Coastal tourism and shoreline management

This paper examines the environmental factors and the policy framework that have driven new approaches to shoreline management since the mid-90s, and how they interact with tourism development. The paper argues that resorts in the rejuvenation stage have limited options for coastal defense strategies due to the value of their economic (built) assets, unless redevelopment allows coastal re-alignment, while resorts placed earlier in the cycle can implement more sustainable strategies that work with the “natural” environment. However, environmental quality is not coupled to resort cycle stage. It can be enhanced at any stage, but especially so in the earlier and late (rejuvenation) stages.     

Domestic tourism as a development factor

Archer, Brian H., “Domestic Tourism as a Development Factor”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 1, January/March 1978, pp. 126–141. Domestic tourism brings about an intermingling of people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds and also a considerable redistribution of spending power. Although this paper concentrates mainly upon the economic effects created by the growth of domestic tourism and is illustrated by reference to some recent case studies, attention is also drawn to the favorable and unfavorable political, social, cultural, moral, environmental and conservational aspects of domestic tourism. The paper concludes by discussing some ways in which domestic tourism can provide an impetus to further economic growth in the holiday regions and also how domestic tourism may assist in solving some of the problems facing a country's international tourism.     

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.     

The relationship between tourism,CO2 emissions and economic growth: a case of Mediterranean countries

This study explores the impact of tourism on economic growth considering CO₂ emissions utilizing panel data techniques for a sample of Mediterranean countries. The cointegration tests reveal that there is a positive long-run equilibrium between tourism, CO₂ emissions and economic growth. This positive long-run relationship may suggest that tourism increases the level of CO₂ emissions and has a statistically significant impact on economic growth in Mediterranean countries. Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (2011. Testing for Granger causality in heterogeneous mixed panels. Economic Modelling, 28(3), 870–876.) test results reveal that the tourism-led growth hypothesis, which suggests that tourism contributes to economic growth, is valid for Egypt, Italy, and Spain. Additionally, there exists a bidirectional relationship between tourism and economic growth both in Morocco and Turkey.     

The multiple logics of tourism development in China

It has been widely demonstrated and accepted in the sustainable tourism literature that tourism development involves multiple stakeholders. However, little research has been conducted to examine the logics guiding and explaining the behaviours of the stakeholders in tourism development. Guided by the institutional logics perspective and stakeholder theory, this study identifies the logics of different stakeholders in China's tourism development through fieldwork in two tourism development cases (Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay) in Hainan Province and content analysis on secondary data from multiple sources. The logic of pursuing political legitimacy, the logic of fiscal income maximisation, the dual logics of the market and politics, and the logic of pursuing economic benefits were identified to be the dominant logics driving the behaviours of the central government, local government, tourism enterprises and local communities, respectively, in China's tourism development. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of tourism development in China.     

Capacity to absorb tourism: Concepts and implications for strategic planning

The concept of capacity to absorb tourism has received considerable attention, but measures of capacity have seldom been applied to tourism plans. This void can be attributed to varying interpretations of the meaning of capacity, the complexity of assessing and predicting impacts, and opposition to the imposition of limits on growth. In this paper, different interpretations of tourism capacity are discussed, including inherent assumptions and potential applications. It is concluded that the concept can best be applied in a systematic planning process which includes no a priori assumption of optimality or ultimate limits on growth or change. A strategic planning model is recommended which includes the establishment of goals, ongoing evaluation of impacts, and the optional use of limits.     

Market\industry confusion in tourism economic analyses

It is common to read reference to the tourism industry in scholarly works, but attempts at describing or defining tourism as one are not without difficulties. This paper considers whether, given the economic definition of industry, tourism can be called as such. Moreover, the paper offers a clarification of the distinction between the concepts industry and market and how they may be used in the economic analysis of tourism. Definitions of these two notions, extracted from the relevant economic literature, are suggested. Tourism cannot be defined as either an industry or a market. Clarification of this confusion has important implications for economic analysis in this field.     

Research priorities in park tourism

Park tourism is a large and important activity on which a substantial body of research work has been published. This paper reviews that work in the light of the issues now faced by parks and park tourism, and argues that there are significant research gaps that urgently need additional work. The paper outlines 10 such areas, including: visitor use monitoring; park tourism economic impact monitoring; park finance; professional competencies for tourism management; building public support; visitor satisfaction; licenses, permits, leases, and concessions for tourism; pricing policies; management capacity; and park tourism governance. The paper suggests that work in these areas is so important that the long term political and social relevance, effective management and sustainable future of many parks and protected areas depend on the results. It points to the park creation phase being over after about 150 years of growth, and the need to move more effectively into the long-term management phase. A number of key questions arise. The numerous parks must fulfill their conservation mandate and they must be financially secure. They almost certainly must forge links to tourism, yet not be dominated by tourism's demands, creating, therefore, a new and sustainable research-based relationship.     

