Skiing Less Often in a Warmer World: Attitudes of Tourists to Climate Change in an Australian Ski Resort

Climate change will affect tourism destinations that are dependent on natural resources, such as snow. Currently there is limited research into attitudes, intentions and actual visitation patterns of skiers in response to reduced snow cover. Therefore the awareness of, and attitudes towards, climate change of 351 ski tourists were assessed in the largest ski resort in Australia in 2007, repeating a survey conducted in 1996. Ninety percent of skiers in 2007 would ski less often in Australian resorts if the next five years had low natural snow, up from 75% of skiers surveyed in 1996: 69% would ski less often, 5% would give up and 16% would ski at the same levels but overseas. Nearly all skiers thought that climate change would affect the ski industry (87% compared with 78% in 1996), and that this would occur sooner than in the 1996 survey. Visitation in a poor snow year (2006, +0.85°C average annual temperature, 54% less natural snow) was −13.6% of the long-term average, indicating poor natural snow resulted in decreased visitation, despite extensive use of snow making. The implications of changes in climate conditions and tourist attitudes for Australian ski resorts are assessed including for snow making and summer tourism.     

中国南方十一座旅游名城避寒疗养气候旅游资源评估

文章对人体健康与气候环境作了分析,阐明寒冷气候与呼吸道系统、心血管系统、消化道系统疾病发病率、死亡率的对应关系。运用生理气候舒适度指数,对中国南方11座旅游名城的避寒气候作了横向分析比较,得出中国最佳避寒疗养地的区域格局,为开展中国冬季避寒疗养旅游提供了发展基础。     

Implications of climate change for glacier tourism

For more than 100 years, the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park have attracted thousands of tourists annually and have emerged as iconic destinations in New Zealand. However, in recent years, the recession of both glaciers has been increasingly rapid and the impacts on, and implications for, visitor experiences in these settings remain relatively unexplored. A mixed-method approach was adopted to investigate visitor experiences and stakeholder perspectives through an assessment of climate-related changes on tourism at the glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The bio-physical conditions at both the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers were reviewed in order to assess the magnitude and rate of retreat. Perceptions of climate change risk and awareness of impacts in the National Park were assessed through stakeholder interviews (n = 13) and a visitor survey (n = 500) was used to better understand how impacts at these sites have affected and may continue to affect visitor experiences. Research results were reported to local communities via a series of public talks. Results revealed the fundamental importance of viewing the glaciers as a significant travel motive of visitors, suggesting that there is a ‘last chance’ dimension to their experience. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a high adaptive capacity of local tourism operators under rapidly changing environmental conditions. The implications of altered visitor experiences for tourism operators and protected area managers are discussed in light of these findings.     

Key issues in the conceptualization of tourism destinations

The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of how the term ‘destination’ has been used, critiqued, and analyzed. While the traditional view of a destination has largely focused geographical features and the systemic concept of tourism destinations has focused on the interaction between tourists, the staff in industries providing tourism services, and the local population, more recent conceptualizations of tourism destinations treat destinations as complex adaptive systems that adapt to ever-changing economic, political, and social trends. As well, recent work on integrative conceptual frameworks of tourism destinations highlights the importance of particular geographical elements in the emergence and development of destinations which affect the structure of the mode of production, the range of stakeholders involved in tourism activity, and the entire process of destinations evolution. Although the traditional – geographic concept of destination, from today's point of view, is one-sided and not comprehensive, geographical elements, however, are the nucleus from which a tourism destination occurs and develops. In this regard, it is indisputable that the geographical attributes of tourism destinations represent the key component of their resource base. This fact should be borne in mind in future conceptualizations of destinations.     

