Gap Year Travel

The aim of this paper is to present suggestions for improving the
quality of education provided by higher-educational institutions through
the suggested new form of hybrid English-language teaching and
intercultural teaching. Two aspects of the hybrid model of teaching are
highlighted: development of students’ English-language competences that
help them communicate successfully when operating professionally in an
international environment, and the geo-educational aspect which
encompasses foreign language and culture education.

International volunteering is a lucrative business-generating over $170 billion annually (Hartman et al. 2014) mostly contributing to the tourism sector through airfare and local travel. Many gap year students are excited to travel far and beyond to make a difference through volunteering. These students connect with a local organization through a volunteer placement agency most of which charge application as well as programme fees. Those who have found the experience fulfilling have returned to the place they have loved-volunteering as many times as possible. But is volunteering ideal for every student?

The behavior of domestic tourists, especially the younger generation, is crucial in driving the tourism industry which had been silent during the pandemic. The importance of a deeper understanding of the behavior of youth travelers, especially in the use of social media, is the main focus of this study. Youth travelers are very aware with self-congruity of their chosen destination. The intention to revisit is an important factor in sustainable destination development. The purposes of this research are to find out the typology of youth travelers, find out the influence of social media usage intensity on youth travel self-congruity and their intention to revisit Bali. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted as the analysis technique in this research. The results of this study are that the intensity of social media usage has a positive and significant influence on the intention to revisit among young tourists in Bali by 39.3%, while self-congruity is positively and significantly influenced by 29.2% by the intensity of social media usage.

Globalization and advancements in healthcare have birthed a novel form of tourism known as medical tourism. Over the past decade, MT has witnessed a significant upsurge, evolving into a burgeoning industry. The increasing popularity of medical tourism can be attributed to a confluence of factors, including the development of electronic communication systems, the improved ease of international transportation, the utilization of social media as a marketing tool, and the emergence of more cost-effective healthcare options. Healthcare system shortcomings in developed nations manifested as lengthy wait times, legal hurdles, and high costs, have driven the medical tourism movement towards developing countries. Conversely, advancements in technology and the dissemination of information have facilitated the promotion and marketing of medical tourism. Furthermore, medical tourism's appeal is augmented by its ability to offer a confluence of quality healthcare and vacation opportunities, attracting patients seeking a holistic experience. This study investigates the impact of destination image and social media interaction on medical tourists' intentions to visit Turkey. It explores their visit motivations, perceptions of quality and cost, and how these factors, along with their destination image formed through social media interactions, influence their decision to choose Turkey for medical care. Survey data for analysis was collected via social media from 1124 participants. These included citizens from the eight top source countries for medical tourists to Turkey (2018-2022): Iraq, Germany, UK, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, France, and Georgia, along with Turkish dual citizens residing worldwide. Data analysis involved frequency analysis, evaluation of internal consistency for employed scales, and assessment of construct validity for sub-dimensions using confirmatory factor analysis. Mediation analyses explored the role of mediating variables, followed by linear regression and hypothesis testing via R software. Bootstrapping with 5000 repetitions examined indirect effects in mediation models. The research findings demonstrate the significant role of social media in shaping the formation of visit intentions in medical tourism. It has been determined that participants actively utilize social media to acquire information about medical tourism services in Turkey, and this interaction enhances their visit intentions. The impact of social media on creating destination image and shaping perceptions of the quality and cost of medical services is crucial. Additionally, it has been identified that perceptions of cost and quality influence potential tourists' visit intentions. Therefore, it is essential for medical tourism service providers to effectively market their destinations and enhance perceived quality by sharing accurate and up-to-date information via social media. The findings indicate that Turkey possesses a strong competitive advantage in the medical tourism market. Among these advantages are the perceived high quality of medical services in the country, low costs, modern healthcare facilities, well-trained physicians, and a wide range of medical services available. Consequently, medical tourism destinations need to focus on various strategies to strengthen destination image and optimize service quality. The effective use of social media, enhancement of cost and quality perceptions, positively influences potential tourists' visit intentions, creates a favourable medical destination image, and supports the tourism sector. ağlık hizmetlerindeki gelişmeler ve küreselleşme, medikal turizm olarak adlandırılan yeni bir turizm türünün ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Medikal turizm, son on yılda hızla gelişen bir sektör haline gelmiştir. Elektronik iletişim sistemlerinin gelişmesi, uluslararası ulaşımın kolaylaşması, sosyal medyanın aynı zamanda bir pazarlama aracı olarak kullanılması, maliyetlerin düşmesi gibi faktörler medikal turizmin giderek yaygınlaşmasına katkıda bulunmuştur. Gelişmiş ülkelerde yaşanan sağlık sistemi sorunları, uzun bekleme süreleri, yasal engeller ve yüksek maliyetler, medikal turizm hareketini gelişmekte olan ülkelere yöneltmiştir. Diğer yandan, teknolojik ilerlemeler ve bilginin yayılması, medikal turizmin tanıtımını ve pazarlamasını kolaylaştırmıştır. Medikal turizm, sağlık hizmetlerinin kalitesinin yanı sıra tatil olanaklarını birleştirme imkanı sunmasıyla da ilgi görmektedir. Bu araştırma medikal turistlerin Türkiye'yi ziyaret etme niyetleri üzerinde destinasyon imajı ve sosyal medya etkileşiminin rolüne odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmada medikal turistlerin ziyaret niyetleri, kalite ve maliyete yönelik algıları, destinasyona dair zihinlerinde var olan imajı ve sosyal medya etkileşimleri incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın analizleri için ihtiyaç duyulan veriler, 2018-2022 yılları arasında Türkiye'ye en çok medikal turist gönderen sekiz ülke olan Irak, Almanya, Birleşik Krallık, Azerbaycan, Bulgaristan, Fransa, Gürcistan vatandaşlarının yanı sıra dünyanın çeşitli ülkelerinde ikamet eden çifte vatandaşlık sahibi Türklerden oluşan 1124 kişiye sosyal medya üzerinden yapılan anketler vasıtası ile toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizlerinde, frekans analizi gerçekleştirilmiş; kullanılan ölçeklerin iç tutarlılıkları değerlendirilmiş, alt boyutlarına dair yapı geçerlilikleri doğrulayıcı faktör analizi aracılığı ile ölçülmüştür. Ayrıca toplanan verilere, bağımsız değişkenin bağımlı değişken üzerindeki etkisinde aracı değişkenlerin rolünü incelemek için aracılık analizleri uygulanmış, doğrusal lineer regresyon gerçekleştirilmiş ve hipotez testlerine dair bulgular, R yazılımı aracılığı ile test edilmiştir. Aracılık modellerindeki dolaylı etkiler Bootstrap tekniği ile 5000 kez tekrarlanarak incelenmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları medikal turizmde ziyaret niyetinin oluşmasında sosyal medyanın önemli bir rol oynadığını göstermektedir. Katılımcıların Türkiye'deki medikal turizm hizmetleri hakkında bilgi edinmek için sosyal medyayı aktif olarak kullandıkları ve bu etkileşimin ziyaret niyetlerini artırdığı belirlenmiştir. Sosyal medyanın, destinasyon imajını oluşturma, medikal hizmetlerin kalite ve maliyet algısını şekillendirme konusundaki etkisi önemlidir. Ayrıca, maliyet ve kalite algılarının potansiyel turistlerin ziyaret niyetlerini etkilediği belirlenmiştir. Bu nedenle, medikal turizm hizmet sağlayıcılarının sosyal medya üzerinden doğru ve güncel bilgileri paylaşarak destinasyonlarını etkili bir şekilde pazarlamaları ve algılanan kaliteyi artırmaları önemlidir Bulgular, Türkiye'nin medikal turizm pazarında güçlü bir rekabet avantajına sahip olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu avantajlar arasında ülkedeki medikal hizmetlerin algılanan yüksek kalitesi, düşük maliyetler, modern sağlık tesisleri, iyi eğitimli hekimler ve çeşitli tıbbi hizmetlerin bulunması yer almaktadır. Sonuç olarak, medikal turizm destinasyonlarının, destinasyon imajını güçlendirmek ve hizmet kalitesini optimize etmek için çeşitli stratejilere odaklanmaları gerekmektedir. Sosyal medyanın etkili bir şekilde kullanılması, maliyet ve kalite algılarının iyileştirilmesi, potansiyel turistlerin ziyaret niyetlerini olumlu yönde etkilemekte, olumlu bir medikal destinasyon imajı yaratmakta ve turizm sektörünü desteklemektedir.

