Is UNESCO recognition effective in fostering tourism? A comment on Yang,Lin and Han

The purpose of this response to the original work by Yang, Lin and Han (Tourism Management, 2009), is to continue discussion of the impacts created by the formal accreditation of sites through the process of UNESCO recognition. In the particular case described by Yang, Lin and Han, alternative interpretations of the results may be offered. Additional evidence is also provided from instances in Italy and overall it appears that econometric analysis questions the degree to which UNESCO accreditation generates the economic returns from tourism that may have prompted the original applications.     

Rural tourism in China

In the latest two decades, Rural Tourism (RT) has speedily developed and become an important concept of tourism in China. However, there remains little understanding in the western world about RT for its special role in China’s rural socio-economic regeneration. This paper represents an attempt to analyze six different models of RT development. More specifically, the collective imagery of “Nong jia le” (Happy Farmer Home) tourism, a Chinese version of rural tourism, is examined. The findings of this study not only highlight the widely-held beliefs about the important role of RT but also identify a number of related problems and challenges facing its sustainable and healthy development in future, which hopefully would stimulate the interest for further studies in this area.     

Aligning tourism's socio-economic impact with the United Nations' sustainable development goals

Socio-economic sustainability for tourism workers does not play a prominent role in contemporary tourism economic impact studies. Rather, to promote economic growth paradigms, the focus lies on aggregated employment and income effects. To better understand tourism's contribution to decent work and reduced inequalities (Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 10, respectively), our study assesses tourism's socio-economic impact by focussing on meso-level perspectives from major tourism institutions that are complemented with macro-level results gained through an occupation-based Input-Output model. Although income inequalities across tourism occupations remain relatively low, income inequalities over a period of nine years have increased. Tourism employees continue to work in precarious occupations due to limited training and career opportunities. Employers demand skilled vocational professions and provide non-monetary benefits; however, respective salaries remain average. Altogether, tourism contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 10 only moderately, and regional tourism institutions need to continue their development strategies for greater sustainability.     

Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study

Sustainability has become an important strategic objective for tourism destinations worldwide. All analytical tourism competitiveness models make direct or indirect positive references to sustainability. It is accepted that sustainable tourism can reduce resource costs and help create market differentiation. Nevertheless, it has traditionally been considered that, short term, sustainability measures can reduce profitability and compromise competitiveness. Debates on the progress, implications, and practicality of sustainable tourism remain open. The relationship between economic sustainability, and environmental and sociocultural sustainability, is a central but largely unresearched area for tourism scholars, especially at the macro level. This study explores that difficult but essential area, using the World Economic Forum's empirical evidence from 128 countries, backed by the economic data search tool of the World Travel & Tourism Council. It demonstrates that progress in tourism sustainability does not affect a country's main economic tourism indicators in the short term, and does not constrain profitability and competitiveness. It also finds that sustainable tourism is not a luxury that only rich countries can afford, nor should it prevent development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. An effective marketing and communication program about sustainable tourism is, however, found to be essential for economic success.     

Singapore — tourism development plans

P.P. Wong of the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore, compares the recommendations of two reports on tourism development - Tourism Product Development Plan prepared by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Tourism Development in Singapore prepared by Pannell, Kerr, Forster. The reports provide a framework for Singapore government tourism planning aimed at rectifying the recent decrease in the level of visitor arrivals.     

Post-disaster tourism: building resilience through community-led approaches in the aftermath of the 2011 disasters in Japan

Abstract

Post-disaster tourism is often perceived as a form of Dark Tourism associated with death, loss and destruction. In Japan, the term Dark Tourism has gained prominence following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. This paper focuses on a community-led approach to post-disaster tourism development, initiated in the coastal area of Minamisanriku and labelled by the locals Blue Tourism. From its inception Blue Tourism incorporated non-dark activities which concentrated on the beauty of nature, social and environmental sustainability and the development of an enriched tourist experience. Its co-creational ethos helped transform some of the negative narratives of loss associated with Dark Tourism into positive accounts of communal renewal and hope. The paper highlights the limitations of Dark Tourism to post-disaster recovery and contributes new insights to the community-based tourism literature. We argue that Blue Tourism is not a type of Dark Tourism but a form of resilience which builds around local place-based practices and traditional community knowledge. Consequently, it is capable of achieving sustainable disaster recovery and tourist satisfaction simultaneously.     

The impact of tourism on the physical environment

Cohen Erik “The Impact of Tourism on the Physical Environment”, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 215–237. While moderate and well-distributed tourism may help to upkeep attractions and preserve the environment, tourism as a mass industry poses new environmental risks. This paper is a first attempt to assess systematically the environmental impact of tourism and to spell out the principal factors on which this impact depends: the intensity of tourist site-use, the resiliency of the eco-system, the time perspective of the developers and the transformational character of touristic developments. The environmental dynamics of the tourist ecological sub-system are shown to consist of a constant expansion at the margins and intensification at the mature core, leading to the creation of “contrived” attractions both at the core (as “natural” attractions decline) and the margins (to supplement meager “natural” attractions as tourism expands into less attractive regions). Two major types of measures for environmental protection are discussed: those protecting the environment for tourism and those protecting it from tourism. The need for the second type of measures is emphasized, particularly in developing countries, which face greater environmental risks from tourism than the developed ones.     

