Tourism trails as tools for cross-border integration: A best practice case study of the Vennbahn cycling route

This paper evaluates which processes determine the leverage of cycling tourism trails for mainstreaming cross-border contact and ‘soft’ region-building. Reflecting on the Vennbahn between Germany, Belgium and Luxemburg, the paper shows that the influence of routes on cross-border integration depends on the trail’s strength as a tourism product, its cross-border institutionalization, and the geography and scale of the trail and the involved destinations. Tourism trails could contribute to cross-border integration, vindicating the substantial money spent on such projects in INTERREG programmes. However, border-related barriers remain robust even for tourism projects that are best practices of cross-border cooperation. As such, there is an unfulfilled potential of tourism trails in their contribution to cross-border communication and social cohesion in many European borderlands.     

Geopolitics and touristrategic borderlands: Balancing nationalism and globalisation in Hainan,China

Little consideration has been given to the contemporary spatial configurations emerging from the expanding intersection between tourism and geopolitics, despite tourism's increasing ubiquity and accelerating geopolitical tension. Using a conceptual case study of China's Hainan Province, this research addresses this gap by introducing “touristrategic borderlands” to describe evolving borderland locations where state governments negotiate a balance between forces of globalisation and nationalism, and hard and soft power, to achieve territorialisation objectives. Reflecting a critical geopolitics of the “everyday”, touristrategic borderlands combine domestic and international tourism with special autonomous zones, amenity and economic migration, connective infrastructure, and militarisation, selectively “weaponising” tourism as strategically warranted. The validity of touristrategic borderlands as a more generally occurring phenomenon is demonstrated by the identification of 12 other candidate locations where all core characteristics except weaponisation (two locations) are found. A transformative governance approach is advocated for dealing with the complexities of touristrategic borderlands.     

Governmentality and surf tourism destination governance

Abstract

Surf resources are critical to thousands of coastal communities as the natural resource base for many tourism services that spur development. There is, however, almost a total lack of formal surf-break management around the world, despite many surf resources becoming crowded, which leads to nuanced resource conflicts with social, economic and environmental implications. Managerial approaches and surf research, we argue, could become more effective by incorporating a nuanced understanding of the scales and process that govern behavior in surf tourism. This conceptual article first applies tourism destination governance (TDG) to outline the many stakeholders and scalar dimensions involved in governing surf tourism. To expand this normative analysis, Foucault’s governmentality framework is used to discuss different informal governance regimes (sovereign, disciplinary, and neoliberal) that conduct behavior at surf-breaks. The intersection of TDG and typologies of governmentality then help to discuss empirical cases demonstrating how governmentalities operating both at the surf-break and at wider scales, often overlap to either reinforce one another and powerfully condition behavior or compete and make governance ineffectual. This elaboration of surf tourism destination governance (STDG) opens up a new research agenda for surf tourism scholarship also applicable to other forms of tourism dependent upon contested natural resources.     

New Public Management in tourism: a case study of York

Issues concerning destination governance continue to engender much interest and debate in the development of more sustainable forms of tourism. This study explores the implications of a New Public Management approach to tourist destination governance in the historic City of York. Using secondary data, as well as drawing on interviews with a range of destination stakeholders, this study seeks to understand how market ideology is, via the notion of New Public Management, transforming tourism governance in the city. Rather than leading to greater levels of stakeholder engagement, the study demonstrates how the outsourcing of destination management functions to a private sector organisation has had the opposite effect, including a weakening of accountability and the widening of a democratic deficit. The paper provides a unique insight into how public policy discourses manifest themselves at the local level, with implications for tourist destination governance. A critique of New Public Management is offered which extends our understanding of tourism governance structures and stakeholder engagement, with implications for sustainable tourism development discussed.     

Community-Based Destination Governance in a Developing Economy: The Jamaican Experience

Utilizing a destination governance and social capital conceptual framework, the research examines opinions concerning goals and outcomes in regards to the Jamaican Ministry of Tourism's Ten-Year Master Plan to enhance tourism and increase shared governance. In addition to secondary sources of information, researchers use primary data obtained through an email survey sent to 540 Jamaican managers and executives, 18.3% of whom (n?=?99) completed the survey. Study findings may be deemed contrary to destination governance theory and best practices. However, upon closer examination, they are wholly consistent with theory and models that examine governance issues in developing nations. Arguably, Jamaica tourism may not be ready to fully embrace a network-based model of destination governance, but instead is in the process of evolving toward that model. The findings should be useful for the Jamaican and other developing nation's tourism industries. Further, it should spark discussion regarding governance differences between developing versus developed destinations.     

