The era of globalization allows for more connectivity between nations and cultures. This increase in international association gives citizens more availability to take advantage of opportunities in other nations, such as medical assistance and accompanying services. Current Issues and Emerging Trends in Medical Tourism focuses on the emerging phenomena of international travel by patients in search of improved healthcare services and treatment, wellness programs, and complementary recreational activities. Including extensive coverage and case studies focusing on patient mobility and new opportunities for health services across borders, this authoritative reference source is essential to 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 publication features innovative, research-based chapters spanning the spectrum of medical travel issues including, but not limited to, customer perceptions, ethical considerations, reproductive medicine, social media use, family caregivers, organ transplants, human trafficking, and surrogacy concerns.

Market positioning and branding has evolved from a peripheral process in the marketing effort to a critical process in any strategic planning initiative. Effective positioning will result in a strong brand that develops an emotional and productive two-way relationship. Positioning and Branding Tourism Destinations for Global Competitiveness focuses on utilizing destination branding and content marketing for sustainable growth and competitive advantage within the tourism and hospitality industry, including tools and techniques for travel branding and best practices for better tourism management strategies. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as hospitality, brand loyalty, and knowledge transfer, this book is ideally designed for industry professionals including those within the hotel, leisure, transportation, theme park, and food service sectors, policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and students.

Rural tourism marketing is a subject that remains significantly under-researched. Gunjan Saxena seeks to encourage a fuller understanding of rural tourism marketing by uncovering the lived experiences and enterprise of different actor groups as they respond to the impact of tourism on their communities and cultural identities. Marketing Rural Tourism presents actor narratives to reveal nuances inherent in their practices and perceptions as they develop, support or oppose tourism in their locality. By focusing on actors' experience and enterprise involved in the ongoing production, consumption and marketing of rural landscapes for tourism, this book enables an insight into varied storylines that underlie the processes of place making. Academics in the area of marketing and tourism as well as development studies will appreciate the contribution this book will make to the wider marketing discourse that circulates about rural destinations. The book will also be a valuable resource to undergraduate students looking to incorporate fresh conceptual insights into their projects, as well as postgraduate students looking to apply newer approaches to conceptualising tourism or place marketing.

Tourism is the world's largest industry and its fastest growing one. It has the potential to contribute significantly to the economic development of most economies, including those of less developed countries and peripheral economic regions. However, it depends heavily on environmental conditions, natural and man-made, for its market and its sustainability. This book analyzes market and political failures in relation to tourism development and the environment, and the implications of those for national gains from international tourism, for public finance and policy, and for the sustainability of tourism. Particular emphasis is placed on ecotourism and the sustainable use of natural sites, methods of evaluating the sustainability of tourism and the impacts of pollution on tourism. Case studies cover both large and small developing countries e.g. Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India and the Maldives, as well as more developed economies. While some attention is given to the evaluation of protected areas, most attention is given to policies in terms of the sustainable recreational use of such areas - examples include scuba diving and encounters of tourists with whale sharks and sea turtles. This is a fascinating book that will be of great use to a wide readership including economists, environmentalists, geographers, tourism scholars and professionals, as well as academics in development studies.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 7th International Conference, with the theme "Culture and Tourism in a Smart, Globalized and Sustainable World," held on Hydra Island, Greece, on June 17-19, 2020, published with the support of the International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism. Highlighting the contributions made by numerous writers to the advancement of tourism research, this book presents a critical academic discourse on sustainable practices in the smart tourism context, improving readers' understanding of, and stimulating future debates in, this critical area. In addition to the knowledge economy and the concept of smart destinations, the book addresses new modes of tourism management and development, as well as emerging technologies, including location-based services, the Internet of things, smart cities, mobile services, gamification, digital collections and the virtual visitor, social media, social networking, and augmented reality.

