Self-efficacy and sustainable rural tourism development: local communities’ perspectives from Kuching,Sarawak

The future of the tourism industry is dependent on local communities’ ability to develop and sustain tourism developments, especially in sensitive rural areas. But there is limited research on this topic to guide tourism authorities and governments. In particular, few studies have studied sustainable rural tourism development from the perspective of the local communities. Therefore, this study examines local communities’ views on their capability to achieve sustainable rural tourism development in selected rural areas in Kuching, Sarawak. Questionnaires were distributed to the local communities residing at three rural tourism destinations in Kuching, Sarawak. Interestingly, the results indicated that local communities’ self-efficacy has a positive relationship with social, cultural, economic, and environmental sustainability. Hence, this study offers theoretical and practical contributions to sustainable rural tourism development literature and the tourism industry.     

Heritage tourism and livelihood sustainability of a resettled rural community: Mount Sanqingshan World Heritage Site,China

Tourism and related development can lead to the displacement and resettlement of communities, disrupting local livelihood systems, socio-political processes and organizations. However, limited attention has been paid to community resettlement in the tourism context. Taking Yinhuwan village at Mount Sanqingshan World Heritage Site in China as an example, this study examines the results of tourism and resettlement on the livelihoods of this rural community and the extent to which tourism-related livelihood strategies contribute to community livelihood sustainability. A sustainable livelihood framework is adopted to guide the analysis. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with management officials, community leaders and village residents through three field investigations in 2013. It was found that traditional livelihood methods have been largely replaced by tourism, which has become the primary livelihood strategy for the resettled community. Despite current economic benefits, high dependency on tourism-related opportunities as the single livelihood option may diminish the sustainability of local livelihoods. The current resettlement plan highlights short-term economic impacts on the affected community, overlooking their socio-cultural concerns and long-term livelihood sustainability. Possible measures are discussed to diversify livelihood options and mitigate potential challenges for the affected community so as to ensure their long-term benefits and increase future options.     

The nature and management of geotourism: A case study of two established iconic geotourism destinations

Regional and global geopark networks are rapidly expanding internationally. A key impetus for their establishment is local community development through geotourism, or tourism that is based on sites of geological interest. Geotourism can be a powerful tool for sustainable development but, if not managed effectively, can constitute a direct threat to geoheritage resources. This paper articulates the characteristics and challenges of geotourism by examining two iconic geosites in Taiwan and Australia. Management challenges of Yehliu Geopark (Taiwan) are many, the most prominent ones being congestion, depreciative visitor behaviour and excessive management footprint. Depreciative behaviour is also a significant challenge to Pinnacles Desert (Australia), though congestion is not yet an imminent problem. These two cases illustrate that achieving sustainable visitor use at iconic geosites can be challenging despite the presence of infrastructure, site hardening and interpretation. The importance of visitor management at geoparks and implications for geotourism are discussed.     

The Role of Food Tourism in Sustaining Regional Identity: A Case Study of Cornwall,South West England

This exploratory paper examines the role of food tourism in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, agricultural diversification and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Cornwall, South West England, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts and contested issues of regional identity. A literature and policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with 12 restaurateurs, were undertaken in four popular tourist locations. Correlation was found between increased levels of food tourism interest and the retention and development of regional identity, the enhancement of environmental awareness and sustainability, an increase in social and cultural benefits celebrating the production of local food and the conservation of traditional heritage, skills and ways of life. The paper draws attention to three issues: the role of food tourism in increasing tourist spending, the potential role of food tourism in extending the tourist season, and the re-examination of food tourist typologies within a sustainability framework.     

Sustainable travel writing? Exploring the ethical dilemmas of twenty-first-century travel writers

There is a paucity of academic literature on travel writing that examines travel writers and their perceived influence on sustainability. This article addresses this lacuna by exploring how travel writers understand their responsibilities and reflects on ethics in their profession, particularly in how foreign destinations and cultures are portrayed. This is significant because some travel writers have been accused of contributing to what interviewees called the “Lonely Planet Syndrome”, the notion that writing about a place will introduce and encourage mass tourism, changing the original state of the place for the worse. In this qualitative, phenomenological study, data were collected from 23 in-depth interviews with twenty-first-century travel writers and analysed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings suggest that while some interviewees expressed anxiety about their perceived accountability to mediate foreign cultures responsibly, others embraced their role as a cultural mediator. They cared about local cultures and wanted to write in responsible ways by supporting more sustainable outcomes, reflected in the themes of cross-cultural understanding, socio-cultural and environmental advocacy and promoting benefits of tourism to communities. Future studies could include exploring the role of travel editors, travel writers’ professional knowledge and the growing role of travel blogs.     

