Off-season tourists and the cultural offer of a mass-tourism destination: The case of Rimini

This paper assesses the potential implications on off-season tourism of enhancing the cultural offer of Rimini, a popular Italian seaside holiday destination hosting about 12 million overnight stays per year. Since more than 9 million of these stays are concentrated in the summer season, in the last 20 years. Rimini has been undergoing a policy of seasonality smoothing, which mainly pivots around business and cultural tourism. This assessment has been carried out through discrete choice experiments submitted to a sample of about 800 tourists who visited Rimini outside the summer months. Since tourism can be viewed as a composite good, which overall utility depends on how the component characteristics are arranged, the choice experiments allow to disentangle the importance and the willingness to pay of tourists for different attributes of the holiday. The choice model incorporates a number of possible changes to actual tourism features (which are also the subject of public debate), including them in hypothetical alternative “holiday packages”. The conditional logit analysis of the choice experiments can highlight any synergy or trade-off between cultural and business tourism. Results suggest that business and leisure tourists share many features related to the use of the territory, while there are important trade-offs between these two groups and cultural tourists. Since business tourists have a higher willingness to extend their stay, a softer budget, and their demand is also complementary to the demand of summer tourists (Brau, Scorcu, & Vici, 2009), from the destination point of view investing in this market segment would be the best option. Although a “second best”, however, cultural tourists share with the local population of Rimini many aspects of the demand of territory (Figini, Castellani, & Vici, 2009). Hence, cultural tourism can play a fundamental role in the intermediate season as a tool for smoothing seasonality, to diversify investments and to give value to the city’s cultural heritage.     

Temple fairs in Taiwan: Environmental strategies and competitive advantage for cultural tourism

Among the top ten tourist activities in Taiwan, temple fairs attract millions of domestic and international visitors annually. However, numerous environmental problems are associated with such fairs. Although numerous environmental strategies have been developed for tourism destinations, few studies have focused on temple culture. This study determines whether environmental strategies can help temple fairs meet environmental protection regulations, mitigate pressures from the public, and maximize their competitive advantage. Analytical results indicate that energy conservation and pollution prevention can increase the financial performance and reputation of temple fairs; however, environmentally friendly products do not improve temple reputation.     

Identifying cultural tourism: a theoretical methodological proposal

This article explores the effectiveness of tourism as a means to heritage conservation in urban areas, focusing on the case study of Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, an inner-city industrial heritage site in Sydney, Australia. The Finger Wharf redevelopment represents a familiar scenario whereby an old industrial site located at a sought after inner-city location has been redeveloped and transformed from a derelict structure into a popular leisure and recreation precinct. The findings of a study of local stakeholder perceptions of the redevelopment are presented and then evaluated according to the goals of sustainable tourism development. The findings highlight the importance of planners and managers of heritage tourism sites thinking beyond the cosmetic conservation of the tangible asset to also consider how best to preserve the non-material value of the site. Through the provision of more effective interpretation heritage, managers can create a visitor experience which is authentic and meaningful to visitors and local stakeholders.     

Strategic foresight for (coastal) urban tourism market complexity: The case of Bournemouth

This paper discusses an approach to evaluate and analyse strategic planning in multi-functional complexities of coastal urban areas with conflicts regarding leisure space which restricts the diversity of tourism segments using an urban locale. The paper proposes a holistic and multi-faceted systems approach to analysing such multi-purpose use of urban spaces with a case study of Bournemouth where the needs of overseas language students and high spending tourists can present an interesting challenge to urban planners. The systems approach advocates integration and alliances in investment incentives to help identify alternative urban use strategies in tourism and leisure contexts which allows for re-branding of an urban area whilst extending the product offer.     

Ensuring good governance of marine wildlife tourism: a case study of ray-based tourism at Hamelin Bay,Western Australia

This paper focuses on stingray and eagle ray tourism in Hamelin Bay, Western Australia, and examines whether current governance arrangements are sufficient. Utilising a desk-based methodology we review the literature and analyse the relevant legal provisions and management practices to determine whether these are appropriate given growth in tourism numbers. Although stricter controls were recommended over ten years ago, and some reforms were made, we find that governance remains limited. We make recommendations for the future with implications for governance in Australia and other regions where marine-based tourism is expanding and must be sustainably managed.     

