Tourism in the Gambia: problems and proposals

This paper analyses the development constraints which confine The Gambia to being one of the poorest countries in the world. The programmes designed to reduce these constraints are outlined. In particular, tourism is identified as an appropriate development strategy. Using primary data, tourism in The Gambia, its development and administration are described in some detail. Althoiugh a prima facie case can be made extolling the virtues of tourism in that country, the industry is beset by a range of problems. The juxtaposition of the country's growing reliance on tourism against increasing stagnation in the sector is a focus of particular concern. Constraints in the tourism sector are identified in the spheres of policy formulation and implementation, capital investment, human resource endowment, existing and potential tourist markets, seasonality issues and product resource base. For each constraint identified, a management strategy is proposed. In essence, the article is an advocation of sustainable tourism development for The Gambia based on long-term holistic planning, including appropriate resource development, community involvement, education and training.     

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.     

中国旅游业周期波动分析

周期性波动是存在于任何经济中的一种常态,并体现于经济扩张与收缩、波峰与波谷不断交替的固有运动。旅游业作为一个经济产业,在其发展历程中同样存在着周期波动。本文以分析世界旅游业周期增长为基础,重点研究了中国旅游业周期波动,并通过对比分析,对中国旅游业周期现象与世界旅游业周期现象的关系进行了初步探析。文章预测,中国旅游业已经进入了以微波化为主要特征的第5周期。     

关于旅游带动经济发展问题的思考

本文试图以笔者多年从事旅游现象基础研究所获知识,对改革开放中旅游带动经济发展的问题进行一些有益的探索。本文首先回顾经济在改革开放中扮演的角色及有关问题,然后对“旅游适度超前发展战略”和“旅游是经济发展增长点”加以评论,最后以旅游现象中几个基本特征为据。阐释笔者对旅游与经济发展关系的认识。     

Caribbean tourism — economic development

This report has been prepared by the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre (CTRC) in order to focus attention on the contribution made by tourism to economic growth and development in the Caribbean, and also to encourage governments and donor agencies to allocate greater resources to research, product development, marketing and training for this most important economic sector. CTRC is an intergovernmental regional tourism research and development agency whose main aim is to promote tourism as a vehicle for the socioeconomic development of the Caribbean region.     

关于旅游规划若干认识的探讨

本文从旅游经济学的角度论述了在市场经济条件下如何制订好旅游规划的一些新认识,并进一步探讨了旅游规划的核心问题,即旅游产品的差异化竞争,从而提出旅游规划必须走出单一学科专业独揽的局面,形成一个多学科综合的系统工程的观点.文中还就旅游规划的内涵和可操作性作了分析,强调与经济效益相结合是制订一切旅游规划的根本出发点.文中对制订旅游规划与具体策划时的各种要素和步骤进行了细化和阐释,指出旅游规划必然超前于实践、高于实践,但最终又必须接受实践的检验.     

Tourism-in-literature: Existential comfort,confrontation and catastrophe in Guy De Maupassant's short stories

This paper sets out the tourism-in-literature research approach and applies to the intersection between existentialism and tourism. Illustrated is the value of reading works of literature as a means of enriching theoretical understanding within tourism studies. Reviewing selected short stories of the 19th Century French writer Guy De Maupassant, themes of existential alienation, avoidance and authenticity arise in tales involving travel. Through the unexpected events and encounters tourism allows, comforting or confrontational experiences are had by protagonists. However catastrophic developments are also catalysed. De Maupassant's writing shows a sophisticated understanding of the possibilities of travel, including an awareness of the darker and unpredictable possibilities of tourism. Complemented is a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between existentialism and tourism.     

Tourism and economic development: Which investments produce gains for regions?

Across three decades numerous metropolitan regions have made substantial investments in different tourist amenity packages. These investments were made to either capture a portion of the growing tourism market or establish an image that attracted the human capital needed to advance economic development. This article analyzes the returns for the tourism industry and for economic development from different amenity packages and finds those related to sports and amusements generated the most significant gains for regions.     

