Small firms in the tourism industry: some conceptual issues

Public policy to promote small business development is an established feature of the political landscape throughout western Europe. In a tourism context, there is a growing interest in the small business dimension, in both academic and policy terms. Yet, research relating to small firms does not appear to inform policy development. This paper argues that such a situation is exacerbated, if not precipitated, by a lack of common understanding about terminology and reasons for categorisation. The paper explores various definitions of ‘small tourism firms’ and examines the utility of adopting such a grouping as an analytical category. Following a critical review of statistics relating to the sector, it argues that additional research is required so that policy initiatives might be more finely focused. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Culinary tourism strategic development: an Asia‐Pacific perspective

Many destinations view their food and cuisine as a market niche. Operating within the Asia‐Pacific perspective, this study analyzed the key success factors in culinary tourism based on resource‐based theory in seven benchmark countries to identify the structure of promotional strategic development in culinary tourism. The methodology primarily involved in‐depth interviews and document analyses. The results identified four key success factors: (i) identifying and effectively using culinary tourism resources; (ii) evaluating governmental principles for promoting culinary tourism; (iii) adopting marketing strategies to promote culinary cultural sectors; and (iv) constructing educational environment for culinary culture and tourism. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate social responsibility in the tourism industry: evidence from seasoned equity offerings

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the tourism industry using seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) from 1992 to 2015. We show that tourism SEO issuers engaging in CSR activities experience less negative market reactions to SEO announcements. The findings also reveal that the negative reactions around SEO announcements are significantly lessened for tourism firms with better CSR performance in the context of high information asymmetry, because such activities serve as an ethical commitment to outside investors, and thus align the interests between SEO issuers and outside investors, which eventually mitigates negative market reactions to SEO announcements. Overall, these results indicate that tourism issuers with better CSR performance are able to reduce the agency costs and adverse selection problem for uninformed investors in the process of issuing SEOs.     

The effects of tourism on HSR: Spanish empirical evidence derived from a multi-criteria corridor selection methodology

The exorbitant cost of new High-Speed Rail (HSR) lines requires a selection methodology to define which HSR corridors within a network should be built first, and the most suitable evaluation tool appears to be the multi-criteria approach. In any corridor-ranking methodology, and especially in countries with high tourism attractiveness, tourism impacts on HSR should be considered as a variable.In addition to economic geography and destination choice models, the current literature on tourism demand is dominated by econometric models using a single-equation time-series based approach. However little research has been done so far on methodologies to rank HSR corridors taking into account the tourism variable. In 2014, a ranking methodology developed by Todorovich and Hagler was validated using the current Spanish HSR network. Twelve variables were used to create an index to assign scores to the city pairs, but tourism was not included as a variable. The findings showed the consistency of the model for ranking pairs mainly in the top O–D relations; however the tool failed to discriminate clearly between secondary groups of corridors.The aim of this paper is to assess empirically the positive effect of tourism on HSR and to enhance the abovementioned ranking tool with a tourism database. The new methodology is tested by application to 1176 city pairs in Spain, and the results clearly show that the implementation of a tourism variable helps discriminate between secondary groups of corridors and offers a more effective approach for determining the implications of tourism on HSR.     

The challenges of economic diversification through tourism: the case of Abu Dhabi

In recent years, tourism has become a ubiquitous vehicle for economic development and diversification and, for many regions and countries both in the developed and less developed worlds, tourism has become an integral element of economic development policy. Even those countries that, in the past, have had neither the desire nor the need to seek alternative economic sectors increasingly have been turning to tourism as a potentially effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. As this paper argues, however, the justification for using tourism as an agent of economic development must be treated with some caution. Focusing upon the case of Abu Dhabi, the oil‐rich emirate that in recent years, and in common with other countries in the region, has been seeking economic diversification through tourism to counter instability in global oil prices, a number of challenges to tourism development are identified. These may be overcome collectively through significant investment in product and promotion but, as the example of Abu Dhabi demonstrates, tourism may not always be an easy or cost‐effective means of achieving economic growth and diversification. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate governance,financial management decisions and firm performance: Evidence from the maritime industry

This study investigates the relation between corporate governance with (i) financial management decisions such as earnings management and sub-optimal investment, and (ii) firm performance in maritime firms. The study reveals that important corporate governance measures, such as insider ownership, board size, presence of corporate governance committees, the percentage of directors serving on the boards of other firms and CEO duality, are associated with financial management decisions and firm performance. The associations revealed can potentially assist in mitigating agency problems and improving financial management decisions and performance in maritime firms.     

