Leisure Constraints for Adolescents in Cape Town,South Africa: A Qualitative Study

This study identified leisure constraints, constraints negotiation strategies, and their relative frequencies among 114 high school students from one under-resourced area of South Africa. Through focus group discussions, participants identified intrapersonal, interpersonal, structural, and sociocultural constraints to leisure, suggesting some degree of universality in this previously documented typology. Intrapersonal constraints were mentioned most often. Whereas participants readily identified ways to overcome interpersonal and structural constraints, strategies for overcoming intrapersonal and sociocultural constraints were not mentioned frequently, suggesting a potential need to help adolescents identify and employ these types of strategies.     

Evaluation of the impact of the tourism nation promotion project on inbound tourists in Japan: a difference-in-differences approach

This study quantitatively evaluates the impact of the Tourism Nation Promotion Project on tourism demand. Data were obtained from Japan Tourism Agency’s quarterly survey from 2010Q2 to 2015Q4. Cox and zero-truncated negative binomial models and difference-in-differences approach were applied to analyze tourism demand and the project’s impact on inbound tourists’ length of stay and expenditure in Japan. Empirical results showed a positive and significant average treatment effect on length of stay and expenditure for tourists from Australia, China, Russia, and Thailand. These findings indicate that the Japanese government should use differentiated strategies considering different nationalities’ characteristics to attract foreign tourists.     

The motivations and expectations of international volunteer tourists: A case study of “Chinese Village Traditions”

International volunteer tourists devote not only financial support but also time and effort to conservation, preservation, or humanitarian projects outside their original countries. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a qualitative study on the motivations of ten international volunteer tourists who joined the “Chinese Village Traditions” expedition of the Earthwatch Institute in the summer of 2008. The main research question was, “Why do people join international volunteer tourism trips?” Eleven themes dealing with motivations emerged and were categorized into three groups: personal, interpersonal, and other. Four personal factors were measured: authentic experience, interest in travel, challenge/stimulation, and other interest. Four interpersonal factors were also considered: desire to help, interaction with locals/cultures, encouraged by others, and enhancing relationships. Other factors included unique style of the trip, time/money, and organization goal. The findings of this study echo previous literature reviews in different settings.     

Accessible tourism and sustainability: a discussion and case study

This paper explores the concept of accessible tourism and its links with triple-bottom-line (TBL) sustainability. Accessible tourism is reviewed through some of its central features including dimensions of access, universal design and the nexus between ageing and disability. The TBL is then examined to better understand the financial, environmental and social considerations that arise from accessible tourism. The research design used in this explorative research incorporated a case study approach, where a business case study instrument was developed. Methods included a Delphi group, review of management information systems, in-depth interviews with key informants, observation and participant observation. The study results revealed that rather than accessible tourism being a single construct, it forms one critical dimension of a series of interrelated, overlapping and interdependent business arrangements that extend beyond the business entity through a series of social networks within the destination region. It is argued that to properly satisfy the accessible tourism market, a more sophisticated understanding of accessible destination experiences is needed by tourism operators. The case study illustrates the considerable size and multi-niche markets served by accessible tourism destinations, the good fit between accessible tourism and TBL sustainable tourism, and the need for further research.     

Whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park: A longitudinal study of wildlife tourism

This article demonstrates the changes that occur due to the maturation of a wildlife tourism industry through the application of a Wildlife Tourism Framework. Specifically, in 2005 survey data was collect from participants of whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia, facilitating a direct comparison with a study conducted a decade earlier. The results conformed with predictions by the Framework, in particular, a shift in the industry towards the mainstream from the periphery. In comparison with the past, whale shark tourism at Ningaloo now attracts more generalist tourists who place different preferences on the whale shark tourism experience. There is now a greater distribution of age groups; less skilled individuals; a higher tolerance to crowding; and a larger focus on the non-wildlife components of the experience. Furthermore, this article, discusses the pertinent management implications associated with this shift.     

