Using PP GIS interviews to understand residents’ perspective of European ecological network Natura 2000

ABSTRACT

Sustainable nature-based tourism was brought to the public's attention as a solution to the problem of economic diversification in Central and Eastern European (CEE) communities included in European Ecological Network – N2000. However, Natura 2000 tourism development has not yet proven to be an effective way to boost local economies and the notion of sustainable tourism based on Natura 2000 resources has been challenged by residents of the CEE communities. The study goal was to explore issues concerning Natura 2000 tourism from the perspective of local residents within three municipalities of Ma?opolska in Poland to determine if Natura 2000 is perceived by local residents as a valuable tourism asset. We employed a mix-mode methodology: an in-depth interview and public participation GIS mapping task. The study results highlight several areas of concern regarding resident perspectives of Natura 2000-based tourism: first, the misconception that residents need and want nature-based tourism when other economic activities provide sufficient income; second, the misconception that Natura 2000 is considered a valuable asset when other tourism attractions in a municipality attract more visitors; third, the residents misconception of nature-based tourism itself; and last but not least the importance of engaging with residents when assessing the potential for Natura 2000 tourism. These findings can assist policy-makers and tourism managers with prioritizing avenues for further action.     

World Heritage and Tourism Innovation: Institutional Frameworks and Local Adaptation

Abstract

The interest in heritage as a tool for destination development has recently been substantial in Sweden, especially when it comes to receiving World Heritage (WH) status. The possibility of using the WH brand in developing tourism products and marketing destinations has great potential for many heritage destinations. The aim of this paper is to discuss innovation processes within heritage tourism. The focus is on the role of WH status as a factor influencing innovative practices at different Swedish WH sites. This study uses qualitative methods, such as interviews and analysis of written material from five selected Swedish WH sites, with in-depth analysis of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun. To what extent does WH status change the preconditions for tourism development at WH destinations? What is the role of institutional frameworks in this process? This paper will show how WH may facilitate tourism innovation mainly through developing new products and marketing strategies, but also by institutional innovations concerning new forms of collaboration and networks.     

The value of community-based tourism in Banteay Chhmar,Cambodia

ABSTRACT

In the era of mass tourism, phenomena such as sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, rural tourism, eco-tourism, pro-poor tourism and community-based tourism are now increasingly under the research microscope. If established and managed correctly, these alternative forms of tourism have the potential to contribute towards sustainable community development and provide visitors with unique experiences. Few scholars have qualitatively addressed the growth of community-based tourism in South-East Asia. This study investigated the value of a community-based tourism project at Banteay Chhmar in north-west Cambodia, specifically the discourse of the project's members and the broader community. The objective of the study was to provide an ethnographic account of the community member's attitudes, opinions and beliefs concerning the perceived value and contribution of the project towards community development in their locality. The study initially relied on a literature review to conceptualise community-based tourism. Unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 30 stakeholders of the Banteay Chhmar Community-Based Tourism Project. A narrative identifies the development of the project and provides samples of the respondents’ discourses. Findings from a thematic analysis of stakeholder responses indicated support of tourism and the overall operation of the project. Opinions were divided concerning the future growth of tourism and likely negative impacts on resident livelihoods. While some felt the project was relatively insular and lacked transparency, most identified the project's value as enhanced social capital, pride and a better sense of community. The findings show the project has positively contributed towards community development; however, before it can be considered a best practice example of community-based tourism, its financial sustainability, business practices and community support need to improve. The overall study serves as a valuable insight into themes promoting the merits and complications of community-based tourism, specifically in South-East Asia.     

国内经济大循环与乡村旅游的适配性：内涵与研究框架

乡村旅游是实现新时代乡村振兴的重要突破口,国内大循环经济格局的新背景为我国乡村旅游提出了新挑战。本文立足国内大循环经济格局新背景,分析了其与我国乡村旅游发展的有机联系;从内循环带来的新市场格局、新资源模式和新发展需求出发,阐明了乡村旅游适配的必要性,梳理了内循环格局下乡村旅游和乡村振兴的逻辑关系,阐释了国内经济大循环与乡村旅游的适配性内涵;提出了乡村旅游适配性的研究框架,重点阐释了四个层级的研究问题,指出了具有潜力的理论创新,包括国内大循环驱动的乡村旅游适配的理论基础分析、乡村旅游适配性要素及其组合路径探索、国内大循环背景下乡村旅游供需结构变动、适配层级分析,以及国内大循环驱动的乡村旅游适配路径与模型构建。最终,研究指出了乡村旅游适配大循环的新领域,包括文旅融合的数字化发展、自然与人文的生态可持续发展、城乡与主客的协同创新发展、基于资源挖掘与品牌创造的差异化发展。     

