Search results for: tourism promotion

Authors: Ladaporn Pithuk

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This research attempts to explore the satisfaction of international tourists toward Thai economy and Bangkok attributes. Due to tourism industry provides high rate of revenue for Thailand, and the outcome from this business drives every sections of Thailand. Unfortunately, some incidents in the country, such as some turmoil, have ruined the city’s image which obviously impacts to tourism industry. Hence, this survey was established to better understand the tourist’s satisfaction in these matters. The size of this research was 400 international tourists who visit Bangkok, Thailand during the 1st – 20th March 2009 and age between 20 – 65 years. The results reveal that tourists satisfy with all of Bangkok’s attributes including general attractions, heritage attraction, maintenance factors and cultural attraction. Also, tourists’ perception toward Thai politics is significantly related to their satisfaction of Bangkok’s attributes but their perception toward Thai economy is not significantly correlated to their satisfaction of Bangkok’s attributes.

Keywords: Bangkok’s attributes, satisfaction of international tourists, Thai economy, and tourism industry

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Authors: Milena Lakicevic

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The paper deals with the problem of optimizing management options for urban parks within different scenarios of nature protection and tourism importance. The procedure is demonstrated on a case study example of urban parks in Novi Sad (Serbia). Six management strategies for the selected area have been processed by the decision support method PROMETHEE. Two criteria used for the evaluation were nature protection and tourism and each of them has been divided into a set of indicators: for nature protection those were biodiversity and preservation of original landscape, while for tourism those were recreation potential, aesthetic values, accessibility and culture features. It was pre-assumed that each indicator in a set is equally important to a corresponding criterion. This way, the research was focused on a sensitivity analysis of criteria weights. In other words, weights of indicators were fixed and weights of criteria altered along the entire scale (from the value of 0 to the value of 1), and the assessment has been performed in two-dimensional surrounding. As a result, one could conclude which management strategy would be the most appropriate along with changing of criteria importance. The final ranking of management alternatives was followed up by investigating the mean PROMETHEE Φ values for all options considered and when altering the importance of nature protection/tourism. This type of analysis enabled detecting an alternative with a solid performance along the entire scale, i.e., regardlessly of criteria importance. That management strategy can be seen as a compromise solution when the weight of criteria is not defined. As a conclusion, it can be said that, in some cases, instead of having criteria importance fixed it is important to test the outputs depending on the different schemes of criteria weighting. The research demonstrates the state of the final decision when the decision maker can estimate criteria importance, but also in cases when the importance of criteria is not established or known.

Keywords: criteria weights, PROMETHEE, sensitivity analysis, urban parks

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Authors: Anilkumar L. Rathod

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This paper examines event tourism as a field of study and area of professional practice updating the previous review article published in 2015. In this substantially extended review, a deeper analysis of the field's evolution and development is presented, charting the growth of the literature, focusing both chronologically and thematically. A framework for understanding and creating knowledge about events and tourism is presented, forming the basis which signposts established research themes and concepts and outlines future directions for research. In addition, the review article focuses on constraining and propelling forces, ontological advances, contributions from key journals, and emerging themes and issues. It also presents a roadmap for research activity in event tourism. Published scholarly studies within this period are examined through content analysis, using such keywords as knowledge management, organizational learning, hospitality, tourism, tourist destinations, travel industry, hotels, lodging, motels, hotel industry, gaming, casino hotel and convention to search scholarly research journals. All contributions found are then screened for a hospitality and tourism theme. Researchers mostly discuss knowledge management approach in improving information technology, marketing and strategic planning in order to gain competitive advantage. Overall, knowledge management research is still limited. Planned events in tourism are created for a purpose, and what was once the realm of individual and community initiatives has largely become the realm of professionals and entrepreneurs provides a typology of the four main categories of planned events within an event-tourism context, including the main venues associated with each. It also assesses whether differences exist between socio-demographic groupings. An analysis using primarily descriptive statistics indicated both sub-samples had similar viewpoints although Maharashtra residents tended to have higher scores pertaining to the consequences of gambling. It is suggested that the differences arise due to the greater exposure of Maharashtra residents to the influences of casino development.

Keywords: organizational learning, hospitality, tourism, tourist destinations, travel industry, hotels, lodging, motels, hotel industry, gaming, casino hotel and convention to search scholarly research journals

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Authors: Maulita Sari Hani, Abraham B. Sianipar, Jamaluddin Jompa, Natsir Nessa, Alan T. White

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Manta ray is an icon for tourism in Raja Ampat. The tourist volume has been increased for the past ten years which up to approximately 23,000 tourists in 2017. Since 2013, Conservation International Indonesia deployed satellite and acoustic tags on manta ray in Dampier strait to track the species and identify the aggregation areas. These findings encourage the government and the local community to boost conservation through the management of marine protected areas for tourism purposes. Community in Dampier strait including the village of Arborek, Kurkapa, Kapisawar, and Sawingray involved in variety of small scale tourism business including homestay, dive shop, tour operator, and crafts. Working groups of related local businesses were established to support the local community and to ensure the sustainability of the economic viability and environmental sustainability. In order to analyze the economic benefits of manta ray tourism, this study was conducted to identify the number of local business in Dampier Strait and the economic impacts in terms of local finance security, social, humanity, individual, and physical assets. The results of this study identify 30 homestays, 2 dive shops, 10 tour operators, 30 women involved in crafts, and about 50 villagers worked for dive resorts. In addition to community assets, we confirmed the welfare of community has been improved in terms of food security, households, education for children, savings, and health insurance.

