This book examines and addresses the particular character of urban tourism occurring in the global South. It presents research essays on tourism in urban areas of South Africa, a country which is associated with big 5 nature tourism but where urban areas are also major tourism destinations. The book contextualizes urban tourism in South Africa as part of 'the other half of urban tourism', an overlooked but energetic scholarship which is emerging on urban places in the global South. The volume moves to present a collection of original material variously on national perspectives on urban tourism following by a cluster of city level perspectives. The last three contributions turn to the role of tourism in small towns, the bottom rung in the urban settlement system. Issues of concern include gastronomic tourism, VFR travel, airportscapes, climate change, AirBnb and creative tourism. Finally, as COVID-19 is potentially a defining historical moment for urban tourism, the volume incorporates historical research perspectives in order to address the overwhelming 'present-mindedness' of mainstream urban tourism writings. The book highlights the challenges and opportunities for tourism development in the environment of the urban global South and is relevant to scholars of both tourism and urban studies as well as researchers in development studies.

This volume offers state-of-the-art research in service science and its related research, education and practice areas. It showcases recent developments in smart service systems, operations management and analytics and their impact in complex service systems. The papers included in this volume highlight emerging technology and applications in fields including healthcare, energy, finance, information technology, transportation, sports, logistics, and public services. Regardless of size and service, a service organization is a service system. Because of the socio-technical nature of a service system, a systems approach must be adopted to design, develop, and deliver services, aimed at meeting end users' both utilitarian and socio-psychological needs. Effective understanding of service and service systems often requires combining multiple methods to consider how interactions of people, technology, organizations, and information create value under various conditions. The papers in this volume present methods to approach such technical challenges in service science and are based on top papers from the 2019 INFORMS International Conference on Service Science.

This book deconstructs the 'sharing' marketing narratives surrounding Airbnb and similar platforms. It provides a conceptual analysis of the 'sharing economy' and accommodation sector and furthers the ongoing discussion surrounding Airbnb and the social sustainability of city tourism. The volume analyses the touristification of neighbourhoods in the context of broader economic and ideological shifts, thus bridging the gap between academic and social debate. It presents four different city scenarios of potential future developments and evaluates the effects of different regulatory responses, giving readers an understanding of the forces and factors at work and envisioning the ultimate consequences of current developments. The book will appeal to students and researchers in tourism and hospitality studies, futures studies and urban planning, as well as to policymakers and strategists in the hospitality and tourism sectors.

Ecotourism Development in Costa Rica: The Search for Oro Verde, by Andrew P. Miller, examines the use of ecotourism as a development strategy in Costa Rica and its applicability to other Central American states. Ecotourism provides an important environmental check on industry, giving the environment a voice by making its preservation an economic necessity due to the number of people who derive their income from it. The move away from agriculture to ecotourism is a natural fit because many of those who are engaged in agriculture have extensive knowledge of plants and animals that can be utilized by the ecotourism industry. The use of ecotourism as a development strategy is distinctive. For ecotourism to succeed, it must preserve the natural environment, but it must do so in a way that does not preclude growth in other sectors of the economy. Miller shows how the successful pursuit of foreign direct investment coupled with Costa Rica's immense biodiversity and its attractiveness to tourists is key to understanding the success of the Costa Rican economy. Many of the preferences that ecotourists have for a vacation destination also help create an amenable atmosphere for business. These factors include: political and social stability, high quality of life, low levels of corruption, economic freedom, high levels of education, and a suitable infrastructure. The most important part of this research is its development of strategies based upon the Costa Rican model that would be useful for other states in the region. When looking at whether states can replicate the development strategy of Costa Rica, environmental sustainability is an important concern. Ecotourism Development in Costa Rica is an essential text for students and scholars interested in Latin American politics and history, development studies, and environmental sustainability.

