Tourism and Travel Commons^™

Star Rating Factors For Umrah Services: The Perspectives Of Umrah Operators And Consumers, Amran Harun, Aini Khalida Muslim, Dzunnur Dzail, Bestoon Abdulmaged Othman

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The star rating system is widely used in the hotel industry to classify hotels according to their quality. However, the Umrah industry in Malaysia has yet to adopt the system. Thus, their services are not monitored by a controlled and reliable rating system. The star rating is deemed important to Umrah consumers as the system would provide the consumers with information about basic facilities or services that can be expected. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the key elements of a star rating that would suit the Umrah industry in Malaysia and to accomplish this, perspectives of …

Anchorite Sacred Caves In Serbia: Balancing Between Pilgrimage And Religious Tourism Development, Aleksandar Antić

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Serbia is a country with diverse karst terrain, full of various surface and underground karst formations. This terrain is one of the factors that influenced the development of cultures and civilizations in this area. Many archaeological findings indicate that prehistoric people found refuge, safety and peace in many caves in present-day Serbia. The natural environment has also influenced many spiritual endeavours, which have shaped cultural identities throughout history. In this study, Orthodox anchorite sacred caves in Serbia are explored, as well as their related pilgrimage activities and potential for religious tourism development. For the purpose of this research, three pilgrimage …

(Re)Inscribing Meaning: Embodied Religious-Spiritual Practices At Croagh Patrick And Our Lady’S Island, Ireland, Richard Scriven, Eoin O'Mahony

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Responding to calls for critical interrogations of pilgrimages, our paper examines how different religious meanings are (re)inscribed in spaces through the performance of annual events in a post-secular context. This focus reveals how pilgrims’ embodied practices are fundamental to continuing definitions of these locations as sacred places. Using accounts of the Croagh Patrick and Our Lady’s Island pilgrimages in Ireland, we trace the movement of people in these spaces focusing on how meanings are forged, refracted, and challenged through the performances. These mass embodiments assert traditional understandings of Christian worship and looser spiritual interpretations, while simultaneously involving secular concerns. The …

Ijrtp Title Page And Table Of Contents Vol. 8(4), Kevin A. Griffin, Razaq Raj, Carlos Fernandes

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

No abstract provided.

Tourism And Tradition In Chiang Mai, Jared Makana Kirkey

University Honors Theses

This paper is an attempt to delve deeper into the relationship between tourism and culture in Chiang Mai. The push and pull of these forces is of particular interest. On one side, tourism is beneficial for Chiang Mai's economy, and encourages the preservation of its unique culture. Tourist dollars support local businesses, and any further profits can be reinvested into the local economy. And because many of Chiang Mai's major tourist draws are its cultural attractions, their preservation seems commonsense. But this is not always the case. Oftentimes, tourist dollars are funnelled out of Chiang Mai as packaged tours, luxury …

The Ocean Lifeguard Intervention Continuum: A Cognitive Aid For Surf Lifeguard Education, William A. Koon, Ryan M. Gates, Shane Scoggins, Paul Andrus, Jack A. Futoran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Ocean lifeguards are constantly engaged in beach risk analysis, required to efficiently evaluate a variety of environmental and other factors quickly in order to triage and prioritize who needs help. Teaching these skills is a challenge for introductory training programs. We sought to improve new lifeguards’ understanding of the interaction of various risk components in the beach environment and aid decision-making related to when a lifeguard should intervene in a situation. We developed a two-part cognitive aid for introductory ocean lifeguard education depicting individual and interacting elements of a beach goer’s risk of drowning or injury and the process by …

The Consequences Of Guiding Profession Deregulation For The Status And Training Of Tourist Guides: A Portuguese Overview, Luis Miguel Brito

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

In the present neoliberal market economy, the so-called free tours and their unlicensed tourist guides found the perfect environment to practice their activity, which is often criticised by licensed guides. The overall difference between the two types of guides is related to the fact that licensed guides have a formal specific education and training to do their job, sometimes complemented with continuous professional development, whereas free tours’ guides don’t. Therefore, several questions come to mind: Since unqualified guides are actually working without any training, should there be any formal education for tourist guides? How useful is formal and continuous training …

The Role Of Tourist Guides In The Multi-Vocal Presentation Of Heritage, Veronica Barbara

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

People tend to think of heritage sites as places for education and entertainment. In reality, visitors also seek sites for other reasons, often more personal in nature. This is due to the different voices within the heritage experience which make sites not only highly contested areas but also sensitive spaces to interpret and present. Based on the qualitative research done for an MA dissertation entitled ‘Are we being multi-vocal? The case of presenting Archaeological Heritage in Malta’, the author explores the different values that artefacts and sites have for different people and how the visiting experience can lead from the …

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Tourist Guide And Their Trainers: Reflections And Recommendations, Vincent Zammit

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

My first ever guiding experience, was telling stories to my siblings and cousins, and other friends who would bother to come with me around the streets of my home-town, Valletta. I remember my first visit to an exhibition, back in 1970. As a 15-year old I was impressed with all the exhibits, coming from all over the world. I also remember reading the captions and wondering how was it possible to remember all that information. Maybe the seeds of guiding were already there. Interest in visiting places and guiding continued. For thirteen years I worked as a guide with the …

On Tourist Guiding: Reflecting On A Centuries-Old Profession And Proposing Future Challenges, Luis Miguel Brito, Glen Farrugia

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

This paper provides a historical overview of Tourist Guiding, followed by some thoughts and reflections on how we can improve and develop our profession into the 21st Century. Thus, the paper traces the main developments of the profession through time. The idea of the paper is to offer a context to this new Journal, and hopefully entice the reader to draw useful parallels when critically reading the content of this and future issues of this publication.