Keywords: marine wildlife tourism, elasmobranch, conservation, ecotourism, co-management, economic viability, environmental sustainability

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Authors: Nivethika Ajeethan, Lord Abbey, Svetlana Yurge

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Riboflavin is a water-soluble vitamin and the direct precursor of the flavin cofactors flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. Flavins (FLs) are bioactive molecules that have a beneficial effect on plant growth and development. Sinorhizobium meliloti strain 1021 is an α-proteobacterium that forms agronomically important N₂-fixing symbiosis with Medicago plants and secretes a considerable amount of FLs (FL⁺ strain). This strain was also implicated in plant growth promotion in its association with non-legume host plants. However, the mechanism of this plant growth promotion is not well understood. In this study, we evaluated the growth and development of tomato plants inoculated with S. meliloti 1021 and its mutant (FL⁻ strain) with limited ability to secrete FLs. Our preliminary experiments indicated that inoculation with FL⁺ strain significantly increased seedlings' root and shoot length and surface area compared to those of plants inoculated with FL⁻ strain. For example, the root lengths of 9-day old seedlings inoculated with FL⁺ strain were 35% longer than seedlings inoculated with the mutant. Proteomic approaches combined with the analysis of plant physiological responses such as growth and photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and chlorophyll content will be used to evaluate the host-plant response to bacteria-derived FLs.

Keywords: flavin, plant growth promotion, riboflavin, Sinorhizobium meliloti

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Authors: Jian-You Wang, Feng Yi Hsu, Chieh-Hsi Wu

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Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is an androgen-dependent disorder caused by excess testosterone in blood capillaries or excess enzyme activity of 5α- reductase in hair follicles. Plants, alone or in combination, have been widely used for hair growth promotion since ancient times in Asia. In this study, the efficacy of a traditional Chinese herbal formula, Shen-Ying-Yang-Zhen-Dan (SYYZD) with different kinds of extract solvents, facilitating hair regrowth in testosterone-induced hair loss have been determined. The study was performed by treating with either 95 % ethanol aqueous extracts, 50% ethanol aqueous extracts or deionized water extracts orally in four-week-old male S.D. rats that experienced hair regrowth interruption induced by testosterone treatment. The 50% ethanol aqueous extracts group showed better hair regrowth promotion activities than either 95% ethanol aqueous extracts or deionized water extracts groups in 14 days treatment. In conclusion, our results suggest that 50% ethanol aqueous SYYZD extracts have hair growth promoting potential and may be beneficial as an alternative medicine for androgenetic alopecia treatment.

Keywords: Shen-Ying-Yang-Zhen-Dan, androgenic alopecia, hair loss, hair growth promotion, hair regrowth effect

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Authors: Malek Jamaliah, Robert Powell

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In spite of the influence of climate change on tourism destinations, particularly those rely heavily on natural resources, little attention paid to study the appropriate adaptation efforts to cope with, moderate and benefit from the impacts of climate change. The existing literature indicated that the research of climate change adaptation in the tourism and outdoor recreation field is at least 5-7 years behind other sectors such as water resources and agriculture. In Jordan, there are many observed changes in climate patterns such as higher temperatures, decreased precipitation and increased severity and frequency of drought. Dana Biosphere Reserve (DBR), the largest protected area and the major eco-tourism destination in Jordan, is facing climate change, which gradually degrading environment, shifting tourism seasons and changing livelihood and lifestyle of local communities. This study aims to assess climate change adaptation practices and policies used in DBR to cope with climate change related-risks. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key informants in DBR to assess climate change adaptation practices. Direct content analysis (or a priori content analysis) was used to determine the components and indicators of climate change adaptation. The results found that DBR has implemented a wide range of adaptation practices, including infrastructure development, diversification of tourism products, environmentally-friendly practices, visitor management, land use management, rainwater collection, environmental monitoring and research, environmental education and collaboration with stakeholders. These diverse practices implicitly and explicitly play an important role in coping with the social, economic and environmental impacts caused by climate change. Finally, this study demonstrated that climate change adaptation is closely related to sustainable management of eco-tourism.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, dana biosphere reserve, ecotourism, sustainable management

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Authors: Bushra Alghamdi, Alla Alsharif, Hamzah Aljohani, Saba Kassim

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Introduction: Collaborative work has always been acknowledged as a fundamental concept in delivering oral health care. Aim: This study aimed to assess the perception and attitude of pharmacists in oral health promotion and to determine the confident levels of pharmacists in delivering advice on oral health problems. Methods: An observational cross-sectional survey, using self-administered anonymous questionnaires, was conducted between March and April 2017. The study recruited a convenience sample of registered community pharmacists who were working in local private pharmaceutical stores in the urban area of Madinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A preliminary descriptive analysis was performed. Results: Thirty-five pharmacists have completed the surveys. All participants were males, with a mean age of 35.5 ( ± 6.92) years. Eighty-six percent of the participants reported that pharmacists should have a role in oral health promotion. Eighty percent have reported adequate level of confident when giving advice on most of the common oral health problems that include; oral health related risk behaviors such as tobacco cessation (46%), bleeding gums (63%) and sensitive teeth (60%). However, higher percentages of pharmacists have reported low confident levels when giving advice in relation to specific domain of dentistry, such as lost dental fillings (57%), loose crowns (60%), trauma to teeth (40%), denture-related problems (51%) and oral cancer (6.9%). Conclusion: Community pharmacists recognized their potential role in promoting oral health in KSA. Community pharmacists had varying levels of ability and confidence to offer support for oral health. The study highlighted that inner professional collaboration between pharmacists and dental care healthcare should be enhanced.