Rukai indigenous tourism: Representations,cultural identity and Q method

In tourism, cultural representations of indigenous destinations are problematic. They are essential to the promotion of tourism, making destinations understandable and desirable to visitors. But they are also blamed for upsetting the cultural equilibrium of smaller destinations. However, in practice, the origin, mechanism and effects of touristic representations are not easy to identify. In this study, the problem of representations and resident cultural identity in indigenous tourism is explored. In consideration of the generative nature of representations and the contingency of subjectivities toward them, this study is context-specific, focusing on a small but significant community in southern Taiwan where indigenous tourism is a dominant industry and social issue. Q method, a technique designed for the systematic study of subjectivity in terms of opinions, beliefs, and attitudes is employed, eliciting responses from a P set (sample) of 30 participants. Subjectivities were elicited using photographs of one cultural representation, the indigenous Rukai standing stones. It was found that representations must be learned but can be ignored, and that in this community tourism is not the only socio-economic power that drives the feedback loop between representations and subjectivity. For tourism management, implications are that representations can be highly effective tools for destination promotion when informed by the diverse and highly individualized subjectivities of its residents and the production of quality local products.     

Urban tourism research: Recent progress and current paradoxes

Urban tourism has remained a consistent theme in the expansion of tourism research since the 1980s and several seminal papers (e.g. 1 and 2) have reviewed the state of research and its progress towards a greater recognition. This Progress in Tourism Management review article moves our understanding and knowledge of the research agendas within urban tourism by examining the paradoxes associated with such agendas thereby highlighting the need to adopt a less inward looking approach that interconnects with the wider domain of the social sciences, especially those of urban studies and the notion of world cities. We argue that understanding urban tourism will only progress by embracing these wider social science agendas so that tourism becomes integrated into these academic debates to progress the subject area.     

The sustainable integration of cultural heritage and tourism: a meta-study

This paper presents a cross-disciplinary thematic investigation into the relationship between cultural heritage and tourism. It systematizes evidence on concepts, policies and strategies and provides an interpretive synthesis illuminating the factors deemed critical by researchers for the sustainable integration of heritage and tourism. It seeks to find consilience to lead to a “new age of synthesis”. After an extensive literature review, 483 studies were selected and reviewed, assisted by a qualitative data analysis software (NVivo). The research followed the meta-synthesis approach, particularly meta-ethnography, of identifying findings, grouping findings into categories and grouping categories into synthesized findings, to produce a representative set of 15 synthesis factors. These include local involvement, education and training, authenticity and interpretation, sustainability-centered tourism management, integrated planning, incorporation into a wider sustainable development framework, controlled growth, governance and stakeholder participation, market and product diversification, suitable funding provision, international governance and support systems, a heritage capital approach, effective site management, destination management and a sound theoretical/methodological base. These 15 factors are suggested as the fundamental components of a more efficient theoretical frame and evidence-based policy in the fields of cultural heritage and tourism, aimed at achieving sustainability.     

Accessible tourism and sustainability: a discussion and case study

This paper explores the concept of accessible tourism and its links with triple-bottom-line (TBL) sustainability. Accessible tourism is reviewed through some of its central features including dimensions of access, universal design and the nexus between ageing and disability. The TBL is then examined to better understand the financial, environmental and social considerations that arise from accessible tourism. The research design used in this explorative research incorporated a case study approach, where a business case study instrument was developed. Methods included a Delphi group, review of management information systems, in-depth interviews with key informants, observation and participant observation. The study results revealed that rather than accessible tourism being a single construct, it forms one critical dimension of a series of interrelated, overlapping and interdependent business arrangements that extend beyond the business entity through a series of social networks within the destination region. It is argued that to properly satisfy the accessible tourism market, a more sophisticated understanding of accessible destination experiences is needed by tourism operators. The case study illustrates the considerable size and multi-niche markets served by accessible tourism destinations, the good fit between accessible tourism and TBL sustainable tourism, and the need for further research.     

