new Lebanon. Making interwar Lebanon a regional leisure destination cemented its connection to new neighbours while simultaneously distinguishing it from them. This research thus reveals how tourism, leisure, and mobility both undergirded and undermined nation and state-building efforts in these germinal postwar decades of the Middle East.

The Role of Cultural Tourism in the Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Cultural Values among Ethnic Minority Groups in Tuyên Quang

Cultural tourism has emerged as a vital mechanism for safeguarding and disseminating the traditional values and practices of ethnic minority communities around the world. This study examines the role of cultural tourism in preserving and promoting the unique cultural heritage of ethnic minority groups residing in Tuyên Quang province, Vietnam. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and in-depth interviews with local stakeholders, the research investigates how tourism-oriented initiatives have been leveraged to bolster the visibility and vitality of distinct cultural identities in the region. The findings indicate that when carefully designed and implemented, cultural tourism can serve as an effective tool for conserving endangered traditional arts, rituals, and livelihoods among ethnic minority populations. By facilitating deeper engagement with indigenous knowledge systems and cultural expressions, such initiatives have succeeded in counteracting the homogenizing forces of globalization and revitalizing community pride in ancestral traditions. Furthermore, the study highlights how tourism-driven preservation efforts have generated sustainable economic opportunities for minority groups, empowering them to be active stewards of their own cultural heritage. The research offers critical insights for policymakers, tourism operators, and community organizers seeking to harness the transformative potential of cultural tourism for the benefit of marginalized ethnic minority communities. It underscores the need for holistic, community-based approaches that prioritize the agency and self-determination of these groups in the design and management of cultural tourism programs. Overall, the study contributes to scholarly debates on the dual role of tourism as both a threat and an opportunity for the protection of intangible cultural resources worldwide.

An Analysis of Language Styles Used by Tour Guides in Huta Siallagan: A Study of International Tourist Satisfaction

This research delves into an examination of the language styles employed by tour guides in Huta Siallagan when interacting with international tourists. The primary objectives of this study were twofold: first, to categorize and identify the various types of language styles used by tour guides during their interactions with tourists, and second, to assess the overall satisfaction of international tourists with the services provided by these tour guides. To achieve these objectives, a descriptive qualitative method was employed. The research methodology followed the framework outlined by Miles and Huberman, encompassing data reduction, data display, and drawing conclusions from the collected information. The data collection process involved the transcription of voice recordings of tour guides and foreign tourists, which were then transformed into written scripts. Subsequently, these scripts were closely examined to identify specific linguistic elements, allowing for a detailed analysis of the language styles present in the tour guide-tourist interactions. For the analytical framework, Martin Joos' theory was utilized, providing a structured framework for understanding and categorizing the language styles used by tour guides. In total, the study analysed 77 utterances from the collected data. The findings of this research reveal that the most prevalent language style utilized by tour guides in Huta Siallagan when interacting with international tourists is the casual style. This outcome sheds light on the communicative preferences and practices of tour guides in this cultural and touristic context. These insights can be invaluable for tour operators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the tourism industry, aiming to enhance the experiences of international tourists visiting Huta Siallagan.

Wilderness as Tourism Destination: Place Meanings and Preferences of Tourism Service Providers

The increase in wilderness use for nature-based tourism has complex implications for wilderness management. Tourism service providers play an important role in shaping tourism development trends, which can have an impact on wilderness. This stresses the importance of studying their perceptions and preferences regarding wilderness management. This study explores the meanings wilderness areas contain for tourism operators, the relationship of these meanings with wilderness management and development preferences, and the potential of place-based approaches to contribute to wilderness management. The study is based on 47 semi-structured interviews with tourism service providers offering services within or near the Icelandic Central Highlands, known for their vast, high-quality wilderness areas. The findings emphasize the importance of place meanings assigned by tourism service providers in shaping wilderness management preferences. The study highlights the usefulness of place-based management approaches, which can help identify potential conflicts between tourism and wilderness preservation, select proactive measures to minimize tourism’s impact on wilderness quality, and thereby facilitate sustainable tourism practices in wilderness.

