Christina Koutra

The main aim of this research is to reveal innovative clusters of tourists based on their use of smart technologies when they are planning and/or visiting a destination. A latent class analysis was conducted that considered the information sources used by tourists and their use of smart technologies at a destination. The study included 526 usable responses from tourists who visited or had visited urban destinations in Europe and 525 valid responses from tourists who visited or had visited urban destinations in the United States, resulting in a total sample size of 1,051 respondents. The findings from segmenting tourists in both European and American contexts reveal four primary groups: “Receivers”, “Technophobes”, “Co-creators of experiences” and “Smart tourists”. The body of literature on smart tourism is expanding, reflecting its increasing relevance in academic and practical discussions. Within this broader field, this paper aims to contribute by shedding light on a specific aspect: the segmentation of tourists based on their use of smart technologies. In this context, this study proposes a pioneering model of the tourism literature that aims to assist comprehension of the diverse impacts of smart technologies on tourists, ultimately facilitating the creation of customized services by the business sector that cater to real consumer needs. By exploring this dimension, the study seeks to enhance understanding of how different types of tourists engage with smart technologies and the implications for tourism management and marketing.

To many employees the family is a buffer against physical and mental stress from work in terms of spousal, family members and social support hence avoiding spillover. The quantitative study examined the relationship between the family domain and employees` performance in commercial banks in Kampala Uganda, using the case of millennials in Stanbic and Centenary banks. The work-family border theory aided in developing the null hypothesis. 284 participants were selected for online data collection through inclusion-exclusion criteria and purposive sampling. The Cronbach Alpha, Rho and Fornell and Larcker criteria with the aid of Smart Partial Least Squares (PLS) software were used to achieve data quality. The path coefficients, P values and T values as well as bootstrapping approach were used to test for direct relationships between family domain and job performance of millennial employees in both banks. Results indicated no relationship between the family domain and job performance of millennial employees existed (β = 0.021, t-value = 0.480 0.05). The management of banks should design female oriented work supportive policies to reduce pressure from their dual roles hence allowing the family domain to positively influence job performance of millennials.

Cyprus is established as a summer destination. To aid the destination in developing its winter season as well, this research uses a qualitative, interpretive, inductive approach to explore the tourists' visitation motivations in order to establish whether Cyprus can be perceived as a year-round destination. The research indicates that the sun and sea image prevails and determines visitations. This in effect dissuades tourists from seeing it as a year-round destination. Nonetheless, increasing the pull factors of the destination through the development of unique special interest products can help in extending the tourism season as well as broaden its narrow image.

Seasonal fluctuations of demand are regular in the Mediterranean islands. this could be attributed to the distinct qualities of island destinations, their vulnerability, peripherality, and isolation. this article aims to determine whether Cyprus has the geographical and governance qualities needed to address seasonality by diversifying its tourism product. An exploratory, interpretive, inductive approach to research was undertaken with key informers within the industry to investigate these issues. the findings indicate that Cyprus has the necessary geographical features to address seasonality. however, there is high dependency on small number of tour operators, air travel companies, the narrow sun-and-sea product, and governmental control, which prevents winter tourism development.

Tourism was introduced in Elmina and Cape Coast, Ghana, Africa, in the late 1980s in part to assist in the reduction of poverty. However, more than 15 years later, the sector has not developed to the extent needed to significantly reduce poverty. A participatory approach to research indicated that the cause was a lack of capacity building. Existing definitions of capacity building are complex and elusive and so far it has not been used as a development objective but as a measurement to realize short-term results. A new clearer definition of capacity building is proposed that is based on the concept of four types of capital: social, human, physical, and financial. It is contended that this definitional clarification allows capacity building to be measured and assessed and therefore legitimately used as a development objective

This study develops a hybrid, bottom-up approach to field research, namely Rapid Situation Analysis, and implements it in Ghana. It draws on elements from two existing participatory methodological approaches: Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal. The approach was developed to suit the particular needs of investigating corporate social responsibility practices, sustainable development and poverty reduction through tourism, a fragmented sector which tends to be ambiguous and unstructured and lack cohesion (unlike, for example, agriculture or primary health care, both of which are familiar territory for Rapid Rural Appraisal and Participatory Rural Appraisal). The Rapid Situation Analysis bottom-up approach to data gathering was underpinned by supporting methods, including participant and direct observation, in-depth interviews, stakeholder focus groups and informal conversations. Moreover, the multiple methods were further enriched by the collection of visual data in the form of moving and still images. These research findings were fed back to the communities at the centre of the research.