The services sector --including financial services, telecommunications, transportation, tourism, and professional services --has become critical to the continued economic dynamism in the Americas. And the quality and competitiveness of this sector are essential to economic growth and development. On average, services --increasingly traded in more numerous and far-reaching ways than goods --account for nearly two-thirds of the gross domestic product of the Western Hemisphere. The importance of the sector, however, is disproportionately large in Central America and the Caribbean, where it often is the major source of employment and of foreign exchange.This timely volume is the first to review and analyze trade agreements covering the services sector in the Western Hemisphere and their relationship to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), in force since 1995 as an integral part of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Negotiations on liberalizing services trade are continuing at the multilateral, the regional or hemispheric, and the subregional levels. It is imperative to understand what is being discussed and implemented at these different levels and to articulate the linkages and relationships among the various agreements and the disciplines and obligations they contain. Services Trade in the Western Hemisphere informs the reader about these issues and more. Part 1 deals with the main issues relevant to the liberalization of services trade at the multilateral and regional levels, including improvements to the GATS architecture, the scope of regulatory reform, the relationship between the treatment of services and investment, WTO requirements that must be fulfilled by parties to an economic integration agreement, and disagreements brought to the multilateral dispute settlement process. Part 2 examines the scope, content, and liberalizing approach of subregional agreements in the Western Hemisphere, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and those promulgated by the Andean Community, as well as several bilateral free trade agreements covering services, in particular those signed by Mexico, Chile, and Central America. Part 3 evaluates the extent of liberalization of services trade achieved to date at the multilateral and subregional levels and discusses options for improvements in the context of the ongoing Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations.

Men, Masculinities, Travel and Tourism draws together established and emerging academics that have a key interest in men, masculinity, travel and tourism. Through the chapters collected in this volume the reader will be exposed to cutting edge research and writing that offer global and local perspectives within these fields.

Written by renowned author Anita Tull and experienced teacher and examiner Alison Palmer, this student book covers both Units of the WJEC Vocational Award in Hospitality and Catering. It is endorsed by WJEC, providing high quality support you can trust. // Suitable for Level 1 and 2 students, the depth of coverage, language and design of the book has been carefully tailored to their learning needs. // Content is presented in a visually engaging fashion, with bite-sized chunks of information together with bulleted lists, charts, tables, spider-grams and more to help ensure students engage with the content in a meaningful way. // Plenty of practical activities together with learning features such as `Put it into Practice' and `Scenarios' help students translate their knowledge and understanding to the world of work. // Short and extended answer style questions throughout help prepare students for assessment. // Stretch and challenge activities encourage students to work towards achieving a higher grade.

The idea that each country should have one currency is so deeply rooted in people's minds that the possibility of multiple and concurrent currencies seems unthinkable. Monetary systems contribute to problems of high unemployment and social distress during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the monetary system can be part of the solution. This book discusses 'monetary plurality', which is the circulation of several currencies at the same time and space. It addresses how multiple currency circuits work together and transform socio-economic systems, particularly by supporting economies at the local level of regions and cities. The book shows that monetary plurality has been ubiquitous throughout history and persists at present because the existence of several currency circuits facilitates small-scale production and trade in a way that no single currency can accomplish on its own. Monetary plurality can improve resilience, access to livelihoods and economic sustainability. At the same time, it introduces new risks in terms of economic governance, so it needs to be properly understood. The book analyses experiences of monetary plurality in Europe, Japan, and North and South America, written by researchers from East and West and from the global North and South. Replete with case studies, this book will prove a valuable addition to any student or practitioner's bookshelf.

Guard Force Management looks at the contract guard force as a business and demonstrates how current management techniques can be used to improve efficiency and increase profitability. The author takes proven management principles and applies them to the competitive security industry.
This updated edition includes an entirely new chapter on preparation and response to crisis in order to maintain business continuity. The book focuses on administrative and financial functions that are frequently neglected in guard companies, and discusses planning and conducting guard operations in detail.
* Addresses the administrative, financial and client service needs of the security guard function;
* Details the analytical steps needed to establish, equip, train and employ a guard force;
* Emphasizes practical, proven management techniques

