Akrivi Vagena
Hellenic Mediterranean University, Business Administration & Tourism, Αssociate University Professor
Dr. Akrivi Vagena has been a professor since 2007 at Professional Training Institutes in Athens and teaches in the departments of Tourism Administration and Hotel Studies. She has also taught at the Higher Technological Institute of Piraeus in the Department of Tourism Business Administration.
Akrivi Vagena completed her postgraduate studies at the Hellenic Open University and the subject of her dissertation was the administration of education in the hotel Industry. She is also a tourism consultant and has been involved in many hotels and restaurants' mystery guest inspection programs. Her research interests focus on the field of Hotel Management and Tourism Development. Her work has been published in scientific journals and e-books.
Akrivi vagena is a founding member and vice president of the 3win Action organization. Also is a member of the International Mariinskaya Academy and vice president of the Greek department of IMA Academy.
Akrivi Vagena completed her postgraduate studies at the Hellenic Open University and the subject of her dissertation was the administration of education in the hotel Industry. She is also a tourism consultant and has been involved in many hotels and restaurants' mystery guest inspection programs. Her research interests focus on the field of Hotel Management and Tourism Development. Her work has been published in scientific journals and e-books.
Akrivi vagena is a founding member and vice president of the 3win Action organization. Also is a member of the International Mariinskaya Academy and vice president of the Greek department of IMA Academy.
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Papers by Akrivi Vagena
Keywords: tourist, region, digital technologies, digital nomad, Russia.In order to become the most attractive country for a digital nomad, Greece has developed a “Digital Nomad Visa”, which in the original is called a “digital nomad visa”. This visa is a condition of legal residence in Greece for numerous diverse professionals working remotely.
Аннотация. В данной статье рассматриваются возможности применения цифровых технологий в сфере туризма, которые активно содействуют устойчивому развитию каждого российского региона посредством такого все более широко распространяющегося социального института, каким в настоящий момент выступает цифровое кочевничество отечественных туристов.
Ключевые слова: турист, регион, цифровые технологии, цифровой кочевник, Россия.
In the last few years, the importance of sustainability for the tourism sector as a best business practice, which contributes to business operating with specific terms, conditions and controlled costs, limiting its environmental, economic and social risks, attracting customers, protecting the tourism product and society and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship became a global business and social trend. A trend with a specific positive impact on attracting customers, protecting the tourism product, the society and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship. As sustainability emerges and becomes a tourism mega-trend of our time, destinations and in particular businesses that will transform by adopting smart and overall sustainable management (intelligent "green" transportation, natural resource management, smart sightseeing and environmentally friendly experiences) will be able to provide a complete travel experience according to the sector's new requirements. They will also provide a socially responsible behaviour and operation.
Previous research has highlighted the positive and negative environmental effects of tourism, the significant participation of the hotel sector in the production of greenhouse gases, and the wider burden on the environment in various ways. The present research offers concrete tested solutions that can be applied to every hotel that is willing to adopt them in the context of sustainable tourism development.
This study aims to highlight and present how, in practice, hotels can operate as a sustainability model. The Mediterranean Hotel & Spa of the Mediterranean Hotels Group example will be presented as a case study.
In the case of the Mediterranean Hotel & Spa, which will be analyzed, specific actions were planned and implemented to reduce the environmental footprint by following the model of the Circular Economy and Resource-Saving, Corporate Social Responsibility and Crisis Management. In particular, good practices that a hotel unit can follow are highlighted and presented. Through them hotels can achieve sustainable operation while simultaneously reducing operating costs, managing crises, enhancing security and corporate social responsibility, improving the services provided and also customer and employee satisfaction.
The good practices of energy autonomy, water management, optimal waste management and utilization, the development of a mobile phone application aimed at managing the needs of customers and emergencies and crises management as well as the innovative approaches for corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism operation, are solutions are solutions that every hotel can adopt.
Another objective of the study is to highlight the importance of ensuring the hotel's reliability of sustainable operation through certification.
Finally, will be pointed out the problems in the practical implementation of the above actions due to various weaknesses such as deprivation of the local self-government in material, human resources and infrastructure, as well as weaknesses of the central administration itself in understanding the particularities of each economic activity. All of the above also create problems in the adoption and implementation of the policies of the European and by extension the National institutional framework.
Keywords
Green hotels, green marketing, sustainability certification, sustainability management, environmental practices, crisis management
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is, first, to determine which developments have shaped official hotel classification systems over recent years (including the impact of guest-review platforms) and second to establish the future of those systems through the eyes of the people who are actually in charge of operating them.
METHODOLOGY: Semi-structured interviews were chosen as the most suitable method for approaching hotel classification system administrators.
FINDINGS: The first main conclusion is that hotel classification systems - especially voluntary ones - would not have survived the enormous impact of guest-review platforms without quickly adjusting to the ever-changing hotel industry landscape. The frequent review of classification criteria and procedures has become the main survival strategy of classification systems. The second conclusion is that system operators are strongly optimistic about the future outlook of hotel classification based on their proven flexibility to swiftly adapt to new market conditions.
ORIGINALITY: The present paper reflects the perspective of the systems' operators, an angle rarely analyzed in the literature.
KEYWORDS: hotel classification, hotel stars, star rating, guest reviews, hotel industry, service quality
Keywords: tourist, region, digital technologies, digital nomad, Russia.In order to become the most attractive country for a digital nomad, Greece has developed a “Digital Nomad Visa”, which in the original is called a “digital nomad visa”. This visa is a condition of legal residence in Greece for numerous diverse professionals working remotely.
