The influences and consequences of being digitally connected and/or disconnected to travellers

© 2017, The Author(s).Technological progress and tourism have worked in tandem for many years. Connectivity is the vehicle that drove the goal of technologically enhanced tourism experiences forward. This study, through an exploratory qualitative research identifies the factors that boost and/or distract travellers from obtaining a digitally enhanced tourism experience. Four factors can boost and/or distract travellers from being connected: (1) hardware and software, (2) needs and contexts, (3) openness to usage, and (4) supply and provision of connectivity. The research also analyses the positive and/or negative consequences that arise from being connected or disconnected. A Connected/Disconnected Consequences Model illustrates five forms of positive and/or negative consequences: (1) availability, (2) communication, (3) information obtainability, (4) time consumption, and (5) supporting experiences. A better understanding of the role and consequence of connectivity during the trip can enhance traveller experience

Tourism innovation and sustainability : implications for skills development in South Africa

This chapter interrogates human resource competencies vis-à-vis innovation in tourism which is an under-researched topic in the tourism literature. Innovation is pertinent not only for competitiveness for tourism firms and destinations, but also for enhancing environmental protection and social benefits in view of sustainable tourism. Innovation is a knowledge-intensive activity which depends on the capabilities of entrepreneurs and employees to learn and implement knowledge to create new and improved ways of doing things. In order to innovate, a specific set of skills is needed which include management competencies with a particular emphasis on leadership, strategic orientation, professionalism and finance management. Data from a national study in South Africa which investigated human resource and skills development in tourism are analysed. The findings reveal critical skills gaps in relation to financial, management and soft skills required for innovation across tourism and hospitality occupational levels and sub-sectors. From a human resource development perspective, issues concerning upskilling and upward career mobility in tourism are also interrogated. This chapter argues for targeted human resource development to foster tourism innovation and support tourism SMEs by enhancing management competencies and offering mentorships. In particular, it is proposed that tourism policy has a role in drawing attention to the importance of improved soft skills development in tourism among tourism and hospitality stakeholders. The chapter contributes to literature and policy debates by offering an enhanced understanding of competencies and skills, as well as policy interventions, needed for tourism and service innovation more broadly in the light of sustainable human resource management

Social Innovation and Sustainable Economic Development: Participatory Tourism Destination Management

The importance of tourism for the Balkan region is growing (World Travel & Tourism Council 2017). Tourist numbers are increasing, and, perhaps given the lack of much promising alternatives, governments embrace tourism as a priority economic develop- ment sector. There is however a substantial gap between governments aiming at tour- ism development, and tourism practices in real life. Tourism is a fragmented sector with many service providers and a dynamic tourism demand. Since tourists organize their travel increasingly by themselves with the support of internet (Nientied & Karafili, 2016) tourism demand also becomes more diverse and ad hoc. The increasingly impor- tant role of internet, the lower fares of airlines, and tourist searching for new destina- tions offer opportunities for the Western Balkan. However, Western Balkan governments have no adequate answers to such developments and for example marketing is rather conventional and destination management is inadequate. The Albanian government recognizes the importance of tourism as an economic growth sector, yet, its contribution to the GDP is almost insignificant based on the National Institute of Statistics data. The latter may not be a genuine reflection of the real situation for numerous factors, among which informality. According to Medina and Schneider (2018) and Boka and Torluccio (2013), the informal sector in Albania accounts for at least 30% of the GDP. The World Tourism and Travel Council, how- ever, assess that the direct contribution of the sector during 2016 is 7.9%, with a growth rate projection of 5.4% annually (WTTC 2016). Despite contradicting fig- ures, the Government of Albania aims at developing tourism in its broadest sense and to extend the tourism season to span across all four seasons by introducing alternative forms of tourism, such as sightseeing, cultural, culinary, sportive, histori- cal, religious, and adventurous. This would lift the development pressure off the coastal area and shift the focus towards more inland destinations. The Government’s overall development strategy is the National Draft-Strategy for Tourism 2014–2020. This strategy has two significant flaws. First, 3 years after discus- sion in parliament, it is still a draft policy. Insufficient attention has been given to the strategy after delivering the draft. In the real world, the importance of the policy is lim- ited. Second, the strategy is broad and aims at promoting “everything”. The strategy talks about sustainable tourism, but does not elaborate the concept in practical measures for destination management, environmental management, etc. In practice, it is noted that tourism development is rather uncoordinated, is led by the private sector tourism service providers, and the role of government at local and regional level is limited. A risk is that local governments (and national government too) are eager to get investors and can easily “forget” about sustainability when investors come with a tourism project proposal. Indeed, the current conditions for sustainable tourism in Albania are rather unfavourable. The current tourism policy of the government is inconclusive with regard to sustainable tourism development, the priorities for short-term economic development are high (and much higher than the concern for environment and communities), and local governments are weak in applying regulations. In terms of management and coordination, the culture of working together in partnerships in destinations is weak. The experience of tourism in the Durres coastal region, close to Albania’s capital Tirana, gives ample reasons for concern. Tourism development along the Durres coast is a typical example of unsustainable tourism as it is seasonal sun-sea-sand tourism, with high environmental costs and congestion. Local governments have issued permits for construction of hotels, and later “discovered” that their actions led to serious reper- cussions, such as higher investments needed in infrastructure. Alternatives for this type of tourism development are needed. There are however only very few best practices on small-scale sustainable tourism in Albania, and no replicable local sustainable tourism models have been designed and promoted. Exactly this issue is taken up in a sustain- able tourism project developed in the Albanian municipality of Gramsh. The concept is to develop an innovation in local scale tourism, based on available resources and with local coordination. The role of an external NGO (non-government organization) is meant to fuel the process during the first 2 years and then develop others sustainable tourism cases. Before discussing the case of Gramsh, attention first turns to a brief discussion of the two key concepts of social innovation and sustainable tourism, and to the methodology of social network analysis, used for the present study

Tourism innovation in the Western Cape, South Africa : evidence from wine tourism

Few wine tourism studies focus on innovation in this tourism niche market. However, implicit references to newness in wine tourism and the need for innovation in the light of competition to sustain the viability of firms and regions can be discerned in the literature. In addition, sustainability in relation to wine tourism is increasingly receiving research attention. This research aligns with the literature on sustainability in the wine industry and also wine tourism. It is not only the economic sustainability of firms which is of concern but also environmentally and socially responsible practices which for wineries include innovative ways to enhance biodiversity protection and social inclusion. This chapter outlines the innovations introduced by a sub-sample of firms involved in wine tourism which was part of a broader study of tourism innovation in the Western Cape, South Africa. This research identifies a suite of wine tourism innovations, and although these are largely incremental in character, they are significant for firm, and collectively, for destination competitiveness and importantly for enhancing sustainability in the sector