Tourism stakeholder exclusion and conflict in a small island

Research in the Isle of Man, British Isles, reveals limited and dysfunctional collaboration between stakeholders, and in particular between public and private sector actors. Power and influence over tourism decision-making is generally felt to be restricted to a small and opaque network. Moreover, different levels of interest in and support for tourism further divide stakeholders. Various negative consequences are shown to arise from this absence of collaboration, including a lack of shared vision or future strategy for local tourism, and high levels of mutual mistrust between stakeholders. Resulting conflict, wasted resources, lost enthusiasm and lack of strategic direction appear to undermine the current and future management of island tourism. Emphasised by research is the importance of stakeholder collaboration to sustainable tourism management and underlying factors which may enhance or undermine. Focus on describing dysfunctional collaboration within an untypical small island setting makes a unique contribution to the existing literature.     

海岛旅游研究进展与启示——以国际英文期刊载文为例

海岛旅游是国际旅游研究的重要领域,深入分析国际海岛旅游研究的演化脉络和重点领域,对于提升“海洋强国”战略背景下的海岛旅游研究水平,促进双循环发展格局下的产业高质量发展具有重要借鉴意义。以Web of Science^TM为数据源,使用科学计量工具CiteSpace 软件对2000—2019年的1 511篇英文海岛研究文献进行了可视化图谱分析,揭示研究发展脉络与研究热点。结果显示：（1）海岛旅游研究具有显著的阶段性特征,2000年以来可以划分为缓慢发展、稳步发展和快速发展3个阶段,研究内容从关注海岛旅游开发的生态环境影响,逐渐转向海岛旅游地人地关系的和谐发展;（2）国际海岛旅游研究具有市场依赖性和资源依托性特征,研究区域和研究对象大多集中在发达国家或海岛资源丰富国家,三位高引频次最高学者为Gossling、Hall和Scheyvens,发文期刊集中在环境科学与生态学、海洋海岸科学和旅游学3个领域;（3）海岛旅游研究热点主要集中在海岛旅游地资源环境、海岛旅游与全球气候变化、海岛旅游市场、海岛旅游经济影响、海岛旅游社区、海岛游客消费行为、海岛旅游规划与管理、海岛旅游可持续发展等领域。中国海岛旅游研究应在借鉴国际海岛旅游研究方法和成果基础上,完善海岛旅游理论与研究方法,加强海岛旅游资源与环境,海岛可持续旅游,海岛经济与文化影响,海岛游客消费行为等领域的研究。     

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.     

Tourism involvement-conformance theory: a grounded theory concerning the latent consequences of sustainable tourism policy shifts

This study uses a grounded theory method to investigate the proposed tourism policy directions of three Pacific Island countries and to develop a set of theoretical insights referred to as tourism involvement-conformance theory (TICT). TICT underscores the potential latent consequences that can occur as tourism develops due to policy shifts which emphasize sustainability. More specifically, TICT suggests a number of conceptual linkages regarding how policy makers and development strategists envisage the internal and external forces of control as tourism develops, how these perceptions influence the specific positioning or policy mechanisms, and how these processes when they are couched in a sustainability framework can instrumentalize local people/culture. For those interested in the challenges associated with sustainable tourism policy and planning, the findings represent a step towards a more nuanced understanding of the potential consequences of development decisions and policy rhetoric. They also offer an advancement in understanding regarding culture, involvement, power, and conformity in tourism research. For practitioners, the findings highlight the need for careful consideration of the implicit power relationships and ideologies that can be reinforced through policies designed around increased local involvement as a means to sustainability.     

Sustainable tourism implementation in urban areas: a case study of London

Sustainable tourism is a concept widely embraced by managers and planners of tourist destinations. However, it has received little attention in the context of urban tourism, an area of research that has until recently been largely neglected by academics. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on sustainable tourism implementation in large cities, by using London as an exploratory case study. Through the collection and analysis of both primary and secondary data (online survey, semi-structured interviews and document analysis), it seeks to explore whether local authorities have implemented policies towards sustainable tourism in the capital. The findings indicate that although the concept of sustainable tourism is perceived as important by policy makers, only a few local authorities in London promote its principles in their policy documents and even fewer have initiatives to put them in practice. Most of these initiatives are isolated activities which address limited aspects of sustainable tourism. The paper concludes that despite some progress made to date, in the current economic climate, growth and development remain the main objectives of governments and local authorities, while social and environmental issues are often left behind.     

