This essay has examined how the local community is involved with the tourism development on the San Blas islands and how it effects the destinations development. The method of choice has been a qualitative interview with an operator that offers trips to the destination. Also there has been made a literature study where previous research about the San Blas and the subjects of choice is being presented. During the writing process of this essay it has become obvious to us that the local community (Kuna Yala) is very much involved in everything that concerns the destination. We can thereby establish that the local community of San Blas can be placed on the top step of Arnsteins (1969) “Ladder of Participation”. This comprehensive involvement brings both positive and negative effects on the destinations development. On the negative side we can se that the service level sometimes is low due to lack of knowledge and communication amongst the Kunas. The positive effects however shows that the destination is perceived more unique when the visitors gets to experience the real Kuna lifestyle that also creates a sustainable social environment. Many Kunas make their living on the tourism industry, which secure that the visitors money stays at the destination. The destination itself has not followed any traditional curve regarding destination development, which makes San Blas problematic to apply in Butlers model about the destination lifecycle. / Denna uppsats har undersökt hur lokalsamhället på San Blasöarna involveras i turismnäringen och hur det påverkar destinationens turismutveckling. Valet av metod har varit en kvalitativ intervju med en aktör som erbjuder resor till destinationen. Vidare har också en litteraturstudie genomförts där tidigare forskning kring destinationen och ämnesområdet presenteras. Under arbetet med uppsatsen har det blivit tydligt att lokalbefolkningen (Kuna Yala) involveras i allra högsta grad i San Blas och påverkar alla beslut som har med destinationen att göra. Vi kan därför konstatera att San Blas lokalbefolkning kan placeras på de övre stegen i Arnsteins (1969) modell över medborgarnas deltagandegrad. Den stora involveringen för med sig både positiva och negativa konsekvenser för destinationsutvecklingen. Det negativa är att servicegraden ibland blir väldigt låg till följd av bristande kunskap och kommunikation bland lokalinvånarna. Bland de positiva effekterna nämns bl.a. att destinationen upp levs unik av besökarna som får komma nära Kuna Yala och uppleva deras levnadssätt vilket skapar ett hållbart socialt förhållande. Sysselsättningen blir även högre då många inom Kuna Yala livnär sig på turismnäringen och den höga deltagandegraden minskar läckaget vilket gör att mer pengar stannar kvar på destinationen. Destinationen i sig har inte följt någon traditionell kurva över turismutvecklingen vilket gör att San Blas blir problematisk att applicera i Butlers modell över destinationslivscykeln.

The number of potential applications for wireless sensor networks is immense. These networks may consist of large numbers of low cost, low power, disposable sensor nodes that can be deployed inside or close to phenomena to be monitored. The nature of these networks necessitates specific design requirements, of which energy efficiency is paramount. The limited available energy of sensor nodes is mainly drained during communication and computational processing. An energy efficient routing protocol can limit the number of message transmissions and the computational complexity of finding routing paths. Many routing protocols have been proposed for wireless sensor networks. Most of them are computationally complex, require a large number of messages to be transmitted or require that sensor nodes possess certain hardware capabilities in order to function. The objective of this dissertation was to develop a Simple Energy Efficient Routing (SEER) protocol for wireless sensor networks that is computationally simple, reduces the number of transmitted messages and does not impose any hardware prerequisites. The new routing protocol, which was developed during this research, uses a flat network structure for scalability and source initiated communication along with event-driven reporting to reduce the number of message transmissions. Computational simplicity is achieved by using a simple method for routing path selection. The SEER protocol selects the next hop for a message by choosing a neighbour that has a smaller or equal hop count to the current node. If multiple neighbours satisfy this requirement, the neighbour with the highest remaining energy is chosen as the next hop. Each node in the network has a table containing the hop count and remaining energy of each of its neighbours. Periodic messages sent through the network update these neighbour tables. SEER uses a novel approach to select the next hop of a message during routing. The protocol increases the lifetime of the network dramatically, compared to other similar routing protocols. This improvement is directly related to the reduction in the number of transmissions made by each node. The simplicity of the protocol reduces the required computational processing compared to other protocols, and at the same time makes this one of the few available protocols that does not impose hardware requirements on nodes in order to function. / Dissertation (MEng (Computer Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

