Digital technologies have a substantial impact on the tourism industry by affecting thetraveller's behaviour before, during and at the end of the trip and by transforming thetraditional travellers to the digital travellers and smart tourism. Data lies at the core ofall smart tourism activities and received considerable attention in the context of tourists'privacy concerns, precisely, location-based service (LBS). LBS is an example of smarttechnology to enhance travellers' experience and to provide significant benefits to users.Although, LBS become popular among tourists due to high information availability, easeof use, and cheapness, lack of location information protection make the users vulnerable.The latter is a great concern for users when they unintentionally allow the LBS providersto collect all information related to their location. Therefore, this study was conductedby focusing on the general concept of privacy to determine the issues related to the LBSusing in Småland tourism industry. The tourists' perceptions and understanding ofprivacy while using LBC were considered as a general concept of privacy.The study was performed through qualitative research by collecting data from thestructured-interview based on open-ended questions. The qualitative research presentedin this study was based on different viewpoints of interviewees. Thematic analysis wasused to obtain a comprehensive understanding of interviewees' privacy concerns to useLBS. The result indicated four major themes, such as personal information, privacybreach, hesitancy/conditionally and hedonic, that impact differently on tourists' intentionto use LBS. Furthermore, the personality of people, their perceptions and demands couldenhance their privacy concerns for using LBS. These concerns, however, might besuspended when the benefits of gaining information from LBS is considerable. Someother factors, such as the ease of use, user-friendly design, pleasant impression, alongwith providing useful information in the tourism destination, were also considered asessential for LBS adoption among tourists.

A system to regulate both quality and sustainability regarding Swedish tourism industry is under way. In order for the system to be successfull it needs to be accompanied by an education, in this case a net based education is studied. High requirements are demanded for a successful net based education for a sustainable tourism industry. This is valid both for the didactic area,  which is how an education is structured and planned and in the organisational area, which is how and education best is implemented in a company. The aim with this study is to increase the understandings of which aspects that are important for  developers  if this net based education. The study was conducted at three hostels in Stockholm with surrondings.  Both managers and  employees participated in the study.  The managers where interviewed and got to answer a questionniare. The employees participated in a workshop. The outcome of this study indicates that education is  needed for  a successful system. Following the resut an analysis and discussion from where a  couple of  conclusions and recommendations is derived  for a successful  development  of a net based education in quality and sustainability for hostels. These are in summary  that: The education should consist to a great amount social activities. The education should promote questioned reflections in collaboration with others. The education should be relevant for every participant. It should exist a common part which is the same for every participant. Good leadership is of most importance when implementing a new education. The education should be attached with sufficient implementation information. A net based forum should be established as a complement to the education. / För svensk besöksnäring utvecklas ett kvalitets- och hållbarhetssystem som går under namnet Hållbar Besöksnäring. Inom ramarna för det systemet ska en nätbaserad utbildning tas fram. En framgångsrik nätbaserad utbildning för en hållbar besöksnäring ställer höga krav. Dels på det didaktiska planet, dvs hur struktureringen och planeringen av lärandet ska gå till, och dels på det organisatoriska planet, dvs hur en utbildning bäst bör föras in på ett företag. Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för vilka aspekter som är viktiga att ta hänsyn till vid framtagandet av en nätbaserad utbildning för en hållbar besöksnäring. Undersökningen genomfördes på tre vandrarhem i Stockholm med omnejd. Både verksamhetschefer och personal deltog i undersökningen. Verksamhetscheferna intervjuades och fick svar på frågor i en enkät. Personal deltog i en workshop. Resultatet pekar på att en utbildning behövs för att kvalitetssystemet ska lyckas. Efteratt resultatet presenterats följer en analys och diskussion varifrån ett antal slutsatser och rekommendationer härleds för en lyckad utveckling av en nätbaserad utbildning inom kvalitet och hållbarhet för vandrahem. Dessa lyder i sin sammanfattning att: Utbildningen bör innehålla en till stor del sociala moment utbildningen bör främja kritisk reflektion i samarbete med andraUtbildningen bör vara ytterst relevant för varje deltagare Det ska finnas en gemensam del som är lika för alla i kvalitetssystemet Ett gott ledarskap är av yttersta vikt vid införandet Utbildningen bör åtföljas av tillräckling implementeringsinformation Ett nätbaserat forum bör upprättas som komplement till utbildningen

The subject of this thesis entitled What does an invisible city look like is the perception of a city and the way it is represented. The work is based on urban semiotics that sees urban environment as a particular system of communication. The methods of sensory urbanism and rhythm analysis are employed as well. The author asks whether the cities could be represented by other than visual symbols as it is usually the case for the products of tourism industry (guidebooks, souvenirs, etc.). Usually, the symbol of a particular city is formed by the image of its skyline. In Prague, this is the skyline of the Prague Castle, in Paris, it is the Eiffel tower, in New York, it is the Statue of Liberty, etc. But every city has definitely many other qualities. What are they? To find the answer, the author asks for help the visually impaired people. These people can tell easily what are the non-visual qualities of the urban space as they experience them necessarily in their everyday life and use them for better orientation. The author interviewed the visually impaired people and she also observed the way they read the city in real. The practical part of the thesis focuses on the Prague city centre.

