The Tsunami and Tourism: A Comment

The tsunami of December 26th 2004 had a devasting impact on the coastal regions of the countries around the Indian Ocean, bringing death and destruction on an unimaginable scale. Almost 300,000 people lost their lives, widespread damage was caused to infrastructure, transport and communication networks, ecosystems and livelihoods throughout the affected region and, overall, the economic cost of the disaster is expected to exceed $10 billion. Nevertheless, natural disasters on the scale of the tsunami are not unknown. However, the global response to the disaster was unprecedented both in its scale and immediacy. As this paper observes, this response was primarily driven by the fact that thousands of western tourists were also victims of the tsunami, transforming the event into a truly global disaster. Noting that the tsunami served to highlight the dependency of many of the affected regions on tourism and, hence, the vital importance of attracting tourists back to those regions, it suggests that, although attention will undoubtedly be focused on the management of the crisis, tourism played a positive role in that it united the world in its response to the needs of the communities devastated by the tsunami.     

Tourism and development challenges in the least developed countries: the case of The Gambia

Despite some recognition of the role of destination marketing organisations (DMOs) in crisis management, limited attention has focused on the role of DMOs in crisis events, and in particular their role in managing knowledge across diverse stakeholder groups and domains. This theoretical paper attempts to address this deficiency by synthesising knowledge management and tourism crisis management literature, to outline the potential role of DMOs in managing knowledge across boundaries during crises. Carlile's [(2004). Transferring, translating, and transforming: An integrative framework for managing knowledge across boundaries. Organization Science, 15(5), 555–568] work on boundary spanning is used to consider potential organisational and management issues for DMOs dealing with crisis events and how they should be managed. This paper argues that because of the role and nature of DMOs, they should play an important role as knowledge spanners/brokers to transfer, translate and transform knowledge to stakeholders. The paper concludes with future research avenues related to knowledge management, DMOs and crises.     

Impacts of the Global Economic Crisis on Cyprus Tourism and Policy Responses

This study examines the impacts of the global economic crisis on Cyprus tourism and the pertinent policy responses. A qualitative approach was adopted by conducting eight semi‐structured interviews with tourism authorities and suppliers/professionals. Findings indicated the main impacts of the crisis on Cypriot tourism: lack of competitiveness, decreased visitation/revenues, inadequate quality and escalated pricing. Furthermore, findings identify three types of policy measures: (i) immediate response measures; (ii) foreign investment in tourism; and (iii) diversification of the tourism product and quality improvement. The study highlights the need for Cyprus to develop a comprehensive tourism planning framework. It is suggested that crisis plans of small island states should be developed upon a holistic framework that leverages their destination capitals. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trouble in Paradise: the 2007–2009 Global Economic Recession and Hawai'i's Visitor Industry

This is a case study of the impact of the global economic recession of 2007–2009 on Hawai'i's visitor industry. The industry responded to the downturn largely with advertising blitzes to its primary market on the US mainland. Notwithstanding these efforts, diminished lift capacity and visitor arrivals, combined with widespread discounting, resulted in a 26% decrease in real visitor spending in 2009 versus that in 2006. The industry recovered during 2010 and 2011, but major hotel foreclosures, State bond downgrades and lost accommodations jobs are enduring scars. The experience demonstrated anew Hawai'i's need to strengthen its visitor industry and diversify its economy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adventure Sports and Tourism in the French Mountains: Dynamics of Change and Challenges for Sustainable Development

