Course syllabi in the UK — a review

Airey and Middleton provide a review of the syllabi and content of tourism courses currently offered in the UK, based on research undertaken by them for the UK Tourism Society during 1981. The article comments on the main themes in the development of tourism education and provides a bibliography of recent contributions on the subject. Also the background and findings of a survey of tourism course provision are discussed and some tentative conclusions are drawn.     

What do tourism students know about sustainability and sustainable tourism? An exploratory study of Latin American students

While research has started to pay attention to the content and delivery of sustainable tourism education, little is known about what students actually know and feel with respect to sustainability. This preliminary study explores students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward sustainable tourism as well as their sense of competence and empowerment to make sustainability-related decisions. The focus was on Latin America, where tourism has caused severe negative impacts and where sustainability knowledge and skills are most needed to protect fragile natural and cultural resources. Results show that although most tourism students think sustainable tourism is important, they have limited knowledge of sustainability principles and technical aspects related to sustainable tourism. Implications for teaching are discussed.     

Motivations of educational tourists in non-English-speaking countries: the role of languages

ABSTRACT

Learning a language or improving one’s foreign language skills may be a key motivator for students to decide to participate in an exchange program as well as choose the destination for their studies. Nevertheless, studies on educational tourism are limited, and there is no research on the motivations of students visiting non-English-speaking countries. To fill this gap, this paper aims to examine the motivations of university students in non-English-speaking destinations by using the push-and-pull framework. Primary data were collected through an online survey from 190 and 205 students who participated in mobility programs in a Spanish university and in a German university respectively. Empirical findings reveal that languages are a key motivating factor for either growing personally through cultural enrichment, or growing professionally. Furthermore, these data allow generic recommendations so that the destinations can attract a larger number of international students.     

Islamic pro-poor and volunteer tourism — The impacts on tourists: A case study of Shabake Talayedaran Jihad,Teheran — A research note

For the most part, researchers of pro-poor tourism have focused on the issues of poverty alleviation, and the recipient communities at the visited destination. By comparison relatively little has been said about the effect of travel and the tourist experience on the tourists themselves; a gap this study aims to correct. The present research is based on questionnaires from, and interviews with participants in the Shabake Talayedaran Jihad who were engaged in volunteer tourism in Iran. It was been found that pro-poor volunteer tourism has positive effects on attitudes about poverty, life attitudes, and personal and social skills. Further, based on the interviews, 16 other effect indices have been found which relate to the above classification. This paper contributes to the literature by filling a gap in the English language academic literature that relates to Iranian volunteer movements and its volunteers.     

少数民族山区居民对旅游影响的感知和态度--以柴埠溪国家森林公园为例

接待地居民对旅游影响的感知和态度是国内旅游学研究的一个热点.本文通过问卷调查和访谈,对柴埠溪国家森林公园的土家族山区居民对旅游影响的感知和态度进行了实证研究.结果表明,旅游对少数民族山区居民的语言、生活风俗、民族服饰有显著影响,但对其饮食习惯和地方建筑特色影响不大,旅游所产生的社会文化变迁是积极的;居民对旅游正面影响的感知明显强于对负面影响的感知;旅游对当地居民的经济影响强于旅游的社会文化影响和环境影响.最后建议通过建立健全的旅游社区参与机制来调控居民对旅游影响的感知.     

The (almost) imperceptible impact of tourism research on policy and practice

The need to demonstrate the value of research to non-academic audiences is an increasingly prominent feature of the research policy landscape in many parts of the world. Yet, little is understood about the factors that differentiate academic researchers in terms of their relative influence on non-academic actors. Following a review of the literature, this study uses novel digital methods to undertake a detailed study of the non-academic impact of UK based tourism academics. The findings suggest that non-academic impact is strikingly lower in tourism than in the social sciences more generally. The multiple regression analyses used reveal that researchers who score highly using a range of academic metrics are also cited more by policy-makers and other practitioners. On the basis of the findings, research impact in tourism is theorized. This has implications for individual and institutional tourism research strategies beyond the geographical limitations of the study.     

Modelling attitudes to nature,tourism and sustainable development in national parks: A survey of visitors in China and the UK

This research undertook a visitor survey in two protected areas in different cultural contexts, namely China and the UK, to explore whether the value a person attaches to the environment influences their attitude towards sustainable tourism development in national parks. Structural equation models were developed with data from 597 and 368 questionnaires collected in Jiuzhaigou National Scenic Area, China and the New Forest National Park, UK respectively. The results suggested that anthropocentric or ecocentric values significantly influence people's attitudes to tourism and sustainable development. The same structured causal relationship was found in both samples, between people's attitudes towards the natural environment, conservation and tourism in a national park context.     

