Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A solution to the serial reproduction of culture?

As culture is increasingly utilised as a means of social and economic development, the cultural tourism market is being flooded with new attractions, cultural routes and heritage centres. However, many consumers, tired of encountering the serial reproduction of culture in different destinations are searching for alternatives. The rise of skilled consumption, the importance of identity formation and the acquisition of cultural capital in (post)modern society point towards the use of creativity as an alternative to conventional cultural tourism. This paper considers the development of creative spaces, creative spectacles and creative tourism from the perspective of supply and demand. The need for creativity in developing new products and how to address the challenge of serial reproduction are discussed, and examples of creative tourism projects are examined and contrasted to traditional models of cultural tourism.     

Boat-based tourism and bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound,New Zealand: The role of management in decreasing dolphin-boat interactions

Indirect non-lethal effects of wildlife tourism have the potential to compromise the long-term health of animal populations. While appropriate management of impacts is clearly necessary, such management is rarely reported to be effective. Doubtful Sound (New Zealand) has boat-based scenic cruises running year-round. This fjord is also home to an endangered population of bottlenose dolphins, a natural asset for the local tourism industry. A voluntary code of management (COM) was implemented in 2008 to alleviate vessel impacts, establishing guidelines to leave dolphin encounters to chance and restricting vessel traffic in areas of critical habitat. The frequency and duration of interactions decreased substantially since the implementation of the COM. This evidence shows that a science-based voluntary agreement has the potential to mitigate tourism impacts. Nevertheless, due to the small size of the population and its history of low calf survival, a precautionary approach is necessary to further reduce current anthropogenic impacts.     

The framework of tourism : Towards a definition of tourism, tourist, and the tourist industry

Leiper, Neil, “The Framework of Tourism: Towards a Definition of Tourism, Tourist, and the Tourist Industry,” Annals of Tourism Research, 1979, VI(4):390–407. A framework for the general study of tourism is discussed. Three approaches to the topic: economic, technical, and holistic are identified and analysed; it is argued that its multi facets require a holistic definition. A systems methodology is used to develop a new definition of tourism. Five elements are isolated: tourists, three geographical elements (generating region, transit route, and destination region), and a tourist industry. The process of tourism is dissected to show that it is inherently a partially-industrialized one, and the tourist industry is shown to contain several sectors with functional and spatial connections across the system. Suggested applications of the framework are proposed, in academic research, education, business and government arenas of tourism. The main theme is that tourism's many facets are connected and that it is both possible and desirable to include an explicit recognition of those connections in general studies of the subject.

Résumé

Leiper, Neil, “Le Cadre théorique du tourisme: Pour une définition du tourisme, du touriste, et de l'industrie touristique,” Annals of Tourism Research, octobre/decembre 1979, VI(4):390–407. On discute un cadre théorique pour l'étude générale du tourisme. On présente et analyse trois façons d'aborder le sujet: économique, technique et globale, et on propose que l'aspect multi-dimensionnel du tourisme du tourisme fait que le tourisme exige une définition globale. On emploie une méthodologie de systémes pour développer une nouvelle définition pour le tourisme. On réussit á isoler cinq éléments: touristes, industrie touristique, région génératrice, route de passage, et région de destination, ces trois derniers formant les éléments géographiques. On disséque le processus du tourisme pour montrer qu'il est fondamentalement mi-industrialisé. On montre que l'industrie touristique comprend plusieurs secteurs, avec des liaisons fonctionnelles et spatiales á travers le systéme. On propose des applications de ce cadre dans les domaines suivants du tourisme: recherche universitaire, éducation, affaires et gouvernement. Enfin, la thése de cet article est que les divers aspects du tourisme sont reliés et qu'il est á la fois possible et désirable de reconnaître ces liaisons d'une facon explicite dans les études générales du sujet.     

Social disruption theory and crime in rural communities: Comparisons across three levels of tourism growth

The study compares rural tourism places under different growth levels in terms of crime effects. Adopting social disruption theory, the study hypothesized that average crime rates would differ for tourism counties with different growth levels, and that high growth tourism counties would experience the greatest increase in average crime rates. The study used data from a sample of rural Colorado tourism communities. Results partially supported the hypothesis and confirmed some results of the relationships between rapid growth and crime identified in previous boomtown studies. The results of the study provide useful insights to public leaders and policy makers engaged in processes of evaluating alternative tourism growth strategies for their community.     

