The Problems and Prospects of Sustainable Tourism Development in the Okavango Delta,Botswana

The objective of this paper is to assess the problems and prospects of sustainable tourism development in developing countries with special reference to the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Using both secondary and primary data sources, this paper points out that tourism in developing countries does not always adhere to the principles of sustainable tourism development. In the Okavango Delta, the tourism industry is designed to meet the interests of tourists from developed countries and is dominated by foreign safari companies. The tourism industry in the Okavango Delta does not significantly take into consideration the sociocultural, economic and environmental needs of the host economy. It is characterised by: the marginalisation of local companies and investors; leakages and repatriation of tourism revenue from Botswana to developed countries; the failure of tourism to promote rural development and poverty alleviation; and, the failure to observe local environmental regulations to conserve the Okavango Delta as a natural ecosystem. This paper argues that, despite these problems, such destinations have the potential to contribute to sustainable tourism development. This requires a planning process that satisfies the needs of tourists and tour operators while being sensitive to the sociocultural, economic and environmental needs of host countries and destinations.     

Evolving roles for local government in tourism development: a political economy perspective

This paper interrogates the changing role of local government in tourism development. It does so through the examination of the Hurunui District, a rural district in New Zealand which has experienced significant transformation in the tourism sector and a concomitant increase in public sector input over the past 25 years. By situating this interrogation within an evolving neoliberal public policy context, this paper explores the tensions at play between tourism stakeholders and decision-makers, and it critiques the way in which local government involvement in the sector is manifested as regulation, promotion, and ownership of key tourism resources in the District. The significance of this paper is that it extends our understanding of the role of the state in tourism and of the influence of public policy on tourism development, potentially including sustainable tourism development. Specifically, it draws our attention to the rationality, roles and activities of public sector engagement in the tourism sector, particularly at local government level. We conclude that the nature and extent of debate evident in the case study, and verified in the literature, indicates that the boundary of government activity and intervention in the tourism market is, and will continue to be, socially contested and mediated.     

Ecotourism in rural developing communities

This paper considers the ad hoc development of ecotourism at Ostional, Costa Rica, and the potential benefits for the local community in the absence of government planning or intervention. In 1995, only four percent of Ostional households identified tourism as a source of income; however, this was substantial in comparison to that derived from other economic activities. While most Ostional residents had positive attitudes toward tourism, they had limited awareness of employment or investment opportunities. Lack of awareness, along with increased activity by outside investors, suggests that, in the absence of formalized planning or intervention, the possibilities for the community at Ostional to further benefit from tourism development will be limited.     

A different interpretation from Cornet's on tourism development in an ethnic minority village in China

There have been tensions as ethnic tourism develops in western China leading to various responses from local people, including resistance. Cornet discussed Dong villagers’ responses to tourism development in Zhaoxing using concepts such as livelihoods, resistance, agency, and ethnicity. This paper aims to reinterpret these responses and extend the scope of discussion through multiple case studies using primary data collected in our fieldwork. This study showed that the issues involving ethnic minority groups mentioned by Cornet commonly appear in Han areas and ethnicity is less significant in local responses to tourism development. In addition, we found that villagers have little voice in tourism development and their rights and interests are often ignored by local government. These findings have important implications for increasing our understanding of the issues arising from ethnic tourism.     

Conflict in tourism development in rural China

This paper explores the phenomenon of conflict in tourism development in rural China. Four cases were selected and analyzed as part of this exploration. The study identified eight major conflict issues: land expropriation, ticket revenue distribution, vending rights, tourism management rights, house demolition, house building, entry restrictions, and village elections. The conflict evolution process indicates that these issues are dynamic and connected rather than static and isolated. Local government was found to be the most important conflicting party for local people due to its authority and economic interests in tourism development. In addition, an often-ignored conflicting party, villagers' committees, was found to have limitations in maintaining local people's interests. The findings of this study shed light on this complicated and sensitive tourism conflict phenomenon in rural China. A couple of practical implications for local authorities and UNESCO are outlined at the end of the paper.     

