Intangible Cultural Heritage and Management of Educational Tourism

Travel has been advocated as a fortifying ground for experiential learning that can engage individuals in numerous experiences through the observation of the destination society and culture. In spite of the vast literature available about the link between tourism and experiential learning outcomes, there are limited studies that gauge educational tourists' familiarity with the intangible cultural heritage of their host communities. Particularly, this study focuses on local food, which is known as a marker of the destination culture and an intangible heritage that plays an inevitable role in almost any tourism experience. Correspondingly, the current exploratory study took an experiential learning approach to understand educational tourists' knowledge about local foods in Cyprus. The findings of the research revealed that educational tourists have very meager knowledge of local foods. The discussion is accordingly provided.

A Generations' Perspective on Employer Branding in Tourism

The tourism industry is facing tremendous challenges from labor shortages and a resulting loss of competitiveness. Changing digital environments as well as young people's communication habits and ideas regarding work-life balance are raising human resources related questions, to which currently no answers exist. In light of this issue, this chapter focusses on employer branding as a way to motivate present employees and attract new ones. It includes a discussion of different theories of workplace motivation, followed by a look at payment and further education issues. The so-called Generations Y and Z are investigated in the context of the labor shortage, and the generation concept itself is critically reflected. Furthermore, labor force aspects and working conditions in tourism are examined, with specific evidence from Austria. Finally, the discussion outlines an employer branding strategy as a way to address this problem.

Gender and Tourism

An increasing number of women occupy positions in the labour market that were previously restricted to men. This is, however, still limited by the dual roles of working women. This chapter aims to address gender issues in the tourism industry. Specifically, it focuses on female participation in the labour market, highlighting the characteristics of women in leadership positions. A case study approach was used, focusing on female leaders in the hotel sector in Fortaleza, Brazil. An exploratory qualitative study was developed through semi-structured interviews, which aimed to gather data on the career path of female leaders. The collected data allowed understanding how these women reached top-level positions, and their leadership styles. Results indicate that early entry into the labour market, dedication, education, entrepreneurial skills, and dynamic personality are instrumental and work directly affects family relationships, being the cause of some problems in their personal lives.

Soft Skills vs. Hard Skills in Tourism

This chapter presents a qualitative study, resulting from a systematic literature review using a text analysis technique through the NVivo software, version 10.0. This technique involves grouping words that reveal semantic similarity to each other and results indicate that considerations around soft and hard skills in tourism have been different over time. In short, it might be said that it is hard skills that lead people to job interviews, but it is soft skills that allow them to be recruited for employment. Hence, it is the combination of the two skill types that enables people to have a job in the tourism industry, manage a career, and contribute to the differentiation of tourism companies in the tourism global marketplace that tends to be increasingly competitive.

The Role of Nature Sports Guides to Sustainable Local Development

The overall aim of this case study was to understand the role of nature sports guides in promoting sustainable local development. The study adopted a qualitative and descriptive case study approach. Data was collected from participant observation in one nature sports tourism company established in the area of Coimbra region in the centre of Portugal, as well as in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews applied to a sample of 30 nature sports guides working in nature sports tourism companies, established in the same region. The data collected from both participant observation and interviews were analysed through categorical content analysis. The findings reveal that the nature sports guides have already adopted certain sustainability practices in the analysed dimensions. However, the greatest focus of the nature sports guides is the instrumental role. Findings of this study are important for both the industry and academy and some strategies will be discussed so that the great potential of nature sports for the promotion of sustainable local development can be reached.

Human Capital in Tourism

This chapter is a proposal of exogenous and endogenous practical tourism planning which therefore requires the completion of its construction. In this sense, it is necessary for tourism activities to be socialized, developed, questioned, and reformed by indigenous people, actors, and institutions involved with the planning of the municipality of Bahía Solano. The authors summarize the typology of tourism in sociological context with the aim of Colombian perspectives of social and regional development planning in a destination located on the coastline of Pacific Ocean. The main focuses of this chapter are human resources, people management, and planning in tourism with practical examples of Colombian research in the selected zone.

Designing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems to Support Resource Management in the Tourism Industry

The primary aim of this chapter is to review the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems as it relates to the tourism sector. The authors do this in order to develop an understanding of the needs of the human resource management needs of tourism entrepreneurs. The experience of tourism entrepreneurs is documented in the academic literature. Jaafar and Rasoolimanesh report that the tourism industry is an important catalyst for regional economic activity. Therefore, the importance of this sector has caught the attention of policy makers and academics. However, research has identified that the area lacks the presence of effective and evidence-based theory. In this chapter, the authors review the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems as it relates to the tourism industry. They provide recommendations for customizing entrepreneurial supports and ecosystems to maximize the success of human resource management and human capital development amongst tourism entrepreneurs.

Company Internships

Practical experience has increasingly become an important component of university training. Institutions have made efforts to provide students with the opportunity to experience business reality. To many students, a curricular internship is the first contact with the work market. The present work analyses this discipline in the context of the Master in Tourism Planning and Management of the University of Vigo. The research universe encompasses 182 internships, which took place from 2008 to 2014. Data was collected through structured questionnaires, which aimed to obtain information on the students' specific areas of interest within the tourism industry, their level of satisfaction with the internship program and whether they were hired by the host company afterwards. The findings show that both parts—students and companies—are highly satisfied with the experience in great majority of cases, and that curricular internships have been an indispensable tool for preparing these students to the demanding tourism industry labor market.

Human Capital Management in the Tourism Industry in Portugal

Although there is a sustained and sustainable consumption and use of resources underlying it, tourist visitation always has a strong human component. Competitiveness in the tourism industry requires professionals with a set of skills integrated in the domain of “knowing how to do” and “knowing how to be.” Portugal has extraordinary tourism resources and potential on which a relevant activity with a growing weight in the country's economy is being developed. Therefore, there are many challenges in order to ensure a competitive and high-quality tourism offer, being the dynamizing and mobilizing core of the country's economic and social sectors. In 2017, Portugal registered a record number of 20.6 million tourists, according to CIP data. For this reality to have a sustained term growth, it depends on the possibility of companies “driven” by knowledge to access highly skilled human resources familiar with new technological developments. This chapter explores human capital management in the tourism industry in Portugal.

Impact of Tacit Knowledge on Tourist Loyalty

Given the prevailing competitive market conditions, establishing long-term relationships proves a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Tacit knowledge, as the only resource developed in the intellect, in the competences and the experiences built up by the human resources available, would seem appropriate to constructing competitive advantage. Within this framework, firm employees become marketing managers in terms of developing relationships given that every type of contact generates information that facilitates a relational-based philosophy. In rural tourism, with its own very specific characteristics, tacit knowledge may contribute towards fostering loyalty and may also help in determining the requisites clients are seeking. This chapter proposes a model highlighting the importance of tacit knowledge in developing loyalty in rural tourism lodgings across its cognitive, technical, and social dimensions. The results show that tacit knowledge does improve the performance of employees in engaging in affective bonds and better understanding the needs and expectations of clients.