Entrepreneurship and indigenous enterpreneurs in religious tourism in India

This paper demonstrates how indigenous religious entrepreneurs drive religious tourism in a non‐western context. Building on the case study of Vrindavan, an emerging religious tourism destination in India, it explains religious tourism as a natural progression of traditional pilgrimage economy, where entrepreneurship springs from socio‐cultural and ritual exchanges and knowledge of religious protocols and procedures between indigenous religious functionaries and visitors. Using religious hegemony, social status and networks, religious entrepreneurs innovate, develop new products and expand the cultural economy of rituals and performances to suit the demands of the burgeoning tourism. The tendency to consider such entrepreneurship as ‘informal’ not only exempts them from most regulations and legal responsibilities but also undermines their contribution in maintaining the ‘religious’ — the most important resource in religious tourism. Copyright © 2010 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’.     

Perceived Benefits and Challenges to Wine Tourism Involvement: An International Perspective

This study extends institutional theory as a lens through which to critically examine the perceived benefits and potential challenges of developing wine tourism. The study applies an international perspective, with 471 participating wineries predominantly located in Italy and Spain. Fundamentally, the promotion of the winery's wines, distantly followed by the potential to significantly increase wine sales emerge as the main benefits winery respondents perceive from wine tourism. However, realizing these outcomes is not assured because of barriers including airport security checks, anti‐drink‐drive laws and limited physical resources. The implications from the findings are discussed, and opportunities for future research identified. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Drivers and barriers of peer-to-peer accommodation stay – an exploratory study with American and Finnish travellers

The explosive growth of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation service presents a potential transformation in the competitive landscape of accommodation sector. This research explores the market characteristics and the factors that drive and hinder the use of P2P accommodation to better explain the phenomenon of collaborative consumption in the tourism and hospitality marketplace. Using responses from travellers residing in the United States and Finland, exploratory factor analyses revealed two factors that drive the use of P2P accommodation: social appeal (desire for community and sustainability) and economic appeal (cost savings). The barriers include issues of trust, efficacy and familiarity with the system, and cost. The empirical evidence from this study suggests several managerial implications for tourism and hospitality businesses and directions for future research.     

Astro-tourism conceptualisation as special-interest tourism (SIT) field: a phenomonological approach

ABSTRACT

This study conceptualises astro-tourism as a nature-based tourism phenomenon and illustrates its positioning as a special-interest tourism (SIT) field using a phenomenological approach. In the process, this baseline research study contributes to this relatively new tourism field’s foundational research aspects, such as developing a definition and, examining its articulation with destination image. It finds that astro-tourism is based on the interest of tourists in sky-related activities such as dark sky observation and astrophotography, most often in a nature-based context. The findings can be utilised to develop astro-tourism as a new medium in conceptualising tourism destination image by combining destination earth features as well as sky features. Targeting sky features of a destination combined with the earth facilities to attract tourists is one of the new opportunities to deliver unique tourism products.     

Promoting green tourism: the future of environmental awards

Awards and labels can help consumers choose more environmentally benign tourism products and encourage more attention to the environment by producers. As in other areas, however, there is an increasing clutter of environmental awards and labels in tourism. Concerns exist about the value and appropriateness of some claims associated with these. This paper reviews and assesses environmental awards in tourism and recreation using comparative analysis. Sixteen awards relating to manufacturing, forestry, tourist attractions and tourism companies are appraised under the classifications of focus, criteria, certification system and results. Having identified the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches it is concluded that the time is ripe to rationalise awards and labels in the tourism industry and that an environmental management systems approach provides a flexible template to fulfil such a need and drive the agenda of environmental improvements in the industry. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wellness Tourism in China: Resources,Development and Marketing