Turistindustrin är en viktig industri ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv samtidigt som den är mycket sårbar för negativa händelser som sker runt om i världen. Då information och nyheter sprids snabbare än någonsin, på grund av den enkelhet som finns att ta till sig information, är det lätt att destinationers image påverkas av det som förmedlas via media. Föreliggande studie fokuserar därmed på att, ur ett producentperspektiv, försöka kartlägga på vilket sätt som destinationers image påverkas av negativ nyhetsrapportering. Detta görs genom att erhålla en förståelse kring vad det är som gör att en image förändras. Samtidigt ligger ett fokus på att försöka förstå om olika strategier tillämpas av researrangörer för att förändra destinationers image samt om de arbetar med att hantera medias påverkan på destinationers image. Det med ambitionen att erhålla en kunskap kring vad som kan göras för att minska att resmönster påverkas i lika stor utsträckning som det gör idag.   För att göra detta fokuserar studien på följande forskningsfrågor:   <ul type="disc">Hur påverkas destinationers image av negativ nyhetsrapportering? Finns det några strategier som researrangörerna tillämpar för att förändra en destinations image och i så fall vilka?   De slutsatser som studien kommer fram till är följande:   <ul type="disc">Destinationer påverkas av negativ nyhetsrapportering till följd av att personer påverkas av det media rapporterar om. Destinationer påverkas i olika utsträckning beroende på dess internationella status, geografiska läge, resenärernas familjära känsla gentemot platsen samt själva händelsens karaktär. Alla individer påverkas olika av massmedias rapportering, beroende på tidigare erfarenheter och kunskap om platsen. Alla kriser och händelser kräver olika strategier, både storleksmässigt och beroende på vad för typ av händelse som inträffat. Researrangörer hjälper destinationer under en kortsiktig period men under ett längre perspektiv så anpassar sig researrangörerna främst till efterfrågan på marknaden. Det är en skör balansgång vad gäller att tillämpa externa aktörer vid arbetet med att förändra destinationers image. Baserad på situation tilltas olika marknadsföringsstrategier i form av kampanjer, annonser och rabatter, vilket kortsiktigt kan påverka att försäljningen ökar och resmönster påverkas. Ansvaret ligger hos oss människor hur vi erhåller rätt information via rätt kanaler som följaktligen påverkar våra uppfattningar och därmed destinationers image. / The tourist industry is important to the industry economically. But at the same time it is very vulnerable to negative happenings and events from around the world. Since information and news is spreading faster than ever before, and due to the simplicity there now is to take parts of the information about a destination, it is easy for the destinations image to be affected badly by what is being mediated throughout the media. This study therefore aims to map out in what ways destinations images are affected by negative news, reporting through a producer perspective. This is done by examining what there is that makes an image change. At the same time this study focuses on trying to understand if different strategies are being used by tour operators in order to change the image of destinations and if they are trying to handle the media's effect on such image. Therefore the ambition is to gain knowledge about what can be done to minimize the effect media has on travel patterns and reduce the extent there is today.   In order to do this, the following study focuses on these two research questions:   How is destinations images affected by negative news reports? Are there any strategies that travel agencies apply in order to change destination images, and in that case which?   The conclusions that can be drawn are following:   Destinations are affected by negative news reports because people are affected by media reportings. Destinations are affected to various degrees depending on its international status, geographical location, travelers' family feelings towards the place and the nature of the event itself. All individuals are affected differently by the media reportings, depending on previous experience and knowledge of the site. All crises and events require different strategies, both in size and depending on what type of event that has occurred. Tour operators help destinations in the short term rather than the longer term perspective, as tour operators adapt primarily to market demand. It is a tough balance in terms of applying external factors in the process of changing the image of destinations. Based on situation, different marketing strategies are used in the form of campaigns, ads and discounts, which can shortly affect sales and travel patterns. The responsibility lies on each individual and how we get the right information through the right channels, which consequently affects our perceptions and thus the image of destinations.

The thesis analyses the essential determinants of the global importance which are currently causing the turbulent changes in the immediate and wider context of leisure and travel. The tourism industry is an important part of the national economy and the lifestyle. The global factors and their impact on the field of tourism were identified through the academic resources and a survey realized in Autumn and Winter 2009/10. A questionnaire was used for data collecting and a sample of 104 respondents was created. The following determinants were described: the level of political stability in tourism destination including the risk of terrorist attacks and other violence risks, the global financial crisis, the natural disasters and the occurrence of infectious diseases. The development of tourism is also affected by the world-wide globalization, the changing climate, the ageing of population, the greater mobility and the mass leisure including the process of changing values. The results of the empirical survey confirmed the validity of the given hypothesis. Finally the recommendations for the tourism businesses resulting from the analysis were introduced.

