Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relevance of business intelligence (BI) in businesses in general and tourism firms in particular. BI has been hailed as an innovation that can propel businesses that adopt the system to high productivity and efficiency. This paper confirms that view but further adds that BI also enhances a business’s competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews literature on the use of BI in tourism. Although current literature is largely fragmented, focusing on BI, the tourism industry and the notion of competitiveness separately, this paper makes an attempt to bring the three sub-themes in the same study and highlights their interconnectedness. The study adopts two environmental analysis models to better analyze this matter. First is the environmental analysis model as based on Downes’s modification of Porter’s five forces framework. The second model used is the resource-based view approach to business environmental analysis. Findings This paper affirms that the tourism industry is one of those industries that continue to benefit from the advantages that come with the adoption of a BI system. Literature shows that the tourism industry was one of those that first adopted BI in order to benefit from the benefits that come with its adoption. Such advantages include flexible and user friendly tourists’ data capture, storage, retrieval, processing and analytical capabilities. Research limitations/implications This was a largely literature review-based study. There is, therefore, room for strengthening its findings by conducting field work and mixed methods research for more robust results. Practical implications This study will surely benefit the tourism industry and business in general from its highly favorable conclusions to the benefits that come with the adoption of a BI system. It can also be used as a reference in to the tourism field, especially aggregating important concepts and literature that can help future practical studies. Social implications Society will also benefit from this study in terms of the new knowledge that has been generated. Members of society will then be in a position to demand products and services that are a result of innovation and informed decision making. Originality/value Although this paper is largely based on literature, the conclusions reached are those of the authors. A close assessment of the literature in BI and the tourism industry was done, resulting in the conclusions reached by the authors.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to review the critical success factors (CSFs) of street food destinations, given the limited attention awarded to such research in the food and beverage sector. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist approach was used to merge CSFs from street vending and culinary tourism perspectives, to develop a draft framework for analysing CSFs for street food destinations. In total, 64 cities that appeared in the first 20 webpage results of a Google search, using 4 keywords, formed the population. A purposive sample of seven destinations (Bangkok, Marrakesh, Mexico City, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Portland and Singapore City) was used. A content analysis method was used to review webpages, journal articles and government reports of the destinations, based on the modified list of CSFs. Findings The availability of diverse street food resources and cultures, coupled with rich historic city cores that sustain street food vending, in some destinations, are very important CSFs. The presence and extent of regulatory enforcement were also key in others. Empirical research is, however, required to corroborate the draft framework to create a body of knowledge for further research in the field. Originality/value The study examines how leading street food destinations have instituted the CSFs required for street food provision.

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An attempt to explore the influence of demographic characteristics on the food neophobic tendencies of diners is undertaken. Using independent sample t tests and analysis of variance, the influence of age, gender, nationality and the level of education, on the perceived avoidance of traditional Setswana cuisine consumption was investigated. Two hundred and forty nine diners from 47 restaurant facilities in Gaborone formed the sample. Key findings from the study reveal that, on average, (though statistically insignificant), male respondents experienced higher levels of Setswana cuisine neophobia than female diners. Furthermore, the paper noted that diners above 50 years of age reported significantly higher levels of neophobia than lower age groups. The findings also indicate to some extent that diners may not necessarily be compelled to taste local cuisine based on familiarity. The paper concludes by suggesting the need for more research on the relationship between familiarity and shared cultural contexts, with food neophobia.

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