The Impact of the Political Environment on Tourism and Hospitality

Format: On Campus/Remote
Number of Interns: 3
Duration: 6–8 weeks (July/August/September)
Start Date: June 29, 2026
End Date: Sep 30, 2026
Application Deadline: May 1, 2026
Project Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Ebru Tekin Bilbil

Project Description: This research internship focuses on examining how tourism and hospitality organizations make decisions under conditions of political turbulence. The project explores how hotel businesses operate in environments shaped by elections, regulatory volatility, geopolitical tensions, social movements, security concerns, and large-scale disruptions.

The project adopts a qualitative research approach to analyze how organizations deal with multiple and often conflicting considerations such as financial performance, regulatory requirements, reputational concerns, and ethical responsibilities. Students will work on topics inspired by current research, including:

• decision-making under uncertainty,
• organizational resilience in tourism,
• qualitative analysis of interview data,
• interpretation of complex organizational processes.

The goal is to understand how organizations sustain decision-making capacity and remain operational under unstable political conditions.

Project Tasks

• Analyze real-world qualitative datasets from tourism and hospitality organizations.
• Assist in organizing, transcribing, and coding interview data.
• Contribute to literature review and theoretical framing.
• Identify patterns in decision-making under political turbulence.
• Support report writing and preparation of research outputs.

Requirements

• Undergraduate student in Tourism Management, Business, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, or related fields.
• Completed at least 180 ECTS (senior standing).
• GPA > 2.7.
• Interest in qualitative research and analytical thinking.
• Good command of English.

This internship offers a research-oriented experience combining tourism studies, qualitative research, and organizational analysis. Interns will gain hands-on experience in data analysis, academic research, and understanding real-world decision-making processes in the tourism and hospitality sector.

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