Resident perceptions of rural tourism development: the case of Fogo Island and Change Islands,Newfoundland, Canada

The purpose of this study is to explore the applicability of the creative destruction model in the case of Change Islands and Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada, which may through preservation be delaying the threat of creative destruction. Using a mixed methods approach, this study seeks to understand the evolution of tourism planning and development on Change Islands and Fogo Island, residents’ attitudes and perceptions surrounding the tourism industry and the future directions and aspirations they have for their communities and where tourism fits into that future. An analysis of the findings determined that much of Fogo Island and Change Islands falls somewhere between stage one and two of the Mitchell‘s (1998) creative destruction model. However, it also concluded that the Town of Tilting, through a strong sense of identity and preservationist attitudes, did not fit so easily into the model. There is little research on the effects that tourism development has on rural communities in Newfoundland and if tourism is increasingly being viewed as a viable option to diversify rural outport economies, studies of this nature will be important.     

Residents’ attitudes to tourists visiting their mosques: a case study from Istanbul,Turkey

Resident perception of tourism impacts has been one of the most studied areas of tourism. However, there is an extremely limited literature on resident perceptions of religious tourism development, especially in non-Western countries. This study investigated the attitudes of local residents toward tourists visiting four important mosques in Istanbul, Turkey and their perception of religious tourism development. All residents surveyed were practicing Muslims who prayed in a mosque at least once a year. We found that, in general, local residents are supportive of tourists visiting their mosque, but the level of support may differ based on the demographic and cultural background of the residents as well as on the number of tourists visiting the mosque.     

The cooperation model between tourism development and traditional culture: new perspectives on regional context

This study provides new insights on regional context that culminate in a proposed model of the elements determining the development stage of regional cultural tourism. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 regional participants, collecting data on tourist arrivals, investors, and residents' attitudes in the Sanyi region, Taiwan. Responses, especially those who are not economically dependent on the tourism industry, had negative attitudes toward the increase in tourists. Even so, most responses support cultural tourism development and are willing to participate in tourist festivals. Overall, investment responses preferred preserving traditional culture and less commercial activities. Results expressed the sense that developing tourism can also help preserve and allow more visitors a chance to experience the traditional culture. It is shown that Sanyi is in the third stage, advanced commodification, of the process of creative destruction, with signs that it is moving into the fourth stage, early destruction. The model emphasizes that the increasing number of tourists and positive attitudes of the residents can stimulate the introduction of investors and the development stage of regional cultural tourism. Managerial implications are provided for cultural tourism driven economic development and planning.     

Sociocultural Impacts of Tourism: A Case Study from Norway

This article examines residents' perceptions of sociocultural impacts in the North Cape community in Norway. Case study, as a qualitative methodology, was employed to gather the necessary data. Based on the in-depth interviews with 22 permanent residents of the North Cape community, 10 influential factors were empirically identified: source of income; quality of life; community structure; demonstration effect; crime and alcohol; acculturation; perspective; status and community pride; conflicts; and physical impact. Furthermore, in contrast to the existing theory, the current study suggests that both those who are, and who are not economically dependent on the tourism industry perceive tourism positively. Both long-term and short-term residents believe that tourism's benefits outweigh tourism's costs. No noteworthy differences are found across sociodemographic factors such as education and marital status with respect to the residents' perception. The almost overwhelmingly positive response of the residents can be attributed to the current stage of destination development cycle at the North Cape.     

Tourist experience of nature in contemporary China: a cultural divergence approach

The study of Chinese nature tourism is a relatively independent research realm which adopts a cultural perspective to study the tourist experience. Chinese tourists are regarded as being accustomed to experiencing nature through associating it with high culture such as landscape poetry and paintings, calligraphy, and so on, and the impacts of traditional popular culture are seldom addressed. Yet, for the majority of Chinese, popular culture has significant influences on their behavior. From a cultural divergence approach, this paper chooses Huangshan Mountain as a case to investigate the way common Chinese people experience nature, and it is found that cultural impacts are differentiated, since neither cultures nor tourist groups are homogeneous. Specifically, tourists can be classified into classicists and folklorists according to whether they have professional knowledge about the traditional arts. As the majority of Chinese are folklorists and are largely neglected in the research, they are the main interest of this study. High culture has a weak impact on folklorists because they lack professional knowledge to associate with nature through high culture. It is popular culture that strongly influences folklorists’ behaviors in their drawing farfetched analogies to nature and praying to nature.