Characterising and identifying gaps in sustainability assessments of tourism - a review

This paper highlights the main stages in developing a process of sustainability assessments in tourism (SAT) and applies a systematic literature review of empirical research based on pre-developed assessment categories. The aim is to characterise general approaches to measuring sustainability in tourism and to identify patterns and research gaps within these approaches. Four major assessment methodologies were identified through a hierarchical cluster analysis. Whereas new frameworks and indices explore new conceptual approaches to sustainability assessments, case studies and systems approaches rely on existing indicator work and create new assessment contexts. The literature review confirms the heterogeneity of these assessments, albeit without an overall sector-specific consensus. The results show that stakeholder involvement is not widely implemented in the indicator-selection process, and indicators are not linked to sustainability targets. The findings demonstrate that more effort is needed in relation to contextualising frameworks and assessment approaches, to foster target-oriented decision-making.     

旅游人类学视野中的"旅游文化"

旅游人类学是一门新兴的学科，是许多应用学科中的“后进者”。但是，旅游人类学对“旅游文化”的研究不仅成为该分支最具学科性的核心价值，也成了其他学科乃至决策部门关注的重要内容。本文试图对旅游人类学研究视野中“旅游文化”以及相关的问题作一些评述和分析，借此提出一些问题以期引起学界的注意和重视。这无论从学科的理论反思抑或是应用层面都是有益的。     

Sustainability Indicators for Tourism Destinations: A Complex Adaptive Systems Approach Using Systemic Indicator Systems

This article discusses the necessity for complementing linear sustainability assessment tools, which disregard the complex and dynamic nature of tourism, with complex adaptive systems (CASs) approaches. A methodological framework for the selection and evaluation of sustainability indicators for tourism destinations, the systemic indicator system (SIS), is proposed; this framework takes the interrelatedness of sociocultural, economic and environmental issues into account. The SIS methodology is tested using a case study of a holiday eco-village project near Lamington National Park in Queensland, Australia. The results show that tourism destinations need to be viewed and studied as CASs, and that sustainability indicator systems need to be applied in the context of an adaptive management approach. Special attention is given to the capability of the SIS methodology as a decision aid for resort developers and planners to improve the effectiveness of measures for pollution prevention and mitigation.     

Paths to success: Benchmarking cross-country sustainable tourism

Given the complexity of the issues surrounding the concept of sustainable tourism, the current paper tries to provide a unified methodology to assess tourism sustainability, based on a number of quantitative indicators. The proposed methodological framework (Sustainable Tourism Benchmarking Tool – STBT) will provide a number of benchmarks against which the sustainability of tourism activities in various countries can be assessed. A model development procedure is proposed: identification of the dimensions (economic, socio-ecologic, infrastructure) and indicators, method of scaling, chart representation and evaluation on three Asian countries. This application to three countries shows us that a similar level of tourism activity might bring on different sorts of improvements to implement in the tourism activity and might have different consequences for the socio-ecological environment. The heterogeneity of developing countries exposed in the STBT is useful to detect the main problem that each country faces in their tourism sector.     

基于《旅游学刊》关键词计量分析的旅游学科创新力及知识体系构建

既有研究有少量以关键词为研究对象来探讨旅游学科相关信息，然鲜见对学科创新力及知识体系演变与构建的研究。文章以《旅游学刊》2000—2014年载文的书写关键词为研究对象，运用文献计量可视化软件CiteSpace进行数据统计分析，结合内容分析，创新性地将学科创新力测评及知识体系演变结合研究。结果显示：（1）学科创新潜力、创新活力和创新保持力分呈变异V形和倒V形，除2000—2004年的创新潜力和创新活力变化稍大外，2000—2004年的创新保持力、2005—2009年及2010—2014年的各项创新力较为稳定；（2）学科知识体系演变由学科内容及方法的演变来展现，内容为数量-质量-精神层次的演变，方法为质性方法-量化方法-质与量结合的演变；（3）构建由研究内容、方法及目的3大部分组成的旅游学科知识体系框架。文章探讨以《旅游学刊》单一期刊为研究对象，理论建构依据的是“分析性归纳”，强调的是“典型性”，反映的是“高水准旅游学术刊物”这一同质化范围内。     

Social-ecological resilience and community-based tourism: An approach from Agua Blanca,Ecuador

Socio-ecological resilience (SER), as a theoretical framework, provides an original approach to the study of socio-ecological sustainability, affirming that sustainable development can only be achieved in sufficiently resilient socio-ecosystems. Sustainability is one of the major challenges facing tourism. Therefore, the exploratory application of this theoretical approach to tourist contexts could be particularly apt. Practically all current modes of tourist operation profess a commitment to sustainability, but this is much more significant in experiences of community-based tourism (CBT). This paper presents an ethnographic case study in Agua Blanca, an Ecuadorian community that engages in turismo comunitario, a community-based tourism development strategy. The study explores the expediency of studying socio-ecological resilience in tourist research and attempts to open up new pathways for analytical and methodological development.     