Ensuring good governance of marine wildlife tourism: a case study of ray-based tourism at Hamelin Bay,Western Australia

This paper focuses on stingray and eagle ray tourism in Hamelin Bay, Western Australia, and examines whether current governance arrangements are sufficient. Utilising a desk-based methodology we review the literature and analyse the relevant legal provisions and management practices to determine whether these are appropriate given growth in tourism numbers. Although stricter controls were recommended over ten years ago, and some reforms were made, we find that governance remains limited. We make recommendations for the future with implications for governance in Australia and other regions where marine-based tourism is expanding and must be sustainably managed.     

The impacts of weather on tourist satisfaction and revisit intention: a study of South Korean domestic tourism

This study explores the impacts of weather on tourist satisfaction and intention to revisit sites utilizing a survey of 1736 domestic tourists in South Korea. This study adds tourists’ perceived quality of weather to a path model that anticipates revisit intention and was originally based on the perceived quality of physical attributes and service, as well as tourist satisfaction. The results of this study show that the perceived quality of weather affects tourist satisfaction and revisit intention directly and indirectly, and that it correlates with the perceived quality of physical attributes and service. It was determined that the impact of weather perception on tourist satisfaction and revisit intention is higher in rainy weather conditions. The results of the study show that to sustain tourist satisfaction and revisit intention, efforts to moderate the negative impacts of uncomfortable weather conditions are required, especially in rainy weather.     

Rock art tourism in the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg World Heritage Site: obstacles to the development of sustainable tourism

This paper focuses on rock art tourism, a highly vulnerable heritage of broad public interest, only sustainable within an effective management framework. The paper explores tourism management in South Africa's uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2000 for its natural landscapes and its exceptional rock art heritage. In practice, nature dominates the area's tourism and management dynamics. Current tourism patterns, markets and frequencies, together with rock art's low place within tourist agendas, are described. This situation is shown to be a legacy of European Alpine romanticism, and the political rejection of indigenous cultural heritage prior to 1994, still expressed through visitor patterns and marketing policies. Despite rock art needing tourism to valorise its conservation, and being recognised by commentators and the state as a viable route to tourism development, heritage conservation, socio-economic regeneration and cultural empowerment, the failure to reform entrenched and ineffective tourism/conservation governance and management systems is exposed. The problems affecting rock art tourism have allowed the retention of unwelcome values from South Africa's pre-democratic era, risk the loss of World Heritage site status, the destruction of globally outstanding art works and waste an important opportunity to expand and diversify sustainable tourism in South Africa.     

Characteristics of a Medical Tourism Industry: The Case of South Korea

This study investigates the process involved in developing a medical tourism industry in South Korea as a case country, one of the fastest growing countries with strong potential in the medical tourism industry. It analyzed 252 articles on medical tourism posted on the websites of the Korean Tourism Organization and the Korean International Medical Association. Both sources are highly representative portal websites for medical tourism in the country. The article aims to enhance understanding of medical tourism as a new growth industry while identifying its key developmental characteristics and makes valuable suggestions for the industry that can be reflected to other countries. The study contributes theoretically and practically by examining the unique and updated characteristics and process of positioning of this recently emerging field in the global tourism industry.     

Bicycle tourism in the South Island of New Zealand: planning and management issues

Several emerging trends are pointing to the re-emergence of the bicycle as an important leisure and recreational transportation mode. Yet little research has been conducted into cycling within a tourism context. This paper examines the increasing phenomenon of bicycle tourism by defining bicycle tourists and bicycle tourism from a demand perspective, and describes the characteristics, infrastructure and travel behaviour associated with bicycle tourism through the examination of data collected on independent cycle tourists in the South Island of New Zealand. It illustrates through performance-importance analysis, the areas of major concern in the planning and management of bicycle tourism, and recommends that a demand side perspective is needed if the supply side of the industry is to be sustainable in the future. It makes recommendations for the future planning and management of bicycle tourism in New Zealand that may be of interest to countries currently developing cycle tourism.     