Degrowing tourism: rethinking tourism

Abstract

Concerns with growth have steadily advanced since the Limits to Growth report due particularly to human impacts on the natural environment. Since that time, neoliberal capitalism has become increasingly reliant on growth exacerbating these problems. The destructive outcomes of these strategies has led to a growing interest in degrowth. Analysts are examining how we can create economies that eschew a growth imperative while still supporting human thriving. Tourism as a key facet of capitalism is implicated in these issues and recent concerns with “overtourism” are only one symptom of the problem. This article presents a conceptual consideration of issues of degrowth in tourism. It examines current tensions in international mobility and argues just and sustainable degrowth will require greater attention to equity. This analysis suggests that essential to such an agenda is redefining tourism to focus on the rights of local communities and a rebuilding of the social capacities of tourism. This article argues for the redefinition of tourism in order to place the rights of local communities above the rights of tourists for holidays and the rights of tourism corporates to make profits.     

Valuation of nature-based tourism resources using dichotomous choice contingent valuation method

The purpose of this paper is to measure the potential revenue from nature-based tourism resources in the environmentally sensitive area of Mt Minju, South Korea. A dichotomous choice contingent valuation method was employed to estimate the mean willingness-to-pay, contingent on a hypothetical market scenario. The empirical results show that the economic value of nature-based tourism resources was estimated at 5905 Won (ca US$ 7) per visitor. This implies that the significant economic value of natural resources will be lost from any large-scale development by degrading natural environments. In addition to the value of natural resources, nature-based tourism also provides the locally owned small tourist businesses with lower leakages than the externally owned large-scale ones. Low leakage implies that local residents gain more direct income from nature-based tourism.     

Reimagining Chinatown: An analysis of tourism discourse

Ever since Chinese immigrants began to move into big North American cities in the late nineteenth century, their ethnically segregated neighborhoods have been referred to as Chinatown and layered with negative and demeaning imagery. Through an analysis of the discourse circulating in neighborhood tours organized by the Chicago Office of Tourism, this paper illustrates how current tourism representations of Chicago's Chinatown are constructed through a process of negotiation with the infamous past imagery of this ethnic enclave. The paper identifies two discursive themes that work to exoticize this neighborhood, while simultaneously attempting to render it familiar and comfortable for tourists. It is argued that such an analysis illuminates how the process of touristification is governed by an ideological shift toward diversity in the globalized city. Moreover, it also illuminates the ways that present tourism discourse, which is produced within an ideological milieu that is celebratory of diversity and multiculturalism and within a political–economic milieu that recognizes the marketability of diversity, draws upon traditional characterizations of Chinatown as Other, while reconstructing this Otherness in a way that appears friendly to tourists. It thus contributes to our understanding of how discourse about an ethnic urban enclave evolves with changing ideological and political–economic conditions, such that traditional imagery is both reinforced and revised.     

Nature tourism trends in Australia with reference to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area

Nature-based tourism has been viewed as a large and growing segment of the tourism market. Advocates of nature-based tourism argue its potential to generate income for biodiversity conservation and local economic benefit, while detractors fear a risk of “loving our parks to death”. Some recent studies have suggested that nature-based tourism may be declining on a per capita basis, especially in economically developed countries. Others have detected no such trend. Nature-based tourism is a key industry within Australia, based strongly on its unique scenery and biodiversity. We compared nature-based visitation and population growth during 1998–2012 for Australia overall and specifically for the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area which is adjacent to the country's largest conurbation of Greater Sydney. We found substantial declines in domestic per capita visitation, both nationally and regionally. Because visitation provides the “political capital” for parks to survive, strategies to encourage visitation should be a target for land managers. Since children foster environmentally responsible behaviour in adults, they should be part of the focus for developing diverse experiences that encourage park visitation.     

Community agency and sustainable tourism development: the case of La Fortuna,Costa Rica

Previous sustainable tourism research has called for the promotion of community-based tourism as a means of achieving sustainable development goals. Such community-based development has been noted as essential for sustainable practices because of its capacity to benefit local populations while reducing tourism's negative consequences. Nonetheless, some researchers have warned that community-based tourism, by itself, does not necessarily lead to sustainable practices. This study examines local social interactional elements necessary for the achievement of sustainable tourism practices. Such practices are attainable when certain attitudinal, organizational and/or behavioral conditions are present within a community. Using a case study methodology, this article examines the interactional elements by which residents of La Fortuna, Costa Rica, engaged in sustainable tourism practices. The study was based on the theoretical notion of the community field. It used key informant interviews and participant observation. The study shows how economic, social and environmentally sustainable practices were made possible through community agency, the construction of local relationships that increase the adaptive capacity of people within a common locality. Key factors found to enable community agency are strong intra- and extra-community interactions, open communication, participation, distributive justice and tolerance.     

