Small tourism business networks and destination development

This paper is based on ongoing research into networking between small tourism businesses and its contribution to destination development. The fieldwork is being carried out in a peripheral rural location. A detailed conceptual framework comprising of a literature review, background to an ongoing study and the methodology being implemented is discussed. The review finds an increased awareness of the importance of networks in mainstream business research, however, research within small tourism businesses is still underdeveloped. Furthermore, there is little or no direct research in terms of collective tourism business networks within a destination. Destination development research is also reviewed and particular consideration given to the rural context. Destination models are discussed with the recent chaos-based theories providing new understandings. Networks are established within the destination concept. Finally, the location for the data collection is discussed with a justification of the qualitative, in-depth interview approach.     

Border resident perceptions of sanctions and tourism: A case study of North Korea

Sanctions have been increasingly used as a diplomatic practice among international actors. Although sanctions have offered important insights into the global tourism system, relevant understandings require further research endeavour. This study explores border resident perceptions of sanctions and tourism in the case of North Korea. It involves an analysis of in-depth interviews with residents of Dandong - the largest Chinese border city facing North Korea. The findings reveal that the economic and tourism development of both North Korea and Dandong are considered to be disrupted by sanctions. In addition to the perceived negative impacts brought by sanctions, the study also uncovers relevant positive impacts. Furthermore, it suggests that sanctions tend to be interpreted and evaluated by residents through short- and long-term perspectives. The study advances the emerging interdisciplinary progress of tourism and sanctions through unpacking and highlighting the influences of sanctions on residents and tourism of border city.     

Sustainability perspectives on Oulanka National Park,Finland: mixed methods in tourism research

This paper positions mixed methods as a complement to traditional qualitative and quantitative research. It provides an example of conducting mixed methods research by analysing the sociocultural sustainability of tourism as perceived by local stakeholders nearby Oulanka National Park in north-eastern Finland. Semi-structured interviews were linked concurrently to survey data from the same respondents. First, four discourses were identified based on 40 interviews with respondents about tourism development pertinent to the Protected Area Network (PAN) Parks international certification. Second, the differences between the representatives of the discourses were examined using non-parametric statistics. Results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis supplemented each other. The survey results supported the identification of four discourses and provided information about the representatives using the discourses. The discourse groups differed according to length of residence in the area, distance from the park, gender, employment in tourism, familiarity with PAN Parks, benefit from PAN Parks status, belief in the benefits of PAN Parks, satisfaction with tourism and park development, importance of the environmental dimension and satisfaction with various dimensions of sustainability. The study demonstrates that a better understanding of a problem may be acquired by using a mix of survey methods and interviews.     

Locating leisure as the route to well-being: challenges of researching women’s leisure in Turkey

ABSTRACT

This article interrogates the relation of leisure to subjective well-being by focusing on the language-based challenges during empirical research, which deeply impact upon both the substance of the data collected and its interpretation, thereby the knowledge that is produced on leisure. Drawing upon the empirical data collected via qualitative methods, the article seizes on the relationship between women’s free-time, labour, leisure and subjective well-being. The findings of the research suggest that the translation of leisure as ‘free time activities’ in Turkish creates serious challenges in researching women’s leisure. Women in this research understand leisure in multiple ways, such as an escape from boredom, a sphere of recuperation, pleasure and self-fulfilment which altogether represent their understanding of leisure as a route to their subjective well-being. Building on these findings, the article aims to highlight the importance of ethnographically guided qualitative research in uncovering both the meanings of and the interdependence between leisure and subjective well-being in both Turkey, the focus of the study, and other comparable societies around the world.     

Residents' perceptions of Transatlantic Slave Trade attractions for heritage tourism in Danish-Osu,Ghana

Against the background of lingering controversy over the use of Transatlantic Slave Trade (TAST) relics for tourism ends, this paper sought to examine residents' perceptions towards proposed promotion of heritage tourism based on TAST relics in Danish-Osu, a former slave site in Accra, capital of Ghana. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed during the fieldwork towards the end of 2007. A questionnaire survey captured 200 household heads in six communities while interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with other key stakeholders in the Danish-Osu community. Frequencies and percentages were used to demonstrate residents' lay concepts of tourism, whereas the mean, t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to measure residents' attitude towards heritage tourism. A major finding of the study is that residents' perceive tourism from a cultural perspective because of the numerous TAST resources in the community. However, residents' support for heritage tourism is influenced by place of residence. This suggested that irrespective of the place of residence, residents of Danish-Osu were found to be supportive of heritage products and activities. Implications were discussed in the context of how residents' perceptions will affect preservation efforts at various stages of tourism planning.     