Image and perceived risk: A study of Uganda and its official tourism website

Increasingly, perceived risk is part of a destination’s image. This is particularly true for Africa. This study investigated images and risks associated with Uganda and whether exposure to Uganda’s official tourism website could induce image change. A classic two group randomized experimental design was used. Exposure to Uganda’s official tourism website was the intervention. Pre-test images, formed prior to website exposure were negative for both groups, and Uganda was perceived as a risky destination. Post-test images for the experimental group, formed after exposure to the website, were significantly more positive and perceived risk was reduced. Post-test images and perceived risk for the control group remained the same. Five underlying dimensions of perceived risk in Uganda were identified. It appears that by addressing these underlying dimensions, African destinations could use the web to better manage image and perceived risk. More integration between the image and risk literatures is recommended.     

The Delphi technique in the measurement of tourism market potential: The case of Nova Scotia

In order to plan for the development of tourism in Nova Scotia it has been necessary to gather information and opinions on the industry on a more detailed scale than has hitherto been done. Here the Delphi technique is used to gather data on tourism research, on future impacts of tourism and to strengthen a regional data base, all of which are intended to act as an effective policy-making tool in solving management and planning problems in the tourism and hospitality industry. The impact of new technology (in particular the CHECK-INN system) and training needs are discussed in detail.     

Site and situation strategy in tourism planning: A Mexican case study

Mexico has experienced all the effects, good and ill, of a large and expanding tourist trade. Tourism's negative consequences--economic dependency, crime, cultural erosion--have manifested themselves in tourist ghettos along Mexico's northern border, on the Mexican Riviera, and in the capital. This study is an assesment of contemporary Mexican tourism planning as it relates to these problems, and further as it seeks to make tourism a stimulus to economically depressed areas of the nation. A case study approach is utilized to identify the strategy of site and situation selection for the new programmed resort complex at Cancun on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It is concluded that Cancun embodies, at least for Mexico, a radical departure in tourism development. The resort is situated to attract a large foreign clientele and to create the greatest possible positive economic and social impact on a resident Mexican population that has suffered chronic underdevelopment.     

Social learning and sustainable tourism development; local quality conventions in tourism: a Greek case study

This paper presents the trajectory of an innovative organisational scheme, the Local Quality Convention (LQC), concerning sustainable tourism development in the Lake Plastiras area, a less favoured area in Central Greece. It outlines the development issues of the area, the main actors, their views and practices and describes the creation, progress and emerging problems of the LQC scheme. Research reveals contradicting approaches to sustainable tourism development which, in turn, influenced the LQC's evolution. The findings are critically discussed in the light of the Social Learning (SL) approach to social change and sustainable development. According to SL it is only through interactive (participative), concerted action that stakeholders are able to co-construct an issue and its solutions. Given the dominance of “conventional” tourism in Greece as well as the top-down formation and implementation of policies, the importance of the long term facilitation of local stakeholders to achieve sustainable tourism development is demonstrated, along with other related lessons for planners and managers.     

Planning considerations for cultural tourism: a case study of four European cities

Utilising the information gathered in four European cities, this paper discusses and tests a framework of reference for visitor-friendliness, a complex concept that encapsulates the main dimensions of the urban tourism product such as its quality, accessibility and image projection. This concept is particularly relevant to assess whether investments in culture and hospitality genuinely respond to the impulses coming from the market. The case studies highlight how specific soft elements of the urban tourism product are the ones that matter most in determining the attractiveness of a city for international visitors, and yet they are often overlooked by city planners. The paper also identifies a number of “best practice” in tourism management.     

The grand tour: Sources and a methodology for an historical study of tourism

Research into the history of tourism is at an early stage of development. This article examines the range of source material which relates to the Grand Tour and considers the problems involved in its interpretation. It then outlines a methodology designed to investigate this area of tourism research.     

