From Davos,Switzerland to Mombasa,Kenya: a position paper on the adoption of the ‘Davos declaration’ by hotels

Climate change has been identified as a major challenge in the achievement of sustainable development especially for developing countries like Kenya. There has been a wide acknowledgement that there is a need for long-term strategies for the industry players to reduce their contribution to climate change in line with other industries. Industries and societal sectors have sought ways of mitigating the causes of climate change. The Second International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism, held in Davos, Switzerland, on 3 October 2007, provided practical guidelines for the industry in response to climate change. This paper seeks to evaluate the adoption of the ‘Davos Declaration’ among selected Mombasa hotels in terms of water, energy and waste management. Results indicate that despite wide knowledge among hoteliers on the impacts of climate change and the role hotels can play in its mitigation, most hoteliers are slow in adopting the mitigation measures.     

Diverse socializing patterns in rural tourist experiences – a segmentation analysis

Tourism is a social phenomenon and host–guest interaction has been identified as particularly relevant in the rural tourism experience. This paper extends previous research on social interaction, rural tourism and experience marketing, by analysing, via visitor survey (N?=?819), the contacts that visitors of three Portuguese villages establish with (a) residents and (b) other visitors during their stay. A cluster analysis based on interaction patterns identifies three distinct visitor groups: those showing little interest in interaction with others, those mainly interacting with other visitors and those intensely interacting with residents. Significant differences between segments reveal distinctly lived rural tourism experiences and a positive impact of socializing on these experiences. Destination management and marketing implications as well as suggestions for future research are also presented.     

Is a cluster a necessary condition for success? The case of Benidorm

This paper analyses the application of the cluster concept to tourist destinations using Benidorm as a case study. A questionnaire was administered to tourism firms based in Benidorm in order to determine whether this destination currently constitutes a tourism cluster or whether it possesses the ideal characteristics to become a cluster with the private agents' collaboration, that is, whether it is a potential cluster. The results obtained from this research indicate that Benidorm's success is not derived from the presence of a cluster due to a series of elements that prevent its existence. In this destination there is a need to strengthen cooperation between public and private agents (especially in those areas that determine the competitive advantage of the destination) and to design a strategy based on shared goals. Both of these elements are fundamental for the characterisation of a cluster.     

Social marketing and sustainable tourism—is there a match?

As we approach the new millennium it is becoming increasingly apparent that we need to re‐evaluate our approach to tourism provision, promotion and consumption. Tourism marketing campaigns continue to be aimed at a broad range of visitor segments irrespective of the relative degree of sustainability that might be exhibited in each case. As this paper will argue, the tools and techniques of social marketing may therefore have much to offer tourism organisations seeking a more sustainable approach to their market. This conclusion is based on the findings of a survey of 540 visitors to the South West of England that revealed a link between key behavioural motivations and the degree of sustainability exhibited. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advancing tourism research through multilevel methods: research problem and agenda

Tourism research often encounters social phenomena and research problems that involve multiple levels. However, most researchers assume that the phenomena exist in a single level and perform analyses that do not reflect the hierarchical nature of social dynamics. This article heeds the call from Current Issues in Tourism by illustrating multilevel methods and proposing an agenda for multilevel research. In particular, this article seeks to reconcile the limitations of single-level analysis and to delineate how multilevel methods could be applied in tourism research. It further seeks to advance tourism theories by introducing more complex multilevel design with broader applications in various tourism settings. This article presents two common tourism research scenarios, critiques their limitations, and proposes how multilevel methods could not only address these limitations, but also how they could advance tourism theories. An empirical study is offered to demonstrate multilevel design and analytical techniques.     

Services and functions provided by European city tourist offices: a longitudinal study

Tourism has become a major source of employment, revenue, international awareness and opportunity in European cities. As competition among European cities grows, the efficiency of management in city tourism organisations (CTOs) becomes increasingly important. This article reports on a longitudinal study of 50 European CTOs over the 4‐year period from 1995 to 1999. The aim of the study is to examine the changes in functions provided by European CTOs during the given period of time. Findings reveal that five identifiable function categories can characterise the changes that happened during the given period of time: hotel booking service, commerce, conventional information dissemination, advanced information product and relationship management. It is argued that information technology and role change are the main driving forces of these changes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of hospitality and tourism graduates in Australia and Hong Kong

This paper evaluates the career experiences and perceptions of graduates from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia towards the programmes that they undertook. The two cohorts of graduates exhibited broadly similar career histories and expressed similar attitudes towards the quality, strengths and weaknesses of their respective programmes. In both cases, female students dominate the graduate cohort and about half of the respondents were found to have left the tourism or hospitality field within 3–5 years after graduation. Graduates believe that their general business and general education subjects play a stronger role in acquiring their first and current jobs than specialist tourism, hotel management and food service subjects. The findings highlight the challenge facing the university sector in attempting to balance the desire to provide a broadly grounded liberal education with the student desire for practical training. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Quality Assessment of Education and for Kenya's Tour-operating Sector

This study examines the provision of tourism education and training in Kenya in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries. Specifically the paper examines the human resource skills needed by Kenya's tour-operating sector and the extent to which current training provision is adequate. The approach used in the present study is a modified version of WTO's Tourism Education and Quality (TEDQUAL) methodology. The results indicate considerable convergence between the perceptions of industry operators and education providers concerning quality gaps in the development of skills. A number of systemic training shortcomings are identified including curriculum deficiencies and the inadequate development and enhancement of workplace skills. In view of the resource constraints facing most developing countries, it is argued that tourism training and education should consciously address the needs of the locally-based industry and that such an approach should result in a more effective education and training system.     

