Residents’ attitudes on the contribution of cultural tourism in Tanzania

This study aimed at evaluating residents’ attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism to the social welfare of the local rural residents participating in cultural tourism activities by factoring gender and level of education as possible differentiating factors in residents’ attitudes. Based on survey of local people in northern part of Tanzania, a questionnaire was administered that yielded data that were subjected to a series of t-tests. The results indicate residents to have both positive and negative attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Gender differences are noted to relate with cultural tourism participation and attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Females benefit more from cultural tourism than males in economic terms. Having education raises the chances of locals having a more positive attitude towards cultural tourism. From the results, implications to facilitators in cultural tourism to further aid tourism contribution to the locals are derived.     

Framing scrappage in Germany and the UK: from climate discourse to recession talk?

This paper highlights the distinctive discursive framing of transport policy in Germany and the UK. Using an analysis of the introduction of the ‘scrappage bonus’ in both countries, against the background of the financial crisis, we show how distinct nationally specific discourses and political cultures are expressed within these. The German government was an early adopter of the policy, but the UK government was relatively late in introducing its own scheme. While the German scrappage scheme was introduced officially as an environmental bonus, the UK scheme did not make any reference to environmental concerns. We argue that these differences are important in the context of a wider research aim, to identify nationally specific mobility regimes and to develop an understanding of different possible pathways towards more environmentally friendly transport futures.     

‘Gap Year' in China: views from the participants and implications for the future

This paper contributes to debate about how tourism is conceptualised. It takes a discursive approach to understanding some of the rules and relations that have influenced the way tourism has been defined ‘conventionally’ with particular attention to a way of seeing tourism that has the hallmarks of a tourist looking-glass. From here an examination is made of more contemporary movements that undermine conventional discourse. In searching for some common ground between these different approaches to tourism, a synthesis can start to be developed around the idea of relations and context. Tying these contemporary analyses to a relational and contextual basis invites some coherence in the search for new directions for tourism discourse.     

Can the built environment explain gender gap in cycling? An exploration of university students' travel behavior in Toronto,Canada

The benefits of cycling as a healthier and more sustainable transportation alternative to private automobile is emphasized in both literature and policy. One key policy challenge in improving cycling rates is the significant gender gap in cycling that exists across urban regions in North America. In this study, travel behavior of >10,000 students attending four universities in Toronto, Canada, was analyzed to explore gender-based differences in cycling uptake. The mode share for cycling was higher for non-commute trips (9%) when compared to commuting trips to universities (7.6%). In addition, men had higher cycling rates than women, for both commute and non-commute trips. Results from binomial logistic regression models indicate that the built environment-related correlates were different between male and female students, and between commute and non-commute trips. Access to bicycle lanes or cycle tracks was found to increase the odds of female commuter cycling. This effect, however, was moderate in the neighborhoods with higher land use mix. Further, high-speed traffic was a significant barrier to cycling among female commuters. Noticeably, our analysis did not find major gender-based differences in the coefficients relating to travel attitudes and preferences. The findings provide a Canadian comparison to the limited international research on this topic, as well as offer new insights particularly relating to cycling for non-commute trips. The results identify potential avenues for policy intervention regarding the promotion of healthy and sustainable travel behavior among post-secondary students, and more broadly, the millennial generation.     

Ports in multi-level maritime networks: evidence from the Atlantic (1996–2006)

While maritime transport ensures about 90% of world trade volumes, it has not yet attracted as much attention as other transport systems from a graph perspective. As a result, the relative situation and the evolution of seaports within maritime networks are not well understood. This paper wishes verifying to what extent the hub-and-spoke strategies of ports and ocean carriers have modified the structure of a maritime network, based on the Atlantic case. We apply graph measures and clustering methods on liner movements in 1996 and 2006. The methodology also underlines which ports are increasing their position by carriers’ circulation patterns on various scales. This research demonstrates that the polarization of the Atlantic network by few dominant ports occurs in parallel with the increased spatial integration of this area by shipping lines.     

Reducing car-use for leisure: Can organised walking groups switch from car travel to bus and train walks?