Cross-Border Destination Management Systems in the Alpine Region–The Role of Knowledge Networks on the Example of AlpNet

SUMMARY

The Alps are the focus of a wide-ranging discussion. Researchers, scientists, politicians, inhabitants, and people who earn their living in the Alpine region are all confronted with difficult challenges. The main topics are the development in the fields of nature, landscape, tourism and leisure, traffic and transport, and its consequences for the Alps as a living space and economic area. About 30 years ago, a cooperation of tourism and political authorities in 11 countries, regions, provinces, and cantons of Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Austria has been established. Due to globalization and changing traveling patterns, people have become more and more aware that a new international cooperation of the Alpine tourism regions in the field of destination management and marketing is required. This is necessary in order to react to market changes accordingly. This acknowledgment is instead of small and more or less independent and self-sufficient organizations. It also includes the collaboration concerning one of the most important resources of our time-knowledge-and the establishment of a network where it can be consciously managed.

The following paper shows the special qualities of networks, especially knowledge networks at the example of AlpNet. It consists of three parts. The first part deals with the change of Alpine tourism management and marketing, the second part discusses the necessities and challenges of a cross-border cooperation in tourism marketing with a special focus on networks and knowledge networks, and the third part presents the results of an empirical study explaining the problems and perspectives for developing knowledge networks of cross-border destination management in the Alpine region. As far as management and marketing of tourism destinations are concerned, it is shown what possibilities-yet what limits-may result in launching cross-border cooperation projects in the future. For decades cross-border cooperation was used for compensating existing competitive disadvantages on tourism markets. The example of the new project AlpNet shows how important cooperation and member-specific requirements are for tourism and other economic industries when it comes to the establishment of knowledge networks.     

Developing a holistic framework for analysis of destination management and/or marketing organizations: six Danish destinations

This paper presents a holistic framework for analysis of destination management and/or marketing organizations (DMOs) and explores how these work in a highly complex tourism environment. Six destinations are investigated through 61 qualitative interviews with representatives from tourism businesses and organizations. The analysis reveals a number of important factors, including whether the DMOs are focused on survival or development, on experiences or communication, and on internally or externally oriented governance. Finally, it reveals that Danish DMOs constantly negotiate between their various roles at the destination, creating discrepancies between ideals, goals and practices.     

The influence of the political environment and destination governance on sustainable tourism development: a study of Bled,Slovenia

In the context of sustainable tourism development, there are many studies about the exchange process between residents and tourism, yet this issue is practically unexplored with respect to the political environment of tourism. Therefore, this paper introduces and posits that the political environment is a necessary enabler for implementing sustainable tourism. The authors extend the established three-pillar sustainability concept by adding in the political dimension. Then they surveyed how residents' positive and negative perceptions of tourism impacts determine their satisfaction with life in the tourism destination and thus their support for tourism in their community. The model was empirically tested within the context of the long-established Alpine destination of Bled in Slovenia. The findings confirm the importance of the political environment and question the sustainability of Bled's tourism development. It is suggested that the community has relatively weak destination governance due to the underdeveloped political environment. The survey expands and deepens the tourism sustainability debate by adding in the political environment and how it relates to the emerging growth of research on destination governance. The proposed model can be adapted and applied to any destination in order to improve its governance, including the implementation of sustainable tourism development.     

Barriers to business relations between medical tourism facilitators and medical professionals

This paper examines facets of the developing business relations between two important actors in the supply-chain of transnational healthcare: medical tourism facilitators and medical doctors (MDs) practicing privately and internationalising their services. The empirical focus is Greece, an emerging destination for medical care. Drawing on the sociology of the professions as an analytical framework, rich qualitative data reveals a conflictual aspect in the relation between the two actors, and informs the literature on transnational healthcare of barriers to market development. Particularly, MDs practicing privately often resist what is perceived to be medical tourism facilitators' pressures to control the 'rules of the game' in the submarket which inhibits their collaboration. The paper contributes, thus, to the sociology of the professions by bringing to light a new challenge for MDs engaged in the transnational business arena, represented here by the facilitators; and encourages tourism practitioners to consider MDs' self-understanding, attitudes, and expectations.     

