Search results

The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies' social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer.

The research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance.

The results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies.

The two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer's point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship.

The study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.

Scholars tend to examine knowledge spillover particularly with reference to science-based and hi-tech industries, but little is known about this phenomenon within cultural industries. Some entrepreneurship scholars try to figure out how new ventures can arise starting from knowledge spillovers. This chapter shows how knowledge spillovers can occur within cultural industries and why it is usually difficult for these moments to give rise to entrepreneurial initiatives. The chapter offers a case study to provide a deep understanding of the phenomenon and to identify areas for future research.

In the first chapter in Part Three, Jan Louise Jones provides useful practical advice for the first-time tourism researcher for doing participant observation research. Keep a daily journal and actually talk with participant actors to learn their plans, actions, and interpretations of outcomes are two takeaway proposals to look for when reading Jones’ contribution. The references are very useful sources that expand of Jones’ recommendations. The mistake to avoid is thinking that you will be able to remember all the daily details and nuances of your observations without a written daily journal.

Maria Amoamo is a post-doctoral fellow in Te Tumu, the School of Māori Pacific and Indigenous Studies at University of Otago in New Zealand. Maria's research interests include the representation of indigenous, cultural and heritage tourism. Her PhD thesis examined the issue of identity in relation to Māori regional tourism within a post-colonial framework. She is currently examining the economic value of identity in relation to determining ‘what is the profile of Māori tourism in Dunedin?’ Maria is also examining the issue of social vulnerability and resilience of Pacific Island communities in relation to tourism.

The digital revolution is causing profound transformations, characterised by the way companies and customers approach the market, helping to significantly transform the tourism sector. The aim of this study is to investigate how small hospitality businesses use internet in terms of marketing.

After analyzing the literature, which concerns the relationship that has gradually developed over the years between small businesses in the tourism sector and the use of the internet, it was decided to carry out an empirical survey conducted among the subjects managing micro-activities in the hospitality sector. The research hypothesis is that the adoption of the website is conditioned by the size of the company and the type of experience one has with small businesses.

The results show how small hospitality businesses make limited use of booking portals and social networks, and it emerges how digital marketing policies are crucial to achieve success, both in Italy and abroad.

It is believed that this work can provide useful insights that can be useful for the local government, aimed at promoting a greater ability of small businesses to participate more actively in the competition.