Perceptions of surfing tourism operators regarding sustainable tourism development in the Mentawai Islands,Indonesia

Surfing tourism has the potential to provide significant economic income and employment opportunities. However, the development of surfing tourism in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, has raised important questions regarding its impacts and sustainability. Economic leakages, increased pressure on the environment and resources, and adverse effects on local communities have been shown as the major barriers to sustainable development. This article provides insights into how surfing tourism operators perceive the development and impacts of the Mentawai Islands surfing tourism industry. This research project uses an interpretive qualitative approach and follows a case study methodology utilising semi-structured interviews with resort and charter boat surfing tourism operators. The study also investigated possible future directions for creating a more sustainable surfing tourism industry in the Mentawai Islands. Findings from the research showed that charter boat operators and resort operators had differing views as to how surfing tourism had developed: resort operators believed it to be sustainable, while charter boat operators felt it was unsustainable. A key finding of this study was that operators felt that surfing tourism had dramatically altered the traditional Mentawai village of Katiet and was producing adverse socio-cultural impacts on the local community. It is recommended that future research explore the issue of the impacts of surfing tourism development on other remote locations in Indonesia and other surfing tourism destinations around the globe.     

Tourism in Small Island States: From Vulnerability to Strengths

This article argues that the narrow and frequently negative conceptualisations of small island states as environmentally vulnerable and economically dependent are problematic for sustainable tourism development and for economic development, generally. Scenarios presented to date are often incomplete. Narratives suggesting that island peoples are unskilled and lack resources, and that their islands are ‘tiny’ and ‘fragile’, can undermine their pride and stifle their initiative, reducing their ability to act with autonomy to determine and achieve their own developmental goals. A range of more positive conceptualisations is given, demonstrating the strong social dimensions of sustainability in small island states and the resilience and adaptability of island states. Examples describe a number of positive development paths to sustainable tourism in small island states.     

夏威夷对海南国际旅游岛可持续发展的启示

海南素有“东方夏威夷”之美誉，值此国际旅游岛建设之际，借鉴夏威夷旅游业开发的成功经验将有事半功倍之效。文章将夏威夷可持续发展的经验系统地归纳为六大要素构成的“飞机式模型”：“政府与市场的中间道路”为机头，是旅游目的地发展的动力源；“可持续发展原则”是尾翼，起平衡作用；“保护本土文化”和“让当地人受益”为飞机主体，是旅游发展的根基；“创新”以及“基于数据的科学决策”是飞机的两翼，为旅游目的地长期发展提供上升的力量。文章重点归纳夏威夷在六大领域的主要工作，并分析了海南的差距以及对其今后发展的启示。     

Identifying cultural tourism: a theoretical methodological proposal

This article explores the effectiveness of tourism as a means to heritage conservation in urban areas, focusing on the case study of Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, an inner-city industrial heritage site in Sydney, Australia. The Finger Wharf redevelopment represents a familiar scenario whereby an old industrial site located at a sought after inner-city location has been redeveloped and transformed from a derelict structure into a popular leisure and recreation precinct. The findings of a study of local stakeholder perceptions of the redevelopment are presented and then evaluated according to the goals of sustainable tourism development. The findings highlight the importance of planners and managers of heritage tourism sites thinking beyond the cosmetic conservation of the tangible asset to also consider how best to preserve the non-material value of the site. Through the provision of more effective interpretation heritage, managers can create a visitor experience which is authentic and meaningful to visitors and local stakeholders.     

Book Review

World Heritage Sites (WHSs) are motivated by such diverse reasons as heritage celebration, alarm calls, tourism branding and marketing and place making. Irrespective of the primary motivation for their creation, WHSs are often used to develop tourism based on cultural and natural resources of international significance. Heritage conservation may or may not be in agreement with what local populations perceive as desirable development paths. We conducted a survey among the island community of Vega in Norway that received WHS status in 2004 motivated by conservation alarm, tourism marketing and place making. We examined the local population's views of the key aspects of future development and how this related to WHS status. The islanders placed high value on social and community conditions as well as heritage linked to cultural and natural resources. While a majority supported tourism based on sustainable use of heritage they also felt that WH listing should not limit development opportunities. There were differences between younger people and adults. WHS may be an effective agent of sustainable tourism development if the main goals and strategies of the WHS are clearly understood and prioritized in the local community, leave room and perhaps link to other development opportunities.     