Antecedents of Sustainable Tourism Development in Sundarbans, Bangladesh with the Moderation of Political Instability and Mediation of Destination Resilience

ABSTRACT The study examines the antecedent of sustainable tourism development in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh context, using the influence of political instability as a moderator and destination resilience as a mediator. Social exchange theory and the complexity theory are underpinning theories. The study follows the positivism philosophy, quantitative method, and deductive approach. SmartPLS (4.0) analysed 339 responses using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings evidenced that infrastructure development greatly affected destination resilience but had a negligible effect on sustainable tourism development. In contrast, place image and stakeholders’ integration had a negligible effect on destination resilience and sustainable tourism development, and political instability did not provide evidence of a moderating effect. Besides extending the applicability of the abovementioned theories, the study’s empirical findings will enhance the consciousness and proactivity among relevant stakeholders, tour operators, tourists, residents, businesses, policymakers and government regarding sustainable tourism and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the tourism industry.

Research on the Development Strategy of Smart Tourism in Hainan Under the Background of Big Data

Hainan is a major tourist province. It is urgent to promote the transformation and upgrading of Hainan’s tourism industry from a traditional service industry to a modern service industry by means of informatization. Smart tourism is a brand-new tourism form and operation mode of tourism transformation and upgrading. Integrating big data technology will make smart tourism more accurate in three aspects: tourism management, tourism service, and tourism marketing, and further enhance the satisfaction of the tourism experience. This paper studies the development status of smart tourism in Hainan, deeply summarizes its existing problems and causes, and puts forward the development strategy of smart tourism in Hainan to promote the healthy development of the tourism industry in Hainan.

Effect of Destination Image on Tourist Satisfaction and Destination Loyalty: A Study of Ecotourism Destinations in Uganda

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of destination image on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, a study of ecotourism destinations in Uganda. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: The study emphasized that a positive destination image significantly influences tourist satisfaction, indicating that perceptions of an ecotourism destination directly impact visitors' overall experience and contentment. Additionally, the research highlighted that tourist satisfaction is a crucial driver of destination loyalty, suggesting that when tourists are satisfied with their experience, they are more likely to return to the destination or recommend it to others. Moreover, the study underscored the importance of promoting ecotourism destinations accurately to align tourists' expectations with the reality of the experience, thereby enhancing satisfaction and loyalty. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social exchange theory, theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory may be used to anchor future studies on assessing effect of destination image on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, a study of ecotourism destinations in Uganda. From a practical perspective, the study offers actionable recommendations for destination management organizations (DMOs), tourism operators, and other stakeholders involved in ecotourism development. The findings have implications for policymaking aimed at promoting sustainable tourism development and conservation efforts in ecotourism destinations.

Cost-based distributionally robust tourist attraction recommendation with demand uncertainty

Tourist attraction recommendation (TAR) problem has gained attention due to its potential to enhance tourist services. Existing studies focus on meeting tourists’ individual needs, but overlook the tour operator’s interests as the TAR service provider. The TAR problem is more challenging due to the high variability of customer demand, which is difficult to predict accurately beforehand. This paper examines TAR in response to random changes in tourist demand, aiming to minimize transportation costs, cooperation expenses between tour operators and attractions, ticket booking fees, and promotion costs, where ambiguity set is defined by means, mean absolute deviations, and the support set. Firstly a distributionally robust model is proposed to identify suitable attractions for cooperation, along with determining the associated costs of ticket booking, promotion, and tourist transportation, while considering chance constraint on the service level. Subsequently, the model is reformulated into a tractable mixed integer linear programming model using duality theory. Numerical experiments illustrate that the proposed model outperforms both the stochastic programming model and the deterministic model in terms of risk level by out-of-sample test. In particularly, considering uncertainty and distributional ambiguity can make the model more accurate and credible.

