Higher education, and the future of distance teaching and perceptions of academics; An investigation in Turkey

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze distance education and explore the implications for tourism education from the perspective of academics in the higher education system. Design - This study was designed as exploratory research in order to measure its effects on the university academics. Methodology - A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data. A total of 408 questionnaires from participants were found to be a satisfactory sample. Simple random sampling technique was used by selecting a sample of academics who were teaching distance education in universities in Turkey, of which 228 were from tourism and the rest were from other social science departments. Findings - The system entails an excessive workload for faculty to provide satisfactory preparation, while some technical problems such as interruptions and disconnections occurred frequently. It was also found that the system is less interactive, does not provide control over students’ examination, and it is difficult to keep students interested in active participation. This system was found to be less effective and impractical than traditional on-site instruction in subject areas, especially where hands-on practice is required. Originality of the research - This study reveals the views of instructors during and immediately after the Covid 19 pandemic, and it is also one of the first studies to examine instructors’ opinions on distance education, including suggestions for professionals as their scholarly and applicable contributions

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Abstract: Congress tourism has a great importance for the extension of the tourism season, enhancement of employment opportunities and tourism revenues, promotion and efficient use of the facilities in the area. Creative Tourism provides an authentic feel for a local culture through informal, hands-on workshops and creative experiences. Ensuring that the attendants of congress tourism take part in creative tourism activities may be an example of the synergy to be achieved by including creative tourism in the congress marketing mix. In this study the tourism marketing mix, programming, packaging, partnership, people, product, price, promotion, place, are adapted for congress tourism and a model which illustrates how to use the creative tourism experiences and activities within the marketing mix is proposed. Keywords: Creative Tourism, Congress Tourism, Congress Marketing Mix. Resumen: El turismo de congresos tiene una gran importancia para la extensión de la temporada turísti-ca, el aumento de los ingresos derivados del turismo y las posibilidades de empleo, y para la promoción y el uso eficiente de las instalaciones en el área. El turismo creativo proporciona una sensación auténtica de la cultura local a través de talleres informales y prácticos, y de experiencias creativas. Asegurarse de que los asistentes del turismo del congreso participen en actividades creativas de turismo puede ser un ejemplo de la sinergia que se puede alcanza incluyendo el turismo creativo en el marketing mix de congreso. En este estudio el marketing mix de turismo, programación, empaquetado, colaboración, personas, producto, precio, promoción, lugar, se adapta para el turismo de congresos y se propone un modelo que ilustra cómo utilizar las experiencias y las actividades del turismo creativo dentro del marketing mix. Palabras clave: Turismo creativo; Turismo de congresos; Marketing mix de congresos