Volume 9 (2019): Issue 2 (December 2019)

Sustainability is now seen as a strategy used to encourage tourism. The objective of this research is to analyse the success factors of sustainable tourism in the southern region of the State of Sonora, Mexico. The research was carried out in 2018. The methodology used was qualitative, explanatory and non-experimental, that is, a multiple case study (Guaymas, Isla Huivulai and Alamos). It was concluded that the natural and cultural beauty, security and accessibility, as well as the environmental protection of the area were rated as important by 20% of respondents. Moreover, the business profile of the residents of a particular location with tourism potential and the accessibility of the place were rated as important by 10%. The implications of this are that as sustainable tourism projects are implemented, a variety of aspects will have to be considered in the tourism programme, also ensuring good management in order to achieve suitable conditions. In addition, governments should be encouraged to offer facilities and regulations to contribute to the improvement of these projects.

Tourism is growing at a fast rate and so is its carbon footprint. Alongside conventional tourism, a new form of tourism, so-called voluntourism, has emerged. The discussion on voluntourism in the existing literature has hereby mainly centred around its positive impacts on the health and education of communities and the local environment in developing countries. Nevertheless, little attention has been drawn to its climate impacts. This study set out to investigate the carbon footprint of voluntourism. The data were collected at a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) in India working with voluntourists. Both the carbon footprint of the stay in India and that from the round trip by air were taken into consideration. The results showed that although the carbon footprint of voluntourists during their stay is comparable with that of locals, the flight significantly contributes to the carbon footprint of voluntourism. Depending on the distance flown and the length of the stay, the average share of the carbon footprint stemming from the flight can be between 83% and 96%. The article concludes that faraway destinations and short stays should be avoided; otherwise voluntourism might cause more harm than good. On the basis of the findings, this article provides recommendations for policymakers and further research.

The article explores the natural context and the geographical conditions for developing tourism and for designing sectorial plans. The objective is to offer basic visual rendering as a resource for appreciating the natural environs in which the tourist activity evolves and use such resource as useful input during the planning and designing exercises. The methodology relies on the application of cartographic and spatial tools as instruments for recognising the territory and the natural landscape. The results render the current condition of natural resources and the territorial reality, as a general frame for proposing sustainable strategies of tourism planning. The contribution of the analysis can be appreciated amid the scarcity of local and specific cartographic analysis, and the precarious stock of inputs that could guide the tourism and the territorial planning in lagged territories. An overwhelming conclusion of our exercise is that the awarness and valuations of natural endowments are key elements for preserving the environment and for applying an adequate planning strategy in order to reconcile the economic necessities and the preservation of natural environment.

Tourism is a strategic sector in Portugal since it generates employment and it is a factor of economic and social development. The tourism sector not only has an intensive need of labour force but also provides employment opportunity to a range of qualifications. Being an industry of people, it directly depends on the performance of activities, skills, professionalism, quality and competitiveness. The main objective of this article is to present the HC Tourism project, which aims to seek and understand the needs of skills in tourism industry by studying the active companies that belong to the tourism economic subsectors, by region and subsector of economic activity. The methodology used in this project is based on a qualitative and quantitative approach, throughout the collection of primary and secondary data. The qualitative approach was based on a literature review which allowed to compile a list of 150 skills, divided under four domains: i) soft skills; ii) hard skills; iii) management skills; iv) transversal skills. The quantitative approach returned primary data, which were collected through an online survey implemented and sent to national tourist entrepreneurs, expecting to develop the ideal profile of the tourism human resources, based on a sample of 555 answers.

Sustainability is currently one of the most pressing topics, and it is accepted that food has strong implications on the concept. On the other hand, food is very relevant for tourism, since not only it is part of the daily behaviour, but also it is also presented as a product. That is why we need to train food professionals with an increasing awareness to these issues in order to enable them for the design and production of sustainable and balanced meals.

Within the context of two curricular units included in the graduation on Cookery and Food Production, students were challenged to develop sustainable and balanced meals by reformulating the proportions of food, giving privilege to the vegetable component of the dish and lesser importance to products of animal origin. This includes the dish design and naming of the recipes. Some teacher–student dialogue was used, complemented with primary data collected by a questionnaire.

Results were undoubtedly good. Students became aware of the differences between the quantities normally served and those needed from the health and nutrition point of view, which also have a greater impact on sustainability. Considering the 17 United Nations (UN) Goals, several were focused, namely no. 3 – good health and well-being and no. 12 – responsible consumption and production.

Intervening and training future professionals in this area will make it easier to convey these good practices not only to the hospitality service, but also to the public daily life, with the potential to change mentalities about what should be the food for the future.

The human element is the most influential resource and the one that has the greatest responsibility in the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency. Therefore, the development of human resources and their training is fundamental to achieve organizational goals. Globalization facilitates the mobility of people around the world, increasing the number and diversity of tourists in hotels, from different cultures, bringing with them different perceptions of the quality of services. This new reality has become a challenge for human resources management practices, and specifically in one of its key areas, which is training. Studies show that training has a positive impact on skills development and worker performance. Given this importance, a cultural training programme is proposed for professionals of the hospitality sector that takes cultural values into account, as well as their impact on the interaction of these professionals with clients.