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PurposeThis study examines the effect of festival visitors' emotional solidarity and segmentation on revisiting intentions to Ghana for the Panafest/Emancipation festivals during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised data from a self-completed survey administered to festival-goers who attended the Panafest and Emancipation festivals in 2019 and 2021. In 2019, 782 questionnaires were sent to participants out of which 446 responded to the questionnaires. However, in 2021, 567 questionnaires were administered to the festival participants out of which 296 responded to the questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was performed using the ordinary least square (OLS) estimation technique.FindingsThe study found that emotional solidarity, gender, age, educational background and place of residence are important factors in predicting whether festival visitors will revisit Ghana for the Panafest and Emancipation festivals or not. Emotional solidarity was a positive predictor of revisit intentions, while gender and age also played a role with male and older visitors being more inclined to revisit Ghana for the festivals. The educational background had a positive and significant effect in 2021 but was insignificant in 2019. Place of residence had a significant but negative effect in 2021 due to the emergence of COVID-19.Practical implicationsThe study's findings suggest that stakeholders in Ghana's tourism industry, including the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana Tourist Authority, hotels and other hospitality services, should consider emotional solidarity and visitor segmentation when developing marketing strategies. Additionally, strategies to address the impact of COVID-19 on revisit intentions and spending should be considered.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding of the factors that influence festival visitors' revisit intentions in Ghana and how the emergence of COVID-19 affects these intentions. The study's focus on emotional solidarity and visitor segmentation provides insights into developing effective marketing strategies in the tourism industry.

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Remarkably, exposures to hospitality workplaces through internships have been found to rather dissuade students from envisaging hospitality career. However, knowledge of this phenomenon remains inconclusive. Consequently, this study explored the effect of internship work experience on undergraduate students’ commitment and perception of the nature of hospitality work using before-and-after design. A convenience sample of 171 hospitality management students in a Ghanaian technical university completed paper- and-pencil questionnaires, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The majority of the students indicated positive perceptions of hospitality employment and were accordingly willing to work in hospitality-related jobs after graduation. Contrary to the commonly held view, commitment, attitude, and perceptions of hospitality work do not undergo significant reconsiderations post-internships.