Business Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Micro-Determinants Of Domestic Holiday Expenditure By Households In The Republic Of Ireland, Lisa Noonan

Irish Business Journal

The dramatic decrease in overseas visitors to Ireland in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the risks, for the tourism sector, associated with being over-reliant on international tourism. Growing the domestic tourism market is now critical for sustaining jobs and businesses within the sector. The purpose of this paper is to examine the micro-determinants of expenditure on domestic holidays by households in the Republic of Ireland.

Using data from the Irish Household Budget Survey 2015-2016, instrumental variable estimators are used to conduct the analysis. The results reveal that disposable income, being located in the Border, Midlands and Western …

The Influence Of Employer Branding In Talent Management In The Hotel Industry, Donagh Davern, Leo Jago, Margaret Deery

Irish Business Journal

This paper aims to explore the influence of employer branding in attracting and retaining talented employees, with a particular focus on millennial staff. The paper reviews literature in the area of talent management, employer branding and the millennial generation in the hotel industry and draws on the results of interviews with hotel General Managers. At a time when there is a shortage of talent to fill available positions in the hotel industry, this paper seeks to give hoteliers an improved understanding of the concepts of talent management and employer branding and their usage in the attraction and retention of staff, …

Yeats’S Legacy And Literary Tourism: A Study Of The Yeats Winter School In Sligo, Mary Mcguckin

Irish Business Journal

Literary tourism is of increasing importance within the field of cultural and heritage tourism yet remains under-represented in academic literature. Smith, et al. (2010, p. 108) define it as a “tourism activity motivated by interest in an author, a literary creation or setting, or the literary heritage of a destination”. The typical profile of a literary tourist is that of a well- educated holidaymaker who is seeking an authentic experience, may have heard about the place’s linkage with a writer but may not have high levels of knowledge about the actual work of the writer. The socio-economic characteristics of literary …

Food Tourism In Cork’S English Market - An Authentic Visitor Experience, Lisa O'Riordan, Prof. Margaret Linehan, Aisling Ward

Irish Business Journal

Authenticity is deemed to be a crucial element in many tourism experiences. Tourism, however, is often accused of succumbing to notions of perceived authenticity to ensure commercial success, leading to misrepresentations of cultures. Food tourism, conversely, is advocated as a means of encountering genuine culture, history and lifestyle. This paper investigates the role of food tourism as an authentic representation of culture in Cork’s English Market. In-depth interviews were conducted with market traders and analysed through the grounded theory method. Results indicate that, allowing for natural evolution, food tourism is providing a platform for the continuation, sharing and development of …

Learning In Action: Implementing A Facilitated Learning Programme For Tourism Micro-Firms, Dr. Felicity Kelliher, Dr. Leana Reinl

Irish Business Journal

This paper presents findings from research associated with a tourism micro-firm facilitated learning programme, carried out over a four-year period. Considering traditional educational interventions have had limited impact on micro-firm activities; the researchers propose an alternative approach to meeting the learning needs of micro-firms which encompass local and self-developed knowledge and the successful completion of learning cycles. Using a behavioural lens, the researchers’ consider the experiential learning impact of facilitated learning programmes on observed micro-firm owner-managers. Adopting an action learning (AL) approach, the researchers explore the design, development, implementation and impact of this programme and contemplate the observed micro-firms’ focus …

Profiling Tourism Entrepreneurs And Their Enterprises Along The Wild Atlantic Way, Dr. James Hanrahan, Dr. Áine Conaghan

Irish Business Journal

This paper discusses the profile of tourism entrepreneurs and their enterprises along the WAW (Wild Atlantic Way). Ireland had witnessed less numbers of some holidaymakers in particular the British market visiting over the past five years, resulting in a significant loss of market share from GB. This research undertook a proactive approach to investigating regional qualitative stakeholders profiles while identifying factors that impact on the management of tourism Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to develop the International market. The research provides the industry with a snapshot of a current typology of successful tourism entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the research develops a …

An Exploration Of The Role Of Food Tourism In Sustaining Cultural Authenticity In Ireland, Lisa O'Riordan, Dr. Aisling Ward

