Tourism Restructuring and the Politics of Sustainability: A Critical View From the European Periphery (The Canary Islands)

There has been considerable discussion of sustainable tourism development, in both theory and practice. Less attention has been paid to the discourses, ideologies and power relations which help to shape 'sustainable' tourism policies and planning instruments. This paper analyses recent initiatives introduced by the regional government of the Canary Islands, designed to bring about a more sustainable model of regional tourism, including a temporary moratorium on tourism development and the drafting of a strategic and normative set of guidelines for sustainable tourism. The paper considers the contested nature of the public debate that accompanied these initiatives within the wider context of the regionally distinct pattern of tourism and capitalist development. It is argued that the legacy of uneven development, and the entrenched power of regional economic and political élites, is likely to undermine the prospects for a just model of sustainable tourism, and to consolidate the continuing privatisation of space and socio-spatial inequalities across the region.     

Attitudes to a Non-viable Community-owned Heritage Tourist Attraction

This paper reports on a study of community attitudes to a publicly owned heritage tourism attraction in a regional Australian centre. The attraction, an authentic reproduction of a 19th-century riverboat, was built as an Australian bicentennial project in 1988, with the aim of her becoming the region's primary tourism attraction. However, over the years it has proved to be a non-viable attraction, requiring an ongoing council subsidy of up to $A200,000 per year to keep it operational. The council is under strong pressure to divest itself of the vessel, which will mean its closure and likely removal from the community. The study found strong support for council retention and continued subsidisation of its operations. However, the study also raises questions about the efficacy of community involvement in the decision-making process. In this instance, emotional attachment to the attraction, rather than a rational assessment of its future, drives community attitudes.     

Tourism and the Precautionary Principle

The precautionary principle is an emerging norm of international environmental policy affirmed in many treaties and laws. The principle, congruent to the ideal of sustainable development, is a controversial future-focused planning and regulatory mechanism which mandates that to protect against threats of serious and irreversible damage, precaution should be exercised even before harm can be scientifically demonstrated. The intent of this paper is to provide a literature review of the precautionary principle, examine the fundamental concepts underlying the principle and present an introductory discussion regarding its applicability to the tourism industry. Time and again numerous direct and indirect impacts are produced by the tourism industry, yet the potential for integrating precaution into tourism planning has not been examined. The authors consider the critical elements of the principle (uncertainty, risk, costbenefit analysis and science) in relation to the tourism industry, and provide examples of reference to the principle in the policy documents of non-governmental tourism organisations. An adapted framework is proposed for incorporating the precautionary principle into better tourism-industry decision-making. The precautionary principle is predicated as a viable tourism development tool and planning mechanism that safeguards environmental and human health by anticipating and controlling for future impacts of tourism.     

Tourism Sustainability and Health Impacts in High Altitude Adventure,Cultural and Ecotourism Destinations: A Case Study of Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park

Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) is an ACE (adventure, cultural and ecotourism) high altitude destination. Many researchers argue that tourism development in the region is not sustainable and does not comply with ecotourism concepts. They report that SNP suffers considerable environmental, sociocultural and economic impacts. Health issues, despite the number of ailments commonly experienced by tourists, remain neglected in tourism literature. This study aims to investigate the health consequences of visiting SNP. Seven hundred and fifty questionnaires were given out during three separate seasons in 1999, of which 448 completed usable questionnaires were returned giving a 59.7% response rate. The results showthat despite good travel preparation, the majority of tourists (89.4%) suffer some form of health ailment. The most common ailments are mountain sickness, musculoskeletal pain, diarrhoea and respiratory infection. The study also shows several significant relationships between the incidence of health ailments and demographic profiles, motivation and satisfaction. It proposes that for high altitude ACE destinations like SNP, health issues should be a core component of destination management in order to ensure the sustainability of tourism development. High risk groups should be identified and tourism education should be targeted to both tourists and locals.     

Book Reviews

John Tribe's paper 'Education for Ethical Tourism Action' (10 (4), 2002) proposes an action-oriented ethical tourism curriculum based on Aristotle's notion of phronesis, aimed at developing a disposition towards 'good' action rather than 'correct' action. This paper investigates the implications of Tribe's paper for the pedagogy and practice of sustainable tourism. Drawing upon Aristotle, it is argued that principles are an important guide to developing and exercising phronesis (practical wisdom) for living a good life, and for the practice of sustainable tourism. The paper also examines issues related to theoretical or scientific knowledge (episteme) and skill development (techne), and argues for a praxis-oriented curriculum that incorporates: (1) knowledge of sustainable-tourism principles, and (2) practice in which learned principles and phronesis (practical wisdom) constitutively guide tourism action and good conduct. The study also suggests that scholars and practitioners need to be more proactive and cognisant of the telos (purpose) and good of various tourism activities and curricula, for the individual and for the destination. Especially lacking in the study of sustainable tourism is discussion of the development of virtues and character for a good life in and through tourism. Virtue ethics offers potential for supplementing existing theories of rightness and obligation in sustainable tourism, and for conceptualising the meaning of 'good tourism'.     

