Transport and Tourism: Cycle Tourism – A Model for Sustainable Development?

Whilst the relationship between transport and tourism has been a subject of discussion in the literature, research has focused primarily on an evaluation of transport as a means to an end rather than as a contextual component of the tourism offering, especially at the destination. This paper evaluates the concept of a planned sustainable transport network, the National Cycle Network in the UK, as a potential model for the integration of transport, tourism and recreation. The paper concludes by exploring a number of implications, which may be considered when developing similar tourism transport networks. A model of sustainable transport development is presented.     

A Cultural Encounter through Volunteer Tourism: Towards the Ideals of Sustainable Tourism?

International volunteering is increasingly recognised as a form of alternative tourism. However, the nature of the ‘alternative’ experience gained, and the ensuing narrative between host and volunteer, remains under-explored in published research, especially in volunteer tourism research within a cultural context in a developed nation. This paper examines the nexus between volunteer tourism and cultural tourism in the search for alternative and sustainable experiences through tourism. Qualitative research using in-depth interviews, diaries and participant observation was conducted to examine the pre-, during and post-trip experiences of 12 Australian visitors undertaking organised volunteer activities in an indigenous Maori community in the North Island of New Zealand during January 2005. Members of the indigenous Maori community were also interviewed to provide an important host perspective. Findings suggest that the nature of the interaction and cultural experiences gained were perceived as mutually beneficial and seemingly different from those gained from traditional cultural products. In particular, the volunteers experienced an alternative Maori cultural product and engaged in a different narrative with their Maori hosts through their volunteer work, one rich in authentic cultural content, genuine and reflective of modern Maori life in New Zealand society.     

Tourism education and curriculum design: A time for consolidation and review?

This paper seeks to examine the growth and development of tourism education within Great Britain, with specific reference to the situation in England and Wales. This is a subject that has received relatively scant attention since the publication of a number of seminal papers produced in the mid to late 1990’s and early C20th. The paper reviews how tourism education has developed from relatively humble origins to that of a subject taught in a wide variety of education institutions. It examines what programmes seek to achieve in terms of knowledge skills development and preparing students to meet the labour needs of the tourism industry. It also reflects on where tourism education is going in terms of courses, course philosophy, levels of study, subject content and teaching and learning strategies.     

Film-Induced Tourism as a Vehicle For Destination Marketing: Is it Worth the Efforts?

This study examined the impact of a film on the featured destination's image and travel intentions through comparing the results of a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experiment. Then, the effect of destination attributes and overall image on travel intentions is examined simultaneously through path analysis. The results indicate that the role of the overall image as a mediating variable is not significant as respondents relied more on specific destination image attributes on their intention to visit. This was even more prominent after the viewing of the film. The overall image had the strongest direct effect on visit interest in future for both pretest and posttest.     

‘It Does Not Harm the Environment!’ An Analysis of Industry Discourses on Tourism,Air Travel and the Environment

While a substantial part of the population in Europe seems well informed about the phenomenon of climate change, uncertainty seems to prevail in terms of its seriousness, its consequences for society and action that needs to be taken in order to prevent ‘dangerous interference with the climate system’. Many people seem to believe that there is no scientific consensus about climate change and that individual behavioural change is irrelevant in the face of uncertainty. Such a ‘psychology of denial’ seems particularly strong in the context of air travel, the fastest growing transport sector. This paper seeks to understand this phenomenon by analysing the discourses surrounding air travel. Four major industry discourses are identified: air travel is energy efficient and accounts only for marginal emissions of CO₂; air travel is economically and socially too important to be restricted; fuel use is constantly minimized and new technology will solve the problem, and air travel is treated unfairly in comparison to other means of transport. The validity of these claims is evaluated based on data and material presented in the scientific literature. Results show that there are substantial gaps between the discourses and the reality of aviation's environmental performance, which might partially explain the controversial understanding of air travel and its environmental consequences among the public.     