Developing indigenous tourism in the bomas: critiquing issues from within the Maasai community in Tanzania

ABSTRACT

With safari attractions dominating the African tourism sector, many tourism studies in Africa have focused on wildlife and wilderness resourced-based tourism, with a secondary body of literature exploring cultural aspects of tourism. Recently many countries in the region, including Tanzania, have started to recognize the potential for stand-alone, culture-based tourism to diversify the tourism industry and for rural, economic development purposes. Drawing upon insights from local stakeholders, primarily members of the Maasai community this study identifies the critical challenges for providing indigenous cultural tourism in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Qualitative data for the study were collected through interviews and site visits to eight Maasai bomas (cultural tourism villages or settlements). Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed significant limiting factors affecting the development of indigenous cultural tourism amongst Maasai in Tanzania. The findings indicate that achieving success in indigenous cultural tourism is therefore challenging, and needs to incorporate specific community-based strategies which can facilitate the development of Maasai cultural tourism.     

Segmentation by motivation for rural tourism activities in The Gambia

In The Gambia, as in many other African countries, rural areas rarely profit from the turnover earned in the country's tourism sector. In academic and political literature, however, rural tourism is frequently identified as a diversification strategy that may trigger local economic development in remote communities. To promote rural tourism development, further knowledge is required to understand why tourists are motivated to engage in distinct tourism market segments. In this study, survey data was collected from 450 tourists in The Gambia using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed to identify the key characteristics and motivations of tourists so that the significant market segments could be categorized and the (latent) tourist demand for rural tourism activities could be gauged. This study identified four distinct segments of tourists in The Gambia: heritage & nature seekers, multi-experiences seekers, multi-experiences & beach seekers, and sun & beach seekers. Drawing on our key findings, we conclude by identifying a development path that could diversify Gambia's tourism sector. The development path would also include event-based rural tourism initiatives that align with the motivations of the identified market segments and may additionally benefit rural communities by reducing economic leakage rates.     

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].     

On the empirical relationship between tourism and economic growth

This paper studies the dynamics of economic growth and tourism evolution for 80 countries during the period 1995–2016. The variables representing economic and tourism growth are growth rates of per capita GDP and international tourist arrivals per inhabitant respectively. Using the concept of economic regime, the paper introduces a notion of distance between the dynamical paths of different countries. Then, a Minimal Spanning Tree and a Hierarchical Tree are constructed to detect groups of countries sharing similar performance. The two main clusters we find can be interpreted as two groups of countries with high and low performance in the tourism sector and are coherent with the business cycle. The evolution of such clusters shows three main stylized facts: certain countries move across clusters; the low performance cluster tends to span, while the high performance one tends to be (more) compact; the distance between the two groups increases in time.     

The influence of artistically recreated nature on the image of tourist destinations: Lanzarote's art,cultural and tourism visitor centres and their links to sustainable tourism marketing

Can distinctive natural assets in tourist destinations be artistically recreated and used to improve destination image and attract more visitors? This paper analyses the formation of the tourist image based on artistically recreated local nature icons, and shows how those images can enhance the overall destination image. It focuses on the island of Lanzarote, a destination with its development based on promoting an environmental image founded on the creation of a network of multifunctional, high-quality art, culture and tourism centres exhibiting artistic recreation of its unique environmental assets. The methodology utilizes a questionnaire (n = 453) structural equations modelling approach in which the overall image of the destination is directly dependent on the image of the environmental conditions and indirectly influenced by the image of the artistically recreated centres. Results show that the destination's image is significantly grounded on the image of the art, culture and tourism centres using art based on Lanzarote's natural assets. They suggest that destinations have relevant opportunities to artistically enhance natural assets to improve their tourist image and marketing, that quality multi-functional visitor centres can be important within a sustainable tourism policy, and part of the emerging breadth of approaches taken by sustainable tourism marketing.     

The role of community involvement and number/type of visitors on tourism impacts: A controlled comparison of Annapurna, Nepal and Northwest Yunnan, China

Tourism development in mountain regions is reported to bring economic growth to host communities. However, the literature reveals that the economic, environmental and cultural impacts of tourism development in these regions vary greatly and that a number of critical factors may explain that variability. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the role of community involvement and number/type of visitors on tourism impacts in mountain destinations. The study followed a controlled comparison method [Eggan, F. (1954). Social anthropology and the method of controlled comparison. American Anthropologist, 56(5), 743–763] including field observations and individual and group interviews in two popular mountain destinations in Asia: Annapurna, Nepal, and Northwest Yunnan, China. The findings suggested that level of host involvement in management and number/type of tourists helped explain these destinations’ varying degrees of economic leakage, local control, and socio-economic inequity. Moreover, both destinations appeared to cope with their challenges through cooperative community efforts supported by non-governmental agencies.     

The effects of tourism on socio-cultural values

UNESCO, “The Effects Of Tourism On Socio-Cultural Values,” Annals Of Tourism Research, Vol. IV, No. 2, November/December 1976, pp. 74–105. It is generally argued that tourism can alleviate the present socio-economic difficulties in the less devloped countries. This literature search is a first analysis of European studies on international tourism and its economic and socio-cultural impacts on development. The search shows that, despite its recognized benefits, several negative consequences of tourism question the role that it can play in the socio-economic development of these countries. This UNESCO survey, to be couped with one by the World Bank, should facilitate a comprehensive study of the potentials of tourism.