C) Factores explicativos del lado de la Demanda

Limitations were encountered during the research process of the current study.

Financial restrictions and time constraints limited the study to a certain sample size.

The analytical results suggest that the findings reflect a positive population mean.

However, a larger target sample might have given even more clarity regarding the population mean value.

180

Further issues were encountered through certain team building operators. Some of the operators refused to cooperate with the researcher. Reasons for this were stated as concerns that surveying their clients would be inconvenient for them and reflect negatively on the activity. Regardless of being assured of their anonymity by the researcher, the fear of being misrepresented or confidential information being revealed in the research were further reasons for one of the operators to refuse assistance with the research.

Another team operator withdrew his initial agreement to cooperate with the researcher.

The operator indicated that his company was about to undergo restructuring. Therefore he felt that participating in a study might be inappropriate as numerous components of their initial offering were about to change during the period of the study.

One of the operators only had bookings for team buildings with school groups.

Therefore these team building participants were minors. The researcher decided not to interview under-aged respondents, or school or university groups. Consequently no surveys were conducted with these groups.

8.4 RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations below are put forward for consideration by tourism businesses and host destinations of team building offerings. Further recommendations are made for future research regarding team building as a tourism offering.

8.4.1 Recommendation one

Continuous research regarding tourists‟ satisfaction with the offering is recommended.

Tourists‟ perceptions and expectations of an offering are likely to change over time.

Continuous research will assist operators to identify trends and changing expectations in time to adapt their offering. This is necessary to stay competitive and gain on-going benefits from the offering through tourists‟ satisfaction.

181 8.4.2 Recommendation two

Team building operators and involved stakeholders will profit from similar research conducted over a larger research area and a larger sample size (target population).

Conducting a similar research for a larger research area can identify differences in the Region‟s offerings. Furthermore, a holistic overview could be provided for team building offerings in South Africa.

A larger sample size would identify whether the research findings of the current study reflect similar findings. This can provide team building operators, stakeholders and host destinations with in-depth information. Furthermore, a larger sample size studied over a longer period of time has the potential to identify changes in participants‟ perceptions and behaviour intentions regarding the various seasons.

8.4.3 Recommendation three

Further research regarding team building operators and their offering ranges is recommended. Research regarding team building from the operator‟s point of view will add meaningful information to the body of knowledge. Future research should identify the wide range of benefits of team building offerings for the operators. A study like this could evaluate to what degree team building offerings contribute to operators‟ offering range. Additional information about operators regarding team building‟s ability to mitigate seasonality would be beneficial to evaluate team building‟s contribution to operators‟ sustainability and success.

8.4.4 Recommendation four

It is recommended that the government supports team building offerings actively.

Governmental support can have significant benefits for the team building offerings and the host destinations. Destination strategies and policies geared to support team building operators and local tourism businesses should be implemented to utilise the full potential of the offerings and to remain environmentally and socio-economically sustainable.

182

Stakeholders of the region would benefit from increased communication and cooperation with each other. Meetings could be organised by the municipalities to initiate stakeholders‟ interaction. The cooperation of team building operators with relevant stakeholders could maximise the potential benefits of combining team building with other offerings. These could result in the development of an attractive offering mix which promotes business opportunities for locals, encourages longer stays and local spending, among others.

8.4.5 Recommendation five

It is recommended that meaningful relationships and links with other offerings and businesses be forged. Combining team building offerings with other tourism offerings will not only provide a holistic offering mix but also create further benefits for the destination. A holistic offering mix will increase the destination‟s attractiveness for potential tourists. Developing a product mix including team building will further support the linking of different sectors and create additional benefits for local communities.

It is recommended that relationships and links be forged with other tourism businesses.

These could result in socio-economic benefits for the host community. Team building offerings should encourage tourists to extend their stay, spend more and increase business opportunities for locals. These interactions have to aim to increase local tax revenue.

8.4.6 Recommendation six

Team building offerings should evaluate the degree to which they reinforce the uniqueness of the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. Shortcomings in implementing unique elements of the region such as the local culture and the natural environment, among others, have to be addressed. Team building operators who fail to incorporate these aspects have to adapt their team building offerings to increase the sustainable benefits for the host destination, environment and community. Therefore it is recommended that team building offerings be adapted and take local conditions into account in order to pursue sustainable tourism in the Region.

183 8.4.7 Recommendation seven

It is recommended that the tax revenue created by team building activities be used to support environmental conservation. The study showed that the sustainable elements of the team building offering were rated relatively low. Team building operators have to focus on improving their sustainability. This should be supported by the government, not only through the implementation and provision of policies and guidelines, but by financially supporting environmental conservation.

