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.     

Developing a system of territorial governance indicators for tourism destinations

There have been numerous previous attempts to develop indicator systems of sustainability in tourism destinations, but fewer in terms of territorial governance. The present article addresses the design of a System of Territorial Governance Indicators for Tourist Destinations. The proposed system is based around the roles of the public administration, tourism businesses and the local community. It enables the incorporation of the territorial governance perspective into sustainability and gauges destinations’ evolution over time, whilst also allowing any planning and management problems that require improvements to be easily detected. The paper presents a case study: Conil de la Frontera (Andalusian Atlantic seaboard, Spain). Forty-three indicators are used in a multicriteria decision analysis support method (scoring) with the five sub-system Analytical Hierarchy Process: quality of participatory process; effective policy tools and planning controls; trust in local government; tourism business sector; and growth management and urbanism. Applying this Indicator System can lead to better territorial governance and successful sustainability of destinations.     

Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: Monitoring local government planning under the Resource Management Act

In the light of the increasing pace and scale of tourism activity in New Zealand, the concept of sustainable tourism has become a key ingredient in the nation's tourism strategy. This paper explores sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand at the level of local government, and in particular, focuses on the implementation of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) as a mechanism for achieving sustainable tourism. Using the findings of a survey of Regional Councils and Territorial Local Authorities, the paper explores public sector planning responses to tourism impacts and sustainability concerns in New Zealand. The paper extends the earlier work of Page and Thorn (1997. Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: public sector planning responses. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 5(1): 59-77; 2002. Towards sustainable tourism development and planning in New Zealand: the public sector response revisited. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 10(3): 222-238), which identified major issues of concern at local council level with regard to tourism impacts and argued the need for a national vision for tourism to ensure that the RMA achieved its original goals. Since then, a national tourism strategy has been published and changes in legislation have further empowered local authorities to further progress the sustainability agenda. This paper examines these developments and the ensuing implications, concluding that significant progress has been made in developing tourism policies at the local level, but that a number of constraints and issues limit the development of New Zealand as a sustainable destination.     

COVID-19 and Africa's aviation and tourism sectors: A new agenda for the future?

Although the impact of COVID-19 is inordinately enormous, there remains a lack of attention to the new governance architecture, the African Union High-Level Task Force (AU-HLTF), in Africa's aviation and tourism sectors in its wake, which this paper primarily examines. We foregrounded governance themes of political economy within the African Union High-Level Task Force (AU-HLTF) through secondary data, observing 90 key industry leaders and 10 purposively sampled semi-structured interviews. We found the insignificant priority in tourism restart via LCCs first, the incongruent holistic relationship between the restart of the aviation and tourism sectors. Secondly, the historical-geographical material relationships within the new governance framework. Thirdly, the AU-HLTF intervention is actor-biased towards the aviation sector and rooted in path dependency. A hierarchical-mixed market governing typology we propose by arguing is a steering mechanism of public sector reform that alternatively reboots a balanced path towards sustainability by prioritizing intra-tourism promoted by low-cost carriers.     

Promoting sustainable tourism in an urban context: Recent developments in Malaga city,Andalusia

The term ‘sustainable tourism’ is rarely used within a specifically urban context yet the concept is as equally applicable to city‐based tourism as it is to rural areas. This paper explores recent attempts to promote sustainable tourism in the city of Malaga, southern Spain and examines the ways in which the activity of tourism is being more closely integrated with other facets of the city's economy and life. Rather than seeing tourism as a ‘separate’ and ‘exotic’ activity, the city authorities are attempting to use tourism in a creative way. It is argued that it is this very integration which constitutes one of the main features of ‘sustainability’ within an urban context. Specific examples of the kinds of strategies being pursued are examined and the paper concludes with a critique of these initiatives from the perspective of the debate on sustainability.     

