Green Energy in the Caribbean: Influence on Toursim and Economic Development

The green energy agenda has become one of the most important issues in international relations. Many island states of the Oceania have taken the course of green economy construction. The Caribbean states are in some way similar to the Oceania ones and have also made several steps towards greener future. Some of these states are tightly connected with international tourism, leading to the high dependence of their economies from touristic revenues. The article examines this interconnection, including economic component in the analysis. The major question of the article is how does (or doesn’t) tourism influence the development of green energy in the Caribbean states. The two major economies examined in the region are Cuba and Dominican Republic as the two examples of the totally different economic systems and approaches to the development of the green energy. The key findings of the article include such conclusions as the possibility of synergetic interdependence between tourism, economy and green energy and the positive effects this interdependence has. The other finding is that the Cuban method of introducing green energy is less effective than the Dominican one. The novelty of the article includes the comparison of the two economic models in the Caribbean and the development of strategies for the green energy proliferation in the countries.

Historical Turning Points in Tourism: The Establishment of the Hotel Board in South Africa

The concept of “turning points” is increasingly applied to understand the evolution of tourism. Using archival research, it is demonstrated that a significant turning point for the evolution of tourism in South Africa occurred in 1964–1965 with the establishment of the Hotel Board and the beginnings of its operations. From 1928 government legislation produced a hotel industry in which most “hotels” were oriented more to liquor selling than the supply of accommodation services. This trajectory of the hotel industry continued into the 1960s. Arguably, the initiation of the Hotel Board was a turning point in the growth and modernization of the hotel sector and for the tourism industry in South Africa. Undertaken at a period of expansion in the domestic and international tourism industry as well as of rising government awareness as to the potential economic (and political) benefits from expanded tourism promotion the activities of the Hotel Board addressed the long standing shortcomings surrounding the quality and standards of provision of accommodation services in South African hotels. It represented a transition in the character of the tourist hotel in South Africa from one that was formerly dominated by liquor to an institution that—going forward—would be mainly concentrated on the provision of hospitality services.

Intercultural Dialogue as a Tool for Maintaining Sustainable Partnerships in Tourism

International partnerships have a reinforcing effect and lasting benefits for modern economy and social life. The principles of intercultural partnerships in tourism can be compared to other principles of sustainable development. This chapter recognises the ultimate role of sustainable development in the sphere of tourism, while applying the theory of intercultural dialogue as an approach to the SDG 17 and tracing back partnerships to the bridge where different cultures meet. Such meetings very often need a bridge to cross over cultural gaps. In view of the proposed research, one such bridge is presented by the International Tourism Fair Holiday and SPA EXPO 2020, and it is against the background of this event that the established partnerships mediated by intercultural dialogue are classified.

International Standardization in Tourism Services

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the importance of international standardization in tourism services with a view to the elimination of barriers to free movement of tourism services and its importance for consumers: visitors in tourism, when the international standards encourage consumers responsibility, enforce their legitimate demands, expectations, safety, and security. This contribution also describes the basic guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the tourism industry. These measures will contribute to the recovery of the tourism sector and restore the confidence of the traveler. Furthermore, the measures emphasize the possibilities of greater acceptance of international standards for tourism services in the post-COVID-19 period. They will also contribute to faster renewal of individual sectors/tourism services. At the same time, they contribute to reopening and engaging individual destination/countries in international tourism.

Influence of the pandemic on international tourism

The beginning of the global Covid–19 crisis in the world had a negative impact on the economies of various regions and countries, including the development of tourism as a separate branch of the national economy. International tourism experienced a serious downturn in 2020 and early 2021: due to the pandemic and lockdowns, the number of tourists dropped to 98 percent. The article analyzes the level of decline in global tourism, emerging around the world due to the Covid-19 crisis. In the course of the analysis, the author considers vulnerable areas of international tourism on the example of several associated groups. The analysis of the current state and development of international tourism used the method of partial abstraction to collect information and effectively search, group, process and summarize the necessary material. The study of the dynamics of three different economic indicators of the regions of Africa, America, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East using a comparative method, including the direct impact of tourism on GDP, exports and international tourism, allows to establish causal relationships and identify and mitigate the problems of international tourism. In particular, it is known that vaccination is a relevant mechanism for solving the emerging underlying problems.

Accommodation Capacity, Trade Openness and International Tourism Demand in Croatia

This paper investigates the determinants of international tourism demand in Croatia, a country whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism. A particular focus is placed on the role of accommodation capacity and trade openness, two demand drivers that have been rarely examined in combination. Using the difference GMM estimator, a dynamic panel model of international tourism demand in Croatia is estimated, employing annual data for 16 tourism generating countries from 2007 to 2019. The results show that the lagged dependent variable, income, accommodation capacity, and exchange rate have a positive effect on international tourism demand, while the impact of relative prices and trade openness prove to be irrelevant in the Croatian context.

