Evaluating performance of Ontario tourism regions using a two-stage network Data Envelopment Analysis approach

Performance evaluation of tourism destinations is critical to destination competitiveness, success and ability to generate economic benefits for local populations. This paper proposes a two-stage model of tourism destination production process, which during the first stage uses available resources to generate visits to the destination and during the second stage converts the visits into financial results. The model is used to evaluate efficiency of tourism regions in Ontario, Canada, in 2016 and 2017. The efficiency scores are derived using a two-stage network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach. Findings show that the proposed approach allows to identify variability of efficiency scores across the two stages, analyze spatial distribution of scores and identify trends over time. Four distinct groups of tourism regions are identified with respect to their efficiency patterns. Study findings contribute to the conceptual literature on destination performance and can be used by practitioners to design performance evaluation systems for destinations

SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES OF FLY-FISHING LODGES: A GLOBAL APPROACH

Usprkos sve većoj popularnosti mušičarenja, malo je studija utjecaja koje ono ima na okoliš i na društvo. Ovaj rad predstavlja prvo opsežno istraživanje o ribičkim kućicama kao gospodarskoj aktivnosti i njihovim praksama koje se odnose na održivo poslovanje. Okvirom izbora uzorka bile su obuhvaćene ribičke kućice iz raznih dijelova svijeta koje navodi nekoliko glavnih trgovaca opremom za mušičarenje, putničkih poduzeća koja se bave mušičarenjem i publikacija. Odabran je uzorak od 196 kućica i na njihovim internetskim stranicama provedena je analiza njihove komunikacije o održivim praksama. Analiza je pokazala da je razina izvještavanja o njihovim inicijativama vezanima uz održivost niska, premda je prisustvo ribičkih kućica na internetu veliko (samo 16,3% uzorka nema internetsku stranicu). Među najpopularnijim inicijativama su praksa “uhvati i pusti”, korištenje obnovljive energije, obnova staništa, podrška lokalnoj zajednici te uzgoj organske hrane. Iako mnoge ribičke kućice otvoreno promoviraju odlazak na manje pristupačna područja, rijetko se bave njihovim utjecajem na okoliš i djelotvornošću praksi vezanih uz održivost.Despite fly-fishing’s growing popularity, there are few studies on its environmental and social impacts. The present study is the first large-scale investigation of the fly-fishing lodge sector and its sustainability practices. A sampling frame of global fly-fishing lodges was created by including lodges featured by several major fly-fishing outfitters, fly-fishing travel companies, and publications. A sample of 196 lodges was drawn and their websites analyzed with respect to sustainability communications. The analysis indicated that although the web presence of fly-fishing lodges is high (only 16.3% of the sample did not have a website), reporting on sustainability initiatives is low. The most popular initiatives included catch and release practices, renewable energy use, restoration of habitats, support for local community, and growing organic food. While many lodges explicitly promoted access to remote areas, they rarely addressed their own impacts and sustainability performance

Collaboration in Combating Identity Fraud

The problem of identity theft is complex, spans the boundaries of many organizations, companies and countries, and affects numerous entities in different ways at different times. However, given the nature of the problem, it is extremely difficult and costly for an indi