Analysing stakeholders’ perceptions of golf-course-based tourism: A proposal for developing sustainable tourism projects

Social interpretations of the impact of development on territories differ according to the socio-political positions of different actors, and especially depending on the degree of power wielded by each actor. These interpretations should be taken into account if the governance of development projects is to be improved, and with it, the sustainability of tourist projects in general. This paper examines a range of stakeholders' perceptions of the impacts of a golf-based tourism development in the south-west of Spain. A mixed methodology is used to analyse the results, highlighting the significance of a social impact assessment. Our findings confirm two differing discourses, one corresponding to influential actors and the other to non-influential, showing unequal degrees of variety and complexity in their argumentation and a clearly distinct capacity for shaping the local socio-environment. Our conclusions indicate that the impact of tourism development is perceived differently in line with stakeholders’ socio-political positions.     

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。     

旅游公共服务质量的提升:游客导向和创新导向的驱动作用

在将旅游业发展成为国民经济的战略性支柱产业和人民群众更加满意的现代服务业的过程中,旅游公共服务发挥着重要作用。对于政府管理部门内部有哪些因素会促进旅游公共服务质量的提升,学术界鲜有实证研究。本文从旅游行政管理部门的角度出发,构建了游客导向、创新导向、跨部门协调对旅游公共服务质量的影响模型。对广东省32个主要客源市场的旅游行政管理部门的309位工作人员进行了问卷调查,探讨旅游公共服务质量提升的驱动因素。结构方程模型结果显示,游客导向、创新导向和跨部门协调都有助于旅游公共服务质量的提升,跨部门协调中介游客导向对旅游公共服务质量的影响。本文在理论上弥补了旅游公共服务质量前因研究的空白,对旅游行政管理部门如何更好地提升旅游公共服务质量具有借鉴意义。     

Networking for sustainable tourism – towards a research agenda

This paper proposes a research agenda for networking for sustainable tourism research based on a collaborative workshop of international tourism academics and researchers and an extensive review of the relevant literature. Each year, Building Excellence in Sustainable Tourism – an Education Network (BEST EN) holds a Think Tank on a topical issue in sustainable tourism education. One aim of the Think Tank is to develop a relevant research agenda that draws on the collective knowledge of participants and acknowledges the interdependent economic, environmental and social objectives in sustainable tourism. Six main areas were identified as important for a research agenda on networking for sustainable tourism and its implementation: theory, methodology and conceptual issues; actors, culture and power; lifecycle, evolution and dynamics of networks; knowledge transfer; macro-perspectives and strategic action, vision, innovation and management of networks. This paper presents and discusses these research themes in the context of a literature review on networks and networking for sustainability in tourism. It is found that substantial progress has been made in the investigation of private sector networks at the destination levels; research on networks involving public sector stakeholders and networks across sectors and levels of governance, however, remains limited.     

Tourism,Urban Governance and Public Space

Abstract

This paper considers the relationship between tourism development, urban governance and urban public space. It focuses on the way that ‘new urban governance’ mediates the activities and interests of mobile capital and consumption on the one hand, and the spaces of everyday life on the other which are increasingly subject to ‘urban renaissance’ strategies and spectacularizations as tourist attractions. By drawing on research undertaken in York, England, the paper illustrates the socio‐spatial issues at stake for urban centres that have used tourism and culture as major drivers of economic development. Finally, it challenges the axiomatic status of the local/tourist dualism in various tourism management discourses as being inadequate for understanding how tourism articulates with socio‐spatial mobility generally, and how this raises difficult issues in relation to urban citizenship and the governance of urban public space.     

Quality-of-life indicators as performance measures

This paper makes an argument supporting the notion that quality of life (QOL) indicators can also be treated as performance indicators, independently or in nested forms with conventional performance indicators in tourism. QOL indicators are reviewed and discussed in relation to three selected stakeholders, namely tourists, residents of host communities, and employees of tourism and hospitality firms. Specific examples of QOL indicators are described with case illustrations. The paper argues that there is a reciprocal relationship between conventional performance measures and QOL indicators. QOL indicators assist not only in gauging the level of destination competitiveness but also in ensuring sustainability of efficient and effective use of resources.     

