Environmental implications of tourism development

For tourism, the environment represents not a constraint, but a resource and an opportunity. Tourism and the environment are not merely interrelated but are interdependent. The viability of tourism, rather than conflicting with environmental conservation, actually demands it, otherwise visitor satisfaction will be reduced as the inherent appeal of the tourism setting is eroded. Whereas tourism can lead to environmental degradation and therefore be self-destructive, it can also contribute to substantial enhancement of the environment. Satisfying tourism settings grow out of natural forces and social conditions and are complementary and compatible with them. The proposed Japanese tourist complex on the Queensland coast of Australia, discussed in this paper, could prove a useful vehicle for demonstrating the mutual benefits to be gained from such an harmonious relationship.     

Partnership and regional tourism in Brazil

Partnerships in planning for regional development can bring together stakeholders representing interests at national, regional, and local geographical scales. This paper examines a regional tourism development partnership in Northeast Brazil. It explores the effects of socioeconomic and political contexts on this collaborative arrangement, the processes of joint working, and how participation was extended to parties not attending the regular meetings. The partnership focused on coordination among government organizations at different spatial scales and with various functions, with participants largely confined to the public sector. Using this assessment, an analytical framework is presented to assist other researchers interested in this theme.     

Shared decision-making in tourism land use planning

A Canadian government commission dealing with environmental resources attempted to incorporate several innovative approaches for shared decision-making into its strategic land use planning process for central British Columbia. This paper describes a framework of design and evaluative criteria for guiding such shared decision-making processes. It uses these criteria to assess the efficacy of the process from the perspective of those tourism stakeholders who participated in this planning exercise. The article offers recommendations to government as well as tourism sector organizations concerning the management of future public land use planning strategies designed to fully incorporate stakeholders into such processes.

Résumé

Les décisions partagées au sujet de la politique foncière du tourisme. Une commission du gouvernement canadien s'occupant des ressources environnementales a essayé d'incorporer plusieurs nouvelles méthodes de décisions partagées dans la planification des stratégies d'utilisation foncière pour la Colombie britannique centrale. Cet article décrit un cadre de critères pour la conception et l'évaluation des processus de décisions partagées. L'article utilise ces critères pour mesurer l'efficacité du processus du point de vue des planificateurs. Il fait des recommandations au gouvernement et aux organisations touristiques au sujet de la planification et de la future gestion de l'utilisation de la propriété publique pour que tous les intéressés soient compris dans ces processus.     

Domestic tourism in FRG : Trends and problems

Participation on tourism of the population of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) has enormously increased. Domestic tourism, however, stagnates. The German tourist regions have to expect a significant decrease in visitors, since an increasing segment of the German holiday-makers (now two thirds) travels abroad. The German domestic tourism providers and vacation travel organizers have not yet fully realized the new trends in the travel behavior. The unfavorable trend can only be met through a continually increasing supply with vacation homes and apartments. Moreover, the various resort towns need to join regional tourism associations which are able to achieve a more effective regional marketing for smaller tourist regions. Preparations for the establishment of regional tourism associations and programs for a subsidization of regional marketing plans are imminent.     

Liberation wars and tourism development in Africa : The case of Zambia

Development of Africa's immense tourism potential is severely limited for reasons including lack of capital, distance from the large North American and European markets, the cost of travel to Africa, and Africa's poor image abroad. A key factor contributing to this image problem is political instability. Since World War II, almost all African countries have achieved independence. In several countries, this decolonization process has taken the form of long and often bloody liberation wars. This paper examines the impact of Zimbabwe's protracted liberation war on tourism development in Zambia and suggests that a detailed examination of major internal and external political events associated with the decolonization process in Zimbabwe could provide important perspectives on the obstacles to tourism development in other African countries.