Tourism Policy,Tourism Organisations and Change Management in Alpine Regions and Destinations: A European Perspective

Tourism is of great economic importance and significance for the European East Alpine regions. But to an increasing degree, low productivity resulting from the small-business structure of the Alpine region weakens the economic and social leadership of tourism. In the last few decades overcoming these difficulties often included substantial supporting of institutionalised tourism organisations by tourism policy, with the intention to bundle forces and to achieve growing global competition. Change in international tourist markets demands the pursuance of completely new strategies, particularly because the small-business structure of Alpine tourism in the past has always been the basis for its many positive effects for the local and regional population alike. By keeping its function of balancing regional economic growth, tourism policy's main responsibility for the future in the East Alpine region will be to create the prerequisites required for an adaptation to the new situation in the tourist markets. In addition, the support of tourism organisations is needed for achieving corporate success, which cannot be realised by individual entrepreneurs in the tourist industry owing to their small-business structure. The key to adaptation lies in the improvement of qualifications. This improvement should lead to the development of new skills for tourist cooperations as a basis for the strategic transition from institutionalised tourism organisations to flexible and market-oriented destination management companies.     

Tourism,Religion and Religiosity: A Holy Mess

Although religion and religiosity are well-known factors for influencing behaviour in different social settings, there is very limited research that explores the links between them and visitation patterns of tourists. In this study tourists' visitation patterns to a heritage site of religious significance (the Wailing Wall, Israel) are explored. Differences are found between tourists based on their religious affiliation and religiosity. The findings also reveal that the tourists' religiosity has different effects on those with different religious affiliations. It is argued that the actual relationships between a tourist's religion and strength of religious belief need to be understood in relation to the site visited, the tourist's perception of it and the meaning he or she attaches to it. The implications for tourism management and the theoretical investigation of heritage tourism are discussed.     

Post-colonial Politics and Resurgent Heritage: The Development of Kyrgyzstan's Heritage Tourism Product

In 1991 the Kyrgyz Republic secured its political autonomy from the USSR and set out on the road to cultural and economic independence. Tourism was high on the development agenda, not least because of the country's abundance of natural assets, its experience with health and recreational tourism during the Soviet period and its lack of viable alternatives. During the post-colonial period, tourist activity has been based mainly on the country's mountains and lakes. More recently attempts to develop a heritage tourism product have mirrored the resurgence of ethnic Kyrgyz nationalism and Turkic culture throughout Central Asia. The paper identifies ethnic diversity and nationalist revivalism as potential constraints to the development of heritage tourism in Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, the issue of dissonant interest groups in the protection of the heritage of Kyrgyzstan is addressed. Much of the international interest in Kyrgyz heritage has been directed at the epos of the nomads of the Steppes and it is their protection, rather than that of tangible heritage sites, that has attracted sponsorship from UNESCO and other bodies. Additionally, the tangible heritage sites that have been proposed by the Kyrgyz government for World Heritage status are of domestic and regional, rather than international interest. Implications for the strategic development of Kyrgyzstan's heritage tourism product are discussed, with specific reference to world heritage.     

Supranationalist Alliances and Tourism: Insights from ASEAN and SAARC

This paper examines the influences of international free-trade alliances/regional trading blocs on tourism development. While relatively few of these coalitions mention tourism specifically, most of them deal with issues that are directly pertinent to tourism, such as environmental conservation, flows of people, regional promotion, infrastructure and transportation and trade in goods and services. This paper scans these issues in the tourism context as they pertain specifically to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). While the paper argues primarily that such alliances have potential for positive outcomes, their negative effects are also considered and many of the roadblocks to achieving successful multilateral regional blocs are highlighted.     

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.     

