International Tourism Context

23 04, 2015

The world is your oyster!

By |April 23rd, 2015|Alumni, international, International Tourism Context, Master in Tourism Destination Management, Scotland, TDM, Tourism destination strategies|0 Comments

Story from a NHTV master graduate and his journey around the tourism world

My 2010/11 TDM experience launched me into the multifaceted world of tourism certainly.

Since my decision to join NHTV, I have embarked on some fantastic adventures… from writing my thesis in Australia and living and working in the country for 2 years, to […]

12 01, 2015

Alex Pio: ‘I’m now also working in Ethiopia, Benin, Burundi, Haiti and Mauritania’.

By |January 12th, 2015|Africa, Alumni, Asia, careers, General information, International Tourism Context, NHTV|0 Comments

I joined TDM in 2010 because, having traveled for most of my life, I saw the power of tourism to provide eye-opening, life changing experiences for travelers while at the same time developing destinations and protecting their natural and cultural heritage. I also saw the destructive effects it can have, and so my goal […]

7 01, 2015

Cross cultural learning: Sinterklaas

By |January 7th, 2015|Creative, General information, International Tourism Context, Master in Tourism Destination Management, NHTV|0 Comments

People who have visited The Netherlands in December may have noticed how important the 5th day of the last month of the year is. It can be considered as much as important as Christmas. Dutch people celebrate the birthday of Sinterklaas, an old man who is living in Madrid but comes a few weeks […]

17 12, 2014

This Master has broadened my horizon!

By |December 17th, 2014|Africa, Alumni, careers, General information, international, International Tourism Context, Master in Tourism Destination Management, Rwanda, TDM, TDM-Study, Tourism destination strategies|0 Comments

Master in Tourism Destination Management /Experience from TDM perspective

My name is DUSHIMUMUKIZA Marie Claire, a former TDM student (2012-2013) at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands. I am currently working with Kitabi College of Conservation and Environmental Management (KCCEM) as a Director of Academic Programs and Research Development. KCCEM located on the outskirts […]

12 12, 2014

Open day (Sat 15th November) Big Success!!

By |December 12th, 2014|General information, International Tourism Context, Master in Tourism Destination Management, NHTV, open day, TDM, TDM-Study, Upcoming events|0 Comments

New faces, new experience and new success for TDM

A wonderful cooperation between Caroline (Marketing Dept responsible for Master Programs) Herman Jan (Coordinator TDM) Gesa, Marianne and Luca (TDM students) has lead to the biggest display of interest in our program in years. Again the importance of actually meeting future students and their “sponsors” should […]

1 12, 2014

TDM destinations 2015

By |December 1st, 2014|Asia, Australia, Bali, Field research, General information, Indonesia, International Tourism Context, Melbourne, Myanmar, NHTV, TDM|0 Comments

TDM Destinations 2015 In the beginning of October we revealed the destination for the 2nd phase of TDM 2015.

The students will start their fieldwork with a month in the most livable city in the world: Melbourne! Since the beginning of TDM Melbourne has been one of the favorite destinations to start with, the friendly […]

22 01, 2013

The LGBT Tourism Market: Its Quest for more Heterogeneity

By |January 22nd, 2013|International Tourism Context, literature review|0 Comments

As part of their master in Tourism Destination Management study program, the students have written literature reviews in the domain of “International Tourism Context”. In this sixth and final literature review Mandy Wientjens talks about the LGBT tourism market: its quest for more heterogeneity.
Introduction
Although once a nearly ignored segment of the international travel market, the LGBT tourist has received an increased level of attention in the last two decades from academic researchers as well as business practitioners. So far a major part of the academic research conducted in this field has investigated in what way the motivations and consumer behavior of the LGBT segment does or does not differ from the mainstream market (Clift and Forrest, 1999; Holcomb and Luongo, 1996; Hughes, 1997, 2002, 2006; Monterrubio, 2009; Poria and Tailor, 2001; Pritchard et al., 1998, 2000).