Buyer Decision-Making Behavior in International Tourism Channels

Summary

Despite the development and maintenance of effective channel relationships in international tourism markets being critical to a firm's success, little research has been undertaken in business-to-business relationships in cross-national markets (March 1997a; Crotts, Aziz & Raschid 1998). This research paper offers insights into the decision-making behavior of a critical intermediary in international tourism channels, the inbound tour operator (ITO). In an exploratory study, the purchasing attitudes of ITOs, in their functions as purchasers of tourism products on behalf of overseas clients, are examined. Respondents were asked to assess the importance of a number of supplier attributes for three types of tourism products: hotels, coach companies and restaurants. Twenty-six inbound tour operators specialising in the Asian or Japanese inbound markets into Australia were surveyed; though small in number these firms handled over 800,000 visitors to Australia in 1998 (including 82% of the entire Japanese market). The results from a 43-item questionnaire, designed after preliminary discussions with ITOs, reveal differences between the attitudes of Japanese-market and Asian-market ITOs in their purchase decision-making behavior and in buyer attitudes toward different product types. The findings offer useful lessons for suppliers in the management of their relationships with inbound tour operators.     

Indigenous ecotourism in the Mayan rainforest of Palenque: empowerment issues in sustainable development

Indigenous ecotourism in the Mayan rainforest has received little research attention. This study examines issues related to the level of empowerment in a Mayan village located near the Palenque World Heritage Site in southern Mexico. An adapted empowerment framework was used to assess community empowerment and its relationship with stakeholders’ participation by collecting the views of internal and external stakeholders in indigenous ecotourism. Using a checklist of 60 empowerment indicators, the study developed a wheel of empowerment tool that graphically illustrates and compares levels of empowerment/disempowerment in local communities. Results indicate that although there is a will from many villagers to participate in tourism, lack of knowledge, limited economic resources and the poor negotiation skills of local leaders have disempowered the community from undertaking ecotourism ventures. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have not supported the community until recently, the private sector has played little part, and while the Mexican government is shaping the course of indigenous ecotourism with support programmes, state agencies have resisted local ecotourism development. Overall, the community fell below the midpoint on the Wheel of Empowerment Scale. These findings show a need for more effective empowerment strategies to maximise community involvement in managing cultural and natural resources for tourism development.     

A Review of “Raj Rhapsodies: tourism,heritage and the seduction of history”

Many researchers have used stage-based and life cycle models to describe destination development and local residents’ changing reactions to tourism. Typically, they report that resident attitudes towards tourism, and its perceived outcomes for host populations, worsen with increasing experience and involvement in tourism. However, stage-based models traditionally focus on mature destinations in developed countries. In contrast, scholarship on ecotourism derives largely from developing countries and suggests that increased participation leads to more favourable outcomes and attitudes towards tourism. This paper breaks new ground by exploring attitudes to tourism in an emerging destination in a developing country and linking that exploration to a revised stage-based model. It uses ethnographic data to evaluate responses to recent tourism development in Nicaragua. While findings are complex and do not support a linear relationship between the level of experience in tourism and the attitudes of local residents, they do indicate a relationship between these two theoretical perspectives that can be used to inform one another. Notably, workers in tourism are more critical of the tourism industry than residents are. Important amendments to stage-based models are suggested that will assist tourism planners with the creation of more sustainable, community-centred development.     

Career paths of hotel general managers in Turkey

This article investigates the career paths of hotel general managers (HGMs) in a developing country, namely Turkey. Based on an in-depth literature review, a questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 168 HGMs in Turkey. Compared to previous studies, this study found a higher percentage of female HGMs working in hotels. According to the research findings, almost half of the respondents received formal education in hospitality and tourism. The participating respondents most frequently reached the HGM position through working in the front office department and the food and beverage department. Honesty, interpersonal skills, and loyalty were found to be the top three characteristics that helped the participants become HGMs. In terms of required skills, communication, human relations, taking initiatives, and the ability to formulate plans were the top four skills for the participants in their career development. Finally, learning a foreign language, having a college degree, and developing long-term career goals were the top three personal development strategies. This is one of the first studies investigating HGMs career paths in a developing country and it offers specific theoretical and practical implications on this important topic.     

Exploring political parties’ manifesto discourse on tourism: Analysis of Scottish,Welsh and Northern Irish elections 1998–2011

This study explores the level of attention (‘issue-salience’) and use of language (‘policy framing’) related to tourism in political parties’ manifestos in Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish elections in the UK. The findings reveal significant increases in the salience of tourism as an election issue—as well as parties’ contrasting use of language when placing policy proposals before voters. Notably, as part of their state-building agenda, civic nationalist parties put particular emphasis on tourism as an expression of national identity and means of boosting international standing. This study’s wider contribution to tourism scholarship lies in showing how public policy is grounded in the representative process and revealing the party politicization and contingent nature of tourism policy development.     

Aspects of service-dominant logic and its implications for tourism management: Examples from the hotel industry

This paper introduces the concept of service-dominant logic as a research paradigm in marketing management. It does so in the context of tourism management’s need to engage with wider debates within the mainstream management literature. Moreover it demonstrates the importance of service-dominant logic in uncovering the role played by co-production and co-creation in the tourism industry. These ideas are developed in detail through a case study of the UK hotel industry that draws on new empirical research undertaken by the authors.     