Exploring the dynamic linkages between tourism growth and environmental pollution: new evidence from the Mediterranean countries

ABSTRACT

The present study explores the impact of tourism on environmental pollution using a comprehensive set of air pollutants, namely CO₂, CO, NO_x, SO₂, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀, in a multivariate framework under the context of the Mediterranean countries. The panel cointegration tests indicate that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between environmental pollution, energy consumption, economic development and tourism growth. The tourism-induced EKC hypothesis is validated for four out of six air pollution indicators in the Southern Mediterranean countries, whereas in the Northern Mediterranean region we fail to document any evidence supporting the hypothesis. In addition, tourism growth has a differential impact on different air pollution indicators across regions. The major findings from the panel Granger causality tests show that bidirectional causality exists between four air pollutants (CO₂, NO_x, SO_2, and PM_2.5) and tourism and unidirectional causality runs from CO and PM₁₀ to tourism growth in the Northern Mediterranean. In contrast, there is a feedback relationship between environmental pollution (CO and NO_x) and tourism growth and one-way causality running from environmental pollution (CO₂, SO_2, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀) to tourism development in the Southern Mediterranean.     

青藏铁路沿线旅游资源开发利用与可持续发展的一致性研究

在深入分析青藏铁路沿线旅游资源开发利用现状的基础上,对青藏铁路沿线旅游资源开发利用与可持续发展的一致性指标进行分析评价,提出了相关政策建议。     

Attitudes in the Danish tourism industry to the roles of business and government in sustainable tourism

The introduction of more sustainable forms of tourism in a country is likely to be the result of a combination of government regulations and other interventions and businesses making their own decisions in response to the market. This paper examines attitudes among senior managers in the Danish tourism industry to where prime responsibility lies for promoting sustainable tourism practices. The opinions of these senior industry managers are also reported on incentives and obstacles to the adoption of sustainable tourism practices, on external assistance that may encourage the introduction of these practices, and whether there should be more government regulations to encourage their adoption. Industry attitudes in Denmark to these issues are of particular interest because of the relative prominence of environmental issues in the country. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Human resources development and sustainability — the case of Indian tourism

The goal of sustainability oriented tourism development requires a number of human resources development (HRD) strategies aimed at the tourism industry personnel, host community and the tourists, and underpinned by concepts and practices of sustainability. Sustainability based ‘work culture’, ‘professional ethics’ and operational practices are basic to sustainability in tourism. Indian tourism, despite its immense potential, has seen tardy development, and shortcomings in the HRD domain have been one of the reasons for this below par performance. This paper suggests a comprehensive and strategic approach to HRD, catering to the training and education needs of Indian tourism at various levels for the major target groups. The paper also identifies the pressing issues confronting HRD in Indian tourism and potential strategies to address them within the context of sustainability. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Congestion affecting the dynamic of tourism demand: evidence from the most popular destinations in Spain

In this study, we propose a dynamic econometric model for tourism demand which takes into account the implications of the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) theory on tourism demand. Unlike other dynamic models, in our specification the effect of the lagged demand on the current tourism demand is not constant, but dependent on congestion. We estimate the model using disaggregated data from the most visited Spanish municipalities for the period 2006–2015. Two panel data estimations are carried out: one with the coastal tourist resorts and the other one with the inland municipalities. The results show that tourism congestion reduces the positive previous tourist effect on current arrivals, suggesting that increasing congestion could worsen the attraction of a tourist destination. Congestion is more negatively perceived in inland destinations than coastal ones. Finally, a strong persistence in tourism demand for coastal destinations is shown.     