Аннотация. В данной статье рассматриваются возможности применения цифровых технологий в сфере туризма, которые активно содействуют устойчивому развитию каждого российского региона посредством такого все более широко распространяющегося социального института, каким в настоящий момент выступает цифровое кочевничество отечественных туристов.
Ключевые слова: турист, регион, цифровые технологии, цифровой кочевник, Россия.
In the last few years, the importance of sustainability for the tourism sector as a best business practice, which contributes to business operating with specific terms, conditions and controlled costs, limiting its environmental, economic and social risks, attracting customers, protecting the tourism product and society and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship became a global business and social trend. A trend with a specific positive impact on attracting customers, protecting the tourism product, the society and promoting sustainable entrepreneurship. As sustainability emerges and becomes a tourism mega-trend of our time, destinations and in particular businesses that will transform by adopting smart and overall sustainable management (intelligent "green" transportation, natural resource management, smart sightseeing and environmentally friendly experiences) will be able to provide a complete travel experience according to the sector's new requirements. They will also provide a socially responsible behaviour and operation.
Previous research has highlighted the positive and negative environmental effects of tourism, the significant participation of the hotel sector in the production of greenhouse gases, and the wider burden on the environment in various ways. The present research offers concrete tested solutions that can be applied to every hotel that is willing to adopt them in the context of sustainable tourism development.
This study aims to highlight and present how, in practice, hotels can operate as a sustainability model. The Mediterranean Hotel & Spa of the Mediterranean Hotels Group example will be presented as a case study.
In the case of the Mediterranean Hotel & Spa, which will be analyzed, specific actions were planned and implemented to reduce the environmental footprint by following the model of the Circular Economy and Resource-Saving, Corporate Social Responsibility and Crisis Management. In particular, good practices that a hotel unit can follow are highlighted and presented. Through them hotels can achieve sustainable operation while simultaneously reducing operating costs, managing crises, enhancing security and corporate social responsibility, improving the services provided and also customer and employee satisfaction.
The good practices of energy autonomy, water management, optimal waste management and utilization, the development of a mobile phone application aimed at managing the needs of customers and emergencies and crises management as well as the innovative approaches for corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism operation, are solutions are solutions that every hotel can adopt.
Another objective of the study is to highlight the importance of ensuring the hotel's reliability of sustainable operation through certification.
Finally, will be pointed out the problems in the practical implementation of the above actions due to various weaknesses such as deprivation of the local self-government in material, human resources and infrastructure, as well as weaknesses of the central administration itself in understanding the particularities of each economic activity. All of the above also create problems in the adoption and implementation of the policies of the European and by extension the National institutional framework.
Keywords
Green hotels, green marketing, sustainability certification, sustainability management, environmental practices, crisis management
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is, first, to determine which developments have shaped official hotel classification systems over recent years (including the impact of guest-review platforms) and second to establish the future of those systems through the eyes of the people who are actually in charge of operating them.
METHODOLOGY: Semi-structured interviews were chosen as the most suitable method for approaching hotel classification system administrators.
FINDINGS: The first main conclusion is that hotel classification systems - especially voluntary ones - would not have survived the enormous impact of guest-review platforms without quickly adjusting to the ever-changing hotel industry landscape. The frequent review of classification criteria and procedures has become the main survival strategy of classification systems. The second conclusion is that system operators are strongly optimistic about the future outlook of hotel classification based on their proven flexibility to swiftly adapt to new market conditions.
ORIGINALITY: The present paper reflects the perspective of the systems' operators, an angle rarely analyzed in the literature.
KEYWORDS: hotel classification, hotel stars, star rating, guest reviews, hotel industry, service quality
6,000 larger and smaller islands and islets, and with a now established
position in the global tourism market, presents excellent investment opportunities
in this sector. The country is one of the most popular destinations
for summer holidays, but it also offers attractive proposals for thematic
tourism throughout the year. Also, lately, it is one of the top choices
for those who want to work remotely in a beautiful environment but also for
those who have retired and are looking for a new home in a country with a low
cost of living and a beautiful lifestyle.
as fire safety, facilities for the disabled, tourism education and specialization, environmental protection and sustainable practices, special certifications, etc. These parameters and characteristics take the form of an official framework for the operation of the accommodation sector in each country. Several official hotel rating systems around
the world, differ in terms of criteria, management and monitoring. The present book presents a comparison between 39 classification systems. Conclusions will be drawn from the comparison of specific characteristics of the systems, such as, the frequency of existence of common criteria, whether the emphasis is placed on hotel buildings and
facilities or on the quality of service, if special categories and badges are given to hotels with special features, whether the emphasis is placed on safety, environmental protection, accessibility for the disabled and which parameters regarding employees are important.
Hotel classification systems are tools for maintaining the high quality of hotel industry. Also, τhe classification of hotels presents heterogeneity. Common points are the range of ranking categories and the marks used, but if the requirements of the criteria of each category are analyzed, very different conditions are discovered, sometimes even within the same country. Nevertheless, the introduction of a classification system for hotels is a complex matter due to the diversity of classification systems, accommodation types and the cultural, environmental and economic context in which the systems operate each time in individual countries. This study results, in a proposed model hotel classification system, which will directly contribute to reducing the risk of not meeting customers' expectations and providing hotel services more efficiently, depending on the type and category of accommodation. Effective management of customer expectations is crucial to ensuring the viability of the tourism business.
The survey data were drawn from the analytical recording and processing of 39 classification systems, applied in different countries and continents.
nomadism, Greece has developed a “Digital Nomad Visa”, originally
called “digital nomad visa”. This visa is a condition of legal residence in Greece for
numerous diverse professionals working remotely.