The importance of online tourism demand

In recent decades, the combination of tourism and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), has originated considerable changes in tourists’ behaviour. The analysis of tourism demand resulting from the Internet is of growing importance, given the increasing number of online reservations observed in recent years. However, in order to analyse the new trends caused by online bookings, the availability of data enabling the measurement and characterization of this phenomenon is essential. This has, however, been a considerable limitation, given that either no data on key variables is available or the available data is sometimes of questionable quality. For professionals and researchers in the area of tourism, the high volume of tourists who use the Internet to make hotel and travel reservations is worth of consideration, given that it may potentiate the discovery of new source markets, the identification of clients with different characteristics and may help explain the dynamics between suppliers or countries. The existence of predictive studies to support decision-making and planning, by professionals of the tourism sector, is of great importance. Panel data models are a useful and appropriate method for the analysis and modelling of tourism demand. These models consider both the time series and the cross-sectional dimensions of the data and allow for the inclusion of social variables. The results of estimation of tourism demand, through panel data models, show that the Internet and the sharp technological development have encouraged the increasing demand for tourism. The growing number of tourism companies online will naturally promote or potentiate an increase of tourism demand.

Factoring in family freight forwarder company: case study

Each freight forwarder company must independently determine whether factoring is the right choice for them and if will pay off. If the factoring as a financial method would not be economically viable, it certainly would not exist. There are several different financing methods, which are more or less useful. However, not all of them are appropriate for every company, just like all buyers do not represent equal risks for the suppliers. The same buyer can pay one supplier within the agreed period, and not pay the other supplier at all. Still, the most important elements are the agreement made with the customer, the method of insuring ourselves and the method of monitoring the implementation of the agreements. Problems rarely occur overnight and that is why we have to constantly supervise our buyers; otherwise account receivables can occur. My thesis contributes to the ongoing research into how the use of factoring within the Slovenian economic environment can help a small freight forwarder company to grow. In effect, the specific characteristics of the Slovenian economic, legal and institutional environment make such an analysis an interesting one to explore. I used data from a family freight forwarder company TOP Hrvatin in drugi d.n.o. in order to establish future company growth by applying factoring as a right choice of financing. After applying all the data and preparing the company's financial plan, my results suggest that factoring is not the right choice for financing future investments for this particular freight forwarder business. Furthermore, the results even show that factoring is an extremely undeveloped financing method in Slovenia and that practically there is no legal base for its use.

Relatório de estágio. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Brussels

Dissertação de Mestrado, Direção e Gestão Hoteleira, Escola Superior de Gestão, Hotelaria e Turismo, Universidade do Algarve, 2016