Tropospheric ozone,air pollution and tourism: a case study of Mallorca

This study explores tourists’ contribution to air pollution through an analysis of tropospheric ozone levels. Although the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, preventing damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth's surface, ozone in the lower atmosphere, known as tropospheric ozone, can damage plant species, both natural materials and manufactured goods, and can damage lung tissues in humans. Additionally, ozone in the upper troposphere exerts a considerable impact on global warming. Using the case study of Mallorca (Spain) – an isolated, intensive tourist destination in the Mediterranean – a daily indicator of tourist numbers is used in order to capture direct and induced pressure on the environment. Models based on daily data are estimated using meteorological, daily tourist numbers and other significant variables, showing how rising tourism activity in Mallorca is associated with rising daily concentrations of tropospheric ozone, created by transport, air conditioning and other activities. The estimated models make different simulations possible, showing the consequences of increasing tourism numbers during different seasons. The concluding section shows the potential to develop the models used here for other destinations.     

The human dimensions of wildlife tourism in a developing country: watching spinner dolphins at Lovina,Bali, Indonesia

The number of cetacean watching tourism operations in developing countries has doubled in the past decade. Practices are typically unregulated and not informed by research, especially research into the human dimensions of the tourist experience. Dolphin watching tourism at Lovina, Bali, started in the late 1980s when local fishers formed self-regulating cooperatives. Up to 180 dedicated operators use small fishing vessels to carry passengers to watch dolphins close to shore. Most tourists come from western countries, although the industry also attracts Asian visitors. Most visitors are tertiary-educated. Tourist satisfaction ranges from low to medium. While there was no significant difference between the average satisfaction of western and Asian tourists, the associated variables were different. The satisfaction of western tourists was associated with encounter management, preferred number of boats and the number of dolphins seen. Encounter management was the only variable associated with the satisfaction of Asian tourists. Satisfaction was positively associated with willingness to recommend the tour: western respondents who felt neutral to very comfortable with their dolphin encounters were more likely to promote the tour. Better understanding of the tourist experience is crucial in designing sustainable marine wildlife tourism in developing countries; such research appears to be rare.     

Community engagement in drive tourism in Ireland: case study of the Wild Atlantic Way

ABSTRACT

This paper presents research, which investigates community engagement in drive tourism in Ireland. In particular, it focuses on the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW), Ireland’s first long distance drive touring route stretching along the Atlantic coast for 2500?km from Donegal to West Cork. Face-to-face surveys were carried out to obtain a representative sample of community stakeholders along this touring route. The findings provide insight into the level of community engagement with drive tourism on the WAW with a high level of approval for the project but a low level of community integrated involvement with this drive-tourism product. This paper concludes that while there are low levels of community engagement with the WAW, there is a significant level of community support for the development of the WAW. However, to acquire community engagement in tourism development requires sustainable planning to maximize community benefits and minimize community costs thus increasing community participation, which is somewhat lacking.     

The importance of foreign language skills in the tourism sector: A comparative study of student perceptions in the UK and continental Europe

There is little doubt that skills in the language of another country are invaluable when communicating with people from that country. This is nowhere more apposite than in the context of the cross-cultural interface between tourism enterprises and visitors. However, the need for such skills in the UK has gained little attention, even in the key area of tourism. UK-based research that has been undertaken reinforces this view and also established the attitudes and perceptions of tourism students to the study and development of foreign language (FL) skills. In contrast, other EU countries reputedly have a greater awareness of the need for these skills and commitment to developing them which leads to speculation that tourism students in continental Europe would have contrasting attitudes to their UK counterparts. Subsequent to review of the importance of FL skills in the tourism sector the findings of research undertaken to investigate this hypothesis are presented. Significant variations between UK and non-UK students are identified not the least of which is the comparatively weak attention given to FL skills development in the UK. In concluding, the implications of the findings are discussed and concerns raised over the need to address evident weaknesses in order to enhance career options and tourism management in the UK.