A holiday celebration in a binational context: Easter experiences at the US–Mexico border

As part of a larger research project examining cross-border culture in a recreational and tourism context, this brief research note describes how intangible heritage melds into Easter celebrations and provides some preliminary findings of interviews with borderlanders and their experiences with Easter memories. The Paso del Norte region of the US–Mexico border is composed of the Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) and El Paso and Las Cruces (USA) conurbation. Mexican culture with strong roots at north of the border, while American culture heavily influences the cities south of the line. There are five international border ports of entry, which have facilitated the growth of cross-border tourism and the flow of culture and ideas on both sides of the boundary. In this setting, the commemoration of ‘Bunny Day’, or Easter, has become an important borderland cultural phenomenon celebrated on both sides of the border at Chamizal Park in Ciudad Juárez and Chamizal National Memorial in neighboring El Paso, and has become a mark of local borderlands culture. This is unique to the Paso del Norte borderland, which is home to a highly conservative, Catholic society. It is a manifestation of blended American and Mexican religious holiday traditions that represent the US–Mexico border community     

Entrepreneurial reputation in destination networks

Only few scientific contributions have attempted to analyze the patterns of governance and major stakeholders in destination networks. This paper seeks to investigate the role of entrepreneurship in destinations with the major aims laying in the identification of relevant factors of destination governance and analyses of entrepreneurs’ impact on this process. Due to the great complexity of destination networks and the process characteristic of governance, a qualitative research approach was chosen. Case study research was conducted in four Austrian tourism destinations. Results unveil the importance of entrepreneurial reputation of actors, density of strong ties in the destination network and informal relationships between actors for destination governance. This paper concludes with recommendations for future research in the field of destination governance.     

A Multilevel Investigation of the Role of Retail Stores in Cross-Border Shopping

This study postulates that individual retail stores play a central role in attracting tourists to engage in cross-border shopping, and it examines both individual-level and store-level effects on cross-border shopping motives and behaviors. It proposes a framework of relationships leading from cross-border shopping motives to store outcomes and destination outcomes through the mediating roles of store loyalty program benefits and store shopping satisfaction. This study further examines the cross-level direct and moderating effects of store brand image. By using a multilevel design, this study seeks to better identify the role of retail stores in tourism shopping.     

政府角色定位对旅游治理的影响——以广西阳朔遇龙河景区为例

政府角色如何定位对旅游地能否实现可持续发展具有重要影响。文章以阳朔遇龙河景区为例,探讨其旅游地发展历程中政府角色定位的演变,解读不同阶段治理失灵的原因。研究发现:在旅游探查期,社区自主发展,政府基本缺位;在旅游参与期,政府以“规划者”角色介入,并主导运营管理,治理角色不中立,导致治理权威受损;在旅游大发展前期,政府治理目标部分错位加上在资源欠缺、政策准备不充分的情况下急于强制干预,最终导致治理失灵;在旅游大发展期,政府的治理能力和治理资源跟不上旅游规模的扩张,缺乏长效监管机制,难以实现有效治理。     

Determinants of tourism success for DMOs & destinations: An empirical examination of stakeholders' perspectives

What is tourism success? Specifically, what does tourism success mean for a destination as opposed to a destination management organization (DMO)? The main objectives of this study were to examine the concept of tourism success as it relates to both destinations and to DMOs, and to determine if a relationship or distinction exists between the two. Eighty-four (84) knowledgeable tourism managers and stakeholders from twenty-five (25) Canadian destinations were interviewed. Responses were used to identify variables and build a model that supports the existence of a relationship between the success of tourism destinations and DMOs with respect to community relations, marketing, and economic indicators. Unique to DMO success were supplier relations, effective management, strategic planning, organizational focus and drive, proper funding, and quality personnel. Unique to destination success were location and accessibility, attractive product and service offerings, quality visitor experiences, and community support.     

Monitoring tourists’ specialisation and implementing adaptive governance is necessary to avoid failure of the wildlife tourism commons

Wildlife tourism (WT) is an important economic sector globally, which can sustain national and local economies. These activities have been reconceptualised as consumptive because of their impacts on the wildlife, and the problem of managing WT as a common-pool resource issue. We use an individual-based model to simulate the dynamics of a WT destination in different development phases. We then ask if any of the governance structures commonly proposed to solve common pool resource issues are appropriate to sustainably manage a WT destination during its development. The level of specialisation of tourists visiting a destination can influence both the exploitation of the wildlife and the socio-economic success of the industry, and no single governance structure leads to sustainability in every stage of a WT destination lifecycle. Given the dynamics of WT destinations, an adaptive governance framework is crucial to avoid wildlife depletion and economic failure of the industry.     

Smart governance for heritage tourism destinations: Contextual factors and destination management organization perspectives

The sustainable development of tourism is a major concern for destination management organisations (DMOs) in heritage tourism. Smart tourism advocates claim that technologically-driven innovations can help DMOs to optimise tourism development by addressing issues such as carrying capacity, stakeholder management and community involvement. This study enhances the understanding of smart tourism governance (SG), showing how contextual factors affect DMO perspectives of SG. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate heritage tourism destinations in the United Kingdom. The results demonstrate that well-established DMOs do not perceive SG as potentially beneficial, as they already perform well in many areas in which SG promises improvements, such as citizen engagement, decision-making, and stakeholder engagement. Despite this, this research highlights the aspects of SG that these destinations can take advantage of as social inclusion, environmental performance and the provision of citizen-centric services. All of these can help heritage tourism destinations to optimise their tourism development. This research additionally demonstrates the effect of contextual factors, such as the level of public-sector support for tourism and the growing influence of non-tourism stakeholders in destination management, on DMO perceptions of SG and makes recommendations for how developments in the use of SG by DMOs can be made, in light of these.     