International academic impact of Chinese tourism research: A review based on the analysis of SSCI tourism articles from 2001 to 2012

Between 2001 and 2011 Chinese authors published over 838,000 articles in SSCI rated journals, second only to authors in the United States. However Chinese tourism academics lagged behind their counterparts in obtaining such publications, with only 157 papers in the Thomson Reuters SSCI listing for tourism and hospitality. However in recent years the numbers of Chinese authored publications have significantly increased. The paper argues that access to SSCI ranked publications is important for Chinese tourism academics because (a) it helps inform the world of developments in Chinese tourism, (b) it is a recognition of the standards of Chinese research and a means of improving Chinese research and (c) it provides a motive for international collaboration between Chinese researchers and their counterparts.     

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.     

Ski tourism in a warmer world: Increased adaptation and regional economic impacts in Austria

Climate change risk has gained considerable attention within the ski industry and its investors. Several past studies have overlooked the adaptive capacity of snowmaking and within-season demand variation and therefore overestimated climate change impacts. This study of the Austrian ski market (208 ski areas) including snowmaking found impacts are substantial and spatially highly differentiated, but nonetheless manageable (season length losses of 10–16%) for the majority of ski areas until the 2050s under a high emissions pathway (RCP 8.5) or even the 2080s in a low emission pathway (RCP 4.5). The economic impacts of reduced operations are largely concentrated in regions less dependent on tourism. Preserving this sector in high-risk areas can be considered maladaptive, but may be important to maintain demand. A sustainable end-of-century future for a high proportion of Austria's ski areas is dependent on achieving the low-emission future set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.     

Residents' support for tourism development: The role of residents' place image and perceived tourism impacts

Drawing on the triple bottom line approach for tourism impacts (economic, socio-cultural and environmental) and adopting a non-forced approach for measuring residents' perception of these impacts, this study explores the role of residents' place image in shaping their support for tourism development. The tested model proposes that residents' place image affects their perceptions of tourism impacts and in turn their support for tourism development. The results stress the need for a more flexible and resident-oriented measurement of tourism impacts, revealing that more favorable perceptions of the economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts lead to greater support. Moreover, while residents' place image has been largely neglected by tourism development studies, the findings of this study reveal its significance in shaping residents' perception of tourism impacts as well as their level of support. The practical implications of the findings for tourism planning and development are also discussed.     

Female empowerment and tourism: a focus on businesses in a Fijian village

Women’s participation in business is gaining momentum amongst communities in the South Pacific, yet very few studies have explored this area in the context of tourism in Fiji. Based on ethnographic research, this study focuses on the gender dimension of community-based tourism development in Vatuolalai village, along with the Coral Coast of Fiji. In particular, this study seeks to extend our understanding of the links between female empowerment, tourism and business in this indigenous Fijian community. The paper discusses how indigenous Fijian women, through their involvement in tourism, have adapted to becoming successful business operators and influential drivers of socio-political change affecting established gender relations within an indigenous Fijian setting. Therefore, the current study argues that through tourism-based entrepreneurship, local women have attained not only economic but also psychological, social and political empowerment. Given the literature, this is not a mainstream result, particularly in patriarchal and embedded indigenous communities.     

Volunteer tourism,development and education in a postcolonial world: conceiving global connections beyond aid

This paper contributes to the public and academic debate on the appropriateness of young Westerners’ participation in projects of volunteer tourism conducted in developing countries. Ethnographic research was carried out in the context of an Australian program that organizes short-term group placements for university students in countries like Vietnam, Mexico and Fiji. The results illustrate that such projects can produce similar benefits to other educational initiatives of international volunteering and service (IVS) in terms of global engagement, career development, intercultural competence and psychological support. However, for these projects to avoid public critiques and negative outcomes, they need to harmonize personal and institutional expectations with real volunteer capacities. Thus, until IVS programs in the university context distance themselves from a development aid discourse, they will potentially fall under the umbrella of “neo-colonialism”. The research provides a model of impact analysis and raises challenging questions for universities or similar organizations involved with short-term group placements of volunteer tourism.     

The Hershey sugar mill in Cuba: from global industrial heritage to local sustainable tourism development

Although now abandoned, the Hershey sugar mill represents much of Cuba’s history, heritage, culture, and economy. The associated company town, nature gardens, and electric rail line remain in use to date, albeit in deteriorating condition. This paper presents the history of Hershey investment and significance in Cuba, the current state of the site, and the results of an evaluation of the potential for developing the Hershey complex as a sustainable tourism destination and source of local employment. The study concludes that conservation of the site is a cultural imperative for Cuba, but with many obstacles and challenges. Incremental steps toward development may be feasible – particularly with growing potential for open tourism from the US.     