Keywords: community, oral health, promotion, pharmacist

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Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Namdari, Hosein Torki

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Security as an abstract concept, has involved human being from the beginning of creation to the present, and certainly to the future. Accordingly, battles, conflicts, challenges, legal proceedings, crimes and all issues related to human kind are associated with this concept. Today by interviewing people about their life, the security of societies and Social crimes are interviewed too. Along with the security as an infrastructure and vital concept, the economy and related issues e.g. welfare, per capita income, total government revenue, export, import and etc. is considered another infrastructure and vital concept. These two vital concepts (Security and Economic) have linked together complexly and significantly. The present study employs analytical-descriptive research method using documents and Statistics of official sources. Discovery and explanation of this mutual connection are comprising a profound and extensive research; so management, development and reform in system and relationships of the scope of this two concepts are complex and difficult. Tourism and its position in today's economy is one of the main pillars of the economy of the 21st century that maybe associate with the security and social crimes more than other pillars. Like all human activities, economy of societies and partially tourism dependent on security especially in the public and social security. On the other hand, the true economic development (generally) and the growth of the tourism industry (dedicated) are a security generating and supporting for it, because a dynamic economic infrastructure prevents the formation of centers of crime and illegal activities by providing a context for socio-economic development for all segments of society in a fair and humane. This relationship is a formula of the complexity between the two concept of economy and security. Police as a revealed or people-oriented organization in the field of security directly has linked with the economy of a community and is very effective In the face of the tourism industry. The relationship between security and national crime index, and economic indicators especially ones related to tourism is confirming above discussion that is notable. According to understanding processes about security and economic as two key and vital concepts are necessary and significant for sovereignty of governments.

Keywords: economic, police, tourism, social security

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Authors: Cornellia Ayu, Putrianti Herni, Saptoto Robertus

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In the context of global tourism and creative economies, digital maturity has become a crucial factor for the sustainable development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper explores the journey toward digital maturity among SMEs in Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, focusing on their empowerment to foster sustainable tourism and creative economy growth. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative interviews with SME owners and quantitative surveys to assess their digital capabilities and readiness. Data were collected from a diverse sample of SMEs engaged in various sectors, including crafts and culinary services. Findings reveal significant gaps in digital literacy and infrastructure, impeding the full realization of digital benefits. However, targeted interventions, such as digital training programs and the provision of affordable technology, have shown promise in bridging these gaps. The study concludes that enhancing digital maturity among SMEs is vital for their competitiveness and sustainability in the modern economy. The insights gained can inform policymakers and stakeholders aiming to bolster the digital transformation of SMEs in similar contexts.

Keywords: digital maturity, small medium enterprises, digital literacy, sustainable tourism, creative economy

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Authors: Mamman Jimoh Ahmadu, Sanusi Abubakar Sadiq, Eldah Ephraim Buba

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In modern societies, stress has become a widespread phenomenon and therefore an issue of major concern to employees, organizations, and the state. As senior management of an organization, executives are not immune to this problem because they carry out lots of activities while on duty. This paper is centered on the benefits of Tourism, Leisure and Recreation to the management of executive stress. Executives work has always been considered to be stressful. The key objective of the research is to gain a better understanding of the causes of stress among executives and to find out how tourism, leisure, and recreational activities could be used as a means to managing stress. Interview and observation data were analyzed using SPSS. The major finding revealed that that human system has specific limitations and nature cannot be cheated. It is recommended that executives should take regular and mandatory vacation of least forty days in a year. The only answer then is rest. The research recommends that a break tends to improves and relaxes, refreshes the mind and enhances performance.

Keywords: executive, recreation, stress, tourism

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Authors: V. A. Ritchie

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The loss of life and livelihood experienced after the magnitude 9.3 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004 and magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011, has raised global awareness and brought tsunami phenomenology, nomenclature, and representation into sharp focus. At the same time, travel and tourism continue to increase, contributing around 1 in 11 jobs worldwide. This increase in tourism is especially true for coastal zones, placing pressure on decision-makers to downplay tsunami risks and at the same time provide adequate tsunami warning so that holidaymakers will feel confident enough to visit places of high tsunami risk. This study investigates how well tsunami preparedness messages are getting through for tourist-based businesses in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand, a region of frequent seismic activity and a high probability of experiencing a nearshore tsunami. The aim of this study is to investigate whether tourists based businesses are well informed about tsunamis, how well they understand that information and to what extent their clients are included in awareness raising and evacuation processes. In high-risk tsunami zones, such as Hawke’s Bay, tourism based businesses face competitive tension between short term business profitability and longer term reputational issues related to preventable loss of life from natural hazards, such as tsunamis. This study will address ways to accommodate culturally and linguistically relevant tourist awareness measures without discouraging tourists or being too costly to implement.

