Claire Haven-Tang

Using local food and drink to differentiate tourism destinations through a sense of place : A story from wales-dining at monmouthshire's great table

Abstract The importance of using local food and drink to develop a “Sense of Place,” create a unique visitor experience and differentiate tourism destinations while providing economic benefits to the local community cannot be underestimated. This paper will present research commissioned by Adventa, Monmouthshires LEADER + programme, which was designed to develop a Sense of Monmouthshire training module aimed at tourism businesses in Monmouthshire. While the training module specifically focuses on Monmouthshire there are generic lessons about the use of local food and drink. A “Sense of Place” can be used to exploit the unique attributes of a destination, but it needs to be selectively customised by individual businesses to exploit the distinctive social and cultural characteristics of a destination and provide a unique visitation experience. Through an integrated and holistic approach to tourism development the Sense of Monmouthshire training module should help to extend the tourism season, enhance quality, develop community pride and preserve Monmouthshires identity.

Critical success factors for business tourism destinations: exploiting Cardiff's national capital city status and shaping its business tourism offer

Abstract Business tourism is a highly lucrative but competitive sector of the tourism industry which has led many destinations to implement strategies and invest in infrastructure and human resource developments. National and regional capital city status gives additional kudos to a destination. This paper presents critical success factors for business tourism destinations developed from four case studies of successful UK business tourism destinations through stakeholder interviews and explores how Cardiff should exploit its national capital city status to support its business tourism offer. The critical success factors for business tourism destinations include: leadership; networking; branding; skills; ambassadors; infrastructure; and bidding. These will inform an action plan to develop and shape Cardiffs business tourism offer and position Cardiff amongst the UK and Europes major business tourism destinations.

Online communication in Spanish destination marketing organizations: the view of practitioners

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have had a significant impact on both the travel and tourism experience and industry. In particular, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have found ICT a powerful ally to harmonize and coordinate the activities of local stakeholders as well as to reach travellers. The aim of this research is to analyse destination brand communication strategies, especially those applied to online communication (official websites, social media and mobile applications). Data were collected from Spanish destinations – regions, provinces and cities – via an online survey addressed to destination brand and communication managers. Results show that destination brand communication is not fully standardized or professionalized yet; online tools (websites, social media and mobile applications) are used tactically and not strategically and the usefulness of social media and official websites is clearly more appreciated by DMO managers than the usefulness of mobile applications.

Learning Provision, the Labour Market and Skills Needs of the Tourism and Related Sectors in Wales

Abstract This paper reports results of a project commissioned by the Tourism Training Forum for Wales to assess the labour market, learning provision and skills needs of the tourism and related sectors in Wales, in light of the establishment of People 1st, one of 22 employer-led Sector Skills Councils under the umbrella of the Sector Skills Development Agency, which represents a new approach to skills development in the United Kingdom. Standard industrial classification codes do not map well onto the sector footprint and are insufficiently fine grained which makes it impossible to construct a complete picture from official statistics. Employers report skills gaps amongst a range of staff and a lack of “soft” skills amongst job applicants. Learning provision across Wales was deemed to be sufficient, but it does not necessarily reflect the needs of industry. The paper concludes that despite a consensus on the need to upgrade skills, improve professionalism and to nurture a training culture, there is an absence of an integrated approach to delivering learning and training that is designed to ensure the quality standards which will ensure destination competitiveness.

Social tourism & older people: the IMSERSO initiative

ABSTRACT Extant demand-perspective social tourism studies have generally focused on children, families and the disabled whilst older people remain an under-researched group in relation to the personal and social benefits of social tourism initiatives. This study discusses the lack of research on social tourism and older people and takes a demand-side perspective to examine one of the world’s most developed and large-scale social tourism schemes for older people, the Spanish Government’s IMSERSO programme. A qualitative approach explores the nature of older people’s engagement with the scheme and its impact on their wellbeing, through individual in-depth interviews with twenty-seven IMSERSO participants in Benidorm, Spain – a popular IMSERSO destination. The thematic analysis is structured around five themes: social connectivity, the impact of caring responsibilities, a new beginning, escape and practical support. The findings for these IMSERSO participants suggest that, as factors such as caring obligations and hardship experienced in early life are reduced in later life, they have the capacity for increased holiday-taking and social activity and consequently for participation in the IMSERSO scheme. The scheme is found to have a positive impact on their wellbeing by providing opportunities for meeting and interacting with new people, acting as a distraction from ill-health and thus reducing stress, depression and anxiety. However, the article raises questions over the ability of those without strong social networks, including no partner, and those with ongoing caring responsibilities (those who, it could be argued, are most in need of a holiday) to participate in the scheme.