旅游上市公司董事会治理对经营绩效的影响——基于非平衡面板数据的分析

董事会作为公司治理的核心,是影响企业绩效的重要因素,对旅游上市公司的可持续发展具有重要意义。制订科学、完善的监管制度并严格执行,是上市公司防止"一股独大"与"内部人控制"等现象产生的重要途径。因此,建立科学合理的董事会成为现代公司治理的必然要求。文章选取2004—2012年间16家旅游上市公司为研究样本,以董事会规模、董事会会议频率、前三名董事薪酬、独立董事比例、执行董事比例和董事长与总经理两职合一为董事会治理变量,运用主成分分析法计算我国旅游上市公司经营绩效指数,利用非平衡面板数据建立计量经济学模型,采用混合最小二乘法对我国旅游上市公司董事会治理与经营绩效的相关性进行实证研究。研究发现,我国旅游上市公司董事会规模与经营绩效之间存在显著的倒U形曲线关系,执行董事比例对企业业绩有显著的促进作用,前三名董事薪酬、独立董事比例和董事长与总经理两职合一对经营绩效有消极影响,而董事会会议频率对经营绩效无显著影响。     

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.     

新时期中国旅游规划创新

随着中国旅游业的迅猛发展,对旅游规划进行系统、全面、深入的探讨和创新已迫在眉睫.旅游规划创新应包括理论创新、内容创新、技术创新、人才创新和组织创新等5个方面.作者认为,基于学科交融、古今贯通和中西互鉴的大融合是旅游规划创新的必然方向,旅游规划应该发展成为系统集成规划、协调性规划、动态规划和开放式规划.     

投资战略、治理机制与旅游企业融资成本

中国旅游企业普遍存在融资难、融资成本偏高问题,这严重影响了旅游企业的生存、发展与扩张。为此,迫切需要科学探究旅游企业融资成本的影响因素,并采取相应治理措施以降低融资成本。文章以公司治理视角为切入点,立足于旅游业区别于其他行业的特殊性,利用我国旅游上市公司的财务统计数据,实证检验了旅游经营环境、旅游企业投资战略、治理机制对融资成本的影响效应。研究结果表明:旅游企业债务融资成本小于股权融资成本,旅游企业应充分利用经营权和用地使用权质押贷款等多元化债务融资方式。投资战略方面,旅游需求波动性和非旅游相关多元化战略会提高融资成本,旅游企业投资方向应为相关多元化/并购,投资项目应能降低旅游收益波动性。治理机制方面,信息披露与法律保护机制能降低融资成本,股权结构与融资成本存在倒"U"形关系,而高管激励机制则会提高融资成本,旅游企业应建立科学的股权结构和董事会治理机制,构建多层次高管薪酬体系和信息披露制度,完善品牌投资战略以实现品牌质押融资。     

亚太地区野生生物旅游的可持续发展实践与挑战

野生动物旅游主要基于生物多样性热点地区和标志性物种进行。亚太地区的野生动物旅游已经很受欢迎,预计在新冠肺炎疫情之后还会继续发展。本文为野生动物旅游的可持续发展提供了一系列建议,讨论了在野外观赏野生动物的准则以及植物和真菌观赏的可能性。野生动物旅游的优秀实践标准包括有效的保护区管理、健全的环境政策、控制旅游人数的增长、管理过度拥挤、导游培训、关注动物福利和监测旅游对野生动物的影响等,野生动物旅游的适当推广和营销也需要加以考虑。野生动物旅游的主要挑战包括对大环境的保护不到位,对实现可持续发展要求的误解,以及公园管理者和旅游经营者对游客管理的不足。新冠肺炎疫情的出现为野生动物旅游的影响研究提供了一个契机,反思以前的野生动物旅游业务并在未来维持并改进野生动物旅游。     

