Balancing the dual mandate of conservation and visitor use at a Canadian world heritage site in an era of rapid climate change

Abstract

National parks in Canada operate under the dual mandate of conservation and visitor use, which involves balancing ecological integrity and nature-based tourism activities. Climate-induced environmental change may increase the existing tension between conservation and visitor use as major tourism resources located in protected areas (PAs) are projected to undergo large-scale changes. This study draws upon the behavioural approach, scenario planning, and landscape visualizations to examine the relationship between climate change impacts, visitor perceptions, and visitor experience management at the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada. Four tourism development scenarios defined by two management drivers (ecological integrity and visitor demand) with corresponding storylines and visualizations were developed for 2050. The visualized scenarios were presented to visitors (n?=?304) in a survey to understand potential implications on visitor satisfaction. The results suggest that park managers need to find a balance between ecological integrity and visitor use in a way that ensures commercialized tourism development is limited, educational material is prioritized, and ecological integrity is maintained. While understanding the behaviour of future tourists is complex, it is a critical component of climate change adaptation planning and decision-making processes that needs to be prioritized by policymakers and PAs managers.     

Assessing ecotourism in an Indigenous community: using,testing and proving the wheel of empowerment framework as a measurement tool

Many of the issues confronting Indigenous peoples result from disempowered communities. Conversely, where communities are empowered, usually as a consequence of landownership, they are able to actively participate in, and benefit from, economic activities such as tourism. In this study, a framework titled the wheel of empowerment framework is used to demonstrate how the level of empowerment/disempowerment in five dimensions can be measured. The dimensions tested are economic, psychological, social, political and environmental. Indicators to measure the level of empowerment for each dimension were developed in a three-stage research process commencing with semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, followed by focus groups with community members from Coba, a Mayan village located near Cancun in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Appropriate indicators were identified and used to assess community levels of empowerment. Results show that the ability of communities to develop sustainable ecotourism businesses requires support from external stakeholders including governments and the private sector as well as internal stakeholders including the local community and importantly from community leaders. The results also show that empowered communities are able to derive considerable social and economic benefits from ecotourism business ventures and make a positive contribution to the ongoing maintenance of sustainability of their local environment.     

Green events,value perceptions,and the role of consumer involvement in festival design and performance

This study explores the dimensionality of event attendees’ “green” involvement in festival settings. Given growing interest in environmental issues, it explores relationships between eco-friendly services, and visitor perceptions, intentions, or choices, using the theory of involvement, and involvement–value relationship studies. Special attention is given to comparative advantages attained by events having green policies and practices, and to assessing how much attendees will pay for those practices through event spending. A green involvement scale was developed, tested, validated and refined, before being used at the major Macau Food Festival, obtaining a 406 person data set, which was analyzed by factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results had both theoretical and managerial implications. There is a strong linkage between green involvement and perceived value. To obtain maximum comparative advantage, however, marketing efforts must focus on promoting green initiatives. For example, attendees who take an interest in and feel connected to environmental issues in their life will spend significantly more. Green design and waste management were the most important drivers of perceived green value, followed by green food and green environment and activities. Our findings show that festival attendees will pay 28% more for green food if they perceive the event offers them green values.     

Efforts,resources and costs required for long term environmental management of a resort development: the case of Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club,The Bahamas

The natural resources upon which the tourism industry relies upon are subjected to intense pressure during and post development. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are the general method used to evaluate the potential impacts of a development. However, EIAs rarely incorporate an EIA-auditing mechanism, or set environmental standards, for evaluating the long term impacts of a proposed development project. The Baker's Bay Golf and Ocean Club (BBC) serves as a coastal tourism development case study, where an Environmental Management Program (EMP) and prescribed environmental goals were incorporated into the EIA. The goal of this paper is to document the efforts, resources and costs required to implement the EMP in an effort to meet the project goals. Lessons learned include the need to mitigate damaged environments, include measurable ecological goals, and establish an open communications system. Substantial time, costs and resources were necessary to implement the EMP and this information should be incorporated into development planning to establish a process to follow through on EIA recommendations.     

How to create competitive advantage: the moderate role of organizational learning as a link between shared value,dynamic capability,differential strategy,and social capital

Based on the organizational strategy and capability perspective, we theorized a serial mediation-moderation analysis that links critical beneficial attributes of dynamic capabilities, differential strategies, social capital, shared goals, and organizational learning to creating competitive advantage. Results from a survey of 328 travel agencies were analysed to support our hypotheses. We found that travel agencies’ shared goals may influence competitive advantage through the characteristics of dynamic capability development, differential strategy implications, and social capital accumulation. We also found that organizational learning is the most critical attribute for improving the relationships between shared goals, dynamic capabilities, and social capital to achieve competitive advantage. The implications of these findings for managerial and theoretical frameworks are also discussed.