The main objective of this research is to study development of the Lithuanian system of tourism and activity of the organizations of tourism during three periods: the interwar period (1918 - 1940), a war time (1940 - 1944) and the period during the second Soviet occupation (1944 - 1990). Tourism is activity in which people are engaged in travel away from home first of all for pleasure and it was popular in all times. The first organization of tourism in the world was established in the middle of the XIX century. Because of a long rule of the Russian empire, the opportunity to develop this system in Lithuania was received only during the interwar period. The support of the Lithuanian government wasn’t substantial. It had decreed some laws that set the rules how to manage resorts, historical monuments and other tourist attractions; prepared construction plans for the new hotels and started advertising Lithuania in foreign countries. But there wasn’t any organization that could coordinate and administrate all the system of tourism. The first organization in Lithuania The Lithuanian union of tourism was established 25th of April in 1929. It has been reorganized some times up to 1935 when representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, Šaulių sąjungos and others have formed the headquarters. The Lithuanian union of tourism became the strong organized establishment. The main objective of this organization was... [to full text]

The Internet is playing an increasingly crucial role in destination marketing and it is used as a major marketing tool among National Tourism Organizations (NTOs). Website design is influential for consumers' Website preference and destination selection. This study is to understand the application of image-based technology by the major National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) through the collection and comparison of static images and dynamic images presented in their official tourism Websites. Data collected from the sampling of the world's top 25 tourism destination nations reveals that all National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) use either static images or dynamic images for their Websites, but the use of static images are far more popular than that of dynamic images.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how municipalities can work with place marketing through the use of social media and influencers. This has been explored through a case study of the blog Resfredagand the blog’s thematic series Svenska pärlor, a collaborative marketing initiative initiated by the municipalities of: Borås, Karlstad Karlskrona, Marstrand, Nynäshamn, Skaftö/ Lysekil, Söderköping, Skara, Tjörn, Strömstad, Östersund and Umeå. The study has been carried out through nine semi-structured interviews with key sources representing the municipalities who have an entry posted to the blog, but also with Annika Myhre who runs the blog Resfredag. The result of the study showed that the similarities and differences between the municipalities work with place marketing can be viewed through the themes of: the changed role of the tourism organizations, target markets and groups, as well as digital presence. The municipalities´ collaborations with the blog Resfredagcould also be answered through the themes of: selling an idea, daring to make an attempt and paid/non- paid collaboration. Finally, the possibilities and problems of influencer collaborations were described through the themes of: credibility, cooperation and difficulties to measure. The different themes have created the understanding that municipalities tourism organizations are increasingly becoming tourism actors in a more and more digitalized market.

Darbo objektas: Strategijos formavimas Kauno turizmo organizacijose. Darbo tikslas: Nustatyti strategijos formavimo ypatumus Kauno turizmo organizacijose. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Apibrėžti strategijos sampratą ir reikšmę organizacijose veiklos efektyvumui. 2. Išskirti strateginėms mokykloms būdingus strategijos kūrimo ir įgyvendinimo procesus. 3. Išskirti strategijos formavimą organizacijose nulemiančius veiksnius atskleidžiant svarbiausius turizmo organizacijoms. 4. Sukurti turizmo organizacijų strategijos formavimo modelį. 5. Išskirti strategijos formavimo ypatumus Kauno kelionių agentūrose. Rezultatai: 1. Strategija – tai apgalvota ir ilgalaikė organizacijos plėtros kryptis bei apibrėžtam laikotarpiui veiklos veiksmų sistema, kuri sudaro galimybes organizacijai įgyvendinti jos tikslus ir yra pagrįsta remiantis jos veiklos sritimis ir formomis, vidiniais ištekliais bei pozicija išorinėje aplinkoje. Turizmo strategija turi būti formuojama atsižvelgiant į valstybinę ir regioninę turizmo strategiją. Taip pat labai svarbu pasirinkti konkrečiai įmonei tinkančią strategiją. 