The Student Book and ActiveBook has clearly laid out pages with a range of supportive features to aid learning and teaching: Getting to know your unit sections ensure learners understand the grading criteria and unit requirements. Getting ready for Assessment sections focus on preparation for external assessment with guidance for learners on what to expect. Hints and tips will help them prepare for assessment and sample answers are provided for a range of question types including, short and long answer questions, all with a supporting commentary. Learners can also prepare for internal assessment using this feature. A case study of a learner completing the internal assessment for that unit covering 'How I got started', 'How I brought it all together' and 'What I got from the experience'. Pause Point features provide opportunities for learners to self-evaluate their learning at regular intervals. Each Pause Point point feature gives learners a Hint or Extend option to either revisit and reinforce the topic or encourage independent research or further study skills. Case Study and Theory in Practice features enable development of problem-solving skills and place the theory into real life situations learners could encounter. Assessment Activity/Practice features provide scaffolded assessment practice activities that help prepare learners for formative assessment. Within each assessment practice activity, a Plan, Do and Review section encourages supports learners' formative assessment by to making sure they fully understand what they are being asked to do, what their goals are and how to evaluate the task and consider how they could improve. Dedicated Think Future pages provide case studies from the industry, with a focus on aspects of skills development that can be put into practice in a real work environment and further study.

Four years after the actual implementation of its casino deregulation policy, Macao has surpassed Las Vegas as the world's top gambling destination in terms of annual turnover. Also, various recent surveys have put Macao at the very top of the list in terms of per capita GDP, as its economy grew shortly after the resumption of Chinese sovereignty. How could a tiny city without any natural resources on the southern coast of China have managed to achieve such a miraculous level of development? This book presents an unparalleled study of Macao's economic dynamism and its gambling industry not only by merging historical and current developments, but also by presenting solid subjective and objective indicators and evidence. It offers an indispensable resource for students, researchers, and general readers looking to understand Macao's gambling miracle.

This book is concerned with the history of tourism at the Coranderrk Aboriginal Station at Healesville, northeast of Melbourne, which functioned as a government reserve from 1863 until its closure in 1924. At Coranderrk, Aboriginal mission interests and tourism intersected and the station became a 'showplace' of Aboriginal culture and the government policy of assimilation. The Aboriginal residents responded to tourist interest by staging cultural performances that involved boomerang throwing and traditional ways of lighting fires and by manufacturing and selling traditional artifacts. Whenever government policy impacted adversely on the Aboriginal community, the residents of Coranderrk took advantage of the opportunities offered to them by tourism to advance their political and cultural interests. This was particularly evident in the 1910s and 1920s when government policy moved to close the station.

This pioneering book on food study pursues an interdisciplinary approach to service science and the service engineering field. Further, it highlights a range of experiments conducted at actual business sites to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies and theories. In modern society, food study has become more complex, as it involves multiple fields of science. For instance, a long-lived society entails a number of problems for human beings. A balanced intake of nutrients is important for a healthy life, but in many cases, healthy food is not the most enjoyable. As such, it is important for the food industry to provide foods that are both tasty and wholesome, based on the sciences of gastronomy and nutrition. Conventional food study proceeds along the lines of a specific field such as nutrition, agriculture, or gastronomy, though it should be conducted in an interdisciplinary manner. This book covers multifaceted research on food study to respond to today's societal demands, based mainly on the natural and social sciences. It addresses a wide range of topics, including: food production management using mathematical modeling, operations research, and production engineering; evaluation of food products based on big data analysis; psychological experiments and ethnography; food products based on consumer behavior; organoleptic assessment and health improvement; design of physical dining environments using virtual reality, pedestrian debt recognition (human indoor position measuring), and observation of behavior. Reporting on and assessing many studies conducted at actual business locations, the book offers a unique and highly practical resource.

Tax Havens and Offshore Finance examines the subject of offshore finance centres.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the older-tourist market, and of the challenges and opportunities created by population ageing from a tourism marketing perspective, by combining a demand-side and a supply-side approach to older tourists. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which defines older tourists and presents a critical review of segmentation approaches. The second part then focuses on the behavior of older tourists in terms of the travel planning process, the use of information and communication technologies for travel purposes, and accommodation choices. The final part analyzes the marketing strategies and operative practices of three tourism companies that focus on the older-adult market. Practical implications for tourism suppliers willing to target older tourists are derived. The book is intended primarily for academics, researchers, and professionals in the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition, it will be useful for students attending advanced tourism and hospitality courses.

Automobile heritage encompasses a complex range of artefacts and activities. Beyond just historic vehicles which are the primary artefacts of this niche, it also includes communities of collectors and enthusiasts, private owners and public institutions, as well as historic motoring environments, literally thousands of museums, exhibitions and car shows throughout the world, and a range of paraphernalia that includes both original and replicated promotional materials, equipment and parts, and guide books. Although automobile heritage has been the subject of some limited research, Automobile Heritage and Tourism is unique in examining its scope and role within tourism. The book looks at a vast array of topics, from the experience of using and collecting old cars, related destination development, automobile heritage and museums, to events such as vintage automobile racing, promotion and social change. It thereby provides a thorough review of the impacts of automobile heritage on tourism. A number of theories provide a framework and are analysed throughout, including those related to the collection, display, exhibition and use of historic automobiles. The title takes a global and interdisciplinary view of the subject with international contributions from both established and emerging scholars in the field. This book adds to the industrial heritage tourism literature and will appeal to a diverse audience, in particular those in the fields of cultural heritage and industrial heritage tourism, but also practitioners involved with the planning, restoration, exhibition and management of automobile heritage attractions and events.