Irish Business Journal

Authenticity is often a motivating factor for tourists. In many situations what occurs, however, is staged authenticity. Food is one of the few entities left that indicates true cultural authenticity. Food can bridge the gap between tourists and their understanding of and involvement in a place. Native cultures that are struggling to preserve their heritage and ways of life from globalising forces can use food as a defensive mechanism. This paper is part of a wider postgraduate study on food tourism and culture so will focus on the research completed to date, mainly the literature reviewed as well as initial …

Assessing Service Quality In Adventure Tourism, Prof. Antonie Bauer

Irish Business Journal

The purpose of this paper, which is based on a survey of activity providers in South West Ireland, is to assess the quality of adventure tourism offerings and to investigate which aspects of the experience contribute most to visitors’ perception of quality. In addition, it explores the validity of different methods for the assessment of service quality. A new importance weighted method is developed that avoids the inconsistencies of existing approaches and has higher predictive value than the other models for the Irish sample. A simple performance only approach is second best in explaining variation in overall perception of quality, …

Niche Markets In Irish Tourism: The Case Of North American Coach Tourists, Dr. Marie Ryan, Prof. Jim Deegan, Dr. Richard Moloney, Dr. William Sjostrom

Irish Business Journal

In 2010, 115,000 coach tourists came from North America to Ireland, averaging a length of stay of 9 nights. This paper applies factor analysis to a survey of North American coach tourists to Ireland (with 486 responses). It identifies the most significant factors that have common characteristics amongst the tourists. Factor analysis, although popular in tourism research, has never been applied to an inbound tourist market to Ireland, so this research fills an important gap in Irish segmentation research. The factor analysis of the survey identifies a number of important characteristics of this market. For example, the North American coach …

An Investigation Of Work Placement In The Hotel Industry: Perceptions From Hoteliers And Students, Margaret Lenihan, Irene Sheridan

Irish Business Journal

The changing need of higher education to interface more effectively with industry has been widely documented, as has the rising awareness of those attributes which most benefit graduates seeking employment. A key way in which third-level institutions can build stronger partnerships with employers, and assist their students in postgraduate success, is through the provision of work placements. This paper presents research conducted in relation to work placement in the hotel industry, from the perspective of both hoteliers who facilitated the work placements and students who undertook placements. Primary research was conducted with both hoteliers and students. The findings from the …

Assessing Farmers’ And Landowners’ Attitudes Towards Environmental Sustainability And Their Motivations Towards Walking Tourism In Sheep’S Head Way, Co. Cork, Gráinne Dwyer

Irish Business Journal

Numerous studies within academic literature examine motivations of walkers engaging with nature-based tourism activities, such as hillwalking. However, a gap exists in the literature regarding the suppliers of this type of tourism, namely landowners and farmers. This research hopes to address this identifiable gap in tourism research in a confined study area located in the Sheep’s Head Way in Co. Cork. The purpose of this research was to examine geographical spatial differences in environmental attitudes, and to determine the factors that influenced the landowner’s intentions to permit the walkway throughout their land. To examine these factors, seven semi-structured interviews were …

Critical Success Factors In The Promotion Of Sustainable Rural Tourism By Destination Marketing Organisations: A Study Of Ballyhoura Fáilte, Louise Nugent, Siobhán Lynch

Irish Business Journal

With the Irish tourism industry maturing, destination marketing organisations (DMOs) must meet tourists’ changing expectations. For rural tourism destinations, the challenge lies in ensuring that they obtain a position of sustainability in the Irish tourism industry (Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, 2011). Due to the highly volatile nature of the Irish rural tourism industry, treating rural tourism like any other product does not comply with the new approach to destination marketing management, which considers the resources available, the environment, the tourist, and the residents themselves (Buhalis, 2000; Pike, 2008). The aim of this study is to carry out a …

Dark Tourism: An Assessment Of The Motivations Of Visitors To Auschwitz – Birkenau, Poland, Aisling Ward, Agnieszka Stessel

Irish Business Journal

Travel to sites of death and destruction is not a new concept. It is however, a phenomenon that has in recent years emerged as a clearly identifiable tourism product from a supply perspective and a growing tourism trend throughout the world. An element of human nature is this fascination with death and disaster, which has been catered for through the emergence of tourism sites associated with death, disaster and destruction. Today, many places of death and disaster attract millions of tourists from around the world such as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, Anne Frank’s House in Amsterdam, Ground Zero in New York, …