Is the volatility of international tourism revenues affected by tourism source market structure? An empirical analysis of Turkey

This study examines the effect of tourism source market structure on the volatility of tourism revenues in Turkey, using the number of tourists according to nationality and the data on international tourism revenues. The tourism source market structure was measured using the normalized Herfindahl–Hirschman index and the relative entropy index, which is based on the number of tourists visiting Turkey from 107 source markets. The volatility of tourism revenues and the effect of tourism source market structure on this volatility were assessed using the autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) method. The results show that both variables measuring tourism source market structure affect the volatility of tourism revenues. Accordingly, the concentration of the tourism source market increases the volatility of tourism revenues, whereas source market diversification decreases it.

Impact of COVID-19 Over Airlines and International Tourism

Coronavirus has changed many activities and sectors, but nowhere else are they as accelerated, visible and direct as in the tourism industry. Travel restrictions due to the health crisis have severely damaged tourism, which has made an important contribution to any economy. As of April 2020, the aviation industry reports an 80% decline in flights compared to the same period in 2019. Depending on the duration of the crisis, the considered possibilities show that the potential decline varies between 60-80% in the international tourism economy in 2021. The aim of this study is to examine the negative impact of COVID-19 on airlines and international tourism. A number of universally valid scientific methods are applied in scientific research – observation, analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison and others. The result of the research is the specific measures for the development of tourism, related to health protocols for safe travel, information applications for visitors, campaigns to promote domestic tourism and a plan to restore tourism in destinations by promoting innovation and investment.

Methods of Covid-19 Crisis Management in the International Tourism and Civil Aviation Transport

Tourism and air transport are among the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic lasting more than a year is reflected in short-term effects in both sectors, but there are also severe long-term consequences. National authorities will have to set recovery plans following the relevant policies and encompass international cooperation with public and private entities. The article aims to identify the methods and procedures that can be implemented, which can mitigate the consequences of the crisis and initiate the renewal of international tourism and air transport in particular. The paper's methodology is based on current statistical data and strategic documents at the national and international level represented by the international organizations (esp. UNWTO, WTTC, IATA, ICAO, ECAC). The focus is on the crisis management of the public sector entities in terms of the definition and implementation of reconstruction strategies, on private sector stakeholders, on the interconnection of the tourism and the air transport sectors, and cooperation in the international environment. Methods and tools for the renewal of both sectors are based on a strategic approach of the public sector, support for the introduction of new business models in the private sector, change in the product and marketing mix, digitization, innovation, and education. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL TOURIST UKRAINE

Development of Ukraine as an abstractive destination of tourism flows is modern and urgent task. The implementation of priority involves a number of strategic of development of local tourism. The importance of international tourism as a type of business that has a multiplier effect on all sectors of the economy is determined. The main factors influencing the development of the tourism industry are analyze. Two periods of tourism development of the XXI century have been established: pre-covid (pre-pandemic) and post- covid (and post-pandemic). The peculiarities of the functioning of the world tourism sector in the reference period are clarify, indicating all the factors influencing the tourism sector. The tourism sector in world and domestic practice attracts significant investment funds that solve a number of problems of unemployment, income growth, replenishment of the revenue side of the budget. The available national tourist resources make it possible to consider Ukraine as an important tourist destination in Europe and to state its strong competitive potential. However, the available UNWTO statistics are striking for the mismatch between economic revenues from tourism and the volume of tourism flow. This suggests that the tourism potential of Ukraine is not fully disclosed, indicative of the weight of the tourism sector of Ukraine at 2% of GDP. It should be noted that until 2013 y. inclusive, the entry rate of foreigners and stateless persons in Ukraine had a clear upward trend, and since 2014-2015 years, it has decreased by 1.9 times. This is partly due to the end of Euro 2012 y. football and the events of the Revolution of Dignity (Euromaidan) and the beginning of the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, which led to the loss of territories. In 2016-2018 years, there is a growing trend in the segment of entry of foreigners and stateless persons. In 2019 y, the signs of the COVID-19 pandemic are noticeable, and there is a decrease in this indicator of tourist flows. Thus, if we briefly analyze the state of international tourism in Ukraine, we can conclude that it has stable growth rates in terms of travel abroad, and a decrease since 2014 in terms of entry. There are some restrictive requirements for the growth of inbound and domestic tourism flows. As already mentioned, this is primarily due to improper development of transport infrastructure and insufficient service, short holiday season, high transport tariffs and inflated prices for domestic services and hotels. Thus, the success of the country and its regions depends on the global environment in which drastic changes are possible only with a sharp external factor of natural or anthropogenic nature. The presence of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine creates additional problems. Creating new business models of tourism in which all these prerequisites are laid down is a strategic task of the country. The article point out the need for active promotion of domestic tourism, the structuring of image components of tourist areas, the expansion of promising kinds of tourist services and improving their and urban tourism. Key words. strategic directions, international tourism, Ukraine.