Letter from the editor

The coronavirus pandemic had a major impact on the world hospitality and tourism industry. Although the US economy had a quick recovery from the pandemic, the upswing in demand has stressed supply chains and caused inflation to rise sharply. Accordingly, the economy has slowed down as the Federal Reserve continues to tighten monetary policy. Currently, the economy is showing signs of a strong labor market with high level of inflation, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and price pressures.

The hospitality and tourism industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the pandemic has transformed the industry, forcing managers to modify their strategies while recognizing that in order to achieve financial success, it is essential to focus on innovative strategies. Leisure travel continues to be one of the most impacted industries in the post-pandemic period as consumers are very mindful of inflation, persistent COVID-19 concerns along with high expectations for destinations and accommodations. Corporate travel remains below 50% of prepandemic levels and faces a more complex prognosis than leisure travel.

COVID-19 is still with us, and its eradication seems unlikely. Even though pandemic concerns continue to restrain travel spending, demand for travel has increased and pandemic-driven lifestyle shifts seem to point to encouraging travel industry trends. Despite challenges impacting the industry, travel demand remains strong and travelers are booking more stays than ever.

Despite these uncertain times, academics are working diligently on their research. I am delighted to present Vol 36 Issue No. 2 of the IHR. In this new issue, we include 11 peer-reviewed papers. P. Parikh and C.S. Dutt focused their research on complaint management behavior. Their article “Impacts of staff demographics on complaint management behaviour in five-star hotels in Dubai” used a qualitative approach to examine the impact of staff demographics on complaint management behaviors. Their research highlights complaint management as an extremely important, and sometimes overlooked, aspect of the hotel’s operations. A.I. Ramaano authored a paper titled “Views of utilizing sustainable tourism to improve community sustenance: a case study of the impoverished rural communities of Musina Municipality”. The study evaluates the possibilities of utilizing sustainable tourism to improve community sustenance in one of the driest districts in the remote Limpopo Province of South Africa. It provides interesting insights about the Musina Municipality being well enriched with tourism potentials but with the need of a suitable tourism plan. In the article “Tapping public sentiments on Twitter for tourism insights: a study of famous Indian heritage sites”, S. Gulati explores the use of social media in promoting sustainable behavior and demand among Indian tourists. Using Twitter analytics and a step-by-step approach, the study provides a framework on how to use Twitter for tourism insights and for an understanding of the public sentiment about three globally acclaimed Indian heritage sites (i.e., Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Golden Temple).

M. Orlowski contributed an article titled “External wine education and certification for restaurant service staff: a mixed-methods evaluation of training effectiveness”. Using a mixed-method explanatory sequential approach, the study examines external training programs and explores the effects of an external wine education and certification program on trainee reactions, learning transfer and financial results. Training group participants reported high scores for attitude toward training content, instructional satisfaction and transfer motivation. In their article “Stars in the rearview mirror: The Grand Tour as a guide to the development of space tourism”, M. Ovesny and D.C. Christopher relied on literature review and model comparisons to propose an expansion and change along the same trends that lead the Grand Tour to evolve into mass tourism. It also provided guidance in the development of space tourism. In their research paper titled “An exploratory assessment of callings: the importance of specialization,” C. P. Cain, L.N. Cain, J.A. Busser and H.J. Kang used a conceptual model to examine callings among golf course supervisors and its impact on their engagement, work–life balance and career satisfaction. This exploratory research presented moderating effects of employee’s generalized or specialized role and sought to understand how having a calling influenced the aforementioned variables. “Differing career expectations in the hospitality industry: a cross-cultural study”, authored by Y.H. Kim and D. Spears examines hospitality and tourism undergraduate students’ attitudes and career expectations as they prepare to enter the workforce in the hospitality industry in both the United States and South Korea. It presents the different perspectives of hospitality and tourism undergraduate students from the US and South Korea, focusing on their attitudes toward work, job satisfaction, work involvement and job expectations.

In the article “Framework for a resilient religious tourism supply chain for mitigating post-pandemic risk”, R. Mittal and P. Sinha’s focus is on the study of the religious tourism supply chain considering Hindu religious destinations in India. It uses a systematic literature review to identify the gaps in the religious tourism supply chain and expands the need for cohesive efforts to introduce resilience across humanitarian supply chains and phase-wise processes to mitigate post-pandemic disruptions caused by various disasters. J. Han and H. Chen contributed an article titled: “Millennial social media users’ intention to travel: the moderating role of social media influencer following behavior”. Their research examines the interactions between social media (SoMe) influencers’ source credibility, Millennial users’ attitudes and intention to travel. It further investigates the moderating role of SoMe influencer following behavior on the aforementioned relationships. P. Chogan contributed an article, “Exploring motivations and satisfaction of ecolodge patrons in desert areas of Iran”. The study aims to identify travel motivations and characteristics of European ecotourists who visit ecolodges in desert areas of Iran. Moreover, the study evaluates 26 ecolodge attributes from the perspective of the European patrons and measures their performance value. Lastly, “Social and sustainable: exploring social media use for promoting sustainable behavior and demand amongst Indian tourists”, authored by S. Gulati, focuses on the impact of social media use to generate and promote sustainable tourism demand. It proposes a conceptual framework and empirically testing how social media can be used to generate and promote sustainable tourism demand among Indian tourists as a means to identify its key drivers. This research adds to the rising interest in understanding the behavioral changes in tourists.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy reading the articles in Vol. 36 No. 2 of the International Hospitality Review.

Andrew Moreo

Interim Editor-In-Chief

International Hospitality Review