Policy Perspective of Tourism Sector

True, studies and research on tourism policy had a slow start, but today, most aspects of tourism policy are covered well in the literature, and notably, there has been a marked quickening in the pace of study over the past decade. There is proper documentation of the influences on policy, as are the roles of the different stakeholders in the policy process. This contrasts with the understanding of the work of the policymakers that are still incomplete or underdeveloped, as is the nature and influence of the different forms of policy output. The purpose of this chapter, based on one of the models of tourism policy making, is to examine the policy aspects for tourism development and examine the key issues therein. Adopting desk research approach and in-depth review of the literature, this chapter explores the issues regarding policy making and provides a policy perspective to this growing and dynamic sector.

Managing the Engagement of Sustainable Tourism in Natural Protected Areas Through Social Media

Tourism in protected natural areas is one of the main economic drivers of rural economies in Europe, and Spain is the European country with the highest number of protected areas awarded as sustainable destinations by the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. The involvement of both local businesses and tourists is vital to the effective management of sustainable tourism, and social media is increasingly becoming a relevant tool to this task. Taking these considerations into account, this chapter has two goals: first is to examine the online activities performed by tourists in Facebook pages of local tourist businesses, aiming to enhance customer engagement with sustainable tourism; second is to perform a comparative analysis on the impact and degree of engagement achieved of firms from different Spanish regions. Findings will contribute significantly to our understanding of the influence of social media in fostering citizen engagement with sustainable tourism.

Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurship in Hotel and Resorts

Sustainable tourism has been a focus of tourism worldwide. As the hospitality industry is a part of tourism which includes hotels and resorts and contributes a lot towards food and lodging, sustainability is a concern for the industry. Individuals have a perspective that hotelier's relationship toward environmental and societal concerns is rather secluded and intangible. Considering the size and the rapid growth of the hospitality industry, it makes it clear that environmentally sustainable action is essential. For sustainability to be effective, the best way is to engage the people from local communities. The aim is to promote socio-economic development of the tourist destination and the community considering the ecology best cared for by the locals. Tourism has to be developed in a manner so that the ecosystem is conserved with diversification of the economy leading to dispersal of ownership.

Knowledge Management in Tourism Services

This chapter aims to discuss the knowledge management in the travel services, since it has mobilized a variety of fields that seek to uncover the complexity of the process and the application contexts. In the era of globalization in which we live, the main factors that differentiate the companies and organizations depend increasingly on the quality of human capital management and knowledge management quality. This chapter analyzes how an organization of tourist services manages its knowledge. The methodology used was a qualitative analysis by applying an interview to a case study.

An Economic Analysis of the Evolution of the Tourism Sector in Bahrain

This chapter examines the evolution and the effects of tourism on the main economic indicators in Bahrain. Results show that, overall, the tourism sector is growing even though with some periods of disruption. However, the sector seems to be operating beneath its potential as can be seen from its concentration on interregional arrivals. Results show that tourism receipts are still much below the level of some countries in the region. However, the contribution of tourism receipts to GDP remains clearly above international average levels, while its contribution to exports is slightly above the average. In addition, the industry relies primarily on expatriate labor for employment. Results also indicate that the levels of investment and government spending remain relatively low in comparison to some countries in the Gulf. Given the great potential of the country, better results could be attainable if the country shows firm commitment to develop this sector.

Tourism Strategy in the Sun Triangle

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the tourism strategy used in the Triángulo Del Sol (Sun Triangle), Guerrero, by the theories of resources and institutions to generate proposals for their improvement. The methodology used was descriptive and analytical statistical contrasting theories and empirical evidence. Large amounts of public resources by the three levels of government have been earmarked; however, the results have not been significant.

Social Media as Information Sources and Their Influence on the Destination Image

Tourists use social media to share their experiences and obtain information about travel and tourism destinations. Information shared by tourists is different than information published by destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in the sense that it does not include formal messages and photographs. Some researchers have proven that user-generated content (UGC) through social media exerts an influence on the perceived image of a tourist destination and the motivations for visiting it. Tourists and travelers tend to use a combination of official and unofficial information to make travel decisions. Nowadays, there are still plenty of opportunities to advance destination image research using social media. With these ideas in mind, this chapter aims to review different types of Web 2.0 platforms and discuss their influence on destination image formation and sustainability perception.

Product Diversification in the Restaurant Industry as a Competitive Advantage

In this chapter, product diversification is analyzed in the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry is competitive and companies are constantly on the move, seeking competitive advantage. The result is that product diversification gives companies a competitive advantage.

Assessing Sustainable Tourism and Crisis Situations

Sikkim is the 22nd state situated in the Himalayas. It is a small, but beautiful state with endless potentialities for tourism. Tourism is estimated to contribute to around eight per cent of the state gross domestic product (GDP) in Sikkim and its importance has been increasing day by day. This beautiful alpine Himalayan state has a very relevant performance in exploring the quality of public life. At the same time, this distinctive bio-geographic region is fragile and prone to earthquake and other ecological problems arising from out of climate change and increasing industrialization. This chapter is an attempt to analyze the positive and negative socio-economic conditions on the backdrop of disaster management perspective in the state. Based on review of literature on crisis situations and possible disastrous effects exhibiting from out of tourism activities in similar destinations, socio-economic issues have been dealt with through investigation of secondary data and opinion survey.

Tourists Becoming Increasingly Aware of Green Tourism

The continual development of the hospitality industry has led to negative impacts on the environment. However, the development of green hotels could be a solution to this problem. As more tourists are becoming gradually concerned about environmentally friendly products and services, it is crucial for the hotel industry to take an interest and participate in the green initiative. A questionnaire method was used to collect data from 209 participants using the intercept approach in several main tourist sites in Bangalore, India. The analysis showed that tourists staying in hotels in Bangalore give substantial influence on their intention to choose green hotels and thus environmentally friendly services and products. Therefore, it is of primary importance for green hotel operators/managers to continuously educate their guests about the importance of being environmentally friendly and the environmental impacts of their behaviors.