Vol. 2, no. 1/2020

Tourism in the Time of Pandemic or the Right to Tourism

By Claudia-Elena Țuclea

Enhancing English Skills of Workforce in Castile and Leon Rural Tourism Sector

By Leonor Perez-Ruiz

The growing interest in rural tourism within Spain has been given an extra impetus due to the increased demand in the region of Castile and Leon. There is now a noteworthy boost in the number of businesses which cater to tourists and in the number of rooms available. However, the traditional source markets - national clients - are slowing; therefore, the region of Castile and Leon needs to grow their national market to a wider international level. The purpose of this study is to analyze if the rural hospitality industry experiences cultural and language proficiency problems when hosting international travelers and, if so, to propose adequate solutions. A survey has been carried out among different workers of the sector in Castile and Leon. This needs analysis reveals that the hospitality industry lacks a mastery of English communication, which greatly limits the possibilities of the hospitality industry to effectively provide good service to international tourists. A possible solution to address this situation would be through education and training. Thus, with the information gathered through the survey, we have designed a program of English for Rural Tourism for the wooing of and catering to international tourists. We have taken into account the peculiarities of the region in terms of culture, heritage, environment and gastronomy, but also, different aspects of the acculturation of this industry are deemed.

Corporate Rebranding and Customers’ Retention. A Study of Selected Telecommunication Firm in Nigeria

By Powel Maxwell Worimegbe, Agbaje Ifedayo

Organizations rebrand as the need arises. The effect of this strategic action has divergent results in the literature, depending on the measure of performance. This study examines the effect of rebranding and how it drives customers’ retention in the telecommunication sector in Nigeria. The study is premised on the corporate identity, reposition, perceived quality and product features. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. Questionnaires were administered to 400 customers of 9Mobile Nigeria who were purposively selected. Using the simple regression, the result reveals the corporate reposition, corporate identity and perceived quality significantly affects customers’ retention while the product features dimension was non-significant in explaining customers’ retention in the telecommunication industry. The study recommends that firms should pay more to repositioning their brand in order to retain their customers. Corporate identity and perceived quality should be part of firms’ strategic plan. This will foster a sense of trust in the customers and give the business a touch of personality and culture. The study contributes to knowledge by establishing how corporate rebranding can be utilized as a strategy to retain customers in an organization.

Patterns in Undergraduate Theses Supervision in Business and Economics

By Mihail-Ovidiu Tănase, Jacqueline Harba

Looking at three-year long BA (Hons) courses from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, thesis writing and supervision play a crucial part for both students and lecturers, especially in the second semester of the third year of the course. Through the guidance provided, effective communication and constructive feedback, tutors have the ability to influence students’ perception of their learning process and contribute to their personal development, as well as build their self-confidence. The aim of this scientific paper is to present the advantages and disadvantages of thesis supervision, through discussion of published literature, as well as primary research result analysis. The literature review discusses the ever-changing roles of lecturers and students in the thesis supervision process, the similarities between thesis supervision and distance learning, as well as the advantages of individual meetings and group tutorials. The study uses a mixed research methodology: qualitative - a focus group with lectures from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and quantitative - a questionnaire aimed at third year Bachelors students. Ultimately, this study provides answers to a knowledge gap, aiming to support fellow teachers to improve their way of interacting with students during the final stage of their Bachelors program.

A Research on the Local Community's Assessments on the Festivals Organized in Their Own Destinations

By Aydın Unal, Baran Sinan Bayar

The study aims to determine the assessments of the locals living in the destination of 23rd Manavgat Peace Water Festival organized on 22-28 July 2019, which is a festival organized regularly every year in Manavgat district of Antalya province. 550 questionnaire forms prepared within this framework were delivered to the local people living in the relevant destination through face-to-face communication during the festival. The dataobtained from the returned questionnaire forms and found eligible for analysis (502 questionnaires) were analyzed via the SPSS 22.0 statistical data program. The results of study suggest that the local people consider the festivals useful for their destinations (89%) and have a positive perspective (91%) on the tourists who visit their destinations. Furthermore, the dimensions of the evaluation scale of the locals for festivals on the destinations they live were identified as the positive support for the development of the festivals, negative socio-cultural effects of the festivals, positive economic effects of the festivals, satisfaction for development of the festivals, and positive personal effects of the festivals. It was also determined that the local community consider the following four dimensions of study as high and positive: positive support for the development of the festivals, positive personal effects of the festivals, positive economic effects of the festivals and satisfaction for development of the festivals, consider the following dimension of the study as low and negative: socio-cultural effects of the festivals.

How Interested Young People are in Film Festivals?

By Vlad Diaconescu, Stefania Tuclea

Festivals are generally considered one of the key activities that stimulate the economy. The first film festivals originated in Europe about 90 years ago and quickly became a global phenomenon. The most important reasons why tourists participate in festivals could be integrated into the "push dimensions" (family reunion, socializing, escape, novelty of events, self-esteem) and the "pull dimensions" (fun, food and drink, information and marketing, transport). In general, festivals are considered a thriving tourist activity, the destinations offering unique events, combined with high quality services and opportunities for socialization. This study is based on research aimed at identifying young people's interest in film festivals and the influence of socio-demographic aspects on this interest. The sample consisted of 438 young respondents aged between 18 and 26 years. The research has shown that young tourists tend to behave similarly, which makes them a very attractive segment of tourists, even if their budgets are not very high. The results also showed that young people have as main tourism motivation to spend time with family or friends. Moreover, the preferences of young people for basic tourist services are quite clear and unsophisticated. However, the results suggest some need to adapt the commercial communication according to the gender of young tourists.