Simulating changes in tourism demand: a case study of two German regions

Travel behaviour is shaped by the complex interaction of a variety of societal, economic, ecological and political drivers that undergo rapid changes. This poses continually new challenges on destinations which need to adapt to altering conditions. Significant changes of influencing factors might lead to shifts in tourism flows in temporal and/or spatial dimensions. This study investigates how German tourists’ destination choices develop under changing framework conditions. It furthermore rates the impact of influencing factors such as socio-demographic and socio-economic aspects on changes in tourism demand using an agent-based model. The interactions among 15 million tourists and 109 European destinations are simulated under three different scenarios. Destinations included in the model develop in different ways in regard to tourist arrivals until 2030. The results indicate that the number of tourist arrivals will develop divergently in the investigated regions until 2030 and that some market segments will undergo changes in seasonality: the model shows a growth in arrivals for many city destinations, cultural as well as sports and active tourism destinations. It indicates a trend towards equalisation in the segments sun and sea tourism, city and cultural tourism with a shift from summer months to spring and autumn towards 2030. They furthermore imply that demographic change dominates altering tourism demand in the source market and that related changes in travel preferences are the most urgent challenge for destinations.     

全域旅游:建设世界一流旅游目的地的理念创新——以北京为例

国务院发布《关于加快发展旅游业的意见》之后,很多地方提出了建设世界一流旅游目的地或世界一流旅游城市的战略目标。战略目标的实现既需要有效的战略措施,同时也需要理论上的突破。本文提出了全域旅游这个全新的概念,并构建了全域旅游的基本框架,指出要从全要素、全行业、全过程、全方位、全时空、全社会、全部门、全游客等角度推进旅游目的地的发展,在要素利用上要重视当地居民作为吸引力载体的作用。真正做到在建设国家旅游度假区的同时重视国民休闲度假地的建设,从而既满足外来游客的休闲旅游需要,又满足当地居民的休闲诉求。最后以北京为例,指出在旅游目的地的建设过程中还需要理清旅游产业的战略价值、重视旅游产业的体系依托、完善智慧旅游支撑体系、加强目的地在线声誉监测。     

韩国潜在游客的中国旅游目的地意象认知与行为意图

旅游目的地意象是20世纪70年代以来,地理学和旅游学等学科交叉生成的研究命题,是旅游目的地市场细分、市场定位及竞争分析的重要工具。本文选择中国近缘文化群体客源市场,也是中国最大的入境客源市场韩国为研究对象,以非结构式和结构式研究相互结合的方式,研究分析了韩国潜在游客对中国的旅游目的地意象认知及行为意图,研究结果显示：（1）韩国潜在游客对中国的旅游目的地意象认知由四个基本维度构成,分别是平和、愉悦、动感与现代,其中,平和、愉悦和现代与旅游目的地意象呈正相关关系;（2）韩国潜在游客对中国的旅游目的地意象认知与其行为意图呈正相关关系;（3）中国旅游目的地意象的平和、愉悦特征对韩国潜在游客行为意图有明显的正向影响,呈正相关关系。     

Making heritage in an Australian coastal tourist resort: Constructing a cultural landscape through a comparative narrative

Abstract

The concept of cultural landscape embodies a dynamic understanding of history, in which past, present and future are seamlessly connected. This paper, drawn from a larger research project investigating the integration of tourism in small coastal settlements, introduces a multi‐method research strategy for interpreting cultural landscapes of tourism. The case study of a well‐known resort area on the east coast of Australia demonstrates the dynamic relationship between patterns in the landscape narrative and patterns in the built environment of small coastal settlements. In Noosa, a distinctive built form has evolved in parallel with the narrative of the place as a relaxed but stylish resort village dominated by nature. Both the narrative and physical landscape have been shaped by local and external processes of constant comparison and contrast with well known Australian and international coastal resorts. The paper illustrates how recurring themes in the local dialogue of place have flowed between key urban design/planning decisions, ephemeral tourism literature, publications, and the perceptions of residents, tourists and key informants as reported in focused conversational interviews.     