Despite their historical links, there have always been profound contradictions in the relationship between sport and tourism in France and Europe in terms of behaviour and development models. The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s marked a certain narrowing of this divide, with a gradual blurring of the boundaries between tourism and sport, and an increasing hybridisation of activities and reference models. This change was due on the one hand to the increasing demand for 'active tourism', breaking with the cultural and geographical conformism of conventional holidays and trips, and on the other hand to the appearance of 'leisure sports' held in new esteem following the development of a whole range of new or revived activities (climbing, mountain biking, canyoning, parascending, rafting, hydrospeed), which no longer resisted 'touristification.' In this process, the crisis which affected winter sports in France during the second half of the 1980s played a far from negligible role by stimulating a systematic search for diversification in the supply of tourism 'products', with respect both to seasonal aspects and to the target clientele and activities. Thus, while a crisis was shaking the foundations, the renewal in the supply of leisure sports was contributing to a revival of mountain tourism, particularly in the summer. The result of this upheaval was that leisure sports, which until then had been largely marginal to tourism, were placed at the very centre of the touristic system.     

The role of regional trading blocs in the development and management of tourism: an analysis of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The establishment of regional trading blocs is considered an important aspect of the process of economic and political globalisation. Focusing on the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, this paper considers whether the involvement of regional trading blocs in tourism is desirable and if so, what form future participation might take. Based on the findings from two qualitative studies, examples of best practice are identified and recommendations are made. Greater co‐operation over facilitating tourist movement and crisis management are suggested, but it is concluded that ultimately, the relevance of regional trading blocs in tourism needs further endorsement by the member states. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Models of crisis management: an evaluation of their value for strategic planning in the international travel industry

Tourism is particularly prone to external shocks, which by their nature are unpredictable and need to be addressed through effective crisis management processes. The paper reviews the literature relating to crisis management in tourism and identifies and briefly critiques several models that have been developed to help managers in their strategic planning for such contingencies. The terrorist attacks of ‘9/11’ are used as an exemplar of the type of external shock that can lead to crisis if travel industry managers fail to take immediate and decisive action. This paper discusses the reactions of leading UK based tour operators to the terrorist attacks and a case study is presented to examine the reaction of a particular company to ‘9/11’ and to review the ‘turnaround’ strategies used. The crisis management process model is compared and contrasted with the steps actually undertaken at the company. It is evident that there are wider lessons for the travel industry including the need to: integrate crisis management with strategic planning processes, prepare detailed contingency plans, define decisional roles and responsibilities, and to retain a degree of flexibility. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

E-business in the New Zealand Tourism Industry: An Examination of Implementation and Usage

This article presents the findings of a web-based survey examining the extent of e-business uptake in the New Zealand tourism industry. It provides a snapshot of both the implementation and usage of e-business. The survey extends the earlier research on New Zealand e-business by Clark et al. (2001) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2000), focusing specifically on tourism. This study shows that the tourism industry is committed to the establishment of e-business, and recognises the competitive advantages of this. It also appears to be adopting e-business more quickly than other industries, reflecting the industry’s service and information bases. While this sounds positive, concern must be expressed at the superficial level of implementation of e-business, particularly from SMEs which constitute a large portion of the economy. The New Zealand tourism industry respondents seem to be basic users of the technology, rather than ‘champions’ of e-business. Unless the simple adoption of ICT can be developed into a sustained and dynamic acceptance of e-business, the New Zealand tourism industry risks missing the opportunities provided by the global marketplace, and thus, becoming increasingly marginalised.     

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.     

Seal Management in Scotland: Tourist Perceptions and the Possible Impacts on the Scottish Tourism Industry

Fisheries organisations in Scotland have repeatedly called for culls of common and grey seals, despite their conservation status and no supporting scientific evidence. This current study investigated the opinion of tourists in West Scotland as to whether seal populations should be reduced to manage their increasing numbers. The study also looks at whether such a cull would influence tourist behaviour. In total 735 interviews were conducted. There were regional differences in levels of opinion but, on average, 60% of respondents believed that seals should not be regulated and 17% stated that the instigation of a cull would affect their decision to visit Scotland on holiday. In the Highlands of Scotland alone this could represent over £100 million in lost tourism income. A boycott by tourists to the Highlands, as the result of introducing seal culls, could equate to a financial loss equivalent to a third of the total value of Scottish fisheries. Tourism is Scotland's main industry and is particularly important for the economy of rural areas. Any further proposals for seal culls should seriously consider the negative and indirect impacts these culls could have, such as reductions in tourist numbers and tourism income to a region.     