Tropospheric ozone,air pollution and tourism: a case study of Mallorca

This study explores tourists’ contribution to air pollution through an analysis of tropospheric ozone levels. Although the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, preventing damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the Earth's surface, ozone in the lower atmosphere, known as tropospheric ozone, can damage plant species, both natural materials and manufactured goods, and can damage lung tissues in humans. Additionally, ozone in the upper troposphere exerts a considerable impact on global warming. Using the case study of Mallorca (Spain) – an isolated, intensive tourist destination in the Mediterranean – a daily indicator of tourist numbers is used in order to capture direct and induced pressure on the environment. Models based on daily data are estimated using meteorological, daily tourist numbers and other significant variables, showing how rising tourism activity in Mallorca is associated with rising daily concentrations of tropospheric ozone, created by transport, air conditioning and other activities. The estimated models make different simulations possible, showing the consequences of increasing tourism numbers during different seasons. The concluding section shows the potential to develop the models used here for other destinations.     

Social learning and sustainable tourism development; local quality conventions in tourism: a Greek case study

This paper presents the trajectory of an innovative organisational scheme, the Local Quality Convention (LQC), concerning sustainable tourism development in the Lake Plastiras area, a less favoured area in Central Greece. It outlines the development issues of the area, the main actors, their views and practices and describes the creation, progress and emerging problems of the LQC scheme. Research reveals contradicting approaches to sustainable tourism development which, in turn, influenced the LQC's evolution. The findings are critically discussed in the light of the Social Learning (SL) approach to social change and sustainable development. According to SL it is only through interactive (participative), concerted action that stakeholders are able to co-construct an issue and its solutions. Given the dominance of “conventional” tourism in Greece as well as the top-down formation and implementation of policies, the importance of the long term facilitation of local stakeholders to achieve sustainable tourism development is demonstrated, along with other related lessons for planners and managers.     

Reimagining Chinatown: An analysis of tourism discourse

Ever since Chinese immigrants began to move into big North American cities in the late nineteenth century, their ethnically segregated neighborhoods have been referred to as Chinatown and layered with negative and demeaning imagery. Through an analysis of the discourse circulating in neighborhood tours organized by the Chicago Office of Tourism, this paper illustrates how current tourism representations of Chicago's Chinatown are constructed through a process of negotiation with the infamous past imagery of this ethnic enclave. The paper identifies two discursive themes that work to exoticize this neighborhood, while simultaneously attempting to render it familiar and comfortable for tourists. It is argued that such an analysis illuminates how the process of touristification is governed by an ideological shift toward diversity in the globalized city. Moreover, it also illuminates the ways that present tourism discourse, which is produced within an ideological milieu that is celebratory of diversity and multiculturalism and within a political–economic milieu that recognizes the marketability of diversity, draws upon traditional characterizations of Chinatown as Other, while reconstructing this Otherness in a way that appears friendly to tourists. It thus contributes to our understanding of how discourse about an ethnic urban enclave evolves with changing ideological and political–economic conditions, such that traditional imagery is both reinforced and revised.     

Sustainable Mi'kmaw cultural tourism development in Nova Scotia,Canada: examining cultural tourist and Mi'kmaw perspectives

This study assessed tourists' motivations and satisfaction in participating in authentic Mi'kmaw tourism activities in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as the ideas, perceptions and components of sustainable cultural tourism development from the Mi'kmaw perspective. To solicit the tourists' perspective, surveys were administered to tourists visiting the existing Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites in Nova Scotia, while the Mi'kmaw perspective was obtained through key informant interviews. The results of the survey suggest that tourists visiting the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sites were highly educated and deeply interested in learning about culture and participating in authentic cultural experiences. Tourists were also highly satisfied with their experience and were interested in participating in aboriginal tourism again. Findings regarding the Mi'kmaw perspective indicate a focus on cultural tourism's ability to educate both tourists and the Mi'kmaw people on the Mi'kmaw culture as well as provide economic opportunities for Mi'kmaw communities. Of greater importance to the Mi'kmaw people is the preservation and protection of the Mi'kmaw culture. Conclusions drawn from the research include recommendations for the future success and sustainability of the Mi'kmaw cultural tourism sector. This study's findings may also inform other Canadian aboriginal communities seeking to develop robust and sustainable cultural tourism in their own settings.     

The grand tour: Sources and a methodology for an historical study of tourism

Research into the history of tourism is at an early stage of development. This article examines the range of source material which relates to the Grand Tour and considers the problems involved in its interpretation. It then outlines a methodology designed to investigate this area of tourism research.     

