TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: THE CASE OF THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN JORDAN

This study is designed to assess and identify the status of hospitality training needs, methods and potential challenges within the hospitality industry, in order to recognize gaps and develop training programmes that address and enhance the competitiveness of small businesses within it. A qualitative approach was employed, whereby face-to-face and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 owners and managers of small businesses in the hospitality industry. Using thematic analysis, the study concludes that communication skills, especially foreign languages, are the most the important training need at both managerial and operational levels. Moreover, the study found that on-the-job training is one of the most important training methods. Furthermore, a lack of training budgets is found to be the most critical challenge to training. The study provides empirical evidence and practical implications for decision-makers in the hospitality industry.

COVID-19 and the Hospitality Industry

The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing public health policy measures to contain its spread have inevitably had profound effects on businesses throughout the world. While the pandemic has impacted every industry in all countries, hospitality is clearly the worst hit. This chapter explores the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry by focusing on accommodation and food service businesses in Turkey. By looking at government policies and changes in business activities in these sectors in response to the crisis, the authors discuss the measures policymakers and firms can take to mitigate the devastating impacts of the pandemic. Findings suggest that focusing on creating novel products and processes, collaboration and open innovation, informational and corporate advertising, as well as investment in quality and health security measures and trust building via communication are effective in moving forward with the new normal.

Deep Learning and Machine Learning Techniques for Analyzing Travelers' Online Reviews

Social media platforms play a tremendous role in the tourism and hospitality industry. Social media platforms are increasingly becoming a source of information. The complexity and increasing size of tourists' online data make it difficult to extract meaningful insights using traditional models. Therefore, this scoping and comprehensive review aimed to analyze machine learning and deep learning models applied to model tourism data. The study revealed that deep learning and machine learning models are used for forecasting and predicting tourism demand using data from search query data, Google trends, and social media platforms. Also, the study revealed that data-driven models can assist managers and policymakers in mapping and segmenting tourism hotspots and attractions and predicting revenue that is likely to be generated, exploring targeting marketing, segmenting tourists based on their spending patterns, lifestyle, and age group. However, hybrid deep learning models such as inceptionV3, MobilenetsV3, and YOLOv4 are not yet explored in the tourism and hospitality industry.