Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics,China

This study identifies implications of dark tourism and describes how tourists and destinations, which are principal collateral cores, define what constitutes “dark” travel. The study also examines the dimensions of dark tourism motivation and experience and finds that the former partly affects the latter. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis aimed to examine why tourists approach and engage with disaster sites and how such experiences may affect tourists motivation and emotional reaction. It is the first paper that applies structural equation modelling to dark tourism research. We focus on the causal relationships between dimensions of motivation and experience, and the relationship that the emotional reactions effect on tourist experiences. We find that the curious visitors are likely to engage cognitively by learning about the incident or related issues and tourists' emotional reaction to the “dark” space influence more heavily emotional tourist experiences than cognitive experiences do.     

Public–private partnerships and contested cultural heritage tourism in national parks: a case study of the stakeholder views of the North Head Quarantine Station (Sydney,Australia)

This paper examines the public perceptions of stakeholders towards a proposed cultural heritage public–private partnership (PPP) within a national park in Sydney, Australia. Governments in Australia are initiating PPPs for the purposes of designing, planning, constructing and operating projects that would traditionally be regarded as ‘public goods’. The North Head Quarantine Station (Sydney, Australia) was one of the first proposed PPPs in national parks that moved beyond the licensing of private sector operations within park boundaries. The Quarantine Station is used as a case study to offer insights into the PPP process because of its place in the cultural heritage of Australia, its prime a facie tourism position within Sydney Harbour and its prolonged history of development. The case study provides a mechanism for examining public opinion on cultural heritage tourism issues in national parks through understanding stakeholder perspectives presented in newspaper media accounts. The accounts are analysed on political and environmental considerations with implications drawn for future developments.     

Conceptualizing inter‐regional partnership for tourism promotion: In case of the East Asia inter‐regional tourism forum (EATOF)

Tourism in East Asia is in transition. One of the most striking movements in international tourism arena in East Asia is the emergence of local initiative toward building a joint network of destination marketing. The East Asia Inter‐Regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) which has been embarked in September 2000 is a concrete example of this sort. Even though a regional association is a newly rising trend in tourism, conceptualizing a model of inter‐regional tourism cooperation has been scarcely attempted. The current paper is devoted to fill the academic lacuna by suggesting a systematic framework of inter‐regional association of tourism promotion. Then the case of the EATOF was critically analyzed and evaluated under the framework of the proposed type of networking. It is argued in this paper that the inter‐regional tourism cooperation is neither irrelevant with the regional situation, nor inconsistent with the theoretical logic.     

Input‐output analysis and income distribution patterns of the tourism industry in South Korea

This study estimates the economic effects of the tourism industry in South Korea by using the Input‐Output Model in terms of output, income, employment, value added, indirect tax, and import The distribution of income is also examined in the tourism industry among various social classes using the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient The results show that the tourism industry performed better than most of other industries in terms of generating employment and tax revenues. The tourism industry also performs better in terms of minimizing leakage, but more poorly in terms of the linkage effect as compared to the majority of other industries. The Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve show that the tourism industry performs moderately well in the distribution of income among household income classes as compared to the majority of other industries.     

Chinese rural tourism development: Transition in the case of Qiyunshan,Anhui. – 2008–2015

The paper examines the political and social realities of China pertaining to its pro-poor rural tourism policies. It provides a discussion of those policies by drawing on an analysis of changes in the village of Qiyunshan, which is being developed as a tourist destination by the Huangshan authorities. It contextualises the wider policies of current rural reforms under the Xi and Li regime within the specificities of the experiences of this village based upon two sets of observations, (a) one based on several visits over a period of years and (b) a more structured period of participant observations by the first author since 2011. It points to the increased role of state owned enterprises under the Xi regime while highlighting specific differences between different actors in the process of transition toward becoming a major tourist destination.     