Although previous research has made clear that there are substantial differences, the question can be raised whether this research is representative for the whole LGBT market, and thus whether this market can be seen as a homogenous market segment. In this light, it has been argued that there are significant differences within the LGBT market when it comes to age (Hughes and Deutsch, 2010; Pritchard et al, 1998) and gender (Hughes, 2006; Pritchard et al., 2002; Puar, 2002). As such, the purpose of this literature review is to discuss the consumer behavior characteristic of the LGBT tourism segment, while special attention is devoted to a more nuanced view of differences among LGBT consumers.

Within the academic literature there seems to be a widespread consensus that the LGBT tourism market features characteristics that are regarded as particularly favorable for the tourism industry, like higher average disposable incomes, more repeat visits, and less seasonal behavior (Pritchard et al, 1998). As a result improved knowledge of the consumer behavior of potential sub segments of the LGBT tourism market will be of interest not only to academics but to business practice as well.
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22 01, 2013

Discovering new forms of tourism: slow tourism

By |January 22nd, 2013|International Tourism Context, literature review, Publication|1 Comment

As part of their master in Tourism Destination Management study program, the students have written literature reviews in the domain of “International Tourism Context”. In this fifth of six literature reviews Julia Terhorst talks about discovering new forms of tourism: slow tourism.
Introduction
The slow movement is present in many parts of everyday life and one can easily get the feeling that the adjective slow is added to all phenomenon, industries and sectors. One of these sectors is the tourism sector (Fullagar, Wilson & Markwell, 2012).

The slow movement is an antidote to the increasingly faster global activities. It is for all those who want to slow down and are fed with pace, but also for those who want to explore the opportunities of being unlike and in the context of tourism, moving differently (Fullagar, & Wilson & Markwell, 2012). Slowing down while being on holiday is described by the term ‘slow travel’ or ‘slow tourism’ (Rawlinson, 2011). Research has shown that slow tourism is an emerging market segment that is forecasted to grow annually 10% in Western Europe during the next five years. Furthermore, it has been concluded as ‘a significant alternative to ‘sun and sea’ and cultural tourism’ (Lumsdon & McGrath, 2011).

Moreover, different forms of alternative tourism, as ecotourism, sustainable tourism and slow tourism have emerged that have certain characteristics in common, regarding the quality of the time spent on holiday. This gives travellers from highly developed countries the opportunity to return to forgotten places and experience those areas (Nistireanu, Dorobantu & Tuclea, 2011).

Slow travel can take place everywhere and is not time bound; it does not involve travelling long distances or at a certain speed. In fact slow travellers can start their journey when stepping out of the doorway and their destination can only be a few kilometres away. Nevertheless, it does not exclude journeys to the other end of the world (Rawlinson, 2011).

This literature review examines the new market segment of slow travellers that can be characterized by travelling shorter distances, at a greater emphasis on the travel experience by having low-carbon consumption. As everyone can engage in slow travel it is hard to draw an exact definition for this market segment (Rawlinson, 2011). Furthermore, the travel motivations of slow travellers and their destination experiences are studied.

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22 01, 2013

Effects of global warming and tourism on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia

By |January 22nd, 2013|Climate change, International Tourism Context, literature review|1 Comment

As part of their master in Tourism Destination Management study program, the students have written literature reviews in the domain of “International Tourism Context”. In this fourth of six literature reviews Stefanie Huebner talks about effects of global warming and tourism on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland
Introduction
Ruhanen (2008) identifies an increasing need to adapt the principles of sustainability in tourism development planning and management. More destinations are facing severe ecological, economical and socio-cultural threats and entering a stage of no return (Conservation International, 2003). Given this critical situation, awareness of the stakeholders is important. These stakeholders include “any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by the achievement of a corporation’s purpose” (Friedmann, 2006).

The natural environment of a destination and the climate conditions are essential drivers, influencing the choice (Becken & Hay, 2007), suitability and the unique charm of a tourism destination (Dwyer & Kim, 2003). The effects of global warming are strongly connected to visitor behavior. Sensitive ecosystems are vulnerable to global warming and the human impacts from visitors and locals.