* New edition fully updated and revised with new chapters on regenerative tourism and disruptors including the impact of COVID-19 * Combines theoretical and applied knowledge with a scaffolded learning approach to develop student knowledge, all illustrated with real world case studies; * Looks at the whole tourism supply chain to provide an integrated perspective of sustainability in tourism; * Lists practical tools and industry-relevant certifications. Fully revised and updated for a second edition Introduction to Sustainable Tourism provides a comprehensive, pragmatic, and realistic look at integrating sustainability into tourism. It now includes two new chapters on regenerative tourism and disruptors including the impact of COVID-19 as well as new material on systems thinking, influencing behaviours and green marketing. It adopts a systems-perspective, looking at the whole tourism supply chain to provide an integrated viewpoint of sustainability in the tourism industry and asks: * How does policy encourage or discourage sustainability? * How do intermediaries influence the sale of sustainable tourism? * What are the operator's concerns, how do tourists themselves respond to it? * What are the values of sustainability in tourism and what are the impacts 'trade-offs' to the tourist experience? Using first-hand research projects and packed with international case studies, it combines theoretical and applied knowledge with a scaffolded learning approach and takes a comprehensive look at practical management tools, certifications and innovation as part of the process of operationalising and implementing sustainable tourism. An Introduction to Sustainable Tourism is an essential text for tourism students across all levels, undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Tourism is one of the most rapidly evolving industries of the twenty-first century. The economy of many countries all over the world depends on their ability to attract visitors and maintain a distinct edge in a highly competitive market. International Tourism and Hospitality in the Digital Age brings together the best practices for growth, development, and strategic management within the tourism and hospitality industries. Highlighting comparative research that explores the cross-cultural contexts and societal implications of tourism, this book is an essential resource for professionals, researchers, academics, and students interested in a contemporary approach to promoting, managing, and maximizing profitability of leisure and recreation services.

This book analyses the theoretical and methodological foundations of ecotourism and geotourism and examines the essence, content, factors, and models of ecotourism development. The authors conducted research to assess the tourist and recreational potential of ecotourism in Kazakhstan. The study analyses the current state and describes the problems of the long-term development of ecotourism. Besides, the authors also show the role of specially protected natural areas in ecotourism development, including a list of organizations that can create tourist products in the environmental direction. This book also defines the primary conditions necessary for ecotourism in protected natural and rural areas. The resulting cartographic material visualizes the geospatial potential of the regions of Kazakhstan, aiming a more targeted expenditure of financial resources allocated to tourism development. Thus, the presented book is relevant from a practical perspective to scientists and researchers and is of value to business structures and stakeholders.

Tourism marketing is a vital tool in promoting the overall health of the global economy by not only bringing necessary revenue to a particular region, but also providing an opportunity for tourists to explore another culture, building tolerance and overall exposure to different ways of life. Strategic Tools and Methods for Promoting Hospitality and Tourism Services provides interdisciplinary perspectives in the areas of global tourism and hospitality. Highlighting cultural boundaries of strategic knowledge management through the use of case studies and theoretical research, as well as the opportunities and challenges of tourism marketing, this publication is an essential reference source for academicians, research scholars, marketing professionals, graduate-level students, and industry professionals interested in international travel and the vacation industry.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Written by Chris Ryan, this Advanced Introduction seeks to integrate macro and micro components of tourism destination planning into a discussion of impacts, destination development, and national, regional and site planning. Exploring the characteristics of tourism destinations, the political framework of tourism and region specific management, this accessible book offers an insightful introduction to the field. Key features include: the implementation of management techniques and policies analysis of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the global tourism industry coverage of essential topics such as the evolution of the tourist destination and marketing as a management tool. The Advanced Introduction to Tourism Destination Management will be a key resource for not only scholars and students working in tourism, but also individuals seeking to better understand this social phenomenon that is a critical driver of economic development.

Digital communication is significantly expanding new opportunities and challenges in the tourism industry. Tourists, now more frequently than ever, bring their smartphones with them to every destination, and cultural tourists are particularly motivated to utilize a variety of services and platforms as they are especially open and interested in understanding in detail the places and heritage of the places they visit. Thus, researchers, educators, and professionals in the tourism and hospitality field should take advantage of this opportunity to propose new ways of presenting better content and creating a more immersive and optimized experience for tourists. The Handbook of Research on Digital Communications, Internet of Things, and the Future of Cultural Tourism shares research and experiences on the convergence between digital communication and cultural tourism, specifically the migration and creative appropriation of these technologies for increased tourist engagement and their role in destination marketing and strategic planning and decision making. Covering topics such as big data, e-tourism, and social media platforms, this major reference work is an invaluable resource for researchers, students, professors, academicians, government entities, museum managers, professionals, and cultural tourism managers and facilitators.

