Historical sites now feature strongly as sites of visitation. However, such sites are often connected with historical events, which are sensitive to visitors and thus highly contentious when utilised in the development of tourism. The paper, from the perspective of the visitor, examines some of the critical issues that generally determine the nature of visitation at sensitive historical sites. The issues identi®ed are the visitor's emotional state at the site, prior expectations of the site and what is to be learnt and perception of site presentation and interpretation. They also include the primary visitor objective to learn about the site, the ease with which access to the site can be obtained and the existence of social experiences between relevant visitor groups that may be extended to the site. The issues identi®ed place signi®cant challenges on how marketers communicate with potential visitors and other stakeholders of the site and require the marketing function to take cognisance of the different emotional states of visitors. Similarly, the nature of the packaging of the site, the channels of visitor access to be encouraged and how pricing is to be used as a marketing tool in a way that it is appropriate for the different groups of visitors to the site, all present unique marketing challenges.

No abstract

Trust has been identified as a key challenge for the rapid growth and development of online transactions. However, only a limited number of research studies have examined the key indicators of trust and their relative significance in an online, travel industry environment. These studies have typically taken place in the more advanced western economies. This study contributes to redressing this research gap, using a sample of 135 Singaporean consumers. Analysis suggests six dimensions, including order facilitation effort, website presentation and navigation, customer information exchange, customer control and collaboration, transactional security and prior knowledge of vendor, as being of critical importance in enhancing consumer trust within the online travel marketplace. The managerial and future research implications of these findings are discussed in the paper.

The paper examines tourism and hospitality management training with a focus on an undergraduate tourism management programme, introduced in a Malaysian university. It assesses the overall effectiveness of the programme, in satisfying the institution's broad objectives, the needs and expectations of potential employers and that of the student. The paper identifies specific issues such as student admission policies, implementation of the practical industry training, divergent views on the value of the programme and internal course coordination activities as some of the significant difficulties experienced. Recommendations designed to help resolve those difficulties are then suggested.

The paper discusses the phenomenon of entrepreneurship development within the context of tourism. It examines factors that influence the probability that an individual will successfully engage in entrepreneurship, to help develop new insights about tourism entrepreneurship development in rural African communities. Significant issues identified, which require the attention of project managers in improving the prospects for tourism entrepreneurship development in that setting, were the appropriate identification of potential tourism entrepreneur and perception of entrepreneurial opportunities, the deeply partisan political environment and the process of transferring relevant managerial skills to potential entrepreneurs.