Climate change adaptation in the Pacific Island tourism sector: analysing the policy environment in Vanuatu

Tourism is a growing economic sector in the South Pacific providing the region with great potential for economic development. Vanuatu and its neighbouring Small Island Developing States and Territories experience a high vulnerability to climate change impacts. The tourism sector in Vanuatu is particularly vulnerable, and it needs to develop and implement effective adaptation strategies to reduce climate change risks. Policies play an important role by providing the platform on which adaptation can occur and resilience be built. This study examines the policy environment in Vanuatu for its conduciveness to climate change adaptation. It identifies the types of adaptation processes (explicit or implicit) and types of adaptation measures (technical, business management, behavioural, policy, and research and education) and critically analyses the current tourism-related policies for their effectiveness in assisting the sector to address climate change. It is found that the majority of policies identified deal with climate change through implicit adaptation processes and mainly through the use of policy and research and education measures. The authors argue that in order to strengthen the resilience of the tourism industry, the Government of Vanuatu needs to develop and implement explicit climate change adaptation policies for the tourism sector.     

The differential futures of ski tourism in Ontario (Canada) under climate change: the limits of snowmaking adaptation

The international ski tourism industry is highly vulnerable to inter-annual climate variability and climate change. Accordingly, there is a strong need to advance our understanding of climate risk for this multi-billion tourism market that is so important to mountain regions around the world. This study addressed major limitations in the ski tourism literature, while concurrently supporting priority information needs of ski tourism stakeholders. An improved version of SkiSim 2.0 is applied to all 34 alpine ski areas in southern Ontario (Canada) to examine potential changes in the capacity of this regional marketplace. Model improvements include differential snowmaking capacities of individual ski areas, updated snowmaking decision rules, as well as a new indicator, termed ‘terrain-days’, to estimate changes in system capacity. The results project two fundamentally different futures for this ski tourism marketplace under climate change. If the international community succeeds in achieving the?+?2°C Paris Agreement policy goal, then losses in system capacity can be limited to less than 10% in the mid- and late-century. In contrast, a high-end emission scenario (RCP 8.5) would severely disrupt this ski tourism market by mid-century, with system capacity losses between 28% and 73%.     

Tourism,climate change and adaptation: a review

The relationship between tourism and changing climate has been discussed and studied for a relatively long time in tourism research. Over the past 15 years, more focused studies have begun to appear, and especially recently, the issue of adaptation has been emphasised as an urgent research need in tourism and climate change studies. This paper is based on a systematic review of the tourism and adaptation literature prior to 2012. It discusses adaptation challenges, the dimensions of vulnerability in a tourism context and the implications of such studies on communities. By dividing the current adaptation studies into business; consumer; destination; and policy- and framework-focused theme areas and traditions, the paper concludes that adaptation studies in tourism have so far had a limited focus on community perceptions, which in general has been an area of major interest in tourism research. More emphasis on community-based research in relation to tourism and climate change allows highly contextual adaptation challenges to be met in a more sustainable way.     

Ethnic tourism in Lao PDR: gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism for poverty reduction

A simultaneous analysis of gender and ethnicity provides a fuller understanding of how tourism initiatives benefit marginalised groups in developing countries. In this article, the gendered division of labour is analysed as a way to understand the micro-politics of ethnic tourism production aiming at poverty reduction in Laos. The aim is to demonstrate how constructions of gender and ethnicity impact on women's possibilities to benefit from community-based pro-poor tourism initiatives. Socially constructed notions of gendered behaviour influence divisions of tourism labour in specific spatialities, which we argue is crucial knowledge in the implementation of tourism projects aiming at poverty reduction. The assumption that ‘the poor’ constitute a homogenous group might hide an uneven distribution of tourism benefits in local communities. By focusing on factors which marginalise women, the article demonstrates inequalities between men and women in the division of tourism work. A village in northern Laos is used as a case study to examine aspects impacting on gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism in Laos. Two examples, the Akha people's belief in and worship of spirits, and provision of massage, are used to illuminate reasons behind gendered imbalances in more detail.     

