TOURISM CRISIS MANAGEMENT: US Response to September 11

Policymakers are faced with the predicament of if and how they should respond to an unexpected and sudden downturn in tourism demand. In the past, they have made these decisions in the absence of research into the relative effectiveness of different responses. The downturn in the United States following September 11 is a particularly vivid example of tourism crisis. This paper analyzes the effects of this crisis using a computable general equilibrium model of the US and also examines potential and actual policy responses to the crisis. Sector-specific targeted subsidies and tax reductions are found to be the most efficient means of handling the situation.     

Locational strategies of international hotel chains

An empirical study was undertaken into the expansion strategies of international hotel operators in five countries in Eastern Central Europe. A questionnaire survey was conducted of the leading chains, framed around an eclectic paradigm. The analysis was complemented with multivariate analysis of competitive and locational strengths, thereby permitting additional insights into the relative positions of the major companies. The major ownership advantages were knowledge of guest requirements, strategic planning, and reservation systems. Locational advantages identified consisted of the size and nature of the city in which the hotel was to be located, the infrastructure within the region, and the perception of the region as an attractive business destination.     

Tourism productivity: Evidence from the United Kingdom

This paper examines the ways in which productivity in tourism businesses can be increased by studying the roles of changes in physical capital, human capital, innovation, and the competitive environment. Comprehensive results are obtained by using questionnaire-based interviews, business survey data analysis, and computable general equilibrium modeling. The results demonstrate the positive contribution that each of the productivity drivers can make to improving efficiency and welfare, notably increases in human capital and innovation. They also indicate that a combined strategy incorporating all of the drivers is more effective than independently formulated policies. Government organizations can collaborate to assist productivity increases, with specifically tailored measures for small businesses.     

Economic impact of sporting events

Major sporting events have their main economic impact via the direct expenditure of tourists associated with the event. Care is needed to count only that expenditure that would not have occurred in the absence of the event. This means avoiding expenditure by tourists who would have visited regardless, but who timed their visit to coincide with the event. When all such expenditure has been avoided, the net remaining expenditure can be assessed using an input-output model of the host economy. It is argued that, because of its climatic and cultural advantages, Australia may be able to capitalize on the economic benefits of tourism resulting from major sporting events.     

Improving the perceptions of hotel managers

This research seeks to identify the importance of various capabilities and psychosociological factors of hotel managers, in order to improve their perception of the competitive environment emerging in the post-Internet era. Specifically, the study analyzes the relevance of education, experience, globalization capabilities, networking, creativity and vision of the future, and other factors related to personality and leadership, to advance the accuracy of this perception. The research used questionnaires with Spanish hotel managers, a Delphi study with international experts, and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses formulated. The results corroborate the model established, and stress the importance of the education and globalization capabilities in this field.     

Tourists and troglodytes: Negotiating for Sustainability

This paper contributes to the continuing discussion concerning the paradox that tourism destroys the object of its desire. An analysis is made of tourism relations and hospitality in a Turkish village, and it is argued that in their close interactions with tourists traveling independently of organized tour groups, local people are in a position to negotiate both their own “traditional” identity in the presence of tourists and the latter's quests and experiences in themselves. A dynamic notion of sustainability in cultural tourism is developed, by challenging the assumptions that tourist localities must remain authentically “traditional” to meet with the expectations of tourists.     

Taiwan aboriginal ecotourism: Tanayiku Natural Ecology Park

This paper discusses research into an ethno/ecotourism site developed by the Tsou nation of southern Taiwan. The Tanayiku Natural Ecology Park receives approximately 450,000 tourists annually. This paper assesses, from a poststructuralist perspective, the theoretical implications of what is termed an “ecocultural renaissance”. It shows that the park functions in two contradictory ways. First, it is a site of geopolitical resistance to colonization for the Tsou. Second, it is as a site of topological consumption—which is, effectively, continued colonization—by tourists. Paradox notwithstanding, the paper discusses why Tanayiku represents a rare example of a successful community-based ecotourism operation owned and operated exclusively by an aboriginal group.     

