Abstract: Veszprém as a medium-size city with the nearby Lake Balaton region, won the title of European Capital of Culture (ECoC) for 2023. This is a cultural, social and economic opportunity for the locals and the nation as well. The University of Pannonia, as one of the main alliance institutions of the ECoC (VEB2023) is a driver and an active participant in realising the programs. Therefore it is important to know the community’s attitude. The main goal of the present research is to explore the role of the university community (students, educators and non-educator staff), local identity, quality of life, cultural and emotional intelligence. In this study, the first results are presented as part of an ongoing longitudinal study. Altogether 190 full responses could be analysed out of the 542 received answers. Based on this regarding local identity people were most satisfied with the natural endowments, history of the settlement, attractions, public safety and calmness of the city. At the same time, they were the least satisfied with entertainment opportunities, local public transport, health care, parking and real estate prices. Concerning emotional intelligence, it was no difference on the average level, but significant differences were detected in the self-control dimension between the students and the academic employees. Regarding cultural intelligence, the weakest factor was the cognitive dimension. Furthermore, a significant difference was detected between the students’ and the academic employees’ cognitive and metacognitive dimensions.

Abstract: The geographical focus of the research is concentrating on the Balaton highlighted tourism development region located around the largest lake (Balaton) of Central Europe. The research aims to answer the following research questions (Q): Q1. How do locals perceive the labour shortage that characterizes tourism? Q2. Is there a significant relationship between the local job opportunities and the overall satisfaction with the settlement, or it being recommended as a residence or holiday destination? Data from a primary questionnaire survey were used for the analyses. The field work was conducted in 2018-9 and resulted in an evaluable sample of 1201 people. As for the method to assess Q1, the answers were categorized to the related open-ended question: those who perceived the labour shortage in local tourism were asked to provide an example of this. As for the method for answering the more complex Q2, relationship analyses (Kendall’s tau and Cramer’s V) were applied between the closed answers. Based on the results the following theses (T) can be formulated in response to the research questions: T1. There has been a significant labour shortage in the Balaton region in recent years. This affects the quality of services, which in some cases is already perceived by guests. T2. There is significant relationship between the local job opportunities and the overall satisfaction with the settlement, or it being recommended as a residence or holiday destination.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to point out the significance of the Melania Trump factor and the so called Melania Trump tourism in branding of the Slovene rural town of Sevnica, and in increasing the quality of life of the locals in this small town. The story of the Melania Trump tourism in Sevnica began in 2016, when the Municipality of Sevnica experienced large mass media attention due to the fact that Donald Trump emerged successfully in the American Presidential Campaign. The reason that events in the United States affected a micro Municipality of Sevnica on the banks of the Sava River is the fact that the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump originates from Sevnica. Thus, a small town of less than 5000 inhabitants suddenly appeared in the majority of the world’s most important media, such as ABC, CNN, Washington Post, NBC, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung etc, which had been a big stress for the community at the beginning, but turned out to be a significant potential for the economic development, especially for the local small businesses and local tourism sector. Based on the content analysis and literature review, the article explores the media representation of Sevnica and some of its influences on the community. The research also indicates the relation between the media exposure and the emergence and development of small businesses, such as cafes, restaurants, a hostel and a hotel, and consequently the strategically planned development of tourism.

Abstract: The study aims at the investigation of four international festivals: Mysore Dasara in Karnataka, India, The International Kite Festival in Uttarayan, Gujarat, India, Cheung Chau Bun Festival, Hong Kong and Sziget Festival, Hungary). They cover various cultural tourism attractions including built heritage, world heritage sites, intangible heritage, and religious traditions of several hundred years, musical and performing arts. Obviously, the cultural background, number and involvement of local people is different in each case. The target of examination has been if they are educated or trained to become hosts, whether they really feel positive about being open in a way to receive a great number of foreigners visiting their local, cultural event year by year. Based on heritage and touristic management issues, we take into consideration the role of the festival in tourism, heritage management and the related economic life of the venue as well as that of the given country. The main target of the investigation is to find similarities (benefits and problems) and such issues that might be solved by the exchange of experiences of the local experts. The aim of the research attempts to find general features that make local people profit out of these events and in return, they have the intention to become perfect hosts of these recurring cultural events.