2. Strateginių mokyklų pasirinkimas ir strategijos kūrimas priklauso nuo: aplinkos pokyčių, konkurencingumo, vadovo asmeninės patirties, organizacijos potencialo, organizacijos dydžio, nuo organizacijos kultūros, valdžios ir politinės jėgos. Strategijos kūrimo ir įgyvendinimo procesai gali būti įvairūs, griežtai struktūrizuoti arba pasirenkami iš daugelio alternatyvų. 3. Kuriant turizmo įmonės strategiją ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of the study is: strategy formation in Kaunas tourism organizations. The aim of the study: to ascertain specific peculiarities of strategy formation in Kaunas tourism organizations. The tasks of the study: 1. To determine strategy conception and significance for the efficiency of the enterprise activity. 2. To except characteristic strategy creation and realization processes for strategy schools. 3. To except factors determining enterprises strategy formation and except the most important for the tourism enterprises. 4. To prepare tourism enterprise strategy model. 5. To sort out what determines strategy formation specific features in travel agencies. Results: 1. Strategy is deliberate and long lasting development direction of the organization, which creates possibilities for the organization to realize its aims and is based referring to its activity spheres and forms, internal resources and position in external environment. Tourism strategy must be formed taking into consideration state and regional tourism strategy. Furthermore it is very important to choose suitable strategy for the concrete enterprise. 2. The choice of strategy schools and strategy formation depends on the environmental changes, competition, individual experience of the leader, potential of the organization, organization culture and size, government and political power. Creation of strategy and realization processes can be various, strictly structurized or chosen from a lot of alternatives... [to full text]

Hållbar turism är ett högaktuellt ämne som berör alla involverade aktörer inom turism. Konceptet kan tillämpas på alla geografiska nivåer och det grundläggande syftet är att minimera turismens negativa effekter samt att maximera dess positiva effekter. Sedan ”Brundtlandrapporten” har begreppen hållbar utveckling och hållbar turism behandlats i en stor mängd litteratur samt varit föremål för många diskussioner och debatter. Trots detta är båda begreppen och många av dess definitioner komplexa, otydliga och svåra att operationalisera. Denna otydlighet är en bidragande faktor till att implementering av hållbar utveckling likväl som hållbar turism har varit långsam och långt ifrån framgångsrik. Det är viktigt att inte betrakta hållbar turism som en definierbar slutpunkt utan att arbetet bör ses som en process. Det är därför möjligt att göra insatser som syftar till en mer hållbar turismutveckling men det är omöjligt att exakt beskriva ett hållbart tillstånd. En av de främsta barriärerna för framåtskridande inom hållbar turism är det bristfälliga stödet från konsumenter. Många anser sig ha positiva attityder gentemot hållbar turism men endast ett fåtal omsätter dessa i praktiken. Det finns flera metoder för att påverka konsumenter att välja hållbara alternativ såsom uppförandekoder, miljömärkningar och marknadsföring. Utöver konsumenternas bristfälliga stöd finns även många andra barriärer för implementering av hållbar turism men det är viktigare att fokusera på och jobba utifrån goda exempel. Regionala turismorganisationer kan jobba utifrån en modell innehållande framgångsfaktorer för att uppnå en framgångsrik implementering av hållbar turism. Dessa faktorer innefattar bland annat samordning, medvetenhet, tydlighet och ekonomisk prioritet. För att sedan avgöra om de insatser som görs leder till att utvecklingen går i en hållbar riktning är mätning genom indikatorer ett användbart verktyg. Hållbar utveckling kan även kopplas till en diskussion om ansvar och etiska frågor, där vissa företag och organisationer börjar arbeta med hållbar turism endast för egen vinning medan andra även beaktar etiska aspekter. För att regionala turismorganisationer ska kunna avgöra på vilken nivå de ligger i sitt hållbarhetsarbete kan de använda sig av en hierarki bestående av fyra delar, alltifrån basnivå till avancerad nivå. Organisationerna kan i tillägg till detta även arbeta utifrån ett antal steg för att nå högre nivåer i sitt hållbarhetsarbete. Tillväxtverket och Innovasjon Norge arbetar med turism på nationell nivå i Sverige respektive Norge. Dessa samarbetar i sin tur med regionala turismorganisationer och företag. Region Dalarna, Swedish Lapland Tourism, Jämtland Härjedalen Turism och Fjord