China's natural and cultural resources are the foremost offerings of the country's wellness tourism sector. Although wellness tourism in China is in its infancy, it can offer new opportunities in, and strengthen the overall competitiveness of, China's tourism industry. To achieve this, the assessment and development of wellness tourism resources in China are required. This study examines the potential for wellness tourism development in terms of resources and promotion from the point of view of wellness tourism experts. It surveys professionals working in tourism, health and education in China. The results reveal that environmental assets, including fresh air, clean water and natural features, are considered the most important attributes for the development of wellness tourism in China and that the promotion of wellness tourism can best be achieved through advertising in mass media, governmental support and organizing new regional events. The study implications and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding tourists' itineraries in emerging rural tourism regions: the application of paper-based itinerary mapping methodology to a wine tourism region in Michigan

In recent years, many rural areas have turned to tourism as a way of reviving their communities. One challenge to such efforts is that community leaders in these areas often have limited experience with tourism and consequently lack the knowledge and resources to best facilitate sustainable tourism initiatives. Moreover, an influx of tourists to an area puts new demands on infrastructure. Information about tourists' itineraries can help communities to address new challenges that result from tourism, however using emerging technologies such as GPS and Internet-based map surveys can be expensive and require expertise many rural tourism planners do not have. Paper-based itinerary mapping methodology can be a cost effective way of providing local officials, tourism planners, and businesses with important information to inform decisions about how to invest limited resources. This study applies paper-based itinerary mapping to an emerging wine tourism area in a rural county in the US state of Michigan. Because it involves tourists travelling from place to place within a region, wine tourism is particularly well-suited for itinerary mapping. Results provide specific recommendations to local officials, tourism planners, and businesses. Moreover, the study offers an example to researchers interested in conducting studies that use paper-based itinerary mapping methodology.     

Motivational determinates of creative tourism: a case study of Albergue art space in Macau

ABSTRACT

Creative tourism is a new genre of tourism eliciting active tourist participation in learning and experiences. This study explores tourists’ motivations for participating in creative activities, as well as their perceptions of authenticity following a visit to the Albergue Art Space located in Macau, SAR, China. Empirical results indicate that vernacular heritage, service quality and participatory experience are key determinates for developing creative tourism. Sightseeing, social contact, self-improvement and escape emerge as primary motivations for participating in creative activities. In addition, tourist perceptions of authenticity in the context of creative tourism encompass objective and existential components. This study proposes to incorporate aspects of participatory experience into creative tourism products.     

Creative tourism in Balinese rural communities

The present study extends knowledge on creative tourism in rural areas. It was unclear from previous research how features of creative tourism, such as risk of commodification, play out in rural areas of developing countries. The study built on theoretical overlaps which suggest that creative tourism may improve the potential of community-based tourism. Literature suggested that creative tourism may address three issues plaguing community-based tourism: (1) lack of financial resources could be circumvented with intangible heritage; (2) loss of cultural identity could be reversed by sparking interest for culture; (3) power relations between hosts and guests could be rebalanced by repositioning locals from servant to teacher. These theoretical overlaps were explored in the context of five Balinese villages using a microethnographic approach with participant observations and expert interviews. Findings from this study partly confirm and extend the theoretical synergies. Furthermore, a new synergy, increasing enthusiasm for intercultural exchange, and one negative interaction, intangibility as a differentiator, were found. Findings also revealed conditions for success in developing creative tourism in a community-based tourism context. In sum, we contribute the conclusion that creative tourism in rural areas is promising under certain conditions.     

Urban heritage and cultural tourism development: a case study of Valletta’s role in Malta’s tourism

ABSTRACT

Despite significant potential for cultural tourism, the predominant form of tourism in Malta is sun and sea. This paper evaluates Malta’s potential for cultural tourism with a focus on Valletta, a fortified historic city that overlooks the Grand Harbour. Valletta’s rich urban heritage and historic narrative makes it ideal for the development of a more culture-oriented tourism. The paper explores how, over more than half a century of tourism activity in Malta, culture and heritage retained a secondary role. Since the mid-nineties, Malta’s tourism policy shifted with culture and heritage being given greater importance, even if the sun and sea tourism remained a priority. Public and private investment brought about changes in Valletta that made it more amenable to cultural activity and tourism. Although European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018 provides new opportunities for cultural tourism to Malta, it is unclear whether this will bring a lasting legacy for Malta’s tourism. This Valletta case study shows that, for destinations with an established form of tourism, the development of cultural tourism meets with difficulties, in spite the presence of a rich urban heritage.     

