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RESOURCES


RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS

Author : Rayka Presbury
School/Work Place : University of Western Sydney, Australia
Contact : r.presbury@uws.edu.au
Year : 2004

In order for tourism to be sustainable in the long term, there must be continued viability of tourism related entities (Tesone 2004), that is business operations must be sustainable. Hotels are major tourism entities and play an important role in the tourism business. They provide facilities for the transaction of business, meetings and conferences, as well as recreation and entertainment. In addition, hotels are employers of labour; attract visitors to spend money; and provide amenities for both visitors and residents (Medlik and Ingram 2000). All of which have a potential to add to the long-term sustainability of the tourism destination.

For hotels to be sustainable, efficient performance in a number of key areas is of vital importance, including: high occupancies, revenues and profits; suitable returns to owners and investors; happy and contented staff; and satisfied customers (Eddystone & Nebel 1991; Gee 1994; Jones & Pizam 1998; Kandampully, Mok & Sparks 2001; Rutherford 2002). The key to this success is to retain and satisfy customers, as this will generate ongoing revenue and keep occupancies high through repeat business, positive word of mouth endorsements and referrals that bring in new customers. Therefore the most important concern is the provision of quality service to meet and exceed customer expectations, and, in turn, minimise occassions when customers are disappointed. It is the employees, when appropriately acquired, developed, rewarded, and motivated, who will provide the standard of service quality that is required to sustain a hotel entity. So it is the 'human capital' of the organisation that is of greatest importance to the sustainability of the hotel and this rests significantly with human resource management.

The specific focus of this paper is to report on a number of ineffective human resource practices that were found to be a threat to the long-term sustainability of hotels, as reported by hotel managers in Sydney, Australia. Findings indicated that there is an absence of long-term commitment to people; that the potential for enhanced achievement of employees is limited; that the way hotels recruit, and develop staff is deficient; and that there is an overall lack of faith in current employees. Practices, which are in stark, contrast to sustainable human resource management, and have serious implications for the delivery of service quality, which is essential for long-term sustainabiliy of hotel entities.


List of Articles
No. Subject Viewssort Date
46 Think Tank VI Ecotourism and Environmental Education: Opportunities ... file 152168 Oct 13, 2013

Ecotourism, which typically involves nature-based tourism, plays an increasing role in today's environmental management. As environmental conservation has, in many cases, suffered from a limited budget, funding ecotourism is perceived as a w...

Author: Aphirom Promchanya 

Year: 2006 

45 Think Tank VIII Moving from Destination Marketing to Destination Manag... file 70601 Oct 13, 2013

This paper provides a case study of how a tourism organisation has interpreted the change from a ‘marketing’ to a ‘management’ approach in destination development. It begins by looking at what the literature has said about destination manag...

Author: David Foster 

Year: 2008 

44 Think Tank VII Branding Sustainability: Taking 'The Natural Step' in ... file 63452 Oct 13, 2013

Translation of the concept of sustainability into practice is fraught with problems. While policy advances in all sectors of the economy have made steps in the right direction the lack of clarity in defining what is meant by 'sustainability...

Author: Alison Gill & Peter Williams 

Year: 2007 

43 Think Tank VII Tourist Perceptions of Environmentally Friendly Innova... file 24557 Oct 13, 2013

As the environmental movement got underway and environmental awareness came into focus in the late 20th century, the tourism industry began incorporating 'environmentally friendly' efforts into their business practices. Requests for towel r...

Author: Kathleen L. Andereck 

Year: 2007 

42 Think Tank XVIII Deconstructing mass tourism with “upscale, all-year-ro... file 16870 Jan 07, 2019

Key words: local residents, seasonality, mass tourism, sustainability, tourism development

Author: Tina Šegota 

Year: 2018 

41 Think Tank X Sustainable Tourism Pedagogy and Student Community Col... file 16673 Oct 13, 2013

There have been increasing calls to move away from the traditional disciplinary structures and research, teaching and learning approaches that have tended to ‘tunnel’ student learning and reinforce particular worldviews towards new forms of ...

Author: Tazim Jamal, Justin Taillon & Dianne Dredge 

Year: 2010 

» Think Tank IV Impediments to Sustainable Service Quality in Luxury H... file 15876 Oct 13, 2013

In order for tourism to be sustainable in the long term, there must be continued viability of tourism related entities (Tesone 2004), that is business operations must be sustainable. Hotels are major tourism entities and play an important ro...