Seasonal weather sensitivity,temperature thresholds,and climate change impacts for park visitation

Historical park visitation and weather data, taken at the daily time scale from 2000 to 2009 for Pinery Provincial Park in southern Ontario (Canada), were analysed as an objective measure of the weather sensitivity, temperature thresholds, and potential impacts of projected climate change for park visitation. Three seasonal weather-visitation models were constructed using multivariable linear regression (peak, shoulder, off-season). To account for both natural and institutional seasonality, the weather-visitation models included both climatic (temperature, precipitation) and social (weekends, holidays) variables, which demonstrated equably comparable effects on visitation across the three models. Critical temperature thresholds were identified for each season using one-way analysis of variance to determine the range of temperatures within which the threshold was evident; the specific degree of temperature associated with the threshold was identified within the seasonal regression models. Temperatures over 33 °C during the peak season and over 29 °C during the shoulder season indicated critical thresholds at which point conditions that were ‘too hot’ for some caused a decline in visitation. Furthermore, temperatures below 11 °C indicated another critical threshold, where conditions were ‘too cold’ for most and therefore park visitation was less sensitive to temperature variability below this threshold. A partial sensitivity analysis for the impact of a warmer, wetter climate on park visitation was conducted, illustrating the effect of a 1 °C to 5 °C warming in maximum temperatures, coupled with a 5% to 15% increase in total precipitation. In response to projected climate change, the weather-visitation models suggested that for each additional degree of warming experienced, despite the negative effects of increasing precipitation and more frequent heat extremes, annual park visitation could increase by 3.1%, annually. The projected increase in park visitation as a result of rising temperatures was mainly associated with shoulder season visitation, with only minor increases in peak season visitation.     

The aeromobile tourist gaze: understanding tourism ‘from above’

ABSTRACT

While the impact of aeromobility on the growth of tourism and its destinations is well documented, the role of aeromobility in the process of experiencing and shaping place with specific regard to tourist destinations has received little attention from scholars. With the growth of commercial aviation and the increasingly mundane nature of the experience within mass tourism, I draw attention to the touristic experience of flying as the activity beyond its role in arriving at the destination. After a brief review of the genealogy of aeromobility and tourism, I reflect on examples of tourist aeromobility in Cape Town, South Africa in order to theorise the aeromobile tourist gaze. This paper analyses mobile testimonies from online travel reviews from airborne tourists performing helicopter ‘flips’ over Cape Town. Results highlight the need to focus on flying as tourism itself while they illustrate the role it plays in the aeromobile tourist gaze, a unique perspective and experience of the tourism destination as ‘tourism from above’ that emerges from the touristic dimensions of flight including the destination, the flying device and flight route. The findings underscore the role of flying-as-tourism. The aeromobile tourist gaze thus spectacularises the destination and disrupts the relationship between tourists and place.     

Liminality and difficult heritage in tourism

Abstract

Difficult heritage, rooted in difficult knowledge, is not simply difficult because of traumatic content but also because of the responses it can provoke. These responses can include confusion, anxiety, and empathy for the fear and suffering of others. As such, difficult heritage sites can be problematic in tourism, which is typically characterized by expectations of fun and relaxation. Scholars recognize that the tourist experience is liminal in that tourists occupy a state of limbo outside of their normal places and lives. This article argues that difficult heritage can be a liminal experience within tourism by critically analysing tourist reviews of Bonaire’s slave huts. The Caribbean island of Bonaire attracts cruise tourists and tourists interested in water sports like snorkelling and diving. Yet, these tourists may visit the slave hut sites as a secondary activity during their stay on the island. TripAdvisor reviewers describe feelings of being both out of time and out of place at the slave huts as they imagine the conditions the enslaved would have experienced, and they describe emotional responses ranging from sadness to revulsion. Additionally, reviewers reflect on their visit to the slave huts after ‘resuming’ their vacation, particularly focusing on the contrast between their experiences. The approach of liminality has the potential to better understand tourists’ experiences of difficult heritage.     