Sport tourism and peace: crossing the contested wall

Abstract

Peace through tourism focuses on the place of tourism in promoting peaceful relations in positive multidimensional terms. Sport events are associated to tourism in that such events provide tourists with the opportunity to engage in friendly competition and social proximity brings local sport people, teams and communities in contact with societies from around the world. The main study aim is to examine and analyze how, why, under what circumstances, and to what extent a cross border sport tourism event can contribute to the promotion of a message of peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land. The case study examines the Bethlehem to Jerusalem Peace Run in which participants were Catholic Italian pilgrims, Israelis and Palestinians. The qualitative methodology includes several forms of mixed data collection: participant observation; content analysis of media documents, and in depth interviews based on a grounded theory approach. The in-depth interview questions to the organizers focused on understanding the challenges and implications of organizing the event, and the extent to which it was important and successful, in their estimation. Participants were asked about their feelings during the event and their estimation of its importance and success. In light of the study findings, a typological model was constructed of tourism-sport-peace relations against a background of conflicts and confrontations. The model illustrates that the elements are interrelated and encourage peace-promotion aspects in three dimensions: at the decision-making and governmental level in the organizational dimension; at the level of people’s feelings in the field in the social dimension; and in the positive media image that emerges in the media dimension, promoting positive coverage and a positive image. These insights and the proposed model should be considered for implementation in other areas of the world suffering from closed and hostile borders.     

知识型旅游目的地管理平台框架及其构建

旅游目的地的竞争力很大程度上依赖于信息如何通过基于ICT的基础设施和服务来满足相关利益方的需求。但是,在目前旅游目的地已积累了大量可用数据的情况下,这些有价值的知识却没有被很好的利用。旅游目的地的管理竞争力和组织学习可以应用商务智能的方法得到显著地提高。本文在总结国外文献与案例的基础上,提出知识型目的地管理平台的一般框架,并基于此框架,引入商务智能方法,构建了一个基于数据仓库的旅游市场决策支持平台,以期能够服务于旅游目的地的管理者的决策制定与专家学者的相关研究。     

Inclusive tourism development

ABSTRACT

In the light of growing inequality globally, it is important to consider how to make tourism, one of the world's largest industries, more inclusive. This concern is set in the context of, first, the growing use of tourism as a tool for social integration in Europe, not least in relation to making refugees welcome, and second, new expectations in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that development should be inclusive and that the Global North and the private sector will take more responsibility for this. We provide a definition and suggest elements of an analytical framework for inclusive tourism, and note where inclusive tourism sits in relation to other terms that engage with the social and economic development potentials of tourism. Elements of inclusive tourism are illustrated with reference to a range of examples from around the world. This illustrates how marginalized people might be ethically and beneficially included in the production and consumption of tourism. However, it also demonstrates how formidable the challenges are to achieve substantial social change through inclusive tourism given constraints both within the sector and in the wider political economy.     

Ecotourism,Poverty and Resources Management in Ranomafana,Madagascar

Abstract

This paper explores how the protection of natural resources is managed in Madagascar in order to understand how and why tourism development is part of the strategy to safeguard these resources. Based on a heterodox political economy approach and using documentary analysis as well as exploratory interviews, this paper focuses on the specific case of Ranomafana National Park showing how the environment, economic growth and poverty alleviation strategies are instrumental to a ‘development framework’ that envisions the rural poor population as a problem as well as a solution with respect to resource depletion. The analysis concluded that tourism is far from being an ‘axis of development’ for the Malagasy economy, and, thus, an insufficient alternative to address the destructive practices described in this paper. The case study shows that ecotourism creates few work opportunities for local people and does not absorb the job seekers who rapidly revert to survival techniques and anarchic use of resources, thereby threatening the integrity of the forest and the long-term survival of ecotourism activities. In this context, the place of tourism in general and of ecotourism, in particular, appears to have been highly exaggerated in Madagascar as the direct economic benefits of tourism at the local level remain minimal.     

