Residents’ attitudes on the contribution of cultural tourism in Tanzania

This study aimed at evaluating residents’ attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism to the social welfare of the local rural residents participating in cultural tourism activities by factoring gender and level of education as possible differentiating factors in residents’ attitudes. Based on survey of local people in northern part of Tanzania, a questionnaire was administered that yielded data that were subjected to a series of t-tests. The results indicate residents to have both positive and negative attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Gender differences are noted to relate with cultural tourism participation and attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Females benefit more from cultural tourism than males in economic terms. Having education raises the chances of locals having a more positive attitude towards cultural tourism. From the results, implications to facilitators in cultural tourism to further aid tourism contribution to the locals are derived.     

Community Participation as a mediating factor on residents’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism development and their personal environmentally responsible behaviour

This pioneering study explores the powerful mediating effect of community participation on both residents’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development and their personal environmentally responsible behaviour. It establishes residents’ attitudes when the concept of sustainable tourism development is introduced, measures its influence on their participation in public affairs, and the importance of their own environmentally responsible behaviour. It explores the complex relationships between attitude, community participation, and environmentally responsible behaviour involved, using a survey of 362 residents from 5 eco-tourism communities in Taiwan. Results show that residents’ attitudes towards sustainable tourism development positively and significantly affect both community participation and environmentally responsible behaviour. The degree of residents’ community participation also positively affects environmentally responsible behaviour. Residents’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development also directly affected environmentally responsible behaviour as well as indirectly affect behaviour via the mediator, “community participation”.

Five mechanisms are suggested to encourage these changes: (1) Institutions develop community sustainable tourism civic education, (2) cohesion and insight for consciousness events to promote sustainable tourism development attitudes, (3) lively public hearings should be encouraged to turn passive into active participation, (4) mechanisms for reporting environmental damage should be created, and (5) community environmental clean-up days should be held.     

Do gender and nationality affect attitudes towards tourism and the environment?

This study examines whether gender and home economy influence attitudes towards tourism and the environment. Students enrolled in senior undergraduate and first‐year postgraduate tourism and hospitality subjects from eight economies are studied. Previous research on environmental attitudes has focused on either gender or home nationality, but has rarely examined the interrelationship between the two, and none has focused explicitly on attitudes to tourism and the environment. The study concluded that nationality mitigates attitudes among women much more than it does among men. The authors also conclude that general environmental attitudes are well formed, but tourism‐related environmental attitudes are often contradictory. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Applying relative deprivation theory to study the attitudes of host community residents towards tourism: the case study of the Zhangjiang National Park,China

Host community is one of the most important stakeholders involved in tourism development. Their attitudes and supports for tourism are highly significant to underpin the sustainable development of the industry. However, host community has not been attached adequate importance, and is usually marginalised to be a salient disadvantaged group in the process of tourism development. Although relative deprivation theory (RDT) provides a powerful theoretical tool to analyse the attitudes of disadvantaged social groups, the theory has rarely been documented in tourism literature. This paper takes the case of tourism development in the Zhangjiang National Park, China, and applies RDT to empirically examine how and why host residents suffer from the relative deprivation problem resulting from tourism development and attempts to unveil its influence on their attitudes towards tourism development. The study indicates that there exists a close and negative correlation between the locals' relative deprivation and their attitudes towards tourism development. The more host residents suffer from relative deprivation, the more negative their attitudes towards tourism are, and vice versa. Furthermore, the Relative Deprivation Index proposed in this study proves to be simple and effective in quantitatively depicting the spatial differences/heterogeneity of relative deprivation issues in the case study area.     