Tourism Education in Austria and Switzerland

SUMMARY

Both Austria and Switzerland are small countries with a long tradition hosting tourists. Irrespective of high levels of economic development, the two countries also have high levels of tourism intensity when measured either in terms of number of tourists per native population or in terms of tourism receipts per population (e.g., per gross national product). Consequently, both countries also display a long tradition and evolution in their development of systems of tourism education and training albeit under differing market conditions and pressures. Both countries provide similar products like in the field of cultural tourism and alpine tourism. The tourism structure is also comparable. Both countries are dominated by family owned small and medium size businesses. However, their political structures are very different. This paper shows how each country under the three forces of labour market pressures and industry requirements, on the one hand and tourism education policy initiatives on the other has evolved two slightly different tourism education systems. Furthermore, an attempt was made to provide, based on the discussion in the first part of the paper, a more general explanation with respect to the response of tourism schooling/training supplies to varying conditions in tourism product markets, tourism employment and labour market systems, public choice decisions and general economic conditions. Finally, the paper discusses the paradigmatic shift (i.e., structural change) of tourism factor and product markets from the “Old to New Tourism” and discusses its implications for new types of tourism schooling and training in these two countries.     

Cultural heritage and Indigenous tourism

ABSTRACT

Tourism is acknowledged as a vehicle that can help sustain both tangible and intangible elements of Indigenous cultural heritage, including languages, stories, song, art, dance, hunting methods, rituals and customs. Often, cultural heritage products developed for tourism promise to provide many socio-economic opportunities for the communities involved, however, tourism can also present a challenge as the self-management of Indigenous cultural product and cultural identity can be problematic. Given the pivotal role culture plays in the sustainability of Indigenous tourism products, it is time for a twenty-first century examination of the nexus between cultural heritage and Indigenous tourism. This paper reflects upon tourism and contemporary Indigenous cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. Through a review of the current literature on Indigenous tourism and cultural heritage, the authors identify key areas for future research and aim to stimulate further discussion around the ways Indigenous tourism may be developed to sustain Indigenous cultural heritage.     

中国旅游电子商务发展中的一些问题与对策研究

旅游电子商务是旅游业发展的一个主要方向,是旅游业参与国际市场竞争的重要手段.由于我国旅游电子商务建设还处在起步阶段,信息服务和在线支付能力有限,网络营销还仅仅是一种时尚,消费者的培育、旅游电子商务环境的成熟和政策法规的建设等等都还是亟待在发展中解决的问题.这就迫切需要营造一个有利于旅游电子商务健康发展的大环境,以赶上信息时代的大潮.旅游企业与旅游网站应借鉴国外的先进管理方式,积极探索适合我国国情的旅游电子商务的现代经营方式与科学管理方法.     

The anthropological analysis of tourism: Indirect tourism and political economy in the case of the mamainde of Mato Grosso,Brazil

Aspelin, Paul, “The Anthropological Analysis of Tourism: Indirect Tourism and Political Economy in the Case of the Mamainde of Mato Grosso, Brazil,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. IV, No. 3, January/February, 1977, pp. 135–160 --Tourists do not always directly descend upon a host culture but, in some cases, may only indirectly contact a people or an area. A particular example of this is presented as the type case of “Indirect tourism,” defined as a situation wherein indirect contact between tourists and host is maximized at the expense of direct contacts. Data for the Mamainde Indians (a dialect group of the Nambicuara of Mato Grosso, Brazil), studied in 1968–1971, illustrate that tourists could show they “visited the Indians” without directly bothering them at all, simply by purchasing Mamainde artifacts from Indian agencies located in the provincial capitals. This field data is analyzed in terms of cultural, economic, and political factors. Some models of cultural contact, provided by the Brazilian anthropologists Robert Cardoso de Oliveira and Darcy Ribeiro, are discussed and modified in the light of this field data, resulting in a generalized model of cultural contact now also suitable for the anthropological analysis of tourism. Tourism, as one form of cultural contact, is placed clearly within the general domain of political economy and the ethics of decision-making regarding the tourist industry are discussed for these types of cases.     

The international division of leisure tourism and the third world

Turner, Louis, “The International Division of Leisure: Tourism and The Third World,” Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. IV, No. 1, September/October 1976, pp. 12–24 --Despite the obvious attractions of tourism as a foreign exchange earner for a number of developing countries, the industry is dominated by the rich countries which appropriate most of the economic benefits from the tourist trade. This domination takes economic and political forms, and tends to increase over time as tour operators diversify and grow vertically. The policies open to the less developed countries to increase their returns are discussed, and the difficulties they may face are mentioned.     

