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Effective communication plays a part in the success and the sustainability of the tourism and hospitality management, including community-based tourism (CBT). In Brunei Darussalam, communication barriers have affected the growth of the CBT industry on both local and national levels. By analyzing responses from 16 local CBT operators, this investigation focuses aspects of communication and its channels in securing sustainability and empowerment of CBT industry. This study found that the CBT ventures in Brunei include (1) horizontal/lateral communication between CBT operators and surrounding communities and (2) top-down communication and bottom-up accessibility between the authority, the community leaders, and the CBT owners. This paper further discusses how bureaucracy can impede the success of CBT operations, and how a collaborative approach between stakeholders has inspired the formulation of a new Interactional Model of Leadership and Empowerment among CBT stakeholders, which can be used to measure the efficacy of communication among stakeholders in the CBT industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical cannabis is an emerging topic of interest as stakeholders come to terms with how the demand and supply of such controlled substances are regulated across nations. Then, by extension, the provision of medical cannabis has given rise to tourism encounters where people, places, and spaces intersect. However, medical cannabis tourism has received very little attention in scholarly literature. This research note seeks to provide an overview of developments related to medical cannabis, fundamental questions that tourism scholars and practitioners need to be cognisant of, and charts avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

External evaluations of curriculum and assessment design have received increasing attention in higher education. However, cross-border evaluations of programs have not yet caught up with the more significant push toward the internationalisation of global partnerships. Addressing this knowledge gap, the motivation of this study is to explore how the Australian tourism and hospitality curriculum and assessment framework is perceived in Taiwan. However, few institutions in Taiwan have embarked on this due to two main factors – lack of nationwide compliance and the perceived high-power distance that exists between academic staff of various ranks (e.g. professor vs. assistant professor). These outcomes contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the contextual differences that need to be addressed before adopting cross-national forms of external referencing involving curriculum and assessments. Insights from three focus groups and seven in-depth interviews with Taiwanese academics offer some strategies to introduce effective external evaluation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on migrant workers (MWs) during Covid-19 in Singapore. A second wave of Covid-19 transmissions in MW dormitories in 2020 had cast a spotlight on this vulnerable population, amidst inter/national criticisms of the national government for oversight. From a critical discourse studies perspective, we examine how the national newspaper attempted to restore a positive self-image of the Singapore government, through the discursive mobilization of 'ideological circles'. These ideological circles involve, variously, positive and negative discursive presentational strategies of the Singapore government, its MWs, selected regional governments, and their MWs. The study unpacks the ideological mechanisms at work in the restoration of the government's reputation as well as examines the implications for MWs in Singapore as perpetual 'others'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the kinship ties existing between hosts and guests, any visiting friends and relatives (VFR) host is likely to experience elevated levels of stress in preparing for such encounters because of the desire to deliver a good experience to their guests. As such, existing literature has sought to unpack VFR hosting behavior and practices, albeit mostly from an Anglo-Saxon perspective. However, little is known about the influence of East Asian cultures and gendered perspectives of VFR hosting behavior and practices, which is underrepresented within extant literature. From a sample of 91 Taiwanese hosts based in Brisbane, Australia, this research suggests that accommodation considerations are a main factor to Taiwanese VFR hosts in Australia, and that first-time VFR tourists also warrant heightened hosting efforts. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how East Asian and gendered lenses of VFR hosting behavior manifests, positions these individuals as potential destination ambassadors, and strategically launch post-COVID-19 tourism recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several destinations have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon to explore consumer reactions and motivations towards visit intentions, though these are largely limited to point-in-time surveys. Using the example of Penang, Malaysia, this research contributes to the paucity of knowledge surrounding TikTok in tourism by analysing contents generated from the destination management organisation, travel influencers, and other tourists participating in a TikTok competition for the destination. Drawing from Burke's Pentadic analysis, the findings reveal the sociological interactions where the performativity of the short videos are staged by different users with the destination as the backdrop. Theoretical and managerial implications are highlighted to inform current and future practices of TikTok (re)presentation in tourism, and how the platform can be used distinctively to socially interact with various target markets and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The third International Conference on Responsible Tourism and Hospitality (ICRTH) took place in Bogor, Indonesia, in August 2023. The conference aimed to raise awareness of tourism as a driver of development and the preservation of culture and natural heritage. It brought together academics, government officials, practitioners, and the public to discuss responsible tourism practices. The conference also emphasized the importance of collaboration and convergence of indicators towards responsible tourism. The event left a positive legacy by engaging with the local community and promoting responsible tourism in Bogor. The conference concluded with the announcement that ICRTH 2024 will be held in Kuching, Malaysia. [Extracted from the article]