Exploring industry priorities regarding customer satisfaction and implications for event evaluation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the priorities of event organisers (EOs) and venue managers (VM) in terms of evaluation criteria and avenues for advancing the development and implementation of banks of questions regarding customer satisfaction evaluation. Design/methodology/approach The results presented are based on a questionnaire distributed to a sample of EOs and VM which sought to identify their priorities with regard to customer satisfaction feedback. Findings The findings show that a significant proportion of respondents had never undertaken formal evaluation, citing time and resources as the key barriers. In addition, a wide range of satisfaction-related criteria were rated as important, with the most valued criteria often related to generalised areas, but failing to consider the motivations of individuals for event attendance, which also appears as a gap within evaluation literature. The research findings indicate that developing banks of evaluation questions is a complex task, due to the number of potential variables in terms of events and audiences. Originality/value In linking the priority areas identified by the respondents with evaluation literature and event attendee motivations, this paper proposes alternative ways of structuring and utilising banks of evaluation questions linked to attendee profiles and motivations. Its central premise is that evaluation of consumer satisfaction should be led by consumer motivations and expectations if it is to be viable, meaningful and aid future event development and enhancement. This raises many questions and avenues for future research, to progress the area of logistically feasible evaluation, which generates rich and meaningful data.

The application of group consensus theory to aid organisational learning and sustainable innovation in manufacturing SMEs

Abstract This paper investigates the exploring of situated knowledge within manufacturing organisations, with employees from a four-tier supply chain utilising a form of Group Consensus Theory (GCT). The implementation of GCT through focus groups as well as individual interviews with participants and observation of group dynamics allowed the authors to characterise the dynamics of learning and application of innovation projects and, identifies the types of innovation strategies in relation to organisational dynamics and knowledge. The aim of the work is to identify the underpinning issues relating to organisational dynamics and organisational learning in relation to innovation. Direct feedback from the SMEs will inform the analysis of how and in what way manufacturers can meet the challenge of increasing the attitudes towards improving innovative activities in companies. This paper extends the theoretical development around organisational learning towards understanding how companies within supply chains learn and innovate. This work therefore focuses upon inter-company learning and innovation which is largely under-developed from a research viewpoint. The method developed is practical, and may be used by organisations for themselves to aid the development of group as well as individual reflection, to stimulate the consideration of change. The results suggest that a clear connection exists between how companies are managed and led and, the resulting organisational learning capabilities of the collaborative team.

Implementing Lean Six Sigma into curriculum design and delivery – a case study in higher education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the development and adoption of a Lean Six Sigma Framework (LSSF) that attempts to create a more balanced and integrated approach between Lean and Six Sigma and one that is capable of achieving improved efficacy of curriculum and programme development in a higher education environment. The implementation of the LSSF is new to the higher education sector. Design/methodology/approach Using the standard DMAIC cycle as the key driver in the implementation process, most in-depth Lean Six Sigma (LSS) case studies have focussed on manufacturing and engineering-based problems and solutions. This case study offers a detailed analysis of the design and implementation of an integrated LSSF within higher education and focusses primarily on the curriculum design and delivery of a new undergraduate engineering programme in a subject university. As such, this offers a unique perspective of LSS implementation in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) which drives systems improvements in to the heart of the teaching and learning process. Findings The design, development and subsequent application of the LSSF enabled the curriculum development team to comprehensively apply LSS in to a subject institution. The Shainin Key Variables Search Technique (KVST) more specifically enabled the team to prioritise the key variables by way of order of importance and, this allowed the team to apply the most appropriate tools and techniques at the key points within the LSSF in order to obtain maximum performance. Research limitations/implications Whilst this work provides key information on how LSS initiatives are implemented across different institution types, the work has only focussed at a very small sample of HEIs and the case study only being applied to one institution. The work will need to be extended much more widely to incorporate a larger set of HEIs (both research and teaching focussed) in order to provide a more complete map of LSS development in HEIs. Practical implications The aim of the paper is to provide LSS project leaders in HEIs with a coherent and balanced LSSF in an attempt to assist them in implementing comprehensive LSS programmes thus maximising the improvements in efficiency and operational performance of departments within HEIs. Originality/value This paper is the first of its kind to study the application of Shainin’s KVST in the implementation of LSS programmes in HEIs. The key features highlighted in this work raise important issues regarding the need and importance of developing a balanced LSSF for HEI project implementation.