Tourism Business Economics

Objectives

The main objectives of this unit are the following:

1. Provide expertise in the field of Economics of Tourism Firms, applying the basic principles of Microeconomics and Management, in a self contained system, which are essential to analyze the economic aspects relevant to the operation of those firms: in terms of demand and supply, strategies and tourism markets;

2. Provide the students with the expertise, qualifications, values and strategic thinking which are essential for them to hold leading positions in the tourism and hospitality related professions in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in Portugal and elsewhere in the world.

Program

The syllabus analyses fundamental aspects of the economy and of the strategic management of tourism firms.

Therefore, the following subjects are presented:

1. Main definitions and economic characterization of tourism;

2. Tourism demand and its distribution at the international and national levels in order to understand the main driving factors and to analyze some common measures of tourism demand (elasticities) which are important for the decision-making process of tourism firms;

3. Tourism supply and its determinants, including the costs and the strategic interactions among firms in several market structures;

4. The competitive strategies of tourism firms;

5. The economic aspects, strategic management of firms and the trends of the main tourism branches, including the airline companies, the hospitality and restaurant sector; the travel agents and tourism operators.

Teaching Methodologies

The teaching methodologies include:

1. Oral expositions of the theoretical issues establishing a link with the content of the previous and the following classes.

2. Presentation and discussion of a current scientific article about the topics covered on the program stimulating research useful for Master’s dissertations.

3. Presentation and discussion of a case study to apply the subjects covered in the program.

Bibliography

A bibliografia para esta disciplina integra os textos selecionados pelo docente e distribuídos nas aulas e os artigos publicados em revistas científicas da especialidade nomeadamente: Tourism Economics, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Leisure Studies, Journal of Tourism and Sustainability entre outras.