Ecotourism Benefits and the Role of Local Guides at Masoala National Park,Madagascar

An investigation of ecotourism at Masoala National Park, a forested coastal area in northeastern Madagascar and the country’s largest national park, focused on ecotourism benefits and the role of local guides in promoting conservation awareness. Interviews, participant observation, and archival research were used to investigate the park’s guide association, resident attitudes toward Masoala National Park, and ecotourism as a method of park and rural development. Many factors make Masoala National Park a prime ecotourist destination, including the possibility of viewing its endemic species, such as red-ruffed lemurs. The park has a strong local guides’ association and currently combines conservation and development through a programme that returns a portion of tourism revenue to local communities. Actual or potential benefits received from the park, including ecotourism revenues, were found to influence the positive and negative perceptions of Masoala National Park held by residents living in the park periphery. However, limitations on ecotourism development include poor infrastructure and difficult access, a challenging climate including a hurricane season, and past national political instability.     

Carrying capacity and its implications in a Chinese ancient village: the case of Hongcun.

Hongcun, an ancient village in Anhui in China, is an UNESCO-gazetted village because of its Huizhou architecture. It attracts over 1.6 million visitors per annum. Based upon a simple spatial model, the results of this study indicate that its social carrying capacity is being vastly exceeded, and the consequences are discussed in terms of the impacts on village life using data derived from a survey of residents. In terms of addressing the issues of crowding, it is suggested that a number of future choices face the village, ranging from the imposition of quotas on visitation to sustain and protect its UNESCO status by significantly reducing overcrowding, or alternatively, to embrace mass tourism to become akin to a theme park that is based on Huizhou culture.     

Stakeholder perception of regulating commercial tourism in Victorian National Parks,Australia

In 2013, the Victorian State Government, Australia, amended legislation to allow the private sector to build and operate tourism superstructure within National Park borders. This study utilised a theoretical regulatory framework to categorise the strategies which regulate commercial tourism in National Parks. Data pertaining to stakeholders' perceptions of the effectiveness of each strategy were collected. Stakeholders within this study sought a clearer government vision for tourism superstructure in National Parks, one which acknowledged conservation as priority and was supported by a more comprehensive regulatory system addressing potential impacts. The results from this study have practical implications for designing an efficacious regulatory system for tourism superstructure in National Parks. The findings suggest an efficacious regulatory system could increase stakeholder trust of and support for government regulatory efforts. This study provides a useful framework for future regulatory-focused studies and outlines the theoretical implications for future research in similar settings.     

Tourism,Marketing and Sustainable Development in the English National Parks: The Role of National Park Authorities

This paper examines the work of the English National Park Authorities (NPAs) in relation to aspects of the development of sustainable tourism. The NPAs have implicitly sought to achieve sustainable tourism development since the parks were first designated, striving to balance the needs of visitors and the environment within the context of living, working landscapes. Studies have revealed, however, that some NPAs are not fully championing sustainable tourism development. The paper examines the NPA's use of marketing and marketing perspectives in encouraging sustainable tourism, exploring attitudes, roles and activities. A diverse, piecemeal and sometimes underinformed approach is revealed. The paper concludes with ways forward for English NPAs and for other protected area management organisations.     

Sustainable human resource management as a driver in tourism policy and planning: a serious sin of omission?

This paper focuses on the neglect of an employment or workforce focus in policy engagement and planning for sustainable tourism. Tourism is of interest here because there is an established role for government and the private sector in policy engagement and strategic planning with respect to product development, infrastructure, marketing and human resource capacity and the focus has increasingly emphasised sustainable goals within this process. The discussion addresses the central role of people and work within concepts of sustainability and sustainable communities and questions why this has been, substantially, ignored in tourism. The paper starts by recognising the interconnectedness of employment in tourism and its workforce concerns with a wide range of inter-linked policy and operational considerations. This, in turn, points to the utility of the sustainable HRM model as a means by which to frame tourism work. Thereafter, this paper introduces new approaches through the proposal of sustainability indicators that have both theoretical and practical policy formation value in relation to the workforce. These sustainable employment capacity, service delivery capacity and service quality capacity with which policy-makers can gauge their readiness for sustainable growth in tourism employment. The research and application implications for this approach are discussed.     