Regional tourism industry indices and the allocation of European union and State funding: the case of Greece

An interregional comparison provides useful information for all types of decision maker. In general, consumers consider a variety of factors, e.g., the environmental characteristics of a region, as well as all relevant costs, when they make plans or travel for their vacation. A regional tourism industry index that is based on such factors receives special attention because of its all inclusive nature, i.e. one that is able to provide useful information to consumers for planning their tourism or recreational activities as well as to policy makers for planning policies to support specific activities or regions. An analysis of consumer's decision making indicates that the weights used for the regional variables considered and included in the index should not vary across regions. Given this, a regional tourism industry index is computed for the 10 regions of Greece. To obtain this index, the values of all variables considered are scaled from 0 to 100, so that the index is independent of units of measurement, and all attributes are assigned weights by the consumer. Moreover, it is investigated whether the regional allocation of the European Union and state funding for the tourism industry or the environment is directed to the regions that have a greater index value or equivalently have the potential for further development of their tourism industry. Finally, a rank criterion is introduced that is able to indicate how the allocation of European Union and state funding needs to be changed in order to increase its effectiveness relative to the objectives of the funding authorities. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Representing protected areas: a critical discourse analysis of tourism destination building in a Greek travel magazine

The present paper examines the way protected areas are constructed as tourism destinations by the information sources (i.e. a Greek travel magazine) that are consumed by potential visitors to such areas. Specifically, it explores what form of tourism is proposed for virtual visitors, whether it is ecotourism (i.e. both tourism and environmentalism) or simply a nature‐based one (i.e. exclusively tourism). Examining the way a Greek travel magazine builds protected areas as tourism destinations, and consequently what expectations are created for readers and potential visitors to such areas, the focus of the present paper is on whether the media contribute to the failure on the part of visitors to protected areas, who are the majority of the people engaging in ecotourism activities, to incorporate environmentalist besides tourism pursuits in their travel experiences. The analysis suggests that the travel magazine cultivates the view that other protected areas (with a tradition in mass tourism) are suitable for nature‐based tourism, others (with great ecological interest) for environmentalism, but few for ecotourism. This means that visitors to protected areas will probably have a difficulty in combining tourism with environmentalist pursuits, rather than in developing environmentalist concerns in general. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mitigating externalities of terrorism on tourism: global evidence from police,security officers and armed service personnel

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we investigate the role of security officers, the police and armed service personnel in dampening the effect of terrorism externalities on tourist arrivals. The temporal and geographic scopes are respectively 2010–2015 and 163 countries. Four terrorism measurements are used. They include the number of incidents, injuries, fatalities and property damages. The main findings indicate that armed service personnel can effectively be used to modulate the damaging influence of all four terrorism externalities in order to achieve a positive net effect on tourist arrivals. Conversely, the corresponding moderating role of security officers and the police is not statistically significant. Moreover, violent demonstrations and homicides have a harmful effect on tourist arrivals while the number of incarcerations displays the opposite effect. Policy implications are discussed.     

The relationship between tourism,foreign direct investment and economic growth: evidence from Iran

Tourism is one of the world's largest industries and an increasingly important source of foreign currency that is used to finance economic growth. The purpose of this study is to examine the long-term and short-term relationships between tourism and economic growth in Iran, by using annual data covering the 1985–2013 period and autoregressive distributed lag and the Error Correction model to examine the relationships between variables. The findings showed that there is a positive relationship between tourism expenditure and economic growth in the long term and short term. The result indicate that there is also positive relationship between the real effective exchange rate (REER), foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth. The Granger causality test shows a bidirectional causality running between tourism expenditure and economic growth.     

The influence of the environment on adventure tourism: from motivations to experiences

Inherent in most definitions of adventure tourism is the fact that it takes place in natural outdoor settings. Yet, the influence of this setting on the behaviour of adventure tourism consumers has yet to be adequately addressed. This study, therefore, investigates the relative strength and nature of environmental influences on adventure tourists in both motivations for participation and in the context of the experience. The results are based on questionnaires collected from 459 participants in adventure tourism activities along the southern coast of South Africa. They show that, although the majority of research on adventure tourism focuses on the ‘thrill’ involved, the environment is increasingly recognized as influential. The assessment of motivations, using a push and pull factor approach, demonstrates that the environment not only plays an important role in attracting adventure tourists towards specific destinations, but that they also seek out interactions with nature. In addition, participants suggested that the environment is an especially significant component of their experiences. The fact that the findings demonstrate the importance of the environment in both the motivations and experiences of adventure tourism participants, means that such an approach would make a definite contribution to discussions, planning, and policy linked to the adventure tourism industry.     