Putting tourists in harms way – Coastal tourist parks and hazardous unpatrolled surf beaches in New South Wales,Australia

This study investigates relationships between coastal tourist parks in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and the hazard rating and extent of lifeguard patrols of their nearest surf beach. The vast majority (91%) of NSW coastal tourist parks are closest to surf beaches rated as hazardous to swimmers. Of these beaches, 35% are completely unpatrolled by lifeguards while another 61% are only partially patrolled (<25% per year). Visitors to tourist parks in the Southern Region of NSW are at greater risk when bathing due to a higher percentage of unpatrolled beaches. These findings raise important questions regarding the provision of lifeguarding services on these beaches, the availability and dissemination of beach safety material, and the duty of care of tourist park operators. It also highlights the need to further incorporate human usage and interaction variables into existing beach hazard rating systems.     

The dynamic impact of low-cost carriers on full-service carriers and the tourism industry of South Korea: a competitive analysis using the Lotka–Volterra model

The emergence of low-cost carriers (LCC) in the aviation industry has dramatically decreased the cost of short-to-medium distance air travel, alongside the growth of the tourism industry. LCC has also changed the competitive dynamics within the aviation industry, challenging the traditional market dominated by conventional full-service carriers. Past studies have demonstrated the scale of impact of LCC on the aviation market, but have yet to explore the intricate dynamics of competition in greater detail. This paper utilizes the Lotka–Volterra model to assess the changing impact of the entrance of LCC on South Korean tourism and airline industries. Our results offer insights to industry players on developing sustainable strategic plans for future routes and tourism destinations in Asia and beyond.     

Economic and social yield of investing in hiking tourism: the case of Berguedà, Spain

ABSTRACT

Nature-based tourism is on the rise around the world. This article employs a cost–benefit analysis methodology to contribute to knowledge in this area by estimating both the economic impacts and the social costs and benefits of investing in hiking tourism. It includes tangible and non-tangible impacts, such as health benefits and CO₂ emissions. Using data collected between March 15 2014 and March 14 2015, results show a positive return from every Euro invested in hiking tourism. A single figure of net returns to society enables policymakers to assess the social value of the investment itself and can help citizens’ rational choice regarding whether to encourage or resist additional tourism development.     

Volunteer tourism and the “voluntoured”: the case of Tijuana,Mexico

This paper explores resident attitudes to volunteer tourism in several small communities within Tijuana, Mexico. Social exchange theory has been used to argue that the degree of personal benefit from volunteer tourism would predict residents' perceptions of the impacts of volunteer tourism and support for volunteer tourism planning and for volunteer tourism activities. Survey research of a purposive sample targeted several neighborhoods within Tijuana that were extensively “voluntoured”. Results indicate mixed support for social exchange theory. Implications are discussed concerning the need for volunteer tourism organizations to include a variety of community stakeholders in the volunteer tourism development process.     

Women's leisure: divergence,reconceptualization and change — the case of the Netherlands

This paper consists of two sections. In the first, theoretical, section I explore the questions of divergence and reconceptualization of women's leisure with notions derived from Giddens's structuration theory. In the second section these theoretical notions are used to structure empirical findings from the Netherlands. This results in three different types of women's leisure. The traditional family type has a long history, while the modern family type and the individualistic type are rather new. Each type can be characterised by a specific division of leisure into own time, leisured caring time and leisured labour time and by a specific time-space behaviour. Both the modern family type and the individualistic type are strongly related to women's growing participation in the labour market, which for the former type goes hand-in-hand with an unequal gender division of work. The expectation is that, rather than the individualistic type, the modern family type will become most widespread in the Netherlands and that therefore unequal gender relations in the labour, caring and leisure domain will endure.     

Toward a model of destination resident–environment relationship: the case of Gulangyu,China

This study tested an integrative model to better understand residents’ environmentally responsible behaviour (RERB) and willingness to sacrifice for the environment (WTS) using a sample of 430 residents on Gulangyu Island in China. Results show that destination environmental quality and eco-friendly reputation directly affected resident environmental identification and environmental commitment. Destination eco-friendly reputation directly influenced RERB and WTS. Both resident environmental identification and commitment directly affected RERB and WTS. Furthermore, environmental identification and environmental commitment fully mediate the effects of environmental quality on RERB and WTS, and partially mediate the effects of destination eco-friendly reputation on RERB and WTS.     