Keywords: tsunami risk and response, travel and tourism, business preparedness, cross cultural knowledge transfer

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Authors: Fiffy Hanisdah Saikim, Bruce Prideaux

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One of the aims of wildlife tourism is to educate visitors about the threats facing wildlife, in general, and the actions needed to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity. Annually, millions of tourists visit natural areas and zoos primarily to view flagship species such as rhinos and elephants. Venues rely on the inherent charisma of these species to increase visitation and anchor conservation efforts. Expected visitor outcomes from the use of flagships include raised levels of awareness and pro-conservation behaviors. However, the role of flagships in wildlife tourism has been criticized for not delivering conservation benefits for species of interest or biodiversity and producing negative site impacts. Furthermore, little is known about how the connection to a species influences conservation behaviors. This paper addresses this gap in knowledge by extending previous work exploring wildlife tourism to include the emotional connection formed with wildlife species and pro-conservation behaviors for individual species and biodiversity. This paper represents a substantial contribution to the field because (a) it incorporates the role of the experience in understanding how tourists connect with a species and how this connection influences pro-conservation behaviors; and (b) is the first attempt to operationalize Conservation Caring as a measure of tourists’ connection with a species. Existing studies have investigated how specific elements, such as interpretation or species’ morphology may influence programmatic goals or awareness. However, awareness is a poor measure of an emotional connection with an animal. Furthermore, there has not been work done to address the holistic nature of the wildlife viewing experience, and its subsequent influence on behaviors. Results based on the structural equation modelling, support the validity of Conservation Caring as a factor; the ability of wildlife tourism to influence Conservation Caring; and that this connection is a strong predictor of conservation awareness behaviors. These findings suggest wildlife tourism can deliver conservation outcomes. The studies in this paper also provide a valuable framework for structuring wildlife tourism experiences to align with flagship related conservation outcomes, and exploring a wider assemblage of species as potential flagships.

Keywords: wildlife tourism, conservation caring, conservation awareness, structural equation modelling

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Authors: Najith Duminda Galmangoda Guruge, Nadeeka Rathnayake, Vinodani Wimalasena, Dinesha Wijesooriya

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Investing in Early Learning can improve children’ interests for education and makes them ready for school. Children in economically disadvantaged communities may have reduced readiness for schools. Health Promotion approach enables communities including disadvantaged to control over their health. Mothers of children under the age five in ‘Alapathwewa’ community (n=40) were selected as the sample with the aim to promote early learning of children to improve their school readiness. Mothers in ‘Morakeewa’ community (n=40) were the control. Interventions were for a period of 2 years and children of these mothers were followed up to school entry. Importance of early learning and possibility of providing quality learning environments for children at a low cost was discussed with mothers in an experimental setting by facilitators. Mothers were enabled to make age-appropriate baby rooms which provide learning opportunities. Collective community playhouses and play areas were developed by mothers to provide opportunities for children to interact and learn with each other. Mothers started discussing with each other and sharing experiences. The progress was monitored by mothers at regular intervals. Data regarding school competencies of children were obtained from school teachers. School teachers measured thirteen competencies of children on a scale of ‘very good, good, moderate and weak’. All children in the experimental group were in ‘very good’ level in two competencies, ‘communicate friendly with others’ and ‘express ideas well’. Children in the experimental group reported a significantly higher achievement of all thirteen competencies (p < .05) than children in control. Providing quality early learning environments for children even in economically disadvantaged settings makes them ready for schools. Through a Health Promotion approach, early learning experiences for children can be provided at a low cost.

Keywords: disadvantaged, early learning, economically, health promotion

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Authors: Sania Sana, Afnan Nasim, Usman Malik, Maroof Tahir

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The aim of this research is to scrutinize the interdependent relationship between terrorism and behavioral changes in the tourism activities in Pakistan with the moderating impact of a unique variable titled 'Financial Risk Tolerance'. The article looks at the inter-reliant relationship with the alleged political and economic aspects and behavioral changes in the tourists and the consumers by these variables over time. The researchers used many underlying theories like the catastrophe theory by (Svyantek, Deshon and Siler 1991), information integration theory (Anderson 1981, 1982) and prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky 1979) to shape the study’s framework as per tourist decision making model. A sample of around 110 locals was used for this purpose and the data was gathered by convenience sampling. The responses were analyzed using regression analysis. The results exhibited how terrorism along with the influence of financial risk tolerance had inclined a behavioral shift in the travelling patterns and vacation destination choice of the local tourists. Lastly, the paper proposes a number of suggestive measures for the tourism industry and the legislative bodies to ensure the safety of travelers and to boost the tourist activities in the vacation industry of Pakistan.

Keywords: terrorism, tourism, financial risk tolerance, tourist decision-making, destination choice

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Authors: Nadeesha Sewwandi, Dilini Shashikala, Rajarathnam Kanapathy, Shivakumaran Viyasan, Saman Kumara, Duminda Guruge

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Introduction: Nutrition is fundamental for good health and development during the early years of life. This study describes how rural community does interventions for improving the nutrition and health of children less than 5 year ages using health promotion approach and this study was conducted with children society and mothers groups in a rural village called Welankulama in Sri Lanka. Methodology: The details got from Public Health Midwife in this village showed there were malnourished children under 5 years age. So, we discussed this problem with the children society, mothers groups and identified the determinants with them. Then they wanted to address some of the determinants that they prioritized from their discussions. ‘Evening school’ was a new place to this village to do collective feeding for small children. ‘Mobile library’ was another new concept in this village and nutrition books, evidence collection were there to read for villagers. Mothers marked the foods given to their kids in a book called ‘Nutrition book’. And also mothers tend to mark the level of eating foods to motivate their children in a ‘Hapana calendar’. Results: In terms of results, malnourished children under 5 years age got reduced and the number of children having illnesses got reduced. Marking nutrition book and ‘Hapana calendar’ were become as trend among mothers. Apart from the above, there was good improvement of physical, social and emotional wellbeing of children. Children who received early stimulation with nutrition supplements had better outcomes than children who only received nutrition supplements, thereby amplifying the impact of nutrition. Conclusion: Health promotion interventions are helped to change nutritional behaviors of early childhood in rural community and it makes children healthier and better able to learn.

