The role of agritourism in heritage preservation

This study examined the linkage between agritourism and heritage preservation by assessing the occurrence of and farmers' motivations for preserving tangible heritage in their farmlands. Results show that agritourism farmers are preserving tangible heritage in their farmlands, mainly driven by intrinsic motives. Farmland, farmer, and agritourism attributes are significantly associated with motivations driving heritage preservation. Study results suggest that although agritourism appears to be an adequate tool to preserve tangible heritage, farmers are missing the opportunity to economically gain from these resources, which may jeopardise the sustainability of their conservation efforts. This study not only advances the incipient understanding of the agritourism?heritage link, but identifies additional issues of this relationship that need to be investigated further.     

Moving beyond positivism: reflexive collaboration in understanding agritourism across North American boundaries

Extant agritourism studies have employed positivistic methodologies and quantitative approaches. As such, these approaches have predominately concluded that economics motives the diversification in agritourism at the expense of uncovering the complexity of multiple factors involved. Captured in this paper are the experiences of two, independent North American (agri)tourism researchers who used interpretative research approaches, specifically interpretative phenomenological analysis and appreciative inquiry, for getting at a deeper understanding of the complexity of agritourism on family farms. Agritourism is revealed as a transitional process, and supporting farms getting into agritourism would best be accomplished through building business skills and entrepreneurial capacities. Likewise, networks are critical, especially farmer-to-farmer connections. Interpretative research methods uncovered a more holistic and complex understanding of agritourism. This perspective will better inform farmers, their families, as well as policy-makers when they design and implement new businesses, programmes, and policies in the best interest of farm families and rural communities.     

Agritourism in the Arkansas delta byways: assessing the economic impacts

Large parts of rural USA are seeing gradual decline in economic fortunes. The small and medium scale farms are especially dwindling in numbers and their incomes are stagnating. Towards revitalizing the rural agrarian economies, agritourism is being seen as a catalyst to supplement income and trigger economic growth in some parts of the USA. This study focuses on a 15‐county region in the Arkansas Delta Byways (ADB) predominantly dependent on agriculture. The study uses agritourism visitor and expenditure data to estimate the baseline economic impacts in 2007 and predict potential impacts in 2012 on the region's economy. The study is conducted in two stages; the first stage involves statistical predictions of future agritourism visitors using time series extrapolation models. In the second stage, an input–output (I–O) framework is used to estimate the economic impacts relating to sales, employment, income and tax revenue to federal, state and local governments. Three alternate scenarios, where the agritourism visitors as a percentage of total visitors increases from the baseline level to hypothetical higher levels as a result of the state's agritourism promotion and initiatives are examined, and the net economic gain from additional visitors are estimated. Findings suggest that farms will benefit from increases in income but do not see any significant increase in jobs mainly due to the family nature of the enterprises. Economic benefits from on‐farm hunting far outstrip other agritourism activities and their impacts reverberate across many other sectors of the local economy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cooperatives for fruits and vegetables in emerging countries: Rationalization and impact of decentralization

We develop a (noncooperative) game theoretic model for a decentralized setting wherein fringe farmers compete with a two-tier cooperative network involving network farmers and a coordinator. We examine the roles of the coordinator and profit sharing in allocating costs/benefits of externalities in enhancing network efficiency and stability. Our main finding is that using profit sharing based mechanism the coordinator can overcome inherent inefficiency and instability of decentralization and noncooperative behavior of the network farmers. The roles of the coordinator and profit sharing are particularly important when it is economical for both network and fringe farmers to supply the product.     

‘All that jazz’: the relationship between music festival visitors’ motives and behavioural intentions

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study investigated the relationship between visitors’ behavioural intentions (ex-post) and their motives (ex-ante) for attending a jazz festival. The aim was to discover whether a music festival brings additional intangible benefits. The research followed a quantitative approach by conducting a visitor survey at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in South Africa. Structural Equation Modelling showed that music festivals have the potential to create benefits beyond the festival itself or the host destination, particularly fostering an appreciation of a music genre, increasing purchasing of music, and boosting music tourism. The findings showed that a music festival could have far-reaching benefits that can contribute to its legacy. It also showed that visitors’ motives have a unique relationship with their behavioural intentions, which emphasizes the need to market the festival accordingly.     