Tourism-based development in Cusco,Peru: comparing national discourses with local realities

This article qualitatively compares national-level development discourses in Peru with local perceptions of poverty and tourism practice for four rural communities of the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley), located just outside the ancient Inca capital of Cusco, Peru. Copestake's global designs of development (income first, needs first, and rights first) provide the framework for this comparison, linked to local accounts and on-the-ground observations from six months of field work carried out in the region in 2013. Sources of data, which were collected and initially analyzed using Rapid Qualitative Inquiry (RQI), included semi-structured interviews (N = 93), field notes from participant observation, and documents and reports from government institutions, travel companies, and community associations. Results indicate that a strong degree of overlap exists between local perceptions and income first, needs first, and rights first development discourses. However, frustrations with tourism practice reveal an underlying struggle against neoliberal economism and the ever-increasing foreign presence in the region. Findings suggest that tourism-based development outcomes may be enhanced when policies consider both agreements and contradictions between broader discourses and local views and interests, uncovering issues of power linked to the putative common sense of promoting tourism as a principal component of national development strategies.     

Residents’ support for red tourism in China: The moderating effect of central government

This study proposes and tests a model that incorporates two competing theories of political trust, institutional trust and cultural trust, to examine community support for “red tourism” development. Using data gathered from residents living in close proximity to Jinggangshan Scenic Area in China, this study examines the influence of authoritarian values, particularly as they relate to level of residents’ power, their level of trust in government, and their effects on support for “red tourism.” Findings suggest that trust in central government moderates the relationship between trust in local government and support. Future studies should utilize the institutional trust framework to assess residents’ trust in the local government and the cultural trust framework to assess trust in the central government.     

Managing heritage tourism in Toraja: strengthening local values and improving tourists’ experiences

Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, is a tourist destination known best for its ethnicity and was one of the main tourist destinations in Indonesia during the 1990s. Since 2011, the government has again designated Toraja a priority strategic tourism area in its national tourism development plan. This case study describes opportunities for, and issues associated with, heritage tourism in Toraja and explores community perspectives on tourism. The fieldwork data and secondary data were used in preparing the detailed plan for the National Tourism Strategic Area of Toraja (KSPN Toraja). The opportunities for heritage tourism in Toraja include, among others, an emerging Asian market, better transport access to the region, and central government resources and programs to complement those of the local government. The core issues of local community concern include the need to conserve Torajan heritage and to strengthen local values; develop and nurture culture alongside tourism; balance heritage conservation with tourism; and the need for better interpretation to convey local wisdom to enhance the visitor experience.     

特色村镇与A级景区的空间关系及协同发展--以广西为例

广西特色村镇与A级景区作为两种互补的旅游资源,在同一区域存在共生关系,这种关系成为区域联动、共赢发展的重要模式。文章采用空间数量关系模型和空间质量关系模型,定量分析广西特色村镇与A级景区空间关系,得出两者在空间数量上关系显著,在空间质量上接近良好协调发展的结论,为两者协同发展的研究提供可行基础。并以交通通达度(道路交通情况和交通乘换点)、旅游经济发展要素点(酒店、餐饮、娱乐、购物)和参与主体(政府、企业、社区居民和非政府组织机构)为切入点,对广西特色村镇与A级景区协同发展关系进行研究。结果表明:(1)广西交通道路尤其是动车和高速路与两种旅游资源之间的协调性较低,A级旅游景区与最近交通乘换点距离优于特色村镇与最近交通乘换点距离,部分区域旅游经济发展要素点支撑不足,根据两者与交通通达度、旅游经济发展要素点的拟合情况,提出需要加大力度建设和优化桂西左江花山世界文化遗产地旅游资源群、桂西北东兰-巴马-凤山旅游资源群、桂东富川-恭城-灌阳旅游资源群和桂中金秀旅游资源群等旅游资源富集区的交通道路、交通乘换点、酒店和餐饮等基础建设。(2)根据分析广西特色村镇与A级景区实际发展状况,提出以政府引导、企业主导、社区居民参与和非政府组织机构协助与监督的特色村镇+A级景区旅游发展模式,为广西区域空间旅游发展战略的制定提供参考。     

Place change and tourism development conflict: Evaluating public interest

As a set of economic activities, tourism trades on the character of special places. Conflict can emerge where local residents perceive that tourism development proposals challenge the special qualities of place, and where place meaning and attachments are compromised. A key function of government in mediating conflict is to protect public interests, yet explicit consideration of public interest in tourism development conflict is unusual. This paper argues for a reinvigoration of public interest in the mediation of tourism development conflicts. It explores the concept of public interest and how governments interpret and give meaning to it in development debates. In a case study of a cruise ship terminal proposal on the Gold Coast, Australia, the state adopted a neoliberal interpretation of public interest wherein increased global competitiveness of the destination was the overriding common good pursued. Local and diverse interests were marginalised in the debate. The paper concludes that in order to reinvigorate public interest, a public interest evaluation framework for tourism development is needed.     