Factors influencing local residents’ intentions to conserve the built heritage in Tanzania

This study used the dominant cognitive-based theory of planned behaviour (TPB) complemented by the affection-based attachment theory (AT) to investigate factors influencing local residents’ conservation intentions. Thus, in addition to TPB’s variables, such as attitudes towards conservation, perceived social pressure and perceived control over conservation, the study considered the effects of heritage affection on conservation intentions. Cross-sectional questionnaire-based data gathered from the three historic towns of Zanzibar Stone Town, Kilwa Kivinje and Pangani in Tanzania were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The TPB’s variables and heritage affection all showed a positive and significant correlation with conservation intention. The empirical data therefore supported using the TPB, complemented by the AT, to explain engagement in conservation in the built heritage setting. The study concludes that conservation intention is best viewed as a mixture of cognitive and affective factors. Theoretical and managerial implications as well as suggestions for future studies are provided.     

The effects of tourism development on rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta,Botswana

The Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) program in Botswana aims to achieve biodiversity conservation and rural development in rich biodiversity areas like the Okavango Delta. CBNRM assumes that if rural communities derive benefits from natural resources, they will be obliged to use such resources sustainably. Using the sustainable livelihoods framework, this study analyzes the effects of tourism development through CBNRM on rural livelihoods at Khwai, Sankoyo and Mababe in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, using primary and secondary data sources. Results of long-term surveys and in-depth interviews indicate that the three communities have forgone traditional livelihood activities such as hunting and gathering, livestock and crop farming to participate in tourism through CBNRM. Livelihoods in these villages have been improved as a result. Basic needs such as shelter, employment and income and social services like water supply systems, transportation, scholarships and payment of funeral expenses are now provided to community members and funded with income from CBNRM. Social capital has been built up in order to agree, manage and develop the CBNRM process. These results show that tourism development in these villages is achieving its goal of improved livelihoods, contradicting claims that community development projects are failing to achieve rural development.     

中国“世界遗产”的可持续旅游发展研究

世界遗产是“人类智慧和人类杰作的突出样品” ,在新世纪的今天 ,“遗产旅游”作为一种世界现象 ,已成为人类求取与外部世界高度和谐的最有效形式之一 ,成为一种高质量回归自然、回归历史的必须性的社会生活组成部分 ,研究“遗产旅游”的可持续发展已成为当今的重大论题。本文首次对中国“世界遗产”的现状进行了全面综合的把握 ,揭示了遗产地采取可持续旅游发展战略的必然性以及目前存在的主要问题和矛盾 ,分析了发展“遗产旅游”中应正确处理的三大关系 ,提出遗产旅游可持续发展的内涵并寻求我国世界遗产地旅游可持续发展的建议与对策。     

The Power of Images: Marketing Tourism in the 1990s

This conference was held at The Roehampton Institute, London on 2–3 September 1992 with its main aim being to bring together those involved in tourism education and those from the industry to discuss the future of tourism marketing. Organised jointly by Tina Bryant (University of Hertfordshire) and John Eade (Roehampton Institute), the event attracted delegates mainly from the academic community, with members of the tourism industry conspicuous by their absence! Ray Youell of Sheffield Hallam University describes the somelime contrasting perspectives evident at the conference.     

INDUSTRY RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Emotional intelligence, a type of social and personal intelligence, is important in managing interpersonal relationships and interactions, especially in the business sphere. Businesses that involve frequent customer contact and interaction, such as those in the field of tourism, can benefit from the application of multiple intelligences. This study examines how, and to what extent, emotional intelligence can benefit the travel and tourism industry. Seven tour operators were interviewed to assess their attitudes, opinions and observations about emotional intelligence and its application to the relationship between tourists and residents of a community. Results showed that all tour operators, to a certain degree, utilized emotional intelligence to offer more personalized travel solutions for tourists. It was found that understanding the cultural values and social etiquette particular to each travel destination was essential for healthy tourist-resident relations.     

南岭国家森林公园旅游企业主导的社区参与模式研究

社区是生态旅游利益相关者的关键角色之一.本文在有关社区参与生态旅游的理论研究和文献综述的基础上,针对我国生态旅游社区参与的实残,选取具有代表性的南岭国家森林公园为案例,通过对当地社区、旅游企业及政府等相关利益主体及其相互关系的研究,提出了\"旅游企业主导的社区参与模式\",并探讨了该模式可持续运作的关键环节和优化模式.因子分析的结果进一步表明,社区主人翁意识、公共福利、教育培训机会以及经济收益等,是影响社区参与生态旅游的自主性和可持续性的重要因素.研究结果丰富了生态旅游社区参与的理论,并对我国生态旅游的社区实践具有一定的参考价值.