Author: Rayka Presbury 

Year: 2004 

39 Think Tank XVIII What to communicate about sustainability actions of Fi... file 15757 Jan 07, 2019

Key words: sustainability, responsibility, marketing, communication, Finland, villa holiday

Author: Katja Pasanen 

Year: 2018 

38 Think Tank XI What Do Tourism Students Know About Sustainability and... file 12394 Oct 14, 2013

The topic of sustainable tourism education has only recently started to emerge in the tourism literature. A few tourism scholars have raised concerns about the need to prepare future tourism professionals for real life planning and manageme...

Author: Blanca A. Camargo & Ulrike Gretzel 

Year: 2011 

37 Think Tank IX Courchevel, an outstanding alpine ski resort at a turn... file 8055 Oct 13, 2013

“Courchevel is first and foremost one among the founding elements of the huge touristic complex of les Trois Vallées in France. Linked to the neighbouring Allues and Belleville valleys by a 3,000 acres network area of regularly packed and ma...

Author: Daniel Tixier 

Year: 2009 

36 Think Tank VII Environmentally Sustainable Practices of Victorian Tou... file 7965 Oct 13, 2013

Environmental sustainability has been a growing concern in our society for the past twenty years, and is a primary issue of many leaders of the tourism industry. In spite of the many efforts to encourage and/or enforce environmentally sound ...

Author: Sue Beeton, Sue Bergin-Seers & Christine Lee 

Year: 2007 

35 Think Tank XI CRS 2.0: Management Perspectives of Sustainable Hospit... file 7904 Oct 14, 2013

In recent years, hotel companies have recognized the importance of engaging in responsible business practices as they relate to stakeholders including employees, guests, and the communities in which their properties are located. Accordingly...

Author: Stuart E. Levy & Sun-Young Park 

Year: 2011 

34 Think Tank XIII The Paradox of poverty amidst the plenty of nature: co... file 6476 Nov 06, 2013

Rural communities in South Africa have not been active stakeholders in tourism development. Community awareness and involvement in the preservation of natural and cultural heritage through sustainable tourism development in selected areas ad...

Author: Felicité A. Fairer-Wessels 

Year: 2013 

33 Think Tank IX The elusiveness of sustainability in tourism: The cult... file 6281 Oct 13, 2013

Sustainable tourism is perhaps the most prominent feature of contemporary tourism discourse. However, despite its prominence for several decades, achieving sustainability remains as elusive as ever. This paper explores the concept of the cu...

Author: Freya Higgins-Desbiolles 

Year: 2009 

32 Think Tank VII Volunteer Tourism: Sustainable Innovation in Tourism, ... file 6074 Oct 13, 2013

This is a study of the relationships between two volunteer tourism host communities and the volunteer tourists who visit them. One is a declining rural community located in the Appalachian mountains of the United States. The other is in a ra...

Author: Nancy McGehee 

Year: 2007 

31 Think Tank XIII Striving for Environmental Sustainability through Soci... file 6024 Nov 06, 2013

The question how native societies cope with the increasing pressure of global values, such as sustainability, westernization and democratic institutions has been asked in the last decades (Smith, 1989; Honey, 1999; Nash, 2001; Honey, 2008). ...

Author: Peter Varga 

Year: 2013 

30 Think Tank VII Practical Interpretations of a Dynamic Model of Sustai... file 5647 Oct 13, 2013

"Operational definitions of tourism sustainability require details regarding what is to be sustained, for whom it is to be sustained, and the level at which it is to be sustained." This is the introductory sentence to "A Dynamic Model of Sus...

Author: Timothy Tyrrell & Robert Johnston 

Year: 2007 

29 Think Tank X Sustainability: What Matters to Students, Educators, a... file 5417 Oct 13, 2013

As climate change gains global attention from events like the summit in Copenhagen held during December of 2009, the need for sustainable tourism is more important than ever; with comprehensive education in sustainability concepts and practi...

Author: Cynthia S. Deale & Nelson Barber 

Year: 2010 

28 Think Tank XI Environmental Attitudes of Generation Y Students: Foun... file 5404 Oct 14, 2013

Sustainability has long been a theme in the tourism research and planning literature and is a growing concern in the wider area of business and corporate management. Consequent to these trends in practice and research there has been a growt...

Author: Pierre Benckendorff, Gianna Moscardo & Laurie Murphy 

Year: 2011 

27 Think Tank XIV Current Global Initiatives to Address the Sustainabili... file 5075 Jul 07, 2014

A number of ongoing and new initiatives aim at the tourism sector with the intention of improving sustainability within the sector and through tourism in other economic and social activities. Dirk's presentation reflects on UNWTO’s position ...

Author: Dirk Glaesser 

Year: 2014 

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