BACKGROUND

GEIDETUR (Group SEJ437 of the Andalusian Plan of Research, Development & Innovation) was constituted in 2004 with the double intention of, on the one hand, integrating and systematizing the dispersed research efforts that in the field of management of tourist firms already had arisen in the Department of Business Administration and Marketing of Huelva University, due to the implantation of the Tourism degree and the growth that the tourist sector is experiencing in the province of Huelva; and, on the other hand, of generating synergies from an organized and collective work with the aim of impelling the scientific research in this field, because it is highly necessary for the development of the industry and because the teaching activity has to feed itself from it, with working lines connecting both faces of our job as faculty members.

Therefore, from that sensitivity and conviction, this research group arises with a clear sense of social utility, that is to say, with the intention to contribute to the development of one of the fundamental present and future pillars of the provincial and regional economy, without limiting us, necessarily, to a local scope.

The general approach of our work is the systematic development of our lines of research. Also, the participation of the group in academic forums specialized in economy and management of the tourism sector and firms is another priority, as well as the publication of some articles in national and international journals of recognized reputation and impact.

The commitment of our scientific activity with the environment is another of our signs of identity. Thus, from the attempt to make the academic requirements compatible with social needs, the environmental management (within the concept of corporate social responsibility) of the tourist company have been marked as one of the high-priority lines of the group. This way, we have wanted to contribute to the environmental specialization that the law of creation of the University of Huelva tried for this institution. In addition, there is no doubt that a suitable environmental management is of capital importance for the development of the sector in the present competitive atmosphere.

MISSION STATEMENT

GEIDETUR is made up of a group of business administration researchers who are orienting their efforts towards the tourist sector and its companies, looking at it from a management point of view.

We are different from other professionals who are also doing research on tourism because of our business and managerial approach. GEIDETUR is created to bridge the existing gap in this scientific field within the University of Huelva, being the first research group specialized on this economic activity as a material object.

We research in order to feed the courses on management of tourist firms with new knowledge, as well as to produce publishable papers in national and international journals of recognized prestige and impact.

We work to be useful to public and private agents in the industry, contributing to orientate its development, especially in the province of Huelva and Andalusia, from the scientific knowledge that we generate and accumulate. All of that through an organized collective endeavour, looking for the generation of synergies among the members of the Group.

We believe in the values expressed by the University of Huelva and by its Department of Business Administration and Marketing in their declarations of corporative identity.

VISION STATEMENT

GEIDETUR aspires to consolidate itself as a group of excellence within the University of Huelva, with national and international projection, with the aim to be recognized by our peers and our environment as a reference in our field of study.

We will be different because of our capacity to penetrate into the reality of the tourist industry for a better understanding of its needs and changes, contributing viable new ideas and solutions coming from the study and the scientific research.

We will work considering public administrations, companies and other social agents in the sector as strategic allies, trying to be close to them, favouring a mutual comprehension and the generation of a trusting climate.

We will do our job guided by the following principles:

• We want to be a dynamic and ambitious Group, open to innovation and pursuing the utopia of perfection in what their members do.
• We will not conform to stagnation, mediocrity or to remaining in either academic or social anonymity.
• We will always make an effort to continue growing as research professionals. We will not assume the existence of a limit or a final state.