A double life cycle: determining tourism development in Macedonia

This article investigates the symptoms of tourism development in Macedonia by applying the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model. The study explores the political context and the government's role in policy-making and implementation at each TALC stage. It also attempts to assess key arenas of governmental influence on tourism, such as privatization, legislation, tourism promotion, and fiscal policy. To this end, we conducted an analysis of secondary data sources with the aim of assessing the current stage of tourism development. Our analysis indicates that tourism in Macedonia is presently in the development stage but that future decline is still possible. Our general findings indicate an insufficiently developed tourist supply, underlining the importance of taking action as a prerequisite for a well-established tourism planning process. Finally, the study reviews and offers a better understanding of the manner in which Macedonia's tourism policies are changing in a complex region, with the aim of blending top-down decision-making with elements of grass roots involvement in a bid to create a solution to the country's search for a new future.     

Energy tourism: An emerging field of study

After conceptualizing the interrelationships between energy and tourism, the authors provide a definition of energy tourism as a new niche of industrial tourism, theorize on how it overlaps with other types of special interest tourism, and discuss specifics concerning its forms, locales, and possible societal impacts. Potential directions, along with research questions, for future research in the field of energy tourism are proposed. Then, the results of an explorative pilot study of energy tourism in the Czech Republic are presented to give a first insight into the proposed questions. Questionnaire surveys completed by tourists and operators of three energy tourism attractions – so-called Coal Safaris (guided tours through surface coal mines, observing minescapes and mining machinery in full operation), a nuclear power plant information centre, and Dragon Kite Festivals under wind turbines – have focused on exploring the motivations and perceived benefits of energy tourism for organizations; tourists' motivations for, and experience from, visiting; and any changes in attitudes towards current energy development dilemmas by visitors afterwards.     

Does tourism really cause stress? A natural experiment utilizing ArcGIS Survey123

ABSTRACT

Tourism related stress has recently been revealed as an issue for tourism host community residents. Prior studies have relied on directly asking residents if tourism caused them stress, resulting in possible participant priming. This study utilized the ArcGIS Survey123 app to collect data on resident stress from a community with high levels of tourism visitation and a community with low levels of tourism visitation. During the study, researchers never mentioned tourism. Half of study participants in the community with high tourism visitation discussed tourism directly as a stressor, accounting for almost 5% of all stressful experiences, while no participants in the community with low tourism visitation mentioned tourism as a stressor. Geospatial data revealed that tourism related stressors occurred outside of the ‘tourism zone’ in the community with high tourism visitation, and tourism related stressors mirrored perceived tourism impacts measured in a post experiment survey of study participants.     

Exploring resource procurement for community-based event organization in social enterprises: evidence from Piedmont,Italy

ABSTRACT

This research contribution aims to shed light on the key role of social tourism entrepreneurship in community event management through the combination of innovative strategies for resource procurement. An exploratory qualitative case study was undertaken with 67 social tourism enterprises in Piedmont, Italy. The analysis shows that these social tourism enterprises have specific resource procurement strategies for community-based events. A business model emerges where the fundamental resource mobilization processes are based on three strategic approaches: (a) stakeholder participation and partnership; (b) sharing ideas, materials and knowledge; (c) capturing dispersed resources and assets from the local community. The identified variables provide a new perspective for the study of resource procurement in community event management.     