The explosive expansion of the tourism industry has been vital to the economic growth of numerous countries throughout the world. As the industry becomes increasingly more competitive, it is necessary for destinations to implement business strategies and invest in human resources that will promote more travel. One such area that requires more attention is that of translation in marketing initiatives. Translation and Communication in the Promotion of Business Tourism: Emerging Research and Opportunities offers a comprehensive study of translation in the business tourism sector by looking at the value of business tourism translation according to market demands, the main models of these specializations, and empirical data from a compilation of a corpus with texts in English and Spanish that serve as explanatory examples of what to do when dealing with texts from this context. The content within this publication examines international travel, international communication, and global business. It is designed for business professionals, managers, policymakers, translators, marketers, advertisers, researchers, students, and academicians.

Tourism is frequently seen as a way of creating new employment opportunities in those regions which have suffered from severe de-industrialization and major cutbacks in manufacturing industry.This important book - based on new and original research - examines the economic impact, measured in employment terms, of the North of England Open Air Museum at Beamish. The authors provide a detailed assessment of the direct, indirect and induced employment generated by the museum. The assessment of the museum's employment impact is placed firmly within the context of its historical development and of the region's tourism activity. Tourism, Museums and the Local Economy focuses on one particular museum, but the methodology and much of the discussion are widely applicable to the evaluation of other tourist attractions. The policy implications of the study are fully assessed by the authors who also make use of a series of international comparisons. The book will be of interest to economists, geographers and all those who have an interest in tourism, the arts and museums, and regional development. It will be an invaluable asset to planners and policymakers at both central and local government level.

This book gathers the best papers presented at the 11th Tourism Outlook Conference, held in Eskisehir, Turkey, from 3 to 5 October 2018. Covering various aspects of heritage and its effects on tourism issues, the contributions provide a multidisciplinary perspective on emerging issues and challenges in the area. The book also analyzes both the tangible and intangible properties of natural, cultural, and historical heritage and how these relate to and influence tourism, and evaluates the importance and role of heritage in tourism destinations and products. By providing a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogues that integrate research and insights from diverse geographical, sectoral and institutional perspectives, the book allows readers to gain a better understanding of heritage tourism.

The application of holistic optimization methods in the tourism, travel, and hospitality industry has improved customer service and business strategies within the field. By utilizing new technologies and optimization techniques, it is becoming easier to troubleshoot problematic areas within the travel industry. The Handbook of Research on Holistic Optimization Techniques in the Hospitality, Tourism, and Travel Industry features innovative technologies being utilized in the management of hotels and tourist attractions. Highlighting empirical research on the optimization of the travel and hospitality industry through the use of algorithms and information technology, this book is a critical reference source for managers, decision makers, executives, tourists, agents, researchers, economists, and hotel staff members.

Roy and Jan have assembled a timely snapshot of our current understanding of ecotourism, both as a concept worthy of scientific inquiry and as an increasingly significant segment of global commerce and industry. A terrific piece of work!' - Sam Ham, University of Idaho, US'In the 30 or so year since it became established in the tourism literature and in tourism practice, 'ecotourism' has attracted as many proponents as opponents. This Handbook now brings together some of the leading scholars worldwide in this field, to explore the current position of this form of tourism. In doing so, it offers serious critiques, it explores meanings and paradoxes, it offers best practices and it looks to the future. It is the Handbook for one of tourism's fastest growing and controversial sectors.' - David Airey, University of Surrey, UK 'This is a most welcome and needed book. With a very strong editorial team and contributing authors, the Handbook covers all the key issues of ecotourism. It cuts through the confusion surrounding the much-misunderstood concept of ecotourism, clearly dealing with definitions, concepts and research issues. The Handbook is particularly welcome for its focus on the visitor experience, a strength of the editors, and for clearly linking the theory of ecotourism with practice in the field.' - Christopher Cooper, Oxford Brookes University, UK This Handbook brings together contributions from over forty international experts in the field of ecotourism. It provides a critical review and discussion of current issues and concepts - it challenges readers to consider the boundaries of what ecotourism is, and could be. The Handbook provides practical information regarding the business of ecotourism; insights into ecotourist behavior and visitor experiences; and reflections on the practice of ecotourism in a range of different contexts. The Handbook is designed to be a valuable reference book for tourism scholars and researchers. Contributors: T. Baird, R. Ballantyne, T. Baum, P. Benckendorff, A. Bien, D. Biggs, R. Black, E. Brymer, R. Buckley, J. Butcher, J. Buultjens, S. Curtin, S. Dolnicar, R. Dowling, L. Dwyer, D. Edwards, J.H. Falk, D.A. Fennell, D. Getz, A. Grajal, C.M. Hall, E. Hawkins, K. Hughes, M. Hughes, E. Juvan, A.-M. Lacaze, J. Mann, E.W. Manning, G. Moscardo, D. Newsome, J. Packer, P.L. Pearce, S. Reid, B.W. Ritchie, K. Rodger, A. Shoebridge, A. Spenceley, N.L. Staus, L.A. Sutherland, C. Tisdell, C.L. Vernon, K. Walker, B. Weiler, N.E. White, V. Yanamandram