The Mainland Chinese market for nature tourism in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Nature tourism has been emerged as an ecologically sensitive form of tourism in developed and developing countries. A large influx of tourists would have both benefits and adverse impacts on these destinations. With an increasing influence of Chinese market in many destinations and tourism activities worldwide, it is important to understand the perceptions and preferences of Chinese tourists toward natural attributes so that proper approaches to destination planning and marketing can be derived to better attract these segments of tourists and sustainably manage tourism resources. The results of an empirical study of a sample of Mainland citizens (n = 430) to Hong Kong's nature areas show that (1) they exert a high degree of interest in participating in nature tourism; (2) female and older people are more interested in visiting natural environment; (3) these potential nature tourists from China prefer going to places in association with sea views, and engaging in photo-taking, non-commercial activities and less artificial elements; and (4) the nature tourism attributes form two factors related to aspects of educational needs and relaxation (an experiential factor), and nature-oriented but also convenient (a functional factor). These considerations can lead to the development of ecotourism products that are better suited to meeting the interests of mainland Chinese tourists, while also enriching the host experience.     

游客安全感的影响要素、形成机理及提升策略研究

安全感是旅游目的地安全状况的"晴雨表",是游客在旅游目的地最基本需求。本文在对游客安全感的概念进行界定、游客安全感重要性和研究意义进行阐述,以及游客安全感的影响要素进行分析的基础上,探索游客对旅游目的地安全感的认知过程和形成机理,并据此提出旅游目的地提升和强化游客安全感的"四位一体"策略,即培育理性的游客、营造安全的旅游环境、运用现代的安全技术和选择科学的传播渠道。     

Hurricane impacts on southeastern United States coastal national park visitation

As a major contributor to local economies, the tourism industry has been greatly impacted by natural disasters. This study demonstrates the association between tourism economies and impacts of hurricanes in the southeastern United States containing coastal national parks, known for attracting a large number of tourists and having experienced hurricanes. In keeping with two longitudinal data methods (i.e. panel logit model and autoregressive integrated moving average), this study focused on the relationship between the (1) duration, intensity, and damage of hurricanes; (2) existing climate conditions; and (3) tourism demand on park visitation during hurricane and tourism seasons. As a whole, the impacts of hurricanes and climate conditions (precipitation, temperature) were found to have a negative effect on tourism demands (park visitation). With regard to the response of tourism economies to natural disaster damage, parks that experienced stronger natural disasters may be closed for a longer period in order to reconstruct facilities or natural/cultural resources damaged by storms. In an attempt to improve tourism-based regional economies, overcome the challenge of natural disasters on tourism economies, and increase opportunities for establishing disaster management, it is necessary to make an effort to allay unexpected damage to tourism-based areas through proactive plans for disaster mitigation activities.     

Instagram abroad: performance,consumption and colonial narrative in tourism

As a form of travel writing and a highly favoured marketing tool, Instagram provides a blueprint of the ideologies underpinning contemporary tourism. This article argues that consistent visual motifs on Instagram echo a colonial iconography that sees tourist destinations as available for possession and consumption, effacing local place and identity. The reproduction of three motifs – the tropical exotic, the promontory gaze and fantasised assimilation – mediatises ideations that, rather than depicting these destinations as contemporaneous spaces in which a tourist is a guest, depict them as ‘other’ realms for the tourist’s taking. Local residents, when pictured, are configured as genericised icons of exoticism that serve to imbue the tourist’s experience with authenticity. These visual tropes, paired with textual captions and hashtags, present tourists as the rightful occupants and users of local spaces in a way that echoes the colonial seizure of foreign lands, an action that is imaginatively performed as tourists enact these three motifs in Instagram posts. Taken together, the visual regime witnessed and performed on Instagram contributes to the imagined and real perpetuation of unequal power relations in global tourism, which continue to privilege wealthy tourists over local residents.     

可重复性旅游的建设问题研究

本文就旅游者来一次而不再来第二次的现象,提出了可重复性旅游的概念及其建设问题。作者认为旅游重复性较低,重要原因之一是“旅游审美说”的理论在起作用,应注意挖掘与建设非观赏性的旅游对象物,从而在旅游地形成可重复性旅游的一些必要功能。文章还以大连为例就可重复性旅游的内容及其今后的课题,进行了广泛的讨论。     

Technological aspects of Mesopotamian Uruk pottery: estimating firing temperatures using mineralogical methods,thermal analysis and luminescence techniques