定性旅游研究：表达规范与反思--基于2000-2013年《旅游学刊》载文分析

鉴于学科分野的原因,不同学科有着不同的定性研究表达传统,在学科内部的交流并不会形成交流障碍或批评焦点。而旅游研究是一个多学科交叉领域,定性研究方法及其成果表达常会形成分歧。文章在总结定性研究评价相关研究的基础上,以《旅游学刊》2000—2013年定性研究论文为分析对象,从定性旅游研究的表达规范与表达逻辑等几个方面对57篇样本文献进行元分析（meta-analysis）,发现目前定性研究表达主要存在的问题是对研究问题的概念关系与理论框架、研究策略与研究方法过程介绍不充分,对研究问题与研究方法、研究材料与研究结论的逻辑一致性关注不够,对研究结论的可信度影响因素未进行充分说明。在此基础上,作者反思了旅游定性研究的发展趋势与关注重点。     

自我民族志在旅游研究中应用评析

在后现代主义思潮的影响下,自我民族志在反思传统民族志中诞生。自我民族志凸显了"自我",是一种对研究者亲身经历的文化体验展开反思性描述的质性研究方法,已经引起了国内外旅游学者关注与应用。但这些研究大都仅采用了自我民族志的方法,未对自我民族志的理论与方法展开深入的探讨。该文以此为契机,首先,在理论层面梳理了自我民族志的起源、内涵,重点阐述了自我民族志与旅游研究的逻辑联系,论述了旅游研究对自我民族志的意义。然后,在此基础上,梳理了2000—2019年71篇应用自我民族志的旅游研究论文,重点阐述旅游领域中自我民族志适用的研究情景,结合文献分析各研究情景中方法论的优势,说明方法论局限以及克服局限的策略。最后,结合已有文献阐述自我民族志如何应用于旅游研究,提炼自我民族志在旅游研究中的理论贡献,并进一步讨论旅游研究应用自我民族志的巨大空间以及对自我民族志范式的贡献。     

Realising plural-form benefits in international hotel chains

There have been a number of synergistic benefits identified in domestic plural chains; those that comprise a mixture of company-owned and franchised units. This qualitative research investigates whether, and how, these synergistic benefits are realised within international plural chains. Through conducting a multiple case study of international hotel chains, the study makes a contribution to our understanding of the dynamics at work within plural organisations. The plural-form model is found to be of only partial relevance to international hotel chains and its potential benefits incompletely realised. Contributory factors include industry-specific factors, the use of multiple brands, the size of hotel chains and the possible lack of complementarity between more complex owned and franchised divisions. However, more importantly, the findings point to a relationship between managerial mindsets and the different organisational processes adopted and the impact this relationship has on enhancing or undermining plural-form advantages.     

Examining the impact of artificial intelligence on hotel employees through job insecurity perspectives

Artificial intelligence is another advance in technology for the hotel industry and its role is undetermined at this time. The overarching purpose of this treatise was to examine hotel employees’ perception of AI and its impact by identifying the critical role of job insecurity, job engagement, and turnover intention through a pragmatic approach. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used by conducting a quantitative study with an empirical survey method followed by a qualitative study with a case study method. The results from the quantitative study demonstrated that perceived job insecurity significantly affected perceived job engagement and perceived job insecurity indirectly affected turnover intention through intermediary variable of perceived job engagement. There were no statistical differences between non-managerial positions and managerial positions. These results were fully supported by the qualitative study. The implications from these findings were provided to articulate the influence of AI on hotel employees.     

Roles of intangible cultural heritage in tourism in natural protected areas

The ‘new paradigm’ for protected areas emphasizes communities and their cultural assets, including intangible cultural heritage, as critical and inseparable parts of these areas. As tourism can be a significant factor in the economic framework of natural protected areas (NPAs), the prominent role of the community can have important implications. This paper reports on one of the first empirical studies on the interaction between intangible cultural heritage and tourism in an NPA with a special focus on the role of intangible cultural heritage. It is based on six months of qualitative ethnographic fieldwork in Qeshm Geopark, in the South of Iran. Local intangible cultural heritage is found to manifest and be used in tourism in three distinct ways: First, as a source of attraction and addition to any tourism offerings; second, as conservation tool, especially where the natural environment has strong cultural meanings for the local community; and third, as a driver for facilitating culturally and naturally sensitive behaviour by visitors. Concluding statements address any conceptual and practical implications.     

Fundamentalist Christian pilgrimages as a political and cultural force

Based on fieldwork on a Midwestern American grassroots organization that conducts evangelical tours to Israel, this paper seeks to enrich analysis of the pilgrimage experience by suggesting a more contextualized approach to its study. To illustrate the implementation of the contextualized perspective, three thematic examples from the fieldwork are presented: men's emotional expression; religious deeds and their political meanings; and a case on the theo-political symbolism embedded in evangelical pilgrimage itineraries. It is argued that understanding not only the theological but also the historical, socio-cultural and political contexts in which evangelical tours operate can illuminate the way individual pilgrims construe meaning during their travel experiences. The paper concludes by suggesting that each of the examined examples illustrates the role of the pilgrimage as a cohesive force in the evangelical sub-culture.     