Voluntourism, a contested form of alternative tourism, has received limited scholarly attention regarding the agency of voluntourists, particularly in non-Western contexts. This study investigates the self-reflections of young Chinese international volunteers through netography and thematic analysis of online narratives. Utilizing Urry's gaze theory as a 'lens', it examines how these voluntourists reflect not only on the destinations but also on themselves during their pre-trip, onsite and post-trip experiences. Three phases of the voluntourist gaze are identified: an initial 'othering' gaze, an evolving onsite gaze that challenges romanticization, and a posttrip reflective moral gaze. While similarities exist between the gazes of Chinese and Western voluntourists, the Chinese voluntourist gaze is uniquely nurtured by an inquiring intratourist gaze and by traditional Chinese philosophies such as Confucianism and Taoism. Notably, Chinese voluntourists exhibit a greater capacity for self-reflection compared to conventional Chinese tourists, positioning them as 'moral pioneers' in promoting Chinese ethical tourism by demonstrating more empathetic and humanitarian gazes.

There has been an ongoing debate about the future of traditional brick and mortar travel agencies due to the increasing influence of the internet in the travel industry. This influence which has seen an increase in the number of online travel websites within the last decade has been seen by some schools of thought as constituting a threat to traditional travel agents. While previous studies had focused on understanding the perception of scholars and practitioners with regard to the relevance of travel agents in the future of the industry, very few research has concentrated on understanding the perception of the travel consumers themselves. Moreover, there is an absence of literature focusing on this phenomenon from any of the many travel destinations in the Mediterranean. This study thus set out to fill this gap in literature by conducting an empirical examination of travel consumers from the four biggest nations from which non-Turkish travelers to North Cyprus originate; using a 5 point, 10 item likert scale questionnaire. Findings show that the participants patronized traditional travel agents more, but saw the future as one in which most travel purchases will be done online. They also affirmed the relevance of traditional travel agents and saw them playing a significant role in the internet influenced future of the travel industry.

There has been an ongoing debate about the future of traditional brick and mortar travel agencies due to the increasing influence of the internet in the travel industry. This influence which has seen an increase in the number of online travel websites within the last decade has been seen by some schools of thought as constituting a threat to traditional travel agents. While previous studies had focused on understanding the perception of scholars and practitioners with regard to the relevance of travel agents in the future of the industry, very few research has concentrated on understanding the perception of the travel consumers themselves. Moreover, there is an absence of literature focusing on this phenomenon from any of the many travel destinations in the Mediterranean. This study thus set out to fill this gap in literature by conducting an empirical examination of travel consumers from the four biggest nations from which non- Turkish travelers to North Cyprus originate; using a 5...