The practicalities of a Learning Tourism Destination: a case study of the Ningaloo Coast

The complex and dynamic nature of tourism, and the need to address triple bottom line sustainability, has encouraged a search for adaptive tourism management approaches based on organisational learning. In this paper, the authors discuss a practical approach for the implementation of a Learning Tourism Destination (LTD), a new concept derived from the theory of learning organisations. Preliminary results from a case study undertaken at the Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia are discussed. The conducted surveys indicate that the LTD forms a useful framework for fostering consensus building, dialogue and collective learning processes among stakeholders. The proposed approach has the potential to improve decision‐making within the concept of sustainable tourism development by facilitating participative planning processes. The overall strategy of this paper is to explore the practicalities of the LTD implementation process, and to spark further conceptual and practical debate, based on the analysis of the Ningaloo case study. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Importance of Internal Resources and Capabilities and Destination Resources to Explain Firm Competitive Position in the Spanish Tourism Industry

This study draws on the Resource‐Based View to analyze the effects of distinctive competences in tourism firms and location in a tourism district on competitive position, and explores the moderating effects of the tourism destination. Multiple linear regression was used to test the research hypotheses on a sample of 1019 Spanish tourism firms. Results reveal that financial resources and dynamic and production capabilities favor a better competitive position for tourism firms in general; however, coordination and marketing capabilities are key factors for firms embedded in a tourism district, while dynamic capabilities have a negative effect in this case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Gawk,The Glance,and The Gaze: Ocular Consumption and Polar Bear Tourism in Churchill,Manitoba, Canada

Photography is an integral component in the observation of fauna in protected areas (Russell, 1995; Shackley, 1998). The importance of photography to wildlife tourism should come as no surprise since the relationship between photography and tourism has been well documented (Albers & James, 1988; Chalfen, 1979; Neumann, 1992). Behavioural observations and interviews conducted with polar bear viewers visiting the Churchill Wildlife Management Area near Churchill, Manitoba revealed motivations closely resembling what some authors have termed as ocular consumption (Lee, 2001; Ryan et al., 1999). This paper examines the relation between photography, the wildlife tourist gaze, and ocular consumption, and applies these concepts to one particular field setting.     

Exploring the Moderating Effects of Value Offerings Between Market Orientation and Performance in Tourism Industry

Market orientation as a business strategy has recently been adopted in the travel and tourism industry, as well as other industries, to enhance performance. Value offerings have also emerged as a new research interest within the strategic marketing domain. Based on the theory of strategy–environment fit, this study investigates the relationship between market orientation (i.e. customer and competitor orientations) and performance, and the moderating role of value offerings (i.e. service emphasis and price emphasis), using a sample of 132 Taiwanese travel agencies. The research results obtained from hierarchical regression analyses indicate that only both customer and competitor orientations, but not value offerings, have positive and direct effects on performance. However, the results show that one dimension of value offerings, i.e. service emphasis, has a moderating role in the market orientation‐performance relationship. The managerial implications of these results are also discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating Muslim Customer Perceived Value,Satisfaction, Loyalty and Retention in the Tourism Industry: An empirical study

In recent years, customer value has been the favorable theme for numerous tourism studies and reports. However, although Muslims make up one of the largest tourist markets in the world, perceived value of tourism offering oriented toward this market has not been clearly defined. Furthermore, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence regarding the effects of Muslim Customer Perceived Value (MCPV) on consumer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to identify the MCPV dimensions, to examine the interrelationships between MCPV, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and Muslim customer retention, and to develop and test a conceptual model of the consequences of MCPV in the tourism industry. Moreover, 13 hypotheses were developed and tested using a sample of 221 Muslim tourists. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the validity of the measures, while the structural equation modeling has been used in hypotheses testing. The strength of the relationship between the constructs indicates that features of the suggested MCPV model are crucial to achieving Muslim customer retention in the tourism industry. Findings also suggest that the availability of the suggested Islamic attributes value, along with conventional value dimensions, could satisfy Muslim tourists when they buy a tourism package. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Role of the Public Sector in Rural Tourism: Respondents' Views