Measuring institutional thickness in tourism: An empirical application based on social network analysis

This article uses social network analysis to measure institutional thickness in a regional tourism destination in Colombia. Through the analysis of 107 institutions, the empirical findings show that the configuration of formal interaction spaces determine the governance system of the destination turning certain institutions into hubs or authorities. The contribution of this research is two-fold. Firstly, it provides a new approach to the study of institutional thickness by applying a social network analysis methodology making possible to identify the components theoretically defined such as the role of institutional presence, levels of interaction, structures of domination, and common agendas in tourism. Secondly, it highlights the importance of understanding the role of the regional institutional environment and the governance framework of tourism destinations to better plan and manage their dynamics and effects.     

Boundary-work and sustainability in tourism enclaves

Tourists, workers, and business owners from diverse cultural backgrounds and social positions meet at tourism enclaves. Yet, the spatial layout of most enclaves encourages segregation instead of celebrating and benefiting from this diversity. This paper examines the genesis of enclave tourism boundaries. It proposes boundary-work as a sustainability practice to work out segregating propensities, and transform exclusionary boundaries or make them more permeable. Life story interviews in a Mexican Caribbean enclave revealed segregation's appalling consequences for workers, implicit costs for business owners, and the personal involvement of tourism actors in historical struggles over boundaries. This analysis constitutes a first step to untangle exclusionary propensities and render tourism boundaries more workable from a sustainability governance perspective. The paper explains the need for sustainable tourism research that identifies opportunities to: (1) address traumatic experiences born of discriminatory practices, (2) turn adversarial emotions between workers and business owners into productive collaborations across boundaries, and (3) challenge power asymmetries by providing tourism actors with knowledge about the physical, symbolic, and imaginary dimensions of boundaries. It concludes that the influence of any individual agent is profoundly limited; the transformation of long-standing boundaries demands a deliberate reformulation of sustainable tourism as a multi-dimensional decolonizing force.     

Towards adaptive tourism areas? A complexity perspective to examine the conditions for adaptive capacity

Tourism area development is affected by the competitive global tourism industry and the complex, multilevel dynamics of the contemporary network society. The strategic planning and governance challenge is stimulating tourism areas to become adaptive areas, being capable of responding to changing contexts in order to maintain or improve the performance of these areas as competitive tourism destinations. This article examines conditions for “adaptive tourism areas”. It does so on the basis of a complex adaptive system (CAS) perspective on tourism area development. The perspective is used to conceptualise tourism areas as complex and potentially adaptive systems, and to discuss how tourism area development can be understood as a multilevel, co-evolutionary and path dependent process. Furthermore, the CAS perspective is used to draw attention to the importance of a degree of diversity in terms of tourism products, experiences and firms. Encouraging a degree of diversity requires among other things interconnectivity among actors to ease communication and coordination, (policy) experimentation for niche-innovations, learning and reflexivity. The article ends with a discussion on the potential of, and constraints on, pursuing adaptive tourism areas from a strategic planning and governance point of view.     

Tracking the concept of sustainability in Australian tourism policy and planning documents

In the current climate of intense turbulence, tourism must transform to a more sustainable development platform. Yet it remains unclear how the concept of sustainability is embedded at different levels of government policy and planning, and how this has evolved over time. This paper identifies the concept of sustainability as it is articulated in 339 Australian tourism strategic planning and policy documents published between 2000 and 2011. The paper examines the extent to which the concept of sustainable tourism is evident in the discourse of Australian tourism strategic planning documents at the national, state, regional and local levels, as well as the balance of the discourse in relation to sustainability objectives. The results show that the frequency of occurrence of sustainability as a concept has slightly increased in strategies over the past decade. At the same time, there has been a shift in the conceptualisation of sustainability, with thinking evolving from nature-based, social and triple bottom line concepts toward a focus on climate change, responsibility, adaption and transformation.