Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Technology: Hospitality and Tourism, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / In South Africa, the tourism industry has been identified as one of the key drivers for economic development and transformation of the country. Although South Africa joined the world tourism stage since democracy, the country still contends with issues linked to apartheid, such as poverty, inequality and transformation. More specific and related to this study is the transformation of the tourism industry. In this regard, an overwhelming majority of tourism enterprises are still under the ownership of the White minority. With the post-apartheid transition, the national government recognized that the unequal ownership structure within the tourism sector (as with most of the other economic sectors) needed to be addressed through a programme of transformation. Hence, the transformation programme introduced to counter the current dominance of the economic sector was called Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), followed by Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE); the programme aimed at redressing inequalities that were linked to the legacy of apartheid. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather in-depth information from respondents, based on their accommodation establishment. The data collected from the responses were analysed using Microsoft Excel. This study revealed that the accommodation sector is struggling to keep up with the 2014 transformation target of thirty percent. Incidentally, transformation as noted by the National Department of Tourism, within the industry currently stands at less than 3 percent and will struggle to meet the amended target of thirty percent in respect of the transformation targets set for 2017. Although the government has introduced many initiatives to promote Black participation within the accommodation sector, transformation has remained stagnant and Black ownership of accommodation establishments is almost non-existent. The study results have found that there are no Black business that operate within the CBD of Clarens and that businesses that operate in Clarens even though wholly White-owned, are indeed compliant with the Tourism BEE charter in spite of the results noting that no transformation has taken place. This is due to the issue of automatic compliance afforded to businesses based on their annual turnover. / M

The South African government has attempted to find a balance of interests between the employer and the employee by the introduction of the Labour Relations Act in 1995 and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act in 1997. It is critical to the health of the South African economy that these labour laws do not impact small businesses to the extent that the Gross Domestic Product of the country is negatively affected. There are conflicting reports as to how these labour laws affect small businesses. It is therefore important for government to be able to understand, define and measure the impact of its labour laws on small businesses, in order for it to strategise corrective measures, which may include reconsidering the application of the legislative directive, regulated flexibility, if required. The study was limited in the sense that it was solely based on evidence collected from employers. An interpretivist approach was applied as a research methodology to data collected through in-depth interviews. The main findings of the empirical analysis demonstrate that labour legislation does not heavily impact small firms. It was thus determined that extensive measures were not needed with regard to correcting the framework of regulated flexibility.

The application of internet marketing techniques has been widespread in the hospitality sector worldwide, with many hotels crafting websites for marketing purposes. However, there is still a debate and speculation on the impact of internet marketing on business performance and profitability. Given the well-recognised value of internet marketing in the hospitality and tourism industry, this study sought to examine the impact of internet marketing on the profitability of the hospitality sector in South Africa and to establish factors which influence internet marketing usage. In order to achieve these objectives, a perceptual survey was conducted in graded hotels and lodges in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Multiple linear regression analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between internet marketing and business profitability as well as the relationship between organisational and environmental factors and internet marketing usage. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the use of internet marketing can positively influence business profitability. It is also concluded that internet marketing experience moderates the relationship between internet marketing usage and business profitability. The results also indicate that factors such as technological competence, managerial support, level of star grading and alliances significantly influence internet marketing usage. Thus, from the findings of this study, it was concluded that hotels and lodges can enhance their profitability through internet marketing usage.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test blue-print for a hospitality management capstone course to measure programmatic student learning outcomes. A total of 50 hospitality industry professionals and hospitality management faculty were interviewed through focus group discussions, and a post-focus group survey was conducted to determine a weighted percentage for each of the nine determined content domains. A test blueprint was developed from the weighted proportions determined by this study and a process by which other educational institutions could follow to establish a consistent and accurate evaluation method for a capstone course was described.