Turning a Global Crisis into a Tourism Opportunity: the Perspective from Tuvalu

The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008/2009 had a major impact on many small island states. In the case of Tuvalu, the GFC uncovered structural weaknesses in the national economy including the need to build alternative sources of income. Given the country's location and its rich marine resources, tourism is possibly the only new industry that has some capacity to generate new revenue streams. This article examines the problems that the country will face if it decides to pursue tourism and offers three options for tourism development including diving, ‘off the beaten track’ experiences and voyeuristic ‘last chance’ tourism. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When Hosts Become Guests: Return Visits and Diasporic Identities in a Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean Community

The broad intent of this paper is to further contribute to the existing literature that addresses VFR tourism. It suggests that the return visit may ultimately be positioned as a form or type of travel within the larger category of VFR tourism, but a form or type that has built within it a more clear understanding of historic and social contexts and processes. The other broad intent of the paper is to highlight the importance of the relationship between the returning visitor, originating from diasporic communities abroad, and the host community as a stage for the negotiation of identities. The return visit is shown to reflect such underlying processes yet continue to incorporate aspects of individual motivation, which when taken together demonstrate the fluidity of diasporic spaces and transnational identity structures. Using data obtained from ethnographic fieldwork among social networks within the Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean community in Toronto, Canada, it is suggested that return visits are used to retain social histories and contextualise social and cultural backgrounds after migration. The implications for VFR tourism and the relationship between diasporas, transnationalism and tourism are discussed, as is a conceptual model of the return visit.     

Contradictions of Rural Tourism Initiatives in Rural Development Contexts: Finnish Rural Tourism Strategy Case Study

In Western countries rural areas have faced major changes and challenges in the past decades. The role of traditional economies has decreased rapidly and the economic transition of rural areas has turned increasingly towards tourism production. By using a Finnish national scale rural tourism strategy and development programme as a case example, this paper argues that, while tourism can provide development for rural areas, the unrealistic expectations and goals may cause problems for rural communities. Unfeasible development goals of rural tourism are seen as the results of insufficient understanding of tourism dynamics and the lack of research-based or otherwise valid knowledge in development plans. In addition the connection between the ideas of rural tourism and sustainability is challenged in high tourism development goals and the related processes.     

Call for Papers: Special Edition of Current Issues in Tourism

Many national parks around the world are major tourist attractions. While increases in national park tourism provides business opportunities, there are several economic, social and ecological aspects that need to be monitored in order to sustain high quality visitor experiences. This paper reports findings from visitor surveys at Fulufjället National Park, Sweden–one year prior to and one year after the national park designation in 2002. The purpose is to monitor short term changes in park use. Data from on site visitor counters show a 40% increase in the number of visitors, while follow-up mail surveys reveal several changes in visitor characteristics, use patterns, expenditures and attitudes.     

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.     

Profiling road transport activity: Emissions from 2000 to 2005 in Ireland using national car test data

This work describes a methodology for determining the average vehicle kilometres travelled by the private national car fleet in Ireland and estimating the disaggregated CO₂ and NO_x emissions from private vehicles in the Irish road transport sector for the period 2000–2005 using national car test records. The developed methodology facilitates the calculation of greatly improved estimates for vehicle kilometres under a range of constraint variables and thereby enables the disaggregated analysis of specific vehicle fleet groups and their associated activity patterns to support evidence-based policy development. The results indicate that while older vehicles are contributing significantly to car NO_x emissions; newer cars produce a higher share of CO₂ emissions than older cars in the vehicle fleet.     

Undiscovered Public Knowledge: The Potential of Research Synthesis Approaches in Tourism Research

Twenty years ago, Donald Swanson coined the term ‘Undiscovered Public Knowledge’ to refer to the product of the synthesis of previous research. In the current climate, in a range of disciplines relevant to tourism research (e.g. policy, management, economics and psychology) there has been an increasing interest in the maximisation and re-use of previous research through a range of research synthesis approaches. This discussion paper considers three such approaches – systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-interpretation – and their actual and potential application in tourism research. The paper contends that the use of such approaches can assist in ensuring that the tourism research enterprise generates cumulative bodies of knowledge built on the full use and exploitation of previous research results.     

Tourism and electricity consumption in 9 European countries: a decomposition analysis approach

ABSTRACT

Tourism is a major economic activity constituting one of the main sectors in economic terms. European countries traditionally play a significant role in the overall international tourism flow. However, while tourism has a noticeable positive impact on economic development, it also contributes to environmental degradation by increasing energy consumption and therefore emissions. This paper analyses the relationships between Hotel and Restaurant electricity consumption and tourism growth in 9 European countries during 2004–2012, for which there is a sufficient amount of data available. A decomposition analysis based on log-mean Divisia index method (LMDI I) is conducted to examine electricity consumption on this sector and their components. Five decomposition factors are considered: energy intensity (EI), physical capital intensity (KI), physical and human capital relationship (KL), human capital intensity (LI) and the tourism factor (T). Results show the evolution of energy consumption related to this sector, identifying the driving forces that have influenced it.     

