Vol. 2, no. 2/2020

Transforming Tourism For Tomorrow

By Gabriela Țigu

Tourist In My Town: How Attractive Is The City For Its Inhabitants?

By Maria Dărăbanț, Vlad Diaconescu

The present study aims at identifying the interest of inhabitants of Bucharest in being tourists in their own city. For this purpose, an online research was carried out between 12 and 24 November 2020. The data was collected from 123 participants through a self-administered online questionnaire. The main idea that the study brings to the fore is the concept of staycation, a form of vacation near the area of residence. Such a holiday proves useful and popular in times of crisis for tourism. The research showed that there are some differences between inhabitants born in Bucharest and those from other places, as well as between women and men, in terms of tourist interest in the city of residence. The main limitation of this study is that the sample was too small and not representative, but nevertheless, some interesting results were obtained. These results could be used, for example, to promote domestic tourism.

Students’ Difficulties Into Understanding First-Year Subjects:  A Premise For University Drop-Out. Case Study: The Bucharest University Of Economic Studies, The Faculty Of Business And Tourism

By Maria-Cristina Iorgulescu, Luciana-Floriana Holostencu, Mădălina-Ionela Iordache, Mădălina-Lavinia Țală, Ileana Vălimăreanu (Mircioi), Georgiana-Geanina Bursuc

The increasing rate of students enrolling into higher education leads undoubtedly to a more contrasted student body, impeding the identification of potential sources that might determine their option into continuing or dropping out of university, mainly after the first year of admission. Although there are various reasons why students drop out of university, ranging from personal, social or even technical ones (considering online blended learning), we will focus mainly on difficulties encountered by students related to specific subjects or teaching techniques, known as academic difficulties. Therefore, considering Romania’s higher education is facing retention problems among students in various universities around the country, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the influence of a particular variable which, lato sensu, consists in students’ inability of channeling their resources into getting a deeper understanding of various university subjects in order to achieve effective learning and therefore successfully continue their studies. A quantitative study consisting in a two-stages questionnaire was carried out with 70 first year students enrolled at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, the Faculty of Business and Tourism who agreed to take part into the development of their academic performance by joining the agenda provided via the Secondary Education Project – ROSE BT. The present research offers empirical evidence that might be useful for future decision-making in order to improve educational processes and both students’ and professors’ accomplishments in university settings. Also, the results have indicated that students who have difficulties into understanding first-year subjects are more open to engage into further communication and academic activities with their professors and also to adapt to improved teaching and interaction techniques or strategies.

Employee Skills Demand In The Hospitality Industry: Seasonal Vs. Non-Seasonal Tourist Destinations

By Mihaela Parteca, Jacqueline-Nathalie Harba, Gabriela Țigu, Emanuela Anton

Tourism in one of the fastest growing economic sectors, with high job creation potential and one of the main drivers for national economies’ recovery after the 2008 global economic crisis. According to Word Travel and Tourism Council (2019), at a global level, the tourism sector accounted for 10.4% of global GDP and 10% of total employment. Social circumstances, the geopolitical strategies and the new technologies are considerably hanging supply and demand of the sector, which means that the needs of the hospitality industry, which has to please more experienced and demanding travelers, must be investigated and fulfilled by the competencies and skills of the tourism workforce. These changes determine a need for skills forecasting. Moreover, it is essential to also identify the current gaps in the training and aptitudes of the workforce in the hospitality industry. The purpose of this scientific approach is to determine the requirements of four and five stars’ hotel managers in terms of competencies of their employees. This paper was based on the hypothesis that both employers' satisfaction and the skills of the employees differ weather the tourism facility they work in or are in charge with is based in a destination affected by seasonality or not. A comparative approach on two Romanian tourist destinations with different seasonal patterns, Bucharest, capital city and Mamaia, a seaside resort from Constanta city, was adopted by this paper, in order to identify and discuss the specific requirements of tourism businesses from each location. While the main results of this scientific approach show a drastic negative impact on the employee’s qualification, the main conclusion of the paper reveals the necessity of the tourism industry of a targeted curriculum on its needs, jointly developed by educational facilities and tourism businesses.

Measuring Service Quality And Customer Satisfaction Performance Metrics In Cruising Industry

By Carmen Florentina Vlăsceanu

This article examines service quality in regard to cruise lines service performance from a customer perceived satisfaction perspective. The article provides a descriptive observation based on the empirical developments within the research community in terms of theory and practice underlining the service quality as a subjective trait, depending on a series of influential factors and market determinants. The first part of the article focuses on a theoretical explanation of the dimensions linked to service excellence within the cruising industry and the importance of market segmentation determinants in relation to building sustainable relationships with the customers in all phases of the service life cycle. This section is followed by a scrutiny of perceived value and quality management, from an efficient marketing mix perspective. Theories and thoughts of experts of the cross-cultural field are highly regarded, providing a detailed look at the motivational factors of consumers purchase decision inspired by the four psychosomatic factors: learning, motivation, perception and attitude. Service quality, customer satisfaction and experiential travel receive outmost attention in cruise hospitality and travel organizations, as customers’ preferences are influenced by the development of marketing tools and the impact of social media on travelers’ behavior, top management makes it a priority of increasing their focus on diversifying the offer in order to make their products and services appear unique. Conclusions are drawn and discussed following a brief overview of cruising industry’s’ trends within the contemporary transformational global business context.

Young Employees – Work Satisfaction And Motivation

By Georgiana-Ionela Bădulescu, Catalina-Iuliana Bădulescu

Job satisfaction refers to a set of positive reactions of an employee towards his job. This implies not only economic yield but also social and personal performance, which means that the employee benefits from participating in work activities and also from obtaining personal advantages such as remuneration, a stable job and promotion prospects. Motivation refers to all the incentives and impulses that can push somebody to do something or to aspire to certain goals. This study is based on a research whose aims are to identify what satisfies and what motivates young people at the workplace. The sample consists of 151 young employees with ages ranging from 15 to 29 years old. The concept of job satisfaction is seen in literature and by both employers and employees as a state of wellbeing or a positive mood which results from combining the right amount of employee opinion, work climate and proper motivating management. The resulting work and level of satisfaction is directly influenced by the relationship with the management and co-workers and also by the work conditions. In terms of the stimulating part of motivation, it is shown that employees are feeling satisfied when their merits are considered, when they are rewarded accordingly and when they feel motivated for their next activities.

Exploring Sustainable Tourism In Tenerife, Spain

By Gabriela Țigu, Oana Diana Crismariu, Dan Anghelescu, Miguel Angel Gonzalez Suarez

Sustainability is no longer an extraordinary challenge nowadays for the service providers in Tenerife; this has become a habit for several years. Gradually, they try to instill in tourists care and respect for compliance with the rules that sustainability implies. The hotels have resorted to various ways in which they can carry out their activity in a sustainable way, trying to inform their tourists very well about them. Destinations on the island -regardless of their profile (cultural, coastal, ecotourism, rural, gastronomic, etc.) - are role models for other tourist areas of the world, both through sustainable development and promotion solutions, and by locals' hospitality and openness to everything that is new. The article explores experiences in the south of the island, which highlight the above.