Human resources development for tourism in rural communities: A case study of Kerala

Considering the relative backwardness of rural areas, human resources development (HRD) seems to have a very important role in rural tourism development. However, tourism HRD in rural communities is affected by a number of drawbacks. In the absence of any significant private sector presence, especially during initial stages, the public sector need to take the initiative in equipping and empowering the local community to meaningfully participate in tourism. This paper suggests a multi‐pronged approach to educate and empower the members of the host community, the tourism industry personnel, and visitors to facilitate rural tourism development, which is sustainability‐oriented and can help localize the benefits. The experience of Kerala provides an example of how the public sector initiated HRD activities could contribute to the development of rural tourism, especially in engendering local entrepreneurial endeavors and giving tourism a higher profile. The Kerala experience represents some of the issues in HRD for rural tourism and suggests potential strategies for other rural communities involved in tourism development.     

Tourism migrant workers: The internal integration from urban to rural destinations

This article examines the unique phenomenon of tourism migrant workers (TMWs) who move from developed urban areas to less-developed rural destinations in China. It investigates the four dynamic dimensions of TMWs' integration process: economic adaptation, social integration, cultural acceptance and psychological integration. Three inhibiting factors of the integration process are identified from the socio-cultural context of Chinese society: TMWs' own social network, urban-rural differences, and sojourner mentality. This research was conducted in three stages and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine TWMs' integration process from the perspectives of TMWs and local residents.     

The Sustainability of Whale-watching in Scotland

Scotland's tourism trade grosses £2.5 billion annually and supports 180,000 jobs; whale-watching is an important part of this activity. Whales and dolphins are the country's number one wildlife attraction and with 11,770 km of coastline the potential for the Scottish industry is huge. In rural areas it can provide as much as 12% of local income. During the tourist season of 2000, questionnaires and telephone interviews were used to investigate the sustainability of Scottish whale-watching. 48 operators cooperated providing economic and environmental information. Most operators were found to be local people (72.4%), supporting five or less full-time equivalent jobs (86.4%). Over half of those questioned (63.2%) had alternative incomes and no formal training in wildlife tourism or business management (70.8%); 89.5% of respondents stated that they follow a code of conduct. The East Coast and Western Isles show the best-perceived trends in tourist numbers. Whale-watching in Scotland is shown to have potential for growth but a need to be regulated and managed from within the industry to ensure environmental and economic sustainability into the future.     

Sustainable rural tourism in Iran: A perspective from Hawraman Village

This paper discusses issues of sustainability and rural tourism within the context of Iran. Using a qualitative research approach, it investigates the experiences of one particular village which is already popular with visitors and has featured in official tourism development plans. The focus is on the reactions of residents and their perceptions of tourism impacts and formal policies. Findings indicate that villagers are concerned about the use of local natural and cultural resources for tourism purposes, recognising negative consequences which seem to them to outweigh positive effects. Participation has been very limited in government rural tourism initiatives which are felt to yield few benefits for village inhabitants. Current policies thus appear ineffective and reforms are necessary if the potential for sustainable rural tourism, embracing community engagement, is to be realised.     

基于《里山倡议》的乡村旅游发展途径初探——以台湾桃园地区对乡村旅游转型的需求为例

乡村旅游作为乡村地区发展的途径之一,必须面对当代乡村景观中传统农业主体性破坏对游憩资源运用的影响。在此过程中,最基本的问题在于乡村地区如何在发展与保护之间取得平衡?乡村旅游以环境资源为基础,建立适宜的乡村环境管理与旅游模式才是乡村旅游发展的根本。该研究主要结合《里山倡议(Satoyama Initiative)》的环境管理概念,探讨其融入乡村旅游发展的可能性,并以我国台湾桃园地区乡村景观为案例,通过对桃园地区乡村景观变迁的研究访谈、空间分析及乡村旅游发展课题的探讨,初步提出三种基于里山倡议概念的乡村旅游发展的可行途径,为未来乡村旅游规划活动提供一定的参考。     

Social mediation in remote developing world tourism locations – the significance of social ties between local guides and host communities in sustainable tourism development