Entrepreneurship in nature-based tourism under a changing climate

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study examining the values and attitudes of nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in relation to adaptation to climate change. The aim is to focus on tourism stakeholders’ values and ideas about tourism entrepreneurship, which may bring interesting new insights to the tourism and climate change research and support the industry in adaptation and mitigation processes. The data utilised in this paper consists of 19 thematic interviews conducted with nature-based tourism entrepreneurs in Finland between 2009 and 2013. Analysis of the data reveal issues concerning views on entrepreneurship in general, on the independence and individuality of the enterprises, on the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in the processes of adaptation and on the attitudes towards innovations and actions in the changing climate. These issues, together with the rate and scale of the change, seem to affect decision-making by the enterprises, but their importance as predictors of action and behavioural intentions needs to be studied more thoroughly. Additionally, more information is required regarding the role of the surrounding social environment as a co-creator of these kinds of values. However, the study supports previous studies on entrepreneurship and its influence on survival and resilience.     

Tourism and climate change: a review of threats and adaptation strategies for Africa

The intersection of tourism and climate change has seen significant research over the past two decades, focusing particularly on issues of mitigation and adaptation in the global North. Research output has predominantly been centred on the Mediterranean and Nordic countries and number of localities in North America. The global South has seen significantly less investigation, despite having significantly lower adaptive capacity to the impacts of climate change, and numerous countries with rapidly growing tourism sectors. The African continent specifically has seen appreciably less research than other countries in the global South, despite arguably having the lowest adaptive capacity and projections of severe impacts of climate change to the tourism sector from temperature increases, changes in precipitation volume and sea level rise. This paper therefore presents a review of the existing literature on adaptation strategies of tourism sectors and participants in African countries. The crucial argument of this paper is in highlighting the need for an increase in research into the threats of climate change to tourism in African countries, identifying future research trajectories. The development of such knowledge would assist in the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies for these most vulnerable tourism economies.     

Mobilizing knowledge: determining key elements for success and pitfalls in developing community-based tourism

Community-based tourism (CBT) has often been cited as an alternative to mass tourism and an approach for tourism to become more sustainable. If developed well, CBT can become a poverty alleviation mechanism and a way to access improvements in quality of life, providing empowerment and greater economic benefit to individuals in local communities. Despite the plethora of literature on CBT and evaluation of models, there is little analysis of the facilitators and barriers to achieving it. Through the use of case studies in both academic and grey literature, this paper serves as an instructive review of the CBT literature to synthesize the key elements of success and the challenges.     

Evaluating participation in community-based tourism: a local perspective in Laos

This study aims to understand how local community members viewed and evaluated the success of a community-based tourism (CBT) project implemented in Laos. The study identified three distinctive groups according to levels of participation and responsibilities adopted, namely active participation, passive participation, and non-participation. The findings suggest that there are mixed perceptions and evaluations of equal participation among community members. The active participation group was mainly comprised of community leaders, exhibited high levels of participation, including in the decision-making process, and thus positively evaluated their participation and the success of the CBT project in their village. However, the great majority of community members were in the passive participation and non-participation groups, seldom participated in the project, and were sceptical of future CBT projects, as the current project appeared to be based on unequal participation from the very beginning.     

Collaborative marketing for the sustainable development of community-based tourism enterprises: a reconciliation of diverse perspectives

ABSTRACT

Collaborative marketing for the sustainable development of community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs) is subject to diverse stakeholder perspectives and a complex mix of factors determining collaboration success. This research investigates a framework supporting stakeholder collaborations in marketing CBTEs for sustainable development. The proposed framework is an outcome of the process of reconciling divergent perspectives in CBTE collaborative marketing using a knowledge co-production approach. Particularly, knowledge interactions between researchers and research participants to achieve a synthesis of perspectives in developing a collaborative marketing approach for the sustainable development of CBTEs in Vietnam were investigated. The knowledge interaction occurred in the form of a workshop that included 15 CBTE stakeholders and the first author and was undertaken in the village of Triem Tay (Vietnam). Through the workshop, a collaborative marketing framework for CBTE sustainability was identified. The framework stated the reasons for the divergence of perspectives on CBTE collaborative marketing for sustainable development: limited understanding of involved stakeholders; individuality in collective efforts; stakeholder self-righteousness; and contextual factors. Accordingly, the framework identified four attributes supporting stakeholders collaborations in marketing CBTEs for sustainable development: improved and right-directed perspectives of CBTE stakeholders; a set of rules governing stakeholder interventions; government involvement in CBTE collaborative marketing in the roles of an inspirer and an arbitrator; and the transformation from successful tour operators to social entrepreneurship to facilitate CBTE collaborative marketing. The contribution of this study lies in the potential of a knowledge co-production approach to be utilised in collaborative works involving multiple perspectives. Additionally, the study provides insights into the discussion of community-based tourism collaboration.     