8.4.8 Recommendation eight

Additional marketing strategies are recommended to promote team building offerings and the host destination. The DMO has to re-present and market team building offerings in support of team building operators to utilise the full potential of the offering.

Packaging and advertising the offering in combination with other tourism offerings of the region by the DMO will draw the attention of a broader tourism segment to the team building operators.

Team building can play an essential part in promoting a destination through complementing other offerings. As explained in chapter five, team building offerings tend to be merged with other activities and form hybrid or „bleisure‟ tourism activities.

Tourism businesses have to identify events where team building offerings can be added on to and build an effective tourism mix.

8.5 CONCLUSION

Chapter eight gives an overview of the research study. A synopsis of previous chapters is presented and key findings highlighted. Furthermore, the outcomes of the study are explained and linked to the research problem and its resulting sub-problems, key-questions and objectives.

Limitations which were experienced during the research project are identified. These limitations consisted mainly of time and financial restrictions. Furthermore, certain team building operators refused their cooperation or did not host any suitable team building

184

activities during the period of the fieldwork. These circumstances represented additional limitations for the study.

The research study accomplished a critical assessment of team building as a tourism offering in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape Province and therefore answered the research problem and research questions for the set objectives. The study identified the relationship between team building and tourism and related it to the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. If further evaluated team building participants‟ experiences with the offering and provided statistical results which can be used by businesses to develop and adapt their offerings.

Team building offerings in the research area were identified to increase the awareness of the destination and potentially improve the image of the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. Furthermore, tourists were willing to engage in other tourism offerings during their stay at the destination or intended to engage in additional tourism offerings in the future. Additionally, the evaluation of team building showed that the offerings are beneficial to operator‟s offering range, the host destination and participants in numerous ways and generally encourage tourism in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape.

The researcher embarked on a literature review and conducted an empirical survey to formulate an answer to the research problem. The findings of the secondary research were further compared with the empirical findings. These build the foundation to form recommendations for tourism businesses which offer team building in the Western Region of the Eastern Cape and to make recommendations for further research on the subject matter. The recommendations for tourism businesses and further research concluded the chapter.

185

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adair, J. 2004. The Concise Adair on Teambuilding and Motivation. London: Thorogood Publishing Ltd

Aktas, A., Cevirgen, A. & Toker, B. 2009. Assessing holiday satisfaction of German and Russian tourists visiting Alanya. Tourism and Hospitality Management. 15 (1): 1-12.

June. [Online]. Available at:

http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20093188311.html;jsessionid=BDE89F3EF625127B 05F62F16F262F9FB Cabdirect [Accessed 8 July 2015].

Alegre, J. & Cladera, M. 2008. Analysing the effects of satisfaction and previous visits tourist intentions to return. European Journal of Marketing. 43 (5/6): 670-685. N.d.

[Online]. Available at:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/03090560910946990 Emerald Insight [Accessed 10 July 2015].

Alen, E., Nicolau, J. L., Losada, N. & Dominguez, T. 2014. Determinant factors of senior tourists‟ length of stay. Annals of Tourism Research. 49(n.i): 19-32. November. [Online].

Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738314000954 ScienceDirect [Accessed 12 June 2015].

Alegre, J. & Garau, J. 2010. Tourist satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Annals of tourism research. 37 (1): 52-73. January. [Online]. Available at:

http://ac.els- cdn.com/S0160738309000929/1-s2.0-S0160738309000929-main.pdf?_tid=85520e7a-

638c-11e5-bee5-00000aab0f27&acdnat=1443189268_c29415dbdb1407e9d2e59ec904c0f611 ScienceDirect [Accessed 3 July 2015].

Alsos, G. A., Eide, D. & Madsen, E. L. 2014. Handbook of research on innovation in tourism industries. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing Inc.

Altinay, L. & Paraskevas, A. 2008. Planning research in hospitality and tourism. Oxford:

Elsevier.

Angelevska-Najdeska, K. & Rakicevik, G. 2012. Planning of sustainable tourism development. Procedia – Social and Behavioural Sciences. 4(n.i): 210-220. June.

[Online]. Available at: http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1877042812011433/1-s2.0-

S1877042812011433-main.pdf?_tid=3c510ac8-8a01-11e5-9b6e-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1447417541_12a4491a686dd3a1030281bc56686b49 ScienceDirect [Accessed 15 June 2015].

Angelkova, T., Koteski, C., Jakovlev, Z. & Mitrevska, E. 2012. Sustainability and competitiveness of tourism. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. 44(n.i): 221-227. June. [Online]. Available at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042812011445 ScienceDirect [Accessed 16 July 2015].