Policy Environment for the Tourism Sector's Adaptation to Climate Change in the South Pacific – The Case of Samoa

Samoa and its neighbouring Pacific Island Countries are highly vulnerable to climate change risks because their population and infrastructure are mostly located on low-lying coastal areas. Impacts of climate change are potentially disastrous to tourism, the major economic sector in the region. This research examines the conduciveness of the policy environment in Samoa for the tourism sector to adapt to climate change along three dimensions: stakeholders’ will and commitment, resources available, and policy-making mechanisms [Wong, E.P.Y., Mistilis, N., & Dwyer, L. (2011). A framework for analyzing intergovernmental collaboration – the case of ASEAN tourism. Tourism Management, 32, 367–376]. Samoa is used as an exemplar case study to understand how the Pacific island tourism sector can best adapt to climate change. It was found that the policy environment in Samoa is generally conducive. However, there is a strong need for closer public–private cooperation.     

Which Journal Articles are Uncited? The Case of the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing

Two main streams of research performance evaluation rely on quantitative measurement of research output and citation count. Although research output counting has achieved a certain degree of success, such an approach cannot assess the impact of a publication on knowledge development. A citation count, in contrast, measures the influence of a publication on subsequent research efforts. Citation count has thus become an important way to represent research performance. This study analyzes the uncited articles published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing in the period 1996–2005. Findings would be of use to academic researchers in planning for the type of article to write.     

Marin Držić: A Case for Croatian Literary Tourism

In spite of the positive experience with literary tourism worldwide, Croatian tourist destinations do not recognise the value of literary heritage as a potential key tourist attraction. This is not an indication that Croatia has nothing to offer; on the contrary, Croatia boasts of strong literary figures throughout history, in the fields of prose, poetry, and drama. Croatian tourist destination managers, it seems, perceive tourists primarily as consumers of sun, sand, and sea, and are not aware of key trends in contemporary tourism. Simply, they are far too complacent with the present ideology of Croatian tourism. This article explores the possibility of turning Croatian literary heritage into a cultural tourism product. Using the example of Marin Dr?i?, a Dubrovnik-born Renaissance playwright, it shows how a literary figure can be commodified, and how new destination image(s) can be constructed and communicated.     

Festival Tourism: A Contributor to Sustainable Local Economic Development?

Towns, villages and cities are increasingly keen to share their culture, environment and spending opportunities with visitors by the promotion of festivals. The fact that income can be generated by such festivals is clear but the true value of visitor spend is more complex to calculate with accuracy. This paper considers the contribution of festival tourism to sustainable local economic development. A festival typology is created that broadly identifies three festival types termed 'home-grown', 'tourist-tempter' and 'big-bang'. Here three festivals matching the typology are analysed against the model of sustainable local economic development activity created by the environment charity Forum for the Future. Results suggest that although festivals may have the potential to provide opportunities for sustainable local economic development such opportunities frequently remain unexploited. Nevertheless, some festival scenarios do indicate a closer match to the model of sustainable local economic development activity than others. This paper analyses why this should be and suggests ways in which festival tourism's contribution to local economies might begin to be better understood, and consequently, improved.     

Asia Pacific Tourism Trends: Is the Future Ours to See?

This paper explores current and emerging tourism trends in the Asia Pacific region via content analysis of industry publications and subsequent review of related academic literature. Experience economy and activity-oriented travel lead the development of the sector in the region and impact other trends. Economic growth, favourable political environment and improved infrastructure have sustained continual growth in visitor numbers from long-haul and intra-regional markets. However, the profile of travellers and their interests are increasingly diverse. Additionally, technology has been playing a significant role in hospitality and tourism industries, while human resources remain one of the biggest challenges in the region. Despite the huge increase in academic literature on sustainability, the industry has not appeared to be engaged with the subject. A number of knowledge gaps are identified for future research to better understand tourism development in the Asia Pacific region.     

The impacts of Australia's departure tax: Tourism versus the economy?

This study estimates the flow and expenditure effects of the recent increase in Australia's Passenger Movement Charge (PMC), as well as the economic impacts on the Australian economy and the tourism industry. After discussing the nature of the PMC, it outlines the types of industry stakeholder concerns as to its effects on tourism both before and after the recent increase. It then presents a framework developed by the authors that can be used to distinguish the effects of the increased PMC on the wider economy and on different tourism markets. A computable general equilibrium model is then used to estimate the economic impacts of the increased charge on different Australian tourism markets – inbound, outbound and domestic. The implications of the modelling results for the validity of the industry criticisms of the PMC are discussed. The results confirm that the tourism industry will suffer, though it also indicates that the Australian economy will gain – thus there is a clash between the industry and wider economic interests. The types of issues addressed in this paper can inform policy making regarding the gainers and losers from departure tax increases in tourism destinations generally.