Keywords: early childhood, nutrition, determinants, health promotion process

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Authors: Chris Durden, Peter Lane

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Cost accounting information potentially plays an important role in price setting. According to prior research fixed and variable cost information often is a key influence on pricing decisions. The literature highlights the benefits of applying systematic costing systems for enhanced price setting processes. This paper explores how costing systems are used for pricing decisions in the tourism and hospitality industry relative to other sources of price setting information. Pricing based on full cost information was found to have relatively greater importance and short-term survival and customer oriented objectives were found to be the more important pricing objectives. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a recent analysis of accounting’s role in price setting within the tourism and hospitality industry.

Keywords: cost accounting systems, pricing decisions, cost-plus pricing, market pricing, tourism industry

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Authors: Mohamed Bualhamam

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Due to the complex nature of tourism resources of the Northern part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the potential of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) in resolving these issues was used. The study was an attempt to use existing GIS data layers to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth and give some specific recommendations to protect the area. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources, public agencies and citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas. The paper concludes that applications of GIS and RS in study of urban growth impact in tourism resources are a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision-making. The study area is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. The increase in population along the region, as well as rapid growth of towns, has increased the threat to natural resources and archeological sites. Satellite remote sensing data have been proven useful in assessing the natural resources and in monitoring the changes. The study used GIS and RS to identify sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources that may be threatened by increased urban growth. The result of GIS analyses shows that the Northern part of the UAE has variety for tourism resources, which can use for future tourism development. Rapid urban development in the form of small towns and different economic activities are showing in different places in the study area. The urban development extended out of old towns and have negative affected of sensitive tourism resources in some areas. Tourism resources for the Northern part of the UAE is a highly complex resources, and thus requires tools that aid in effective decision making to come to terms with the competing economic, social, and environmental demands of sustainable development. The UAE government should prepare a tourism databases and a GIS system, so that planners can be accessed for archaeological heritage information as part of development planning processes. Applications of GIS in urban planning, tourism and recreation planning illustrate that GIS is a strong and effective tool that can aid in tourism planning and decision- making. The power of GIS lies not only in the ability to visualize spatial relationships, but also beyond the space to a holistic view of the world with its many interconnected components and complex relationships. The worst of the damage could have been avoided by recognizing suitable limits and adhering to some simple environmental guidelines and standards will successfully develop tourism in sustainable manner. By identifying sensitive natural environment and archaeological heritage resources of the Northern part of the UAE, public agencies and private citizens are in a better position to successfully protect important natural lands and direct growth away from environmentally sensitive areas.

Keywords: GIS, natural environment, UAE, urban growth

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Authors: Nino Abesadze, Marine Mindorashvili, Nino Paresashvili

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At present actual tourism indicators cannot be calculated in Georgia, making it impossible to perform their quantitative analysis. Therefore, the study conducted by us is highly important from a theoretical as well as practical standpoint. The main purpose of the article is to make complex statistical analysis of tourist expenses of foreign visitors and to calculate statistical attractiveness indices of the tourism potential of Georgia. During the research, the method involving random and proportional selection has been applied. Computer software SPSS was used to compute statistical data for corresponding analysis. Corresponding methodology of tourism statistics was implemented according to international standards. Important information was collected and grouped from major Georgian airports, and a representative population of foreign visitors and a rule of selection of respondents were determined. The results show a trend of growth in tourist numbers and the share of tourists from post-soviet countries are constantly increasing. The level of satisfaction with tourist facilities and quality of service has improved, but still we have a problem of disparity between the service quality and the prices. The design of tourist expenses of foreign visitors is diverse; competitiveness of tourist products of Georgian tourist companies is higher. Attractiveness of popular cities of Georgia has increased by 43%.

Keywords: tourist, expenses, indexes, statistics, analysis

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Authors: Hoda Manafian, Stephen Holland

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Problem statement: Rural areas in Iran are one of the most popular tourism destinations. Abyaneh Village is one of them with a long history behind it (more than 1500 years) which is a national heritage site and also is nominated as a world heritage site in UNESCO tentative list from 2007. There is a considerable foundation of religious-cultural heritage and also agricultural history and activities. However, this heritage site suffers from mass tourism which is beyond its social and physical carrying capacity, since the annual number of tourists exceed 500,000. While there are four adjacent villages around Abyaneh which can benefit from advantages of tourism. Local managers also can at the same time prorate the tourists’ flux of Abyaneh on those other villages especially in high-season. The other villages have some cultural and natural tourism attractions as well. Goal: The main goal of this study is to identify a feasible development strategy according to the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of rural tourism in this area (Abyaneh Village and four adjacent villages). This development strategy can lead to sustainable management of these destinations. Method: To this end, we used SWOT analysis as a well-established tool for conducting a situational analysis to define a sustainable development strategy. The procedures included following steps: 1) Extracting variables of SWOT chart based on interviewing tourism experts (n=13), local elites (n=17) and personal observations of researcher. 2) Ranking the extracted variables from 1-5 by 13 tourism experts in Isfahan Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO). 3) Assigning weights to the ranked variables using Expert Choice Software and the method of Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). 4) Defining the Total Weighted Score (TWS) for each part of SWOT chart. 5) Identifying the strategic position according to the TWS 6) Selecting the best development strategy based on the defined position using the Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) matrix. 7) Assessing the Probability of Strategic Success (PSS) for the preferred strategy using relevant formulas. 8) Defining two feasible alternatives for sustainable development. Results and recommendations: Cultural heritage attractions were first-ranked variable in strength chart and also lack of sufficient amenities for one-day tourists (catering, restrooms, parking, and accommodation) was firs-ranked weakness. The strategic position was in ST (Strength-Threat) quadrant which is a maxi-mini position. According this position we would suggest ‘Competitive Strategy’ as a development strategy which means relying on strengths in order to neutralization threats. The result of Probability of Strategic Success assessment which was 0.6 shows that this strategy could be successful. The preferred approach for competitive strategy could be rebranding the market of tourism in this area. Rebranding the market can be achieved by two main alternatives which are based on the current strengths and threats: 1) Defining a ‘Heritage Corridor’ from first adjacent village to Abyaneh as a final destination. 2) Focus on ‘educational tourism’ versus mass tourism and also green tourism by developing agritourism in that corridor.

