Search results

Hedonic behavior is a well-known phenomenon for tourism activities by the nature of tourism itself. However, there is a possible conflict between the structure of halal tourism and hedonic behavior. This paper aims to investigate the hedonic perception levels of halal-sensitive tourists (HSTs) while questioning their travel motivations.

According to the aim of this study, quantitative approach has been adopted via data gathering within World Halal Summit. A total of 1,123 surveys were gathered face to face from participants. Factor analysis applied to confirm validity of the data set while also running Cronbach alpha test through all dimensions. Also, frequency and mean analyses were applied in addition to t-test for comparing tests.

Results briefly show that HSTs have an average level of perception of hedonism. They also travel once or twice a year for religious, social or environmental reasons which supports the finding about their hedonism perception.

The research is also important in the applied field, especially in terms of decision-makers and supply determinants in destination management. Because if it is determined that the HSTs exhibit a utilitarian consumption, it has a guiding feature for the decision-makers to prefer halal tourism in terms of environmental management in the destination. In terms of the economic sustainability of the research destination or businesses, it also serves as a guide for the supply determinants in their investment activities.

This research is considerably important in terms of putting the HST typology on a conceptual basis in the theoretical field. In the research, it is tested whether the HSTs are hedonic consumers; in other words, whether they comply with the Islamic religious prohibitions. The tendency of HSTs to comply with the prohibitions reveals that they are utilitarian consumers, while halal tourism is a responsible tourism that cares about sustainability.

Social/physical distancing rules that resulted in the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have caused restrictions on national and international transportation. Since tourism activities are an industry based on transportation and travel, they have been affected negatively because of COVID-19. It has become necessary to create a contactless environment by leveraging technology to mitigate these negative impacts. smart transportation system (STS) applications have played a crucial role in enabling contact-free travel in providing the continuation of tourism activities in a controlled manner by utilizing information and communication technologies. Therefore, in this study, it was tried to determine whether STS applications are functional in ensuring the contactless transportation required in COVID-19 and in the face of possible future outbreaks. In this study, COVID-19 and STS terms are tried to be defined, and the importance of these two concepts in terms of tourism activities has been discussed considering their cause–effect relationship in line with the purpose of the research. STS applications have been determined to be the most appropriate approach in terms of carrying out controlled tourism activities in accordance with the social/physical distancing rules arising from COVID-19. According to the findings of the research, STS provides an opportunity for people to use contactless payments and purchase tickets online with smart phones. Additively, by controlling passengers’ luggage through mobile applications and reducing the time spent waiting in the lobby, thereby minimizing prolonged interpersonal contact.

Tour operators have played an important role in the marketing and distribution of tourism products to customers. As one of the major tourist‐generating countries, the significance of the tour operator industry has been felt strongly in Germany. When one considers that about 30 to 40 per cent of German holidaymakers travelling abroad buy their holidays directly from tour operators or via travel agencies, the importance of these travel establishments in Germany becomes obvious. The dominance of tour operators in the marketing of tourism destinations world‐wide in Germany suggests their great importance to the tourism industries of destination countries in terms of the steady and balanced development of tourism. Consideration of the main functions of tour operators in the tourism industry, and understanding the working environment in which they operate and their experience in the industry, may provide very useful benefits to other tour operators and the tourism industry as a whole, as they all operate in a similar environment and work with each other frequently. Therefore, this survey among eight tour operators and ten German travel agencies aims to examine and identify the basic managerial and organisational structure of German tour operators and travel agencies in Turkey.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motives that drive individuals' intentions to work within firms operating in the Greek tourism sector and to examine the impact of these motives on the intention to work.

To achieve this objective, we conducted an empirical survey among 2,104 individuals with professional experience in the tourism business. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analysis were employed, with motives as independent variables and the intention to work as the dependent construct, to answer the research question.

This study presents job motivation as a hierarchical set of criteria that need to be fulfilled or satisfied. It also identifies the significant motives impacting employees' intention to work in both the accommodation sector and food and beverage services.

The data were collected at a single point in time from Greece, which may limit the generalizability of our results. Future research could consider the psychological and physiological characteristics of employees.

Managers who provide social security, create a positive work environment, and promote collaboration among their employees can enhance the quality of work-life and positively influence their intention to work.

The proposed model offers valuable guidelines that advance research on employee motivation in the tourism industry.

In the field of tourism, numerous studies have been conducted on tourists' food experiences. However, more studies are needed to comprehend tourists' dining experience in unique cuisines. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to examine the components of tourists' dining experiences related to palace cuisine foods.

In this study, a qualitative approach was adopted to capture the components of tourists' dining experiences. The online narratives of tourists (n = 911) who had experienced Ottoman palace cuisine in Istanbul were obtained from an online travel platform (TripAdvisor) and analyzed using content analysis.

Seven main components were revealed: perceived authenticity, perceived service quality, knowledge, a sense of royalty, food specialties and attributes, a memorable experience and a sense of awe.

By identifying components of the palace cuisine dining experience and their relevant importance, the findings of this study can increase service providers' knowledge and facilitate their jobs. To be able to meet the expectations of tourists experiencing the palace cuisine, service providers can improve their services by considering research results.

Results revealed that obtained six dimensions were parallel with previous studies on food experience; however, this study uncovered a previously unexplored dimension named a sense of royalty. This can be shown as the unique contribution of this study to the tourist food experience literature.