Relevance of Strategic Management of Human Resources in Travel Agencies

The strategic organizational direction must deal with the causes that give rise to changes in the organizations in each of their levels. The strategy is affected by the principles, values, and interests of all those who have power in their environment. This chapter reports the results obtained in the Relevance dimension, achieved during more than 3 years of theoretical and applied research that has taken place as a result of the Responsible Integral Management Model (GIR) based on the Human Resources of the companies of the tourism sector, as in the Colombian case.

REFUND FOR CANCELLED TRAVEL DURING THE PANDEMIC: COMMISSION DECIDES TO REFER SLOVAKIA TO THE COURT OF JUSTICE

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to assess the conformity of the Slovak solutions with regard to refunds for cancelled travels and their conformity with EU law, i.e. the Package Travel Directive. In the article, the position is analysed of the European Commission and its reflection to Slovak legislation on refunds of travels after cancellation of the breach concerning travels by the travel agencies. Method. Legal analyses regarding the Slovak amendment of Package Travel Act and comparison of its provisions with the Package Travel Directive. Findings. In the article, the way is described as to how the Slovak legislator solved the reimbursement for cancelled travels due to pandemic situation. Also provided is the statement regarding the reasoned opinion of the European Commission that followed the adoption of the amendment of the Slovak Package Travel Act. The authors analyse compatibility of the COVID PTA Amendment with European Union law. In the article, it is described that due to time constraints set by the COVID PTA Amendment for refund because of cancelled travels, non-compliance with EU legislation had probably expired by September 2021. Research and conclusions limitations. The research was focused on EU (Package Travel Directive) and Slovak legislation (Package Travel Act) and assessment of compliance of Slovak with EU law. Practical implications. The article draws attention to the question whether some effects of the COVID PTA Amendment will persist after September 2021 provided that the topical purpose of this legislation to postpone refund for travellers has already been accomplished by setting the deadline for 14 September 2021. Secondly, it raises the question of possible damage suffered by the individuals due to the breach of EU law by the Slovak Republic. Originality. As the article is focused on the most current situation, this topic has not been discussed by other authors in other studies. The authors assume a view that makes assessment regarding legality of the Slovak amendment for Package Travel Act with EU law. Type of paper. Research paper.

A Historical Review of Illegal Tour Guiding in Turkey

The tour guiding profession was much abused in the past while illegal guiding took place, and remains much the same nowadays. With the use of official documents, this paper outlines issues concerning illegal tour guiding from the past to the present. Document analysis as a qualitative research method was applied in this study. Archival research was carried out, and unpublished documents were analysed to contribute to the literature and shed light on the roots of illegal tour guiding. Archival data was combined with travel guidebooks, official reports, and court files. Despite regulations, problems concerning tour guiding continue to exist to the present day. More than ever before, illegal tour guides employed by travel agencies have become a threat to the employment of licenced guides. The number of illegal tour guides proves that current measures remain incapable of prohibiting illegal guiding activities. Touting seems to be the longstanding main motivation for illegal guides. Unethical guiding practices affect the established image of the destination country. From a historical perspective and underlining issues such as touting through unpublished archived documents and official reports, this paper contributes a detailed understanding of the defective points concerning the travel industry.

How do online hotel consumers perceive room rates?

While it has been perceived that hotel consumers using online travel agencies (OTAs) are overall price sensitive, a dominant use of OTAs in hotel booking suggests that there are more diverse consumers in terms of price perception. As such, this study investigates the price sensitivity of the Online Travel Agency (OTA) consumer segments, using price sensitivity measurement (PSM) by using factor analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed four OTA consumer segments, i.e., planned bargain seekers, enthusiastic shoppers, deal hunters, and apathetic shoppers. Differences in price sensitivity was confirmed among these segments. This study uncovers the characteristics of OTA consumers who are more (less) price sensitive. By using PSM, this study presents and compares the optimal pricing points across the customer segments in terms of monetary values. Based on the findings, this study provides theoretical and practical implications.

Efektivitas Pemberian Alokasi Kamar pada Biro Perjalanan Wisata: Kasus di Hotel The Kuta Beach Heritage Bali

Despite the rapid development of online travel agents who market hotel rooms via the internet, traditional travel agencies also still play an important role in marketing and booking hotel rooms. As The Kuta Beach Heritage hotel still utilizes and uses room marketing channels through offline travel agencies. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of providing room allocation or room allocation to travel agents at The Kuta Beach Heritage Bali. The data used is secondary data in the form of production from each travel agency and given room allocation. While the primary data was obtained through interviews with various related parties at the hotel. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that the utilization of room allocation by the travel agency had not been maximized or had not been able to achieve the target given by the hotel, which was 60%. The practical implication of this research is the need for innovative efforts to increase the production of room nights by both hotels and travel agencies

Components of DMZ Storytelling for International Tourists: A Tour Guide Perspective

This qualitative study investigated the process of Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) storytelling created by tour guides. It explored the strategies that DMZ guides use and their influences at this complex site. This study investigates the training of the guides, their viewpoints on the DMZ, and the factors that influence their storytelling, taking guide status into consideration. A total of thirteen tour guides were interviewed. The findings identify various storytelling components that are used to build relationships with tourists, deliver an immersive experience, and provide the core information and regulations of the tour. Therefore, the proposed conceptual model includes three components that contribute to the creation of a memorable experience: the guide and the tourists, the guide and the site, and the tourists and the site. The findings enrich the body of literature on storytelling and could be used by travel agencies to create new training programs for DMZ tour guides and travel package group management. In addition, DMZ tours could be redesigned to increase the effectiveness of storytelling.

Perception of Fairness of Interaction in Handling Complaints of Users of Travel Agency Services: Evidence from Serbia and Croatia

Service-dominant logic observes the user as a co-creator of value in the process of providing services. In the case of a complaint, as a result of dissatisfaction, the user and the travel agency become a co-creator of the value of service recovery. The perception of interactionist fairness is one of the determinants of a user’s complaint behaviour. Interactionist fairness is seen in the extent to which users consider to be treated fairly in terms of their interaction with a travel agency employee during the service recovery process. The research presented in this paper is based on determining the differences in perception of fairness of interaction in handling complaints of users of travel agency services in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics. The survey was conducted on a sample that included 297 respondents from the territory of Serbia and Croatia. The proposed hypotheses were tested using the Mann – Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The purpose of this paper is to point out to travel agencies the importance of users’ reactions to unsatisfactory service as a kind of reflection of cooperation in service recovery. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.