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.

The diploma thesis analyzes the effects of instagramization on specific tourist destinations and the ways in which those places deal with this phenomena. The analysis includes five places from all over the world and apart from description of places and strategies of dealing with instagramization, the analysis also provides categorization of its impacts. The thesis also places the relationship between Instagram, its aesthetics and tourism into a broader theoretical framework, and thus introduces their mutual and close connection. Key words: tourism, tourism industry, Instagram, aesthetic, instagramization, instagrammability, over-tourim, Instagram influencers.

Travel is an adventure into a new unexplored culture, different from what surrounds the traveler in the usual life at home. Culture is reflected not only in architecture, food, and literature but also in social relationships. How people react to everything they hear and see is based on the characteristics of their cultures. During travel, there is a clash of multiple cultures in the faces of tourists and tourism workers. The workers are the people presenting their culture to the tourists, but how does culture itself affect the working conditions of these people? The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between cultural norms and the working conditions of workers in the tourism industry. To achieve the purpose of this paper, the cases of Sweden and Turkey were used, since their cultures are fundamentally different from each other. The result of this study showed that Turkish culture is largely based on social relationships and not on following regulations, which leads to corruption and disregard for labor laws. On the other hand, Swedish culture is rule-based, and these characteristics have a beneficial influence on the enforcement of labor laws. The information obtained as a result of this work can be used to study and understand how culture affects the state of working conditions and how the relationship between tourists and tourism workers differs depending on their cultural characteristics.

В магистерской диссертации исследованы проблемы формирования инвестиционного регионального климата. Представлен ряд сценариев по развитию туристской отрасли и рассмотрен один из проектов по формированию туристской деятельности. / In the master's thesis, the problems of the formation of the regional investment climate are investigated. A number of scenarios for the development of the tourism industry are presented and one of the projects for the formation of tourist activity is considered.