Identifying micro-destinations and providing statistical information: a pilot study in the Canary Islands

Municipalities and regions are often used as an object of tourism analysis at the subnational level. This occurs because administrative borders are used to implement tourism policies and collect statistical information. However, administrative boundaries may not always be suitable for studying tourism destinations at a local level. Sometimes, particularly in high-density tourism destinations, several differentiated tourism areas occupy a single municipality; tourism areas may, and often do, extend beyond municipal boundaries and tourism destinations may not occupy the whole of the municipal area. As such, a new level of analysis is often required: the micro-destination. There are few tourism concepts as imprecise as that of the destination. Therefore, the process of identifying and establishing the boundaries of a micro-destination is by no means a straightforward one. This paper presents six criteria for establishing the boundaries of this type of tourism area. Of these six, the two primary criteria used are: the concentration of tourism establishments; and tourism typologies and supply characteristics. These criteria have been applied as part of a pilot study in the Canary Islands. Statistical information for nine micro-destinations is generated using the geolocation of tourism establishments together with information obtained from both supply-side and demand-side surveys.     

Rural tourism — meeting the challenges of the new South Africa

Rural tourism in South Africa has undergone fundamental change since the advent of political democracy in 1995. Previously perceived as a ‘white man's thing’, rural tourism is increasingly finding a home amongst South Africa's formerly marginalised rural communities. The country has considerable potential in attracting tourists in search of new, exciting experiences in areas of unexploited natural beauty and rich cultural resources. The concept of rural tourism has mushroomed to include adventure tourism activities, cultural tourism and, lately, a new phenomenon in rural communities known as ‘township tourism’. There are, however, substantial challenges to be overcome if the rural tourism sector is to achieve its goals. These include a lack of capacity at local government level, the difficulties involved in operationalising community‐based rural tourism and the dearth of entrepreneurial expertise, management skills and capital with which to expand the rural tourism infrastructure. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influencing factors and mechanisms on consumers' behavior: A case of tea tourism in China

This study explores the factors affecting tea tourism, including the action mechanisms and the impact level of each factor influencing consumer behavior intentions, to contribute to predicting tea tourism consumer behavior. This study surveyed 377 potential tea tourists and constructed a theoretical model of tea tourism consumers' planned behavior using SPSS and AMOS. The results show that: (a) The experiential perception and opportunity perception of tea tourists can significantly affect their attitudes, (b) The self-efficacy perception and convenience perception of tea tourists can significantly affect their perceptual control, and (c) The attitude of tea tourists can significantly positively influence their behavioral intention. This study not only broadens the applications boundary of the theory of planned behavior, but it also provides a new perspective for research on the behavioral awareness of tea tourism consumers. The findings have implications for predicting and promoting future tea tourism in China and beyond.     

Wine Tourism in Spain: Denomination of Origin Effects on Brand Equity

This research focuses on the analysis of wine tourism in four Spanish regions. Specifically, its main purpose is the development of a model to study the influence of the denomination of origin brand image, as a regional brand, and destination image on wine tourism destination brand equity. Due to the importance of destination marketing strategies, this study has been carried out from the wine industry's perspective. The conclusions obtained are applicable to the tourist sector and, particularly, to those wineries that wish to start a new line of business: wine tourism. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘We make more money now,but we don’t talk to each other anymore’: on new tourism and capitalism in the Danube Delta

ABSTRACT

In 1991, the Danube Delta (Romania), famous for its biodiversity, became a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Tourists have been a constant presence in this area for more than 50 years, being accommodated exclusively, informally, in the local fishing households. Relying on extended participant observation and semi-structured interviews as the main research methods, this study presents how locals from a fishing village relate to tourism and how this process leaves a significant imprint on their social organization, use of natural resources, household economy, norms and values. Exposed to new ideas, opportunities and challenges brought in by tourism, locals are not being swept away, as many of the studies in anthropology of fishing and tourism suggest, but rather act like ‘individuals with agency’, actually empowered by tourism; local fishing and women’s traditional role as ‘the manager of the household’ are reinforced by tourists’ demands for ‘home-cooked fish dish’ and local accommodation. On the other hand, the new tourism has launched local families into a constant competition for natural resources, eroding social cohesion while leading to a commodification of family relationships.