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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, African students studying tourism and hospitality internationally had diverse experiences in their professional endeavours. This study seeks to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the career progression and perspectives of African undergraduate students specialising in higher education in the fields of tourism and hospitality.

The study utilised qualitative content analysis, which involves subjectively interpreting text data by systematically categorising and coding it to identify themes or patterns.

The findings deviate from how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the career advancement of African international students studying tourism and hospitality in North Cyprus. Consequently, most developing nations face an increased need for security measures. Tourists will pay higher prices to visit highly secure areas rather than risking their lives. This is one of the reasons why many students from developing nations choose to pursue their careers in developed countries.

It is imperative for the governments of developing nations to make substantial financial contributions to the development of their respective tourism sectors. Augmented investment has the potential to allure international tourists, thereby generating employment prospects for the host economies. The lack of investment forces young individuals to pursue their education overseas. Furthermore, it is imperative for developing nations to enhance their security infrastructure.

Our findings suggest that policymakers should establish a diverse management team that includes student employees to develop suitable strategies for industry management. Insufficient student inclusivity can result in a lack of dedication, whereas involving them in management strategies can contribute to the industry’s prosperity.

The findings obtained from this research can stimulate the formulation of strategies within the tourism industry to tackle the intersection of career obstacles.

While the potential of human resource practices (HRPs) for promoting performance is widely recognized, even though crucial, employees’ assessment of HRPs remains under-researched, especially in emerging economies. Hence, the purpose of this research is to examine the influence of employee satisfaction with HRPs on job performance through the mediating role of job dedication (JD) and the moderating role of incentive gamification.

The current research adopts a quantitative method. Specifically, using a questionnaire survey, 418 valid responses collected (through purposive sampling) via cross-sectional method from the employees of Nigerian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms were used to test the research hypotheses empirically.

The results revealed that satisfaction with HRPs has a positive influence on job performance. Satisfaction with human resource practices has a positive influence on job dedication. Job dedication has a positive influence on job performance. The link between employees’ satisfaction with human resource practices and job performance is mediated by job dedication. The link between satisfaction with human resource practices and job dedication is moderated by incentive gamification, that is, the positive link is stronger when incentive gamification is high. The link between satisfaction with human resource practices and job performance is moderated by incentive gamification, that is, the positive link is stronger when incentive gamification is high.

The current study highlights the importance of employees’ assessments of human resource practices, which may be used to promote employee dedication, which in turn results in improved performance. The findings are helpful to open the black box of the impact of satisfaction with HRPs on job performance. The results also offer important new valuable guidance for practitioners and will aid the management of human resource practice design, audits, and communication.

This study examines two crucial aspects of employability in the tourism industry, with a particular emphasis on contemporary advancements. The first aspect pertains to the emerging demands in the employability sector of the tourism industry, driven by technological advancements. Given the evident nature of this emerging trend, it is imperative to possess a robust infrastructure and comprehensive knowledge. The second aspect is to evaluate the level of education that industry employees receive in relation to the tourism sector in order to ensure sustainable development.

The study employed a thematic literature review to evaluate the significance of tourism education on employability and the necessity of adopting technology.

The findings deviate from the extensive literature search showed that Higher Education Institutions should prioritise ensuring that the new generation’s technological capabilities align with the traditional curricula in their respective fields, given the widespread use of personal computers and smartphones. Ultimately, students are increasingly expecting that technology will significantly impact their educational experiences and modes of communication for their future careers.

It is widely acknowledged that the most efficient approach to fostering learning is to exert authority over the learning setting, and educators should generate learning prospects for students rather than merely transmitting information and facts.

This review assesses two key aspects of employability in the tourism industry, focussing on recent technological advancements and the necessary skills for students' future careers.

To encourage entrepreneurship, which accelerates economic growth by increasing employment opportunities and competitiveness, stakeholders must conduct studies and develop policies that consider both the current situation and future expectations. This study aims to examine the environmental and personal factors that influence students’ entrepreneurial intentions (EIs), using a model based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and social cognitive theories (SCT).

This study proposed an institutional framework demonstrating contextual features to achieve this objective. This theoretical framework is evaluated using a sample of 375 university students in Türkiye.

The empirical findings can help policymakers develop effective policies to encourage entrepreneurship.

The study focuses on EIs; it is possible that even if a participant indicated a high EI in the survey, they will ultimately pursue a completely different career path.

The study also contributes to entrepreneurship literature studies investigating the relationships between the TPB and SCT.

By testing specific hypotheses for Türkiye, this study contributes to the demand for entrepreneurship research in countries that are major global players but have vastly different sociocultural contexts than Western countries.

The study draws a theoretical model that explains the factors affecting the EIs of university students and attempts to explain the EIs of university students with and without business education within this model.

This study explores the various obstacles that female instructors and students confront in tourism education.

Utilizing qualitative research approaches and a thorough literature assessment, this study investigates women’s complex challenges in the academic and educational domains. The study examines the particular difficulties faced by female professors, such as work-life balance concerns, gender bias and limited opportunities for career advancement. Furthermore, the study also analyses the challenges that female students confront, including the threat of stereotypes, sexual harassment during internships and restricted access to networking and mentorship possibilities.