Conference Reports

Governments at all levels have assumed greater responsibility for, and involvement in, tourism destination planning and development. In the post-Brundtland era local governments in particular have been under closer scrutiny for their role in driving the sustainable development agenda in tourism destination contexts. Yet, a notable research gap still exists despite the increased focus on local government, particularly in terms of empirical research investigating the roles and responsibilities of local government in addressing sustainable tourism development. Given this context, this paper explores the role of local government in facilitating, or indeed inhibiting, sustainable development objectives in a tourism destination context. To assess this issue, it uses in-depth interviews with local government representatives and key destination stakeholders from five local government areas in Queensland, Australia. It shows that local government had assumed responsibility for facilitating the sustainable tourism agenda, due to the absence of strong industry leadership and due to top-down directives from state and federal governments. However, power struggles, tokenistic public participation and the strong influence of the local government authority in local governance structures were found to be inhibitors to sustainable tourism development.     

Evolution of tourism in a flagship protected area of China

Nature-based tourism in protected areas, which is growing worldwide, offers much potential to enhance biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and ultimately sustainable development. Understanding the evolution of protected areas as tourism destinations and the causes and consequences of changing supply and demand elements is an essential step toward sustainably managing tourism in these critical ecosystems. This research applied the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model to illustrate and analyze the 30-year evolution of tourism in Wolong Nature Reserve. Being inscribed in UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage programmes, Wolong is a flagship protected area in China. We showed that the Reserve experienced exploration, involvement, and development stages of the TALC before tourism growth was completely halted by the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008. We systematically investigated the changes related to the evolution of tourism and identified various internal and external driving forces. We examined the dynamics of politics, economy, and tourism growth that might propel the Reserve through the life cycle and identified significant tourism governance structural changes through the stages. The results have implications for sustainable tourism development in China's protected areas and also contribute to a broader and general understanding of the complex relationships between protected areas, sustainable tourism, and community development.     

Applying diffusion theory to destination stakeholder understanding of sustainable tourism development: a case from Thailand

The concept of sustainable tourism development is widely considered to be necessary for successful tourism development, but there is uncertainty over destination stakeholders’ understanding and thus ability to implement the concept. Utilising diffusion theory, this paper explores the diffusion of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders in the tourism destination of Kret Island, Thailand. The primary data collection involved semi-structured, in-depth interviews undertaken with 10 local government authorities and 45 local residents, and data were analysed using content analysis. Interpersonal communication was the key channel for the concept's diffusion, and the involvement of opinion leaders, change agents and social networks in this diffusion was explored. Many local residents were laggards in the diffusion of sustainable tourism development thinking in comparison with local government and local opinion leaders. It is argued that both interpersonal and media communication and the identification of key actors in the community are needed to effectively diffuse sustainable tourism ideas among destination stakeholders. The results validate the use of diffusion theory as a means to understand the transfer of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders, and they also provide information useful for the design of information dissemination programmes.     

Sustainable Transport,Market Segmentation and Tourism: The Looe Valley Branch Line Railway,Cornwall, UK

This paper uses cluster analysis, a form of a posteriori market segmentation, to understand the attitudes of tourists and the local community towards using the Looe Valley Branch Railway Line. The research revealed five segments of users distinguished by their attitudes towards using the train. Following this, the paper discusses the implications of the survey findings for attracting more people to use the Looe Valley Line. It sets its findings in the context of the sustainable tourism aims of reducing transport congestion and emissions, as well as recent work on assessing the scope for sustainable transport development in the leisure and tourism markets.     

Sustainable tourism and its use as a development strategy in Cambodia: a systematic literature review

Governments in many developing countries endorse sustainable tourism, despite associated practical limitations and challenges as a development strategy. Using the case of Cambodia, this paper illustrates how sustainable tourism issues in a developing country may be better understood through a systematic review of scattered relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. This can help in identifying emergent themes and challenges, gaps in knowledge, and opportunities for future research. Analysis of 77 documents on Cambodia's sustainable tourism revealed themes and challenges relating to: (1) an emphasis on nature-based tourism (ecotourism); (2) calls for greater community engagement for sustainable outcomes; (3) stakeholder perceptions and values as drivers of tourism success; (4) cultural heritage as a key tourism attraction; and (5) foreign investment shaping Cambodia's tourism future. Unequal emphasis is given to key government policies for tourism development and there is limited practical guidance on how to realise a vision of sustainable tourism. There is a lack of consideration of how the socio-economic and cultural context affects sustainable tourism. The evidence suggests that sustainable tourism in Cambodia is questionable until fundamental economic, social capacity and policy issues are addressed, along with greater emphasis given to the tourism system's demand side.     