Exploring place perception a photo-based analysis

This paper examines the merits of volunteer-employed photography as a technique for investigating perceptions of residents and tourists of a destination. An exploratory study was undertaken in which both groups were asked to photograph features they considered important to their personal experience of the Welsh seaside resort of Aberystwyth. Participants also completed photologs and written questionnaires, which were used to supplement a content analysis of their snapshots. This enabled various comparisons and inferences to be drawn regarding how the town is perceived as a destination and as a place to live. An unexpected finding is that residents and tourists tend to adopt similar ways of “reading” the destination.     

Beyond authenticity and commodification

Authenticity and commodification are central to academic debates in tourism. Previous analyses suggest that the commercialization of local identities leads to negative consequences. Based on a long-term study in Eastern Indonesia, this paper examines authenticity from three perspectives: government, tourists, and villagers. While the former two reflect views highlighted in the literature, the villagers’ interpretation is different: tourism brings a sense of pride and identity and also a political resource to manipulate. Seen in this context, the debates about authenticity should examine how the notion is articulated, by whom and for what purposes, to reveal in what circumstances cultural tourism leads to positive responses and empowerment.     

Cocoa, conservation and tourism Grande Riviere, Trinidad

Following a review of tourism in the Caribbean and studies of communities affected by it, the focus of this paper is Grande Riviere, Northeast Trinidad. The history of the village from the mid-19th century is given, and its economic and social characteristics during extended fieldwork from 1971 to 1972 are described. Tourism to the village started in the 90s, prompted by the emergence of Grande Riviere as a major nesting site for Leatherback turtles, and visits were made to the village in 2004 and 2006. Changes over the 30-year period are described and assessed, the impact of tourism is discussed and analyzed and placed within the wider theoretical context.     

Community views of ecotourism

Ecotourism can be an incentive for conservation, especially when it triggers positive economic change. Yet it introduces many changes to communities:positive and negative, social and economic. The full range of change is seldom evaluated in direct relation to conservation at the local level. In this study of three Amazon ecotourism projects, local leaders discussed changes from ecotourism in their communities. Economic benefits were mentioned, but so were new restrictions on time, decreased reciprocity, and social conflict. Other changes included heightened self-esteem and greater community organization. Such shifts should be considered in relation to conservation as they affect the stability of local institutions and the prospects for long-term collective action for resource management.     

Extreme cultural tourism from Antarctica to the Moon

Humanity has an affinity for adventure and discovery. History has shown that in places previously deemed out of reach, intrepid pioneers first visit, followed by an audacious few, and then finally by the segment of general tourist population that can afford it. Thus, increasingly remote heritage places have come under threat from visitation, and it is time to consider the implications for future heritage sites on the lunar surface. While ecotourism principles can be implemented on planet earth, merely visiting lunar landing sites of the Apollo program can diminish their heritage value.     

QUALITY MARKET ORIENTATION: Tourist Agencies’ Perceived Effects

This paper analyzes the effects of market orientation from two perspectives. First, its direct influences on tourist agencies’ perceived performance, and its indirect ones on performance through the perceived value of market information. Second, direct effects on the perceived service quality offered by the firm and indirect influences derived from the utilization of quality measurement systems are analyzed. Hypothesized relationships are tested in an empirical study of tourist managers. Research findings confirm the proposed relationships, except the influence of using quality measurement systems on service. A positive direct influence between perceived service quality and performance is also analyzed and confirmed.     

Ethical travel decisions travel agents and human rights

This paper explores the ethics of selling tourism products for destinations that have known major human rights issues. The study uses the moral intensity framework to analyze the ethical decisionmaking of New Zealand travel agents. Qualitative interviews reveal support for all aspects of the framework. In particular, agents’ judgements are strongly influenced by their perceptions of how their decisions impact upon their clients. In contrast, uncertainty surrounds the probability and magnitude of consequences of their decisions for destination communities. Strong social, cultural, legal, and economic links between the agent and the more proximate stakeholders mean that ethical decisions commonly favor these stakeholders.