Keywords: Abyaneh village, rural tourism, SWOT analysis, sustainable strategies

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Authors: Marvin Eslava

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The over-arching aim of this research is to determine the potential contribution of local food resources to the tourism growth of Nueva Vizcaya. It reviews some of the underpinning concepts and to provide a set of considerations for stakeholders to maximize the opportunity of local food can offer to businesses and the wider community. The basis of the study is to develop a sustainable food tourism model for Nueva Vizcaya. For the purpose of this research, there were 60 total numbers of respondents classified as samples from a six municipality. The respondents of the study were stakeholder consisting of government official, local producers, businessman and Non-government organizations in the selected municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya. Stratified purposive sampling was the appropriate technique that was used to the local government officials and employees, NGOs including the businessmen who are associated with local food resources and local producers. The documentary study, focus group discussion and survey questionnaire was used in order to meet the objectives of the study. Kruskall Wallis test was used to test the variances the ratings of the participants. This was used in the computation of hypothesis. The study concluded that the province of Nueva Vizcaya is blessed for its rich farmlands and fertile mountain soil boasts to produce high quality agricultural products. It is a home of various different indigenous groups creating a wide range of local cuisine. The province has substantial local food development evidence by the various food tourism related resources, increase in facilities and celebrating food tourism related events. The local food resources provide extensive potential economic empowerment and help in building the identity of the province. In addition, the local food resources extensively enhance the agriculture sector and other attractions in the province. Finally, it helps to preserve the authenticity of the food culture and generated pride among all stakeholders extensively. All stakeholders have the same perception on the potential contribution of local food resources to the development of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. The public and private sectors are cognizant on their roles to support the production of local food resources in Nueva Vizcaya. Major challenges and barriers in the development of sustainable food tourism in Nueva Vizcaya include production or supply and marketing.

Keywords: local food resources, contribution, food tourism, benefits

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Authors: Adedeji S. Adegoke, Olakunle N. Popoola

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Promotion is indispensible and inestimable property of marketing through which different organizations persuade their prospective customers. The idea of passing information about a product to the consumer at outside the world is known as promotional activities. A study was determined whether there was relationship between promotional mix and consumer buying decision, that is may be customers were influenced by promotion. It was investigated to determine whether promotion can be used to influence competitors’ activities in the market and also research was conducted to determine if there was any problem encountered by Nigeria bottling company plc, in promoting its beverages products. The various forms of promotional mix available for an organization were examined and recommended the appropriate promotional mix that company can adopt to boost the company sales. The research design was depended on the primary and secondary data. The primary data were information collected from the subjects using methods of data collection, that is through the use of questionnaire, interview, direct observation, etc. The secondary data consist of information that already exists having been collected for another purpose by some researchers. These include internal and external sources. The questionnaire was designed and administered to the staff of production and marketing department of Nigeria bottling company plc., which served as the population of this study, out of which sample was drawn randomly from the population, using sample random technique. It was deduced that 90% of the respondents opined that advertising influenced competition in the market and that there was a good sale after they started advert while 10% of them were not sure. At advertising level, 85% of the respondents chose 81-100% as the increase in the percentage recorded in their sales level, while 10% of them agreed that increase in the percentage recorded in their sales was within 61-80% and 5% of them chose 45-60% as the percentage increase in their sales record. Due to unstable economic condition of the Nigeria, many business organizations adopted the promotional strategies. Apart from advertising, it was discovered through research that sales promotion served as an incentive to consumers of Nigeria bottling company plc at a time offer gifts and prizes to consumers which drastically increased their level of sales. Since advertising and sales promotion increased the level of sales, more money should be allocated for this purpose to maintain market share and thereby increase profit.

Keywords: consumer, marketing, organization, promotional mix

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Authors: Ivan Gunass Govender, Andrea Giampiccoli