成都市"农家乐"演变的案例研究--兼论我国城市郊区乡村旅游发展

本文通过对成都市“农家乐”经营模式、经济效益以厦对农村社会文化的影响等方面的演变轨迹的勾勒,分析了我国城市郊区乡村旅游的发展。研究发现,成都“农家乐”已朝着规模化方向发展,娱乐服务设施逐渐与度假村趋同;与此同时。在外来投资者的竞争下,本地农户经营者的效益普遍下降,“农家乐”经营的“飞地化”特征日渐突出。创新开发模式。加强政府对“农家乐”的引导和规制。成了城市郊区乡村旅游可持续发展的重要保证。     

Political implications of Chinese tourism policy

This study is an examination of the political objectives and probable consequences of the decision to open the People's Republic of China to mass tourism. Through personal interviews and other reports, this article traces the organizational and political dimensions of the abrupt reversal of nearly three decades of restricted and selective foreign access. The author found several anomalies: more “market” oriented cost structure than in most non- socialist developing nations; a hierarchy of tourist classes in a supposedly classless society; liberalization in tourism itineraries along with a freezing of contacts between tourist and Chinese. The article concludes that while China has reaped few tangible political benefits and has incurred some new political vulnerability with its new tourism policy, Chinese tourism has avoided many of the social and economic costs associated with tourism development elsewhere.     

Ecotourism in rural developing communities

This paper considers the ad hoc development of ecotourism at Ostional, Costa Rica, and the potential benefits for the local community in the absence of government planning or intervention. In 1995, only four percent of Ostional households identified tourism as a source of income; however, this was substantial in comparison to that derived from other economic activities. While most Ostional residents had positive attitudes toward tourism, they had limited awareness of employment or investment opportunities. Lack of awareness, along with increased activity by outside investors, suggests that, in the absence of formalized planning or intervention, the possibilities for the community at Ostional to further benefit from tourism development will be limited.     

旅游中的经济现象与经济学视角下的旅游活动--论旅游经济学学科体系的构建

本文主要论述了旅游经济学学科体系过程中的若干关键问题,如学科定位、构建目标与价值取向、研究与构建方法、学者群体的形成等.作者认为旅游经济学不仅是研究旅游中的经济现象,还要以经济学的视角来关注包括非经济现象的整个旅游活动.     

Sustainable Tourism: An Overview of the Concept and its Position in Relation to Conceptualisations of Tourism

Reference to sustainable tourism is now made in most strategic tourism planning documents. Yet, despite its common use, definitional arguments exist over its meaning and subsequent operationalisation. In addition to this, literature on sustainable tourism rarely discusses its development prior to the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987) and its relevance to current conceptualisations of tourism. This paper analyses the context within which sustainable tourism was developed and has recently been conceptualised. It does this by assessing the development of sustainable tourism (with an Australian focus) and proposing a model which incorporates the development of sustainable tourism into tourism. The paper argues that sustainable tourism has traditionally given more focus to aspects related to the environment and economic development and that more focus should be given to community involvement.     

Educational tourism and its implications on economic growth in Malaysia

The effect of educational tourism on Malaysia’s economic growth is examined in this study by extending the Solow growth model. This study uses the sample from 2002:Q1 to 2014:Q4. The newly developed Bayer–Hanck combined tests for cointegration and the Granger causality test were employed to examine the long-run and causal relationships among the variables. The empirical findings suggest that economic growth, educational tourism, and other determinants are cointegrated. Educational tourism has a bi-directional causal relationship with economic growth in the short-run but there is a uni-directional Granger causality runs from educational tourism to economic growth. This study provides an essential insight for Malaysia to create policies that promote educational tourism, thereby encouraging economic growth in the long-run.     