A new model of tourism development has recently emerged out of a widening concern for the morality of tourist experience. Known variously as 'ecotourism', 'new tourism', socially responsible tourism', huge claims are made for it in terms of what it might offer in promoting national tourism development. Yet how well does this new model work in practice? And what does it mean to be an international tourist encountering the cultural, political and economic particularities of the South African experience? Garth Allen and Frank Brennan seek to explore the realities of this new morality of tourism as experienced in four important tourist areas of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa: the greater St Lucia Wetland Park - South Africa's third largest reserve and a vast and beautiful area accredited World Heritage Status; the Phinda Resource Reserve, renowned for its diverse habitats and rich wildlife; Kosi Bay, a wetland area of international importance; and the Durban beachfront. For the first time they try to locate the international tourist within the moral maze of tourism in the new South Africa. Their analysis can be applied to other societies committed to the belief that investing in tourism development will be a fast track to economic development and will resonate with the moral challenges facing the international tourist.

The global wellness industry is currently valued at $4.4 trillion and wellness in hospitality and tourism is one of the fastest-growing travel segments. Wellness Management in Hospitality and Tourism is the first text that: * discusses and evaluates the design, operation and management of a wellness event in food service, hospitality and tourism businesses. * evaluates the implementation of wellness management programs in food service, hospitality and tourism businesses. * identifies and describes wellness customer segments within food service, hospitality and tourism businesses. Comprised of 14 chapters - one for every week of a semester - that study the science behind the trends and look at every aspect of health and wellness across the tourism and hospitality industries, this text provides students with the skills and knowledge to become a leader in the development of this new wave of exciting, nutritious, safe and profitable health and wellness products, services and practices. Packed with international case studies and written in a user-friendly style, Wellness Management in Hospitality and Tourism looks at the following key areas and more: * Typologies, scope and segments in health and wellness * Management of wellness amenities and facilities in foodservice, hospitality and tourism businesses * Analysing and managing health and wellness programs and offerings in foodservice, hospitality, and tourism businesses * Health and wellness food and beverage trends * Wellness during crises and pandemics * The Future of wellness management in foodservice, hospitality, and tourism businesses

The study of tourism and indeed the tourism industry is changing constantly. Now in its fifth edition, Contemporary Tourism: an international approach presents a new and refreshing approach to the study of tourism, looking at the far reaching effects that the COVID pandemic has had on the industry and how it has been forced to change, or not subsequently. Considering issues such as advances in AI and its impacts, the environmental crisis and air travel, the sharing economy and Airbnb, and the tourist experience in a Covid world. In particular, it highlights the ongoing threats and opportunities faced by the tourism industry today, and discusses the related management strategies, illustrating the potential implications for the patterns and flow of tourism in the future. Divided into five sections, each chapter has a thorough learning structure including chapter objectives, examples, discussion points, self-review questions, checklists and case studies. URL links in the form of QR codes are heavily present throughout the text so that users of both hard and electronic formats can have direct links to up to date, authoritative and annotated sources of information. Cases are both thematic and destination-based and always international. New to this edition: * New material on latest issues such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, international responses to the environmental crisis, the impact of AI/robotics on tourism human resource and the rise of the staycation; * Brand new and updated case studies and readings throughout; * Substantial support for both students and teachers, both within the text itself and via web-based student and instructor resources. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chris Cooper is Professor in the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality at Leeds Beckett University in the UK. Professor C Michael Hall is Professor of Marketing at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand; Docent, University of Oulu, Finland and Visiting Professor at Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden.