Government Intervention in Tourism Development: Case Studies from Japan and South Australia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons behind and the nature of the intervention of non-local levels of government in local land management and economic development to assist the development of major tourism facilities. Two examples are provided of government intervention, one from Japan and one from Australia, and they show how state intervention may both stimulate tourism development and distort local development planning policy. It is concluded that, although the contents and policies of local development plans are available and may be followed to some extent, in both systems major project decisions are taken out of the hands of local communities.     

Tourism development and economic growth: a panel Granger causality analysis in the frequency domain

In this paper, we test the causal relationship between economic growth and tourism development in the 1995–2012 period using recently developed panel Granger causality tests that allow for country-level heterogeneity, thus leading to more accurate results for the 12 Mediterranean countries. Although results of the Dumitrescu and Hurlin [(2012) testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels. Economic Modelling, 29(4), 1450–1460] panel Granger causality test show a unidirectional causality from tourism development to economic growth, results of the Croux and Reusens [(2013). Do stock prices contain predictive power for the future economic activity? A Granger causality analysis in the frequency domain. Journal of Macroeconomics, 35, 93–103] panel Granger causality analysis in the frequency domain show that there is a bidirectional temporary and permanent causality between tourism development and economic growth. The bidirectional causality relationship between tourism development and economic growth, which is the main finding of this study, suggests that in order to achieve high economic growth, policy-makers should focus on developing the tourism sector.     

Recreation and Tourism in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Key Influences on the Policymaking Process

This paper reports on a study completed in 2000 into the policymaking process for recreation and tourism in AONBs across England and Wales, with particular focus on the key influencing role of communication within this process. A number of practical measures, which might aid AONB communication and collaboration for policy development and implementation in the future, are derived from the research. In addition, the findings of the study lend weight to calls (current at the time of the research) for enhanced powers and funding for AONBs, particularly in respect of recreation and tourism provision.     

Towards Integration of Sustainability into Tourism Planning in Developing Countries: Egypt as a Case Study

This article argues that planning and thus implementation of sustainable tourism development would differ not only between the developed and less developed countries’ (LDCs) tourist destinations but also from one destination to another in developing countries. Although sustainability has been introduced to the global world as an avenue for the protection of the resources in the developing world that the intrageneration equity is one of its objectives, developing countries still lack the effective planning techniques and tools for implementation. Nevertheless, developed countries have got better opportunities for the implementation of such principles, ranging from appropriate funds and expertise needed for the planning tasks, to more stable economic and environmental conditions. As the capabilities of developing countries’ tourist destinations for adopting the principles of sustainability would differ, each of those destinations should be treated separately while assessing such abilities to implement sustainable tourism development. For this purpose, this article approaches the evaluation of the Egyptian tourist planning mechanism from a sustainable point of view. In order to achieve the research objectives, a benchmark technique has been employed by using sustainability indicators as criteria to judge the appropriateness of the tourist planning system against the principles of sustainable tourism development.     

Intimations of Postmodernity in Dark Tourism: The Fate of History at Fort Siloso,Singapore

In this paper, we examine what a few scholars have referred to as postmodernist intimations within contemporary tourism practices, and their potential implications on the way that history is portrayed within ‘dark tourism’ sites. Drawing upon the case of one such site, Fort Siloso, we emphasise two main implications: (1) the privileging, at the site, of the ‘visual’ and ‘experiential’ over the need for historical interpretations, and (2) the dilution of local specificities to make it universally appealing. We then analyse the views of visitors to the site, mainly tourists, to show that, while they appreciate the former, they are also critical of the fact that the past has been ‘watered-down’ at the site. On a broader note, we highlight a few paradoxes emerging within postmodernist conceptions of tourism today, and how the increase in demand for the enhancement of ‘the gaze’ does not necessarily mean a concomitant compromise on, and ideally should not be done at the expense of, historical rigour and depth.     

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.