The Monetary Impact of Tourism on Protected Area Management and the Local Economy in Dzanga-Sangha (Central African Republic)

This paper analyses the premise that revenues from tourism can provide economic sustainability for the management of both the Dzanga-Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve and the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, both in the Central African Republic. Second, the paper examines the impact of tourism on the local economy. The results demonstrate that the present form of tourism has so far been unable to become self-financing. In particular, if investments and depreciation are taken into account it becomes evident that private commercial financing of similar investments is unlikely to be viable. Tourism alone provides insufficient revenue to cover the operating costs of the Park and Reserve. The impact of tourism on the local economy, however, is substantial. Revenue from tourism contributed to the acceptance of the Dzanga-Sangha Project by the local population and has probably contributed to an increase in effectiveness of law enforcement. The Dzanga-Sangha Project tourism programme has at least been partially successful in providing an alternative economic option to more environmentally destructive activities, but it needs to raise additional revenue. The Project should also pursue alternative funding mechanisms, such as trust funds, and generate additional income through gorilla tourism, safari hunting and sustainable forestry.     

遗产原真性·旅游者价值观偏好·遗产旅游原真性

本文指出旅游科学的"原真性"概念与遗产科学的渊源;提出应将"authenticity"译为"原真性"的理由;概述了遗产科学对"原真性"概念的认识发展;从旅游价值观偏好层面对当代旅游科学中出现的"客观主义原真性"、"建构主义原真性"、"存在主义原真性"、"后现代主义原真性"诸提法进行了评论;最后,较为概括地辨析了原真性概念在文化和遗产旅游中的具体处置.     

农业文化遗产的旅游资源特征研究

农业文化遗产是一种新的遗产类型,其概念源自联合国粮农组织2002年启动的"全球重要农业文化遗产"项目.目前,关于农业文化遗产的研究还处于初级阶段,因此,其概念存在一定争议,暂时将其称之为农业文化遗产.本文研究了农业文化遗产作为一种旅游资源的特征.研究发现,农业文化遗产旅游属于一种遗产旅游,从本质上区别于乡村旅游、农业旅游等旅游形式.作为一种旅游资源,农业文化遗产具有特色明显、分布范围广、脆弱性和敏感性高、可参与性强和复合性强的特征,这些特征是农业文化遗产目的地旅游资源开发和管理需要考虑的重要因素.     

Nature-based Tourism and Environmental Sustainability in South Africa

Assessments of environmental factors contributing to sustainable tourism are described in relation to four photographic wildlife tourism enterprises in South Africa. A series of qualitative and quantitative results are presented to demonstrate how nature-based tourism enterprises in protected areas address their environmental impacts. Field-based evaluations and interviews with local community members show how a new Sustainable Nature-based Tourism Assessment Toolkit (SUNTAT) was used to evaluate enterprise performance. Motivations underlying environmentally responsible activities undertaken by private- and public-sector enterprises are described, in addition to their limitations and constraints. Conclusions are made regarding the need for environmentally responsible activities to utilise commercially appropriate best practice, and to consider both the local level and neighbouring livelihood strategies.     

Adding Psychological Value to Heritage Tourism Experiences

Abstract

This study employed an under-utilized methodology known as the Hierarchical Value Map (HVM) technique to explore the underlying motives and needs of visitors to a heritage site. Drawing from a small sample of visitors to a preserved 18th century plantation, the analysis revealed that most respondents were looking for a satisfying leisure experience where pleasure and learning are complementary. In addition the results support the notion that there is a specialized tourist segment (e.g., heritage tourists) that as a group has unique motives and needs. Implications for both optimizing the visitors experience as well as projecting an effective image and marketing communications are discussed.     

Slavery,Heritage and Tourism in Ghana

Summary

This paper examines the past and present of the approximately 80 slave trade-related structures erected by Europeans on the shores of the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Built between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, these monuments bear testimony to a shameful commerce in human beings, one that served to inextricably link the fate of peoples of three continents: Africa, the Americas and Europe. The meaning of these monuments remains powerful, bringing to Ghana and the slave forts a stream of tourists, primarily from Europe and the Americas, on a pilgrimage to view the virtual history of buyers, sellers and victims of the Atlantic Slave Trade.     

我国遗产旅游的文化政治意义

本文提出一个我国遗产旅游界尚未关注的问题--遗产旅游的文化政治意义.文章首先讨论了我国遗产的文化政治价值,接着提出我国遗产旅游应当发挥的文化政治功能,最后分析了提高我国遗产旅游文化政治效果的必要举措.     