This book presents lively case studies of tourism developments in the European High North from diverse perspectives. It compares views of the changing political ecology of a fragile region shaped by climatic and cultural factors. In exploring the mutual relations between new developments in Arctic travel narratives and tourism practices. Green Ice: Tourism Ecologies in the European High North pays particular attention to the changing discourses that produce, and are in turn produced by, encounters between contemporary Arctic peoples and territories. Questions of gender and nationality are considered alongside a comparison of texts and practices in different languages, examining the politics of language and its significant role in tourism. This title pays attention to the changing symbolic value of Arctic discourses in environmental movements, in order to consider the close connections between global forms of environmentalist discourse and action and local cultural responses. An engaging and timely work, this book will be of great interest to scholars of Geography, Anthropology, and Arctic Tourism.

This is the first book to explore the relationship between tourism and spices. It examines the various layers of connection between spices and tourism in terms of destinations, attractions and cuisines. The book reveals how spice-producing destinations are employing spices in destination branding and encouraging spice farms to move towards tourism, while destinations not producing spices are employing spices and herbs in distinctive local cuisines. Both tangible and intangible spice heritages are highlighted as tools for developing destinations, creating attractions, inventing new forms of livelihoods and distinguishing local, regional and national cuisines. This volume will be useful for researchers and students in cultural tourism, culinary tourism, anthropology of food and food history.

The environmental, social and financial dimensions of sustainability rest on the ethical principles of avoiding harm and doing good. This means diminishing the environmental impact of societies, organizations and individuals and avoiding waste in all its forms wherever possible. Doing good means leaving a positive environmental and social footprint and throughout, this text the focus is on all three levels. Based on theory and practice it takes the student through the key issues focusing on the hospitality industry, particularly the hotel sector. It analyses environmental, economic and social value in the industry, and what can be done to maximise the good for all the stakeholders in the long term. In an accessible and structured manner, it delivers: * A clear focus on the four major areas in which value is created in the hotel industry- distribution; buildings; procurement and operations; * A clear description and analysis of the key sustainability challenges faced in each area; * A wide range of international industry cases; * Chapters structured with clear introductions, summaries and learning outcomes. It is an ideal text for students on bachelors and masters courses in Hospitality Management, Hotel Management and Tourism Management and for practitioners in the hospitality sector.

The era of globalization allows for more connectivity between nations and cultures. This increase in international association gives citizens the ability to take advantage of opportunities in other nations, such as medical assistance and accompanying services. Medical Tourism: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on trends, practices, and emerging phenomena of international travel by patients for medical treatment and examines the benefits and challenges of these services. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as hospitality management, reproductive medicine, and ethical considerations, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for the needs of healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations, students, and medical professionals seeking relevant research on the relationship between global travel and access to healthcare.

This book is a study on the so-called dirty-work occupations, the garbage worker. It presents the work of garbagemen as real and significant, examining their daily work activities and work problems as well as exploring how one's status and self-respect in such work might be protected and enhanced.

The first volume in the Palgrave Studies in Practice: Global Fashion Brand Management series, this book provides a comprehensive view on the internationalization of fashion brands, offering unique academic and managerial insights into how fashion brands in diverse sizes can build and sustain their businesses in competitive global marketplaces. It explores the theories and trends occurring within the fashion industry, one of the most active sectors of internationalization. The majority of global fashion brands operate beyond their home countries, yet not much is known about the ventures that generate more than half of their revenues. This book takes a critical look at the global-by-nature fashion industry through a collection of actual cases from multiple countries and cultural backgrounds.

Assembling Health Care Organizations combines an institutional theory perspective with a materialist view of the technologies, devices, biological specimens, and other material resources mobilized and put to work in health care work.

This book explores the paradoxes of Self-Other relations in the field of tourism. It particularly focuses on the 'power' of different forms of 'Otherness' to seduce and to disrupt, and, eventually, also to renew the social and cosmological orders of 'modern' culture and everyday life. Drawing on a series of ethnographic case studies, the contributors investigate the production, socialisation and symbolic encompassment of different 'Others' as a political and also an economic resource to govern social life in the present. The volume provides a comparative inductive study on the modernist philosophical concepts of time, 'Otherness', and the self in practice, and relates it to contemporary tourism and mobility.