This article discusses the role of the local, or regional, guide as a social mediator between a host society and tourists, as a means of sustainable tourism development in developing world locations. The debate illustrates how previous studies have neglected this social aspect of mediation by tourist guides and partly absorbed it into the concept of cultural mediation. Empirical illustrations are offered from the context of small tourist group visitations to local villages in rural areas of Madagascar, where collective social norms still play an important role. A qualitative approach based on personal interviews with guides and on field trip experience and observation is employed. Empirical findings indicate that the inclination of the host society to welcome accompanied tourists is facilitated by the capacity of local guides to develop relatively strong social ties with the host society. It is suggested that the increased use of local guides with good social relationships with the local communities as against the mere employment of non-local accompanying guides working for centrally located tour operators can enrich the mutual experience quality in the encounter between visitors and hosts and support local sustainable development by enhanced local involvement. Implications for sustainable tourism practice are discussed.     

Can community-based tourism contribute to sustainable development? Evidence from residents’ perceptions of the sustainability

In this paper, the research gaps in sustainable tourism development were addressed by examining residents' perceptions of the sustainability of community-based tourism based on tourism area life cycle theory. The survey questionnaire was distributed to the residents of six Taiwanese communities, and it was designed to determine the residents' perceptions of the economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and life satisfaction sustainability of tourism. In total, 849 usable questionnaires were collected. The analytical results further elucidated the sustainability of nature-based tourism and suggested that the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability varied significantly in the consolidation, development, and involvement stages of community-based tourism development. The four dimensions of sustainability were evaluated according to the pre- and post-development perceptions of tourism sustainability, and significantly different results were obtained. The study concludes that the residents’ perceptions differed across the developmental stages; thus, managers should consider the development opportunities and adopt appropriate strategies across different development stages.     

The planning,development and management of tourism: The case of Dangjia,an ancient village in China

“Ancient villages” are rural settlements in China that achieve this classification because of their historic, cultural and architectural values. Nonetheless, while they have long histories and are considered as tourism assets they may also face social, economic, environmental and political problems. This article analyses these issues using a qualitative and quantitative analysis derived from research at Dangjia Ancient Village, Shaanxi, China. It identifies changing patterns in demand and shifts in the modes of meeting those demands – from modes that are individually based to those that are dependent on local government interventions. Much of this change is due to deficiencies in local social and financial capital. Suggestions are made regarding ways to improve the sustainability of rural tourism, which have a wider application on a national and international scale.     

中国传统村落文化生态研究进展与展望

快速工业化、城镇化、信息化和全球化带来了技术进步和不可逆转的环境变化,传统村落转型发展势不可挡。如何在保存和延续自身文化基因的同时,又能重构文化生态以适应新环境变化,避免产生多元化文化生态失衡问题,是新时期传统村落保护与利用研究的核心任务。基于此,本文采用文献分析法,在中国知网和Web of Science数据库检索中国传统村落文化生态研究相关文献,结合国家文化生态保护区的制度与实践,从文化和生态系统耦合的视角,全面梳理传统村落文化生态概念体系,深化和完善传统村落文化生态适应性内涵、文化生态系统演进过程、文化生态平衡调控和文化生态适应性管理等核心内容,在此基础上提出提炼传统村落文化特质与文化核心的思路、评价传统村落文化生态适应性的方法和优化传统村落文化生态区域系统性保护与利用的模式,以期系统地解决传统村落文化生态失衡问题,从而推进文化生态学在中国传统村落保护与利用的在地化研究,有助于中国乡村振兴路径和模式的落地与推广。     

The perceived value of the rural tourism stay and its effect on rural tourist behaviour

Rural tourism (RT) constitutes a valuable tool for the sustainable development of rural areas. This paper explores issues of tourist motivation in RT and develops a specially tailored perceived value (PV) scale for the RT sector. Special attention is given to links between tourists’ motivations, perceived values, and the service and actions by RT providers leading to the sustainability of rural life, culture, economies and environment. Following a literature review, qualitative and quantitative surveys developed a 27-item scale, exploring both the functional and the affective components of the scale. Seven research hypotheses were then tested by quantitative survey work. It was proven that the activities undertaken by the rural enterprise leading to greater rural sustainability are reflected in the PV scale through higher levels of satisfaction and loyalty of the rural tourists. The results of the study reveal that the RT sector has specific characteristics that tourists greatly value and that other specialist tourist markets cannot offer, as highlighted in the contribution made by RT enterprises to rural sustainability. This knowledge can help tailor product development and destination design to suit specific demands and influence communication and promotional activities.     

