Index of destination attractiveness: A quantitative approach for measuring tourism attractiveness

The common perceptions about tourist destinations often hold even in the absence of facts and evidences. This research is an attempt to analyze the ground behind generic perceptions about tourism attractiveness of Kashmir valley. This has been done through primary survey of most important stakeholders; the visiting tourists. The data collected from 370 tourists has been used to deconstruct tourism attractiveness into different parameters and an Index of Destination Attractiveness has been prepared to understand the importance of each parameter to overall attractiveness. The evidences support the common perception that natural attractions play very important role in tourism attractiveness of valley but valley lacks other tourism motivators and falls short on most of the hygiene factors. These findings can be used to increase the attractiveness of valley by working on weak areas and the Index developed for the study can be used as a standard tool for continuous monitoring of attractiveness.

Perceptions of 'Srem Folk Fest' participants according to cultural tourism preferences

"Srem Folk Fest" has become one of the most popular and significant international folklore festivals in this part of the Balkans since 2004. For the past 16 years, a town Sremska Mitrovica was a host city for European, Asian, South American and African youth. Besides its historical importance, this town on the Sava river could also be considered as the promoter of culture, tradition and folklore of its guests. Each year, the artistic stylization of folklore stage is accompanied by about 20000 visitors during the four festival nights. In 2015, "Srem Folk Fest" was added to the calendar of events of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (CIOFF). The Festival is also recognized by the Serbian National Commission for UNESCO as the keeper of the intangible cultural heritage. One of the main tasks of the paper is related to the need of considering potential and participants' intentions to repeat their visit, as well as of improving the offer and promotion of the town and its surroundings. The aim of the paper is to analyze the data obtained in the context of the behavior and preferences of participants/respondents, to determine the specificity of their role and thus to make a recommendation for creating even better offer. Considering the respondents from 10 countries, the result is especially significant in the form of improving the image of Serbia, as well as their preferences for getting to know rural areas and cultural features. The study contains the survey research, while gained results might provide a good basis for further organization in accordance with their expectations. In addition, the results could also find practical implication in terms of providing basic information necessary to expand this event within the surrounding area of Sremska Mitrovica.

Tourists' perception of ecotourism development in Lagos Nigeria: The case of Lekki Conservation Centre

This study examined tourists' perception of ecotourism services in Lagos, Nigeria, with the specificity of the Lekki Conservation Centre. Specific objectives were to identify the elements of tourists' demand concerning destination loyalty in the study area. A total of 300 domestic and inbound tourists were sampled, over ten months, using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The findings revealed the availability of vital tourism-related products to meet tourist demand, a conducive tourism atmosphere, and a dispersed location of the species in the conservation center with the availability of quality tourism facilities. However, tourists' perception and experience were poor compared to available infrastructural components. The study concludes that managers of the centre have not employed quality destination management and marketing techniques to improve their image and enhance inbound tourism. Recommendations included the need for the provision of more facilities and species, and an improved means of transportation to enhance tourist accessibility to the centre.

Hunting tourism as a factor for economic development of hunting associations on the territory of the City of Leskovac

The subject of this study is the impact of hunting tourism on the development of hunting associations in the territory of the City of Leskovac in Serbia. Non-experimental model of scientific research, survey, was applied in the paper, while the obtained results were processed by statistical data processing. Data are presented in tables and graphs. The total number of completed questionnaires by service users was 475. The largest percentage of hunters on hunting grounds were foreign tourists compared to domestic tourists, which accounted for 84.50% of the total number of hunting tourists in 2017, 87.1% in 2018 .year and 89 8% in 2019. The income generated from the stay of hunters' tourists was used by hunting associations for the purchase of certain game species and the modernization of hunting and technical facilities. The amount of revenue generated increased by 2.3% each year in 2018 and by 22.6% in 2019. Investments in 2017-2019 were up 20.1% in 2018 to 38.8% in 2019, while funds earmarked for wildlife procurement were significantly higher by 3.8% in 2018, and 50% in 2019. It can be concluded that hunting and hunting tourism must be focused on habitat conservation, environmental protection, and wildlife protection and a very important segment of the economic development of hunting associations and the entire territory in which hunting associations operate.

Geographical index of concentration as an indicator of the spatial distribution of tourist attractions in Belgrade

The spatial structure of tourist attractions can be presented both qualitatively and quantitatively. One of the indicators of the spatial structure of tourism is the index of geographical concentration of tourist attractions. The geographical concentration of tourist attractions represents the ratio of the number of tourist attractions in the observed area and its structural parts and the total number of structural units of the analyzed area. This paper aims to determine the spatial distribution of attractions in the administrative territories of Belgrade municipalities and to establish correlations with tourist attendance. The number and spatial distribution of accommodation capacities are the largest in the central city municipalities so that the number of visitors is the largest in them. At the same time, the central city municipalities have the highest concentration of tourist attractions. For data collection, the authors used field research, OSM (Open Street Maps), Google maps, with software processing ArcGIS 10.2. The research results enabled the definition of the model of distribution of tourist attractions and indicated its application. This model of distribution of tourist attractions shows that they are mostly concentrated in the city center. This also means a small spatial connection of tourist attractions in the city center and peripheral parts.