Dwyer (2007) claims that impacts of global warming and tourism are constantly increasing. Conservation International (2003) considers tourism to be an opportunity for conserving nature and a threat if it is done improperly.

The effects of global warming as well as the immense rising number of visitors threaten the social, economic and cultural value to the people of Australia (GBRMPA, 2012).

The Great Barrier Reef, faces the threat of global warming. This is mainly caused by greenhouse gases as a result of human activity, leading to an increase of the sea temperatures and impacting upon coral reefs (WWF, 2004). Statistics show that the Great Barrier Reef will lose 95% of its living coral by 2050 (New Scientist, 2004).

The lack of awareness of visitors and locals, visible in unsustainable reef use, has a severe impact on the survival of the reef (GBRMPA, 2012).

Only little attention is given to other causes of depletion of the Great Barrier Reef such as cyclones  or the crown-of-thorns starfish overpopulation (Brodie, Fabricius, De’ath, Okaji).

In this literature review I discuss the different causes for the depletion of sensitive areas, using the example of the Great Barrier Reef. Solutions for sustainable management and preservation need to be considered on both global and national level.

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22 01, 2013

The influence of user-generated content (UGC) and the importance of a solid social media strategy

By |January 22nd, 2013|International Tourism Context, literature review, Publication|1 Comment

As part of their master in Tourism Destination Management study program, the students have written literature reviews in the domain of “International Tourism Context”. In this third of six literature reviews Veronica Wee discusses the influence of user-generated content (UGC) and the importance of a solid social media strategy.

This research covers a critical analysis of online reviews in the tourism industry; challenges faced in online review management and methods of current social media strategies implemented by Destination Management Organizations (DMO’s), airline and hotel operators.
Introduction
Growing dependence on the Internet has transformed it into the main source of information (Sparks & Browning 2010). More recently, social media networks and user-generated content (UGC) have changed the way users share their experiences (Hvass & Munar 2012). In a more general context, social networking is a combination of online communities that provides a variety of platforms (eg. Emailing, Blogging, photo tagging, videos) to facilitate consumer interconnections (Bruyn & Lilien 2008) for interaction (Click & Petit 2010).

In the tourism industry, online applications, advance social websites (TripAdvisor, Yelp, IgoUgo, etc.), and online booking websites (Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, etc) provide an interactive display of experiences and commentary review of a destination, property, facilities and restaurants (Litvin & Hoffman 2012). What was recorded in traditional form is now digitalized and shared globally (Munar 2012). The phenomenon of posting videos and digitalizing experiences developed a new paradigm of information sharing (Ruzic & Biloz 2010), which is now referred to as electronic word of mouth (Sparks & Browning 2010). Social media websites allow consumers to spread their experiences (Yu 2012), and interconnectivity and density of networks facilitate positive or negative reviews to travel quickly (Bruyn & Lilien 2008).

Travellers nowadays often use the Internet for destination research prior to decision-making. Online web applications and social media websites are a critical element in the travel planning process (Ruzic & Biloz 2010). It is apparent that 63 percent of leisure tourists and 69 percent of tourists on business use the Internet prior to planning trips, hotel bookings and airline reservations (European Travel Commission, 2010). Online reviews of a destination or property not only possess the ability to attract or detract a traveller, but also develop consumer expectations (Bruyn & Lilien 2008).

As many travellers consult online reviews before firming vacation plans (Vermuelen & Seegers 2009), it is evident that a level of trust is accorded, especially in positively framed reviews about previous traveller’s experience (Sparks & Browning 2010). Travellers are more influenced by online travel reviews and guides (European Travel Commission, 2012), as they believe reviews may assist in a better purchase decision (Qiang Ye et al. 2011). In this case, what are DMO’s doing to influence a traveller’s choice? Are the necessary steps and strategies being taken to explore this growing market?
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