A climate change vulnerability assessment methodology for coastal tourism

Coastal and marine environments are among the most popular areas for outdoor recreation and tourism. Coastal areas have also been identified as the most vulnerable to climate change, for example as a result of extreme events and sea-level rise. It will be increasingly important for coastal tourism destination managers to understand their vulnerability to climatic changes and to devise appropriate adaptation. This paper presents a five-step vulnerability assessment methodology for tourism in coastal areas. The five steps include (1) system analysis, (2) identification of activity and hazard sub-systems, (3) vulnerability assessments for the different sub-systems at risk, (4) integration for the destination as a whole and scenario analysis and (5) communication. The framework is illustrated by an example of how it might be applied to Fiji. The paper concludes that a consistent methodology, like the one proposed, will facilitate vulnerability assessments in a range of coastal destinations, allow comparison to be made of vulnerabilities across different situations, provide a basis for more research into specific adaptation measures and assist destinations to develop a more sustainable tourism industry.     

Inbound tourism policies in Japan from 1859 to 2003

This paper aims to clarify the development process of the inbound tourism policies of Japan from 1859 to 2003. Evolving through five periods and ten phases, policies have been variously promoted to obtain foreign currencies and break the country’s isolation at the earliest stage, to make it a peaceful and cultured nation via international exchanges and friendship after the Pacific War, and, more recently, to contribute to its economic revitalization in recession. The relationships between inbound and national land policies, as well as nonstructural aspects such as promotion, advertising, and services, are also examined.     

A rapid assessment of wildlife tourism risk posed to cetaceans in Asia

Dolphin-watching tourism is growing globally. In developing countries, the typically low environmental awareness of operators and poorly enforced or non-existent regulations exacerbate risks to wildlife. Ecological indicators like behavioural responses are useful to assess wildlife tourism, but obtaining such data is slow and expensive. We modified the Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework to rapidly assess the risk of dolphin-watching tourism harming, displacing or causing local extinction to dolphin populations, using human dimension data to complement limited ecological data. We assessed industries at seven dolphin-watching sites in six countries in Asia: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. All sites have reached or almost reached financial saturation except Cambodia and Malaysia. We find high risk to dolphins at the sites in India and Indonesia and intermediate risk at the site in Cambodia. Pending more ecological data, the risk at Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysian sites might be low. Our analysis also indicates site-specific conservation recommendations for Driver, Pressure and Response. We suggest that the DPSIR framework is useful to assess the risk of a wildlife watching industry, even when the impact is uncertain due to insufficient ecological data.     

Approaches towards nature based tourism policies in Australia and New Zealand

Increases in environmental consciousness in western countries caused the emergence of nature based tourism. Australia and New Zealand are good examples of nature based tourism destinations. This investigation looks at the private and public sector input into this aspect of tourism activity. Both countries are focusing strongly on marketing efforts to increase visitor numbers and less to managing the effects on tourism. The private sector currently provides the impetus in the development of sustainable practices.     

Towards new tourism policies: The importance of environmental and sociocultural factors

Unrestricted tourism growth could lead to the positive economic effects of tourism being outweighed by significant social and environmental disadvantages, which could in turn translate the economic benefits into disadvantages. This process derives not only from tourism effects per se, but also from changes in the social structure. This article calls for not merely economic and technical adjustments in policies, but for a fundamental political transformation in the conception of tourism and recreation.     

Harlem—tourism market assessment and potential

With the growth of alternative and special interest tourism the New York Uptown Chamber of Commerce with local community and business groups have begun to explore ways in which tourism may contribute to the economy and vitality of Harlem. Bert Highet and Walter Johnson of Quadrant Marketing report here on their commissioned research into an assessment of the tourism potential of the area.     

Protected area policies and sustainable tourism: influences,relationships and co-evolution

This paper explores the adoption of sustainable tourism ideas in a Park Authority's policies over a period of two decades in a developed world, category V protected area. There is only limited research on influences encouraging the inclusion of sustainable tourism ideas in protected area policies, or on relationships between sustainable tourism policies and other policy priorities. The paper departs from an approach which considers sustainable tourism policies in isolation, because potentially they are reformulations or extensions of other previous policies, or else indirect outcomes of other policies. There is assessment of influences on the Park Authority's sustainable tourism policies, and of the co-evolution between sustainable tourism policies and other policies. Such influences as government funding reductions and rising concern for community well-being affected the Authority's adoption of sustainable tourism ideas. Incorporation of sustainable tourism ideas in policies occurred gradually. It involved re-labelling established policies as well as reframing and extending those policies. It was often an indirect outcome of policy developments not focused specifically on sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism-related policies co-evolved with, and through, policies for community well-being, actor participation, and sustainable development. The approach used here is relevant for research on policy co-evolution in other policy fields.     

