The expansion of short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and HomeAway has reshaped the hospitality sector, introducing competitive pressures for traditional hotels and influencing local communities in Greece. This study examines perceptions among 343 hoteliers and 277 Airbnb hosts across Greece, focusing on economic, competitive, and social impacts of Airbnb-type accommodations. This cross-sectional study used structured questionnaires to assess views on Airbnb's contribution to tourism, competition, and economic performance. Results reveal significant differences in perceptions: hoteliers expressed concerns about increased competition and regulatory inequalities, often viewing Airbnb as a mixed or negative influence on local tourism. In contrast, Airbnb hosts perceived their accommodations as beneficial for tourism growth and local economic support. Key areas of divergence included perceived competitive pressures, impact on overnight stays, and pricing strategies, with Airbnb hosts reporting more frequent economic benefits. These findings emphasize the need for a balanced regulatory approach to ensure fair competition and sustainable growth in Greece's tourism sector. By comparing the perspectives of traditional and alternative accommodation providers, this study provides insights for policymakers seeking to address evolving challenges in the Greek hospitality landscape.
Employee retention promotes positivity in an organization and improves employers’ brand value. As the human resource department operates with the objective of improving employees’ contribution towards the organization, meaningful work is an important topic in the core areas of human resource development (HRD), such as employee involvement, motivation, and personal development. Not only salary, benefits, working environment, and status but also the factors that determine whether you enjoy going to work every day are whether you believe that your work makes a meaningful contribution. In HRD, meaningful work comes to the forefront through a connection with a high level of commitment. Thus, this study aims to establish the relationship between meaningful and purposeful jobs affecting employee retention and the mediating factors of person organization fit (POF) and person job fit (PJF). A cross-sectional study involving a survey methodology was used to collect data from 150 white-collar employees working in the IT, banking, textile, and multinational companies in Bangladesh. The results indicate that job meaningfulness has a positive relationship with employee retention (p-value = 0.031) and both the mediating factors of PJF (p-value = 0.040) and POF (p-value = 0.028). The results also indicate that while POF positively influences employee retention (p-value = 0.019), PJF has no significant influence on employee retention (p-value = 0.164). Thus, promoting employee job meaningfulness and purpose in the workplace may represent an opportunity for organizations to improve employee engagement and retention.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be viewed as the aftermath of the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs). This is due to the fact that the seventeen (17) SDGs are designed to continue the work expected to have been done by the MDGs. In other words, the failure of the MDGs to eradicate poverty birthed the SDGs. However, the SDGs seem not to be achieving the desired result. This has led to the projection for the need for a decade of action. In the African context, the questions of why the MDGs failed and the SDGs tend to be failing are yet to be asked. By projection, if the questions are not asked and answers are not provided, the projection of the decade of action may also fail. Hence, the reason for this conceptual paper which was targeted at exploring the possibility of considering the Africanization of the SDGs as remedy to ensuring sustainable development in the African continent. Different relevant sources were identified, reviewed and analysed. The findings from the reviewed and analysed sources showed among others that for Africanization of the SDGs to be a reality and practicable, glocalization must be embraced. Meanwhile, there will be need to question the use of Eurocentric curricula in African institutions of learning.
Pakistan is grappling with significant economic and political challenges stemming from various factors. Positioned at the heart of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan has been presented with a diverse array of opportunities encompassing trade, investment, energy resource development, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the expansion of the Gwadar port, integration of its economy with neighboring nations via various connectivity projects, and the generation of employment prospects. Given the contemporary interdependence of economic performance and political stability, the potential for economic stability and the creation of opportunities through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is seen as crucial. The project helped Pakistan to attract a huge amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), created hundreds of thousands of jobs, significantly improved infrastructure, established nine SEZs, developed Gwadar port, increased its trade volume with China and controlled energy crisis to a significant level. Political development, stability and peace have also been positively influenced by economic development. This study aims to evaluate the impact of CPEC from both economic and political perspectives, especially as it approaches its 10th anniversary, and assess how it has shaped Pakistan’s economic and political landscapes. The forthcoming second phase of CPEC is poised to further bolster Pakistan’s economic growth, fortify industrialization through SEZs, and enhance its international trade. Additionally, the project is set to transform Pakistan into a pivotal regional trade corridor through its advanced connectivity initiatives and the development of the Gwadar port.
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