Place attachment,host–tourist interactions,and residents’ attitudes towards tourism development: the case of Boa Vista Island in Cape Verde

A clear understanding of residents’ attitudes towards tourism development and its determinants is a crucial pillar for designing tourism development strategies to promote sustainable development. The literature on the influence of host–tourist interactions and place attachment on residents’ attitudes towards tourism development in developing countries is still scarce. To extend knowledge in this field, this study aims at developing and testing a structural model to examine direct and indirect causal effects of place attachment, host–tourist interaction, and perceived positive and negative tourism impacts on the residents’ attitudes towards tourism development in an island tourism destination – Boa Vista Island in Cape Verde. Results suggest that the residents’ attitudes are positively affected by place attachment, host–tourist interaction, and perceived positive impacts; and negatively affected by perceived negative impacts. Host–tourist interaction emerges as the strongest (direct and indirect) determinant of the residents’ attitudes towards tourism development. Moreover, although both positive and negative perceptions of tourism impacts have significant impacts on the residents’ attitudes, the influence of the former is stronger than that of the latter. The paper ends with relevant theoretical and practical implications to promote positive residents’ attitudes towards tourism development in Boa Vista.     

The role of individual entrepreneurs in the development of competitiveness for a rural tourism destination – A case study

The aim of this case study is to increase our understanding of the role of entrepreneurs in enhancing the competitiveness of a rural tourism destination. A literature review of the research on destination competitiveness with a focus on the roles of different stakeholders is first presented, followed by a narrative about rural tourism development, the competitiveness of rural destinations and the role of entrepreneurs in establishing successful destinations. The data consists of six case studies and nine semi-structured interviews among tourism entrepreneurs and managers at a rural tourism destination in Finland. The findings challenge the prevailing DMO dominated approach to destination competitiveness development, and call for the acknowledgment of collaboration between small tourism enterprises in the enhancement of rural destinations. Municipalities have a crucial role as facilitators of the entrepreneurial environment, but without innovative, committed, and risk-taking entrepreneurs no destination will flourish.     

Cruise infrastructure development in Auckland,New Zealand: a media discourse analysis (2008–2016)

The deployment of mega cruise ships is putting pressure on ports to redesign or construct new infrastructure. However, there is limited research which considers the media discourse surrounding this development over a longitudinal period. The aim of this paper is to explore how the media portrays the cruise infrastructure debate in the complex and highly contested political environment of Auckland, New Zealand. Thematic analysis was used to determine the most salient themes found in 103 published articles. Results revealed the media shaped the debate, focusing on a volatile political environment characterised by distrust, a lack of transparency and differing objectives among key stakeholders. An outcome of this research is a rich, in-depth case study of cruise infrastructure development presented through the lens of media discourse. Future research should focus on the perceptions of decision-makers, stakeholders and the community using hedging and framing to probe the media discourse surrounding cruise infrastructure development.     

‘Heritagisation’, a challenge for tourism promotion and regional development: an example of food heritage

As a marker of regional identity, heritage remains a complex field of inquiry. The discussion proposed here will use food to investigate the process of heritage construction or ‘heritagisation’ as an important issue for rural tourism promotion. If food today is considered to be a locus of inter-cultural exchange that contributes to the construction of social identities, then it could also be considered as an important resource for rural development strategy. As it is also strongly associated with the tourism sector, gastronomic heritage, in its forms of construction and mobilisation, calls into question the social and cultural dynamics of a given space. The objective of this discussion is twofold and will treat the notion of heritage as a social construct and as a resource for action. We will attempt to answer the following question: At what point can heritage become a resource and component of professional opportunities? To what extent does this prove to be undeniably subject to the process of local ownership? Methodological note: I emphasise that this discussion, which results from a study of three rural regions in France, will attempt to formally and objectively posit a means of comprehending the process of heritage creation.     

