Tourism Management
Employee Engagement and Talent Management: Essential Human Resource Management Practices within Hospitality and Tourism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Julia Christensen Hughes
The tourism value proposition is changing. Consumers increasingly expect to be highly engaged in the tourism experience, which requires highly engaged employees. Yet, the hospitality and tourism industry is notorious for its poorly developed human resource management practices. Such practices have been associated with high rates of turnover and employee dissatisfaction. This paper will introduce a comprehensive review of empirical research on employee engagement in hospitality and tourism contexts. Dominant theoretical underpinnings, methods (including survey instruments), and results will be shared. Evidence-informed human resource management practices for enhancing employee engagement and the guest-service encounter, including talent management, will also be suggested.
Tourism Management in South American Geological Areas : Case Studies in Peru and Brazil
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Pedro Gonzáles Mantilla
Several areas of international geological relevance use tourism as a tool for the conservation and the socioeconomic development of local communities, through dynamic initiatives such as geoparks programs and projects of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Within the South American context, many areas aim to be incorporated into this important network. This paper highlights the Marcahuasi Stone Forest in the central Andes of Peru and the Vila Velha State Park in the eastern part of the Paraná Basin in Brazi. Both are characterized by the singularity of their geological heritage, the scenic landscape aesthetics, and the rich source of research. This work explores the management models applied in these two South American natural spaces of high geological value regarding tourist use. A considerable flow of visitors is received there each year, however the tourist activity has been developed differently. The objective of this research is to find out whether the tourism management models applied in each area promote the socioeconomic development of the local population and the conservation of the geological heritage. In this study, different models have been analyzed, based on their management structure, public actions, and the relations between the actors, using data collection techniques such as bibliographical search, litterature review, semi-structured interviews, and simple observations. The results of each management model have been compiled and analyzed comparing both models, to discuss the influence of the management of the tourism in local socioeconomic development and geoconservation in these two areas with geotourism potential.
Leadership in the Hotel Industry: A Review Study
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Asier Baquero
As a consequence of globalization, the social, political, and economic transformations which have arisen over recent decades have resulted in changes to the business sector. Tourism, specifically hospitality, has also been affected by this phenomenon and has developed innovative alternatives to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive market and the need for change. The role of leadership emerges as an example of this process and its influence in hotel management is ripe for new scientific research. This study analyzes the evidences found in scientific literature about the impact of leadership in the hotel industry. The study is carried out by reviewing relevant information in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, or ResearchGate. National and international studies conducted in three, four, and five-star hotels are analyzed. The results show the importance of leadership in the hotel industry based on the two fundamental areas of job satisfaction and customer satisfaction.
The Impact of Tourism on Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Islands: The Case of the Canary Island Archipelago
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eugenio Diaz Fariña, Juan José Díaz Hernández, Noemi Padrón Fumero
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generation has become a source of unsustainable development in touristic destinations, especially in islands such as the Canary Island archipelago. Indeed, islands usually enjoy a vulnerable biodiversity but they stand isolated from mainland recycling networks and facilities, facing an insufficient industrial scale and costly reverse logistics. Interestingly, tourism remains invisible for waste management in the region even though it is a crucial industry to be considered by any waste policy. In this paper, we model MSW generation in the island of Tenerife in order to identify socio-demographic, economic and disposal related variables and to quantify their impact using a municipal panel data from 2004 to 2015. We implement a novel approach to measure the impact of tourism sector on MSW generation by considering the level of employment of its characteristic activities (NACE 55 and 56) instead of the usual number of overnights or of tourists like studies found in the literature. In addition, we isolate tourist consumption in these activities from consumption related to residents. Results help to identify the direct net effect of characteristic tourism activities on the generation of MSW. Our contribution visualizes tourism impacts in waste generation in the island which may improve the financial mechanisms of waste management services – likely correcting cross-subsidies both among generators and municipalities. This step seems fundamental for an efficient MSW management and planning in touristic destinations.