Seven Steps Towards Sustainability: Tourism in the Context of New Knowledge

This paper is about tourism and change. It examines changes that have taken place in politics, policy, development, conservation, human–environmental relations, and the convergence of these areas over the past 30 years, especially during the past decade. As the result of international cooperative scholarship, some old concepts of how the world works are shown to be givingwayto anewfocus. It discusses how, instead of managing tourism through attempting to maintain stability, new thought guided by close observations of reality, depicts a world full of uncertainty that is constantly changing and evolving, and where enhancing resilience to disturbance replaces the former focus on achieving stability. This is not a universal paradigm shift, but it is a shift nevertheless. It shows how a new world-view is gradually supplanting the old, and it suggests that this view and its leaders, cannot be ignored. The paper presents readers with seven introductory steps on the road to greater understanding of sustainable tourism in the context of complex system dynamics, in the hope of enabling a more effective transition to sustainability.     

Sustainability and Local Tourism Branding in England's South Downs

This paper reports on a stakeholder consultation exercise that examined the tourism industry's perception of developing a local tourism branding scheme within the South Downs' protected areas in south-east England. The research shows that such schemes could offer potential benefits that are recognisable by the tourism industry, while helping to meet the statutory aims of the protected area. The paper records the perceptions of small tourism businesses, their fears, awareness of tourism impacts, perceptions of sustainable tourism and of local branding, and key criteria connected to the future organisation of a local tourism branding scheme. The conclusion lists the recommendations for the implementation of a local branding scheme, including grassroots stakeholder consultation that encourages ownership and participation, institutional frameworks that support capacity-building and the importance of developing core values within a local brand.     

Exploring the Use of Blended Learning in Tourism Education

ABSTRACT

The last few years have registered a dramatic increase in Internet use in education and a continued investment by educational institutions to increase the integration of technology components into their course offerings. While many have embraced the introduction of online components on the academic experience, some fear that online courses lack the interaction component so critical to the traditional academic experience. In response, there is a growing belief that rather than advocating online or face-to-face learning methods, one should capitalize on the strengths of both methods and examine the effectiveness of blended methods. Therefore, the purpose was to explore the influence of perceptions of online and face-to-face interaction on student satisfaction and performance on a blended learning tourism marketing assignment. The results revealed that students' satisfaction was influenced by their online interactions with other students, the instructor and specific content but that they had no effect on assignment grade. The findings suggest that instructors should consider the use of online tools to improve student satisfaction and that more research is needed to examine the link of online materials and student performance.     

Heritage Buildings and Tourism: An Experiential View

There has been a lack of attention in previous heritage tourism studies to the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism. The aim of this paper is to explore the experiences gained by international tourists from heritage buildings in a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. Specifically, the paper seeks insight into the specific attributes of heritage buildings that influenced the experiences of international tourists in the region. An increased understanding of the experiential relationship between heritage buildings and tourism is essential in strengthening support for preservation, for product development and promotion. Fifty semi-structured, and 66 photograph-supported, interviews conducted with international tourists visiting Hawke's Bay elicited three key experiential themes that emerged from respondents' narratives. These are ‘visual appeal’, ‘personal reflections’ and ‘engaging experiences’. Specifically, it was found that a tourism townscape is not a passive space. Heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential space filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement and personal meaning. The paper concludes that this finding has important implications for destination promotion and product development and stresses the need for future research into the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism.     

Island Tourism and Sustainability: A Case Study of the Lakshadweep Islands

Lakshadweep archipelago, off the south-western coast of India, is a relatively little known island tourism destination. With a very fragile environment, traditional society and marginal economy, and almost entirely dependent on the mainland, Lakshadweep has been developing tourism as an important economic activity. With its geographical and environmental limitations, sustainability is a major issue in Lakshadweep tourism. However, the islands seem to have turned these limitations to their advantage by developing and managing tourism in a controlled manner. This paper considers the development of tourism in Lakshadweep islands within the context of sustainability. Examining the structural and developmental features of Lakshadweep tourism, the paper seeks to identify specific development and management patterns, if any, and explores potential strategies for promoting sustainability-oriented tourism in Lakshadweep.     

Heritage Tourism,Heritage Landscapes and Wilderness Preservation: The Case of National Park Thy

Tourism involving national parks manifests itself explicitly or implicitly as heritage tourism because national parks represent important symbols of the national landscape. This paper traces the journey of the proposed National Park Thy in northwestern Denmark from ordinary landscape to symbolic landscape, to candidacy for national park status and focus for heritage tourism. It is argued that the processes at work in Denmark are similar to those underpinning the creation of national parks elsewhere.     

Investigating the Sustainability of Cruise Tourism: A Case Study of Key West

This qualitative research examines cruise ship tourism through a case study of Key West, Florida, exploring its perceived benefits and drawbacks. It outlines the growth of the industry, the issues raised by that growth, and uses the land-use tourism model developed by Vera Rebollo and Ivars Baidal (2003) Vera Rebollo, J. F. and Ivars Baidal, J. A. 2003. Measuring sustainability in a mass tourist destination: Pressures, perceptions and policy responses in Torrevieja, Spain. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11: 181–203. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] to probe those issues. The results illustrate how mature cruise tourism destinations such as Key West fear continued growth and loss of sustainability, but have mixed emotions about future quantitative and qualitative growth.