Business resilience in times of growth and crisis

Natural disaster, economic recession and political turmoil pose major challenges to local tourism in developing countries. To address such challenges, this article investigates the multiple ways in which local tourism businesses respond to crises and the resources these businesses employ to build resilience in an unpredictable business environment. The data underlying this article have been generated in a longitudinal study of small-scale businesses in the accommodation sector in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Based on qualitative research, comprising ethnographic methods, the study reveals that local tourism businesses show remarkable resilience during the decade of crisis that affected the Indonesian tourism industry. This resilience has to be understood in terms of the businesses’ embeddedness in a package of livelihood strategies.     

A Typology of Tourists from a Different Angle

Abstract

Over the years, academics have attempted to develop typologies that distinguish between various types of tourists. There is, however, general consensus that these taxonomies suffer from several weaknesses. In particular, they are based on a priori theoretical assumptions that rely on just one or very few dimensions, such as numbers of tourists. In remedying these shortfalls, the current paper proposes a new typology of tourists grounded in a two-fold empirical research that contrasts two opposite types of tourists, namely, solitary travellers and group tourists. Two separate qualitative pieces of fieldwork were carried out in order to obtain the necessary data from solitary travellers and group tourists in Norway. The comparison, based on psychographic variables (travel philosophy, travel motive and personal values), suggests that tourist experiences vary along a continuum of individualistic/collectivistic orientation. The solitary traveller represents an individualistic-oriented person whereas the group or package tourist typifies a collectivistic-oriented person. Each of these categories may further include a variety of tourists depending on their degree (i.e., low or high) of individualistic or collec-tivistic orientation.     

Eliciting customers’ waste reduction and water saving behaviors at a hotel

Without a doubt, sustainability is a critical issue in the world’s hotel industry. The present study examined the key cognitive, affective, and normative determinants of customers’ waste reduction and water saving intentions during their hotel stay. This research also investigated the effect of involvement of green behaviors in everyday life as a moderator. A survey methodology and quantitative approach were utilized while conducting this study. Our results revealed that environmental value, concern, and awareness acted as significant cognitive triggers in forming pro-environmental intentions, and that anticipated feelings were important contributors to increasing intentions. The salient role of moral norm in determining environmentally responsible decision was also uncovered. Moreover, the results from the invariance test demonstrated that involvement of green behaviors included a significant moderating effect. Overall, our conceptual model sufficiently explained the variance in pro-environmental intentions among hotel customers.     

The search for authenticity in the pilgrim experience

The present study enriches the theoretical debate on the concept of authenticity by examining its relevance to the experiences of pilgrims. Overall, the study argues that the recent conceptual shift in the tourism literature, which tends to view authenticity in a subjective sense, should be rethought due to its lack of consideration of ideological and spatial dimensions. Employing data from fieldwork on fundamentalist Christian pilgrimages, the study integrates previous approaches to authenticity through a conceptual framework referred to as theoplacity.     

Application of appreciative inquiry in tourism research in rural communities

Appreciative inquiry is a participatory research method based on positive psychology. Founded upon grounded theory and the social constructivist paradigm, appreciative inquiry is a simple, effective, and epistemologically sound tool to understand the rural population’s knowledge, needs, and priorities without alienating them from research. Based on the study conducted to comprehend the interrelationships among conservation, livelihood, and tourism development in three rural communities located in the vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, this study argues that appreciative inquiry can be a useful tool for conducting tourism research in rural communities. This study employs five steps, including grounding, discovery, dream, design, and destiny.     

High Mountain Adventure Tourism: Trekkers’ Perceptions of Risk and Death in Mt. Everest Region,Nepal

This study examines trekkers' perceptions of risk and death associated with high mountain adventure tourism based on their actual experience during the trek to the Everest Base Camp. The study is based on the authors' fieldwork conducted during April to May 2014. Interview questions focused on trekkers' perceptions of risks associated with their own activities, and the risks taken by professional mountaineers and Sherpa guides. Results show that trekkers realized the differences in risks associated with climbing and trekking, and celebrated the accounts of risk taken by the mountaineers. But when risk was self-experienced during the trek, celebration turned into fear and emotional distress. Trekkers generally held foreign mountaineers with much higher reverence than Sherpa climbers. The study concludes with the suggestion that more research is needed to examine the dynamic emotional state of adventure tourists, commodification of high mountain adventure, and understanding local perspectives of adventure tourists.     

The multiple logics of tourism development in China

It has been widely demonstrated and accepted in the sustainable tourism literature that tourism development involves multiple stakeholders. However, little research has been conducted to examine the logics guiding and explaining the behaviours of the stakeholders in tourism development. Guided by the institutional logics perspective and stakeholder theory, this study identifies the logics of different stakeholders in China's tourism development through fieldwork in two tourism development cases (Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay) in Hainan Province and content analysis on secondary data from multiple sources. The logic of pursuing political legitimacy, the logic of fiscal income maximisation, the dual logics of the market and politics, and the logic of pursuing economic benefits were identified to be the dominant logics driving the behaviours of the central government, local government, tourism enterprises and local communities, respectively, in China's tourism development. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics of tourism development in China.