Sustainable hospitality: a meaningful notion?

This paper explores the concept of sustainable hospitality. The relevance and status of this area of enquiry are assessed by discussing the current status of the concepts involved. These discussions are then linked to progress made in sustainable hospitality both in research and practical applications in the hospitality industry. At least six principal schools of thought within hospitality are noted: hospitality science, hospitality management, hospitality studies, the “three domain school”, the systems thinking school and the pragmatic tradition. This complexity and lack of clear definition are problems. The differences between sustainability and sustainable development, and between weak and strong sustainability add further complexities. This paper shows that progress in both sustainable hospitality and tourism has been limited by these problems. A series of technical, ethical and commercial problems are discussed. However, while sustainable hospitality as a research area is still in its infancy, it is concluded that it is very relevant within the wider context of sustainable tourism research, based on its impact and its specific position within the social–ecological–economic systems under investigation. Key areas of future work are suggested, notably to better understand the impacts of hospitality on the triple bottom line, and to explore systems approaches towards implementation.     

Conceptualising overtourism: A sustainability approach

This paper conceptualises a new tourism phenomenon: overtourism. Conceptualisation is based on relevant tourism knowledge on sustainability and related responsibility. The proposed model, presented in concise pictorial form, brings together the tourism capacities of the ‘sustainability pillars’ as well as the novel ‘socio-psychological’ and ‘socio-political’ capacities. Ultimately, the model may assist in monitoring, diagnosing and influencing the risks of any unsustainable tourism situation. The proposed novel capacities add to growing academic call to revisit the contemporary academic and practical approaches to tourism and sustainability, based on its low efficacy in practice. Paper suggests to extend and update the existing sustainable tourism paradigm to encourage more sustainable tourism strategies, policies and their more effective implementation.     

International ecotourism and economic development in Central America and the Caribbean

Using annual data for the period 1995–2012 for seven Central American and Caribbean countries, six different open-economy growth models that allow for international (eco-) tourism are estimated using panel-data techniques. Two main results of the investigation are that international tourist arrivals per capita have a highly significant impact on real GDP per capita, and also that five different sustainability indicators interacted with international tourism have a positive impact on economic development. Furthermore, quantile regression shows that lower and medium income deciles of the population in particular benefit from international (eco-) tourism. The results are complemented by very similar findings for a set of 12 Central American and Caribbean countries using only two sustainability indicators, thus corroborating the validity of the specification. In addition, control variables are also generally significant and they feature the algebraic signs expected from economic theory.     

Sustainability performance assessment focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry in the Coral Triangle region

Coral reef based tourism in the Coral Triangle region is responsible for economic benefits but also for negative social and environmental impacts, thus an approach to evaluate this industry's sustainability performance would be valuable. We selected 10 key indicators, out of 681, that were directly relevant to the impacts of tourist activities on coral reefs in economic, social, environmental, and wildlife aspects of sustainability. Efficiency, inefficiency and overall models were developed to measure relative sustainability performance focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry for all six countries in the Coral Triangle, from 2008 to 2012. Our results showed that Indonesia had the best relative performance among countries in the region, followed in descending order by; Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Solomon Islands. Future plans to achieve higher performance by the tourism industry in each country can be made if a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is carried out.     

Cultural sustainability – a framework for Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a framework to assess the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia, which meets must take into account the protection of human rights, good self-governance, identity, control of land, the tourism product’s authenticity, and a market-ready tourism product. These criteria are specified by two indicators each. The cultural sustainability framework was generated by triangulating qualitative research methods like experts’ interviews, secondary research, and participant and non-participant observations. This paper is thus conceptual in nature and inductive in its approach. It partly leverages a collaborative approach, as it includes interviewees in an iterative research loop. Furthermore, the paper shows why cultural sustainability is a determinant of the success of Aboriginal tourism.     

