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.     

Developing Rural Tourism: the PAT Program and ‘Nong jia le’ Tourism in China

Despite the fact that the last three decades have witnessed the rapid development of rural tourism (RT) in China, which is being promoted by the Chinese government as an important new type of tourism due to its special role in revitalizing China's rural economy, there is still little knowledge about the economic impacts of RT on Chinese rural communities in terms of socio‐economic development and regeneration. Accordingly, this study represents an attempt to address this issue by examining the Poverty Alleviation through Tourism program and ‘Nong jia le’ (Happy Farmer Home) tourism within the Chinese context. The findings not only confirm the widely held importance of RT, as expected, but also identify the problems and challenges relating to the sustainable development of RT in the future. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of olive tourism in Western Australia: a case study of an emerging tourism industry

The recent development of olive growing in Western Australia, and its amalgamation with tourism and hospitality, provides opportunities for growers to showcase their products and for visitors to experience olive‐tasting and learn about an ancient food culture and rural activity ‘transplanted’ into the ‘New World’ from its ‘Old World’ roots. The present study examines the dimensions of this emerging niche market in Western Australia. Face‐to‐face and telephone interviews were conducted among 23 small olive‐growing operations located in this region to understand their scope for developing olive tourism. Overall, respondents' comments suggest that their involvement in olive tourism and hospitality could substantially provide benefits for visitors to rural areas and become a complementary alternative to other activities. To fulfil this potential, however, growers heavily rely on greater collaboration within their own industry, as well as on local authorities and tourism bodies in ways that include assistance, partnerships and promotion. Moreover, collaboration between olive growers and regional/tourism stakeholders, as well as government support may not only contribute to the sustainability of olive growing, but also to the emergence of olive tourism. In turn, these developments may also help develop a culinary identity and a tourism concept that may help minimise the threats of outside competition (cheaper olive imports) and rural decline. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Tourism planning requirements from a private sector perspective: the case of Hong Kong

Government’s role in tourism planning has shifted from control to consultation, and many governments have adopted economic planning that move the responsibility for investment in infrastructure from the public to the private sector. In Hong Kong, the government has not articulated a clear tourism policy to guide tourism development but continues to assume responsibility for significant tourism infrastructure investment. This paper considers the views of the private sector towards tourism planning in Hong Kong, which gravitate towards the need for a formalized planning. The tourism sector supports the interventionist policies that have been a characteristic of the government’s relationship to the tourism industry in the past, believes that the current approach to planning needs to be replaced by a formal planning process, and that there is a need to include community groups in the policy determination process. The insights gained from the case of Hong Kong may serve as a reference for other destinations.     

Co‐operatives in southern Spain: their development in the rural tourism sector in Andalucía

This paper examines the characteristics of a number of recently established rural tourism co‐operatives in Andalucía, southern Spain against the background of the theory of co‐operatives as economic organisations. The origins and composition of the co‐operatives are examined, their local impact, their policies on employment and remuneration, and their internal management characteristics. Few of the businesses in the sample appear to possess the characteristics of the ‘ideal type’ of co‐operative identified in the literature. Although small‐scale, beneficial impacts may be identified within their localities, these appear to be no different to those associated with any small business organisation in the rural tourism sector. Furthermore, it is concluded that their prospects for developing genuine alternative forms of employment structures are not strong, partly owing to the circumstances of their foundation and partly because of the very nature of rural tourism itself, where extreme seasonality imposes a very specific labour regime. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collaborative Management and Planning of Urban Heritage Tourism: Public Sector Perspective

‘This paper investigates collaborative management and planning among public organisations involved in urban heritage tourism. An exploratory case study has been applied, capturing urban heritage tourism development in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The findings demonstrate a shared desire for further collaboration between the key public bodies involved, with limited existing and previous collaboration, beyond work that is the result of existing hierarchies. Collaboration is at an early stage, and many looked to the Local Authority to provide leadership in driving new initiatives. The private sector has a limited but increasing role in this. There are differing views on the focus of heritage tourism development – some suggesting a regional, others a city focus.’ Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustainability in Chinese development tourism policies

Following the ‘Open Door’ policy of 1978 that accepted tourism as an appropriate sector for development in China for the first time since 1949, national and local governments have issued policies to promote tourism. Over the past two decades, the continuing development of tourism has occurred as China has started to move towards sustainability in its national policies. Although sustainability is often stated as the purpose of development, and tourism development strategies are regarded as more environmentally oriented than other industries, little guidance is provided to make sure that sustainability principles are followed. To examine this situation, sustainability components in the two types of tourism policies are examined, including 56 tourism development policies by the state councils and 31 provinces since the 1980s. These indicate a mixed result. While sustainability is an important component in some of these policies, the meaning of sustainability in the tourism sector is confusing and pro-business tourism development still plays a dominant role. It is suggested a pro-active sustainability approach should be integrated with environmental concerns in the future to allow tourism to participate constructively in the national transformation to a sustainable society.     

