An overview of tourism and planning in the Federal Republic of Germany

German tourism research is an integral part of landuse and economic planning. This has led to the development and implementation of site attractivity and economic efficiency measures. Attractivity models incorporating a site's natural and artificial features are used to provide a comparative ranking of present and proposed tourist developments. Both cross-sectional and time studies indicate that the development of the tourist sector is not an efficient method whereby regional socio-economic disparties can be reduced.     

Policy choices in South Asian tourism development

Government tourism initiatives in developing countries have been applauded by tourism scholars as a means of assisting a private sector that has insufficient resources and assuring public control of the industry's future. This article reviews the tourism development experience of seven South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldive Republic) on five policy options: public versus private tourism development; domestic versus international tourism; class versus mass tourism; centralization versus decentralization; and integrated versus enclave tourism. All of the governments in the region have been involved in tourism development to some degree, but they have shown considerable variation in their responses to these policy choices. Which choices are made by a specific country, it is suggested, will depend as much on political and cultural considerations as upon economic factors.     

Host community acceptance of foreign tourists: Strategic considerations

The reported empirical study assessed anticipated reactions to foreign visitors in an area being considered for a tourism development program. Although a generally high level of acceptance was predicted by the residents, over 11% of the 846 respondents anticipated negative reactions within their residential community. Analysis of the possible relationships between twelve demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents and their expectations concerning host community acceptance of tourists from foreign countries disclosed only one statistically significant relationship. Survey participants who reported living in urban areas assessed the community's probable reaction to foreign travellers most positively, while a movement away from urban centers was associated with more negative expectations.     

The effects of scale in tourism projects in developing countries

The paper by Rodenburg (Annals VII:2:177–196) on the effect of scale in tourism development in Bali raises important questions relating to tourism development in Third World countries. One fundamental question is whether large-scale development is inevitable in such countries, or whether there is persuasive evidence to support smaller and craft scale enterprises. This article undertakes a critical review of Rodenburg's analysis and concludes that large scale developments are likely to be inevitable because of external economies of scale and market structures in international tourism, but that the consequences of such developments can be foreseen and therefore mitigated by appropriate pre-project planning.     

Money illusion and inflation management in tourism: The hotel industry case

Using regression analysis, this study examines the relationship between inflation, room rates, capacity utilization, and profitability in the hotel industry. The results show that room rates and nominal profits have been strongly related to inflation while occupancy rates and real profits have been independent of inflation over the twenty year period examined. Findings suggest general absence of money illusion implying effective inflation management policies.     

Geographical aspects of state travel marketing in the USA

Almost all of the formal Federal and state government involvement in domestic travel marketing in the United States has been undertaken by state travel offices. Of particular interest to the geographer are state-to-state variations in the size and activities of these travel offices. In this discussion, differences in the total budgets of state travel offices are presented and compared to differences in state population and domestic travel expenditures by state. A three-fold classification of state travel marketing strategies with a geographical basis is then introduced. While the overall discussion provides some explanation for the differences observed, the conclusion is reached that political and other considerations regarding state travel offices are too subtle to be explained by just a few variables.     

Economic and social correlates of handicraft selling in Tonga

Although tourism has stimulated employment opportunities in many Pacific island nations, some scholars argue that it has been at the expense of individual pride, cultural values and traditional occupations. Few scholars, however, have investigated whether such traditional occupations are actually available to all segments of contemporary Pacific island populations. Detailed examination of the economic options and activities of itinerant handicraft sellers in Tonga suggests that overpopulation and land shortages severely restrict participation in traditional occupations. Handicraft selling is consequently viewed by many Tongans as an immediate source of much needed cash, having low costs for the producer and providing freedom to participate in other socioeconomic and village activities.