The Middle Uruk phase in Mesopotamia (3600–3500 bc) has been characterised by the massive production of “bevelled rim bowls” (BRBs). They are characterised by their similar shape and volume in Mesopotamia and surroundings. However, their production method has not been studied in detail, including the firing temperature. The determination of the firing temperature of ancient pottery has been attempted by studying mineral phase transformation sequences; although, very little knowledge exists about such transformations in mixtures or thermal analyses. These methods usually provide imprecise firing temperatures between 500 and 800 °C, as other factors such as the raw materials or firing time and conditions must be considered. As an alternative, luminescence techniques have been tested with promising results, as they have provided reliable maximum firing temperatures for ancient pottery at mild conditions (below 600 °C) with high precision. In this work, the firing temperatures of BRB samples from two archaeological sites located in the Middle Euphrates Valley (Syria) have been studied using mineralogical, chemical and thermal analysis. Both mineral characterization techniques and thermal analyses show agreement and firing probably below 600–700 °C. Luminescence yields ambiguous results but circumstantial evidence on the firing temperature between 400 and 550 °C.     

中国边境入境旅游的客流演化态势及其动因分析——新疆内蒙云南三省区的比较研究

边境旅游是在具有特殊区位和文化环境的边境地区开展的旅游活动,是国际旅游的重要形式之一。本文选取2000-2009年中国陆地边境省州市相关统计数据,采用入境旅游市场占有率、旅游资源丰度、旅游开放度、边境贸易比重和距离指数5个重要指标,应用矩阵分析方法,在对我国三个省区边境旅游发展及客流演化态势进行比较的基础上,对边境入境旅游及其影响因素进行深入分析,结果发现:旅游资源丰度、区位条件、经贸发展水平、开放度、可进入性等因素是影响边境旅游规模和类型的主要影响因素,现阶段我国边境省区各州市的边境旅游发展受贸易驱动明显,旅游资源丰度对边境旅游中的观光入境旅游者有较大影响,边境旅游也遵循距离衰减规律。在此基础上提出对我国边境旅游发展的启示,以期为沿边省区发展边境入境旅游提供科学依据和参考。     

遗产旅游真实性理解差异与遗产地管理

不同的利益相关者对遗产旅游真实性的理解存在差异,游客、居民、旅游经营者对遗产旅游真实性理解差异较大,并且有着各自的利益诉求.本文从遗产旅游与真实性的概念剖析入手,分析与比较和利益相关者的真实性概念理解差异,以及这种理解差异造成的遗产旅游地发展恶性循环,探讨了如何通过构建真实性的手段来管理遗产旅游地.     

‘The white woman's burden’ – the racialized,gendered politics of volunteer tourism

Talking about race in volunteer tourism is like breaking a taboo. By critically exploring the racialized and gendered politics of volunteer tourism from the perspective of the ‘white savior complex,’ we seek to open new avenues of discussion to break this silence. We employ a postcolonial feminist theoretical framework to analyze volunteer tourism. The meanings, practices, and policies of volunteer tourism development are informed by the racialized, gendered logics of colonial thought. If older colonial logics were predominantly masculinist, it considers the largely (white) women participants in contemporary volunteer tourism as a window onto current transformations in historic racialized and gendered logics. Colonial logics and discourses have shifted over time, from the erstwhile ‘civilizing mission’ to the subsequent mandate for development to contemporary depoliticized social causes such as ‘saving the environment.’ Volunteer tourism is an exemplar of this third discourse, as global North volunteer tourists, through their depoliticized logic of ‘saving’ and ‘helping’ the less fortunate others in the global South, inherits such distinctions and reproduces them further. Given the predominance of young white women in contemporary volunteer tourism, beyond these continuities, we also point to compelling shifts in this logic from the masculinism of historic colonial processes. We also highlight the religious dimension, how Christian ideologies which were so central to formal colonial processes continue to play an important role in volunteer tourism today. Future studies on volunteer tourism need to examine its emergence, growth, and popularity (with young white women in particular) from the perspective of historic and ongoing power relations having to do with race and racialized gender, which will enable a critical conversation on volunteer tourism that adds significantly to our knowledge of contemporary neo-colonial processes and their gendered dynamics.