Resilience and sustainability: a complementary relationship? Towards a practical conceptual model for the sustainability–resilience nexus in tourism

“Sustainability” has endured as an important concept for tourism scholars, and volumes have been written about how to achieve this holy grail of the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism destinations are often promoted as the ethical choice for discerning travellers, with some marketers taking full advantage of the widely acknowledged ambiguities implicit in the term. More recently “resilience” has generated appeal in the academic tourism literature as a term that might capture core aspects of sustainability, while acknowledging the considerable influences that multiple contexts have on the capacity of communities to adapt and ultimately sustain their tourism enterprises. The resilience concept encompasses an inclusive and integrative “social ecological systems” approach which gives it a firm interdisciplinary underpinning in its application in tourism. While in a tourism context sustainability and resilience are kindred terms, relatively little scholarly effort has been committed to a critical treatment of these concepts. Addressing this deficiency, we present a conceptual model to discuss the relationship between sustainability and resilience in tourism. Drawing on examples from New Zealand's nature-based tourism sector, this conceptual paper explores the insights that a critical treatment of the sustainability–resilience nexus might offer both academics and practitioners in the field of tourism studies.     

Developing a Surf Resource Sustainability Index as a Global Model for Surf Beach Conservation and Tourism Research

The growth of surfing activities and surf tourism has gained significant attention in the academia during the past decade. This paper is aimed at developing a framework of indicators and methods used in assessing the sustainability factors of surf sites. The research puts forward a Surf Resource Sustainability Index (SRSI) as a conceptual model to study the sustainability of surf tourism sites. The literature review, previous experience, and discussion with veteran surfers and scholars were used to develop indicators and determine their measurability and aptitude. Index pilot testing was carried out in Phuket, Thailand, where an emerging surf culture and tourism market segment add to the island's bustling economy and coastal resource-management issues. The case study underpins the importance of social, economic, environmental, and governance factors in the conservation process. The SRSI metrics provide a direct method for assessing surf sites and offer tangible benefits to surfers and other stakeholders.     

A hotel sustainability business model: evidence from Slovenia

This research explores and develops a hotel sustainability business model (HSBM) to study the sustainability orientation of the Slovenian hotel industry. Based on a comparative analysis of the existing sustainability and triple bottom line models, the usual content of a three-line HSBM (economic, environmental and sociocultural) was extended to include customer satisfaction, environmental education and power to implement changes. Financial, marketing and tourism sustainability experts investigated best practices in sustainability measurements and gathered appropriate sustainability indicators; expert opinion and the Delphi method refined and reduced an initial 79 indicators to 36 operational indicators, able to fulfil the HSBM's sub-categories within the extended triple bottom line. The HSBM's concept was used to study the sustainability of Slovenian hotel firms to reveal how important these indicators are for hotel managers and do they monitor them. Results indicated strong importance and measurement of economic and marketing indicators, such as profitability and customer satisfaction. Following the socialist tradition, companies recognise the importance of human resources, but the importance of environmental education and awareness building, biodiversity, and the establishment of partnerships with stakeholders to implement sustainable tourism development are neglected. Economic performance was, for example, monitored by 66% of respondents, environmental performance by 28% and social performance by 42%.     

Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study

Sustainability has become an important strategic objective for tourism destinations worldwide. All analytical tourism competitiveness models make direct or indirect positive references to sustainability. It is accepted that sustainable tourism can reduce resource costs and help create market differentiation. Nevertheless, it has traditionally been considered that, short term, sustainability measures can reduce profitability and compromise competitiveness. Debates on the progress, implications, and practicality of sustainable tourism remain open. The relationship between economic sustainability, and environmental and sociocultural sustainability, is a central but largely unresearched area for tourism scholars, especially at the macro level. This study explores that difficult but essential area, using the World Economic Forum's empirical evidence from 128 countries, backed by the economic data search tool of the World Travel & Tourism Council. It demonstrates that progress in tourism sustainability does not affect a country's main economic tourism indicators in the short term, and does not constrain profitability and competitiveness. It also finds that sustainable tourism is not a luxury that only rich countries can afford, nor should it prevent development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. An effective marketing and communication program about sustainable tourism is, however, found to be essential for economic success.     

