Hotel and Tourism Management

Has the tide turned? Marine tourism and female empowerment: The case of Galicia

Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona — 2023-12-19

Several fishing families on the Spanish coast use marine tourism as a means to complement their finances. The aim of this research is the analysis of this phenomenon characterised by a prominent mood of female empowerment, as a large number of the entrepreneurs and workers in this area are women, and also by its sustainable management, since it is an activity that respects and cares for the environment, while also safeguarding local identities and cultural traditions. The case study is the Galician coast, a pioneer region for this type of tourism. The methodology of analysis is qualitative, involving in-depth interviews with women representing the fishing communities of Redondela, Cambados and Cesantes, as well as the Galician Government’s tourism plans. The research contributes to the theory by studying and conceptualising marine tourism as another way to reinforce local identity and sense of belonging. As for its practical implications, it highlights the predominant role of women (who are traditionally invisible in this sector) and the sustainable, bottom-up governance of this form of tourism.

Destination competitiveness and sustainability indicators: Implementation of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) in Serbia

Marija Cimbaljević — 2023-12-19

Incorporating sustainability into the Destination Management Organization (DMO) policies is important because it is a competitive factor. Additionally, this is due to the requirement for effective planning and the proper management of tourism development. To promote and evaluate the sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness, it is essential to create a system of sustainable tourism indicators and ensure effective stakeholder involvement and communication as a key strategy for the implementation of the indicators. This paper addressed the issues of Serbian tourism stakeholders’ awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) for the evaluation of sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness. The results indicate that there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the availability of sustainable indicators and collection methods. The authors suggest that significant efforts need to be made to raise awareness of ETIS and its importance for tourism destinations governance, while DMOs need to continuously improve the methods they use to collect key sources of information.

A statistical assessment of tourism development disparities at the district level: The case of Serbia

Milan Stamenković — 2023-12-19

Tourism is a sector of immense importance and its advancement plays a crucial role in improving national and promoting balanced regional socio-economic development. This study presents a complex multivariate methodological approach for categorization of 25 districts in Serbia into internally-more similar and externally-more dissimilar clusters by implementing hierarchical agglomerative clustering procedure and analysis of present interdependencies between selected indicators of tourism demand. The statistical validity and quality of the extracted optimal clustering structure are evaluated and confirmed based on the adequate optimality criteria and corresponding results of the non-hierarchical clustering procedure. The proposed categorization of districts clearly and unambiguously confirms the presence of significant tourism development asymmetries between NUTS 3 territories in Serbia, and the existence of intra-regional tourism activity polarization with the developed east and south-west (including the city of Belgrade) on the one end of the spectrum and the less developed north and central areas of Serbia.

Does the acceptance of insects as food depend on sociodemographic characteristics: The case of Serbia

Kosta Nikolić — 2023-12-19

Animal-based food has historically been considered dietary staples because it offers many essential nutrients. Due to their high nutrient content, edible insects have the potential to partially replace animal-based food as healthy and sustainable alternatives. The aim of this research is to determine if sociodemographic characteristics of respondents play important role in acceptance or rejection of insects as food. The results showed that male respondents have favourable attitudes towards acceptance, motivation and general attitude compared to female respondents. In terms of age, it was determined that older people are more likely to accept insects. Results also showed that highly educated people express a higher level of acceptance of insects, while the effects of income level are not significant. As Serbia is not a country where insects have been traditionally consumed, it is not expected that consumption will become widespread in foreseeable future.

Credit risk analysis of Serbian luxury hotels: Impact of COVID-19

Ana Jovancai Stakić — 2023-12-19

The aim of this research is to analyse credit risk levels of Serbian luxury hotels, before, and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose is to highlight the need for state-supported measures and proactive strategies to ensure financial sustainability and resilience in the luxury hotel industry. A dataset of 192 observations from 2019 to 2021 is employed, using predictive models including the Altman Z'-score, Altman Z''-score, Kralicek DF score, Springate S-score, and Zmijewski X-score, to assess creditworthiness of 64 selected mostly 4-star hotels. Data analysis involved the use of statistical tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Shapiro-Wilk test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. All models, except Zmijewski, show statistically significant results. The findings reveal a significant impact of the pandemic on credit risk levels in 2020, followed by positive trends in 2021, indicating successful adaptation and resilience. Policymakers, financial institutions, and hoteliers can use these insights to navigate the post-pandemic era effectively.

The impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) on business process outcomes in tourism companies

Igor Milojević — 2023-12-19

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system that allows managers to predict, plan, control, measure and analyze all resources within the business system. Such systems help companies improve their business, allowing them to create a single database for the realization of various business processes among different areas, such as production, finance, supply chain management, human resources, customer relationship management. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to test the relationship between the use of ERP and business process outcomes in tourism companies. Based on the DeLone and McLean (D&M) theoretical model, the paper identifies the key factors for the successful implementation of ERP systems in tourism companies. Research results show that ERP system quality, ERP information quality, ERP service quality, and external pressures positively influence the perceived usefulness and satisfaction of ERP system users. The organization factor, top management support, perceived usefulness and satisfaction of ERP system users have a positive effect on the outcomes of business processes.

The impact of global crises on international tourism in the Southern and Mediterranean Europe

Sonja Lazarević — 2023-12-19

The global character of international tourism makes this industry vulnerable to the effects of global shocks of an economic or non-economic nature. Crises in international tourism are becoming more frequent. The 2009 Global Economic Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic are the two biggest crises that have hit the international tourism market in the twenty-first century and have had a global character. This paper aims to examine and compare the impact of these crises on international tourism in the countries of the Southern and Mediterranean Europe by applying the methods of comparative analysis and cluster analysis. The study results indicated the difference in the impact of the observed crises on the international tourist traffic of the analysed countries, as well as the heterogeneity across the countries of the Southern and Mediterranean Europe themselves in terms of the impact of these global crises.

Artificial intelligence in the hotel industry in Slovakia

Jozef Gáll — 2023-12-19

Artificial intelligence in the hotel industry streamlines processes, personalizes services, enhances customer service, and analyzes data. It helps reduce costs, increase security, and improve competitiveness. In the current technology-driven era, it is essential for efficient operations and customer satisfaction. The main goal of the presented article is to explore and analyze the application of artificial intelligence in the hotel industry and map the effects it brings to hotels and other accommodation facilities in Slovakia. Using a sociological survey method in the form of a questionnaire, this article analyzes the extent of artificial intelligence technology implementation in accommodation facilities in Slovakia and the effects it brings. Based on the results of our primary research, we can conclude that artificial intelligence is not widely adopted in the Slovak hotel industry to its full potential, considering its possibilities and utilization in various operational areas of accommodation facilities.

Personal and organizational factors impacting burnout syndrome among hotel employees: A bibliometric and content analysis

Jelena Lukić Nikolić — 2023-12-19

The hotel industry is very vulnerable to unexpected external changes, which have an impact on employees as the major success factors of hotel functioning and success. The aim of this paper is to establish, by conducting a bibliometric and content analysis, the characteristics of existing research in the sphere of hotel employee burnout syndrome and to single out the main factors that influence it. The bibliometric analysis conducted in the beginning of September 2023 found that only 37 papers dealing with burnout among hotel employees were published in only eight journals from the sphere of tourism and hospitality indexed in the Web of Science database (Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Report). The majority of authors who write about this subject are from the USA and China. Content analysis revealed that burnout syndrome among hotel employees is largely dependent on the personal characteristics of employees, as well as on organizational factors.