Moral assemblages of volunteer tourism development in Cusco,Peru

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we develop a conceptual approach from which to examine the moral landscape of volunteer tourism development in Cusco, Peru. Drawing from recent work on assemblage theory in geography and tourism studies, we explore how assemblage thinking can facilitate new understandings of volunteer tourism development. Using assemblage as an analytical framework allows us to understand volunteer tourism as a series of relational, processual, unequal and mobile practices. These practices, we argue, are constituted through a broader aggregation of human and non-human actors that co-construct moral landscapes of place. Thus, reconsidering volunteer tourism as assemblage allows for more inclusive and nuanced understandings of how geopolitical discourses as well as historical, political, economic and cultural conjunctures mediate volunteer tourism development, planning and policy. Finally, this paper calls for further research that integrates assemblage theory and tourism planning and development.     

Wine tourism development in South Africa: a geographical analysis

ABSTRACT

Wine tourism, which is growing and developing on a global scale, is widely considered a driver of economic and social development in rural areas. Limited job opportunities and unemployment are prevalent in most rural areas, particularly in South Africa. In 2015, the South African wine industry generated close to 300,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. A geographical analysis of the development and current state of wine tourism in the region can assist in the country's efforts to develop a new strategy to enhance and preserve wine tourism in the future. Wine tourism development is analysed from a nodes, network and winescape perspective using the results from a national questionnaire survey. This mostly quantitative approach explains the wine tourism development over more than 40 years from a supply-side perspective including its wine tourism product portfolio and in terms of its physical footprint. Wine tourism development commenced from only three pioneer open cellar doors in 1971, to network formation of 21 wine routes and today boasting well-established wine tourism destinations. The Stellenbosch-Franschhoek-Paarl nexus emerges as South Africa's premier winescape, as being a well-established destination in its mature life cycle phase. Strong evidence of hierarchical differentiation between the wineries of the more established wine tourism regions has emerged. The impact of the wine tourism resorts on the smaller wineries has yet to be determined in the context of the resilience of the whole region. The development of wine tourism is also responsible for the transformation of rural landscapes and especially in the regions that have the most developed wine routes. These regions need higher-level protection (especially the cultural and natural resource bases) in the form of an ‘agricultural reserve’ or the declaration of a ‘national heritage site’.     

Evolutionary economic geography: reflections from a sustainable tourism perspective

ABSTRACT

Evolutionary economic geography (EEG) is receiving increasing attention from tourism geographers with over 30 publications explicitly incorporating EEG into tourism between 2011 and 2016. Many of these contributions are conceptual, which is not surprising given the novelty of EEG within economic geography, in general, and tourism, in particular. However, a sizeable number of these are built on detailed case studies, using EEG as an analytical lens rather than as a conceptual point of departure. Thus, many tourism researchers have found that EEG has great potential for understanding change in tourism destinations. In this Research Frontiers paper I critically reflect on this early research of EEG in tourism geographies from a sustainable development perspective. In the cases presented, EEG offers a fresh understanding of two related challenges in each of two separate aspects of sustainable tourism development. First, pro-growth governance models can be disrupted by engaged local stakeholders in order to make tangible sustainability gains but these gains remain precarious over time as pro-growth governance models prove tenacious in the very long-term. Second, regional institutional legacies hamper new path emergence in two ways – through institutional inertia which keeps the region's focus on past success in other sectors and through the (possibly competing) institutional imperatives of the dominant and emerging tourism sub-sectors or sub-regions. These challenges are illustrated through two complementary Canadian cases drawn from the extant literature – the mass tourism destination of Niagara and the resort community of Whistler. I highlight how a sustainable tourism perspective can also help to critique EEG theory and empirics in line with other recent political economy critiques in economic geography. I conclude that sustainable tourism, at its best, is an established reflexive lens which will help to develop, validate, and challenge aspects of EEG theory within tourism studies, in particular, and economic geography, in general.     