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A developmental state should use community engagement to facilitate socio-economic development for disadvantaged groups and individual members of society through empowerment, social justice, sustainability, and self-reliance. In this regard, community-based tourism (CBT) as a growing market should be an indigenous effort aided by external facilitation. Since this form of tourism presents its own preconditions, characteristics, and challenges, it could be guided by higher education institutions engagement. In particular, the facilitation should not only serve to assist the community members to reach their own goals; but rather also focus on learning through knowledge creation and sharing with the engagement of higher education institutions. While the increased relevance of CBT has produced various CBT manuals (or handbooks/guidelines) documents aimed to ‘teach’ and assist various entities in CBT development, this research aims to analyse the current monitoring & evaluation (M&E) manuals and thereafter, propose an M&E model for CBT. It is important to mention that all too often effective monitoring is seldom carried out thus risking the long-term sustainability and improvement of the CBT ventures. Therefore, the proposed model will also consider some inputs external to the tourism field, but in relation to local economic development (LED) matters from the previously proposed development monitoring and evaluation system framework. M&E should be seen as fundamental components of any CBT initiative, and the whole CBT intervention should be evaluated. In this context, M&E in CBT should go beyond strict ‘numerical’ economic matters and should be understood in a holistic development. In addition, M&E in CBT should not consider issues in various ‘compartments’ such as tourists, tourism attractions, CBT owners/participants, and stakeholder engagement but as interdependent components of a macro-ecosystem. Finally, the external facilitation process should be structured in a way to promote community self-reliance in both the intervention and the M&E process. The research will attempt to propose an M&E model for CBT so as to enhance the CBT possibilities of long-term growth and success through effective collaborations with key stakeholders.

Keywords: community-based tourism, community-engagement, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholders

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Authors: Ildikó Balatoni, Nikolett Kosztin

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In this study the importance of maintaining the mental and physical health of employees was examined from the perspective of the employers. To this end companies in Hajdú-Bihar county of Hungary that are within in the TOP 100 based on their net revenue were interviewed. Economic sectors that were represented the most in this survey were processing, services, trade, agriculture, and construction. We examined whether or not companies provided any benefits to their employees concerning health awareness. Among respondents those who offered various services of medical specialists and/or discounted gym or swim passes in addition to compulsory medical examinations were hard to find, however more employers organize health and sports days. Nevertheless, a significant albeit very shallow positive correlation were found between the number of offered benefits vs. total gross income and vs. number of employees (r2=0.2555, p<0.001 and r2=0.1196 and p<0.05, respectively). In conclusion, while workplace health promotion is necessary it requires a change in employers’attitudes.

Keywords: corporate health promotion, employees, employers, health

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Authors: Ruth Estrada Javier - Reyes

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The study assessed the status of HTM program of selected private higher education institutions for internationalization across the eleven regions of the country. The descriptive survey method of research was used in this study. A devised survey questionnaire was utilized to gather information about the status of Philippine Higher Education Institutions’ internationalization of hospitality and tourism management education programs. The respondents were 12 administrators, 17 deans and program heads, 104 faculty members and 860 HTM students. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and F-test were used to treat the data. The results of the study are as follows: HEIs’ HTM education had complied with the policies/standards of CHED as per CMO No. 30 S. 2006. The respondents of the HTM education program were qualified for internationalization as assessed both by administrators and faculty. The private HEIs are ready to apply for international certification of their HTM education programs. The curriculum of HTM education programs in private HEIs are enriched by internationalization requirements. The administrators and faculty of HTM education programs are qualified educators but have limited participation in collaborative international research and linkages. The HEIs are qualified to apply for the internationalization of the Hospitality and Tourism Management education program in preparation to the ASEAN 2015.

Keywords: status, Hospitality and Tourism Management Program, internationalization, Private Higher Education Institutions

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Authors: Djamel Boussaa

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Cultural heritage and tourism have become during the last two decades dynamic areas of development in the world. The idea of heritage is crucial to the critical decision-making process as to how irreplaceable resources are to be utilized by people of the present or conserved for future generations in a fast changing world. In view of the importance of ‘heritage’ to the development of a tourist destination the emphasis on developing appropriate adaptive reuse strategies cannot be overemphasized. In October 1999, the 12th general assembly of the ICOMOS in Mexico stated, that in the context of sustainable development, two interrelated issues need urgent attention, cultural tourism and historic towns and cities. These two issues underscore the fact that historic resources are non-renewable, belonging to all of humanity. Without adequate adaptive reuse actions to ensure a sustainable future for these historic resources, may lead to their complete vanishing. The growth of tourism and its role in dispersing cultural heritage to everyone is developing rapidly. According to the World Tourism Organization, natural and cultural heritage resources are and will remain motivating factors for travel in the foreseeable future. According to the experts, people choose travel destinations where they can learn about traditional and distinct cultures in their historic context. The Qatar rich urban heritage is now being recognized as a valuable resource for future development. This paper discusses the role of cultural heritage and tourism in regenerating Souk Waqif, and consequently the city of Doha. Therefore, in order to use cultural heritage wisely, it will be necessary to position heritage as an essential element of sustainable development, giving particular attention to cultural heritage and tourism. The research methodology is based on an empirical survey of the situation, based on several visits, meetings and interviews with the local heritage players. The rehabilitation project initiated since 2004 will be examined and assessed. Therefore, there is potential to assess the situation and propose directions for a sustainable future to this historic landmark. Conservation for the sake of conservation appears to be an outdated concept. Many irreplaceable natural and cultural sites are being compromised because local authorities are not giving economic consideration to the value of rehabilitating such sites. The question to be raised here is 'How can cultural heritage be used wisely for tourism without compromising its social sustainability within the emerging global world?'