The concept of risk in nature-based tourism and recreation – a systematic literature review

Risk is a complex concept, with its conceptualizations depending on epistemological perspectives and methodological approaches of the various research disciplines it is embedded within. It was the aim of this literature review to provide a scientific basis to understand how current academic research has approached the phenomenon of risk in the context of nature-based tourism and recreation. Using a systematic quantitative literature review method, we assessed how risk was conceptualized in a selection of 59 original research papers that have been published in English language peer-reviewed academic journals from 2000 to 2015. We identified fundamental differences in the perspectives taken by researchers discussing risk. Whilst 37 papers (63%) viewed risk as a potential negative consequence of participating in recreational outdoor activities, 22 studies (37%) investigated risk as a meaningful component of the outdoor experience dimension. The presented review led to the identification of specific risk factors that increase the likelihood of negative outcomes as well as potential benefits from participation, and also offers an overview of underlying psychological processes involved in the participation in ‘risky’ nature-based activities. Further research implications are discussed.     

Key research themes on urban space,scale, and sustainable urban mobility

abstract

Land-use policies are frequently proposed as a means of reducing the negative impacts of transport on the environment, such as emissions of CO₂ and pollutants, and noise nuisance. In this article we discuss whether land-use policies make sense as a strategy for reducing vehicle travel and lessening environmental impacts. We conclude that they do, but that the greatest benefits may come from the enhancement of accessibility. We argue that land-use policies should be evaluated across a much broader range of benefits than is generally done at present.     

Lockdowned: Everyday mobility changes in response to COVID-19

BackgroundThis paper looks into the impact of the recent COVID-19 epidemic on the daily mobility of people. Existing research into the epidemic travel patterns points at transport as a channel for disease spreading with especially long-distance travel in the centre of interest. We adopt a different approach looking into the effects that epidemic has on the transport system and specifically in relation to short-distance daily mobility activities. We go beyond simple travel avoidance behaviours and look into factors influencing change in travel times and in modal split under epidemic. This leads to the research problems we posit in this paper. We look into the overall reduction of daily travel and into the factors impacting peoples' decisions to refrain from daily traveling. This paper focuses on modes affected and explores differences between various societal groups.MethodsWe use a CATI survey with a representative sample size of 1069 respondents from Poland. The survey was carried out between March, 24th and April, 6th2020, with a start date one week after the Polish government introduced administrative measures aimed at slowing down the COVID-19 epidemic. For data analysis, we propose using the GLM (general linear model), allowing us to include all the qualitative and quantitative variables which depict our sample.ResultsWe observe significant drops in travel times under epidemic conditions. Those drops are similar regardless of the age group and gender. The time decrease depended on the purpose of travels, means of transport, traveller's household size, fear of coronavirus, main occupation, and change in it caused by the epidemic. The more the respondent was afraid of coronavirus, the more she or he shortened the travel time.     

Integrating the warehousing and transportation functions of the supply chain

Electronic commerce and associated business-to-business transaction capabilities have changed the way in which supply chains operate. The Internet has enabled information exchange on an unprecedented scale, often at a pace too fast for normal consumption. Companies are not equipped to make effective use of data from warehouse management systems––which contain information on supplier/customer warehouse inventory levels and key customer ordering patterns––and transportation management systems––within which information pertaining to the location of important supply chain assets such as products or vehicles is typically stored. These systems are key factors in integrating the physical flow of goods along the supply chain. The integration of these systems leads to global inventory visibility, which, in turn, leads to reduced costs and improved customer service by decreasing shipping and receiving cycle times, increasing shipment and inventory accuracy, and decreasing lead-time variability. This paper examines the total cost benefits that can be achieved by suppliers and warehouses through the increased global visibility provided by an integrated system. We develop a discrete event simulation model of a multi-product supply chain to examine the potential benefits to be gained from global inventory visibility and trailer yard dispatching and sequencing techniques. Experimental results demonstrate the potential for this integrated paradigm to improve customer service through improved efficiencies, reduced costs, and reduced lead-time variability.     