Restoration of the cultural heritage sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the basis for intercultural dialogue and development of tourism

This study deals with the buildings and sites destroyed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly carrying cultural and historical importance. In the last two decades in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there has been an actual reconstruction or restoration of cultural heritage, some of which have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Indeed, "facsimile" reconstruction is often the case, based on the concept "as it was, where it was". Citizens of other faiths and nationalities have often given material and/or moral support to the reconstruction of "different" religious sites, confirming the thesis that they associate one part of their identity with "different". It was the first major war in Europe after World War II, where a great number of cultural goods were destroyed as symbols related to the identities of entire nations. Therefore, the response related to the reconstructions was similar to Europe's response after 1945 and represented a contribution to reconciliation, alleviation of collective trauma, and the development of intercultural dialogue and tourism. The study included an observation method for data collection. Based on conducted observations, the archival method was used for the investigation of documents and textual material, finding data inform of historical documents on architects, designers, the purpose of the settings, constructions, reconstructions, their interaction with areas, proofs on heritage values, and significance for the tourism of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A ll the aforementioned confirms the thesis that from today's perspective, the restored or reconstructed areas are the bearers of intercultural dialogue and the tourist potential of local communities and that reconstruction as the method has a very big role in the peace-building process.

Tourists approaches to eco-friendly hotels and determination of green hotel preferences: The case of Eskişehir

The aim of this study is to determine how eco-friendly applications have an impact on the purchasing behaviour of tourists and hotel preferences. In this context, the related data was obtained from 408 participants. T-test was applied in order to determine the impact on the purchasing behaviour of tourists and hotel preferences. As a result of the analysis, it is determined that the majority of the tourists are sensitive about the environment by taking into account eco-friendly hotel accommodation preference and eco-friendly hotels are pioneer in developing new technologies, high qualified, happy to stay in eco-friendly hotels, and eco-friendly hotels evoke nature. Also, it is found that eco-friendly hotels evoke health and wellness. These findings provide an insight into literature and new directions and suggestions for marketing organizations and business managers.

Impact of the European Capital of Culture project on the image of the city of Novi Sad: The perception of the local community

Nowadays, the research focus is mainly on how tourists perceive the destination image, while the local community, as a very important key actor, is very often neglected in the studies. In light of the fact that Novi Sad has been declared the European Capital of Culture 2021, great attention has been placed on the local community and its perception of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) influence on all aspects of the city's life, including city image. In this regard, during April and May 2018, a survey of residents of Novi Sad was conducted to explore their perception of the city's image - cognitive, affective, and overall. Moreover, the paper is focused on identifying the differences in the image perception on the basis of the respondents' socio-demographic characteristics. In this study, which is the beginning of a longitudinal study aiming to follow the influence of the ECoC project on the city image, a total of 797 respondents participated. The results of the research on the cognitive image indicate that the local community mostly agrees with the claims that Novi Sad is a pleasant place to live in, that it has a good gastronomic offer, is an attractive place for education, and that people are kind and hospitable. On the other hand, the smallest degree of agreement is observed with claims which refer to the living standard in the city. When it comes to tourism and culture, significant differences are observed between individual attributes. Also, research on the affective image shows that the city is perceived as relaxing, pleasant, exciting, and lively. The paper also shows that residents sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, monthly income, employment status) influence the image perception.

The river Ganga and its pollution-tourists' perception visiting Ghats of Varanasi

The study attempts to assess tourists' (international, national and local) perceptions for polluted state of the river Ganga in Varanasi, plausible reasons for present status and their willingness to contribute towards river cleanliness. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis suggests variation in perception for pollution and river reverence across three categories of tourists. Tourists perceived the present status of river to be dirty and urged that it can only be improved by joint efforts of people and government. Further, positive response of tourists was observed for their involvement in cleanliness drive of the river Ganga via their willingness to pay and social activities.

Correlation of implementation of principles and functions of management in hospitality business

Hospitality organizations of today keep up with the trends to remain competitive in a changeable market. For that reason, organizations must continuously work on their development and sustainability, and quality and good management is a precondition for successful business operations. Management is a universal process implemented in different production and service activities of the economy and different organizations regardless of the size and structure. Accordingly, food and beverage managers in hospitality have a task to combine fundamental principles and functions of management to achieve the company goals and bring success to the business. The subject of this paper is a review of principles and functions of management with the aim to make a correlation between individual functions and principles and their codependence in a restaurant business.