Transport and climate change: Simulating the options for carbon reduction in London

Transport is a major user of carbon-based fuels, and it is increasingly being highlighted as the sector which contributes least to CO₂ emission reduction targets. This paper reports on the findings of the VIBAT London study (www.vibat.org) which considers the role of the transport sector in reducing CO₂ emissions in London.The analysis develops a transport and carbon simulation model (TC-SIM) for London. Within this, users are able to consider the implementation of a series of potential policy packages—low emission vehicles, alternative fuels, pricing regimes, public transport, walking and cycling, strategic and local urban planning, information and communication technologies, smarter choices, ecological driving and slower speeds, long distance travel substitution, freight transport and international air. They can select variable levels of application to help achieve headline CO₂ emission reduction targets. The roles of carbon rationing and oil prices are also considered. TC-SIM can be played in different user modes: as ‘free riders’, ‘techno-optimists’, ‘enviro-optimists’, ‘complacent car addicts’ and other typical travel market segments, including a ‘free role’. Game playing or scenario testing such as this helps to highlight perceived levels of homogeneity of views within certain cohorts, the development of entrenched positions and the likely success in achieving objectives.The paper develops various policy packages, scenarios and pathways aimed at reducing transport CO₂ emissions. It argues that strategic CO₂ emission reduction targets are very ambitious relative to current progress, and that we need to act more effectively across a wide range of policy mechanisms, with a ‘high intensity application’ of many of the options, to get near to achieving these targets. A critical issue here will be in communicating and gaining greater ‘ownership’ of future lifestyle choices with stakeholders and the public, and participation tools such as TC-SIM could become increasingly important in this area.     

Supply and pricing strategies of informal rural transport providers

Informal paratransit operators using a range of vehicle types (including pickup trucks, small buses, and motorcycles) are a major provider of mobility in rural areas of the developing world. The paper describes a mixed method approach used to examine such operators’ decisions about vehicle deployment, route frequency, network organisation, and pricing in three rural districts in South Africa. New evidence is presented showing that the condition of rural roads (both paved and unpaved) affects the quantity and quality of public transport services provided, as well as the fares charged to passengers. This strengthens the case for judicious infrastructure investment as a way of improving rural access and livelihoods, and suggests how this might happen by way of leveraging better private sector responses. We also describe the emergence of a differentiated service hierarchy involving a variety of vehicle types suited to different operating conditions, and based on intentional coordination among operators of minibus and pickup truck (‘bakkie’) services. We argue that governments should promote such coordination and innovation in rural transport markets.     

Segmentation by benefits sought: the case of rural tourism in Madeira

Rural tourism has been promoted as an effective catalyst for growth in rural areas severely hit by the rural structuring process. However, with regard to islands, rural tourism has been mainly advertised and promoted as a counterpoint to mass tourism. While in most Western countries rural tourism has been in place for decades, islands have been pursuing a rural tourism agenda only since the 1990s. Consequently, we face a dearth of research regarding motivation factors that attract tourists to the rural hinterland on islands. The purpose of this study is to segment and profile rural tourists based on benefits sought in order to gain a better understanding of the current demand trends. The data collection procedure were based on a self-administered survey applied to a sample of 180 tourists, and four clusters were identified. The relaxer cluster which comprises individuals attracted by opportunities to relax and recharge batteries, are the most dominant, suggesting that the sector mimics, to a large extent, the main tourism market. This is a problematic outcome because the sector is failing to attract a more diverse and wealthy clientele. Due attention should also be paid to other clusters. The ruralist segment values relaxation in natural segments to escape from daily routine, the ‘want it all segment’ is composed of tourists interested in all kind of activities and the family-oriented cluster is mainly interested in socialising with the family. Implications of our preliminary conclusions for theory and practice are discussed.     

Tourism development and behavioural changes: evidences from Ratanakiri province,Kingdom of Cambodia

This research paper presents the findings of a research undertaken in Ratanakiri province, Kingdom of Cambodia (Under the RETA 6190 ADB TA project on ‘Preventing the Trafficking of Women and Children and Promoting Safe Migration in the GMS’), with the aim to evaluate the impact of an airport rehabilitation project. It highlights the role that infrastructure development, with a focus on tourism-related projects, can play in a remote rural area and its consequences on local population, especially ethnic minorities. For remote areas, tourism is considered as an accelerating influence on globalisation and in-migration, which, in turn, are seen as the main factors affecting remote local communities to modify behaviours changing from valuing utility to valuing exchange. The rapidity of these cultural changes increase rural depopulation and the vulnerability of human beings to a range of negative situational factors, including loss of land, erosion of community structures and coping mechanisms, and as well as exploitative practices such as debt bondage, prostitution and human trafficking.     