Supporting innovation for tourism development through multi-stakeholder approaches: Experiences from Africa

Innovation and entrepreneurship provide essential value to the advancement and quality of the international tourism industry. For Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) tourism innovation is an opportunity to differentiate the tourism product making it more competitive and increasing socio-economic gains at grassroots level counteracting foreign currency leakages from the destination. The paper argues that for small indigenous businesses in LEDC destinations to flourish a supportive environment promoting innovation and entrepreneurship is required. The paper emphasises the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration by drawing on two distinct African case studies: a trade association in The Gambia and a training programme building entrepreneurial capacity in a university in Tanzania both of which have helped provide supportive environments for indigenous entrepreneurship and innovation. The Gambian case study is based on a collaborative marketing approach, the Tanzanian case study on the Triple Helix model. Both demonstrate the importance of institutional support in stimulating networking, transfer of knowledge and best practice in LEDC destinations.     

Indian air transport : Factors affecting airline costs and revenues

Despite high rates of growth and reasonably healthy financial results, Indian air transport is not without its economic problems. Surpluses earned on some services are used to cross-subsidize deficits incurred on others and this, in situations where there are some severe shortages in aircraft capacity, is effectively acting as a brake upon the long-term development of tourism. This article examines the economics of the Indian airline industry, identifying the main demand and cost factors affecting Its performance. It considers the possibilities for charters on international routes, and suggests ways in which the economic efficiency of domestic operations might be improved by reforming passenger tariffs.     

Tourism's external account and the balance of payments

This paper argues that the balance of payments on tourism account is not the best measure of economic tourism activity needed for good policy formulation at the government level. The balance on tourism should be replaced with a broader concept, tourism's external account, which includes expenditures and receipts from tourists together with those other international transactions which follow indirectly from tourism. This concept will provide a broader understanding of the tourism industry so that better policy decisions can be made.     

Pattern and impact of tourism on the environment of the Caribbean

This article presents the views of the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre (CTRC) on the importance of tourism to the Caribbean. Both negative and positive effects of tourism on the Caribbean environment are considered and recommendations for long-term tourism policies are made. These take into consideration the benefits to be obtained from tourism when allowance is made for environmental conservation and quality of life. If properly managed, tourism will provide the economic backing required to preserve the Caribbean environment.     

The (im)possibilities of doing tourism otherwise: The case of settler colonial Australia and the closure of the climb at Uluru

This article analyses the recent closure of the Uluru climb in the settler colonial context of Australia and reflects on (im)possibilities for doing tourism otherwise to practices and logics of coloniality. Tourism at Uluru is embedded within settler colonial map-making, privileging supply side models of consumption at the expense of the Anangu Traditional Custodians. We contribute to the emerging body of research in tourism that argues for a dismantling of colonial logics in practice and theory and discuss the possibilities inherent in forms of tourism led by the Aboriginal custodians. In this context, tourism can promote deeper engagement to place that is ‘more-than-human’, beyond the Eurocentric dualisms of nature and culture, human/non-human/spirit. Unlearning coloniality is key for promoting transformative tourism.     

The contribution of social tourism to sustainable tourism: a case study of seasonally adjusted programmes in Spain

Recent policy from the European Union has attempted to justify social tourism initiatives on the basis that they lead to a more sustainable tourism industry. However, the majority of latest research in the field has been focused on the benefits for participants, with the addition of some evidence on the economic impacts of such programmes on destinations, which have pointed towards sustainability outcomes including: a longer tourism season, more even spread of demand, and longer periods of employment for tourism workers. Yet there is a lack of direct evidence linking such programme to these outcomes. This paper aimed to explore this important disconnect between policy assumptions and evidence-based outcomes through an analysis of the deseasonalising effects of the Spanish social tourism programme for older people. The research found that this programme does have an effect on the seasonal nature of employment and economic activity in most regions studied, but that the huge volume of demand from international tourists in the high seasons masks the quantitative effects in the regions with the highest seasonal concentration of international tourists. Recommendations for policy and practice in sustainable tourism are made that are transferable to many countries and regions that adopt social tourism programmes.