Exploring the Sustainability of Mining Heritage Tourism

This paper considers the development of redundant coal mine sites into industrial heritage attractions as a process compatible with sustainable development objectives. An overview of literature in this field outlines existing social, environmental and economic perspectives on the sustainability of this form of tourism development. The economic aspect of the analysis includes an exploration of the sustainability of UK mining heritage attractions as viable tourism enterprises, using findings from a survey of UK mining heritage attractions undertaken in 2002.     

Knowing the Difference Between Right and Wrong

ABSTRACT

To date, little attention has been paid in the tourism literature to the ethical dilemmas facing tourism managers and students. Based on interviews with senior members of the tourism industry six ethical scenarios were developed relating to ethical challenges faced by industry practitioners today. The study then applied the Multidimensional Ethics Scale to tourism students at three prominent universities in the UK, Canada, and Australia, in order to measure their responses to these scenarios. Results showed that all students were more sensitive to environmental scenarios than social or economic scenarios. Nationality and gender also influenced student responses, but prior ethical training had no influence on ethical decision making.     

Undergraduate students’ perceptions of the importance of English in the tourism and hospitality industry

Educators commonly promote English as beneficial to future employability, but students’ perceptions of the importance of English in the tourism and hospitality industry are often not considered. It is important that students’ perceptions are examined as gaining better insights could allow more positive attitudes to both English and the industry being fostered. This study investigated the perceptions of students (n = 71) enrolled at a university in Japan and found no statistically significant differences based on gender, country of origin, year of study, work experience, or future work intentions. However, it was indicated that communicative competence, confidence, English listening, and English speaking were the factors perceived to be most important by the students. Consequently, it is suggested that tourism and hospitality courses should incorporate components that focus mainly on these skills, but not to the detriment of English reading and writing, which were also perceived as important.     

The political economy of tourism in the third world

When a Third World country uses tourism as a development strategy, it becomes enmeshed in a global system over which it has little control. The international tourism industry is a product of metropolitan capitalist enterprise. The superior entrepreneurial skills, resources, and commercial power of metropolitan companies enables them to dominate many Third World tourist destinations. This paper outlines the dynamics of this process, particularly in the context of the South Pacific.     

An exploration of tourist motivation in rural settings: The case of Troodos,Cyprus

Following the decline of traditional agrarian industries, tourism has become one of the most popular rural development strategies adopted by destinations. Rural tourism has been regarded for years as a means of economic and social development in rural areas; particularly, in destinations where tourism has been concentrated in coastal areas, rural tourism development has been considered as a means of diversification of the tourism product. The popularity of tourism as a means of development in rural areas is reflected in academic research; nevertheless, vagueness still exists over what constitutes rural tourism. Whilst several studies have been undertaken investigating the reasons for rural tourism development, little is known about what attracts visitors to rural areas. The aim of this research paper is to enhance understanding of rural tourism by examining rural tourists' motivations. Qualitative research, in the form of unstructured interviews, was performed with both the supply-side and the demand-side sectors of the Cyprus tourism industry to identify the factors that motivate people to visit rural areas. Research findings reveal that different types of rural tourists exist as respondents expressed different levels of interaction with the rural environment and varying interest in rural activities. Also, it was found that people travel to rural areas for various reasons, whereby often the main motivation is not related to the rural setting. Hence, the findings verify the complexity of defining rural tourism and create implications for tourism planners and managers regarding the interaction of destination-specific and personal-specific attributes in attracting tourists to rural settings.     

Resident attitudes toward sustainable community tourism

This study examined, using social exchange theory, a range of variables involved in determining resident attitudes toward tourism development and the adoption of sustainable tourism. After a comprehensive review of the literature on the role of residents in tourism development, and of the use of social exchange theory, 430 completed questionnaires obtained in a Texas town involved in tourism were analyzed. A structural equation model was utilized to understand the effects of selected components of sustainability on the attitudes of the respondents about future tourism development and to test hypothesized causal relationships among the variables. The findings revealed that three major components of sustainable tourism, namely long-term planning, full community participation and environmental sustainability within tourism, are critically related to support for tourism and to the positive and negative impacts of tourism. The paper uses the findings to suggest critical implications that local governments need to consider when developing tourism.     

Migrant networks, language learning and tourism employment

This paper examines the relationship between migrants’ social networks, the processes of language acquisition and tourism employment. Data collected using netnography and interviews are used to identify the strategies that Polish workers in the UK use to develop their language skills. The paper highlights the roles played by co-workers, co-nationals and customers in migrants’ language learning, both in the physical spaces of work and the virtual spaces of internet forums. It also shows how migrant workers exchange knowledge about the use of English during different stages of their migration careers: prior to leaving their country of origin and getting a job, during their employment and after leaving their job. Implications for academic inquiry and human resource management practice are outlined.