The Ninth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies features research on current themes and tensions concerning on methods, models, and practices; participation, access, impacts; communicating experience and future practices. We aim to explore diversity in all its manifestations and enhance diversity/inclusive mindfulness through open dialogue. This conference constitutes transdisciplinary thinking for all of us who participate either in-person or online. Dear conference participants, We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the delegates attending the Ninth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies, hosted by Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in the vibrant city of Liverpool, UK. It is a pleasure to welcome you to this blended conference where participants have the choice of attending online or in person. The special focus of the conference is Tourism, Leisure and Change: Transforming People and Places. The idea is to explore the ways in which tourism and leisure are linked to change: both as agents of change and as constantly changing activities, as well as practices to be changed. Tourism and leisure are at once external forces that can be responsible for transforming places and people's lives, while simultaneously being subject to outside influences that require them to adapt. The power for tourism and leisure to "transform" and be "transformed" needs us to be vigilant about what and where is being "transformed," by whom, for what purposes, and with what implications. Time will be devoted to collectively discuss and debate the potential impact on places and people in the future from the work we do today. Organised by the Tourism & Leisure Studies Research Network, and the Tourism, Travel, Culture and Heritage (TTCH) research group of Liverpool John Moores University, the conference offers a space for engagement and debate among academics, policy makers and practitioners. In line with the Tourism & Leisure Studies Research Network's aim: to build an epistemic community where we can make linkages across disciplinary, geographic, and cultural boundaries, the conference engages with themes and tensions about methods, models and practices of tourism and leisure, participation, access, and impacts, communicating experience, as well as thinking about the future of these dynamic human activities. We would like to extend a very sincere thank you to our plenary speakers, Common Ground's conference team, members of TTCH and the LJMU administration and IT support staff for their invaluable help. We look forward to your active participation and meaningful contributions during the conference. Let's collectively explore the dynamic world of tourism and leisure! Wishing you a productive and enjoyable conference.

this study aims to investigate the correlation among event quality, host city evaluation, place attachment, destination brand equity, and visitors' attitudinal intention. structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. the data were collected through convenience sampling from 392 spectators who attended the islamic solidarity Games 2022, Konya. the results show that event quality positively affects host city evaluation and revisit attitude, while it negatively affects destination brand equity and place attachment. Furthermore, host city evaluation positively affects destination brand equity, place attachment and revisit attitude and has a mediating role between event quality, destination brand equity and place attachment. On the other hand, the results show that there is negative effect of place attachment and destination brand equity on revisit attitude. this research is important in terms of examining the relationship between destination brand equity, brand loyalty and event quality variables since these variables are factors that directly affect visitor experience and behavior. this study makes a theoretical contribution as it investigates different theories and variables in a different context, confirms and updates existing theories and reflects the positive and negative relationships between variables. a more detailed understanding of the relationship between event and destination can guide decision makers to develop more effective strategies.

The present study was operated and conducted to assess and explain the relationship between managers’ authorities and tourists' satisfaction from the perspective of executives. This study in terms of purpose has been specified as applied. In terms of nature, of the data and how to collect them, the research is descriptive and survey one. The research hypotheses study a descriptive relationship and describe the current situation. The primary and secondary data collection method associated with hypotheses, was through sampling and valid and reliable questionnaire tool, free interviews, library research, internet and reviewing documents and reports of hotels and agencies that each of these tools, in a part of the research work and compilation of the specific data has been used. The Important tool for data collection is questionnaire. To determine the validity, the validity of scholars and experts and to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, the Cronbach's alpha method...

The purpose of this thesis is threefold: (1) To examine the effect of four personal factors (institutional trust (IT), consumer ethnocentrism tendency (CET), consumer cosmopolitanism (COS), and personality type (PT) on the formation of the domestic tourist destination image (DTDI), (2) To examine the effect of DTDI on the destination brand experience (DBE), tourist satisfaction (TS), behavioral intentions and the relationships among them, and (3) To assess the potential applicability of relative deprivation theory, the means-end approach, leisure constraints theory, freedom-seeking theory, and prestige-seeking theory on the tourist preference for international versus domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia. was found to influence DBE, TS, and all behavioral intentions. DBE was found to be a partial mediator in the relationship between DTDI and TS. TS was found to mediate the relationship between DBE and both behavioral intentions. Research limitation The context of the study involves only one destination, the Aseer region in Saudi Arabia, and the sample consists only of Saudi citizens. Although this was useful for testing the model, generalizability cannot be claimed with confidence before multiple replications across different cultures. In addition, the scales selected to measure the different constructs in the model, although chosen carefully to provide the most accurate, reliable, and valid results possible, have their own limitations. The study obtained its data via a web-based questionnaire, a method that has been criticized for being less interactive and for generating limited and unrepresentative samples. Practical implications This research informs Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) about the existing relationship between IT in their institutions as well as in other relevant institutions and the images of the destinations they are promoting. The results revealed the roles played by CET, COS, and PT on DTDI formation, which should be beneficial for both tourist segmentation and marketing communication. The research also confirms the pivotal importance of DBE for DMOs as an influential construct that affects both tourist satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the effect of IT on TDI research. The relationship was confirmed and has thus advanced our understanding of how TDI is formed and perceived. The study has also examined the role of CET and COS among the citizens of the same country in which the destination is iii found, which is a novel pursuit that has added to the knowledge of domestic tourism, CET, and COS.

Branding and building a brand image are important notions for all the industries as positive brand image leads to repetitive business and increased business. In service industry creating a brand image is even more significant because of its intangible nature. The customers of service industry themselves also become one of the factors of image building as they provide feedbacks and reviews about their experiences which may result in formation of positive or negative brand image for prospective customers. This study aims at studying the impact of demographics on star category hotels, where the product is intangible in nature and customer experience is the construct of image building. Also, the study will explore any relationship between purpose of stay and factors of image building. The study area chosen is Delhi and NCR as lot of star category hotels of various brands exists in the region. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect information from the 550 consumers. Results indicated that demographic characteristics like educational qualification, annual income and employment status creates a significant difference on image building but there is no significant difference created by age, gender, marital status, nationality and mode of information about the hotel on image building parameters identified. Further, analysis showed that there exists positive correlation between purpose of stay and image building parameters.