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.     

Barriers to the development of medical tourism in East Azerbaijan province,Iran: A qualitative study

The purpose of the present study was to determine factors impeding the development of medical tourism in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The data were derived from interviews with 16 key informants. Data analysis of the study was conducted through employing the software MAXQDA-12. The results show that marketing, international issues, culture, transfer, brokerage, management, and policy problems are the main barriers to the development of medical tourism. It seems that East Azerbaijan province should provide necessary context for the participation and investment of private sector in the field of medical tourism. Further, it should design and implement long and short-term strategies in proportion to the problems raised.     

Value orientations toward coral reefs in recreation and tourism settings: a conceptual and measurement approach

This paper examines recreationist and tourist value orientations toward coral reefs (e.g. protection–use, biocentric-anthropocentric), tests a scale for measuring these orientations in recreation and tourism settings, groups individuals based on their orientations and examines demographic and activity differences among groups. Data were obtained from surveys of 2821 users at three coastal and marine sites in Hawai'i. Belief statements about reefs (e.g. “coral reefs have value whether humans are present or not”) were used to measure value orientations. Users agreed with protectionist and disagreed with use-oriented beliefs. Except for one statement (“humans should manage coral reefs so that humans benefit”), the scale provided a reliable and valid measure of value orientations toward reefs. Respondents were grouped into three subgroups (strong protection, moderate protection, mixed protection–use). The largest number of users had strong protectionist orientations toward reefs, and there was no group possessing only use orientations. There were no relationships between value orientations and site, age and residence. Females, snorkelers and sunbathers had stronger protectionist orientations, whereas most scuba divers and anglers had mixed orientations. Given that most respondents had protectionist orientations, efforts to conserve reefs would be supported, whereas activities with deleterious effects on reefs would not be widely supported.     

The Camping Climate Index (CCI): The development,validation, and application of a camping-sector tourism climate index

Camping is a nature-based tourism activity where individuals spend one or more night away from home in an outdoor setting. Inherent in the definition are time and space, as well as exposure to natural elements such as weather or extremes. This study introduces the novel Camping Climate Index (CCI) to explore the impacts of weather and climatic variability on camping occupancy and optimal camping conditions. Daily meteorological data for 29 for-profit camping locations is analyzed and matched with daily camping occupancy data for the tent, recreational vehicle, and cabin categories. The CCI is empirically validated for camping behaviors compared to other tourism indices including the Tourism Climate Index and Holiday Climate Index. This study is the first to create an index using observed camping occupancy data for the three categories of camping matched with daily weather data that also captures the overriding effects of extreme/adverse weather events.     

Domestic tourists to Elmina Castle,Ghana: motivation,tourism impacts,place attachment,and satisfaction

Abstract

Current research on dark tourism lacks an in-depth investigation of the relationships between the various psychological factors that influence tourist satisfaction. Using the cognitive-affective-behavior system, this paper evaluates a theoretical model that postulates relationships between four constructs, namely: motivation, perceptions of tourism impacts, place attachment, and satisfaction. The study extends the tourism literature on cultural sustainability by showing the psychological connections of domestic tourists to a dark heritage site, and the implications for perceptions of tourism impacts on this heritage. Based on a sample of 414 domestic tourists at a dark heritage site in Elmina, Ghana, PLS-SEM confirmed several inter-relationships among the four constructs. Motivation had a positive relationship with perceptions of positive and negative tourism impacts, suggesting that the tourists who were more motivated to visit the site for cultural/learning experiences were also more inclined to perceive both positive and negative tourism impacts. Implications for dark tourism and how heritage site management can influence tourists’ perceptions of impacts are offered.     