Delivering Integrated Rural Development: Insights from Northern Ireland

This article explores progress being made in the sphere of integrated rural development in Northern Ireland, based on the experiences of 15 LEADER II local action groups. Research suggests that the local action groups experienced difficulties in developing integrative and multi-dimensional approaches to rural development during the initial stages of strategy formulation. In addition there appears to have been an emphasis on delivering the products of rural development with little importance attached to supporting processes such as capacity building and animation. However, as the programme progressed, this article examines the potential added value of LEADER II in Northern Ireland as demonstrated by the enhanced scope for cross-sector dialogue and local collaboration rooted in partnership based activity.     

The political economy of dive tourism: precarity at the periphery in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Using a critical political economy approach and the concept of labour precarity, the international dive tourism industry in Sabah, Malaysia and its workers’ vulnerabilities are interrogated. Fieldwork data highlights dive tourism's socio-economic impacts and the precarity of labour within the international tourism sector and also critiques it as a development strategy for a peripheral region. The paper challenges the optimistic views of labour precarity found in the existing political economy literature. Rather than identifying labour empowerment, evidence demonstrates significant worker vulnerability, uncertainty, and contingency – especially among ethnic minorities – resulting from Malaysia's state-led rentier economy.     

Performance and visitors’ perception of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism

ABSTRACT

With the increasing commodification of cultural heritage induced by tourism development, the perception of a ‘real’ travel experience often depends on what is defined as authentic, original and local. Visitors are becoming increasingly concerned about the authenticity of eco-cultural tourism practices when they visit culturally and environmentally remote regions. The purpose of this study is to examine the role performance plays in visitors' perception of authenticity of eco-cultural tourism experiences. Various theoretical foundations and aspects of visitors' perceptions of authenticity in cultural heritage tourism are considered. A grounded theory approach based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with several categories of visitors including 25 clients from two eco-tours in South and Central Kazakhstan and 29 Free Independent Travellers (FITs) was adopted to identify visitors' perception of authenticity of various aspects of their tourism experiences and the attributes of the visitors' performative aspects of their travels. Results reveal that the performative aspects contributing to the perceived authenticity of the visitors' eco-cultural experiences are spontaneous, existential and reciprocal relationships with their hosts in intimate tourism encounters. The findings contribute to literature regarding authenticity and cultural heritage tourism by exploring new directions in which to apply the concept of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism experiences and by theorising the link between performance-based touristic space and the perception of authenticity. This space becomes a basis for interaction and social exchange within the host–guest relationship.     

Modelling tourism and hospitality employment clusters: a spatial econometric approach

ABSTRACT

Geographic clustering of industries for mutual economic benefit has long been recognised. The concept of ‘externalities’ introduced by Alfred Marshall early last century rely on agglomeration of specialised industry within a geographic area. However, only recently has cluster modelling been applied to the tourism and hospitality (T&H) industry. The aim of this paper, therefore, is twofold: first is to develop a cluster-based theoretical framework for delineating geographic boundaries of T&H clusters, and second is to identify the underlying factors that drive their form and shape.

Drawing on employment data as the basis for co-location of T&H firms, spatial econometrics techniques are applied to model the spatial clustering of T&H employment in Victoria, Australia. Results show that rural tourism regions have higher levels of employment in tourism operational services whereas employment in city-based regions is more concentrated in hospitality services. Our findings, when normalised as a percentage of total employment, show that rural and regional Victoria ranks most highly as employers in the T&H industry. Adopting a range of spatial metrics, we show that T&H clustering throughout Victoria is largely driven by six location-specific factors: (1) the availability of tourism attractions; (2) proximity to the coast; (3) the road density network; (4) accessibility to employment within the Melbourne CBD; (5) the scale of the regional economy; and, (6) the advantages and disadvantages associated with economic resources. We conclude that the cluster-led strategy pose a number of challenges for tourism planners to promote regional tourism. Nevertheless, results from this study indicate that T&H employment clustering creates a more cohesive spatial structure that could support economic development and better connectedness of tourism destinations. These clusters could act as service hubs to their wider catchment areas where visitors are encouraged to stay overnight and travel to specific sights during the day.     