Vaping (also known as electronic cigarettes) has taken the world by storm and is now a multi-million-dollar global industry. Yet, government policies and regulations do not keep pace with the segment's explosive growth. Some countries have banned the sale of such products outright, though others have enforced rules surrounding its circulation. Nevertheless, vaping products appear easily accessible through online sales channels and often fall into the hands of a younger market segment. Vaping is considered a national issue among many countries, due to rising rates of youth adoption and addiction. The rise of vaping can be explained by its framing as a more desirable alternative to traditional tobacco products, as well as its range of flavours to suit different peer, and subculture groups. Nonetheless, this viewpoint traces the development of vaping in several Southeast Asian countries and the development of several government policies and regulations. Related to responsible tourism, this viewpoint explores the scenarios of vaping-induced tourism and support for or against such a development. Framed through the lens of a narcotics-induced tourism lens, this viewpoint argues how vaping can be classified as a form of irresponsible leisure in tourism, drawing upon its social and environmental negative outcomes. Future strategies and actions are proposed to help countries stem the tide of vaping, especially from an inbound tourism perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the technological era, the smart tourism construct serves as a bridge between human and the artificial worlds, combining social sciences and neurosciences. This study aims to explore smart tourism through neuroscientific methods in order to shape the future of tourism destinations, using a hybrid methodology combining bibliometric techniques and content analysis. The findings reveal the integration of diverse scientific domains, highlighting a transdisciplinary approach. They offer clear evidence that neuroscientific methods in smart tourism integrate multiple areas of scientific knowledge, surpassing disciplinary boundaries. "Destination" stands out alongside "emotion", "visual attention" and eye tracking (ET). The collaboration network reveals the emergence of a new school, called neurotourism in the 21st century, formed mainly by actors and organizations from the Global North, evoking the need to include the Global South in the research scenario. The predominant methods include ET, heart rate (HR), and electroencephalography (EEG), suggesting triangulation with traditional methods for robust results. Virtual reality emerges as the primary immersive technology, promising insights when integrated with neurosciences. This study's practical and theoretical contributions guide smart tourism strategies and enhance destination experiences through neuroscientific methods, addressing a gap in the scientific literature while advancing ontological and epistemological understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the major tourism-related cryptocurrencies is investigated. More precisely, the variable lag causality is used, to test whether data related to the pandemic and more precisely, confirmed cases and lockdown stringency index, cause the cryptocurrencies from the field of tourism. Then, a possible long-run relationship is tested, employing the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis, and finally, a time-varying regression model through a Bayesian framework is structured. According to the results, the COVID-19 pandemic had a diverse impact, of different magnitude, on the tourism-related cryptocurrencies for the years of the pandemic examined. This paper is the first to examine the impact of the pandemic on tourism, through the financial performance of the relevant cryptocurrencies related to this sector, also comparing the various years of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hypertension is frequently studied in epidemiological studies that have been conducted using retrospective observational data, either as an outcome or a variable. However, there are few validation studies investigating the accuracy of hypertension phenotyping algorithms in aggregated electronic health record (EHR) data. Methods: Utilizing a centralized repository of inpatient EHR data from Singapore for the period of 2019–2020, a new algorithm that incorporates both diagnostic codes and medication details (Diag+Med) was devised. This algorithm was intended to supplement and improve the diagnostic code-only model (Diag-Only) for the classification of hypertension. We computed various metrics (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV)) to assess the algorithm's effectiveness in identifying hypertension on 2813 chart-reviewed records. This pool was composed of two patient cohorts: a random sampling of all inpatient admissions (Random Cohort) and a targeted group with atrial fibrillation diagnoses (AF Cohort). Results: The Diag+Med algorithm was more sensitive at detecting hypertension patients in both cohorts compared to the Diag-Only algorithm (83.8 and 87.6% vs. 68.2 and 66.5% in the Random and AF Cohorts, respectively). These improvements in sensitivity came at minimal costs in terms of PPV reductions (88.2 and 90.3% vs. 91.4 and 94.2%, respectively). Conclusion: The combined use of diagnosis codes and specific antihypertension medication exposure patterns facilitates a more accurate capture of patients with hypertension in a database of aggregated EHRs from diverse healthcare institutions in Singapore. The results presented here allow for the bias correction of risk estimates derived from observational studies involving hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]