Med teknologins utveckling och framsteg har det blivit en utmaning för verksamheter att intehalka efter i den digitala utvecklingen. Digitalisering har potential att öka effektivitet, sänkakostnader och öka ekonomisk tillväxt inom verksamheter, vilket i sin tur leder till ökadkonkurrenskraft. Sverige har kommit långt i den digitala utvecklingen men det betyder dockinte att alla regioner i Sverige har kommit lika långt och det finns mer och mindre digitaliseradeområden i landet. Glesbygden är ett av de områdena som riskerar att halka efter, då glesbygderär mindre befolkad och får mindre resurser för att till exempel utveckla datainfrastruktur.Besöksnäringen är en viktig näring i glesbygden som sysselsätter människor, bidrar tillutveckling av samhället och den svenska ekonomin samt representerar regioner och landet i sinhelhet. Anledningen till att besöksnäringsföretagen i glesbygden var ett intressant område attundersöka var för att denna sektor anses ligga efter när det kommer till digitalisering. Tidigareforskning har visats att besöksnäringen har en lägre digital mognad än andra sektorer. Dåverksamheterna inom besöksnäringen i glesbygden består huvudsakligen av mikroföretag vardet intressant att undersöka denna grupp. Vilket ledde till att studiens syfte var att undersökahur den digitala mognaden såg ut för besöksnäringens mikroföretag i glesbygden. Arbetet harockså undersökt vilken syn företagen har på digitalisering samt utmaningar/behov somupplevdes. Genom intervjuer med fyra verksamheter i olika branscher inom besöksnäringenoch ett konsultföretag fann vi att företag i glesbygdens besöksnäring har samma positiva syn pådigitalisering och upplever liknande utmaningar/behov gällande resurser, digital kompetens ochteknologi som andra branscher/sektorer i glesbygden. En unik karaktär som vi fann var att“digital detox” vilket var en motståndskraft för digitalisering hos företagens kunder. Detta varnågot som ett företag förklarade att de använde som marknadsföring.Vår beräkning av företagens digitala mognad blev högre än tidigare studier. Vilket kan beropå att respondenterna saknade digital kompetens för att självdiagnoserna deras verksamhetdigitala mognadsgrad. Studien fann ett behov för ökad digital kompetens, detta kan bidra tillatt höja besöksnäringens mikroföretags digitala mognaden där en lösning kan vara att användasig av extern hjälp. / With the development and advancement of technology, it has become a challenge for businessesnot to lag behind in digital development. Digitalization has the potential to increase efficiency,reduce costs and increase economic growth in businesses, which in turn leads to increasedcompetitiveness. Sweden has come a long way in digital development, but this does not meanthat all regions in Sweden have come the same way and there are more and less digitized areasin the country. Rural areas are one of the areas that risk lagging behind, as rural areas are lesspopulated and have fewer resources for developing, for example data infrastructure. Thehospitality industry is an important industry in rural areas because it employs people,contributes to the development of the society and the Swedish economy, and represents regionsand the country as a whole. The reason why the hospitality companies in rural areas were aninteresting area to investigate was because this sector is considered to be lagging behind whenit comes to digitalization. Previous research has shown that the hospitality industry has a lowerdigital maturity than other sectors. Businesses within the hospitality industry in rural areasconsist mainly of micro-enterprises and therefore it was interesting to investigate this group.This led to the purpose of the study, to investigate the digital maturity for the hospitalityindustry's micro-enterprises in rural areas. This study has also examined the companies' viewson digitalization and the challenges/needs they experienced. The study gathered data throughinterviews with four companies in different trades within the hospitality industry and oneconsulting company. We found that companies in the hospitality industry in rural areas havethe same positive view of digitalization and experience similar challenges/needs regardingresources, digital skills, and technology as other trades/sectors in rural areas. A uniquecharacteristic that we found was "digital detox" which is a resistance to digitalization from thecustomers. This was something that a company explained was used as marketing.Our calculation of companies' digital maturity was higher than previous studies. Which maybe due to lack of digital competence from the respondents to self-diagnose their businessdigital maturity. The study found a need for increased digital competence, this can contributeto raising the digital maturity of the hospitality industry's micro-enterprises, where onesolution may be to use external help.