Introduction To The International Journal Of Tour Guiding Research, Glen Farrugia, Luis Miguel Brito, Kevin A. Griffin

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

No abstract provided.

Ijtgr Volume 1(I) Table Of Contents, Kevin A. Griffin, Glen Farrugia, Luis Miguel Brito

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

Table of Contents for the Inaugural Issue of The International Journal of Tour Guiding Research

Promising Practices For Boating Safety Initiatives That Target Indigenous Peoples In New Zealand, Australia, The United States Of America, And Canada, Mitchell Crozier, Audrey R. Giles

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Boating-related incidents are responsible for a significant number of the drowning fatalities that occur within Indigenous communities in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and Canada. The aim of this paper was to identify promising practices for boating safety initiatives that target Indigenous peoples within these countries and evaluate past and ongoing boating safety initiatives delivered to/with Indigenous peoples within these countries to suggest the ways in which they – or programs that follow them - may be more effective. Based upon evidence from previous research, boating safety initiatives that target Indigenous peoples in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and Canada …

Staff Training In Aquatics For Individuals With Disabilities: The Quest, Susan J. Grosse

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Trained instructors in general programs have the ability and resources to initiate and follow through with developing water safe individuals who are capable swimmers. Specific staff training to prepare individuals to facilitate aquatic participation for individuals with disabilities is currently extremely limited. The purpose of this article is to examine the barriers to specialized staff training in aquatics for individuals with disabilities, to suggest necessary staff training content, and to propose topics for further research in the area of staff training. Seeking development of quality staff training programs for those working in aquatics for individuals with disabilities is the quest.

Using Multiple Data Sources For Customer Satisfaction Analyzing: A Sentimental Approach, Jhanvi Vyas

Master of Science in Information Technology Theses

The effectiveness of data and data providers in marketing has created a hype in the marketing world. Businesses often face a divided approach because of the increasing volume of data collected through a variety of data channels. This results in marketers often facing problems in acquiring precise market data for analysis. The correct techniques and knowledge required to integrate all the available sources for acquiring proper analytical results are yet to be specifically known. There is no universally accepted technological methodology when it comes to integrating data sources for market analysis, but there are a few business concepts that can …

Airline Quality Rating 2020, Brent D. Bowen, Dean E. Headley

Airline Quality Rating Report

To contribute to AQR 2020, we encourage you to take the Airline Passenger Survey. Please CLICK HERE.

The results of the 30th annual national Airline Quality Rating (AQR). The most comprehensive study of the performance quality of the 10 largest airlines in the United States, the AQR is conducted by researchers at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, Ariz., campus. Airline performance, as presented by AQR researchers, encompasses a multifactor look at the overall quality of the airlines. It includes on-time performance, denied boardings, mishandled baggage and customer complaints. …

The Bidirectional Relationship Between Art And Business, Hannah Brletich

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

There has long been an established relationship between art and business, finding its roots in the Industrial Revolution when the effects of arts on the economy were first explored. Since then, creative economies have been influenced by adaptation of businesses through urban development and revitalization and by continuous growth in artistic and cultural spaces. Capturing the relationship between arts and urban design, cultural districts establish strong economic communities within vastly creative, business- and culture-centered spaces. Current research provides insight to the economic, social, and cultural outcomes of creative economies.

As a contribution to that narrative, I will use this analysis …

Wai Puna: An Indigenous Model Of Māori Water Safety And Health In Aotearoa, New Zealand, Chanel Phillips Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Māori (the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand) are intimately connected to wai (i.e., water) yet are overrepresented in New Zealand’s drowning statistics each year. On average Māori account for 20-24% of all preventable and non-preventable drowning fatalities, despite comprising only 15 percent of New Zealand’s population. Drowning remains a significant issue posing a threat to whānau (i.e., families) through premature death being imminent and whakapapa (i.e., genealogy) being interrupted. There is limited research that has examined Māori and indigenous understandings of water safety within the literature and limited studies that have investigated the issue of Māori drowning from a …

Training Evaluation For Introductory Ocean Lifeguard Instruction: A Practical Example From California, William A. Koon, Ryan M. Gates, Jack Futoran

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Ocean lifeguards have several responsibilities that require precise training. California State Parks is one of the largest providers of open water lifeguard services in the United States, and trains approximately 200 new lifeguards per year. As part of our lifeguard training section’s quality improvement efforts, we conducted a training needs assessment to help determine how well our introductory ocean lifeguard training curriculum prepared lifeguards to perform job related tasks upon successful completion of the training program. We surveyed both first year and seasoned lead lifeguards on operational needs, training gaps, and specific subject areas. We identified several areas where our …

Drowning Of Pet Owners During Attempted Animal Rescues: The Avir-A Syndrome, John Pearn, Amy E. Peden, Richard Charles Franklin

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The rescuer who drowns can result from the attempted rescue of a human or an animal. We report here a total population analysis of all drowning fatalities for the 14-year period 1–July-2002 to 30-June-2016 which involved an attempted rescue of an animal. Cases were drawn from the Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database, which in turn, derived its data primarily from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Eight people drowned, all adults (ranging in age from 19-74 years), in the attempted rescue of an animal. Seven of the animals were domestic pet dogs, and in two cases farm animals. …