Determinants of performance for agritourism farms: an alternative approach

Previous studies on determinants of agritourism farm performance are inconclusive. Moreover, the key success factors of high and low performance may differ. Differing from previous studies, this study applies quantile regression to identify the determinants of agritourism farm performance in different categories based on Taiwanese agritourism farms census data. The results indicate that large farms perform well for those in the high-performance categories. The quantity and quality of human resources are key success factors for mid- and high-performance farms. Additionally, agritourism business model generally plays a critical role in determining performance.     

Extending the dimensions of personal exposure assessment: A methodological discussion on perceived and measured noise and air pollution in traffic

BackgroundThe exposure to air pollution and noise is severely impacting people's health and is especially high alongside urban road- and rail-traffic. In traditional exposure research, air pollution and noise are monitored with stationary measurement devices or based on models. During the last years, mobile measurement techniques with GPS-tracking have increased. Moreover, studies have investigated another dimension of personal exposure: the perceived exposure.AimMost of these studies make use of quantitative methods such as surveys, complemented by stationary or wearable sensors. Little research exist that applies qualitative methods to examine how people experience and perceive exposure on-the-move, contrasting it to actual measurements. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential of a novel method, which extends the dimensions of personal exposure by including the situational context of exposure perception.Methods/case studyFirstly, different methods for exposure research are presented. Secondly, we introduce a novel mixed-method approach, exploring cyclists and pedestrians perceived and measured exposure on-the-move by combining mobile interviews (Go-/Ride-Alongs) and wearable sensors. We will present the methodological findings using a case study and have a quantitative method (smartphone questionnaire, wearable sensors) as a reference.Results and discussionThe differences of perceived and measured exposure, proven through the reference method, are a result of different situational contexts as shown by the mobile interviews (knowledge, embodied experience, life situation, activities). The methodological findings show, that mobile methods complemented by wearables introduce new dimensions of personal exposure: they shed light on the situational contexts that affect exposure perception during commute.ConclusionWe argue that both, perceived and measured exposure to air pollution and noise, need to be considered simultaneously. Complementing mobile interviews or surveys with wearable sensor data improves the understanding of urban dwellers requirements for healthier mobility. Potentials of these methods should be investigated further, both in research and for supporting urban transport planning decisions adapted to people's needs.     

Modelling tourism flows through gravity models: a quantile regression approach

Gravity models are widely used to study tourism flows. The peculiarities of the segmented international demand for agritourism in Italy are examined by means of a novel approach: a panel data quantile regression. We characterize the international demand for Italian agritourism with a large data set, by considering data of 33 countries of origin, from 1998 to 2010. Distance and income are the major determinants, but we also found that mutual agreements and high urbanization rates in countries of origin are associated with larger flows of incoming tourists.     

Impact of bus rapid transit on housing price and accessibility changes in Sydney: A repeat sales approach

ABSTRACT

New public transport infrastructure is expected to improve accessibility for local residents, and thus contribute to increased land value. The contribution that a bus rapid transit (BRT) system can make to increased land value is less certain than for rail-based systems, with the literature mostly containing bus-based examples from developing countries with extensive BRT networks. This article considers a BRT system named the Liverpool–Parramatta Transitway (LPT) that was implemented in southwestern Sydney in 2003 to improve public transport accessibility in the local area. A repeat sales model is constructed to investigate the impact of the LPT on residential housing prices and accessibility changes using repeat sales data from before and after the opening of the LPT. This identified little price difference between properties close to LPT stations and outside of the area that could be considered as affected by the LPT service coverage. This outcome is at variance with the theoretical underpinning of land value uplift and other empirical evidence relating to the LPT. Hedonic models using the same repeat sales data investigate the study area in more detail, stratifying the sample by housing type and by comparing separate before and after models. These research outcomes identify the extent to which the BRT system has an impact on local housing prices through accessibility improvements to the study area and provide a deeper understanding as to how the quantification of land value uplift from BRT represents one element of the wider economic benefits of a BRT system.     