B.Tech. (Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology / The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between marketing effectiveness and the marketing mix of guesthouses in the Vaal Region. This goal was achieved by firstly exploring the application of marketing and marketing effectiveness in the tourism industry through a literature study. Based on the literature study a questionnaire was developed and a survey conducted to analyse the marketing mix as well as marketing effectiveness of guesthouses and the relationship between these two as possible factors influencing both. Marketing is a very important management function in any business. It is a process focused on matching the right customer with a certain product or service in order to satisfy their wants and needs. Marketing can create a competitive advantage for organisations which influences the success and longterm profitability of the organisation. The marketing approach for small organisations differs from that of larger organisations due to limited resources, lack of specialist expertise and a limited impact in the marketplace. Smaller organisations such as guesthouses seem to handle marketing in a more informal and unstructured manner and thereby underestimating the value and role of marketing. Marketing is directly influenced by the application of the four Ps, namely product, price, place and promotion. The planning and application of the four Ps, however, contributes to successful marketing. The question is whether guesthouse owners realise this. Research was undertaken at the guesthouses in the Vaal Region to determine the relationship between the marketing mix and marketing effectiveness through the eyes of the consumer, since they need to react to the marketing material. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed of which 451 were completed by the visitors. v Firstly, the data was used to compile tables and graphs to interpret the descriptive data: demographic profile of respondents, travel preferences of respondents, a descriptive view of the marketing mix elements and the effectiveness of marketing for guesthouses. Secondly, by means of a factor analyses, the marketing mix elements were grouped according to price, place, product, promotion (advertising) and promotion (contact), and the marketing effectiveness elements were grouped according to quantity control and quality control. Product was found to be the most important element of the marketing mix and quality control was found to be the most important element of marketing effectiveness. Thirdly, no significant differences were found on the marketing mix elements and the marketing effectiveness factors and gender and marital status. The spearman rank order correlations revealed that older people consider product as a marketing mix element to be less important. Frequent travellers consider promotion (advertising), promotion (contact) and quality control to be less important. Lastly, definite correlations were found between the marketing mix elements and the marketing effectiveness factors. This implies that even smaller guesthouses should implement the marketing mix elements which can assist in improving the marketing effectiveness of the guesthouse. Guesthouses will yield better results when implementing the marketing mix effectively. This study contributes to the information that already exists concerning the marketing mix and marketing effectiveness but more in terms of the relationship between the two.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur svenska aktörer inom besöksnäringen arbetar med hållbarhet och på vilket sätt de kommunicerar ut detta genom digitala kanaler. Forskningsfrågor:Hur arbetar svenska aktörer inom besöksnäringen med hållbarhet?Hur väljer svenska aktörer inom besöksnäringen att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete? Metod: Studien bygger på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med abduktiv ansats. De kvalitativa metoder som har genomförts består av semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio respondenter från nio företag, och observationer av respektive företags digitala plattformar. Vidare har det insamlade materialet tematiskt analyserats. Resultat & slutsats: Studiens resultat påvisar att det finns en medvetenhet kring vikten av hållbarhetskommunikation bland samtliga respondenter. Alla tillfrågade företag väljer att arbeta med hållbarhet på olika sätt, men de flesta respondenter kopplade hållbarhet i första hand till det miljömässiga perspektivet. De sociala och ekonomiska perspektiven upplystes däremot även mer eller mindre av flera av respondenterna. Vidare väljer de tillfråga företagen att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete utåt till skillnad från att enbart kommunicera internt, som tidigare var normen. Dock uppfattas det som en utmaning för företagen att använda digitala kanaler för att kommunicera sitt hållbarhetsarbete och skapa en tydlig ansvarsuppfattning hos konsumenterna. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how Swedish actors in the hospitality industry work with sustainability and in what way they communicate this through digital channels. Research question:How do Swedish actors in the hospitality industry work with sustainability?How do Swedish actors in the hospitality industry choose to communicate their sustainability work? Methodology: The study is based on a qualitative research method with abductive approach. The qualitative methods that have been conducted consist of semi -structured interviews with ten respondents from nine companies, and observations of the respective companies' digital platforms. Furthermore, the collected material has been thematically analyzed. Analysis & Conclusion: The study's findings reveal that all respondents recognize the importance of sustainability communication. All of the companies questioned chose to work with sustainability in different ways, although the majority of respondents associated sustainability primarily with the environmental perspective. Several respondents, on the other hand, provided information on the social and economic perspectives of sustainability. Furthermore, the companies questioned choose to communicate their sustainability work outward as opposed to communicating internally, which was previously the norm. However, it is perceived as a challenge for companies to use digital channels to communicate their sustainability work and establish a clear view of responsibility for consumers.