Off-the-beaten-track tourism: a new trend in the tourism development in historical European cities. A case study of the city of Krakow,Poland

In the recent years, substantial changes in the manner of sightseeing in cities have been becoming visible. Tourists are leaving the old city centres and are deciding to visit places that are not typical tourist attractions. In such places, alternative forms of city tourism described as off-the-beaten-track tourism are developing. In Europe, this pertains especially to historical cities, specifically capital cities and large agglomerations, such as Krakow, one of the biggest cities in Poland, commonly described as the cultural capital. The aim of this article is to analyse the management of tourism in European historical cities in the context of off-the-beaten-track tourism’s development using the case study of Krakow. To illustrate the issue, two districts, Nowa Huta and Podgórze, were chosen as the examples. In both districts one can observe changes affecting the model of city tourism that stems from the shift in motivations of visitors and from alternative ways of spending free time in the city they are visiting. This process necessitates appropriate management of tourism in the city in accordance with the rules of sustainable development and protection of cultural and historical authenticity of places and buildings.     

Understanding the benefits of social tourism: Linking participation to subjective well‐being and quality of life

This paper aims to explore the relationship between well‐being, quality of life and holiday participation among low‐income families in the UK. There have been very studies that have examined quality of life (QOL) and subjective well‐being in relation to tourism and none that have attempted to apply measures to assess the benefits of holidays for those people who are generally excluded from participation. This is important in relation to social tourism because of the fundamental need to develop mechanisms to evaluate the impact of charitable funding for supporting low‐income families' participation in holidaymaking. This study evaluates the types of reasons given for financial assistance in applications to the Family Holiday Association including follow‐up research with a sample of successful applicants on the perceived benefits of the holiday, including questions on QOL factors. The findings are limited in scope but do indicate that increases in QOL were reported among low‐income families. The paper concludes by arguing that further research on adapted well‐being and QOL measures be applied to tourism consumption. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Confrontations and concessions: an everyday politics of tourism in three ethnic minority villages,Guizhou Province,China

As a state-promoted livelihood diversification approach for ethnic minority communities in rural China, tourism development influences household and community assets in diverse ways. Focusing on three case study villages in Qiandongnan Hmong and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, we compare the livelihoods of one village without tourism to date (but slated for tourism development in the near future), one with a ‘medium’ level of tourism, and another where tourism is in full force. Our analysis of the transitional characteristics of these communities focuses on agriculture, income-related activities, cultural norms, and social relationships to shed light on the everyday politics of ethnic minority households under different stresses and demands from local government and state-controlled tourism businesses. We find that confrontations have arisen due to tourism expansion and state tourism planning directives among a wide range of stakeholders: Zhailao elites, core and peripheral tourism communities, country-level governments, local residents, and tourists. In turn, local residents have made broad concessions ranging from resignation to unwelcome changes in their livelihoods and new income inequalities, to acceptance of certain tourism-based changes and reallocation of resources. In sum, we find that villagers’ everyday politics involves coping with or challenging new tensions in diverse ways, yet at times marginalisation remains.     

Anti-shopping tourism: a new concept in the field of consumption

In this article, based on qualitative research in Hungary, we propose a new phrase for the field of tourist consumption. Our notion ‘anti-shopping tourism’ refers to the resistant attitude towards consumption and spending money during shopping-related tours. The research discussed in the paper analyses participants’ motivations, attitudes and behaviour on one-day coach trips that include various programmes, for example, sightseeing, lunch, spa visits and even a range of gifts, for a very low price, in exchange for participation in a professional sales show during the trip. Our main goal is to explain and, from an economic and anthropological point of view, conceptualise this form of tourist attitude, and to show how this unique way of travel may be situated in a certain historical setting in Hungary, more than two decades after the collapse of the socialist regime. In order to understand how the participating individuals negotiated this unique form of travel that exists in a grey zone of the institutionalised travel industry, notions such as debt, sacrifice, resistance, gift, seduction and informal contract are discussed and connected to the phenomenon.