This study is analyzed the effect of different university related variables such as university-related antecedent, town-related information, town related offerings and town related facility on the students town loyalty through university/college reputation, student town reputation and student town satisfaction and switching costs. This study has been conducted among the 250 international students of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Famagusta, North Cyprus. This study analyzed the data through use of SPSS analysis, and Pearson correlation. The findings of the study are mentioned that all of the relationship is positive and significant. All of hypotheses are supported. University and destination managers should be careful about the university related information, performance, facility and service to the students due to the fact that the quality of the service directly and indirectly effect on the student loyalty to destination and university and decreasing cost. The managerial implication and limitation of the study mentioned at the end of the study. Student loyalty is used as the dependent variable due to its important in the continuous performance of the town and university. All of the hypotheses study are supported.

This study is analyzed the effect of different university related variables such as university-related antecedent, town-related information, town related offerings and town related facility on the students town loyalty through university/college reputation, student town reputation and student town satisfaction and switching costs. This study has been conducted among the 250 international students of Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), Famagusta, North Cyprus. This study analyzed the data through use of SPSS analysis, and Pearson correlation. The findings of the study are mentioned that all of the relationship is positive and significant. All of hypotheses are supported. University and destination managers should be careful about the university related information, performance, facility and service to the students due to the fact that the quality of the service directly and indirectly effect on the student loyalty to destination and university and decreasing cost. The managerial implication and limitation of the study mentioned at the end of the study. Student loyalty is used as the dependent variable due to its important in the continuous performance of the town and university. All of the hypotheses study are supported.

Attendees from academia, industry, government, and other organizations converged for the Seventh Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management (AHTMM) conference in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus from 10-15 July 2017. The conference was organized by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), in collaboration with Washington State University, U.S.A. The main objective of the conference was to provide a unique platform for a wide range of stakeholders and scholars in tourism to actively exchange, share and challenge state-of-the-art research and industrial case studies on the topics of hospitality, tourism marketing and management. The conference, which was held in the Rauf Raif Denktas Culture and Congress Center, attracted an immense amount of attention. Out of the submissions of approximately 160 delegates, a double-blind peer review process was used to accept 126 papers to be presented. Representing a plethora of geographical diversity, attendees from more than 30 countries including Australia,

The growth of the world's tourism industry has developed the hotel industry, and the continuous growth of Chinese outbound tourists has brought opportunities to the Malaysian hotel industry. However, attracting more Chinese outbound tourists to hotels and retaining customers has become a problem for Malaysian hotels, as guests’ experience highly depends on their evaluation of their visit. The experience is reflected in their evaluation of numerous variables. However, the literature indicates no single, agreed framework to measure hotel visit experience. Hence, this paper evaluates the scale that can measure hotel visit experience. It uses Chinese guests as respondents. To do so, a model consisting of perceived value, satisfaction and commitment on electronic word-of-mouth responses is proposed. Using the pilot research method, the empirical data came from Chinese hotel guests visiting Malaysia hotels, using a survey questionnaire. The study used quantitative approach and Statist...

Volunteer tourism has lately received a lot of scrutiny. While majority of volunteer tourism studies have acknowledged the significance of volunteer tourism and challenged conventional understandings of socioeconomic change in the Global South, the ways in which idea about "religion" flow through volunteer tourism discourses is rarely spoken about. Indeed, religion is an important factor in volunteer tourism. Then why the invisibility of religion in volunteer tourism discourses? Perhaps within a discourse framed around philanthropy to humanitarianism and aid, which is a modern growing trend, raising religion is too disruptive? Or does the silence of religion conceal the complicity of development with religious projects? Encouraged by Said's (1979) work Orientalism and Bhabha (1983) and Spivak's (1990) notion of Post-colonialism, this research note is part of a larger project understanding the relationship between volunteer tourism and religion in the Global South. Van der Veer (2001, p. 12) explained, "Missionary movements in nineteenth-century Britain, for example, created a public awareness of the fact that there was a larger world beyond Britain and that British Christians had an imperial duty towards the rest of the world." In fact, majority of missionaries saw colonialism as a Christian virtue (Falola, 1998). Alluding to that, Van Engen (2000) and VerBeek (2006) emphasized that evangelism is a main goal of many volunteer tourists today who are more interested in spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching. Influenced by Durkheimian idea, MacCannell (1976) commented on the westerners' continuous quest for a new paradise which involves a much broader sacralisation process where tourism validates not only the cultural values of societies but also the cosmologies of Christianity. Bandyopadhyay and Patil (2017) added fuel to this sensitive issue by arguing that similar to the role of Christian ideologies which were very active during the colonial times, such ideologies continue to be important in contemporary volunteer tourism practice. It is important to note here how the colonial logics and discourses have shifted over time, from the erstwhile "civilizing mission" to the subsequent mandate for development to contemporary depoliticized social causes such as "saving the environment" in which in the name of voluntourism global North volunteer tourists seek to "save" and "help" the [less fortunate] others in the global South. Muehlebach (2013) examined this growth of Neoliberalism and its volunteer culture (how socialist volunteers are interpreting their unwaged labor as an expression of social solidarity) as it combines with traditional Catholic practices (how Catholic volunteers think of their volunteering as an expression of charity and love) to oppose extensive market rule and the anti-welfare actions of the government. Wilson and Janoski (1995) found out in their study that among Catholics, the connection between church involvement and volunteering is formed early and remains strong. A prominent example of this is Mother Teresa, then a young woman, was sent on a mission by a Roman Catholic religious order in her homeland Macedonia to serve the poor people in Kolkata (erstwhile Calcutta) in India. In 1952 in Kolkata, Mother Teresa founded an organization known as Missionaries of Charity to offer palliative care to the poorest of the poor in the city. She won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work and was canonised in September 2016. Apart from Malcolm Muggeridge's (1971) Something Beautiful for God that elevated Mother Teresa to sainthood, Dominique Lapierre's (1985) bestseller book and Roland Joffe's (1992) epic direction, City of Joy transformed Calcutta in the Euro-American thought as the very exemplar of poverty and filth and this imagery possibly contributed to stimulating it as an attractive opportunity for volunteer tourism. The data used in this study were collected in the city of Kolkata and its surrounding areas in two consecutive years (i.e., 2016-17) by conducting intensive interviews with western Christian volunteer tourists who were volunteering at different branches of Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa. This study mainly focuses on fieldwork carried out in one such branches (Fig. 1). Mother Teresa's work stimulated the growth of voluntourismshe opened her work to thousands of annual volunteersa model that