Promises and problems: using GIS to analyse shopping travel

Geographical Information Systems enable spatial analysis of a scale and nature that has never been possible before. However, their practical utilisation in transport research remains limited. This paper describes the specific experience of using the TransCAD GIS to assess different ways of organising food shopping. It concentrates on the role played by the GIS. In doing so, it aims to highlight many general problems that limit the scope of GIS use, as well as the benefits of such systems, and the broader issues which affect research based on GIS. It concludes with recommendations for greater compatibility, standardisation and reliability for both GIS and GIS data, to encourage their use in the future.     

Potential performance of urban land use and transport strategies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: Khon Kaen case study,Thailand

ABSTRACT

Transport activities are a key contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global warming, and climate change. In Thailand, private cars are the second largest generator (after trucks) of GHG emissions from the transport sector. This article presents an analysis and evaluation of the implementation of land use and transport measures for reducing GHG emissions in the road network of the Khon Kaen University (KKU) area in Khon Kaen, Thailand. This research applied a bottom-up method to estimate the baseline GHG emissions for several scenarios by adopting the Clean Development Mechanism 2 (CDM2) and Pollution Control Department (PCD) methods over a 20-year planning horizon. The cleaner technology strategy clearly showed the greatest performance in reducing the GHG emission, followed by land use planning and restriction of private vehicle usage. The public transit improvement strategy illustrated the least GHG emissions reduction. Integrated scenarios clearly illustrated larger potential benefits, more effective than the individual scenarios. For both individual and integrated scenarios, the potential performances of the GHG emissions reduction estimated by the PCD method were greater than those assessed by the CDM2 method.     

Green hotel servicescape: attributes and unique experiences

ABSTRACT

The relationship between green hotel service attributes and consumption experiences remains unclear in the extant research, especially in the context of emerging economies such as India. This work uses a multi-method approach that combines in-depth interviews, word association and two-stage empirical validation to propose a three-dimensional framework for measuring a hotel’s green servicescape, composed of atmospherics, motifs and human encounters. Individual effects of each green servicescape sub-dimension on those of green experiential values, namely utilitarian, emotional, social and altruistic values, are examined. The results reveal interesting findings, some counterintuitive, which are expected to create new insights for academicians and practitioners alike.     

The effects of landscape fascination on subjective well-being and revisit intention: Evidence from agritourism destinations

This study adopted the reasonable person model (RPM) in the context of agritourism to identify tourists' preferences for features of agricultural landscapes; to examine the effects of agritourism landscape's fascination on subjective well-being and destination attachment, which in turn influence tourists' loyal behaviors; and to investigate the moderating effects of farm types. The quantitative and qualitative approaches were combined to obtain 1118 usable samples. The results validated the RPM by identifying the predictive power of landscape fascination, subjective well-being, and destination attachment on tourists' destination loyalty. Managerial implications for enhancing visitors' retentions in Taiwan were discussed.     

The threshold effects of educational tourism on economic growth

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effects of educational tourism and other variables on economic growth using a balanced panel dataset comprising 61 countries. We use the threshold regression model with three different threshold variables (i.e. educational tourism, research, and information and communication technology) to estimate non-monotonic mediating effects on economic growth. Our findings suggest that educational tourism has a significant positive impact on economic growth, but the effect is non-monotonic and contingent upon the level of educational tourism, the output of quality research, and the development of information and communication technology (ICT). It is proposed that policymakers should take into consideration these factors when proposing measures to stimulate economic growth via the educational tourism channel.