The effects of the LCC boom on the urban tourism fabric: The viewpoint of tourism managers

This paper analyzes the vision that the urban tourism fabric in the hinterland of five Spanish regional airports has of the low cost carrier (LCC) phenomenon and the impact that LCCs have on the various niche tourism markets. Data are used from a survey of almost 500 tourist establishment managers. One of the conclusions that should be highlighted is that most of the tourism sector considers LCCs to be perfect substitutes for network carriers and even improvements on these in many cases. The exceptions are travel agencies, especially with regard to the role LCCs play in promoting conference tourism. The factors that determine how the role of LCCs is rated are also examined using generalized ordered logit estimations.     

Site and situation strategy in tourism planning: A Mexican case study

Mexico has experienced all the effects, good and ill, of a large and expanding tourist trade. Tourism's negative consequences--economic dependency, crime, cultural erosion--have manifested themselves in tourist ghettos along Mexico's northern border, on the Mexican Riviera, and in the capital. This study is an assesment of contemporary Mexican tourism planning as it relates to these problems, and further as it seeks to make tourism a stimulus to economically depressed areas of the nation. A case study approach is utilized to identify the strategy of site and situation selection for the new programmed resort complex at Cancun on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It is concluded that Cancun embodies, at least for Mexico, a radical departure in tourism development. The resort is situated to attract a large foreign clientele and to create the greatest possible positive economic and social impact on a resident Mexican population that has suffered chronic underdevelopment.     

Goal programming: Planning process of tourism organizations

The complex rapidly changing environment faced by tourism organization officials makes tourism planning extremely difficult. Goal programming can aid the tourism planner in appraising the goal attainment potential associated with proposed tourism marketing program alternatives. By changing priorities of goals, budgetary limitations, and organizational constraints, the policy maker can test the effect of changes before they are implemented. By utilizing goal programming, a tourism organization can more systematically evaluate the nature and relative importance of organizational goals, critical constraints affecting the organization and marketing program alternatives.     

Residents,their use of a tourist facility and contribution to tourist ambience: Narratives from a film tourism site in Beijing

Any tourist site open to local residents represents a point where residents and tourists become a back drop for the experiences of the other. This paper examines a specific Beijing film tourism attraction, Grand View Gardens, and the manner in which the site is used by local residents, the meanings attributed to it, and residents' role in creating an ambience for tourists. Residents have a daily connection with the site, and form audiences for events held at the Gardens. They often interact with tourists, becoming a source of information for tourists. The paper examines residents' motives for using such attractions, their attitudes towards tourists and suggests they possess a role in the creation of a sense of place that is valued by tourists. The paper fills a gap in an under-researched area, where, in the Chinese context, both residents and visitors form backdrops to each other's experience of place.     

Tourism in difficult areas revisited: the case of Bradford

Bradford was the first city in a “difficult area” in the UK to try to capitalise on tourism. This concept was introduced by Buckley and Witt in the 1980s using Bradford as an example. The article looks at how Bradford and its tourism policies have changed since their initial success in the 1980s. Support for tourism from Local Government has fluctuated because of funding crises, uncertainty about the benefits of tourism and changing political priorities in the City. In the late 1990s, Bradford launched a new strategy to attract leisure tourists, using support from the private sector and funds from Europe. Finally, we attempt to evaluate Bradford's success in tourism over the period and relate this to the original study of difficult areas     

The implications of hotel employee attitudes for the development of quality tourism: the case of Cyprus

In an increasingly competitive market, the issue of quality has grown in significance for tourism businesses and destinations alike. This has been influenced by a number of factors, such as the expansion of consumer rights and the alleged emergence ‘new’, quality conscious tourists. In particular, it is the need to retain or increase competitive advantage that has underpinned the drive for quality in tourism—certainly, many destinations, especially those operating in the highly competitive summer-sun market, are now adopting quality tourism development strategies. However, little or no attention has been paid to the role of tourism industry employees, particularly those in hotels, in the success of quality management programmes. The purpose of this paper is to address this omission. Based upon a survey of hotel employees in Cyprus, it identifies a number of factors that may support or limit the drive towards quality service provision, with a variety of implications for the destination as a whole as well as individual hotels. In particular, hotel management should implement strategies based on reward systems, empowerment and reducing staff turnover, whilst there is an important co-ordination and guidance role to be played by the national tourism organisation.