Appraisal of literature on customer experience in tourism sector: review and framework

A substantial body of literature has been built up in experience marketing. In spite of that there is no cohesive framework that has systematically examined antecedents, formation and implications of customer experience, or has classified different aspects of customer experiences. The purpose of this article is to derive an integrative review of published articles on consumer experience and its related topics. The study synthesizes the research on customer experience through two different but interrelated streams: (1) experience as a product attribute or a complete product and (2) consumer experience created due to customer interaction with the physical environment or people. This article develops a framework that corroborates literature related to (1) definitional aspects of customer experience, (2) formation of customer experience, (3) asserting consumer psychology in engaging in the creation of experience and its consumption and (4) the effects of customer experience. We first review available prior research and present the salient features of these articles and their findings. The research gaps are then identified and a set of propositions provided, followed by directions for future research. This article also identifies some methodological issues that are relevant in the context of individual level effect on customer experience.     

Preparing for climate change: recognising its early impacts through the perceptions of dive tourists and dive operators in the Egyptian Red Sea

Climate change has the potential to permanently alter the attraction of many destinations and substantially impact the benefits derived from tourism. These impacts can be reduced if vulnerability to climate change is understood and operators take steps to adapt. Some of the more immediate and manageable impacts are likely to result from changes in tourist perceptions and attitudes towards climate change. We test for early impacts in the Red Sea region and for the awareness of tourism operators. We interviewed 150 tourists and 35 operators. Our data suggest that changes in tourist awareness are already apparent; yet, operators ascribe only a moderate level of environmental and climate awareness to them. This ‘perception gap’ increases the vulnerability of dive operators.     

Welcome to the Wet Tropics: the importance of weather in reef tourism resilience1

As one of Australia's iconic tourism attractions and one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an important economic, social and natural resource for Queensland's Tropical North. However, the long-term prognosis for the health of the reef and by implication, the industries dependent on it, is not positive. So far much attention has focussed on the health and resilience of the reef ecosystem, as a foundation for a resilient tourism industry. In this study we explore how weather conditions have affected the reef experiences of 1000 tourists to the Cairns/Port Douglas region, suggesting that this may also be an important indicator of change on the reef. The results suggest that poor weather has a more pronounced effect on experiences than good weather and reinforce the likelihood that seasickness, cold and wet conditions, reduced water visibility, and difficult snorkelling/diving conditions will reduce overall levels of satisfaction. Poor weather was found to have a direct effect on satisfaction scores, the likelihood that reef and tour expectations were not realised, and lowered perceived value for money. These are important considerations for the reef centred tourism industry that is currently facing strong environment pressures from climate change.     

Effects of drought on cultural tourism: selected cases of Maasai tourism groups surrounding Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

This study explores the effect of drought on cultural tourism by applying the case study approach using the Maasai women’s groups surrounding Tarangire National Park (TNP) in Tanzania. Semi-structured interviews and observations were used to collect data from 30 purposefully selected Maasai women and 30 tourists. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings show that drought affects tourism both positively and negatively. Positively, drought forges unity among individuals, and creates the community’s external links that are crucial for tourism development. Negatively, drought interferes with the development and delivery of tourist products, thus destroying their quality and service delivery. Despite the challenges tourism faces during times of drought, including the scarcity of raw materials for making cultural products, 50% of the respondents would rather continue with tourism as a strategy to curb the effect of drought than their traditional livelihoods. Theoretically, the study shows the importance of the cultural ecology and livelihood lenses in investigating the effects of drought on tourism in a cultural setting. Practical recommendations for tourism authorities and stakeholders, as well as areas for future research, are provided.     

Adapting to climate change: perceptions of vulnerability of down-hill ski area operators in Southern and Middle Finland

Climate change is likely to affect the tourism sector, particularly areas, such as snow-based tourism, that are directly dependent on climate and weather conditions. Especially vulnerable are low-lying ski areas. This study identifies the climatic factors that are crucial for economically successful operation of low-lying ski areas in Southern and Middle Finland and contemplates how these factors are seen to change with climate change. The study then analyses the preferences for and perceptions of adaptation strategies of downhill ski operators in terms of the adaptation measures they can implement or are willing to take. The findings indicate that climatic conditions set preconditions for the operation of the ski areas, but short-term operational prospects and inter-annual variability in weather conditions rather than foreseen changes in climatic conditions guide the operational decisions of the ski area operators. A key adaptation strategy to respond to uncertain snow conditions is artificial snowmaking, which lowers the vulnerability of the areas to the impacts of climate change too.     