From little things big things grow: enhancement of an acoustic telemetry network to monitor broad-scale movements of marine species along Australia’s east coast

BackgroundAcoustic telemetry has become a fundamental tool to monitor the movement of aquatic species. Advances in technology, in particular the development of batteries with lives of > 10 years, have increased our ability to track the long-term movement patterns of many species. However, logistics and financial constraints often dictate the locations and deployment duration of acoustic receivers. Consequently, there is often a compromise between optimal array design and affordability. Such constraints can hinder the ability to track marine animals over large spatial and temporal scales. Continental-scale receiver networks have increased the ability to study large-scale movements, but significant gaps in coverage often remain.MethodsSince 2007, the Integrated Marine Observing System’s Animal Tracking Facility (IMOS ATF) has maintained permanent receiver installations on the eastern Australian seaboard. In this study, we present the recent enhancement of the IMOS ATF acoustic tracking infrastructure in Queensland to collect data on large-scale movements of marine species in the northeast extent of the national array. Securing a relatively small initial investment for expanding receiver deployment and tagging activities in Queensland served as a catalyst, bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders (research institutes, universities, government departments, port corporations, industries, Indigenous ranger groups and tourism operators) to create an extensive collaborative network that could sustain the extended receiver coverage into the future. To fill gaps between existing installations and maximise the monitoring footprint, the new initiative has an atypical design, deploying many single receivers spread across 2,100 km of Queensland waters.ResultsThe approach revealed previously unknown broad-scale movements for some species and highlights that clusters of receivers are not always required to enhance data collection. However, array designs using predominantly single receiver deployments are more vulnerable to data gaps when receivers are lost or fail, and therefore “redundancy” is a critical consideration when designing this type of array.ConclusionInitial results suggest that our array enhancement, if sustained over many years, will uncover a range of previously unknown movements that will assist in addressing ecological, fisheries, and conservation questions for multiple species.

Perceptions of Halal-friendly attributes: a quantitative study of tourists’ intention to travel non-Islamic destination

PurposeThailand's Halal-friendly destination attributes are the focus of this study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Halal-friendly attributes on tourists’ intentions to visit non-Muslim destinations. Also, this study analyzes the impact of Muslim tourists’ attitudes on Halal-friendly characteristics and their intentions to visit countries that are not predominantly Muslim.Design/methodology/approachTo accomplish objectives, a survey was used to gather the data by using a convenient non-probability sampling approach from Muslim-majority countries Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. A proposed structural equation model was used to assess the influence of the variables above on the outcomes.FindingsThis study found that the factors of Halal-friendly facilities and Halal-friendly service positively influence the visiting intentions of Indonesian, Malaysian and Brunei Muslim tourists. In contrast, the social environment, food/beverages and local and staff attributes do not influence visit intentions. The tourist attitude mediates the relationship between the intention to visit and three dimensions of Halal-friendly attributes (social environment; food/beverage; and locals and staff).Research limitations/implicationsThis study did not investigate different kinds of dimensions for Muslim tourists visiting Thailand, such as preferences regarding personnel and families, cultural and artistic characteristics and the attributes of events and festivals. These dimensions cover a wide range of Halal-friendly tourism aspects. Second, this research did not investigate the associations between the demographics of Muslim tourists (age, gender, education level and income level) and the model variables. Such an investigation could have helped business developers and marketers in Thailand develop an efficient strategy for target marketing. The results of this research provide fundamental guidance and information for tourist enterprises in non-Muslim nations on how to enhance Muslim travellers’ images and intentions. However, because of the influence of other variables, locations in various areas of Asia, Africa and Europe may exhibit somewhat different effective qualities (e.g. environment, culture, history, etc.).Practical implicationsThis study sheds light on the factors contributing to visitor satisfaction in the context of a desire to go to a Halal-friendly site. This insight from this study can be adapted and applied by tourism managers and marketing executives to build or develop the Halal-friendly destination image of a tourist destination (Phuket) in the right dimensions. It is a possibility that the image of a tourist attraction has a tight relationship with travelers’ perceived value, contentment and loyalty (Hsu et al., 2008; Khunrattanaporn, 2013; Pike, 2008). Battour et al. (2022) found that Muslims’ behavioural intentions are affected by the Halal attributes of the destination. It indicates that Halal attributes are very important for Muslim tourists when selecting a destination. To attract Muslim tourists, this study can be used for strategies and planning.Originality/valueThis study sheds fresh light on the concept of Halal tourism. It examines the perspective of Muslim tourists using Halal goods or services in anticipation of a future trip to a non-Muslim location (Phuket). This study is crucial for destination tourism operators, managers and marketers who lead Muslim tourists to non-Muslim destinations.