Denna forskningsstudie undersöker de utmaningar som hotell i Sverige har stått inför på grund av Covid-19-pandemin. Närmare bestämt analyserar studien hur dessa hotell reagerade på krisen. Det råder ingen tvekan om att pandemin har drabbat den globala turistsektorn väldigt kraftigt. Miljontals arbetstillfällen har gått förlorade, och länder vars ekonomier som är beroende av turism står inför de värsta ekonomiska lågkonjunkturerna i historien.  Sektorn vänder sig dock i dag till innovation för att stödja återöppnandet och en återgång till lönsamhet. I Sverige har sektorn tagit till sig innovativa lösningar, bland annat genom att öka konkurrenskraften och bygga upp motståndskraft genom strategier som att främja inhemsk och regional turism, ekonomisk diversifiering och underlättandet av en mer gynnsam arbetsmiljö för mikroföretag, små och medelstora företag. Andra strategier som har hjälpt att strategiskt öppna sektorn i denna tid under pandemin är den digitala omvandlingen av hela turismekonomin genom att investera i digital kompetens för arbetstagare som har förlorat sina arbeten och inkomstkälla under pandemin.  Studiens syfte är att analysera de krishanteringsstrategier som svenska hotell implementerade i början av Covid-19-pandemin. För att uppnå studiens syfte används semistrukturerade intervjuer som den primära datainsamlingsmetoden. Det kommer genomföras intervjuer med fem olika hotelldirektörer från Sveriges största hotellkedjor. / This research study explores the challenges that hotels in Sweden have faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, it assesses how these organizations responded to the crisis. There is no doubt that the pandemic has hit the global tourism sector very heavily. Indeed, millions of jobs have been lost, with countries whose economies are dependent on tourism facing the worst economic recessions in their collective history.  The sector is today turning to innovation to support its re-opening and a return to profitability. In Sweden, the sector has embraced innovative solutions, including boosting competitiveness and building resilience through strategies such as promoting domestic and regional tourism, economic diversification, and the facilitation of a conducive business environment for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Other strategies that have aided the strategic re-opening of the sector during the pandemic is the digital transformation of the entire tourism economy by promoting investments in digital skills for workers who have lost their jobs and livelihoods during the pandemic.  Against this backdrop, this study’s key objective is to analyze the crisis-management strategies adopted and implemented by Swedish hotels at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. It will deploy semi-structured interviews as the primary data-collection approach to achieve this goal. Five interviews with executives in five of the largest hotel chains in Sweden will be conducted.

This thesis analyses whether there is any possible relationship between external shopping centers and city-center firms located in Swedish small cities from the perspective of their revenue level. The importance of this research question emerges as a result of a recent trend of business allocation from city centers towards edge-of-town areas. Newly established external shopping centers bring attractiveness to the local area; however, they prosper at the expense of city center businesses. As a result, city centers lose their attractiveness. This trend is especially harmful for small cities which usually do not have enough customer base to satisfy the demand required to support firms both located in the city centers and external shopping centers. Based on the firm level revenue data, a quantitative study is performed. According to main empirical findings a negative significant relationship is found between the revenue of city-center retailing firms and the revenue level of external shopping centers. However, no significant relationship is found for the firms belonging to the hospitality sector. Key-words: small city, retailing sector, h

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration