Motives and behaviour of second home owners in Iceland reflected by place attachment

Second home tourism has a long tradition in the Nordic countries, and seems to be gradually growing worldwide. The processes underpinning the decision to own a second home are often complex and connected with numerous influencing factors such as cultural setting, personal preferences and attitudes, economic situation, as well as practical questions regarding distance, anticipated utilization, and localization factors. The relationship between the environment in which the second home is situated and the prospective homeowners is likely to have a strong geographic character. This study aims to assess and analyse the habits and motivations of second home owners in Iceland and evaluate whether their behavioural patterns and patterns of geographical preferences can be explained by the concept of place attachment. The results reveal that place attachment can be seen as a significant localization factor influencing temporal and spatial development of second homes, which in turn helps explain the observed geographical patterns. While it has also been shown that homeowners with a prior connection to the locations in question do display different behavioural patterns than homeowners who obtained property in locations to which they had no prior connection, the results further reveal that heterogeneity is caused by diversity in lengths of ownership rather than being due to place attachment. In conclusion, the concept of place attachment is of only limited use in seeking to explain differences in behaviour among second home owners subsequent to the acquisition of property, suggesting that different forms of place attachment produce similar behavioural patterns.     

Confrontations and concessions: an everyday politics of tourism in three ethnic minority villages,Guizhou Province,China

As a state-promoted livelihood diversification approach for ethnic minority communities in rural China, tourism development influences household and community assets in diverse ways. Focusing on three case study villages in Qiandongnan Hmong and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, we compare the livelihoods of one village without tourism to date (but slated for tourism development in the near future), one with a ‘medium’ level of tourism, and another where tourism is in full force. Our analysis of the transitional characteristics of these communities focuses on agriculture, income-related activities, cultural norms, and social relationships to shed light on the everyday politics of ethnic minority households under different stresses and demands from local government and state-controlled tourism businesses. We find that confrontations have arisen due to tourism expansion and state tourism planning directives among a wide range of stakeholders: Zhailao elites, core and peripheral tourism communities, country-level governments, local residents, and tourists. In turn, local residents have made broad concessions ranging from resignation to unwelcome changes in their livelihoods and new income inequalities, to acceptance of certain tourism-based changes and reallocation of resources. In sum, we find that villagers’ everyday politics involves coping with or challenging new tensions in diverse ways, yet at times marginalisation remains.     

Home – tourism’s uncanny

We argue that home proper is tourism’s uncanny. Questions of home do not take centre stage in the discipline. Of course second homes have been explored in tourism studies. However, home proper has not been a subject worthy of philosophical/theoretical deliberations, analytical or methodological debates. Strange as it may seem, the discipline is home-less.     

Local stakeholders,role and tourism development

Building sustainable communities, as well as sustainable forms of livelihood, including tourism, has been a key objective among many government agencies and community stakeholders. Against this background, and through the lens of role theory, the present study investigates the potential for sustainable tourism to be developed in a rural community. Data were gathered among business owners and residents of Bridgetown, Western Australia. Four key groups of participants emerged, each emphasizing participants' role as community, and therefore, as tourism stakeholders. Alignment with various perspectives of role theory, including functional, “symbolic interactionist”, structural and cognitive was noticed; similarly, consensus, conformity and role taking were identified as key concepts. Whether currently involved in tourism or not, participants' pro-active role suggesting practical ways to enhance the sustainability of local tourism could be a powerful tool in this and other communities seeking to build their destination image.     

Stakeholders' perceptions of tourism development in Cape Verde,Africa

The perceptions of tourism stakeholders regarding the effects of tourism development in their communities are essential in ensuring the proper design and implementation of sustainable tourism development strategies in an area. We designed a survey to gather data about the attitudes of three stakeholders: tourists, residents, and business owners. The respondents were from the island of Sao Vicente in the African archipelago of Cape Verde, which is currently under expansion. The results showed that the three groups positively view increased tourism development in the area, with virtually no differences found between business owners and the other groups, although tourists had a more favourable opinion than residents. Engaging the three groups is essential for the success of tourism development.     

Teasing the boundaries of ‘volunteer tourism’: local NGOs looking for global workforce

Ongoing scholarly discussions on international volunteer tourism focus primarily on volunteer tourists as subjects and local communities as their near-static objects. This ethnographic study reverses that focus. Five developmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are explored as active agents that see tourists and travellers as a resource and a free workforce in Dharamsala's Tibetan diaspora settlement in India. These NGOs have found a unique way of increasing the volume of volunteer tourism by offering tourists and travellers accessible volunteering opportunities on the spot, particularly as English-language tutors for Tibetan newcomers. Tourists and travellers in Dharamsala are backpacker oriented and usually interested in Tibetan culture, representing a perfect target group for NGOs offering them meaningful encounters with Tibetans. This study aims to broaden the scope of scholarly discussion and conceptualization of volunteer tourism. It provides an example of how volunteer tourism could become an increasingly effective tool for NGOs in the Global South, in an increasingly equitable manner. It also demonstrates how the method found by the Tibetan NGOs contests the current critique of commodification in volunteer tourism. Within volunteer tourism, true empowerment of local communities can only occur when the locals are in control and able to set their own goals.     

The Attractiveness of Second Home Areas in Sweden: A Quantitative Analysis

The attractiveness of second home areas is usually measured in absolute figures. Such an approach ignores that second home areas have different potentials to attract second home buyers, because of their relative location in relation to major population centres. Hence, absolute figures represent the total distribution of the population rather than the amenity of a location. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relative attractiveness, here expressed as relative acceptance (RA), of second home areas in Sweden, which accounts for the spatial context of the areas. The analysis is based on a comprehensive dataset containing geo-references for all second homes and second home owners in Sweden in 2001.     

Fostering community empowerment and capacity building through tourism: perspectives from Dullstroom,South Africa

This study observed tourism development in the popular South African destination of Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, and sought to identify the significant social benefits that have been fostered as a result. Dullstroom is synonymous with fly-fishing and is well-known throughout the country for its unique natural environment that is host to diverse flora and fauna. In the South African context, the impacts generated by tourism development on local communities have remained preoccupied with the economic benefits they deliver and rarely the important social gains that may also be developed. Between October 2012 and March 2013, a qualitative research methodology was developed to capture the views and experiences of 46 local employees (predominantly Non-white, South African females) and 16 owners or managers of local tourism-focused businesses. The findings reveal that tourism development has provided a number of positive impacts and that local community members encountered a number of benefits that ventured beyond economic factors. These benefits included empowerment through capacity building and the acquisition of positions that involved a high degree of responsibility, many of which would have been otherwise unobtainable but for the support of local tourism businesses. Others were afforded opportunities to pursue formal qualifications that enabled them to pursue dreams of senior positions or even new career paths beyond Dullstroom. The platforms that enabled these outcomes are discussed from the perspectives of both employers and employees in the local tourism economy.     

Rural tourism — meeting the challenges of the new South Africa

Rural tourism in South Africa has undergone fundamental change since the advent of political democracy in 1995. Previously perceived as a ‘white man's thing’, rural tourism is increasingly finding a home amongst South Africa's formerly marginalised rural communities. The country has considerable potential in attracting tourists in search of new, exciting experiences in areas of unexploited natural beauty and rich cultural resources. The concept of rural tourism has mushroomed to include adventure tourism activities, cultural tourism and, lately, a new phenomenon in rural communities known as ‘township tourism’. There are, however, substantial challenges to be overcome if the rural tourism sector is to achieve its goals. These include a lack of capacity at local government level, the difficulties involved in operationalising community‐based rural tourism and the dearth of entrepreneurial expertise, management skills and capital with which to expand the rural tourism infrastructure. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pajala as a literary place: in the readings and footsteps of Mikael Niemi

This paper concerns the relationship between literature and tourism, with specific focus on the Swedish novelist Mikael Niemi and his influence on local tourism development in his home municipality of Pajala. Attention is paid to how the success of Niemi's breakthrough novel Populärmusik från Vittula has turned Pajala into a well-known ‘literary place’, at the same time increasing tourism in the region. This paper discusses the literary meanings of Pajala by comparing two alternative ways of comprehending the idea of ‘Pajala as a literary place’. Pajala is approached as (1) a stage for the local and regional identities represented in Niemi's novel, and (2) a re-produced real-world experience for ‘literary pilgrims’, tourists wandering in the footsteps of Mikael Niemi. This paper also discusses the contradictions and disharmonies between these two literary worlds and the implications that these may have for local development strategies based on literary tourism.     

Garden tourism: reasons for opening private gardens in the UK National Garden Scheme

As both private and public spaces, gardens are a major source of leisure activities in the UK and a way of life for many British citizens. As garden tourism is increasing in the country, there is an urgent need for more knowledge, particularly regarding the motivation of garden owners. Using a qualitative approach, this paper presents the owners’ perceptions of the garden and examines the role of the garden in garden opening during the open days. Although the significance of charity openings (in many cases with personal and local interests) is undoubtedly a manifestation of the success of the National Garden Scheme, this study reveals that participation in garden opening differs according to the person’s motivation, varying from charity support and community engagement to social reasons, community creation, age resistance or nostalgic reasons.     

Strategies for antiracist representation: ethnic tourism guides in Chicago

Researchers often frame tour guides in narrow and agency-revoking ways and theorize an ethnic tourism industry in which marginalized racial/ethnic communities are represented as the Other. In this research, I argue that tour guides in Chicago's urban ethnic neighborhoods resist some of the prevailing racialized constructions of their communities by employing strategies of antiracist representation. As ‘representational strategists’, tour guides use ethnic tourism to develop strategies that put forward alternative – even antiracist – representations of marginalized communities. Through a Chicago tourism project, guides construct representations of their communities that (1) invert the relationship of the host community and visitors by constructing the tourists as the Other; (2) articulate a social history of oppression and resistance; (3) expose the community's social problems such as gentrification, and identify their structural causes; and (4) connect the shared experiences between communities of color. These representational strategies defy the normalized practices of ethnic tourism, as well as the mechanisms of racism, and can be important tools in resisting ideological constructions that perpetuate inequality. They attest to the ways marginalized groups can use representation as an important tool in struggles to define themselves, resist silencing and invisibilization, and challenge some of the assumptions and practices that reproduce their marginalization.     

Facing the pain of others: perspectives on international volunteer tourism between agency and spectatorship

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing academic debate on volunteer tourism by reviewing the volunteer tourists' experience in light of their encounter with poverty and sufferance. Through the analysis of data collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews with a group of 29 young Italian adults, the author examines the different ways in which volunteer tourists construct and negotiate their role as agents of change during their vacations abroad. Results show that the expectations of providing effective help to the local communities is often challenged by the limitations and constraints of the volunteer tourism experience and, as a consequence, volunteer tourists need to find new ways of making sense of their experiences abroad. Looking at the work of French sociologist [Boltanski, L. (1999). Distant suffering. Morality, media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] on the ways in which spectators respond to the distant suffering of others, this paper argues that, in order to avoid an oversimplification and a trivialisation of the volunteer tourism experience, the volunteers' participation needs to be addressed primarily as a matter of spectatorship, rather than as a question of agency.     

Social media as a destination marketing tool: its use by national tourism organisations

India's protected areas (PAs), especially those designated tiger reserves, are popular tourist destinations, experiencing considerable and growing visitor numbers, but the principles of ecotourism are not well implemented. This paper analyses tourism practice in a sample of popular tiger reserves in India according to four principles of responsible ecotourism: minimisation of environmental impacts, generation of funds for conservation, benefits to local communities, and education of visitors. Evidence demonstrates that few criteria of ecotourism are met in most PAs: tourism imposes significant detrimental impacts, little of the generated revenue is captured, local communities get mostly menial jobs, and visitor education is virtually non-existent with tourism geared mainly towards thrill-seeking. The Indian Forest Service, which manages the PAs, is on the whole unprepared and ill-equipped to plan and implement proper ecotourism practices and faces constant pressure from other actors to increase tourism revenue. Periyar National Park stands out as an exception where innovative approaches involving local communities have brought about a significant positive change. Policy recommendations are offered based on limited, low-impact activities with high participation of local communities which is essential to build local support for conservation that has been historically lacking.     

