Management of the environmental impact of tourism and air transport on small island developing states

At the crossroads of sustainable development of small island developing states (SIDS) is tourism, the staple income earner of many SIDS and an industry which would not survive without air transport. Typically, therefore, it would be tempting to conclude that SIDS would benefit from an open skies or vastly liberalized air transport policy in order to attract as many tourists as they could. However, the environmental impact of uncontrolled tourism or untrammelled air transport activity in SIDS brings to bear the need for the effective management of the two activities.     

Tourism and the state in Cuba: from the past to the future

It has long been recognised that nature and extent of state intervention in tourism development closely reflects the prevailing political‐economy and ideology within the destination state. This is certainly the case with Cuba which, since the 1959 revolution and despite the collapse of communism elsewhere, remains the world's only centrally‐planned economy that boasts a significant international tourism sector. Tracing the development of tourism since 1959, this paper explores the relationship between the evolution of Cuba's political‐economic structures and processes and their subsequent influence on the planning, control, development and ownership of tourism on the island. In particular, it considers the potential future of tourism in Cuba, challenging the widespread belief that, in a post‐Castro era, the island's tourism sector faces a bright future. It concludes that, even with a potential move towards market reform, significant improvements will be required with respect to the quality, value and diversity of the island's tourism product. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marginal places and tourism: the role of Buddhist centers in Italy

Religious tourism in Italy has always been an attractor at an international level. For many centuries, it has been entirely represented by the Christian pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica. In recent decades, however, the religious scenery has changed deeply, and now includes even non-Christian religions and spiritualities. In this paper we compare two (very different) Buddhist centers, both located in places of Italy where tourism is not (or is no more) a significant component of the local economy. Buddhist centers are increasingly becoming popular tourist attraction: our purpose is to investigate to what extent and under which conditions they can be actors of local tourism development. The most significant of these conditions seems to be the nature of the center itself, ranging from a hermitage relatively unconcerned about any quantitative development, to a structure where spiritual ends are reconciled both with expansion and with economic integration within the local community.     

The Role of the French State: Shifting from Supporting Large Tourism Projects like Disneyland Paris to a Diffusely Forceful Presence

The French state, in its role as legislator, has sustained relations of production within the French economy because space can be selectively configured to promote economic, social, and environmental community goals. It tries to avoid that public value be held captive to private value or that developers bypass environmental legislation. In a country where the state is in the habit of regulating everything, it is not surprising that it should have taken charge of tourism projects. This paper will determine whether the relationship between public and private enterprise in tourism development in France, where the government has systematically encouraged such partnerships, has been successful. The paper will also show whether leadership provided by the public sector in areas not necessarily focused on tourism development is what helped push France among the most visited countries in the world. Decentralisation policy has driven the state to the backstage where it remains active to ensure the continued presence of France on the international scene. Although it is tempting to advocate a particular form of governance in supporting tourism development, most forms have evolved within specific contexts and would be resistant to radical transformations. A careful scrutiny of specific examples helps to illustrate possible effective changes.     

Partnerships in ecotourism: Australian political frameworks

Conservation interests hope to use tourism as a tool in conservation, whereas tourism interests want to use conservation as a tool in tourism development. Both promote partnerships, but with different political aims. In federated nations such as Australia, this involves industry associations and government agencies in different jurisdictions as well as different portfolios. There are several recent national‐scale initiatives in Australia. The Tourism in Australia's Protected Areas Forum, TAPAF, is an informal information exchange group between state protected area management agencies which also includes state government tourism representatives. TAPAF has promoted a Code of Practice for commercial tour operators in protected areas. Ecotourism Australia is an industry association which has promoted a Cairns Charter on Partnerships for Ecotourism. The National Tourism and Heritage Taskforce is the highest‐level consultative body, representing both industry and government, tourism and environment, federal and state levels. NTHT has produced a national strategy called Going Places, currently under implementation. The federal tourism portfolio has produced a somewhat conflicting document of its own, called Pursuing Common Goals. And the peak tourism industry association, formerly the Tourism Task Force and currently known as TTF Australia, is soon due to launch a report called Making National Parks a National Tourism Priority. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Local Government Tourism Planning and Policy-making in New South Wales: Institutional Development and Historical Legacies

Local government has an important role in tourism planning and development but has been criticised for not being more proactive. Impediments to local government involvement in tourism planning and policy-making include lack of community interest; lack of resources; lack of appropriate research and information; lack of commitment to implementation; lack of co-ordination and communication; and lack of technical expertise. This paper argues that these impediments can be more accurately viewed as consequences of deeply embedded values, beliefs, ideas and perceptions about local government roles and responsibilities. The paper reviews the historical development of local government in New South Wales, Australia, with respect to tourism, and discusses the influence of institutional history on how tourism is dealt with in that state.     

