Journal of Tourism & Adventure

Tourists’ Perceptions toward Sustainable Tourism at Kuakata, Bangladesh

2023-09-13T05:37:16+00:00

Sustainable tourism and related externalities are examined from the perspective of travelers in this research. The research involved primary data collection in Kuakata during COVID-19 in March 2021. Correspondence analysis on tourists’ perceptions shows that tourists have an overall concern towards sustainable tourism with respect to the quality of the destination and desirable features. However, they moderately feel that the lack of certain things (i.e. medical and first-aid services, parking areas) is making tourism activities worse and that’s why tourists were unsatisfied. Tourists are also interested in sustainable tourism development. For instance, they prefer to stay in those hotels that are doing well for the environment and also spend extra money on garbage cleaning and village development. Besides, there is a significant mean difference in the perceptions of tourists towards sustainable tourism development at Kuakata sea beach with respect to tourists’ house location from Kuakata sea beach and monthly family income. Furthermore, perceptions and attitudes toward sustainable tourism vary significantly dependent on the characteristics of the visitors.

The Trans-Himalayan Livelihood: Opportunities and Challenges in Tourism Development in Upper Mustang, Nepal

2023-09-13T06:00:27+00:00

The people, places, and livelihoods of the Himalayan regions in Nepal are great attractions to tourists for multiple activities. However, mountain livelihood as tourist product has been little attention. This paper aims to present the Loba livelihood of the Upper Mustang, a trans-Himalayan region of Nepal as an intangible heritage, where the Government of Nepal began high-yielding tourism in 1992. Similarly, it focuses on opportunities and challenges of tourism development in the Upper Mustang. The paper is based on anthropological fieldwork conducted for the PhD, at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. The qualitative data were collected by applying observation and interview methods. The quantitative data were collected by Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Lo-manthang, and Jomsom. The important observable tourist goods in the study area include scenic desert-like natural surroundings, sacred sites, Himalayan festivals, rituals, local organic food items, and high altitude agricultural and pastoral practices. Similarly, the visitors are amazed and attracted by these tangible as well as intangible cultural heritages of Loba. The heritage includes the “mud-walled city of Lo-manthang”, medieval monasteries, palaces, and cave dwellings. The Loba livelihood is unique and a great attraction to domestic as well as international tourists for those who have no opportunity to experience a similar livelihood elsewhere. According to the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), Lo-manthang Unit Office records 52559 (1992-2019) foreign tourists visited Upper Mustang, which is increasing by 144 tourists per year. This study contributes to the local, provincial, and federal governments to plan further development of tourism in the Himalayan region.

Tour Guides and the Emotional Labour Nexus

2023-09-13T09:04:36+00:00

The tour guides/emotional labour nexus has only been examined since the mid-20th century and into the early 21st century. Members of an overarching tourist guide organisation were interviewed to ascertain whether or not they used emotional labour as a part of the interactive and interpretation approach with tourists. The tour guides were interviewed after in-depth engagement with the emotional labour literature, so as to determine if they used (or did not use) emotional labour in their guided tours. Participants were interviewed over a two-year timeframe at their bi-annual symposia held in remote and isolated locations. A constant comparative analysis was used to elicit themes, categories and collections from the data. Some guides did not recognise that they did in fact use emotional labour, but it referred to it in other terms. Nevertheless, it was found that emotional labour was successfully and willingly (although sometimes unwittingly) used by the tour guides in this study.