Tourism-induced mobilities and transformation of indigenous cultures: where is the Vedda community in Sri Lanka heading to?*

ABSTRACT

Mobilities that encapsulate global- and local-level movement of people, capital, information, material and intangible heritage across boundaries influence distant socio-cultural structures and processes linking them to evolving global networks. Indigenous cultural tourism is a catalyst of mobilities that expose the habitats of distant spaces. This paper examines the Vedda community’s concurrent context and indigenous tourism-informed mobilities’ contributions to transforming their cultural character through anthropological approaches. Data were collected through a series of interviews, overt observation and review of documents. Findings indicate that the Vedda are susceptible to the influence of mobilities within and without the indigenous tourism practices. Enforced restructuring and governance push Vedda towards novel livelihoods, while automobilities, image, communication and geopolitical mobilities challenge Vedda heritage and temporalities. Vedda lead a hybrid life; real one being modern and the other being pseudo attributed for tourist attraction. Indigenous cultural tourism causes losing the inherited meaning of their cultural values. The Vedda, with their anatomically proven Mesolithic inheritance, have drawn world’s attention to preserving and recognizing them before their unique culture is subsumed by the modern world. Findings indicate that tourism planners should realize the significance of distinctive Vedda heritage parallel to commercial gains of tourism.     

Community Based Tourism in Namibia: ‘Reality Show’ or ‘Window Dressing’?

Since the 1970s, the African continent has experienced exponential growth in tourism, where growth in numbers of visitors has not necessarily meant economic, social or environmental benefits for the host community. A review of the literature concerning tourism development and its effects on local communities forms the basis for the investigation of the reasons behind community based tourism (CBT) being identified as a tool for development in Namibia. An assessment of the planning and implementation phases of the CBT strategy enables consideration on the role played by international and national governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in laying down policies and providing proactive support for CBT related projects. This paper presents the results of an ongoing empirical research conducted since 2003 in the Kunene region of Namibia, which is an important part of the overall Namibian tourism destination, with world-renowned resources such as Etosha National Park, the Himba culture, Epupa Falls, the desert-adapted elephant and the rhino, to name just a few. By attempting an overall assessment of the Namibian current CBT situation, a set of considerations are offered with regard to its practicalities and in terms of benefits, problems and future outlooks for this sector.     

Application of cultural tourist typology in a gaming destination – Macao

The aim of the paper is to study how cultural tourist typologies apply in an urban gaming destination and how such typologies could aid in the segmentation and profiling of this niche tourist market. Results showed that there exists a certain demand for cultural tourism in Macao and there are different ways to distinguish between cultural and non-cultural tourists, as well as to identify sub-groups of cultural tourists. The three approaches used to distinguish between the two cohorts came up with different percentages of cultural tourists within the total tourist sample. Other findings showed significant differences in trip characteristics and information search behaviour between the two cohorts and among sub-groups of cultural tourists. Such information could be used for profiling purposes. The resulting profiles have implications on marketing and promotion strategies which should not focus only on tourists' primary motives but should attempt to induce or arouse their secondary interests. The methodology could be applied to other destinations hoping to develop cultural tourism.     

Grid–group analysis and tourism: tipping as a cultural behavior

Cultural bias, or grid–group theory, was developed by Mary Douglas in the 1980s to explain individual behavior within a particular society. In this paper, grid–group theory is adapted to show how it may be used in a tourism context. The advantages of this approach are that the same typology can be used for both hosts and guests, not only in general terms, but also for given types of behavior. Grid–group theory shows how the same individual may exhibit different behavioral patterns in different situations. The example used to illustrate this approach is tipping. The literature on tipping provides mixed and conflicting results. By using grid–group theory, it is possible to explain why these mixed results may occur.     

Urban heritage and cultural tourism development: a case study of Valletta’s role in Malta’s tourism

ABSTRACT

Despite significant potential for cultural tourism, the predominant form of tourism in Malta is sun and sea. This paper evaluates Malta’s potential for cultural tourism with a focus on Valletta, a fortified historic city that overlooks the Grand Harbour. Valletta’s rich urban heritage and historic narrative makes it ideal for the development of a more culture-oriented tourism. The paper explores how, over more than half a century of tourism activity in Malta, culture and heritage retained a secondary role. Since the mid-nineties, Malta’s tourism policy shifted with culture and heritage being given greater importance, even if the sun and sea tourism remained a priority. Public and private investment brought about changes in Valletta that made it more amenable to cultural activity and tourism. Although European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018 provides new opportunities for cultural tourism to Malta, it is unclear whether this will bring a lasting legacy for Malta’s tourism. This Valletta case study shows that, for destinations with an established form of tourism, the development of cultural tourism meets with difficulties, in spite the presence of a rich urban heritage.