Nadzeya Kalbaska

eLearning Offers by Destination Management Organizations

Tourism has been and is being deeply affected at all levels by Information and Communication Technologies in general, and the Internet in particular. In this paper the peculiar case of digital technologies being used by national Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) to offer learning experiences — eLearning — to Travel Agents and Tour Operators is presented and analyzed. Among all United Nations countries, 37 offer an eLearning program to better equip travel professionals in performing their consulting and selling activities. All those courses have been attended online and analyzed, in order to outline their main characteristics and their advantages, as reported by the course providers themselves. The researched field has proved to be very interesting and promising, thus future research lines are suggested and outlined.

Massive Open Online Courses: Strategies and Research Areas

The latest education revolution, the massive open online courses (MOOCs), is gaining momentum, accolades, and participation across industry and academia. These learning laboratory behemoths host and assess tens to hundreds of thousands of students in a single class, for free. Similar to their scope, MOOCs’ short- and long-term educational implications seem massive. Immediate MOOC educational outcomes vary widely from roaring successes to global jokes. To date however, few or no studies address MOOCs in hospitality and tourism. This article takes a small step toward addressing this gap, drawing on the Diffusion of Innovations theory to review educational technologies, open education, and MOOCs. The result is an overview and four complementary MOOC diffusion strategies and research areas.

Online Learning and MOOCs: A Framework Proposal

Decades of distance learning evolution and innovation, particularly due to the Internet and recently, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), have led to industry and academic confusion about online learning nomenclature. This study takes a preliminary step in reducing the confusion, proposing a conceptual framework for categorising online learning. Drawing on content structure and interactivity, the paper proposes four categories of online learning: resources, tutorials, courses and MOOCs. These four categories serve as a base for illustrating five online learning variables—open versus closed access, cost, interactivity, recognition and assessment—which subsequently help clarify the framework of the four somewhat overlapping categories. The resultant framework gives industry and academia common ground for discussing online learning and for future research such as MOOC types and additional variables to consider, i.e., synchronicity, learning outcomes, openness, and self-direction.

E-Government Relationships Framework in the Tourism Domain. A First Map

Overlooking the importance of governance features and rapid developments of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), surprisingly, there is very little record of academic research on the use of ICTs within destination governance and online communication by tourism governments. This research focuses on the government and policy layer of the tourism domain exploring existing applications, while proposing an Electronic Government (e-Government) framework for the tourism area. The following major stakeholders’ interactions were distinguished: Governments to Governments, Governments to Citizens, Governments to Businesses, Governments to Non-profits, Government to Employees, and Governments to Visitors. The proposed framework outlines rules and regulations of ICTs and the tourism industry on regional, national, and international contexts, with cases of ICTs applications for innovating institutional structures and procedures, and ensuring participation in tourism-related governance processes. It provides a common ground for discussing e-Government matters within the tourism domain as well as it outlines future research possibilities.

Evaluation of formality and informality of the learning context

Zusammenfassung Destinations-Management-Organisationen greifen seit jüngster Zeit auf Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien für Weiter-bildungszwecke zurück. Der Sinn dahinter ist, Reisekaufleute, Reiseberater und Reiseanbieter fortzubilden, um es ihnen zu ermöglichen, eine spezifische Destination und ihre Attraktionen besser zu vermitteln und zu verkaufen. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit formellen und informellen Perspektiven des Lernens und bezweckt in erster Linie, die aktuellen eLearning-Kurse zum Thema Touristendestinationen hinsichtlich ihrer formellen und informellen Lern-Erfahrungen einzuordnen. Zweitens sollen in diesem Beitrag die Auffasungen der Reisekaufleute zum Thema der Lern-Erfahrung durch formelle und informelle Lernerfahrungen aufgezeigt werden, die von einer regionalen Schweizer Destination angeboten werden. Hinsichtlich der hergestellten Lernsoftware könnte man solche Kurse als formelles Lernen betrachten, da die Inhalte nach strikten Vorgaben gestaltet und strukturiert sind und ein finaler Test/Zertifikat vorgesehen ist. Bezieht man sich jedoch auf die Perspektive der Nachfragenden – also beispielsweise auf die tatsächlichen Lernerfahrungen der Reisekaufleute – lassen sich einige informelle Lernpraktiken und –Details erkennen. Dazu gehören beispielsweise die Spontaneität, sich ebenso für einen Kurs, wie auch für dessen Veranstaltungsort und Zeitraum, zu entscheiden. Die Erkenntnisse dieser Studie tragen zu einem tieferen Verständnis der Aspekte formellen und informellen Lernens bei, die für die Wissensbildung von Reise- und Touristikspezialisten über touristische Destinationen relevant sind. Abstract Destination Management Organizations recently have started to use Information Communication Technologies for educational purposes: to train and educate travel agents, travel consultants, and tour operators in order for them to sell a specific destination and its attractions in a better way. The paper addresses the formal and informal learning perspectives and, firstly aims to map current eLearning courses about tourism destinations according to formal or informal learning experiences they offer. Secondly, perceptions on the learning experience of travel agents who attended an eLearning course offered by a Swiss regional destination are presented. Considering the produced courseware, such courses may be considered as formal learning, because contents are strictly designed and structured, and usually a final test/certificate is foreseen. However, when it comes to the demand side – i.e. the actual learning experience of travel agents – various informal learning practices and features are identified, such as spontaneity of the decision to take the course or location and timing of course attendance. The findings of this study contribute to an enhanced understanding of formal and informal learning aspects in the process of knowledge construction about tourism destinations for travel and tourism professionals.