Norge AS är regionala turismorganisationer som ligger på olika nivåer i den tidigare nämnda hierarkin. Deras hållbarhetsarbete skiljer sig därmed åt vilket bland annat kan bero på när organisationerna bildades, deras organisationsform och vilka de huvudsakliga uppgifterna är i de olika organisationerna. I strävan mot en hållbar turismutveckling krävs insatser från aktörer på alla geografiska nivåer och det måste finnas ett målinriktat strategiskt samarbete mellan nivåerna. Alla aktörer har olika roller att spela i resan mot en hållbar turismutveckling och regionala turismorganisationer fungerar som en viktig länk mellan nationella aktörer och aktörer på destinations- och företagsnivå. / Sustainable tourism is a highly topical subject that concerns all actors involved in tourism. The concept can be applied to all geographical levels and its basic purpose is to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and to maximize its positive impacts. Since the report of the Brundtland Commission, the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable tourism have been treated in a large body of literature and the subject of many discussions and debates. Nevertheless, both concepts and many of its definitions are complex, unclear and difficult to operationalize. This ambiguity is a contributing factor to the fact that the implementation of sustainable development as well as sustainable tourism has been slow and far from successful. It is important not to consider sustainable tourism as a definable end point, efforts should instead be seen as a process. It is therefore possible to make efforts towards more sustainable tourism development but it’s impossible to accurately describe a sustainable condition. One of the main barriers to progress in sustainable tourism is the lack of support from consumers. Research has shown that many people have positive attitudes towards sustainable tourism but only a few sales of these in practice. There are several methods to influence consumers to choose sustainable alternatives such as codes of conducts, eco-labels and marketing. In addition to consumers' lack of support, there are many other barriers for the implementation of sustainable tourism but it is more important to focus on and work from good examples. Regional tourism organizations can work from key success factors in achieving a successful implementation of sustainable tourism. These factors include, among other things, coordination, awareness, clarity and economic priority. To then determine whether the efforts leading to the development is in a sustainable direction indicators are a useful tool. Sustainable development can be linked to a discussion of responsibility and ethical issues, where some companies and organizations are beginning to work on sustainable tourism only for their own benefit, while others also take into account ethical aspects. For regional tourism organizations will be able to determine at what level they are in their sustainability efforts, they can make use of a hierarchy of four elements, ranging from basic level to advanced level. Organizations can add to this work from a number of steps to reach higher levels in their sustainability efforts. Tillväxtverket and Innovasjon Norge are working with tourism at the national level in Sweden and Norway respectively. These organizations collaborate in turn with regional tourism organizations and companies. Region Dalarna, Swedish Lapland Tourism, Jämtland Härjedalen Turism and Fjord Norge AS are all regional tourism organizations and are at different levels in the previously mentioned hierarchy. Their efforts for sustainable tourism is therefore different to, inter alia, from when the organization was formed, their organizational form and the main tasks in the different organizations. The movement toward sustainable tourism development requires action from stakeholders at all geographical levels and there must be a targeted strategic cooperation between the levels. All parties have different tasks in the journey towards sustainable tourism development and regional tourism organizations serves as an important link between national operators and destination and enterprise level.

The goal of my dissertation was to find out, how the consumers are informed about the consumer protection, if they know their rights and the organization dealing with this area. At first there were chosen four working hypotheses. Based on questionary research were these hypotheses confirmed or disconfirmed and in consequence was given suggestion to improve this situation - presentation of the organizations dealing with the consumers protection at expert fair. It was chosen fair Holiday World in Prague, beacause it is the biggest fair of tourism.