The paper examines the effect of Digital Marketing, Digital Branding, Perceived Service Quality with Customer Engagement on Brand Advocacy on the Digital Platform for Tourism Villages in Indonesia. The research population is local tourists who visit several tourist places in sustainable tourism places, and the samples taken as many as 440 tourists. Data was collected by online and offline surveys with the distribution of self-administered questionnaires. The findings of the study are that digital marketing has a positive and significant influence on customer engagement. This can be used to increase awareness of the use of technology and make maximum use of it to realize a digital-based tourism village. Digital marketing is not significant to brand advocacy, but it has a positive and significant influence on customer engagement. Perceived service quality has a positive and significant influence on brand advocacy, and digital marketing has a positive and significant influence on brand...

In the travel industry, safety and security are imperative and any attraction sites which ignore these tasks stand to lose out on the intense competition for tourists. One way to ensure that safety and security are satisfactorily provided is to regularly assess and seek the perceptions of stakeholders. Studies that make such an attempt, particularly in a Nigerian Geopark are relatively underrepresented in the literature. This study therefore evaluates safety and security situations at a large geopark and one of the most visited tourist destinations in Nigeria. Through direct observation, an on-site assessment of safety and security measures was undertaken by experts. The assessment instrument was designed using an empirical adaptation of standards which have been suggested in the literature. In addition, members of the site management were interviewed on various outcomes of the field study. Generally, the safety and security architecture in the study area appeared to be insufficient as the management seemed restrained to be too proactive for fear of scaring wildlife and visitors. Besides, the management did not consider the site to be under any serious threat as no major accident and/or crime has been recorded in the last decade. The study concludes that safety and security approaches in the study area do not reflect standard measures but rather cautious approach and an overly dependence on a supposed good past record. The result of this study can facilitate standard practice for safety and security in tourist destinations. This study fills the knowledge gap by providing information on the Nigerian experience regarding safety and security of Geopark in the Global South.

With this article, we aim to contribute to a growing academic and public debate on claims about 'taking a gap year' as (an act of) moral tourism, a means of self-development and ultimately resulting in global citizenship. More specifically, we examined how the gap year discourse is exhibited, influenced and shaped through the representation, promotion and construction of gap year packages and activities on websites operated by providers in the Netherlands. Informed by Bourdieu's model of capital accumulation, we conducted a content analysis of websites operated by providers of gap year packages and activities in the Netherlands. Findings show that narratives about gap years primarily focus on positive and personal (future) benefits of accumulating skills and self-development to potential gappers, and in some cases to their parents. The gap year is represented as a commercial product that allows one to explore the world and the Self. The findings also showed that although Dutch providers promote the gap year product as ethical, emphasis is placed primarily on the 'ethical' benefits for the gapper himself or herself. The article concludes with a critical reflection on how representations of reciprocal altruism by providers

While ‘polycrisis’ was coined by a French theorist of complexity called Edgar Morin and his co-author Anne Brigitte Kern (1999), the word was more recently popularised by the historian Adam Tooze (2022) to describe the interaction of disparate crises at once, in such ways that the overall impact far exceeds the sum of each part. The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the climate emergency, cryptocurrency price busts, democratic deficits, raging inflation, profound social inequality and austerity, spiralling energy costs and what has been dubbed a global crisis in mental health mean complex societies are facing an extended period of existential uncertainties. Mutually implicative, these crises of the past, present and possible future are interacting in such ways that bring volatility, complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty to societies and individuals, often in completely unforeseeable, unintended and unpredictable ways.

Interest for health tourism and its subcategories is rapidly groving througout the world. Thermal tourism take its share from this interest too. Individuals who seek to gain their health back or to preserve their current health condition attend to thermal tourism activities with an increasing demand. This growing demand encourages the businesses to improve themselves in terms of competitiveness. However, when it is the matter of health, thermal tourists' needs and demands from the destinations and businesses they have been are much more different then mass tourists' demands and needs. Thus, it is crucial to have knowledge about thermal tourists' expectations and service quality perceptions for the owners or the managers of the businesses who consider to enter to the market or who desire to increase their market share. In this context, this study aims to determine the thermal tourist's service quality, destination image perceptions and their relationship with revisit intention. In addition, this study aims to determine destination image's mediating role in service quality and revisit intention. In order to achieve the these aims, related literature is reviewed and data is gathered from the thermal hotels in Balcova and Gonen regions. A total of 343 tourists participated to study. Data is analysed through ANOVA, T test, correlation and regression analysis. Findings show that there are significant relationships between service quality, destination image perceptions and revisit intentions of thermal tourists. Also results revealed that destination image has a mediating effect on service quality and revisit intention relationship.

This study aims to explore the personal changes of Chinese youth from their working holiday experiences in New Zealand. By drawing on semi-structured interviews, this study recruited thirty-four Chinese working holiday makers (WHMs) in New Zealand. A modified thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the interview transcriptions. Five themes have been developed, including independence, bravery, tolerance, marriage attitudes, and friends making. The findings of this study demonstrate the complexities and multi-dimensions of Chinese WHMs' personal changes during their working holiday experiences and contribute to the literature by delving into the relationship between these personal changes and the social-cultural context in which they are from. The findings also offer insightful suggestions for future studies.

The main aim of this article is to identify the factors affecting the level of tourist satisfaction in Pafos. Namely, the study proposes that these factors are quality of services, low cost, aesthetic appeal/nature and society/culture. A questionnaire was created and a random sample of tourist was selected in order quantitative analysis to be conducted. Appropriate statistical techniques were applied to investigate among others, the factor with the largest contribution to the overall tourist satisfaction in Pafos. In addition, the tourists intention to revisit Pafos was examined and its association with their overall satisfaction.

Bu çalışma, çalışanların demokratik liderlik algılarının örgütsel muhalefet ve yaratıcılık üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktadır. Anket ile işgörenlerin görüşlerine ulaşıldı. Örneklemi Antalya ve İzmir'deki beş yıldızlı otellerde çalışan 785 kişi oluşturmuştur. Çalışmada demokratik liderlik, örgütsel muhalefet ve yaratıcılık ile ilgili tüm alt boyutlar yapısal eşitlik modellemesi ile analiz edilmiş ve tüm faktörler açıklayıcı faktör analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Ayrıca değişkenler için korelasyon katsayıları hesaplanmıştır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre, çalışanların demokratik liderlik algıları ile örgütsel muhalefet davranışları arasında orta düzeyde pozitife yakın bir ilişki vardır. Ayrıca çalışanların demokratik liderlik algıları ile örgütsel yaratıcılık davranışları arasında orta düzeyde pozitif bir ilişki bulunmuştur.

This study aims to explore the relationship coworker supports, employee quality of work life, and wellbeing. In the field study research, data were collected hotels employee in Cesme, Izmir. The analysis revealed that coworker support, employee quality of work life and wellbeing correlated positively. In the analysis, it was noticed that, coworker support and employee quality of work life effects on wellbeing. The findings of the study will provide the importance of coworker support and quality of work life on employee wellbeing in hotels. These conclusions may be helpful for hotel human resources managers in increasing the employee wellbeing.

Beach resorts in the Philippines today are familiar with how to gain a competitive advantage for the business to succeed: to satisfy guests. The study was conducted to determine the mediating effect of satisfaction on the relationship between destination image and behavioral intention of sun and beach tourism in Island Garden City of Samal. The study administered a quantitative, non-experimental design of research using the correlational technique and utilized an adapted survey questionnaire which was randomly distributed to 303 guests from beach resorts in Samal Island. Data were statistically treated and analyzed using Mean, Pearson r, regression technique, and med graph using Sobel z-test. Findings revealed significant relationships between satisfaction, destination image, and behavioral intention. Further, the data results elicited the mediating effect of satisfaction on the relationship between destination image and behavioral intention. This signifies that the mediating role acted by satisfaction stimulated in elucidating the process responsible for the relationship between destination image and behavioral intention. This study introduces a comprehensive framework on the most significant influence of destination image on tourists' behavioral intention through the satisfaction that can be used by the resorts' management, the City Tourism Office, and the Local Government Unit (LGU). In other words, they should work closely together to understand tourists' behavior toward revisiting and recommendations by adequately shaping the image of the destination, both perceived and branding, which can be achieved through assessing and monitoring aspects that need innovation and change. Paving the way for satisfaction to act as a moment of truth when those pre-travel expectations meet the travel experience affecting future intentions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between employees’ CSR perceptions and their career satisfaction. Moreover, the mediating roles of organizational pride, organizational embeddedness, and psychological capital in the relationship between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction are also examined. Finally, the moderating roles of internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity in the relationship between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction are investigated. A cross-industry sample of employees from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was collected. The results show that CSR perceptions positively affect career satisfaction. Organizational pride, organizational embeddedness, and psychological capital mediate the link between CSR perceptions and career satisfaction. Both dimensions of moral identity (internalized moral identity and symbolic moral identity) positively moderate the effect of CSR perceptions on career satisfaction.

The spectacular growth and adoption of the Internet has created a myriad of opportunities in the field of marketing. These opportunities include not only promotion and customer relationship management but also market research. Tourism academics have been slow in following tourism operators and consultants in using the Internet as a research tool. This reluctance is partly due to concerns about the reliability and validity of Internet samples. This paper contrasts an onsite sampling method with a self-selected online sample. Both samples responded to the same questions about a popular tourist destination in Australia. The findings indicate significant differences between the onsite and online samples. The online sample had significantly more female respondents. There were also major differences in travel motives, perceptions of destination attributes and information sources used. The online survey appeared to be affected quite substantially by coverage error and non-response bias. This suggests that researchers and tourism operators should be cautious about the temptation to use self-selected online surveys instead of onsite surveys, particularly for destination or location specific studies.

Attendees from academia, industry, government, and other organizations converged for the Seventh Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management (AHTMM) conference in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus from 10-15 July 2017. The conference was organized by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), in collaboration with Washington State University, U.S.A. The main objective of the conference was to provide a unique platform for a wide range of stakeholders and scholars in tourism to actively exchange, share and challenge state-of-the-art research and industrial case studies on the topics of hospitality, tourism marketing and management. The conference, which was held in the Rauf Raif Denktas Culture and Congress Center, attracted an immense amount of attention. Out of the submissions of approximately 160 delegates, a double-blind peer review process was used to accept 126 papers to be presented. Representing a plethora of geographical diversity, attendees from more than 30 countries including Australia,

The main aim of this article is to identify the factors affecting the level of tourist satisfaction in Pafos. Namely, the study proposes that these factors are quality of services, low cost, aesthetic appeal/nature and society/culture. A questionnaire was created and a random sample of tourist was selected in order quantitative analysis to be conducted. Appropriate statistical techniques were applied to investigate among others, the factor with the largest contribution to the overall tourist satisfaction in Pafos. In addition, the tourists intention to revisit Pafos was examined and its association with their overall satisfaction.

Tourism industry has a hag influence on international economy and many countries have started considering this fact. Evan industrial developed countries claim the necessity of investment on this sector. Development in tourism industry caused increasing competition for attracting tourists by applying the most appropriate marketing strategies and techniques .failure in promotional strategies pertaining , results losing the opportunity of profiting in a competitive world .Furthermore ,the sustainability of this industry is dependent to maintaining tourist, attraction resources and conserving environmental and cultural integrity. This paper tries to study promotional strategies, in a theoretical overview and discuss development of sustainable tourism in Iran .

Drawing on an extended road trip from England to India undertaken by two Indian travellers in the 1950s, this paper challenges the dominant travel stories and Eurocentric academic accounts that persistently privilege western tourists. Focusing upon the literary desires that shaped their British itinerary and a dramatic encounter in Egypt, we highlight two distinctly different experiences that emerged during their journey. We demonstrate how a swirl of larger historical events and processes marked the time in which they travelled, with the encounters, places and incidents they experienced informed by the dissipation of colonial alliances and the emergence of postcolonial connections.

The research aims to examine scientific publications on tourism guidance published between 1870-2022 based on certain criteria and to subject them to bibliometric analysis. Scientific publications on tourism guidance were obtained from the Scopus database on January 3, 2022, and a total of 621 scientific publications were reached. The title tab was used to access scientific publications. A search was made with five different keywords: “tour guide” or “tourist guide” or “tour guiding” or “tourist guiding” or “tourism guidance”. VOSviewer program was used to perform bibliometric analysis with visual mapping technique. Scientific publications on tourism guidance were examined in terms of publication years, author names, research areas, document types, sources, keywords, institution names, sponsors, countries, languages, citations, etc. The results of the research indicated that the most research on tourism guidance was done in 2020, the authors who published the most were Gavalas and Kenteris, the most publications were made in the field of computer science, the most scientific publications were written in article type, the institution with the most publications was Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the country that was published the most is America and the majority of the publications were in English. On the other hand, it was concluded that one of the authors who cooperated most with the analysis program used was Bennewitz, the institutions were located in South Korea and Germany, and the country was America. Another result is that the most cited document is “The tourist guide: The origins, structure, and dynamics of a role”, the source is Annals of Tourism Research, the author is Weiler, the institution is the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the country is America.

Research Question: The present study intends to study the effect of employees’ perception of their hotel’s sustainability practices and motive to undertake those practices on their identification with the organization and their intentions to quit. Motivation: Over the past few years, the hotel industry has heeded to the need of sustainability, but its effect on human resource outcomes needs attention. Earlier research reports that adopting sustainable practices enhances the reputation of the organisations, and positively impacts the employees’ organisational identification and intention to stay in the organisation. The bearings of such practices are seen in the expected cash flows and growth of the industry. Idea: The core idea behind this research was to investigate the effect of perceived sustainability activities and motive attribution on human resource outcomes. In the study, perceived sustainability activities and motive attribution were the independent variables whose effect w...

As the Tourism is increasing globally with the rise in number of International tourists every year where travelling has become an inseparable part of lifestyle but the fact cannot be ignored that it may actually cause stress, and rise in anxiety and tension at different phases of travel which may cause negative experience among International tourists. Thus, this study will contribute to the knowledge of source of travel stress, destination factors and how tourists coming to Bangkok manage and reduce it. As the awareness about the travel-related stress is still less so it is necessary to know what the role of travel organizations is in dealing with tourist's stress problems in Bangkok. Qualitative research method is used for the collection of data and in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted during 28th February 2020 to 6th March 2020 with 10 International tourists and 2 travel organizations in Bangkok and for the data analysis constant comparison method was used. Results indicate that travel-related stress arises at the initial stage, which is pre-trip phase, continues with during trip phase, at destination and ends with post trip phase. The stress coping methods adapted by International tourists are social support, relaxation, entertainment, meditation, management of trip, and destination activities such as enjoying nightlife in Bangkok. Also, this study reveals that travel organizations provide destination knowledge, safety measures, travel alternatives, guidelines to staff, address complaints, offer compensation, to help tourist prevent from stressful situation in Bangkok.

Abstract. The paper aims to investigate the possible relationship between tourism supply chain and strategic partnership, read as a way to reduce and better manage the complexity in tourism industry. The previous studies on satisfaction in tourism have attracted the attention of practitioners and academicians, but its consequences on tourists revisit intention at traditional retail has not been widely carried out. This study aims to explain the factors that influence satisfaction as well as its consequences on revisit intention of tourists at the traditional souvenir market in Bali through the supply chain management (SCM) system. In addition, it also explained the role of sources of WOM (offline and online) as a moderator of the relationship between service quality and product quality towards tourist satisfaction. A survey was conducted from foreign tourists who visited and experienced to shop souvenirs at the traditional market in Bali. The data were analyzed using the SEM-PLS app...

Taking a break between completing high school and entering university is common overseas, and is becoming more popular in Australia. There are many reasons why young people take a gap year. It may be to travel, to take a break, to study, or to work. Our definition of a ‘gapper’ is a young person who commenced university one to two years after completing Year 12. While the concept of a gap year is related to the deferral of a university offer, it is different. Some gappers have deferred, others decide to enrol during their gap year, not beforehand. Similarly, some who defer a university offer subsequently do not take up a place and are thus not defined as gappers. This report was prepared for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in 2009 prior to the Australian Government’s announcement of proposed changes to Youth Allowance as an initiative in the 2009—10 Budget and the subsequent reforms based on recommendations from the Review of student income support re...