世界旅游强国建设：国际经验与中国方略

旅游业是中国的战略性支柱产业,建设旅游强国是中华崛起的重要方面。本文从世界旅游强国的经验分析入手,考察了中国旅游发展的现实基础和机遇与挑战,提出了中国特色世界旅游强国的内涵、目标和战略举措。中国具有超大地域与超多样性自然景观、超长历史与超多样化文化景观、超大人口规模与经济总量、越来越好的社会外向度与人文环境以及逐渐成熟且已进入良性循环状态的旅游业,建设世界旅游强国现实可行。但也面临巨大挑战,需要政界、业界和学界乃至社会的共同努力：积极借鉴旅游强国经验,完善涉旅法律法规;建设高效有力的旅游业发展机制,加强文旅融合,做强"旅游+",做大"+旅游";坚持产城互动和区域协同;用数字技术手段发展智慧旅游;充分调动海内外有利因素打造大中华旅游品牌;尽快遴选和建设一批世界级旅游景区、旅游度假区和世界旅游城市,确保国家"十四五"旅游规划目标的顺利实现。     

Assessing environmental sustainability in tourism and recreation areas: a risk-assessment-based model

This paper presents a three-stage model that applies the principles of risk assessment to the evaluation of environmental sustainability in the tourism and recreation sectors. The model uses both qualitative and quantitative data. While assessing environmental risk at and from tourism and recreation areas is fundamental to sustainable management, existing methodologies rely on sets of environmental data that are often poorly linked and difficult to interpret in a holistic manner. Risk assessment is a concept that can overcome current limitations in environmental assessment methodologies. This model demonstrates its utility by assessing the environmental sustainability of two tourism and recreation sites in Ireland, with 25 environmental hazards identified at the rural Lough Derg (Shannon River) site and 29 at the relatively urban Dublin Bay site. The results show that the practical production of holistic and representative data on environmental risk from tourism and recreation areas is possible, with water quality, amenity value, traffic and transport, boating activity and noise found particularly relevant. The strengths and limitations of the proposed model are considered and compared with three existing tourism impact models: the use of sustainability indicators and two tourism-planning frameworks, limits of acceptable change (LAC) and visitor impact management (VIM).     

Politics, policy and regional tourism administration: a case examination of Scottish area tourist board funding

The issue of Area Tourist Board (ATB) funding in Scotland has been of growing importance since 1996, when the Government empowered a reduction in the number of such Boards from 32 to 14. While much of the controversy surrounding this reduction in the number of Boards has centred on issues of the discharge of responsibilities, questions of ATB funding have recently been brought to the fore because of financial difficulties faced by several ATBs. This paper explores questions of ATB funding, beginning with an overview of Scotland's tourism administrative structure before proceeding to examine perceived difficulties with the role, structure and funding arrangements for the ATBs in the context of current debates to resolve these. With the ultimate objective of evaluating the most commonly propounded resolutions to the ATB funding problem, the paper describes and analyses opportunities for, and obstacles to long-term change, conluding that a possible palliative is a centralized funding mechanism tempered by safeguards to local accountability and the delivery of tourism services.     

Tourists and albatrosses: the dynamics of tourism at the Northern Royal Albatross Colony, Taiaroa Head, New Zealand

Wildlife tourism attractions in New Zealand, like those elsewhere in the world, have experienced rapid growth in demand since the mid-1980s in association with the ecotourism phenomenon. Fortunately, the body of research on the impacts of tourism upon wildlife, both domestic and international, is beginning to reflect this growth. This article presents a consideration of wildlife tourism as it has developed in the New Zealand context. Specifically, it addresses the complexities of understanding the impacts of non-consumptive wildlife tourism. This term describes tourist engagements with wildlife that take place in the habitat of the focal species without the deliberate disturbance or removal of that species. To this end, the case of the North Royal Albatross Colony, Taiaroa Head, New Zealand, is examined. Various secondary data sources are employed to test the application of Duffus and Dearden's (Biological Conservation 1990, 53, 213–231) conceptual framework to this bird colony, with all components of the framework proving to be upheld. It is concluded that site users, contact wildlife species and the natural habitat of the focal species all demonstrate various dimensions of change over time. Several conclusions are drawn from this study. First, that in the absence of deliberate management intervention, wildlife tourism attractions evolve over time to the detriment of both the visitor experience and the focal wildlife species. Secondly, the impacts of tourism upon wildlife transcend tolerance. In other words, wildlife species may appear to be perfectly tolerant of tourists while significant impacts still occur. Thirdly, the application of the core components of Duffus and Dearden's framework dictates that wildlife impact research is not transferable, but rather research of this nature is both site- and species-specific. Finally, it is recommended that research in this domain should involve long-term monitoring of wildlife impacts. Many significant impacts go undetected in the absence of time series data. Failing this, research into the impacts of non-consumptive wildlife tourism must give consideration of the possible long-term biological consequences of tourist engagements with wildlife species.