Findings illustrate that both female tourism academics and students face gender discrimination in academia and in the sector.

The findings may contribute valuable insights for policymakers, educators and stakeholders, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions and inclusive policies to create supportive environments for female lecturers and students in these departments.

This is the first study done in North Cyprus, which specifically analyzes gender inequality in tourism education. It is valuable as it emphasizes the significance of advancing gender equality in tourism and hospitality education.

This study aims to develop a better understanding of the key determinants of repetitive visits to coffee shops. The paper intends to answer a simple, yet crucial question, “Why do people go to coffee shops repeatedly, and frequently?”.

Two coffee shops in North Cyprus are used as case studies in order to provide in-depth information about the perceptions and experiences of coffee shop clients, managers and staff. An inductive methodological structure together with qualitative data collection methods provided a rich, exploratory setting.

A social network of customers and employees, communication with familiar people and sharing a homely feel are found to be the key determinants of clients' attachment. Comfort, security, sense of belonging and the convenience of the place also play a pivotal role. The traditional habit of coffee drinking is a prime motivation for people of this area to meet up and socialize.

Managers can optimize operational results as it is evident that social and cultural elements are the key drivers for repeat customer visits, while regional planners can set society-driven policies.

This study contributes to the literature by using a holistic approach to understand the factors which influence revisit intentions of coffee shop clients in relation to the third place, the place attachment and the service space concepts. The research approach employed is also significant as it enabled the presentation of the real-life dynamics and its relation to the literature.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the social interaction between international students and the local community in the small university town of Famagusta, North Cyprus. The objectives of the study are, firstly, to investigate the nature of interaction between two communities; secondly, to ascertain the main factors impacting social interaction and, finally, to identify the impact of this interaction on cultural exchange.

Using a qualitative approach, the researchers conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with international students and members of the local community to gain depth and detail.

The results showed that there was a lack of interaction between the international students and locals due mainly to language barriers.

This study addresses a gap in the literature on educational tourism by focusing on the social interaction between foreign students and the host community in a nontraditional destination. It also provides guidelines for universities, local and national governments on how to build a better quality of life for the community and for international students.

This theme issue sought to find answers to the question: What should be the role of tourism education social structures to create and support collaborative learning environments and the tourism sector?

A thematic analysis of the articles in this collection draws together the key outcomes related to the strategic question, with particular reference to the contribution to knowledge, important to generate ideas and conceptual researches that will support institutions teaching tourism and hospitality. Archive research results and recommendations to encourage the collaboration of different stakeholders involved in sustainable tourism development. Most importantly to raise awareness of the question of what educators are doing in tourism education for social, organizational structures in learning environments and the actual tourism sector.

Two key players, the educator and sector has been challenged to consider their roles in education as well as depicting the role of social and organizational structures that support the students, institutions and the tourism sector. The main findings have proven the important role education plays for a truly sustainable tourism model, suggesting that it is not possible to create awareness of the sustainable development goals without incorporating them in the tourism education system with the support of information computer technology.

This paper reflects on the strategic question discussed in this theme issue, and it contains valid reviews, research studies by practitioners who are experienced in the field of tourism education with an opportunity to research, reflect and develop new possibilities in learning, mitigate negative points and increase positive tourism education roles for sustainable tourism development, in the destination and industry.

The aim of this study is to explain the educational practices that emerged with the concept of “new normal” in an overview. In line with this goal, the experiences of academics who are experts in their fields have been utilized.

This paper draws on both academic and trade literature. Interviews with representatives from schools providing tourism education in North Cyprus were conducted online and in-person. The qualitative research method in the form of the interview method was employed in the research. The research participants consist of 15 academics working in the field of tourism education. Additionally, concerning the selection of these participants, sector experience and applied lecture status were taken into consideration. As the second dimension of the research, an extensive literature review was conducted and the subject was expanded by explaining it with examples from around the world.

It has been revealed in the research that educational institutions and tourist businesses have to constantly renew themselves technologically. The findings obtained from academics include the innovations they use in the “new normal” tourism education in applications such as Hybrid/BL – Blended Learning, VR – Virtual Reality, Artificial intelligence, LMS & In-class response systems, API-based software systems in the courses they teach. The common opinion of academics who want to provide a better education is that educational institutions should always be infrastructurally prepared for such emergencies.

The global COVID-19 pandemic created economic destruction in many countries and brought life to a halt. In the tourism sector, one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 problem, various restrictions were imposed on touristic activities. While this situation caused a decrease in demand in the tourism sector, it paved the way for great technological changes and resulted in the adoption of new educational practices in institutions providing tourism education. This paper traces these new development in the face of the pandemic crisis.

The aim of this study is to understand the acculturation experiences of international students in order to maximize their academic and social experiences which, in turn, can facilitate the development of sustainable educational tourism in the host country.

Using a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interview techniques, 40 international postgraduate tourism students from the Global South were interviewed.

The findings in this study demonstrated that the main problems faced by these students are inadequate funds and language difficulties.

This study highlighted the fact that although the number of international students is growing all over the world, for most of the students from poorer parts of the world, being an international student is fraught with difficulties. It also demonstrated that although acculturation stress is a serious concern, lack of adequate funding assumes greater importance for students from a poor background.