Jorge Costa

Developing an environmental scanning process in the hotel sector

Investigates the environmental scanning activities of hotel chains operating in Portugal. Attitudes towards environmental scanning by companies where strategy was formalised through a formal written strategic plan (Intenders) and those companies where strategy was informally developed through a “vision” or “informal plan” (Realizers) were compared. Face to face interviews were conducted with board level executives to identify and assess the relevance of a formal environmental scanning process, the characteristics of such a process, barriers to its development and ways to overcome them. A cognitive mapping technique was used in the analysis of respondents’ perceptions towards the development of such a process, with the maps showing more similarities than differences between the comparison groups, thus highlighting the importance of this process for both intenders and realizes.

Using environmental scanning for business expansion into China and Eastern Europe: the case of transnational hotel companies.

This paper reports on a study designed to explore the relationship between environmental scanning and business expansion strategies in the international hotel sector. Unit level perspectives on environmental scanning and business expansion strategies of trans‐national hotel companies (TNHCs) operating in China and Eastern Europe are presented and analysed. (For the purpose of this study transnational hotel companies are defined as those companies operating hotel units in more than two countries.) The research, based on a survey of 50 general managers, concludes that, due to the complexity and the increasing uncertainty of the international hotel sector, TNHCs and their managers at unit level need to be more conscious of the significance of trends in the business environment when deciding on their business expansion strategies.

Relating strategy, structure and performance

Considers the inter‐linking business relationships between aspects of strategy formulation, implementation and performance as they relate to the hospitality industry. The “relating strategy” theme is developed and elaborated by reviewing approaches to strategy and external analysis, structure and performance. Includes case examples from Forte Hotels, Granada Group plc, Hilton International, Holiday Inn Worldwide and Hyatt International Corporation.

The Portuguese tourism sector: key challenges for human resources management

Discusses economic and employment patterns in Portugal as they relate to tourism and the economic downturn following linked with the SARS outbreak and international terrorism. Relates macro tourism trends to the challenges facing the tourism sector in Portugal and the specific operational issues facing hoteliers: quality management, product differentiation; market diversification; marketing and productivity. Relates these and other issues to a roundtable discussion with participants from industry and education and concludes that a national strategy for human resources training and development is needed, together with a code of ethics for human resource management in the Portuguese tourism sector.

A service quality evaluation scale for the hospitality sector: dimensions, attributes and behavioural intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a scale for service quality evaluation in the hospitality sector. This scale has two aims: to assess the dimensions and attributes consumers use when evaluating the quality of the service provided by hotels, and to determine what influence service quality perceptions have on consumer behaviour, namely on customer intentions to return and to recommend the hotel.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used to develop the scale was divided into three stages: first, two well‐known models (SERVQUAL with direct formulation and SERPERF) were tested in 32 hotels, through 532 questionnaires. As these models were not conclusive, a second phase took place: 109 in‐depth interviews were conducted to assess the relevant factors or attributes for consumers during a hotel stay, both for the holiday and business segments. Based on the results of the interviews, a questionnaire was designed to evaluate service quality provided by four and five star hotels. On this thi...

A tourist market portfolio for Portugal

The main objective of this study is the application of portfolio analysis, as an instrument of decision‐making support, to the selection of priority market segments for Portugal. The results obtained validate the use of competitiveness and attractiveness as tools for the selection and management of generating markets for a tourist destination. The selection of factors to calculate the values of competitiveness and attractiveness was based on a review of the literature on destination competitiveness, portfolio models in general and studies applied to tourist destinations. The relative importance of the factors was determined after consultation with a panel of experts. Cronbach’s alpha test was used to verify the scale reliability. Tourist arrivals, tourists stays, foreign exchange revenue and bednights in hotel units were used as performance indicators of generating countries. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were used to study the relation between attractiveness and competitiveness and performance.

Trends in hospitality: academic and industry perceptions

Reviews articles published during 1996 in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Tourism Management and Travel & Tourism Analyst. Compares the central themes arising with those identified by a sample of hotel managers working in the UK and in Portugal, with particular reference to aspects of organizational performance. Compares and contrasts themes identified by academics and practitioners with reference to environmental scanning as a supportive process for trends identification and for strategy and decision‐making purposes.

Strategic tourism planning in practice: the case of the Open Academy of Tourism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of a sound and participatory strategic planning process for the management of tourism at national and regional levels and its contribution to the sustainable development of destinations.Design/methodology/approach – The case study presented in this paper is based on an academic/industry project, launched to support the practical learning of strategic tourism planning and the strategic management of tourism destinations by MBA students. The Open Academy of Tourism, a partnership between the Institute of Tourism, and the Portuguese National Association of Tourism Regions, was created to support the development of strategic plans for Portuguese tourism regions, while allowing students to test and fine tune a model for strategic planning and managing tourism destinations. To better understand the applicability of this model, 13 case studies based on the same number of strategic plans were developed.Findings – The paper reveals that the effect...

Did the context of economic crisis affect the image of Portugal as a tourist destination?: Strategic question overview.

Purpose – This paper aims to introduce the articles in this issue and explain the pertinence of the strategic question. Design/methodology/approach – A brief context for the strategic question is provided, as well as the issue alignment and a content analysis of the articles selected. Findings – A contextualization for the economic crisis affecting Portugal is presented and its impact on the Tourism Industry discussed. The articles range from a series of research studies on Portuguese Tourism, demonstrating its evolution over the past three years (2011-2013), and various viewpoint/position papers reflecting the perspectives of the main stakeholders of this industry and how they analyze the context of crisis that is affecting the country since 2010. Research limitations/implications – The articles selected for this issue contribute to shed light on an important phase of Portugal’s history, allowing for an understanding of the impacts of the financial crisis on domestic tourism and sectors such as restauran...

What global trends are challenging tourism organizations and destinations today?: Strategic question overview

The main aim of this paper is to introduce the articles of this theme issue and explain the pertinence of the strategic question.,A brief context for the strategic question is provided, as well as the issue alignment and a content analysis of the articles selected.,The profile of current and future tourists is changing. Travel consumers now want and expect accurate information to guide their choices, and these are increasingly based on quality, experimentation, willingness to undertake active holidays and to travel to sites with diverse and unique tourism products.,Collectively, the articles in this theme issue provide rich insights on key trends impacting the worldwide tourism industry, as well as suggestions on how to explore the opportunities arising from the highly competitive tourism markets. Proposals on scanning the tourism business environment are also presented and their importance discussed and illustrated.,From various angles of analysis, the final articles for this issue explore the trends and issues affecting the tourism industry, as well as approaches to scan the tourism business environment.