Rural tourism development in the USA

Rural tourism has been a subject of study since the early days of tourism scholarship. Most of tourism's deleterious impacts were identified from studies conducted in rural settings. It is only recently, however, that rural tourism has become a special focus of study, dissimilar enough from urban tourism, to be a study subject unto itself. This paper reviews some of the history of rural tourism development in North America with most of the attention paid to the USA's experience, with some examples from Canada. The reason for this is the huge economic difference between the two countries with respect to tourism flows and impacts. In reviewing the history of rural development in the USA, the argument is made that most developments are unplanned and result from market and economic forces that have greatly transformed the American rural landscape. A review of these transformational forces is provided. It is also shown that rural destinations are used, primarily, by local tourists and do not, with few exceptions, cater to an international clientele. After the historical perspective is presented an argument is made that current rural tourism development practices rely on an old paradigm, which is to use local attributes as the primary basis for development and marketing strategies. This has led, in recent years, to a great deal of development attention being paid to the cultural/heritage attributes of a place. Using research conducted in the state of Minnesota on highway travellers and tourists to rural destinations, a new way to look at actual and potential visitors is offered. Instead of an attribute‐specific development approach, a benefits‐based model is suggested as a different way to position rural tourism destinations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourist sustainability of destination as a measure of its development

The traditional understanding of geographical space as a given place is now insufficient. It should be analysed in a wider context of social, cultural, economic and environmental aspects as well as psychological and emotional factors. It signifies that also a tourist destination, which is of geographical character, should be studied as a set of similar factors. In this respect, a given destination is characterized by particular complexity and multi-dimensionality, which generate an ontological question concerning its nature. On the other hand, including the whole complexity of destinations, an epistemological issue concerning the possibility of their cognition remains open. Taking into account these considerations, a research problem related to the nature destinations as well as the possibility of their development has been formulated. The problem is followed by the hypothesis, which assumes that the measure of tourist development of destinations is the achievement of the state of tourist sustainability. Wherein the tourist sustainability is understood as an advantage of benefits gained from tourism over the costs of its development. In the empirical part of the paper, a method for assessment of development of destinations has been presented. This relies on social constructionist foundations and is related to the model of sustainable tourism whose assumptions have been applied as theoretical bases. The method itself was positively tested in an actual environment of five tourist towns and can be treated as a universal tool for measuring the state of tourist sustainability (unsustainability) of different destinations and in consequence, it can constitute a useful device for the management of tourist areas.     

Socio-cultural transformations through tourism: a comparison of residents' perspectives at two destinations in Kerala,India

Kerala, a state in Southwestern India, evolved into a prominent international tourism destination primarily by linking tourism experiences with nature. Although sufficient significance has been accorded to tourism as a development strategy in Kerala, tourism's contributions to the development processes and the sustainability of tourism activities remain unexplored. Though tourism impacts have been extensively studied, researchers have rarely compared socio-cultural transformations in destinations with and without a planned intervention in tourism. This paper compares residents' perceptions on socio-cultural impacts of tourism at Kumily and Kumarakom in Kerala. The article explores whether tourism activities in Kumily, with its planned intervention, are more sustainable than in Kumarakom, without any interventions. The conversion of ex-poachers into forest protectors and the involvement of the marginalized people in community-based ecotourism are a few among the many transformations that have occurred at Kumily while haphazard tourism development at Kumarakom gave rise to several socio-cultural challenges. Primary data were collected through residents' survey, and the findings indicate that Kumily with its planned intervention has a more sustainable tourism development pattern than Kumarakom.     

Racism as an inhibitor to the organisational legitimacy of Indigenous tourism businesses in Australia

Indigenous policy in many countries including Australia is focused on enhancing the socio-economic situation of Indigenous peoples through the encouragement of sustainable business models, including tourism business. Arguably, however, there are too few examples of sustainable Indigenous tourism businesses. Several authors have acknowledged that racism and discrimination are inhibitors to the sustainable development of Indigenous tourism businesses. Others have suggested that racism and discrimination directly impact on the extent to which these businesses are seen and respected as ‘legitimate’; that is, Indigenous business operators need to establish themselves as legitimate businesspersons in order to operate effectively in the global marketplace. Organisational legitimacy provides a useful lens for considering racism and discrimination and the extent to which it influences the perceived legitimacy of Indigenous tourism businesses. Legitimacy theory focuses on whether the norms exhibited by an organisation are congruent with the most general norms of society. This conceptual paper explores issues of racism and discrimination in Australia and the associated implications for Indigenous tourism businesses. This discussion is situated within the broader theory of organisational legitimacy; a concept that is commonly applied in various fields of business management, yet is largely unexplored within the tourism literature.     