Prospect of Tourism Development in Khaptad National Park: A Local Perspective

2023-09-13T09:11:36+00:00

Tourism in Nepal has flourished over the past two decades, making it one of the top global destinations for visit. Its abundant wildlife, stunning trekking routes, snow-fed rivers, picturesque lakes, and warm-hearted locals have been contributing perpetually to appeal to the global and local tourists. With the rise of the digital economy, tourism is experiencing modern advancements. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of local residents regarding tourism development. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to validate the research results, utilizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. A sample size of 219 respondents was conveniently selected; indicating a higher interest among males and a predominance of economically active individuals aged 21-40 years. The study shows ICT development emerging as a common challenge for visitors to Khaptad National Park. The SEM results confirmed the fit and validity of five constructs. To establish KNP as a premier tourist destination, the Tourism Board, Government, and Municipality should prioritize its development and manage the influx of tourists. Notably, motivation and subjective norms significantly influence visitors’ behavior, while perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention do not. Local communities should actively engage in promoting tourism through effective marketing strategies, and the improvement of ICT facilities will enhance travel convenience. Hence, efforts should be made to promote local business activities and products. The findings of this analysis will benefit various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Nepal Tourism Board, Department of Tourism, hotel associations, Travel agencies, local governments, researchers, professionals, and prospective students. This article is an original work with no potential conflict of interest regarding its research and publication.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Employees of Hotel Industry

2023-09-13T09:47:23+00:00

Travel and mobility restrictions to contain COVID-19 forced many hotels to shut down their business completely or partially. As a result, the hotel sector was hit hard financially. Consequently, majority of the employees of the sector lost their job or were employed with reduced work hours. It affected their financial and psychological aspects. However, there are limited studies focusing on financial and psychological aspects of closures and employment reduction by COVID-19. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate effect of COVID-19 on hotel employees in Kathmandu, Nepal with a survey among the representative sample of 92 hotel industry employees by using a self-constructed questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA. The result shows that COVID-19 caused a high degree of financial and psychological crises for the employees. Therefore, in conclusion, hotels should create emergency funds to prepare for future crises and provide training and counseling for employees to ensure the employees’ well-being during times of crisis. Similarly, this study recommends hotel employees to save money for emergency situations. The findings of this study are only based on descriptive statistics and future researchers can implement advanced statistical tools and mixed methods to get the in-depth idea of impact of COVID-19 on hotel employees.

Conservation Finance of Annapurna Conservation Area during COVID-19 Pandemic

2023-09-13T09:53:36+00:00

Annapurna Conservation Area is considered as the only self-financed protected area in Nepal. With the aim of investigating the impact caused by COVID-19 on income and expenditure of Annapurna Conservation Area and its conservation activities, the study gathered primary data by interviewing representatives from different committees related to tourism, youth, women, and local people. Similarly, audit reports from Conservation Area Management Committee offices and Annapurna Conservation Area headquarter office were taken as secondary data. The income reduced by 36 percent in the fiscal year 2076/77 as pandemic effects began and further plummeted by 96.5 percent after a complete lockdown and travel limitations in the following year. Consequently, expenses for thematic areas and budget allocation for different management committees significantly declined. As a result, the committees minimized but did not stop spending their budget on conservation initiatives. The study recommends diversifying the income sources of the conservation area through effective rangeland management, prioritization of forest-based enterprises, utilizing the available resources, and policy reform in tourism fee collection.

Tourism and Hospitality: Academia and Industry Interface

2023-09-13T10:06:31+00:00

The purpose of this study is to elaborate on the relationship between academia and industry. There is found a reciprocal relationship between academia and industry. Most of the studies have focused on the industry academia linkages from experiences of developed countries and those studies are not related to academia and tourism and hospitality relationships which are published in policy research. This study is based on exploratory research. Desktop research is carried out to collect secondary data to understand the collaboration and gap between academia and industry as there are many hidden problems in the process of producing the suitable manpower for the industry by academia and industry’s expectation from academia. Almost, the published literature is used in this research. This study is the outcome based on finding solutions to these research questions: how academia and industry collaboration in tourism and hospitality sectors is trending in the world? And what is the gap between these two arenas? This study aims to explore the interface between academia and industry (university and tourism and hospitality industry) which is very useful for providing knowledge, employment, and nation’s development. This study includes introduction, university and industry interface, tourism academia and industry interface, literature review, personology and professionalism, career commitment, collaboration and bridging gap, methodology, discussions, conclusion, and recommendations.