This paper deals with the significant leisure travel sector, focusing on the attitudes of organised walking groups towards public transport use. A series of interviews with walking group leaders explored the design of organised walks, and factors affecting journeys to and from start points. The themes presented suggest an overlying group culture involving mainly circular walks, reached by car. The research indicates an underlying engrained dependency on cars to reach walks and a degree of opposition to using public transport, which generally contradicts widely-held attitudes towards protecting the environment. Future research should focus more in depth on the long-term removal of psychological barriers to using public transport for leisure, and persuasive measures aimed at groups.     

Understanding the changing Intangible Cultural Heritage in tourism commodification: the music players’ perspective from Lijiang,China

ABSTRACT

While Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) emerges as a new topic in the fields of heritage studies and tourism studies, the changeability of ICH in tourism commodification is still under-researched. The tension between protection and commodification of ICH is intensified when ICH is regarded as a heritage to protect and a resource for commodification, such as in the case of China. With a musical ICH element in Lijiang, China as the case, this paper applies a Critical Heritage Studies approach to investigate the values and components of ICH from the perspective of the music players. From both the diachronic and synchronic dimensions, the research shows that the players construct the values of their ICH in a subject, diverse and dynamic process. The less- and the more-commodified forms of performance are not clearly differentiated; rather, they are regarded as equally important to realise players’ dynamic and subjective needs. Provided practitioners can engage with their ICH freely, commodification can be seen as an indispensable form of the ICH-making process. This paper aims to reveal the dynamism of ICH, to rethink the commodification of ICH, and to rethink the relationship between the commodification and the making of ICH from a critical approach.     

Does CSR contribute to the development of rural young people in cultural tourism of sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from the Niger Delta in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

We assess the impact of a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) model of multinational oil companies on the development of rural young people (RYP) in cultural tourism in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Six hundred RYP were sampled across the rural Niger Delta region. Using the logit model, results indicate that RYP have remained widely excluded from the General Memorandum of Understandings (GMoUs) interventions in cultural tourism projects due to the traditional beliefs that cultural affairs are prerogatives of elders, a caveat to the youths. This implies that if the traditions of the communities continue to hinder direct participation of the RYP from the GMoUs cultural tourism project interventions, achieving equality and cultural change would be limited in the region. The findings suggest that since handicrafts are key cultural products consumed in the tourism industry, GMoUs can play a role in helping to create an appropriate intervention structure that will be targeted towards youth empowerment in the area of traditional handicraft. This can be achieved if the Cluster Development Boards would focus on integrating rural young artisans into local tourism value chains, ensuring they benefit economically from the sector, and creating space for the views of RYP indigenous handicrafts knowledge.     

Charging parking by the minute: What to expect from this parking pricing policy?

In the days when parking had to be charged by a person or a mechanical device, it made sense to charge by blocks of time. However, these days, computers are capable of charging by the minute (or second if an operator so chooses), so technically there is no need for block pricing and the pricing strategy can be a policy decision. Operators, in one hand, are unaware of the impact of this measure on parking turnover and may believe that daily income will be affected. Businesses, on the other hand, will want to know if the measure has an effect on whether or not trips motivated by non-social activities will be carried out, given that they are spontaneous and are directly related to a client's perception. Finally, practical implications in terms of client response have not been studied, since smaller charging blocks may be considered as a disincentive to make additions to stay duration; this has repercussions on turnover and consequently on wait time at the entrance. This paper covers the abovementioned topics based on a study carried out in Barcelona (Spain).     

The return from travel: a new beginning?

Within the context of the return from long-term travel, this paper uncovers the transitional and at times traumatic nature of return for 24 OE (overseas experience) travellers. Important considerations are raised in respect of easing repatriation distress among those returning from long-term travel. Contributing an understanding of the experience of return from travel, this paper proffers that return to the place one left to travel from does not necessarily mark the end of the journey. Conversely, it can mark a new beginning. As such, we argue that a broader framework for examining the travel experience is called for; notably, one that extends the examination of the travel experience to the return phase and beyond.     

An empirical investigation of the seaport’s economic impact: Evidence from major ports in China

In this study, we investigate the impact of the seaport on host city’s economic development. Based on data from 41 major port cities in China over the period 2003–2010, our econometric analysis shows that port cargo throughput has a positive effect on the economic growth of the host city. In addition, the competing ports in the neighborhood have an even larger positive association with the local port city. Through examining some of the most dynamic ports in the world, this study provides a renewed understanding of the economic importance of seaports.     