Rural tourism development in China

This paper provides an overview and brief evaluation of China's rural tourism. Beginning with the form of poverty alleviation through tourism, China's rural tourism has undergone over 20 years of development and exhibited some unique features in its development pattern, scale and business operational models in accordance with China's political, social and economic systems. Government plays a decisive role in developing rural tourism in China. However, rural tourism has been valued mainly as an economic means for rural development during the country's modernisation process. Overlooking rurality as an essential issue in rural tourism may lead development to a wrong direction, which could jeopardise the sustainability of the industry. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustainable leisure life modes and rural welfare economy. The case of the Randers Fjord area,Denmark

As increasing attention has been paid to rural tourism as a specific form of tourism development, so too has the scope of research into tourism in rural areas become more diverse. Typically, studies focus primarily upon the economic developmental contribution of rural tourism, although a significant amount of work has been undertaken on the consequences of rural tourism development and attitudes/motivations on the part of visitors and/or local communities. However, no attempt has yet been made to integrate studies of both visitors and local communities within the framework of rural tourism development policy. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in the literature. Drawing on a study of tourism in the Randers Fjord, a relatively underdeveloped area of rural Denmark, it identifies and analyses three groups of tourists characterised by life modes: (i) traditionalists, (ii) peace seekers and (iii) adventurers. In each case, expectations, behaviour and future needs are revealed through qualitative interviews. The predominant (traditionalist) life mode of tourists, it is argued, closely matches that of the area's residents. This, the paper suggests, presents significant barriers to the development and enhancement of tourism, as do the prevailing economic structures and employment patterns. Thus, tourism development policy should take into account both tourists' and locals' life modes in order to progress towards sustainable rural tourism development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of the Tourism Industry in Transforming a Rentier to a Long-Term Viable Economy: The Case of Bahrain

During the past four decades, the tourism industry has emerged as one of the leading industries worldwide. In the Arab countries, however, despite its huge potential, the tourism industry is still in its infancy phase. With the exception of only a few countries, until recently most of the Arab countries almost ignored the economic potential of tourism. Since the 1990s, their traditional attitude of neglect toward the tourism industry has undergone a transformation, a fact that was not lost by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Thus, since the mid-1990s, all of the GCC countries, without exception, have been trying to promote their tourism sector, which soon became a prominent economic sector. The paper concentrates on one tourism development case – that of Bahrain – the least ‘rentier’ within the GCC oil-economies. The main research question addressed by this paper is to what extent Bahrain has introduced a cohesive and economically viable tourism industry that contributes to a more sustainable economy of this country. This exploratory paper examines Bahrain's motivation to promote tourism; its tourism comparative advantage; the major difficulties facing Bahrain's further tourism expansion; and the overall role of the tourism industry in the Bahraini economy.     

Tourist modernisation and social legitimation in Spain

Spain's modernisation has been based, to a large extent, on the so‐called ‘residential tourism’. Its two‐fold nature—as a production model and a type of lifestyle migration—has complex repercussions. The aim of this paper is to delve, with a qualitative approach, into the key factors that explain the current social legitimation of this process by the Spanish society. The research suggests that the process is legitimated by its definition as an essentially tourism phenomenon. The label ‘tourism’ acts as some sort of ‘funnel’ that would not allow to go through it the problems associated with lifestyle migration or urbanisation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Borders in tourism: the transformation of the Swedish–Finnish border landscape

Permeability in the European internal borders has increased, challenging state-centric tourism development in the border regions. The aim of this article is to examine the development of the Finnish–Swedish border, which has been one of the European Union's internal borders since 1995, as a tourist attraction. An examination of the path of tourism development in this border region shows that the differentiative meaning of the border that has been characteristic for state-centric tourism development has diminished and some of the excitement of crossing the old east–west border has vanished. At present the significance of the border for local tourism development can be seen in the new cross-border enterprise and commercialisation of tourist attractions. Such development can have a wide-ranging influence for the reorganisation of border landscape and dissolution of mental boundaries in the region. This study contributes to an understanding of the transition in the European Union's internal border regions from the perspective of tourism.     

