Urban walking: perspectives of locals and tourists

Urban planners and architects have done extensive research on walk ability: what it means and how it correlates with urban design and quality of life of the locals, however, it has been hitherto neglected from the aspect of tourism studies. Many cities worldwide are or tend to be walkable as this leads to more sustainable and prosperous communities. In addition, walking-friendly environments greatly cater for leisure and tourism, as in many cities, walking is an integral part of tourist experience. Therefore, tourism industry can be of tremendous help for the city authorities in understanding walkers' needs and experiences. Taking into account both the locals and tourists, this research sought to: (1) determine the most frequently utilized modes of transportation in Novi Sad in Serbia and Koper in Slovenia; (2) assess thier reasons for walking and perception of the quality of pedestrian infrastructure; and (3) evaluate the psychometric properties of the questionnaire designed for the purpose of this study. The results show that the great majority of respondents walk in these two cities. The locals walk primarily to achieve physical fitness, whereas tourists walk primarily to explore the urban spaces. This makes more space for tourism as it combines a competitive supply able to meet visitors' expectations with a positive contribution to the sustainable development of cities and well-being of their residents. Furthermore, this study contributes to emphasizing walking as a sustainable form of mobility in urban environment and can be the impetus for profiling Novi Sad and Koper as walking-friendly cities

Small Slovene Firms and Strategic Information Technology Usage

The extent to which information technology (IT) is used strategically is measured in a sample of 147 small Slovene firms. Slovenia is interesting from a small business perspective, because from 1990, when the transformation of its economy started, the number of small business has increased almost 6 times (from almost 6.500 to nearly 35.000 in 1998). The results have shown IT industry leadership and also IT’s role in a firm to be the strongest predictors in the strategic usage of IT. It was also found that IT is particularly well utilized in firms emphasizing innovation and, to a lesser degree, an efficiency strategy. Firms pursuing a low-cost strategy were the least likely to utilize IT strategically

The Importance of Sport Event on Hotel Performance for Restarting Tourism After COVID-19

The aim of this study was to illustrate the importance of major sports events, such as marathons, and their economic impact on hotel performance during these unpredictable times for the events and tourism industry. The analysis was focused on the economic impact of the marathon event on hotel performance in the area hosting the race. For that purpose, we selected the Vienna City Marathon, held yearly in April, as a case. We hypothesized that there will be a higher impact of hotel performance a day prior to the marathon in regard to the hotel performance in multiple nonmarathon occasions. As indicators for hotel performance we have chosen hotel occupancy, revenue per available room, average daily rate and total revenue recorded for: day (always Saturday) prior to the marathon, year average, April average and average Saturday in April. Results from this study revealed significant effects of a marathon on three major hotel performance indicators (i.e., hotel occupancy, revenue per available room and total revenue). Findings from this study could serve the local government or event planners after the current crisis to justify financial investments in hosting a marathon or similar sports events for restarting tourism