The Waiter Game: Structure and Development of an Hospitality Training Game

The paper presents the Waiter Game, an online training tool, which has been developed to support the training activity of young learners in a hospitality professional school. The structure of the game as well as all the steps taken to develop its prototype is presented in detail. While many argue that simulations can be useful in the tourism and hospitality industry, not many applications for low level employees have been found, neither a consistent model to develop such applications. This paper is a first attempt in that direction.

Digital Fashion Competences: Market Practices and Needs

Digital practices in fashion are gaining more attention, starting from digital communication, online reputation, up to eCommerce. Such highly moving dynamics—related both to the fashion market as well as to new available technologies and communication tools—require well-prepared and skilled employees, able to navigate in this constantly changing environment with needed competences, updated knowledge, and creativity. Within this study, current market needs in the field of digital fashion are investigated through the analysis of the open job positions published on LinkedIn. In particular, needed skills and competences to join digital departments of fashion companies are examined.

Evaluating the Development and Impact of an eLearning Platform: The Case of the Switzerland Travel Academy

Despite the increasing popularity of eLearning courses about tourism destinations, research on how they should be designed and what makes them usable in the eyes of the travel trade remains scarce. Trying to fill this gap, the main aim of this research is to find a suitable framework for evaluating online courses about tourism destinations. To do so, the creation process of the Switzerland Travel Academy by Switzerland Tourism is presented with a focus on evaluating not only the platform’s usability, but also its impact on travel agents’ knowledge about, and involvement with the tourism destination after the completion of the course. The proposed framework enhances the theoretical foundation in the eLearning domain, as well as might be used within practical developments of eLearning courses not only by tourism destinations, but also by other eLearning product developers.

The use of eLearning strategies among travel agents in the United Kingdom, India and New Zealand

ABSTRACT This study explores the use of eLearning courses created by destination management organizations for education and certification in the travel trade. Phone interviews were conducted with travel agents based in the United Kingdom, India and New Zealand to identify knowledge upgrade strategies with regard to tourism destinations. The study evaluates the rates of current usage and awareness of eLearning courses about tourism destinations among agents in the three countries.

eVisa’s impacts on travel and tourism: the case of Turkey

The purpose of this study was to investigate eVisa applications. eVisa is a service that falls under eTourism, whose growing use can be attributed to its ability to simplify the process of obtaining a visa. The objectives of this study were twofold: to explore the eVisa experience of tourists who have previously visited Turkey by using the service and to analyse the perceptions of stakeholders who have contributed to eVisa.,The present research has utilised two methodologies within the context of qualitative research methods. Data were gathered from tourists by using reviews (n = 1690) and in-depth interviews key actors (n = 4), which represent consumers and contributors’ perspectives on the eVisa system, respectively. While consumers dictate the demand of the service, contributors control its supply. The contributors referenced herein are relevant eVisa stakeholders in Antalya.,The research findings revealed eVisa facilitation’s positive effects on a destination’s image and tourists’ intentions to revisit destinations compared to when they use traditional visa-obtaining processes. The research findings then present suitable data for destination managers and policymakers regarding eVisa facilitation, followed by this study’s conclusions and implications.,eVisa facilitation can foster demand for travel and tourism while maintaining bureaucratic elements of the traditional visa procedure. From a psychological perspective, eVisa facilitation can positively affect travel motivation to certain destinations where eVisas are applicable, as well as positively influence intentions to revisit tourist destinations.,The originality and uniqueness of the present study lies in its contribution to the increasing recognition of the significance and positive impacts of eVisa facilitation on travel and tourism demand.,本论文采用定性研究方法, 旨在探索电子签证的各种应用。电子签证属于电子化旅游范畴, 使申请签证的过程简化便捷。本研究目的共有两方面：探索土耳其游客的电子签证的旅游体验; 以及分析各方利益相关者对于电子签证所持的态度感知。,本论文主要采用定性研究方法。研究样本构成为游客评论（样本数据：1690条）和关键利益相关者的深度访谈（样本数据：4人）, 分别代表消费者和管理者对于电子签证系统的态度和观点。其中关键利益相关者是安塔利亚省的电子签证官员。,本研究结果表明电子签证, 相比对传统签证申请过程, 对于旅游目的地形象和游客再次访问动机有着积极作用。因此本研究结果对于旅游目的地管理人员和政策制定者有着重要启示作用。,本研究表明电子签证在保留传统签证申请程序的行政性能的同时, 还有助于促进旅游需求。从心理学角度, 电子签证对特定目的地的旅游动机有着积极影响, 此外, 电子签证还对游客的再次访问动机有着显著作用。,本研究结果对于电子签证在旅游需求和旅游业发展方面有着积极的贡献。