Tourism, a critical contributor for many countries around the world, encourages growth and development. The objective of the submitted research study is to examine theoretical concepts for rural and urban industry, to compile fundamentals for urban and rural tourism in the environment supporting sustainability and then the obtained knowledge is systemised and factors important for development of tourism industry are emphasised and discussed. Considering the importance and value that tourism contributes to a country and economy, the relationships, and important traits that constitute Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index are examined in this study for selected countries from the Central and Eastern European and Middle East region, and comparisons are included in the study. The research object is tourism industry and opportunities of tourism industry in rural Slovakia in contradiction in urban tourism example of Dubai (UAE). Selected statistic data are compared for these countries and evaluated. At last recommended strategies for tourism are highlighted to encourage growth in these economies, as well as for use in other economies.

Travelling to other countries to get health service is not a new phenomenon. But the effects of globalization have led to the development of medical tourism as a new economy. Turkey, which offers price advantage, touristic beauty and well equipped health institutions; is one of the choice for medical tourists who seek to medical treatment overseas. Under the purpose of examining the motivational behaviors and perceptions of the medical tourists in Turkey, data were collected through survey method and the field study was conducted on 172 medical tourists overall the Turkey. According to the results, there is a significant relationship among each of the promotional strategies, perceptions of values, perceptions of service quality and; overall satisfaction and future intention.

The role of universities in attracting postgraduate students to achieve a research university status has attracted the attention of scholars. While there is growing consensus that branding and internationalization is important, the relationship between a university’s research status, its strategy and its ability to attract postgraduate students is still unclear. Furthermore, on closer inspection, empirical studies that assess the impact of both brand image and students’ satisfaction on postgraduates’ brand/institution loyalty are lacking. Hence, this study aims to address this knowledge gap and attempts to extend previous studies on brand image by integrating satisfaction constructs into the framework. The main objective of this research is to develop a model of Research University brand image which is capable of delivering students’ satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, this research examined and identifies key dimensions or indicators and analyse the perspectives of postgraduate ...

The objective of the present research is to understand and examine hostel experiences of travellers visiting hostels operating in Göreme province of Cappadocia region. Within the context of usergenerated content, data were collected between 27 February and 6 March 2019 from online reviews and comments at hostelworld.com online platform and content analysis has been utilized to examine data. Results indicated differences as well as commonalities prior researches in terms of hostel experiences' characteristics. The findings show that hostel experiences are multifaceted and heterogeneous based on factors of cleanliness and facilities, location, atmosphere, security, staff/owner, price/value for money, social atmosphere, food experience, authentic experience and memorable experience. The presence of food, authentic and memorable experiences have emerged as distinct factors accelerating the quality of hostel experiences that travellers gain. Further implications for hostel managers and recommendations for future researches are also presented.

Purpose Employees’ turnover intention is a key problem that hotel managers face daily. This is partially explained by the inevitability of performing tasks with little significance and low identity. This study aims to understand how job embeddedness and job satisfaction could lessen the undesirable effect of task characteristics on turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 525 employees operating in 46 Portuguese hotels was used in this study. The questionnaire included demographic variables and four reliable instruments used to measure job satisfaction, job characteristics, job embeddedness and turnover intentions. The study used a multilevel statistical approach considering both the individual and the hotel levels of analysis. Findings Through multilevel statistics, the findings suggest that both at the individual level and the hotel level of analysis, job satisfaction and job embeddedness fully mediated the relationship between different task characteristics (s...

The aim of this research is to reveal the effects of brochures and virtual reality, which are among the promotional tools in destination marketing, on the purchasing intention and compare the results of these two promotional tools. The theoretical background of the research was established within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). 120 potential tourists living in Eskişehir who intend to go on holiday, have been reached during the implementation phase of the research. Two questionnaires, i.e. the brochure involvement and virtual reality involvement questionnaires, were obtained from the participants. The data were analyzed through Smart PLS v.3.2.7. Research findings demonstrate that virtual reality is more successful in the perceived service quality and product attitude development. However, the effect of the brochure on the development of advertising attitudes is higher. Some suggestions are presented in line with the results of the research.

This study aims to examine several variables that influence consumer loyalty in consumer purchasing behavior. Experience quality is chosen as one of the variables that affect customer perceived value and customer satisfaction to create customer loyalty. This primary research focus is on the experience quality variable where consumer behavior in the visiting experience can be analyzed as a business strategy in tourism and culinary. This study uses a quantitative approach to this type of explanatory research. The outdoor cafe with natural nuances is a place for distributing questionnaires that are distributed directly to 168 respondents with the criteria that visitors are 18 years old and have visited the café at least once. The SEM-PLS analysis method was used as a tool for analyzing research results. The study results prove that experience quality has a positive and significant effect on customer perceived value and customer satisfaction. Customer perceived value demonstrates a positive and significant direct impact on customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction also has a positive and significant immediate impact on customer loyalty. The results of this study also confirm that experience quality has an indirect effect on the variable of customer loyalty through customer perceived value and customer satisfaction.

RedDoorz has become one of the brands that is easily found in every city in Indonesia past 5 years. In that time, many investors have collaborated with RedDoorz because there are cultural shift, especially young people who like to vacation during their holidays. This study aims to examine whether the brand anthropomorphism and culture about holiday affect their intention in visiting hotels labeled RedDoorz. The survey was conducted in Yogyakartaand Central Java using questionnaires to 92 young people who became respondents. The collected data were processed using SPSS 2.5 with moderation regression analysis techniques. The results obtained by Brand Anthropomorphism have a positive and significant effect on visiting intentions and culture moderates the influence of Brand Anthropomorphism on visit intentions, so it can be concluded that culture greatly influences psychology and the way of thinking of humans, especially young people in making a decision to visit RedDoorz.