Mixed methods in sustainable tourism research: an analysis of prevalence,designs and application in JOST (2005–2014)

This article analyses the use of mixed methods in papers published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism over the 10 years, 2005–2014. First, a content analysis of the articles shows that mixed methods are used primarily for expansion and development of results, and less often for triangulation or complementarity. Sequential designs are slightly more popular than simultaneous designs, with qualitative research preceding the quantitative element. In the majority of cases, both the quantitative and qualitative methods have equivalent importance, yet where one is dominant, this is usually the quantitative part. Second, we contextualise the content analysis by exemplifying the use of mixed methods in selected papers, using commentary from authors who have recently published mixed methods papers. We reflect on the reasons for, strengths and weaknesses of using mixed methods, and we argue that mixed methods provide sustainable tourism academics with more opportunities for pragmatic transformative research for societal change, and increasing research reliability in relation to social desirability bias, stakeholder comparisons and transdisciplinarity. The paper notes the need for greater understanding of mixed methods by researchers, its special value and growing importance in sustainable tourism research, and its challenges and strengths for authors and editors.     

An integrated approach for spatial analysis of the coupling relationship between tourism footprint and environment in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China

This study aims at examining the spatial relationship between tourism footprint network and comprehensive environment which contains economic, social and ecological environment. The integrated approach combining network analysis and the coupling coordination degree model with spatial autocorrelation analysis was developed to analyze the network structure of regional tourism footprint, to evaluate the coupling coordination degree of tourism footprint network and comprehensive environment, and to explore the spatial pattern of the coupling coordination development. Data were collected from the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China. The results revealed that tourism footprints were concentrated in a few cities, and the regional coupling coordination degree showed a weak negative spatial autocorrelation. Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding had high agglomeration, while their spillover effect is not significant. Shijiazhuang and Qinhuangdao located in the High–Low area are potential growth poles. Findings indicate the integrated approach established is objective and effective, and contributes to macro policy-making of regional tourism development.     

Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek,the Netherlands

This paper examines through an analysis of Dutch warfare tourism whether there is a relationship between the subjective perceived salience of Dutch identity and heritage tourists' motives, emotions and overall satisfaction. Using a social identity theory framework, this study provides a view of motives for Dutch warfare heritage tourism and the ways in which this specific variant of heritage tourism evokes different emotions and satisfaction evaluations in visitors. Specifically, we found that visitors who identified strongly as ‘being Dutch’ (the ‘in-group’) have stronger self-enhancement motives compared to those who identify less strongly, and that edutainment features strongly in the museum experience. Visitors seeking initiative/recognition express feelings of disappointment suggesting that the museum's symbolic function as a place of national in-group identity could be more highlighted. We demonstrate that an affirmative and engaged experience can manifest at nationally symbolic sites through positive historical narratives and entertainment, and through ‘in-group’ self-enhancement activities.     

Publish and perish? Bibliometric analysis,journal ranking and the assessment of research quality in tourism

Bibliometric analysis is important in tourism as a result of external evaluation of research quality, interest in impact and prestige factors, and study of the field’s development. Although bibliometric analysis can be applied to any type of publication the main focus is on journals. Five approaches to the evaluation of journal quality are identified: stated preference, citation-based, derived, hybrid, and expert panels. Different productivity, impact and hybrid metrics are used to identify rankings of tourism journals from Scopus/SCImago data, compared with a derived RAE ranking, and three expert panel rankings. The different rankings reinforces that bibliometric understanding of scientific impact is a multi-dimensional construct. However, bibliometric analysis does not occur in an institutional and policy vacuum. The institutional context of government and private organization evaluations of research quality increasingly determine which metrics are applied, with subsequent effects on performance evaluation, career development and future direction of tourism studies.