The promotion of local agro-food products through tourism: a segmentation analysis

In order to analyse the role of inbound tourism in the promotion of future exports of agro-food products, this paper presents a segmentation study of the international tourism market of Portugal, based on visitors’ intentions to consume, and likelihood to recommend to friends and relatives, specific local products when they return to their home country. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on a sample of inbound visitors and the responses were subjected to a hierarchical cluster analysis. From this analysis, three clusters were established and several statistical differences among them were identified concerning behavioural intentions regarding local food products, socio-demographic profile, consumption and purchase behaviour during and after the trip. The findings obtained have both theoretical and practical implications. On the one hand, this study analyses the importance of inbound tourism in the promotion of Portuguese exports of local food, an issue not previously explored. Additionally, this study applies as its basis of segmentation, variables that have so far been neglected in the literature: the visitors’ intentions to consume and to recommend to friends and relatives. On the other hand, the findings provide relevant inputs for the development of better marketing strategies to promote the local products to various target groups.     

A Local Perspective on Cross‐Border Tourism. Russian Second Home Ownership in Eastern Finland

Russian purchase of second home properties in Finland has been the subject of heated national and local debate in the Finnish media. This study examines the attitudes of permanent and second home residents to Russian second homeowners in Savonlinna, Eastern Finland (N = 494). Three separate attitude groups were identified in relation to the effect of Russian second home owners in property prices; the Russians as an economic opportunity; and, the Russians as a threat. Negative attitudes were common, and it is possible that the relations between the Russian second homeowners and local residents will become more contested over time. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The art of tourism-driven development: economic and artistic well-being of artists in three Balinese communities

One route from coastal to inland Bali traverses three communities with different types of art, from mass-produced art for beachside tourists in Sanur, through the village of Mas, home to mask and wood carving workshops, to several high-end galleries and renowned museums in Ubud, known for painting. This comparative case study, based on our interviews with artists, museum directors, collectors, community activists and leaders, arts entrepreneurs, and civil servants, focuses on the economic and artistic well-being of artists in three communities. This well-being approach overcomes a preoccupation with ‘authenticity’ characteristic of older scholarship on tourism and the arts in Southeast Asia. We conclude that the impact of tourism-driven development on artists' well-being varies tremendously even within one region in Bali and that ‘slow’, purposeful arts tourism and forward-looking, hybrid approaches offer the most artistic and economic benefits to local artists. Examples, both positive and negative, provide lessons or strategies for other communities that have distinctive artistic heritages and increasing numbers of tourists.     

Encouraging tourism development through the EU structural funds: a case study of the implementation of EU programmes on Bornholm

The Danish island of Bornholm has had success in attracting funds from the European Union structural fund to remedy its declining tourism sector, supporting both private sector development and public tourism services. It is difficult, however, to measure the impact of these funds on the tourism sector. Most evaluations of such support schemes are based on a top-down approach, with evaluation conducted on the basis of predefined end-goals. This study takes a different approach, evaluating the programmes on subjective criteria defined by the actors in the tourism industry themselves. Success is defined in terms of the extent to which the programmes have enabled the local tourism industry to overcome what they view as the major obstacles to tourism development. The main findings are that the programmes are most well suited to help the tourism sector overcome tractable problems such as low hotel standards and lack of offseason attractions. On Bornholm, the programmes also have had some success in alleviating problems such as lack of cooperation on a common strategy. This is found to result from the comprehensive network of private and public agencies participating in the process of implementing the funds. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Indicators for an Environmental Assessment of Tourism at National Level

The paper first places the research within the context of international initiatives of developing environmental indicators for the tourism sector: indicator frameworks, data constraints and communication needs, national versus local approaches and indicator development procedures. The question of data availability, collection and processing is often undermined, and the national scale is the most relevant to analyse tourism driving forces and tourism/transport interrelationships. The main results of the French national assessment, led by the French Institute for the Environment in 1999–2000, are then presented, from the driving forces of environmental impacts (such as spatial and temporal concentrations, or the evolution of tourism demand as regards to the environment) to environmental impacts at national and destination level. French mobility patterns are dominated by road transport; they are moving towards shorter stays and more frequent departures, which lead to a high impact situation. The accommodation capacity is strongly marked by secondary homes, which imply more constructions (and more space consumption) for the same number of stays. Environmental management initiatives, from public and private stakeholders, are still unable to counter these long-term trends.     

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.