Conceptualising a contemporary marketing mix for sustainable tourism

This paper outlines how marketing, though traditionally considered an enemy of sustainability, can play a role in implementing sustainable tourism. It notes the redefinition in 2007 by the American Marketing Association of marketing's aims to consider wider societal issues beyond those of clients and customers. It illustrates how the recognition of the importance of sustainable tourism at all scales of tourism activity provides marketing with an opportunity to pursue sustainability outcomes. We review the strategic tourism marketing planning process and conceptually develop a sustainability tourism marketing model that embeds sustainability considerations at each stage of the planning process. Our proposed model contributes to sustainable tourism theory development and offers a conceptual tool for managing a tourism organisation's ecological and societal footprint on the supply side and a critical opportunity for transforming consumer decision-making on the demand side, irrespective of tourism scale. A 30-cell matrix is proposed that cross-references a strong set of 10 marketing elements (product, price, promotion, place, participants, process, physical evidence, partnership, packaging and programming) against the questions posed by the triple bottom line of economic factors, the environmental and sociocultural concern, creating a check list of indicators for management purposes.     

Using multiple indicators to evaluate the sustainability of dolphin-based wildlife tourism in rural India

Abstract

Assessing wildlife tourism sustainability in developing countries is crucial, but few studies analyse the sustainability of dolphin-based wildlife tourism in this context. We measure multiple indicators within the human dimensions of wildlife tourism, including tourist visitation numbers, satisfaction, preferences, perceptions, background and specialisation, to ascertain the extent to which the dolphin-watching industry at Chilika Lagoon, in rural India might be considered sustainable. Our methods included participant observation, tourist surveys, and the use of secondary data on visitation over 10 years. We found that the growth rate of tourist visitation over 10 years was beginning to decline. Tourists were mostly inexperienced, and dissatisfied with their dolphin-watching experience. Tourist preferences and perceptions showed useful insights and shortcomings in the way in which the industry was being conducted and managed, and reflected the expectations of non-specialist visitors. Our study highlights drawbacks in the way that wildlife tourism is managed in a rural, developing world context, which draws the sustainability of the dolphin-watching industry in Chilika into question. Future development of an early warning system that addresses combined governance or managerial, social, economic and ecological indicators, and an integrated management plan for conservation and wildlife tourism could contribute to the sustainable management of such industries.     

Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism

The purpose of this study is to develop indicators to measure community tourism development (CTD) within a sustainable framework. In order to develop such objective indicators, this study employed a modified Delphi technique. A panel of 38 academic researchers in tourism provided input into developing the indicators. After three rounds of discussion, the panel members reached consensus on the following set of 125 indicators: political (32), social (28), ecological (25), economic (24), technological (3), and cultural dimensions (13) for CTD. This set of sustainable tourism indicators can serve as a starting-point for devising a set of indicators at the local and regional level. Further study shall develop a set of sustainable indicators relying on communities’ distinctive characteristics and employing indicator experts from the social and physical sciences and from all stakeholder groups, including residents of the host community, industry experts, government planners, policy-makers and non-governmental organizations [United Nations (2001). Managing sustainable tourism development: ESCAP tourism review, No. 22. New York, NY: UN].     

对旅游社会学理论体系研究的认识——兼评国外旅游社会学研究动态(下)

本文是一篇文献综述与理论归纳类文章。文章的第一部分展示了旅游社会学在国外的开展状况 ;综合评述了主要的思想流派、理论观点、学术著作以及代表人物 ,具体包括旅游社会学研究的发展演进观、新迪尔凯姆学说、冲突批评理论、功能学派、韦伯主义、形式主义 现象学和民族方法学派 ,以及符号互动主义等 7种理论流派。文章的第二部分尝试性地建构了旅游社会学研究的理论体系 ;内容包括旅游活动主体类型、旅游系统与发展范式、主客交往、旅游吸引系统特征、旅游影响与社会文化变迁及现代化 ,以及旅游现象的两重性等旅游社会学研究对象的 6大基本属性与范畴。文章对旅游社会学研究的方法、手段和视角也作了简要的讨论     

旅游发展、空间溢出与经济增长——来自中国的经验证据

针对传统经验研究文献忽视空间相关性而导致的研究结论偏颇问题,文章采用经济学较为前沿的空间面板计量方法,利用中国30个省份1999~2009年面板数据,实证检验了旅游发展与经济增长之间的影响关系。研究结果表明:旅游发展呈现出明显的空间自相关性,具有显著空间集聚特征,大部分省份处于高-高和低-低类型区;旅游发展对经济增长具有显著正向促进作用,传统面板回归模型没有考虑空间相关性,高估了这一作用;旅游发展对经济增长存在显著空间溢出效应,并具有较强的稳健性。