Budapest Business University

The mission of CEVE is to draw upon the knowledge asset and network resources of the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of Budapest Business University, aiming to investigate the state, connections and possibilities of the visitor economy, and to amplify and facilitate the academic interest and commitment of talented students through active communication. To achieve its mission, the Centre

• conducts research based on its own data and information sources,
• uses the research results for scientific publications and educational materials,
• implements educational activities through intensive week courses,
• carries out activities promoting science,
• operates partnerships,
• initiates and maintains international collaborations.
  

In a broader sense, the research focus of CEVE targets those economic and social actors who directly or indirectly contribute to tourism: tourism related enterprises, visitors, tourists, organizations and institutions supporting tourism.

The research topics of CEVE include interactions that occur between the visitor and the physical, social and cultural space at the site of the visit. Factors affecting the visitor's quality of life, time and experience – aspects that a visitor likes to think about and remembers, and which may influence their decision to return. In addition, CEVE examines corporate capabilities and skills, the development of which can enhance the competitiveness of tourism.

In the recovery phase following the coronavirus crisis, the development of enterprise resilience, in addition to restoring market and financial performance, has become a priority. Resilience has become a key focus in numerous publications, summaries and guidelines in many industries, particularly in tourism. A survey conducted at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 among tourism businesses, including hospitality, accommodation and travel providers, aimed to discover which skills and abilities helped these enterprises when facing with coronavirus crisis. It also assessed their current state and preparedness for similar crises in the future. The long-term objective is to understand the general and specific capabilities of businesses and organizations and to formulate development proposals that significantly enhance their adaptability and resilience.

According to the forecasts of the World Travel & Tourism Council, the number of people employed by tourism-related enterprises will increase by more than 30% to over 400 million in the next 10 years. Since the demand for traveling and changing places is dynamically increasing, and both leisure and business motivations seem to be long-lasting, the workforce has become the main limitation to the growth of tourism and hospitality. Despite digitization and automation, the demand for human workforce in the sector will not drop but more and more labor will flow to tourism businesses from diverse geographic areas and social layers. In addition, the sector has to face the challenges for a sustainable and environmentally conscious operation. The needs and trends of passengers, guests, and visitors are rapidly and unpredictably changing. Moreover, the whole service ecosystem is coping with the renewing trends of digital solutions supporting business processes and their professional application. Among the recommendations of the Transition Pathways for Tourism guidance published by the European Commission in 2022, the development of workers' skills plays a prominent role. In addition to the well-known hard and soft skills in tourism hospitality, digital, social and green skills appear as new soft skills. Together with the BBU-FCHT Proactivity for Hospitality research group, CEVE intends to explore the extent to which new soft skills are currently appearing in different job positions in tourism and hospitality, and how much importance workers attach to them now and in the future.

With the gradual spread of smart devices and the rise of content creation on Internet-based platforms, sharing experiences publicly about products and services has become a common practice. The practice of evaluation and forming opinions did not escape hospitality either. Not only as an active content creator but also as a passive content consumer, it has become common to rely on other people's opinions and to be curious about other people's experiences before making decisions. In the past decade, a valuable set of data has been accumulated owed to publicly shared comments, evaluations and opinions on Internet-based review sites. The UGC*NLP research of CEVE aims to use machine learning methods to reveal the characteristics of guest reviews about the most popular restaurants in a database collected using the BigData method. During the research, we use machine learning methods in the field of natural language processing (NLP), examining the topics, distributions, temporal and other changes of opinions.

The project is supported by the International Visegrad Fund (IVF) and it aims to create a website presenting the most important pilgrimage sites in V4 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). The purpose of appearing on the website and other forms of dissemination is to promote the pilgrimage sites and to introduce visitors to their cultural and historical heritage. In addition to historical information, the website will also provide useful information for those intending to visit the pilgrimage sites, such as accessibility, tourist infrastructure, or the current state of the sites. Partner universities and institutions: the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (SK), Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow (PL), and the Ultreia association in the Czech Republic. Expected completion of the project: Q4 2024.

In addition to its research objectives, CEVE aims for active participation in higher education and talent management, as well as the promotion of learning, research and academic careers. This is achieved by organising intensive week courses, participating in science popularization programs and collaborating with professional colleges.

One possible way to contribute to the student experience is to organize intensive courses with an inclusive theme and methodology. An experiential learning environment can be enhanced if the intensive courses are implemented in international cooperation with the involvement of as many partner universities as possible. The blended intensive program, a form of short mobility between universities operating in the European Union, provides an opportunity for this. The goal of CEVE is to organize at least one blended intensive program per year, involving students from at least three universities and three different countries.

The scientific foundation of the tourism-hospitality bachelor's degree shows multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary characteristics, which is excellently exemplified by the diverse aspects of the visitor economy. The multidisciplinary nature of tourism allows for the involvement of students with various research interests in creative and developmental collaborations. The goal of CEVE is to contribute to the range of events organized by the Budapest Business University with diverse programs. Through appearances in the media aimed at the general public, CEVE intends to highlight how knowledge creation through well-founded methods can be engaging, instructive and beneficial for both laypeople and professionals.

The goal of CEVE is to integrate students as much as possible in both information gathering and knowledge creation. Participating in current research not only improves the students' methodological and practical skills, but it can also strengthen their interest and pave the way towards an academic career. One pathway to this joint creation is through a long-term collaboration with Károly Gundel College of Economics at the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism.

The purpose of the blended intensive program was to explore and analyse Bartók Béla Boulevard (Budapest) as a potential tourist area. This was achieved by using methods of subjective photography and the social photo matrix, as well as involving local residents. The project focused on key themes such as interests, interest groups, and the similarities and differences in the use of space. During content creation and processing, the students represented tourists and visitors, while the residents involved in the program represented the locals. A total of 47 students and 16 lecturers from 7 countries and 7 universities participated in the BIP: Thomas More University of Applied Sciences (BE), Saxion University of Applied Sciences (NL), Universitat Politècnica de València (ESP), Estonian Entrepreneurship University (EST), Universidade Portucalense (P), Kauno Kolegija (LI) and Budapest Business School.

The Department of Tourism of BBU, CEVE and the Department of Hospitality (BBU) jointly announced a program with the title ‘Travelling around the Green’ for the Researchers' Night. In the framework of the program, participants could explore in a playful way how responsible actions in the field of gastronomy and hospitality, as well as tourism, can be used to reduce our ecological footprint. During the program, participants used a single ticket to visit six stations. At each station, they had to solve different exciting tasks, ranging from exploring hotel green practices to searching for trademarks, understanding the wheel of seasons and calculating the carbon footprint of a trip. In addition to the students of the tourism-hospitality and community organization basic courses, the Felelős Gastrohős Foundation, the Maradék Nélkül program, Matyodesign and Anima Travel also contributed to the implementation of the program.

For the book of abstracts and more information visit HERE.