A fully revised and updated new edition of this bestselling and a unique text that explains not only the theory behind the importance of customer service but also acts as a guidebook for those wishing to put this theory into practice. In essence it is the 'whys' and 'hows'of customer service. Fully updated with current statistics, trends, and examples, it is full of references to all the latest research from both academic and practitioner literature. Chapters cover important topics such as the financial and behavioural consequences of customer service, consumer trends influencing service, developing and maintaining a service culture, managing service encounters, the importance of market research, building and maintaining customer relationships, providing customer service through the servicescape, the impact of technology on customer service, the importance of service recovery, and promoting customer service internally and externally. The third edition of this book - like the first and second - is easy to read, very current, and full of references to all the latest research. Chapters cover important topics such as the financial and behavioral consequences of customer service, consumer trends influencing service, developing and maintaining a service culture, managing service encounters, the importance of market research, building and maintaining customer relationships, providing customer service through the servicescape, the impact of technology on customer service, the importance of service recovery, and promoting customer service internally and externally. The third edition also pays special attention to the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has altered customer service in the tourism and hospitality sector - a sector that was impacted more than any other due to the crisis. In addition to fresh, up-to-date material, the third edition contains 10 new cases from around the world that focus on how individuals or organizations in the hospitality sector have adapted - and even thrived - during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This detailed volume and accompanying CD-ROM focus on the set electronic transaction (SET) system and review the fundamentals through to practical instruction on how to develop and implement the entire SET system. Topics addressed include: electronic commerce and the various payment and security systems that have led to online credit card commerce; cryptographic extensions utilized by the SET system; and the technical details behind SET, from purchase initiation, through certificate management, to data transport protocols. Actual programming examples and computer code to construct and roll out the SET system are also included. The book should be of interest to business executives as well as engineers.

With its white sandy beaches, lush green uplands, and near-perfect weather, the Hawaiian island of Maui is more than a picture postcard: it is a multi-million-dollar tourist attraction that repeatedly has been voted "best island in the world" by Conde Nast Traveler readers. Consider, then, the bumper sticker seen on residents' cars in recent years: "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"

From its modest beginnings in the prewar era, tourism has become the most important segment of Maui's economy since the 1970s. But as Mansel Blackford shows, it is also a devil's bargain. By switching the island's income base from sugar cane to condos, tourism has offered a solution to economic problems but has also placed an unanticipated strain on Maui's infrastructure and made unexpected demands of its residents. Now as roads and sewers have reached their limits and escalating property values have ousted long-timers, the growth of the "visitor industry" has forced the people of Maul to make difficult choices about the future development of their island.

Fragile Paradise chronicles the growth -- and the growing pains -- of the tourist economy on Maui. Blackford takes us into the heart of this island paradise to reveal the complexity of economic and environmental issues, especially as perceived by Maui's residents over the past four decades. He examines issues surrounding land-use policies, water development, electrical power generation, and transportation -- particularly the controversy over the expansion of the Kahului Airport. He then shows how these issues came together in the development of two communities: the booming resort area of South Maui and the agricultural Upcountry Maui.Blackford also reveals the human side of tourism, through interviews with islanders representing both sides of the growth issue.

Blackford's study shows how people living on a far western American frontier view their economic and physical environments and how they have sought to shape them. By addressing a number of crucial issues, from race and ethnicity to "quality of life" environmentalism, it offers a microcosm of the tourism industry that has implications for other travel destinations and for the economic future of the Pacific Rim.

The year 2020 will be a defining moment in the history of the tourism and hospitality industry worldwide. The arrival of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 dealt the industry a vicious blow. It is forecast that due to this pandemic, the number of international tourist arrivals will fall by at least 60-80% in 2020, putting millions of jobs at risk. The industry will recover, but travel will never be the same again. COVID-19 and Travel: impacts, responses and outcomes examines how this crisis unfolded and its devasting impacts on the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. Packed with international case studies, it takes the reader from the very outset of the crisis, how the industry reacted and its message to the market, through to its impacts and a possible future. It examines issues such as: * Why the COVID-19 outbreak and travel were inextricably linked; * How the different sectors of the industry adapted to the crisis; * Crisis communication strategies employed by organizations in response to the crisis; * How travellers were impacted by the crisis; * The social, economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic; * The future of travel after COVID-19. The book has a thorough user-friendly pedagogic structure and is accompanied by a website which contains an instructor's guide that includes chapter questions and model answers, a test bank, PowerPoint slides for each chapter, and short videos to accompany the cases. The impacts of this pandemic change daily, and the crisis is still fluid. To this end, the book will be updated regularly with online articles that can be found on the book's website at: www.goodfellowpublishers.com/COVID19 Must have reading for all tourism students, educators, and practitioners all over the world and the 'go to' text on the subject of COVID-19 and its impact on travel.

This book presents the best papers from the 2nd International Conference on Mathematical Research for Blockchain Economy (MARBLE) 2020, held in Vilamoura, Portugal. While most blockchain conferences and forums are dedicated to business applications, product development or Initial Coin Offering (ICO) launches, this conference focused on the mathematics behind blockchain to bridge the gap between practice and theory. Blockchain Technology has been considered as the most fundamental and revolutionising invention since the Internet. Every year, thousands of blockchain projects are launched and circulated in the market, and there is a tremendous wealth of blockchain applications, from finance to healthcare, education, media, logistics and more. However, due to theoretical and technical barriers, most of these applications are impractical for use in a real-world business context. The papers in this book reveal the challenges and limitations, such as scalability, latency, privacy and security, and showcase solutions and developments to overcome them.