Using a four round Delphi survey, a focus group and semi-structured interviews, this study investigates the respondent perspective of the public sector role in providing an environment conducive to the development of the rural tourism sector in Britain and South Africa. Although South African respondents generally perceived a greater need of support for the rural tourism sector than did their British counterparts, many of the problems, concerns and frustrations that emerged from the study were similar. Respondents perceived the public sector as ‘leader’, ‘strategist’, ‘mentor’, ‘co-ordinator’, ‘champion’ and ‘partner’ in their endeavour to build the rural tourism sector. Grappling with the problems of uplifting the quality, viability and communal benefit of rural tourism is seen as a futile exercise if the facilitatory platform of rational policy, planning and support conducive to the sustainability of the sector, is not in place. Above all local authorities are seen as ‘the enabler’ of successful rural tourism projects that diversify the local economy and generate employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. However, whilst there is respondent acknowledgement of the role played by the public sector, there is evidence of widespread disenchantment with the efficacy with which this role is fulfilled.     

Send More Tourists! Stakeholder Perceptions of a Tourism Industry in Late Stage Decline: the Case of the Isle of Man

Qualitative interviews, conducted in the Isle of Man, investigate local perceptions of a tourism industry in late stage decline. Social impacts of decline, including facilities loss, cultural changes and a heightening of perceived peripherality, which together undermine local identity, are pronounced despite successful economic diversification. Tourists are welcomed as they help to affirm the pride residents have in their island, create a more active atmosphere, provide social interaction opportunities and combat negative stereotyping. Overall, findings emphasise the diverse, unique and persistent benefits of tourism in the Isle of Man, despite decline. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-term Perturbations and Tourism Effects: The Case of SARS in China

The 2003 SARS epidemic created a significant negative impact on tourism development in China. This paper reviews the effects on tourism of different short-term crises, analyses the effects of SARS and explores the possibility of tourism businesses being buffered from such short-term crisis and the possible new motivations derived from the crisis. Tourism’s lack of resistance but high resilience to short term crises provides tourism and regional planning challenges. These characteristics suggest diversification and partnerships can minimise community vulnerability to crises and rapid economic recovery is possible based on tourism’s resilient nature.     

Beyond mistrust and competition—the role of social and personal bonding processes in sustaining livelihoods of rural tourism businesses: a case of the Peak District National Park

This paper theorises the significance of social and personal bonding processes in promoting sustainable resource‐use and equitable tourism development using research on personal and social bonding process and relationship marketing. By looking at small, rural tourism businesses in the Peak District National Park (PDNP) it discusses how in intricate ways, individual business owners/managers are utilising social and kinship ties to increase their visual presence and competitive position in contemporary markets. The paper describes the significance of social and personal bonds as the respondents discuss how their informal affiliations have enabled them to tap into additional resources and develop products embedded in locally specific conventions that are more attractive to visitors, and are also assisting them to monitor each others' progress through informal forms of regulation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors that Affect the Levels of Tourists' Satisfaction and Loyalty towards Food Festivals: a Case Study of Macau

The present study investigates the factors that affect tourists' satisfaction towards food festivals and explores whether tourists intend to revisit and/or recommend food festivals to others. Based on personal interviews with 40 study subjects, eight factors that affect their satisfaction levels were identified: location and accessibility, food, venue facility, environment/ambiance, service, entertainment, timing and festival size. The majority of tourists were satisfied with the Macau Food Festival and intended to revisit and recommend it to others. The presented findings have practical implications for food festival organizers to further attract food tourists. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.