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Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
A timeshare is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each owner of the same accommodation is allotted their period of time. Units may be sold as a partial ownership, lease, or "right to use", in which case the latter holds no claim to ownership of the property. The ownership of timeshare programs is varied, and has been changing over the decades.
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but towards the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that of increasing revenues. The perception of success of the customer service interactions is dependent on employees "who can adjust themselves to the personality of the customer". Customer service is often practiced in a way that reflects the strategies and values of a firm. Good quality customer service is usually measured through customer retention. Customer service for some firms is part of the firm’s intangible assets and can differentiate it from others in the industry. One good customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer holds towards the organization.
A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but does not necessarily require the student to study outside their home country.
Home exchange, also known as house swapping, is a form of lodging in which two parties agree to offer each other homestays for a set period of time. Since no monetary exchange takes place, it is a form of barter, collaborative consumption, and sharing. Home exchange can cover any type of residence including apartments, houses, holiday cottages, boats, or recreational vehicles. It can include an exchange of the entire home or just a room. The length of the swap can vary from a weekend to over a year. The swap can be simultaneous or non simultaneous. Home exchanges are usually arranged via specific types of social networking services, most of which charge a fee.
LGBT tourism is a form of tourism marketed to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. People might be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity at times, but less so in areas known for violence against LGBT people.
A vacation rental is the renting out of a furnished apartment, house, or professionally managed resort-condominium complex on a temporary basis to tourists as an alternative to a hotel. The term vacation rental is mainly used in the US. Other terms used are self-catering rental, holiday home, holiday let, cottage holiday and gite.
ABTA Ltd, operating as ABTA – The Travel Association and formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents, is a trade association for tour operators and travel agents in the United Kingdom.
The Experiment in International Living, or The Experiment, is a worldwide program offering homestays, language, arts, community service, ecological adventure, culinary, and regional and cultural exploration programs of international cross-cultural education for high school students. It is administered by World Learning, a non-profit, international development and education organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont, in the United States.
A travel website is a website that provides travel reviews, trip fares, or a combination of both. Over 1.5 billion people book travel per year, 70% of which is done online.
A medical tourism agent is an organisation or a company which seeks to bring together a prospective patient with a service provider, usually a hospital or a clinic. These organisations are generally facilitators and developers of medical tourism, which brings into play a number of issues that do not apply when a patient stays within their own country of origin.
Homestay is a form of hospitality and lodging whereby visitors share a residence with a local of the area (host) to which they are traveling. The length of stay can vary from one night to over a year and can be provided for free, in exchange for monetary compensation, in exchange for a stay at the guest's property either simultaneously or at another time, or in exchange for housekeeping or work on the host's property. Homestays are examples of collaborative consumption and the sharing economy. Homestays are used by travelers; students who study abroad or participate in student exchange programs; and au pairs, who provide child care assistance and light household duties. They can be arranged via certain social networking services, online marketplaces, or academic institutions. Social networking services where hosts offer homestays for free are called hospitality exchange services.
The Confédération Interalliée des Officiers de Réserve (CIOR) or Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers is an association of reserve officers' associations in NATO and beyond. CIOR is sanctioned and formally recognized by NATO through the document MC 0248/2 to assist and advise on reserve affairs, however, it is politically independent. The confederation promotes and organizes advanced training measures, international seminars and working meetings for reserve officers.
Travel assistance refers to the provision of support, services, and guidance to travelers to ensure a safe, convenient, and enjoyable journey. It encompasses various aspects of travel, including transportation, accommodation, information, and emergency support. Travel assistance is often provided by travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels, and specialized companies that cater to the needs of travelers.
Virion is a screen-based digital art exhibition that links to public sites across Brisbane, focused in the Kelvin Grove Urban Screen Network. The Virion Screen Project was held from 19 July 2015 to 1 August 2015.
Collaborative consumption is the set of those resource circulation systems in which consumers both "obtain" and "provide", temporarily or permanently, valuable resources or services through direct interaction with other consumers or through a mediator. It is sometimes paired with the concept of the "sharing economy". Collaborative consumption is not new; it has always existed.
Lha Charitable Trust – Institute For Social Work and Education (Lha) is a grassroots, nonprofit organization, and one of the largest Tibetan social work organizations based in Dharamsala, India. It is the first organization that was established in exile to develop a primary focus on Tibetan social work. The Lha Charitable Trust was founded in 1997 and is registered as a charitable trust by the Himachal Pradesh government of India. Lha is managed by Tibetan refugees, is supported by volunteers and contributors from around the world, and serves refugees, the local Indian population and people from the surrounding Himalayan region. In a short period of time, the organization "has grown in leaps and bounds, from a small start-up with two computers to one of largest community based Tibetan NGOs in Dharamsala." Lha is a Tibetan word that means "deity" or "divine."
ThirdHome is a global home exchange service, specializing in luxury properties, founded by Wade Shealy in 2010. With its headquarters in Brentwood, Tennessee, United States, the company operates internationally, positioning itself uniquely to cater exclusively to owners of second homes.
Sweet Inn is a French-Israeli travel tech startup company founded in 2014. Active in Europe and in Israel the company offers upscale vacation apartments with hotel services for tourists and business travelers. The company offers a wide range of apartments in several of the world's most popular destinations, including Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Jerusalem, Juan Les Pins, Cannes, Dublin, and London. Each apartment is designed to offer guests a comfortable and stylish home away from home, with amenities such as high-speed Wi-Fi, fully-equipped kitchens, and luxury linens.
Smart tourism is an important component of a smart city. Tourism is one of the major components of economic growth for communities worldwide. A key requirement of tourism has been to attract more and more tourists from different parts of the world. Smart tourism refers to the application of information and communication technology, such similar to the smart cities, for developing innovative tools and approaches to improve tourism. Smart tourism is reliant on core technologies such as ICT, mobile communication, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. It supports integrated efforts at a destination to find innovative ways to collect and use data derived from physical infrastructure, social connectedness and organizational sources, and users in combination with advanced technologies to increase efficiency, sustainability, experiences. The information and communication technology tools used for smart tourism include IoT, mobile communication, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It combines physical, informational, social, and commercial infrastructure of tourism with such tools to provide smart tourism opportunities. The principles of smart tourism lie at enhancing tourism experiences, improve the efficiency of resource management, maximize destination competitiveness with an emphasis on sustainable aspects. It should also gather and distribute information to facilitate efficient allocation of tourism resources and integrate tourism supplies at a micro and macro level ensuring that the benefits are well distributed. They are observed to be effective in technologically advanced destinations such as smart cities.
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Intervac Home Exchange remains a pioneer in the travel industry, providing a platform for individuals to embark on unique adventures, forge connections, and create lasting memories through the shared experience of home swapping.
- ↑ "Facts About Intervac". Intervac International.