Island cruise tourism development: a resident's perspective in the context of Italy

Most studies that examine tourism impacts and community attitudes have been carried out from the perspective of the tourism sector as a whole, with very few papers focusing on specific types of tourism and/or analysing tourists' preferences for specific types of tourism segment. This paper discusses some pertinent issues in relation to cruise tourism development and community attitudes in a port of call cruise destination located in the island of Sicily (Southern Italy). Specifically, this study was carried out using a quota random sample of 1500 responses, which is representative of the population of Messina at 1% level. Findings show that residents express an overall positive attitude towards cruise tourism development even if it is not the most preferred when compared to other types of tourism (cultural tourism, sport tourism, and sun and sea tourism). Further, they highlight that significant differences based on socio-economic and demographic characteristics (age, gender, reliance on cruise-related employment, level of education, geographical proximity to tourist areas and port, length of residency and frequency of interaction with tourists) exist in residents' perceptions and attitudes towards cruise tourism development. Implications for policy-makers are discussed and suggestions for further research are given.     

Tourism,climate change and the mass media: the representation of the issue in Spain

This paper sets out to analyse the information dedicated to climate change and tourism in the Spanish press in the Mediterranean region of the peninsula during the period 1990–2010. Specifically, it seeks to determine the quantitative evolution of media coverage of climate change and tourism and the importance given to this subject. Adequate media attention in both quantitative and qualitative terms could greatly influence public concern and contribute to the social mobilization that will be needed to negotiate/resist the phenomenon in a geographical area in which tourism is a major economic and territorial driver and which is particularly vulnerable to climate change. To construct the corpus, we undertook a systematic analysis of newspaper coverage of tourism and climate change in the media selected; and we carried out content analysis of the 1014 units identified. The results indicate that the coverage is outstanding in quantitative terms. However, the importance given to the subject is quite marginal.     

Climate change and tourism in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Climate change impacts such as coral bleaching are now evident on many coral reefs visited by tourists. This paper reports on climate change workshops and climate change actions implemented by tourism operators and agencies in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with a focus on eco-efficiency initiatives. The results of a climate change action survey of 82 Great Barrier Reef tourism operators are also presented. Climate change responses by coral reef destinations require a mix of environmental and business strategies.     

Deconstructing the indigenous in tourism. The production of indigeneity in tourism-oriented labelling and handicraft/souvenir development in Northern Europe

ABSTRACT

In literature on tourism in northern or ‘Arctic’ areas and on regions and places in northern areas, terms such as ‘indigenous’ and ‘non-indigenous’ are often used to distinguish people and places from each other. The aim of this paper is to deconstruct the ‘indigenous’/‘non-indigenous’ categories as well as the geographical categories to which they are linked, using examples from tourism in northern Fennoscandia and northwest Russia, selected as areas with circumstances that vary greatly both locally and regionally. Specific focus is on the construction of labels and restrictions of use, particularly regarding handicrafts/souvenirs as a specific object of indigeneity to separate it from other objects. The study reviews the processes in tourism for constructing, labelling, and valuing – and thereby also exerting power upon – specific conceptions, and thereby also on the contesting of such processes amongst broader, but often unacknowledged, local groups.     

An innovative method to optimize the maintenance policies in an aircraft: General framework and case study

Maintenance policies applied to aircrafts are governed by a mix of airworthiness authorities’ regulations and choices of suppliers and users. This allows airlines to use different strategies to minimize the total costs of maintenance. In this paper, a new approach that integrates the failure and reparation processes, such as modelling, optimization algorithms, and simulation methods, is proposed to define the best maintenance strategies for complex systems.A case study of an airline carrier is presented. In particular, several critical components for the A320 aircraft family are considered. The impact of the spare parts inventory management is discussed. Different preventive maintenance policies are tested and simulated. With the new policies, the average availability of the aircraft is satisfactory and the total annual cost is reduced to a value of approximately 20% in comparison with the previous policies adopted by the company.     

Negotiation,bargaining, and discounts: generating WoM and local tourism development at the Tabriz bazaar,Iran

This paper examines the effects of negotiation intention, bargaining propensity, and discount satisfaction on word-of-mouth (WoM) behaviours for tourists visiting Tabriz bazaar, Iran. Data from 615-survey respondents highlight that tourists are motivated to conduct WoM behaviour when they are experientially satisfied with the opportunity to negotiate and bargain, and when they are satisfied with the discount they receive. This paper makes theoretical contributions to social exchange theory and presents managerial implications for policy-makers to generate tourism development.