Study of the major supply factors and business choices affecting the growth rate of wine tourism in Greece

Wine tourism is considered one of the alternative forms of tourism internationally. Wine tourism combines wine production with tourism activities, mainly in agricultural areas, as it embraces the tourism interest for wine production and the enjoyment of vineyard activities by the tourists. Greece, as a well-known tourist destination, is actually a new wine tourism area that has still a long way to go before claiming that it can render high-quality services in this very competitive sector. The objective of this paper is to examine and present the extent of wine tourism development in Greece, the characteristics as well as the main business choices related to wine tourism supply, aiming at highlighting the necessary key elements that can play a decisive role in its further growth. In terms of this paper, we attempt to examine the Greek wine producer's viewpoint of wine tourism by setting out data related to the development of the product, the satisfaction of businessmen involved, the means used to promote the product, the difficulties faced by and the expectations set by wine producers. In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, a research was conducted by means of a constructive questionnaire sent to all major Greek wine producers from April to June 2007. The participants in the wine tourism industry in the country were considered a major source of information.     

Lao Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Community-Based Tourism and the Private Sector

Tourism as a tool for development was first mooted in the 1970s. Recently, focus has been on the role of ecotourism, pro-poor tourism and community-based tourism (CBT). This has been so in Lao People's Democratic Republic, where international tourism is a vital source of foreign exchange and employment and an important feature of the government's poverty-alleviation strategy. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) finances many infrastructural projects facilitating tourist movement in the Lower Mekong Basin, and with the Lao Government and the Netherlands Development Agency (SNV) is a key player in donor-assisted, community-based tourism (DACBT). The development of DACBT in Lao PDR is discussed in some detail, especially the Nam Ha Ecotourism Project, and is compared briefly with the role of the private sector in tourism development in Southern Lao PDR. It is concluded that while DACBT projects can indeed alleviate poverty and develop financial and cultural capital, private sector tourism enterprises also have an important role in poverty alleviation, and it should not be assumed that DACBT is the only – or necessarily the most efficient – form of pro-poor tourism.     

The challenges of economic diversification through tourism: the case of Abu Dhabi

In recent years, tourism has become a ubiquitous vehicle for economic development and diversification and, for many regions and countries both in the developed and less developed worlds, tourism has become an integral element of economic development policy. Even those countries that, in the past, have had neither the desire nor the need to seek alternative economic sectors increasingly have been turning to tourism as a potentially effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. As this paper argues, however, the justification for using tourism as an agent of economic development must be treated with some caution. Focusing upon the case of Abu Dhabi, the oil‐rich emirate that in recent years, and in common with other countries in the region, has been seeking economic diversification through tourism to counter instability in global oil prices, a number of challenges to tourism development are identified. These may be overcome collectively through significant investment in product and promotion but, as the example of Abu Dhabi demonstrates, tourism may not always be an easy or cost‐effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Red tourism: sustaining communist identity in a rapidly changing China

‘Red tourism’ is to exploit the historical heritage of the Chinese Communist Party for tourism development. Such tourism practice has been used by the nation state of China both to drive the country's economic growth and develop new patronage of the communist ideology among the young generation. From the broader context of China's economic and social changes since 1978 when the country started its open-door policy and economic reform, our paper attempts to examine ‘red tourism’ by analyzing how the nation state of China promotes the communist heritage through ‘red tourism’ in order to sustain the communist identity in a rapidly changing China. Research questions are raised to address the economic and social factors for the nation state involvement in ‘red tourism’: the specific roles of such involvement and the outcomes. Based on a case study, this paper presents how heritage is interpreted at a specific ‘red tourism’ site in order to portray a selective part of the communist heritage as a symbol of the Chinese nation. In so doing, ‘red tourism’ aims to serve the purpose of the nation state to sustain the communist identity in the continuing effort of developing a ‘socialist country of Chinese characteristics’.     

Sustainability in Chinese development tourism policies

Following the ‘Open Door’ policy of 1978 that accepted tourism as an appropriate sector for development in China for the first time since 1949, national and local governments have issued policies to promote tourism. Over the past two decades, the continuing development of tourism has occurred as China has started to move towards sustainability in its national policies. Although sustainability is often stated as the purpose of development, and tourism development strategies are regarded as more environmentally oriented than other industries, little guidance is provided to make sure that sustainability principles are followed. To examine this situation, sustainability components in the two types of tourism policies are examined, including 56 tourism development policies by the state councils and 31 provinces since the 1980s. These indicate a mixed result. While sustainability is an important component in some of these policies, the meaning of sustainability in the tourism sector is confusing and pro-business tourism development still plays a dominant role. It is suggested a pro-active sustainability approach should be integrated with environmental concerns in the future to allow tourism to participate constructively in the national transformation to a sustainable society.