Can Benefits in Recreational Parks in Malaysia Be Transferred? A Choice Experiment (CE) Technique

This paper analyses benefit transfer in the case of recreational parks using the choice experiment (CE) technique. The CE was employed because it allows different changes in recreational park attributes to be taken into account. The analyses were performed in terms of transferability of valuation function and willingness to pay (WTP) values. The results for the valuation function suggest that the estimated coefficients between the two sites are not transferable. However, the estimated WTP values can be transferred. The results suggest the suitability of using the CE approach in analysing benefit transfer if the objective is to transfer the WTP values rather than the valuation function. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rethinking the spatiality of Nordic electric vehicles and their popularity in urban environments: Moving beyond the city?

With a global transition to electric vehicles (EVs) slowly gaining traction, it is expedient to move the debate to issues connected to geography, space, and place. One of these emerging issues is the uptake of EVs in rural areas. This paper provides a spatial state of affairs in the Nordic region and it explores how EVs are perceived and argued to fit within rural-suburban-urban categories by users and potential adopters. To do so, it draws on a mix of original and secondary data: (1) a randomized survey among 4322 respondents, (2) 227 expert interviews, (3) eight focus groups conducted across Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, and (4) geographically mapped municipal level vehicle registrations across Norway and Sweden. This data shows that while the uptake primarily takes place in (sub)urban regions, EVs are used in rural environments, partly for self-sufficiency reasons. After acknowledging that individual choices and circumstances dictate final purchase decisions, the paper concludes that planners and researchers should be aware off and, if possible, prevent that a skewed urbanized popularity keeps people elsewhere from looking at EVs as a viable option.     

Negative Image? Developing the Visual in Tourism Research

Today, knowledge about the world is increasingly articulated visually and the ocularcentric nature of tourism is widely recognised by tourism 'professionals' and academics, as well as by tourists and 'locals'. This article examines the role of visual evidence in tourism research and takes as its starting point the convolution of 'looking', 'seeing' and 'knowing' in western culture. It then considers the 'status' of image-based research in the social sciences with particular reference to tourism studies. It is suggested that the recent interest in the so-called 'pictorial turn' heralds new opportunities for tourism researchers to embrace emerging visual methodologies and in this regard the utilisation of video in tourism research is briefly explored.     

Including aviation emissions in the EU ETS: Much ado about nothing? A review

The European Community, motivated by the rapid growth of the aviation industry and related impacts on climate change, has decided to include aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Mitigation policies such as the EU ETS are considered to be necessary in order to change travel behaviour and induce operational and technological changes in the aviation industry that will result in lower environmental impacts. This paper reviews the available impact assessments of the proposed emissions trading scheme for airlines published between 2005 and 2009. It analyses the methods used and finds that the models used are often over-simplified, omitting important variables or that the reliability and robustness of the modelling results are reduced by linking models that are based on different assumptions. The paper also summarises the possible environmental (CO₂ emissions) and economic (air fares, demand for airline services, supply of airline services, competitiveness, GDP, carbon price) impacts in the studies reviewed for the year 2020. Overall, the effects are found to be small: for example, CO₂ emissions are expected to decline by a maximum of 3.8% and the maximum impact on GDP in the EU was found to be ?0.002%. The reasons for these insignificant impacts are analysed in this paper; it is also found that there are some positive aspects of including aviation in the EU ETS.     

Can freeway traffic volume information facilitate urban accessibility assessment?: Case study of the city of St. Louis

In urban contexts, accessibility measures are often utilized to represent the interactions among land use, transport and people’s trips to services and other facilities. Accessibility is generally evaluated using conventional traffic measures such as travel time and distance, but traffic volume, which is a product of the travel trips induced by people’s needs, may also be positively related to accessibility. This study tests the hypothesis “can freeway traffic volume information facilitate urban accessibility assessment?” Traffic volume based accessibility models are proposed to investigate this relationship and test the hypothesis. The results indicate that the answer to this question is a qualified “yes”, as there is a statistically significant relationship between traffic volume differences and accessibility. The coefficients of the models can potentially be used as a reference to guide the urban planning process. The limitations of the proposed models can be addressed by deploying Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) traffic sensors on ramps and arterial roadways.