Keywords: cultural heritage, tourism, regeneration, economy, social sustainability

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Authors: Rute Martins, Margarida Mascarenhas, Elsa Pereira

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The importance between sport and the natural environment was researched through a systematic literature in order to analyse the available scientific articles on the association of sport -angling also the physical activity, active leisure and recreation- and environmental behaviour. The collected data were gathered within the last five years (from 2013 to April 2018) in the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Sage, Green Leaf Online Library, GreenFile (EBSCO) and Wiley online Library databases. The content analysis based on the qualitative methods employed in this study was made with Nvivo software. Regarding only the inclusion of scientific articles, more than half of the collected papers highlighted tourism as the main area where sports is being researched with regard to the environmental theme. Thus, it is possible to extract a perspective of the orientations of the ecological concerns in the sports tourism industry. As such, in the winter sports, the climate change is already an identified issue, wondering about the impact of the environment on the sports practice. In this context, there is a focus on the possible adaptative strategies, researching the characteristics of the sports tourist and the winter sports industry. Regarding the natural parks and protected areas (such as reefs), most of the research is on the environmental impact of the sports tourism, choosing the conservation and the protection of nature as the core topics. The research of the sports tourist profile is addressed by many articles, where the motives for practice and the environmental values are being scanned, and relations to the recreation specialization, environmental responsibility, environmental education, and place-attachment concepts are being made. Regarding the sustainable management, the sports tourism study area is approaching the research in a more holistic way; exploring the stakeholder’s interconnection, focusing on landscape planning and environmentally sustainable practices of sport tourism organizations. The natural parks, protected areas, coral reefs, and snow areas serve as the preferred case-studies for investigating the environmental impact and the ecotourism, in particular, studied through hiking and diving in the great majority. The results of the study are a valuable resource to understand the importance of the sports tourism in the environmental and sustainable action along with the need of embracing all stakeholders within the relationship between the sport and the natural environment.

Keywords: ecotourism, environmental behaviour, outdoor recreation, sport tourism

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Authors: Ligia Alberto

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This study examined the underrepresentation of women of color in school leadership roles. Using social capital as the theoretical framework, this study explored the role of mentoring relationships in the career advancement and promotion of Latina school leaders. This study showed that informal mentoring relationships are essential to the promotion of women of color. Most of the mentoring relationships were established through close work with their immediate supervisors. This study suggests having informal mentors facilitated Latina women's aspirations to become school leaders and counteract the pattern of underrepresentation of Latinas in such roles.

Keywords: women of color, school leadership, social capital, mentoring

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Authors: László L. Lippai

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In addition to the fact that mental health bears great significance to a particular individual, it can also be regarded as an organizational, community and societal resource. Within the Szeged Health Promotion Research Group, we conducted mental health surveys on two levels: The inhabitants of a medium-sized Hungarian town and students of a Hungarian university with a relatively big headcount were requested to participate in surveys whose goals were to define local government priorities and organization-level health promotion programmes, respectively. To facilitate professional decision-making, we defined three, pragmatically relevant, groups of the target population: the mentally healthy, the vulnerable and the endangered. In order to determine which group a person actually belongs to, we designed a simple and quick measurement tool, which could even be utilised as a smoothing method, the Mental State Questionnaire validity of the above three categories was verified by analysis of variance against psychological quality of life variables. We demonstrate the pragmatic significance of our method via the analyses of the scores of our two mental health surveys. On town level, during our representative survey in Hódmezővásárhely (N=1839), we found that 38.7% of the participants was mentally healthy, 35.3% was vulnerable, while 16.3% was considered as endangered. We were able to identify groups that were in a dramatic state in terms of mental health. For example, such a group consisted of men aged 45 to 64 with only primary education qualification and the ratios of the mentally healthy, vulnerable and endangered were 4.5, 45.5 and 50%, respectively. It was also astonishing to see to what a little extent qualification prevailed as a protective factor in the case of women. Based on our data, the female group aged 18 to 44 with primary education—of whom 20.3% was mentally healthy, 42.4% vulnerable and 37.3% was endangered—as well as the female group aged 45 to 64 with university or college degree—of whom 25% was mentally healthy, 51.3 vulnerable and 23.8% endangered—are to be handled as priority intervention target groups in a similarly difficult position. On organizational level, our survey involving the students of the University of Szeged, N=1565, provided data to prepare a strategy of mental health promotion for a university with a headcount exceeding 20,000. When developing an organizational strategy, it was important to gather information to estimate the proportions of target groups in which mental health promotion methods; for example, life management skills development, detection, psychological consultancy, psychotherapy, would be applied. Our scores show that 46.8% of the student participants were mentally healthy, 42.1% were vulnerable and 11.1% were endangered. These data convey relevant information as to the allocation of organizational resources within a university with a considerable headcount. In conclusion, The Mental State Questionnaire, as a valid smoothing method, is adequate to describe a community in a plain and informative way in the terms of mental health. The application of the method can promote the preparation, design and implementation of mental health promotion interventions. 

Keywords: health promotion, mental health promotion, mental state questionnaire, psychological well-being

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Authors: Nuchanat Handumrongkul, Suwaree Yordchim, Anantachai Aeka

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Despite four years of study in the tourism industry, the Bachelor’s graduates cannot perform their jobs as experienced tour guides. This research aimed to develop French teaching and studying for Tourism with two main purposes: to analyze ‘Moves’ used in oral presentations at tourist attractions; and to study content in guiding presentations or 'Guide Speak'. The study employed audio recording of these presentations as an interview method in authentic situations, having four tour guides as respondents and information providers. The data was analyzed via moves and content analysis. The results found that there were eight moves used; namely: welcoming, introducing oneself, drawing someone’s attention, giving information, explaining, highlighting, persuading, and saying goodbye. In terms of content, the information being presented covered the outstanding characteristics of the places and well-integrated with other related content. The findings were used as guidelines for curriculum development; in particular, the core content and the presentation forming the basis for students to meet the standard requirements of the labor-market and professional schemes.

Keywords: moves, guiding presentation, french, tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 218