The sustainable integration of cultural heritage and tourism: a meta-study

This paper presents a cross-disciplinary thematic investigation into the relationship between cultural heritage and tourism. It systematizes evidence on concepts, policies and strategies and provides an interpretive synthesis illuminating the factors deemed critical by researchers for the sustainable integration of heritage and tourism. It seeks to find consilience to lead to a “new age of synthesis”. After an extensive literature review, 483 studies were selected and reviewed, assisted by a qualitative data analysis software (NVivo). The research followed the meta-synthesis approach, particularly meta-ethnography, of identifying findings, grouping findings into categories and grouping categories into synthesized findings, to produce a representative set of 15 synthesis factors. These include local involvement, education and training, authenticity and interpretation, sustainability-centered tourism management, integrated planning, incorporation into a wider sustainable development framework, controlled growth, governance and stakeholder participation, market and product diversification, suitable funding provision, international governance and support systems, a heritage capital approach, effective site management, destination management and a sound theoretical/methodological base. These 15 factors are suggested as the fundamental components of a more efficient theoretical frame and evidence-based policy in the fields of cultural heritage and tourism, aimed at achieving sustainability.     

边境旅游研究进展与启示——以SSCI论文为例

边境旅游是促进区域一体化发展和强化跨境旅游合作的主要手段,深入分析国际边境旅游研究脉络与研究热点,对促进富民兴边、睦邻安邦及对接国际国内旅游“双循环”具有重要借鉴意义。本文以1995—2021年发表的1 124篇SSCI英文文献为基础,对边境旅游研究领域的时间分布、关键词突现、聚类特征等进行可视化分析。研究发现,英文文献中对边境旅游的研究可分为起步阶段、发展阶段与创新阶段;主要研究议题包括边境旅游吸引物、边境旅游影响、边境旅游安全及跨境旅游合作;边境旅游研究趋势发生两大转变,一是研究视角从单一向多元转向,二是理论探索从功能说向效应说深入。建议国内对边境旅游的研究应结合国家战略拓展边境旅游研究议题,强调中国边境旅游特色的同时贡献“中国智慧”。     

Transnational World Heritage, (meta)governance and implications for tourism: An Italian case

Transnational World Heritage Sites foster international cooperation, with implications for tourism systems within and across State Parties. This work analyses the metagovernance of the Italian portion of the Prehistoric Pile Dwellings, a serial transboundary site. The results indicate that there are specific governance and metagovernance failures due to issues in the Italian system, notably the overly hierarchical structure for heritage policy. The clash between governance modes results in an ineffective decision-making structure, at the national level, laden with ‘red tape’. Thus, there is a need for more networked modes of metagovernance in order to improve the efficiency of the Italian site management as well as the complicated process of transnational World Heritage metagovernance and its application to national governance structures.     

旅游公共服务的理论认知与实践判断——兼与李爽商榷

在中国旅游市场呈现出大众化、散客化、常态化的新趋势下,旅游公共服务体系成为影响游客满意度和目的地竞争力的关键因素。由于旅游业在中国长期被作为高度市场化的经济产业看待,人们对旅游公共服务体系建设的依据和重要性缺乏认识,因而在理论研究和实践探索中均出现不少问题。文章检视了已有研究对于旅游公共服务理论认知的相关论点,着力分析了李爽等的旅游公共服务论所存在的核心概念认知矛盾、理论理解和实践判断偏差问题。在此基础上提出了笔者对于旅游公共服务的理论认知,从5个W和1个H的角度阐述了旅游公共服务的内涵、外延、属性、服务的对象与供给主体、供给机制与时空条件。文章认为,旅游公共服务的主体内容体现为旅游基础设施、目的地推广、旅游权益保障三大方面;其本质是公益性服务,服务供给机制和方式的多元化并不等同于责任提供主体的多元化;旅游者的共同需求和目的地公共利益的性质及其客观存在,决定了旅游并非纯粹市场化领域,政府提供旅游公共服务是正当的,也是应该的。当下中国旅游公共服务的主要问题不是过多,而是欠缺与低效并存。旅游行政部门虽然承担着最大、最多的公共服务职能,但对这一职能的性质、内容和功效的认识并不到位,与旅游者的期望和需求还有较大距离。