城市旅游再造——一种文化可持续发展的新思维

城市旅游研究有长期的历史.文章从新的角度较为系统地综述了城市旅游这个并不新颖、但却值得深入探索的问题,在西方文献的基础上提出了一些关于城市旅游发展创新性的思想和理论构架,并指出了未来几个重要的研究方向,如城市中旅游集聚造成的拥挤问题、城市遗产类旅游资源空间格局研究(包括非物质文化遗产的空间分布对城市发展的影响)、城市旅游规划中广泛存在的“复制与粘贴”问题对城市旅游竞争力的损害以及城市舞台化旅游发展中存在的种种问题等.在此基础上,文章结合中国城市旅游发展的研究现状,提出中国城市旅游发展可以借鉴的一些国际先进经验,以及在借鉴这些经验过程中需要注意的问题.     

Outlying Islands as a Tourist Destination for Local Residents: The Case of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong

Cheung Chau is an outlying island in Hong Kong, which is relatively untouched by the region's rapid economic development. The island provides a dramatic contrast to the cosmopolitan city center, one of the most popular travel destinations in Asia and a major business hub. This makes Cheung Chau a special attraction for local residents seeking to get away from their routine lives. However, no published studies have examined the opinions of residents on sustainable tourism development on Hong Kong's outlying islands and the motivating factors that drive residents to visit those islands. Hence, an exploratory qualitative study was undertaken to develop an understanding of the public's motivation for visiting Cheung Chau. The results of in-depth interviews with 15 residents who had visited the island are presented, along with an examination of the future direction of tourism development in Cheung Chau.     

‘What’s the Story in Balamory?’: The Impacts of a Children’s TV Programme on Small Tourism Enterprises on the Isle of Mull,Scotland

Film- and television-induced tourism effects have been witnessed in a number of locations world-wide, creating a range of positive and negative impacts for host communities and environments. The children’s television programme Balamory, filmed on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has created a new tourism phenomenon for the island, leading to concern that Mull’s reputation as a green destination for the discerning might be displaced by a less desirable form of tourism. Through a questionnaire survey of tourism businesses on Mull, this paper explores the perceptions of television-induced tourism and the effect of Balamory on business activity during the 2003 season, exploring customer numbers, spending, turnover and profitability, along with attitudes to the new visitors. The research also explores the implications for sustainable tourism development, particularly recognising the limited life-span of film- and television-induced tourism and issues relating to displacement of traditional markets, with an emphasis on sustaining tourism as a means of generating revenue to support a rural island community.     

The sanitization of colonial history: authenticity,heritage interpretation and the case of Macau's tour guides

Macau was founded by the Portuguese in the mid-sixteenth century. The centuries of colonial rule that preceded its recent return to China gave it a distinctive character unique in China. The tangible and intangible imprint of the colonial history of Macau is central to its attractiveness as a cultural tourism destination. A literature review reveals worldwide examples of the manipulation of history for both political and tourism purposes. This research uses in-depth thematic interviews with 14 local tour guides to show how Macau's colonial heritage is presented and interpreted to tourist groups by the local tour guides, as regards both what they are shown and what they are told. It is found that the guides adjust their interpretation to the geographical origin of the tourists in a significant way; in particular, they tend to almost totally eschew any reference to its colonial history when addressing a Chinese audience, in contrast to the interpretation presented to non-Chinese visitors. The use of Hall's three-fold interpretative message framework (dominant – hegemonic/negotiated/oppositional) is discussed, as is Langer's concept of mindless and mindful tourists. Some consequences for the sustainability of heritage tourism in Macau are also explored.     

Enhancing sustainable heritage tourism in Egypt: challenges and framework of action

Prior research on heritage tourism has suggested a set of general guidelines to develop sustainability in heritage sites, but these lack details on implementation and prospective challenges, especially in developing countries. This research studies the practical application of sustainable heritage tourism (SHT) in Egypt. In particular, it investigates the challenges facing the tourism development of the Esna heritage site, and proposes a framework of action. The emergent challenges are related to two main aspects: community (e.g. close urbanization and theft of antiquities) and management (e.g. lack of top management support and commitment, conflict of authorities, lack of awareness and appropriate skills and lack of adequate funding). The study found that the central and most influential factors are those related to management. The suggested framework of actions outlines objectives, related actions and implementation responsibilities. The implementation of the entire suite of actions would enhance the ability of Esna to conserve heritage, develop local community and assist in facing the challenges to SHT development. Generally, this study is a step toward a better understanding of how SHT could be achieved in developing countries. It also gives relevant insights to both researchers and practitioners.