The aim of the thesis named Decision criteria for the allocation of conferences and congresses in Prague is to analyse all the factors, which influence the choice of a particular congress or conference destination. The priority is to evaluate the congress tourism potential of the city of Prague and to suggest options for the innovation in order to increase the popularity of the destination. The thesis analyses the characteristics of the whole decision process of allocation a congress or a conference. Moreover, the activity of congress or conference organizers and destination organizations is described as well. The thesis is divided into four chapters. In the first and the second one, the substantial concepts of congress tourism, its organization and subjects are defined and characterized. The second target of this thesis is focused on the analysis of the decision criteria for the choice of the congress destination, the potential of Prague including SWOT analysis and the consequent summarization of impacts and possible innovations for Prague. The given interviews and materials from professionals in this field are the main sources for this thesis. In the end of the thesis, the overall situation in the congress tourism in Prague is evaluated and some suggestions for innovations for congresses or conference organization are proposed.

In this essay, we focus on how Helsingborg uses its cultural part of the total tourism. Are there any sights or attractions that have something extra that makes a tourist wants to go to Helsingborg and visit them, and what's the traction forces that are behing? For a municipality, in our case Helsingborg will be able to attract tourists and visitors must be able to market themselves in a good way so the tourists know about what the municipality has to offer. In our previous research, there are both similarities and differences in how to work with culture as part of the tourism industry. The main similarity we have come to is that the history of all the sights and attractions are mainly highlighted and the difference is that you see their work processes in different ways in how to work with cultural tourism. All the places we've studied all have a well-functioning tourism in the whole of the factors mentioned in this essay, but it comes to working well thought out with all the factors that may have an impact on how long you can be a destination or not. / I vår uppsats fokuserar vi på hur Helsingborg arbetar med kultur som en del i den totala turismen som finns. Har kulturella sevärdheter och attraktioner något extra som gör att en turist vill åka till platsen och vad kan det vara for dragningskrafter som ligger bakom? För att en kommun, i vårt fall Helsingborg ska kunna locka turister och besökarna måste man kunna marknadsföra sig på ett bra sätt så turisterna vet om vad kommunen har att erbjuda. I vår tidigare forskning finns det både likheter och skillnader i hur man arbetar med kultur som en del av turismbranschen. Den främsta likheten vi kommit fram till är att historien bakom alla sevärdheter och attraktioner är det som främst lyfts fram och skillnaden är att man ser sina arbetsprocesser pa olika sätt i hur man arbetar med kulturturism. Alla platser vi har studerat har alla en välfungerande turism i det stora hela i de faktorer som nämns i vår uppsats, men det gäller att arbeta genomtänkt med alla faktorer som kan tänkas ha en påverkan på hur länge man kan vara en destination eller inte.

This thesis examines the topic of the management of tourism destinations. The main aim is to summarize the potential of tourism in Hradec Králové region on the basis of the performed analysis and suggest a strategy for further tourism development. The first part deals with basic definitions and theories of destination management and marketing. The second part is devoted to tourism in Hradec Králové Region. It includes an analysis of the key factors of tourism development, an analysis of the current situation of tourism in the region, a SWOT analysis, and possibilities for further tourism development.

The presented thesis deals with the development of microregion Rakovnicko with regard to the area of tourism. The main objective of the study was to find out what kind of options has the surveyed region for supporting business activities in the field of tourism. The operational objective was to describe the limits of business development in this area. The objectives were obtained through analysis of the state of particular business support tools. The analysis covered the past and the current state of support tools, and the final conclusion was drawn within each of them.

The diploma thesis deals with the possibilities of utilization of cultural heritage in tourism of the Czech Republic and in Italy. The thesis describes heritage care system and culture funding in both countries, but it deals also with tourism management and promotion in both countries. The case of Italy is used as an example for comparison with the Czech system. The thesis is divided into four parts. First of them deals with theoretical definition and closer description of culture and tourism, as well as cultural tourism. Second part describes the situation in the Czech Republic. Third chapter is crucial because it describes Italian practice in heritage care, arts funding, tourism and its promotion and organization. This chapter includes also practical analysis of several Italian monuments and ways they are managed, ranking from the most important monuments to local ones, from technical heritage to church monuments. Fourth chapter compares the situation in both countries according to findings of previous chapters. At the end of the comparison there are several examples, positive but also negative, where Czech Republic can learn from Italian experience.

This thesis examines the topic of the management of tourism destinations and the function of destination management companies. This topic is examined on the example of East-Moravian Tourist Authority. The first part is devoted to theory of destination management and marketing and describes the region of Eastern Moravia including characteristic of East-Moravian Tourist Authority. The second part analyzes activities of the company and evaluates the influence on tourism development in the region.