Enclavic tourism spaces: territorialization and bordering in tourism destination development and planning

ABSTRACT

Enclave tourism is a growing field of research. In general, tourism enclaves are seen as products of global capitalism and a non-locally-driven neoliberal market economy. Enclaves also manifest certain kinds of tourism planning and development modes in destination societies. The enclaves are exclusively planned spaces that usually contain the vast majority of facilities and services needed for tourists who have limited possibilities or desire to leave the enclave. At the same time, the locals' access to these spaces can be limited or otherwise controlled. Therefore, there are always power issues and processes of inequalities and uneven development involved, which calls for a further understanding of enclaves and their evolution and governance in tourism planning and development. This paper aims to discuss and synthesize the conceptual idea of enclaves in tourism and get an overview of some of the key theoretical perspectives on how enclavic spaces are produced, bordered, and governed in contemporary tourism planning and development. It is concluded that in critical situations the enclave tourism spaces with all-inclusive products can turn out to be all-exclusive for local communities in development. To understand the nature and development of enclave tourism and to guide their transformation in more sustainable directions, further research on policy and governance aspects of enclave tourism is needed.     

Community,state and power-relations in community-based tourism on Lekhubu Island,Botswana

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of a study investigating power relations between the local community and the state in the rural tourism development process in Botswana. The study was carried out in Mmatshumu and Letlhakane villages of the Boteti sub-district in Botswana. These villages act as the administrative centres of a community-based culture and heritage tourism project at Lekhubu Island. The Island is, itself, located about 45 kilometres to the north east of these villages. A qualitative research approach, utilising seven focus group discussions with members of the community and 17 individual interviews with key informants was adopted. To understand the power relations between the state (through the TAC) and the local community, the study focused on; the extent to which members of the local community feel they control tourism development process in Lekhubu Island; perceived level of power yielded by the state in the tourism development process at Lekhubu Island as well as; the implications of power differentials between the state and community for tourism development at Lekhubu Island. The results show that, contrary to the popular narrative about devolution of power in community-based tourism, the state remains a very powerful player in the overall decision-making process. Furthermore, the formation of local management structures (i.e. Trust) appears to simply create new power nodes which in turn continues the same legacy of community disempowerment.     

Literature,crisis, and Spanish rural space in the context of the 2008 financial recession

ABSTRACT

The novelistic production related to the 2008 financial crisis has been partially studied from the lens of the label of “literatura de la crisis.” In this article, I analyze the complex and essential transformations suffered by literary writing practices in contemporary Spain where ill attention has been devoted to the social, political, and aesthetic implications of neoliberal globalization in rural areas. Departing from a thorough conceptualization of the notion of “literatura de la crisis” and its paradoxical impact over the most recent literary production, I study the rural discourse and the emerging academic challenges for the assessment of the rural experience in literary works. In conclusion, I set the main principles for the development of a transposable model of textual analysis that will shed new light on the cultural representation of the rural sphere in the aftermath of the 2008 financial recession.     

New Perspectives on Tropical Coastal and Island Tourism Development

Abstract

This special issue is presented as a thematic issue devoted to tropical coastal and island tourism. Included in the issue are articles on (eco)tourism in Madagascar, collaboration theory and tourism partnership models on an Indonesian island, development pressure and resilience on a Malaysian island, a survey of cruise passengers in Colombia, perception and limits to development in Costa Rica, and perception and reality on Pitcairn Island. Placed within theoretical or conceptual frameworks, these case studies can be applied to development challenges of tropical coastal and island destinations worldwide.     

Collaboration and Partnership Development for Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

For many years, the need to improve sustainability in the tourism industry has been widely recognized. Many destinations have attempted to move toward sustainability, but unfortunately, have been hindered in their attempts by a lack of collaboration among stakeholders that is necessary to support their sustainability agendas. Collaboration, specifically through multi-stakeholder partnerships, has been seen as an effective way to support initiatives in tourism development. Through the lens of Gray's collaboration theory and Selin and Chavez's tourism partnership model, the success of collaboration and partnerships in tourism development on the island of Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, will be examined. Through a multi-method approach consisting of an environmental audit and semi-structured interviews, this paper explores the implementation of a multi-stakeholder partnership. The partnership that has been developed, called the Gili Ecotrust, provides an example of successful collaboration, leading to the implementation of innovative sustainability initiatives on the island.