The full text will be available at the end of the embargo: 15th Dec 2026

The tourism industry is one of the biggest economic contributors in South Africa and it is predicted that the industry will grow significantly over the years to come. This growth pressures South Africa to stay competitive and adhere to the needs of the visitors. The latter being one of the core functions of any tourism establishment. Labour structures in the tourism industry are constantly changing and to deliver quality products, employees should be well skilled and prepared for the demands of the industry. The accommodation sector, one of the biggest sectors in the tourism industry, provides a variety of services to tourists when visiting this country. It was determined in the literature review that the skills needed by an accommodation manager, to provide the expected services include flexibility, people skills, the ability to train other employees and the ability to explore the ever changing needs of the tourist. Higher education organisations in South Africa educate potential tourism employees in a variety of skills and knowledge. However, some employees are still of the opinion that these students are not adequately prepared for the demands of the industry and therefore complain. Added to this, there is very little communication between the industry and higher education organisations. Therefore the tourism industry feels that students are not employable which creates challenges for students, higher education organisations and the tourism industry. Education and skills development should contribute directly to the economic growth of South Africa and the government, a very important role player in the tourism industry, encourages education opportunities in South Africa. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine, through industry participitation, what the management skills required within graded establishments in South Africa are. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: To analyse the literature available regarding the managerial theories, managerial levels, managerial processes and universal skills needed by managers, to analyse the tourism industry and hospitality sector, identify the important role played by managerial skills within this sector and to identify higher education programmes available in South Africa that focus specifically on managerial skills development for the accommodation sector. Thirdly, to collect and analyse the perceptions of accommodation owners and managers regarding the managerial skills and knowledge required by graduate managerial employees and then to draw conclusions and make recommendations to higher education organisations to adapt tourism management qualification programmes. This was achieved by making use of a quantitative research method by means of self-administered questionnaires, distributed to 254 Tourism Grading Counsil of South Africa’s (TGCSA) graded establishment managers in the nine (9) provinces of South Africa. The data, gathered from the questionnaire, was captured electronically by an online programme, SurveyMonkey. The data was then processed by means of SPSS and analysed. The descriptive results revealed that most of the responding accommodation establishments do employ graduates, but these graduates have to display certain characteristics. The top three characteristics for an accommodation manager included trustworthiness, responsibility and motivation in that order. Being ambitious, intelligent and sensitive rated the lowest. A factor analysis revealed that there are 10 important factors that contributes to being an effective accommodation manager. These skills included: 1) Personal characteristics, 2) Forecasting skills, 3) Strategic management skills, 4) Human resource skills, 5) Problem solving and crisis management skills, 6) Communication skills, 7) Information technology skills, 8) Customer service skills, 9) Financial skills and 10) Marketing skills. The comparisons (by means of ANOVA’s, t-tests and spearman rank order correlations) between skills needed by an accommodation manager and selected business characteristics (the province in which the accommodation establishment is located, the grading status, the size, the number of employees and the years that the accommodation establishment has been in operation) are unique to this study and various significant differences were identified. Comparisons have also been done between skills needed by an accommodation manager and selected personal characteristics (age, current position, duration of employment, level of higher education and the necessity of practical skills before employment of the respondent) which also revealed significant differences. The highest number of significant differences was identified for larger establishments, age, position of the respondents and the duration of employment. The results of this study can be used by higher education organisations to adapt their current tourism management qualifications, and by accommodation establishments to understand the training needs of employees. It did however voice the concerns of industry role players when it comes to new graduates and their employability. / MA (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The tourism industry is one of the biggest economic contributors in South Africa and it is predicted that the industry will grow significantly over the years to come. This growth pressures South Africa to stay competitive and adhere to the needs of the visitors. The latter being one of the core functions of any tourism establishment. Labour structures in the tourism industry are constantly changing and to deliver quality products, employees should be well skilled and prepared for the demands of the industry. The accommodation sector, one of the biggest sectors in the tourism industry, provides a variety of services to tourists when visiting this country. It was determined in the literature review that the skills needed by an accommodation manager, to provide the expected services include flexibility, people skills, the ability to train other employees and the ability to explore the ever changing needs of the tourist. Higher education organisations in South Africa educate potential tourism employees in a variety of skills and knowledge. However, some employees are still of the opinion that these students are not adequately prepared for the demands of the industry and therefore complain. Added to this, there is very little communication between the industry and higher education organisations. Therefore the tourism industry feels that students are not employable which creates challenges for students, higher education organisations and the tourism industry. Education and skills development should contribute directly to the economic growth of South Africa and the government, a very important role player in the tourism industry, encourages education opportunities in South Africa. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine, through industry participitation, what the management skills required within graded establishments in South Africa are. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: To analyse the literature available regarding the managerial theories, managerial levels, managerial processes and universal skills needed by managers, to analyse the tourism industry and hospitality sector, identify the important role played by managerial skills within this sector and to identify higher education programmes available in South Africa that focus specifically on managerial skills development for the accommodation sector. Thirdly, to collect and analyse the perceptions of accommodation owners and managers regarding the managerial skills and knowledge required by graduate managerial employees and then to draw conclusions and make recommendations to higher education organisations to adapt tourism management qualification programmes. This was achieved by making use of a quantitative research method by means of self-administered questionnaires, distributed to 254 Tourism Grading Counsil of South Africa’s (TGCSA) graded establishment managers in the nine (9) provinces of South Africa. The data, gathered from the questionnaire, was captured electronically by an online programme, SurveyMonkey. The data was then processed by means of SPSS and analysed. The descriptive results revealed that most of the responding accommodation establishments do employ graduates, but these graduates have to display certain characteristics. The top three characteristics for an accommodation manager included trustworthiness, responsibility and motivation in that order. Being ambitious, intelligent and sensitive rated the lowest. A factor analysis revealed that there are 10 important factors that contributes to being an effective accommodation manager. These skills included: 1) Personal characteristics, 2) Forecasting skills, 3) Strategic management skills, 4) Human resource skills, 5) Problem solving and crisis management skills, 6) Communication skills, 7) Information technology skills, 8) Customer service skills, 9) Financial skills and 10) Marketing skills. The comparisons (by means of ANOVA’s, t-tests and spearman rank order correlations) between skills needed by an accommodation manager and selected business characteristics (the province in which the accommodation establishment is located, the grading status, the size, the number of employees and the years that the accommodation establishment has been in operation) are unique to this study and various significant differences were identified. Comparisons have also been done between skills needed by an accommodation manager and selected personal characteristics (age, current position, duration of employment, level of higher education and the necessity of practical skills before employment of the respondent) which also revealed significant differences. The highest number of significant differences was identified for larger establishments, age, position of the respondents and the duration of employment. The results of this study can be used by higher education organisations to adapt their current tourism management qualifications, and by accommodation establishments to understand the training needs of employees. It did however voice the concerns of industry role players when it comes to new graduates and their employability. / MA (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015