Coastal scenic assessment and tourism management in western Cuba

Coastal scenic assessments via checklist tables (18 natural, 8 human related parameters), can provide benchmark measures regarding desirable/non-desirable beach conditions and also classify sites. The scenic value for 43 sites in western Cuba was investigated, with the aim of helping managers improve bathing areas, especially for tourism purposes. Sites were categorised from Class 1, (top grade scenery), between La Habana and Matanzas, as extremely attractive, with white sand, turquoise water and additional scenic elements. Class 2 sites were located in Varadero, and their high scores were greatly due to appropriate human interventions, e.g. beach nourishment and dune restoration works. Classes 3 to 5 (the latter having very poor scenery), included sites with low scores for natural parameters. For these sites, coastal managers can do little to alleviate scenic impact, apart from addressing the human parameters, where improvement is possible, e.g. by litter removal together with the present chaotic protective structures.     

俄罗斯环贝加尔湖滑雪旅游区竞争力评价研究

俄罗斯是冰雪运动大国,滑雪旅游活动在俄罗斯拥有悠久的历史。俄罗斯的环贝加尔湖地域区位优势明显,自然资源丰富多样,地貌类型独特,滑雪旅游已经成为该区域冬季最具吸引力的旅游项目。本文以俄罗斯环贝加尔湖五大滑雪旅游区为研究对象,建立冰雪旅游区综合竞争力评价指标体系及定量评估模型,科学评估环贝加尔湖冰雪旅游区综合竞争力水平。研究发现：（1）索博利纳亚（Соболиная）滑雪旅游区的竞争力优良,比奇亚（Бычья）和伊斯特兰（Истлэнд）滑雪旅游区竞争力中等,达万（Даван）和马迈（Мамай）滑雪旅游区竞争力薄弱,区域自然资源和基础设施建设是影响综合竞争力评价水平的关键要素;（2）根据评估结果提出以索博利纳亚滑雪旅游区为核心,打造国际绿色、低碳冰雪旅游示范区及中蒙俄经济走廊国际冰雪旅游特区等发展对策。研究结论可为环贝加尔湖冰雪旅游产业综合竞争力提升和区域冰雪旅游高质量发展提供决策依据,为中国冰雪旅游发展模式完善和中俄冰雪旅游产业跨境国际合作提供借鉴参考和科技支撑。     

Medical tourism development in Hong Kong: An assessment of the barriers

The aim of this study is to determine the factors influencing the development of medical tourism in Hong Kong. A qualitative research method was adopted to collect data from representatives of private and public hospitals, government bodies, and medical institutions. The results reveal that policies and regulations, government support, costs, capacity problems, and the healthcare needs of the local community are the main barriers to the development of such tourism. Several strategies for lifting these barriers are suggested, such as new promotional activity policies, government action to encourage investment in the medical tourism market, and cooperative efforts by the hospitality sector and medical institutions to develop medical tourism products.     

A model of tourism advertising effects

This study develops the AIEDA tourism advertising effects model and examines this model by tourism destination types and advertising formats in a field experiment. The AIEDA model extends the traditional AIDA model in the advertising field and additionally considers the unique features of tourism products. It includes five hierarchical stages: Attention→ Interest→Evaluation (Perceived Usefulness→ Perceived Credibility) → Desire →Action. Findings of experimental research indicate that destination type and advertising format have main effects and interaction effects on tourism advertising effects. In addition, this study discovered that, for natural and cultural destinations, video ads yielded similar or more positive advertising effects than virtual reality ads, whereas print was the least effective advertising format.     