State Control over the Threats of the Outbound Tourism Sector in Russia

The relevance of the study lies in the fact that currently the field of outbound tourism in Russia is facing a number of threats and problems that can negatively affect the activities of manufacturers of a tourist product. These threats may be related to changes in the political situation, escalation of conflicts in the international economic arena, economic crises, changes in sectoral national and foreign legislation, and other environmental factors. The research conducted by the author makes it possible to identify destructive elements of the external environment that can cause signifi cant threats to manufacturers of a tourist product, that is, for tour operators in the field of outbound tourism. In the article, the author considers the factors and conditions contributing to the emergence of threats to the activities of manufacturers of tourist products in the field of outbound tourism in Russia. Based on the application of the structural analysis method, destructive elements of the external environment of the outbound tourism sector have been identified, which can be regulated using state regulation tools. The author, based on the application of activity analysis, also identified contradictions in the functioning of the mechanism of state regulation in terms of ensuring comprehensive security and countering identified threats in the fi eld of outbound tourism in Russia. This allows us to identify the shortcomings of the existing system of state regulation in this area, suggest ways to improve it, as well as develop specific measures to prevent the threats to the complex security of all subjects of relations in the economic sphere of outbound tourism of the Russian Federation considered in the article. Thus, the study is relevant and necessary in order to help manufacturers of a tourist product and the mechanism of state administration of the Russian Federation in the field of outbound tourism in Russia to minimize risks and ensure the comprehensive safety of the tourism industry of the Russian Federation.

DETOURS AND DELAYS: NAVIGATING THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACT ON INDIA'S TRANSPORT SECTOR AND TOURISM

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the Indian transport industry, affecting various sectors such as aviation, railways, road transport, and maritime. The nationwide lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus led to a significant decline in passenger traffic and freight movement, causing severe financial distress to the industry. This almost standstill in the movement of the people severely affected the Indian tourism industry which provides 7 per cent of GDP and 9 per cent of employment by 2019. The aviation sector witnessed a sharp decline in passenger traffic, leading to financial losses for airlines and airports. Many airlines were forced to suspend operations or reduce their workforce to survive. Similarly, the Indian Railways faced challenges due to the suspension of passenger trains, impacting revenue generation. The road transport sector also suffered due to the lockdowns, with restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement affecting the movement of goods and passengers. The maritime sector faced challenges due to disruptions in global trade and port operations. To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the Indian government announced various relief measures, including financial assistance, waivers, and restructuring of loans for the transport industry. The government also launched initiatives such as the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate stranded Indians and the One Nation, One Card scheme for seamless travel across different modes of transport. By recognising the importance of the revival of tourism in India Indian Government announced many sops and reliefs to the tour operators, travel agents and transport organisations. Despite these measures, the road to recovery for the Indian transport industry remains challenging. The industry will need to adapt to the new normal by implementing safety measures, embracing digital technologies, and diversifying its operations to ensure resilience in future crises. KEYWORDS: Covid -19, Road transport, Railways, Civil aviation, Tourism

How literary tourism changes the tourists’ “baggage”: a conceptual framework for the educational function of literary tourism

ABSTRACT This conceptual study aims to provide a framework for the educational function of literary tourism, a niche within cultural, heritage and media-related tourism, by focusing on the relationship between tourism and education. The conceptual framework, established through previous research on literary museums, literary festivals, and literary routes, demonstrates that literary tourism offers tourists experiential and transformative learning experiences. Literary tourism offerings not only influence tourists’ literary knowledge and practical skill levels but also provide awareness that can potentially transform their personal lives and alter perspectives. The gains individuals acquire through literary tourism highlight the necessity of emphasizing the educational function of literary tourism. This underscores the significance for literary sites, literary destinations, tour operators, educational institutions, and similar stakeholders to invest in promoting this educational function. The conceptual framework outlined in this study regarding the educational function of literary tourism can serve as a valuable reference point for literary tourism initiatives and research.

