Research
An Integrated Framework for Promoting Eco Initiatives: Role of Educational Institutions as Execution Specialists
The basic question before a curriculum planner intending to design an Ecotourism Course is – whether it is to be need based or demand based. A demand based Course needs to have market considerations as its primary objective. It is controlled by supply-demand chain in both the choice and treatment of the curriculum. For instance, a market survey (Nivedita Mukherjee) sequences the required ‘skills’ of a Tourism Management in the following order: educational qualification, soft skills, aptitude, training and experience. A demand based curriculum planner could make choice of materials to cater to these skills, although a huge variation could arise in the interpretation of each of the ‘skills’. The formulation of a need based ecotourism Course is more challenging. It goes beyond the content mapping that is usually done for market oriented curriculum. Planning a need based ecotourism course requires comprehensive understanding of the components ecotourism and their interrelationships. The direct and indirect impacts on natural resources and socio-economic conditions of human settlements at the ecotourism sites point to the requirement of concerted action towards conservation. This conceptual paper addresses the role of Educational Institutions in promoting eco-initiatives.
Empowering Front Office Professionals with Understanding of Guestsa Personality Psychology
Purpose: To become a successful front office professional, a person needs to be comfortable with interacting with strangers and dealing with various hotel-guests issues. To do so effectively, a front office manager needs to understand and apply appropriate findings of psychology. Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. For years, practitioners of applied psychology have tried to help companies identify personality types of customers and teach them how to handle each of these. By understanding the personality styles of guests, front office managers can easily accommodate the needs of each type. This conceptual paper analyses some of the findings of personality psychology which have direct implications for front office managers and professionals.