This book explores the basic traits of inter-organizational networks, examining the interplay between structure, dynamics, and performance from a governance perspective. The book assumes a novel theoretical angle based on the interpretation of networks as multiple systems, and advances the theory in the realm of network effectiveness and failure. Composed of two parts, theoretical and empirical, The Network Organization clarifies the literature on networks, offering a systematic review, and provides a new perspective on their integration with other streams of research focusing on under-studied issues such as agency, micro-dynamics, and network effectiveness. The second part proposes the analysis of the tourism destination of Venice, with a specific focus on the network between the Venice Film Festival, the hospitality system, and the local institutions. By exploring the pervasion of networks in modern social and economic life, this book will be valuable to students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers.

This book describes various approaches in modelling financial risks and compiling ratings. Focusing on emerging markets, it illustrates how risk assessment is performed and analyses the use of machine learning methods for financial risk assessment and measurement. It not only offers readers insights into the differences between emerging and developed markets, but also helps them understand the development of risk management approaches for banks. Highlighting current problems connected with the evaluation and modelling of financial risks in the banking sector of emerging markets, the book presents the methodologies applied to credit and market financial risks and integrated and payment risks, and discusses the outcomes. In addition it explores the systemic risks and innovations in banking and risk management by analyzing the features of risk measurement in emerging countries. Lastly, it demonstrates the aggregation of approaches to financial risk for emerging financial markets, comparing the experiences of various countries, including Russia, Belarus, China and Brazil.

The financial markets have undergone a significant development process, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and partly induced by major pushes for globalization and deregulation. In this context, finance has taken on an increasingly central role for companies and is now on par with production and sales, which have always been the cornerstones of business management. The effects of these structural and functional changes are not limited to the way companies operate, but also imply a change in corporate cultures; one consequence of this phenomenon is the large percentage of managers from the world of finance at the top tiers of corporate organizations. Moreover, environmental turbulence has forced companies to increasingly face negative situations characterized by economic and financial imbalances that may require far-reaching strategic changes. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to investigate the possible financial strategies that companies in distress can adopt; in this regard, it approaches financial strategies as opportunities to resolve and prevent difficult situations for the company. After having systematized the financial strategies and policies used in the governance of companies, the book analyzes both crises and turnaround processes, describing the path until the financial balance is restored. Finally, the authors analyze essential tools for the financial management of companies in trouble, focusing in particular on operational tools for managing the crisis, the recovery plan, and its monitoring.

Providing a critical insight into the growth of the secondhand luxury and vintage fashion industry, this book offers a compendium of business developments from across the globe, including examples from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The 'pre-loved or pre-owned' clothing trade has grown as an economic entity, providing a living for over 100,000 people and creating a desirable and essential clothing source in under-developed economies. By debating and deliberating contemporary cases, the authors illustrate how companies can optimise key managerial activities surrounding product branding, location marketing and supply chain buying. This timely collection is an important read for anyone involved in fashion, but particularly those interested in the retail and marketing perspective of the industry, as it explores an emerging and significant retail format.

Over the last decade, socially responsible investments (SRIs) have become paramount to both professionals and academics. In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007-8, practitioners have become much more involved in new financial models that integrate returns and positive social and environmental impacts. The authors argue that previous irresponsible financial models are anachronistic, and propose a new relationship between stakeholder and shareholder. Starting from the mainstreaming of SRI, this book recovers the social function of banks and the innovative role of crowdfunding and venture capital models. The book offers a unified perspective for firm and funder, making it a timely and invaluable read for scholars and practitioners interested in sustainable development and social impact finance.

Miller and Henthorne give U.S. investors and entrepreneurs the insights they need to capitalize upon the rapidly expanding, but still open, Cuban tourism industry--the island's major industry. This authoritative examination of the market for Cuban tourism provides comprehensive information on Cuban contacts and data sources that are accessible to foreigners; insights into the competition and possible competitive strategies, plus the general background on Cuba and its economy that investors must have for an understanding of Cuba's potential. With its lists of references and contacts, Miller and Henthorne's study will be invaluable to international tourism executives, particularly specialists in strategic planning and the development of strategic business alliances as well as international marketers and business development officers.

Miller and Henthorne have written their book for the day when relations and travel ties are reestablished between Cuba and the United States--a day that in their opinion will soon come. From their personal visits and interviews with Cuban officials in banking, finance, investment, politics, and the tourist industry itself, Miller and Henthorne have compiled material that is unavailable from any other single source. Here is detailed, first hand, timely information on Cuba's tourism resources, opportunities, infrastructure, competitors and competition, peculiarities, and historical and regional background for the benefit of investors in the United States and worldwide.