Adoption of Digital Technologies as a Driver for Cost Leadership Strategy in Tour Firms within Nairobi City County, Kenya

Digital technologies play a major role in reducing the cost of operations in tour firms. The main focus of the study was to find out the adoption of digital technologies as a driver of cost leadership strategy in tour firms within Nairobi City County. The specific objective was to investigate the influence of mobile applications on cost leadership strategy in tour firms in Nairobi City County. Embedded research design was applied in the study. The study adopted the null hypothesis that mobile applications had no statistically significant influence on cost leadership strategy in tour firms within Nairobi City County. The study population was 278 tour firms obtained from the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) list where a sample of 164 tour firms were selected through the application of Yemane’s (1967) sample size formula. 10 tour firm mangers were selected for interviews. Systematic random sampling was utilized for the determination of the sample size of 164 tour firms. Semi-structured questionnaires and interview schedules were utilized as data instruments. Questionnaires were filled by tour consultants while interviews were conducted with tour firm managers. 133 respondents filled out the questionnaires representing 81% response rate while 7 interviewees were conducted representing 70% response rate. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used during data analysis. The study utilized both ANOVA and multiple regression tests to test the hypotheses, and influence between the adoption of digital technology and cost leadership strategy. The results of the R Square equals 0.919 therefore revealing that 91.9% of cost leadership is attributed to mobile applications. The study confirmed there was a statistical significance (p =.000) between mobile applications and cost leadership. Mobile applications as a digital technology tool accounted for a positive significant increase (B = 637) in cost leadership strategy. The study concluded that there is a positive strong influence between the adoption of mobile applications and cost leadership strategy. The study recommends that tour firms should fully adopt digital technologies to maximize cost control, minimize marketing costs, and promote operational efficiency

Messenger Marketing Platforms and Performance of Tour Operating Companies in Kenya

Messenger marketing is part of global digital trend that acts as a new avenue for tour firms to adopt based on convenience in interaction, ability to reach more audiences and collaboration with customers. The study aimed to examine the effect of messenger marketing on performance of tour operating companies in Kenya. The study was anchored on diffusion innovation theory. Cross-sectional and correlational research design were utilized. The study applied census approach to a target population of 212 general managers of tour operating companies. Online and physical questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The supervisors and experts were used to examine validity of the instrument while Cronbach Alpha was adopted to test reliability was 0.783 which was above a threshold of 0.7, hence reliable. Descriptive statistics consisting of mean and standard deviations were used to summarize data while simple linear regression was used to test significance at 5%. The results revealed that messenger marketing platform was practiced by the tour operating companies through using mobile services platform for sending messages, chatting and soliciting sales. It also assisted in obtaining customer feedback, blogging and chatting with customers. However, the Chatbots were hardly used by firms which adopted artificial intelligence in communicating, sending random messages and could be integrated to existing online platforms. The results indicated that messenger marketing had positive significant effect on the performance of tour operating companies (β1=0.428, P = 0.000<0.05). The study concludes that messenger marketing platform marketing significantly influenced performance of tour operating companies. The study recommends tour operating companies should apply Chatbots, mobile service, mobile commerce and conversation commerce to enhance customer relationship and improve performance

