Vol. XVII, no. 1/2018

One Hundred, One Hundred Thousand, One Billion, One Thousand Billions

By Marius-Cristian Neacșu

The Place of Heritage and Identity in the Marketing Strategy of Destinations: a Worldwide Approach Based on Dmo Slogans

By Hugues Séraphin, Marco Platania, Manuela Pilato

In the tourist industry destinations are competing against each other to attract visitors. In this race to seduce visitors, cultural tourism (based on heritage and identity) appears as a very popular form of tourism used by destinations. Because branding plays a major role in attracting visitors, this paper therefore examines the slogan of 139 destinations around the world. Findings reveal that slogans tend not to use heritage but instead adopt a neutral position, this is to be explained by the fact that destinations want to appeal to maximum of visitors and also because they appeal to the emotions (as opposed to a cognitive strategy).

Medical Tourism: Drivers, Trends and Destinations

By Habib Kabalan, Amine Ghoumrassi, Gabriela Stănciulescu

Medical tourism is a highly growing trend globally, with an average of 6 million people traveling yearly to other countries with the sole purpose to get medical care. This number does not take into account people who travel within their own country from one region to another for the same purpose. The global market was worth USD10.5billion in 2012 and is expected to grow to reach an estimated value higher than 100 billion USD in 2019.This paper will base itself on a statistical and numerical data that is published by the leading authorities in the field of tourism as well as data and research from various high profile associations and organizations that specialize in the domain of tourism. The gathered data will be analyzed and an assessment of the leading countries in the field of medical tourism will be drawn, these countries will be evaluated in order to determine the main trends and influences that govern the behavior of tourists on the look for better medical services abroad. At the end of the analysis, it is expected to demonstrate that the main factors that overlook the medical tourism practice are the search for a high-quality medical service at a reasonable price. It is also expected to demonstrate that in addition to the cost/quality ratio, patients are on the look for ease of access as well as speed of medical treatment. The elements that will be established in this paper as the main factors behind medical tourism could be the basis of further study and lead to the development and amelioration of the touristic potential of countries especially those with low touristic attractions.

Travel Agency Staff: The Need for Professional Training in the Information Technologies Context of Use

By Liviu Dediu, Olimpia State

Tourism service providers cannot satisfy all the demands they receive with their own resources. Sustainability comes from being part of a structure. Thus, networks with a certain degree of specialization are created and operated, in which the structural factor is intertwined with the technological one. Yet, in tourism industry, a large part of the employees joins the labour force without formal vocational training, acquiring knowledge and skills while working. More specifically, to be effective the staff of a travel agency need to use specialized working tools. Identifying a local research gap in the form of the mismatch between the capacity of specialized training in the context of the new technologies and the contemporary context of communication, this paper addresses the impact of the use of tools developed through modern information technologies and the way these new tools are ready to provide support for learning. The employee in tourism should not be formed to compete with the specialized integrated system, but to exploit it and come with added value in the provision of services.

High School Education in Economics – The Importance of Practice

By Lidia Alexandra Păun Năstase, Adelina Maria Cristea, Florența Larisa Vasile (Ile)

The high school economic education in Romania has the main purpose to cover the scientific knowledge but also to develop the practical skills of young students. The requirement of applied economics courses in colleges has elevated because of the deficiency of practical abilities of graduates and consequently, because of the difficulty of their integration on the labour market. The Romanian school of economics is focused on diverse economic qualifications and comprises applied classes developed in partnership with local companies. Our research paper objectives are related to expose the students’ awareness about the importance of the applied trainings developed by partners firms and about their perception of the effect of the economic high school education upon their career. This pilot research may be a typical periodic survey for every single high school with economic profile and furthermore, could be a support for an analysis of the technological educational system in correlation with market changing requirements. The results of this survey demonstrate the reality of the actual education system in the economical field related to the high school level and could be extended to other surveys in different sphere of education.

Current Business Tourism References. Case study: Hotel Novotel Bucharest

By Manuela Liliana Mureşan, Raluca Georgiana Stoian

Business tourism has proven to be an important part of the hospitality industry in terms of both travel volumes and generated revenue. This type of activity, far from being a novelty, has expanded and seems destined to continue to grow at a higher rate every year. Growth is particularly marked by international events that bring important financial gains to host cities, generated not only by these activities, but also by the multiplier effect of all tourism activities. The motivation for the chosen theme results from the fact that in the hospitality industry, business tourism is a segment in which a variety of events can be organized, such as: local, regional and national conferences and meetings - organized by associations and corporations, congresses and conventions, international courses, trainings and induction courses, fairs, exhibitions, product launches, motivation tourism, exchanges addressed to students and teachers, travel of government employees, etc., with major economic impact both at national and international level for the development of society. The evolution of business tourism in Bucharest provides a strengthening of business relations, investments, more efficient use of hotel structures and obvious increases in revenues. The starting point of this research is represented by an analysis of the current context of the evolution of business tourism and the identification of its potential at the level of the Capital of Romania. Our analysis shows that there is a correlation between the hotel sector specific to events organizing services and the development of the business tourism segment. The case study on the Novotel Hotel in Bucharest brings to light the following striking themes in the field of tourism: the organization of business events as an engine for economic growth and the attraction of new tourists, as well as the impact of events in the MICE industry on the reduction of seasonality in the Capital. Research based solely on the processing of secondary data does not present issues related to the subjectivity of tourists nor does it present the point of view of the providers. Thus, the analysis of the events organized at the Novotel Hotel in Bucharest during the period 2012-2016 reflects that the business tourism is specific to the area of events, conferences, business meetings, etc., and may have an effect in reducing the seasonality in Bucharest, but also in increasing the economic profit for the hotel industry.

Film-Induced Tourism Among Students – An Exploratory Study

By Vlad Diaconescu

Students and young people travel are a growing market, which is becoming increasingly important for tourism service providers. Film-induced tourism is also a rising form of tourism. However, there is not much research to link students' behavior to film-induced tourism. This research aims at researching two areas of tourism, focusing on students' general awareness of film-induced tourism and their experiences with accidental or intentional encounters with film settings. Furthermore, this paper also includes an analysis of students' interests in various film-related activities, such as visiting places that have become famous as a result of a movie, places where films have been cast, film-theme parks, movie tours or attending film premieres and film festivals. The study was conducted through an online survey in the form of a questionnaire that included both open and closed-ended questions. A total of 102 answers were collected and evaluated from students at various universities, up to age of 26 years. The interest in film-induced tourism among students is very high (about 88% wanting to participate in film-induced tourism activities), students being particularly keen on visits to places that have become famous as a result of a film (63.7%) and to places where movies were cast (61.5%).It also emerged that Romania is a little sought-after movie destination, but with a very high potential for growth, especially if the state was involved in promotion.