Policy coherence between tourism and climate policies: the case of Spain and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia

Abstract

The relationship between tourism and climate change is reciprocal. The effects of climate change on tourism are undeniable. However, tourism and climate change are complex and cross-cutting phenomena that enter policy agendas at different moments and with different discourses. This paper analyses the coherence between the policy domains of climate and tourism at the formulation stage of the policy process, focusing on national and regional government levels and the key touristic offer in Spain – that of sun, sea and sand. The proposed method analyses three dimensions within policy documents: frame significance, policy scope and connotation. Results reveal the imbalance between the two policy domains; the lack of concrete actions and stable mechanisms for achieving greater coherence; and the different conceptions of the issue. The paper considers the causal relationships between tourism and climate change, the consequences of mutual impacts, and the temporal dimension of problem framing. This research brings together three fields of knowledge – tourism, climate change and public policies – and suggests enhancing coherence between tourism and climate policies in order to address the sustainability of tourism destinations.     

A critical review of methods for tourism climate change appraisal: life cycle assessment as a new approach

This paper reviews existing approaches to assessing tourism sustainability, especially its contribution to climate change. It assesses ecological footprint analysis, environmental impact assessment and input–output analysis but finds them inaccurate and unreliable. It goes on to argue that life cycle assessment (LCA) is a more promising tool for tourism climate change impact assessment, highlighting important areas where LCA application can contribute towards better understanding of tourism's role in global climatic changes. To demonstrate the applicability of the LCA methodology, a case study of a short weekend holiday trip is presented. Related greenhouse gas emissions are measured comparing LCA and alternative carbon footprint calculation methods. The comparison demonstrates markedly different results. The reasons for the discrepancy along with the potential of LCA to estimate the “indirect” carbon contribution of the holiday trip's components are discussed. A key feature of the LCA calculation is that for short-haul trips the proportional impact of accommodation-related emissions is shown to be larger than in earlier calculations, while transport impacts are reduced.     

Progress in tourism management: A review of website evaluation in tourism research

This paper reviews tourism studies published from 1996 to July 2009 that pertain to methodological approaches to website evaluation. The paper analyzes the initial work and continues up to recent developments in website evaluation. In general, prior research can be divided into five evaluation approaches: counting, automated, numerical computation, user judgment, and combined methods. The strengths and weaknesses of each method are examined. Research gaps and opportunities for future studies are discussed.     

The UK heritage coasts: An assessment of the ecological impacts of tourism

The paper presents a summary of an investigation into the nature of ecological impacts within defined Heritage Coasts in England and Wales. The Heritage Coast concept is introduced to provide the context in which an assessment of ecological impacts due to tourism and recreation may be set. The nature and extent of impacts are described, as are the range of management techniques currently employed to redress these. The future for the Heritage Coast program is discussed in the light of an increase in tourism and recreational activities on the coasts of England and Wales.     

Integrating spirituality in tourism higher education: A study of tourism educators' perspectives

Academic discourse supporting the inclusion of spirituality in higher education has grown across many disciplines. Scholars are arguing for the integration of spirituality into the contemporary intellectual landscape. However, the significance of spirituality to tourism higher education has not been adequately understood and little research has been undertaken.This paper presents findings from a qualitative study exploring tourism educators' perspectives about the role and importance of spirituality in tourism higher education. Based on the findings from in-depth interviews of tourism educators, the author presents a discussion and examination of respondents' interpretation of spirituality, their viewpoints on the inclusion of spirituality in tourism education, including the perceived challenges and the effects of embodying a spiritually-grounded paradigm on classroom teaching and learning experiences. Recommendations are provided on how a meaningful engagement of spirituality can be fostered in tourism higher education.     

Sustainable tourism management in Crikvenica,Croatia: An assessment of policy instruments

Tourism industries often create negative impacts on the environment, society, culture, and sometimes even on the economy. However, few countries are using economic, regulatory or institutional policy instruments for tourism management. This paper explores the potential use of eight such instruments for managing more sustainable tourism in the coastal town of Crikvenica, Croatia. First, the dominant negative impacts of tourism in Crikvenica are identified and indicators are developed in order to measure such impacts. Second, the policy instruments are assessed based on three criteria: (1) their effectiveness in mitigating the previously identified impacts and hence in improving the sustainability of tourism (2) their acceptability to stakeholders (3) their economic and technical feasibility. The paper concludes that there is a great deal of scope for the use of such policy instruments in tourism management. Nevertheless, not every instrument examined satisfies all three criteria. For instance, financial incentives (e.g. subsidies) are seen as effective and highly acceptable but economically unfeasible.