While advances in information technology and the adoption of Internet as service delivery channels have enabled financial service institutions to provide more convenient assistance, they have diversified and complicated the nature of risks involved.Managing Information Assurance in Financial Services provides high-quality research papers and industrial practice articles in the areas of information security in the financial service industry. Managing Information Assurance in Financial Services provides insight into current information security measures, including: technology, processes, and compliance from some of the leading researchers and practitioners in the field. This book provides immense scholarly value and contribution in the areas of information technology, security, finance, and service.

Since the first edition of this text, sport management programs have grown tremendously. This thoroughly revised and updated edition offers a superb analysis of various sport organizations, with special emphasis on the policies which steer college athletic programs and professional sport franchises. The analysis includes a consideration of the issue(s) and problem(s) as well as the history and critique of the policies. The first part of the book deals with personnel policies related to college athletics, including mainstreaming Division I atheletes, recruiting and its violations, academic standards for freshman eligibility, and evaluation of coaching staff. There is also a chapter on professional sport free agency. The second part deals with related types of policies, such as the structure of the NCAA, funding, women's sport programs, and others.

It's hard to imagine a day passing without most Americans enjoying some form of entertainment, whether it's going to a football game, watching television at home, or listening to the radio on the way to work. At the start of the 20th century, however, the only form of entertainment was live theater. With the advent of radio, television, and ultimately the internet, entertainment could be found in our homes, quite literally at our fingertips. As American society changed and the economy grew over the 20th century, the entertainment industry evolved from vaudeville theater to big screen movies to DVDs playing in the living room. This book focuses on popular American entertainment that both appeals to and is accessible to the masses. Six forms of entertainment are covered: vaudeville, recorded sound, radio, movies, television, and spectator sports. Some forms of entertainment have changed considerably throughout the years, while others have disappeared all together as technology allowed new ones to take their place, but the desire of people to be entertained has not waned. Concepts, organizations, and individuals such as the jukebox, the Screen Actors Guild, Ted Turner, satellite television, free agents, Charlie Chaplin, made-for-TV movies, iPod, Superbowl commercials, vaudeville circuits, Columbia, FCC, Hollywood, Title IX, Amos and Andy, MTV, and the Palace Theater, among many others, are discussed. Ideal for students and general readers interested in the development and history of one of the largest and most lucrative industries today. Biographies of notable individuals in the entertainment industry and suggestions for further reading are included.

This book offers a cross-cultural comparison of French and British cosmetics advertisements and explores how the discourse of beauty advertising represents ideas about femininity in French and English language contexts. As the global beauty industry expands and consumers become more critical of the claims made, the topic of cosmetics advertising discourse is examined using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. One common theme underlying most cosmetics advertising discourse is that the female body always requires 'work' to fix its 'problems': flat skin, dry hair, and so on. The author uses themes of language and gender, media and identity, and advertising across cultures to expose exactly what is going on in the language of cosmetics advertising and to offer a first step towards challenging these ideas and thinking about alternatives.

This book argues that COVID-19 revives a much deeper climate of terror which was instilled by terrorism and the War on Terror originally declared by Bush's administration in 2001. It discusses critically not only the consequences of COVID-19 on our daily lives but also "the end of hospitality", at least as we know it. Since COVID-19 started spreading across the globe, it affected not only the tourism industry but also ground global trade to a halt. Governments adopted restrictive measures to stop the spread of the virus, including the closure of borders, and airspace, the introduction of strict lockdowns and social distancing, much of which led to large-scale cancellations of international and domestic flights. This book explores how global tourists, who were largely considered ambassadors of democratic and prosperous societies in the pre-pandemic days, have suddenly become undesired guests.

This book provides a detailed description of sustainable tourism development in the Uttarakhand Himalaya. Though the Uttarakhand Himalaya is bestowed with numerous locales of tourists/pilgrims' interests, tourism has not yet been developed substantially. This book describes geographical and cultural components of tourism, major types of tourism and tourist places, tourist/pilgrim circuits, case studies of the important tourists/pilgrims' routes, trends of tourism, development of homestay tourism, development of infrastructural facilities for tourism development, major constrains and prospects of sustainable tourism development, and conclusions. SWOC analysis of tourism activities has been carried out. The book is based on the author's observation of tourism development in the Uttarakhand Himalaya. Further, large tourism data was gathered and analyzed, using a qualitative and a quantitative method, and a sustainable tourism model was developed. This book is very useful for students, research scholars, academicians, and policymakers.