Tourism has become the world's largest industry, according to the World Tourism Organization; no surprise when one considers that it incorporates the world's oldest profession. In some developing regions, such as the Caribbean or the South Pacific, tourism is the primary sector in which significant economic growth takes place. In other regions, including areas of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and formerly communist eastern Europe, tourism is just beginning to take off. In all of these areas, tourisM's impact has been decidedly mixed. Nowhere is this more visible than in the context of women's roles in tourism. The contributors demonstrate the many ways in which gender determines the roles they play as both tourists and providers of tourism as product and service. A valuable contribution to tourism studies, women's studies, and the literature of economic development.

The premises of this unique collection of research are that women's roles in tourism are gendered, just as are their other roles in gendered societies; that tourism affects women differently than it affects men; and that women themselves are affected in different ways by tourism depending on such factors as race, region, and class (leisured consumer vs. working producer, or guest vs. host). The contributors cover theoretical perspectives, including those provided by feminists and economic development analysts; women's roles in tourism in the mature industries of the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific; women's roles in the less-developed tourist destinations of the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and eastern Europe; and implications for the future of economic development policy and of gender relations in tourism.

This book encompasses the diversity and complexity of sex in tourism, incorporating the light, dark and shades of grey in between. It brings together work and ideas from a diverse array of researchers from around the world and examines the affects and effects of diverse sexual encounters in tourism, romance tourism, sex tourism and sexual exploitation in tourism - including the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism, and sexual harassment. Sex in tourism has arguably been an understudied area of research relative to the central roles that sex plays within tourism experiences. This volume explores the complexity and nuanced nature of sex in tourism in more detail. It will be of interest to students and researchers of tourism impacts, tourist behaviour, hospitality management, destination management and development.

This is the first textbook and reference work on evaluation intended for event management and event tourism. Drawing upon generic evaluation theory and methods, event and tourism research and real-world experiences, the author provides concepts and tools needed for the establishment of a comprehensive evaluation system and the implementation of varied evaluation projects. The strength of this book lies in its emphasis on evaluation foundations, both theoretical and methodological, enabling the student and practitioner to adapt the evaluation process to many situations using: *A range of tools from simple checklists to more advanced logic models; *Specific chapters devoted to the most challenging evaluation contexts: the visitor and their experience, quality and human resources; *A chapter devoted to exploring different evaluation challenges in the full range of planned events, including the tourism dimension; *An introduction of impact assessment. The Events Management Theory and Methods Series examines the extent to which mainstream theory is being employed to develop event-specific theory, and to influence the very core practices of event management and event tourism. Each compact volume contains overviews of mainstream management theories and methods, examples from the events literature, case studies, and guidance on all aspects of planned-event management. They introduce the theory, show how it is being used in the events sector through a literature review, incorporate examples and case studies written by researchers and/or practitioners, and contain methods that can be used effectively in the real world. Series editor: Donald Getz. With online resource material, this mix-and-match collection is ideal for lecturers who need theoretical foundations and case studies for their classes, by students in need of reference works, by professionals wanting increased understanding alongside practical methods, and by agencies or associations that want their members and stakeholders to have access to a library of valuable resources.

This book presents a diverse range of recent operational research techniques that have been applied to agriculture and tourism management. It covers both the primary sector of agriculture and agricultural economics, and the tertiary sector of the tourism industry. Findings and lessons learned from these innovations can be readily applied to various other contexts. The book chiefly focuses on cooperative management issues, and on developing solutions to provide decision support in multi-criteria scenarios.

This book brings together interdisciplinary perspectives with the aim of broadening understandings of poverty. It contains both empirical and conceptual chapters, including those by local researchers, on a range of topics highlighting the relationship between poverty and sustainability. It cover themes such as: changes in the environment that pose an existential risk to humans; new concepts in tourism development that consider it as one of the key contributors in the prosperity and well-being of all stakeholders; natural, social and economic aspects of human behaviour and environmental sustainability; the impact of global warming on human well-being; immigration and integration policies and analyses of public discourse on migrants; and overconsumption and its impact on sustainable development. It will be a helpful resource for students and researchers of environmental management, tourism, global justice and sustainable development.