Green Practices of Travel Agents and Tour Operators in Southern Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Purpose of the study: This study aimed to assess the green practices of travel agents and tour operators in Southern Cagayan Valley, Philippines in terms of energy efficiency, waste minimization and water consumption. Methodology: This study used a quantitative descriptive methodology. The research instrument was adapted from Ahmad (2013). The survey respondents are fifty six (56) travel agents and tour operators in the provinces of Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and southern part of Isabela. All data were analyzed using SPSS. To arrive at the result, the following statistical tool were used: Non-parametric test were employed to identify the significant difference including Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test. Main Findings: Findings revealed that green practices along with energy efficiency were mostly practiced, and waste minimization were often executed. However, for water consumption, three items were often and other two were just rarely practiced by the respondents. This paper suggests a plan of action in enhancing green practices used by businesses in travel and tours. Applications of the study: This paper will be useful to travel agencies and operators in creating methods and policies to further increase tourism sustainability. This could also raise awareness among tourism officers and policy makers about the nature of the prevailing business practices, enabling them to identify key concerns in management policy and the creation of new skills that will promote sustainable tourism. Novelty/Originality of the study: This study offers fresh insights that could contribute to the deeper understanding of the green practices as well as the challenges and opportunities inherent in promoting sustainability in the tourism industry of Southern Cagayan Valley.

When a villager is a rural homestay operator: role expectation research using the machine learning model?

ABSTRACT With the growing development of the Chinese rural tourism industry, villagers are gradually becoming involved in tourism, and the role of rural inhabitants has shifted. However, understanding tourists’ expectations of rural tourism operators remains challenging. This paper uses machine learning techniques such as LDA and SnowNLP to analyse online review data from 115 rural homestays in Hainan Province. Five topics of role expectations are identified, which can be grouped into quality expectations, image expectations, obligation expectations and attached expectations. Corresponding types of content are then mapped onto a convertible and dynamic model of residents’ role expectations, based on the concepts of ascribed status and achieved status, to discover the mechanism of role transformation of rural homestay operators. It is worth emphasising that residents’ roles are not singular in the particular spatial context of rural tourism operations. Image expectations within the achieved status can transfer from the ascribed status, while the gap between quality expectations and reality implies rural residents’ immaturity as operators. This study holds significant implications for the management and practice of rural tourism.

Business Model Canvas (BMC) And Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) Analysis For Whale Shark halal Tourism, Tarano District, Sumbawa Regency Solution To Formulate A Strategy To Increase Tourism Value

This research aims to find strategies to increase the value of Whale Shark tourism in Labuhan Jambu Village, Tarano District by using the perspective of whale shark tourism managers and related stakeholders using the Business Model Canvas (BMC) approach through nine channels. This study also looks at tourism value from a consumer perspective through the Value Proposition Canvas (VPC) approach from two aspects, namely the customer profile and value proposition. The sampling technique in this study used the Snawbal Sampling technique by identifying, selecting, and taking samples in a network or continuous chain of relationships. Meanwhile, data analysis used the Miles and Huberman technique which included data reduction, data presentation and conclusion. The results of this research to increase the value of Whale Shark tourism in Labuhan Jambu Village based on the BMC approach areThe whale shark tourism market segmentation is foreign tourists, domestic tourists anddiving/snorkeling enthusiasts, consist of online promotions via social media Instagram, direct promotions, participating in national events, whale shark festivals and collaboration with tour guides and travel tours, the major key partnership to maintain is travel agents, tour guides, fishermen, bagang owners, restaurants and hotels and the important Key resources consist of whale sharks, tour operators, supporting facilities and the Labuhan Jambu village community. Meanwhile the VPC results to solved the cunsomer provile including increasing Products and services for whale shark tourism are that visitors can see and swim directly with whale sharks, unique and rare tours, optimal service to visitors, provision of speed boats and complete diving/snorkeling equipment for visitor satisfaction.Pain Relievers consists of providing regular information about the appearance of whale sharks, limiting swimming time with whale sharks, providing speed boat access from Labuhan Jambu village, periodic efforts and programs to support whale shark conservation.Gain creators consist of tour packages and equipment for swimming with whale sharks, providing education on whale shark tourism to tourists, maintaining visitor trust by providing optimal service and mapping optimal times to meet whale sharks to inform tourists and related parties.