Synergies between Australian indigenous tourism and ecotourism: possibilities and problems for future development

This paper examines and finds synergies between indigenous tourism and ecotourism in Australia. Both were recognised in the 2003 Tourism White Paper as drawcards for international tourists; Tourism Australia markets both as two of the country's seven key visitor experiences. Despite this, and the proven need to assist indigenous peoples’ socio-economic position, the indigenous tourism sector remains relatively immature. The paper, using a mixed-methods approach, including in-depth discussions with 26 indigenous tourism businesses, examines this problem and suggests ways forward. The results indicate that between 50% and 70% of indigenous tourism businesses are located in remote or very remote areas and utilise the environment to a substantial degree. Communities, couples and families dominate ownership patterns. Only 25% operate on a full-time basis. However, indigenous operators do not necessarily see themselves as being “ecotourism” businesses, despite their concern for and care of country. Very few are accredited: the ecotourism accreditation process is complex and expensive with guidelines based upon Westernised views of nature. Major changes in accreditation practice are suggested along with education and support for indigenous tourism businesses to ensure a stronger relationship between indigenous tourism and ecotourism and to improve Aboriginals’ socio-economic status.     

Paths to success: Benchmarking cross-country sustainable tourism

Given the complexity of the issues surrounding the concept of sustainable tourism, the current paper tries to provide a unified methodology to assess tourism sustainability, based on a number of quantitative indicators. The proposed methodological framework (Sustainable Tourism Benchmarking Tool – STBT) will provide a number of benchmarks against which the sustainability of tourism activities in various countries can be assessed. A model development procedure is proposed: identification of the dimensions (economic, socio-ecologic, infrastructure) and indicators, method of scaling, chart representation and evaluation on three Asian countries. This application to three countries shows us that a similar level of tourism activity might bring on different sorts of improvements to implement in the tourism activity and might have different consequences for the socio-ecological environment. The heterogeneity of developing countries exposed in the STBT is useful to detect the main problem that each country faces in their tourism sector.     

Institutional quality,political risk and tourism

This paper applies the gravity model to investigate the impacts of institutional quality coupled with political risks, distance, and socio-economic factors on tourist flow. We find that institutional quality and absence of conflict are driving factors in fostering tourism flows for both source and destination countries. Our findings suggest that institutional reform can help boost the economies of countries with low-quality institutions. While institutional change is a positive development in its own right, our results suggest that it can also have important additional economic benefits for countries that are highly dependent on tourism.     

A review of research into automation in tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Tourism

Driven by the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and its related technologies, the application of intelligent automation in travel and tourism is expected to increase in the future. This paper unpacks the need to shape an automated future of tourism as a social phenomenon and an economic activity, hence contributes to theory and practice by providing directions for future research in this area. Four research priorities are suggested: designing beneficial AI, facilitating adoption, assessing the impacts of intelligent automation, and creating a sustainable future with artificial intelligence. Research in these areas will allow for a systematic knowledge production that reflects a concerted effort from the scientific community to ensuring the beneficial applications of intelligent automation in tourism. The article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The Collection contains all past articles published in Annals of Tourism Research on the topic, and continues to grow as new articles are added.     

Smart Tourism Design: Launching the annals of tourism research curated collection on designing tourism places

Design is now considered a crucial activity in contributing to the success of tourism enterprises as well as destinations. This article builds upon the ideas first introduced in the two edited books, namely Design Science in Tourism and Analytics in Smart Tourism Design, which brought the conceptual and methodological foundations for designing tourism places to the forefront of tourism literature. Specifically, this article first introduces the intellectual background that dates back to Clare Gunn's seminal work on Vacationscape, which has evolved into a systematic approach that incorporates tools developed in psychology, behavioral economics, marketing, management and more recently data sciences. It then describes the tourism design system as a general framework, followed by a discussion on the nature and role of smart tourism in enhancing this framework. The article then introduces the Curated Series on Tourism Design by identifying a group of articles published in the Journal which address many essential issues shaping the future of the tourism industry.     

开发张家界旅游西线的战略意义及可行性

作为世界自然遗产的张家界核心景区,已出现过度开发现象。自然环境正遭受着严重的毁损为此,联合国教科文组织已作出“黄牌”：警告。从张家旅游的可持续发展和张家界旅游资源的有效保护考虑,开发与张家界主景区相应的张家界旅游西线,不仅十分必要而且切实可行。     

A comparison of the moderating effect of tourism reliance on the economic development for islands and other countries

Tourism is usually one of the top industries in most countries, especially islands. However, there is some question as to whether there is a negative potential impact if a country relies too much on tourism as a means of economic development to the detriment of other industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of tourism reliance on the relationship between tourism development and economic development for regular countries and island economies, including “small island developing states” (SIDS). This study uses quantile regression on panel data from the WDI database from 1995 through 2014 for all of the countries that report tourism and economic data. The findings demonstrate that tourism reliance does have a moderating effect on the relationship between tourism development and economic development for all countries, but mainly at higher levels of economic development.