Global–local relationships and governance issues at the Great Wall World Heritage Site,China

Heritage preservation and tourism use are inevitably intertwined at heritage sites and are characterized by both symbioses and tensions, particularly at World Heritage Sites, where international initiatives interact with local priorities. The international designation impacts heritage preservation, tourism development and community well-being at the local level, especially in developing countries. This paper examines global–local relationships, as well as involvement and governance at intermediate scales, and their implications for preservation and development at Badaling Great Wall World Heritage Site in Beijing, China, through examinations of its management structure, heritage preservation and development plans, and the opinions of the local business community. Interviews were conducted with key officials of the Management Office and questionnaire surveys were distributed with local business operators. It is shown that multiple stakeholders operate in a hierarchical, multi-departmental management structure. International linkages are weak and via central government. Positive economic impacts from tourism are highly valued. High awareness of heritage preservation and positive attitudes toward tourism are identified among local business operators with relatively high tolerance for negative environmental impacts. Potential conflicts between global priorities by World Heritage designation and local needs for tourism development are illustrated. Practical implications for heritage and tourism planning and management are discussed.     

中国旅游产业政策演变及其有效性研究

旅游产业政策旨在规范行业发展,引导产业上水平,优化产业结构,成为调控旅游产业发展的重要手段。1978年至今,我国旅游产业政策的变迁受多种因素影响。在探讨旅游产业演变的基础上,利用我国31省区市2001~2018年面板数据测度旅游产业政策的有效性。结果发现:旅游财政投入能极大地促进旅游产业发展;由中央政府和地方政府颁布的不同层级旅游产业政策具有时效性差异,中央政府旅游产业政策具有时滞性特征,滞后期为一年,而地方旅游产业政策具有即时有效性;旅游产业政策空间分布及有效性存在东中西区域性差异。     

地方旅游发展中政府动员的动力机制与运行模式

通过文献梳理和实证研究,提出在地方旅游业发展模式研究中,相较政府主导,更科学的说法应该是政府“动员”,即政府以各种方式调动各方面力量,全方位发动、整合和协调旅游发展。旅游发展政府动员的动力机制,其客观因素是基于绩效考核的外来消费导入,而主观因素则是剧场效应带来的可视化政绩显示。在运作模式上,政府通过内部动员、对社会动员和对企业动员三种方式,推动地方旅游发展。研究认为,尽管政府动员模式存在诸多问题,但在中国地方旅游业发展中仍然具有一定的合理性。     

海陵岛旅游的社会文化影响研究

本文选择广东海陵岛闸坡镇和海陵镇两镇,通过比较研究来探讨旅游业发展对于其社会文化的影响.研究发现旅游比较成熟的闸坡镇的社会文化环境在旅游业发展的冲击下已经发生了明显的变迁:居民生活的环境不断改善、基础设施不断完善,更重要的是社区居民的思想意识、文明水平、普通话水平、思想开放度等都明显提高.与此同时也导致了赌博、抢劫、卖淫等犯罪现象的增多.海陵镇由于较少涉足旅游业,还没有对当地社会文化产生太大的影响,社区居民对于影响的感知也很少,但是由于受经济利益和社会收益提高的吸引,当地居民表现出对参与旅游业很浓厚的兴趣.     

Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: Monitoring local government planning under the Resource Management Act

In the light of the increasing pace and scale of tourism activity in New Zealand, the concept of sustainable tourism has become a key ingredient in the nation's tourism strategy. This paper explores sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand at the level of local government, and in particular, focuses on the implementation of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) as a mechanism for achieving sustainable tourism. Using the findings of a survey of Regional Councils and Territorial Local Authorities, the paper explores public sector planning responses to tourism impacts and sustainability concerns in New Zealand. The paper extends the earlier work of Page and Thorn (1997. Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: public sector planning responses. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 5(1): 59-77; 2002. Towards sustainable tourism development and planning in New Zealand: the public sector response revisited. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 10(3): 222-238), which identified major issues of concern at local council level with regard to tourism impacts and argued the need for a national vision for tourism to ensure that the RMA achieved its original goals. Since then, a national tourism strategy has been published and changes in legislation have further empowered local authorities to further progress the sustainability agenda. This paper examines these developments and the ensuing implications, concluding that significant progress has been made in developing tourism policies at the local level, but that a number of constraints and issues limit the development of New Zealand as a sustainable destination.     