Developing Interpretation Plans to Promote Traditional Rural Buildings as Built Heritage Attractions

The present study suggests an innovative method that could be applied by local authorities to develop heritage interpretation plans aimed at promoting traditional rural buildings (TRBs) as built heritage attractions, while preserving their original features. Cultural heritage interpretation (CHI) methods and tools were used. They offer the advantage to create a kind of ‘understanding’ that would lead tourists and local communities to protect TRBs from inappropriate alterations and modifications that often occur when TRBs are reused also for tourism purposes. The proposed method was applied to TRBs located in an area of the South‐Eastern Sicily (Italy). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rural tourism in Spain

The paper describes the rapid recent growth in rural tourism facilities in Spain and attempts to account for the regional variations that exist. The range of activities involved in rural tourism is described and a significant trend towards the development of ‘active’ leisure pursuits in rural areas is identified. This clearly implies a major change in the use of the countryside, albeit in specific locations, but therefore calls into question the assertion of some scholars that rural restructuring is not a feature of contemporary Spain. In assessing the wider impact of rural tourism policies as part of overall rural development, however, it is clear that the main beneficiaries are not necessarily local residents. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resident attitudes towards dark tourism,a perspective of place-based identity motives

Place-based identity theories prove to be valid in better understanding resident attitudes towards support for tourism. Yet, its effectiveness is not verified in the context of dark tourism and resident attitudes towards dark tourism remains unknown. Based on a survey of 526 local residents in China’s Yingxiu, the epicentre of the Great Wenchuan Earthquake, the authors examined the relationships between the local residents’ place-based identity motives and their attitudes towards support for dark tourism development. Results show that the motive of ‘belonging/meaning’ is one of the most important determinants; residents’ involvement in dark tourism and bereavement affect their identity motives and attitudes towards support for dark tourism. The theoretical contributions and managerial implications are discussed.     

Mapping landscape values and development preferences: a method for tourism and residential development planning

This paper presents a method for measuring and analysing tourism and residential development options using survey research techniques that spatially locate public‐perceived landscape values and development preferences. Using survey data from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, landscape values and preferences for tourism development are analysed to determine the relative strength of landscape values as predictors of place‐specific development preferences. Results indicate that tourism development preferences are most closely associated with recreation, economic and scenic landscape values whereas residential development preferences are most closely associated with recreation, economic and learning values. Preferences for ‘no development’ are most closely associated with wilderness, therapeutic and intrinsic landscape values. A simple development index is generated from the spatial data that ranges from positive (acceptable development) to negative (no development) values. The potential benefits of the method for land‐use planning processes are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.     

Rural Tourism Partnerships and Actor Mobility

In this paper, I examine actor mobility within the context of rural tourism partnerships (RTPs). The term ‘actor’ refers to those who have a stake in tourism planning, promotion and development such as policy makers, businesses, non‐profit making sector and community groups. Mobility is embedded in personal and social histories of actors as well as the policy framework that impacts their daily lives and informs their motives for being (dis)associated with RTPs. While exploring how actors' journeys transform rural localities' socio‐economic fabric, I find the writings of Lefebvre and de Certeau particularly useful because of their focus on counter‐hegemonic practices that shape the ‘everyday life’. Given that most rural societies in current times comprise an intricate mix of long‐term residents, seasonal‐home owners and migrants, each with their distinct set of life stories and value preferences with regard to their place of dwelling, my thrust in this paper on actor mobility is likely to identify new areas of future research on RTPs. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of a destination branding strategy for rural tourism on the perceived value of the conservation of the indigenous resources of the rural tourism destination: the case of Spain

The identification of mechanisms that encourage the tourism sector to contribute to sustainable conservation is of great interest. The present work proposes the use of destination branding based on contribution to the conservation of the indigenous resources of the rural tourist destination, and studies the effect this has on perceived value for the tourist visiting the destination. A scale of destination brand identity is validated, along with a scale for destination brand positioning and another for perceived value, as viewed by the tourist, of contribution to sustainable conservation. The perceived value scale offers an overall perspective which includes: functional-affective factors; benefits–sacrifices; the pre-visit stage; and the stay in the rural tourism location. These findings make a new contribution to both literature and to the professional sector.     

Contradictions of Rural Tourism Initiatives in Rural Development Contexts: Finnish Rural Tourism Strategy Case Study

In Western countries rural areas have faced major changes and challenges in the past decades. The role of traditional economies has decreased rapidly and the economic transition of rural areas has turned increasingly towards tourism production. By using a Finnish national scale rural tourism strategy and development programme as a case example, this paper argues that, while tourism can provide development for rural areas, the unrealistic expectations and goals may cause problems for rural communities. Unfeasible development goals of rural tourism are seen as the results of insufficient understanding of tourism dynamics and the lack of research-based or otherwise valid knowledge in development plans. In addition the connection between the ideas of rural tourism and sustainability is challenged in high tourism development goals and the related processes.