Roles of intangible cultural heritage in tourism in natural protected areas

The ‘new paradigm’ for protected areas emphasizes communities and their cultural assets, including intangible cultural heritage, as critical and inseparable parts of these areas. As tourism can be a significant factor in the economic framework of natural protected areas (NPAs), the prominent role of the community can have important implications. This paper reports on one of the first empirical studies on the interaction between intangible cultural heritage and tourism in an NPA with a special focus on the role of intangible cultural heritage. It is based on six months of qualitative ethnographic fieldwork in Qeshm Geopark, in the South of Iran. Local intangible cultural heritage is found to manifest and be used in tourism in three distinct ways: First, as a source of attraction and addition to any tourism offerings; second, as conservation tool, especially where the natural environment has strong cultural meanings for the local community; and third, as a driver for facilitating culturally and naturally sensitive behaviour by visitors. Concluding statements address any conceptual and practical implications.     

Cultural sustainability – a framework for Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a framework to assess the cultural sustainability of Aboriginal tourism in British Columbia, which meets must take into account the protection of human rights, good self-governance, identity, control of land, the tourism product’s authenticity, and a market-ready tourism product. These criteria are specified by two indicators each. The cultural sustainability framework was generated by triangulating qualitative research methods like experts’ interviews, secondary research, and participant and non-participant observations. This paper is thus conceptual in nature and inductive in its approach. It partly leverages a collaborative approach, as it includes interviewees in an iterative research loop. Furthermore, the paper shows why cultural sustainability is a determinant of the success of Aboriginal tourism.     

Environmental awareness and initiatives in the Swedish and Polish hotel industries—survey results

Despite its importance, environmental stewardship is not always the top priority in the hotel industry in Europe. This study investigates the influence of the geo-political, economic and socio-cultural context of a country on the environmental attitudes and pro-ecological initiatives incorporated in this sector. To illustrate the differences, hotels in Sweden and Poland were targeted and a total of 349 hoteliers participated in an e-mail-based survey. The study reveals that hotel operators generally recognize the need for environmental protection and are involved in a number of activities. The economic situation and pro-environmental efforts initiated by the government were found to have an impact on certain aspects of hoteliers’ attitudes and actions. The survey has further indicated the two major directions that need to be followed when introducing environmental sustainability into the hotel industry. The first involves incorporating responsible technical and behavioural practices in the sector. The second highlights the necessity of initiating greater demand for “green” practices from the customers.     

My life matters here: Assessing the adjusted identity of domestic migrant workers at intangible cultural heritage tourism businesses in China

In this study, we explore and assess the nature of the double guests and host roles of tourism migrant workers (TMWs), and their effects on the TWSs' adjusted person-place relationships and local identities by employing a systematic modeling approach in the context of the TMWs working in the intangible cultural tourism (ICH) businesses. The research site is fittingly set in Suzhou of east China, a destination whose rich historical and cultural heritages are now co-expressed and co-presented by a migrant workforce that has already outsized the locals. Research findings have shown that the socio-cultural adjustments availed by working in the ICH tourism businesses positively influence the local identities of TMWs, as mediated by their place attachment. This study advances a theoretical understanding of the mechanism of migrant integration in the particular context of cultural tourism development, and shows how tourism can contribute towards healthy, rather than stigmatizing, dialogues pertaining to migrant integration in the society at large.     

The tourism partnership life cycle in Estonia: Striving towards sustainable multisectoral rural tourism collaboration

Estonian rural tourism partnership sustainability is analysed according to the tourism partnership life cycle model, which employs qualitative methodology. Leadership, confusing aims, decreasing communication, time availability, uncertain funding, institutional changes and lack of collaboration with urban centre – trigger deceleration of partnership and therefore influence partnership sustainability.Social aspects play a major role in affecting partnership and include internal and external influences. While each partnership phase is important for its sustainability, the partnership can simultaneously follow different timeline paths that have formal and informal life cycles. If the partnership exists in multiple timelines, its life cycle follows a more circular than cyclical form. Community-initiated partnerships are evolving and adapting platforms where new partnership forms emerge, creating social and economic benefits for stakeholders. When collaboration is initiated by local communities, partnerships can change and alter their form more sustainably compared to situations in which they have a more centralised character.