Assessing the sustainability of tourism-related livelihoods in an urban World Heritage Site

The relationship between UNESCO World Heritage Sites and tourism has been described as a double-edged sword, with the benefits of tourism countered by its adverse impacts. To the extent that tourism-related livelihoods are dependent on World Heritage status, the loss of that status may have significant adverse effects, especially for poor people. The Sustainable Livelihood Framework has been used to analyse the development, or otherwise, of rural communities in poor regions of the world. This paper uses this approach to examine the urban poor of a World Heritage Site in Thailand, The Historic City of Ayutthaya. As a consequence of tourism and urban industrial development, not only has there been conflict between the urban poor and the Thai government within the designated heritage area, there is also conflict with the neighbouring industrial zones. This has resulted in fears that World Heritage status may be lost. Viewed within DFID’s Sustainable Livelihood Framework, lack of capital and little community participation are factors which contribute significantly to an unsustainable livelihood. However, this research concludes that using self-reliance as a measurement of people’s livelihood to determine ‘sustainability’ is inappropriate in an urban-tourism context because people living in urban areas rely heavily on external sources.     

Chinese domestic tourist perceptions of wind farms experiences

Wind farm complexes have grown in popularity as a form of energy tourism, but to date there is a paucity of research that addresses tourist perceptions of wind farms as a form of special interest tourism (i.e. energy tourism). The scope of this study concentrated on determining and statistically profiling domestic tourists’ perceptions of wind farm complexes for energy tourism purposes. As such, this study applies grounded theory as a means of interpreting domestic tourist perceptions of their lived wind farm experiences. By means of a qualitative research design, the researchers discovered that domestic Chinese tourists found their wind farm experiences were typified by interests in sustainability energy, exposure to differing local cultures, the science surrounding wind turbine technology and personal enrichment associated with the sharing of wind farm experiences with family and friends. The primary implication of this study calls for the deployment of collaborative interagency policies which promote wind farming as part of the government's overall sustainable energy platform while also supporting energy tourism as a means of personal enrichment and a form of economic development.     

Applying diffusion theory to destination stakeholder understanding of sustainable tourism development: a case from Thailand

The concept of sustainable tourism development is widely considered to be necessary for successful tourism development, but there is uncertainty over destination stakeholders’ understanding and thus ability to implement the concept. Utilising diffusion theory, this paper explores the diffusion of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders in the tourism destination of Kret Island, Thailand. The primary data collection involved semi-structured, in-depth interviews undertaken with 10 local government authorities and 45 local residents, and data were analysed using content analysis. Interpersonal communication was the key channel for the concept's diffusion, and the involvement of opinion leaders, change agents and social networks in this diffusion was explored. Many local residents were laggards in the diffusion of sustainable tourism development thinking in comparison with local government and local opinion leaders. It is argued that both interpersonal and media communication and the identification of key actors in the community are needed to effectively diffuse sustainable tourism ideas among destination stakeholders. The results validate the use of diffusion theory as a means to understand the transfer of the sustainable tourism development concept among stakeholders, and they also provide information useful for the design of information dissemination programmes.     

Distortions in Tourism Development in the Dali Autonomous Region,China

This paper presents a tourism destination development sequence for Dali, Yunnan Province, China. The development of Dali highlights limits in the power of the local government as the lead stakeholder, which took a top-down approach to economic development. The government sought to address increasing control of the tourism sector by external tour operators through increasing its own control of local tourism attractions. This approach has been only partially successful in reducing distortions in the tourism channel. The origins of these distortions are described and analysed. A number of additional responses are suggested to improve the local benefits obtained from the inflow of tourists to this new destination area including development of a more market oriented competitive strategy that seeks to co-opt stakeholders into collaborative activities.     

旅游发展对我国投资、消费和出口需求的拉动效应研究

传统观念认为,旅游业能有力拉动国民消费需求。其实,旅游业发展也会引致多方面的投资需求,如景区开发、基础设施建设等。因此,旅游业发展对国民经济增长具有综合性的拉动作用。文章依据宏观经济学理论,构建了入境旅游与国内旅游对投资、消费和出口增长分析的理论框架,并利用1982~2010年相关数据,分析了旅游"两大部门"对中国经济增长"三大驱动力"的影响。研究发现:(1)发展入境旅游与国内旅游,因景区开发和旅游基础设施建设,对扩大投资有一定的正效应;(2)作为综合消费和最终消费,旅游业对扩大消费有着显著的正效应,其中,国内旅游的作用远高于入境旅游;(3)比较而言,入境旅游对出口贸易具有积极的拉动作用,而国内旅游对出口的拉动效应则不明显。因此,积极贯彻实施旅游产业发展政策,大力发展国内旅游和入境旅游,是中国当前保增长、扩内需的重要途径。