Profiling the segments of senior tourists throughout motivation and travel characteristics

Interest in tourism market segmentation of seniors has been increasing in recent years as the tourism industry has begun to be aware of their importance for the sector. This is a very heterogeneous group, with greater purchasing power and lifestyle-oriented entertainment and enjoyment of leisure time by performing travel than previous generations. This study strives to contribute towards the hitherto scarce research on segmentation in senior tourism. Specifically, this work aims to determine the existence of various profiles of senior tourism by means of using socio-demographic variables, motivation and characteristics of travel of seniors. For this, two complementary analysis techniques, the nonlinear canonical correlation (OVERALS) and a two-stage cluster analysis, were used. Five market segments were identified according to the behavioural variables analysed that allow marketers to target this group in the most convenient manner and to exploit new market opportunities.     

Segmenting Cruise Passengers Visiting Uruguay: a Factor–Cluster Analysis

The study aims to provide a better understanding of cruise travel from passengers' characteristics and experience in two ports of call in Uruguay. A multivariate market segmentation analysis was used, on the basis of 5151 survey data collected during the 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 seasons. A correspondence analysis revealed the underlying latent factors in the set of variables. A hierarchical clustering from correspondence analysis segmented the sample into homogeneous groups. Finally, a decision tree highlighted the most predictive variables for each cluster. The study identifies distinct segments by country of residence, occupation, locations visited in Uruguay, satisfaction and previous visits to the country. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Giving voice to heritage tourists: indicators of quality for a sustainable heritage experience at Petra,Jordan

ABSTRACT

The tourist experience should be placed at the heart of management and planning process to achieve the goal of sustainable heritage tourism. The concept of indicators and standards of quality, which emerged in the field of natural resources and outdoor recreation management as a conceptual framework for understanding visitors’ experiences, has been widely applied in nature-based parks rather than cultural heritage sites. This study applies the concept of indicators to heritage experience at Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 29 tourists to understand the tourist experience at the park, and to formulate indicators of the tourism experience. Results suggest that cultural and natural scenic value, crowding, attractions accessibility, vendor persistence, and odor of animals waste are potential indicators for the tourism experience at the park. Related management implications and recommendations are also discussed.     

Collaborative governance for low-carbon tourism: climate change initiatives by Australian tourism agencies

The Australian tourism industry is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on natural areas and the destination choices of long-haul travellers concerned about carbon emissions. A National Tourism and Climate Change Taskforce was established in 2007; with a national action plan for Tourism and Climate Change produced in 2008. Implementing these climate change actions requires new partnerships between tourism agencies, business programmes, carbon consultants, and offset providers. This paper assesses collaborative governance of climate change in Australian tourism, with a focus on low-carbon initiatives promoted to tourism operators by state and territory government tourism agencies. The paper compares the climate change initiatives of these tourism agencies based on six key dimensions of governance including: accountability, transparency, involvement, structure, effectiveness, and power [Ruhanen, L., Scott, N., Ritchie, B., & Tkaczynski, A. (2010). Governance: A review and synthesis of the literature. Tourism Review, 65(4), 4–16]. While most state and territory tourism agencies provided resources on climate change initiatives for tourism operators there was little accountability for emissions reduction within the agency. Collaborative governance of climate change was also more developed in states with climate change policies, destinations vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (e.g. Great Barrier Reef, Queensland), or dependent on long-haul travellers. Further research is needed on the governance and effective delivery of carbon emissions reduction programmes by tourism agencies.     

The preferences of tourists in their expectations of chateau gardens: a Central and Eastern European perspective

As most of the chateau gardens and parks in Central and Eastern Europe have been neglected or misused, there is a strong need for their transformation. This transformation has become even more important now due to the growing competition in the tourist destination market. The chateau gardens are at the crossroads of choosing the variant of their future development. Tourism of this kind is able to maintain its original features and it can also find new commercial uses. The aim of this paper is to identify the demand segments and to assess the relation of the visitors to the elements that form the character of a chateau park. We have succeeded in identifying three motivating factors for tourists in the making their choice. While some types of use are mutually complementary (knowledge and relaxation), other types are not used as much (amusement). The introduction of an entrance fee implies that there will be a change in the preference for those parks with the presence of peacocks and ducks, as well as the outdoor collections of plants including both French and English style gardens and they are equipped with detailed information board.     

Zero acquaintance benchmarking at travel destination websites: what is the first impression that national tourism organizations try to make?

This paper examines the marketing effectiveness of hospitality and tourism websites. An extensive review of literature on website effectiveness in hospitality and tourism revealed a total of 47 different instruments that have been used to evaluate hospitality and tourism websites. Using the grounded theory technique, a website evaluation tool called the online promotion evaluation instrument was developed with the aim of condensing the 47 existing tools into one benchmarked instrument with applicability across the various hospitality and tourism sectors. The developed online promotion evaluation instrument comprised three main features—aesthetics features (destination visualisation and Web design); informative features (uniqueness, monetary value and cultural promotion); and interactive features (e‐travel planners and online communities). The instrument was tested using a random sample of 25 National Tourism Organization websites worldwide. The results of the instrument development and testing process are presented in this paper with directions for future research in website evaluation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Research on China's Tourism: A 35‐Year Review and Authorship Analysis

This study reviewed 333 articles on China's tourism from 96 English‐language academic journals within and outside of tourism from 1978 to 2012. Tourism policy and impacts, and tourism industry development and promotion were the two predominant research themes. Tourism development, policy, ecological impacts, attractions and markets were the five most popular topics. On the basis of an authorship relationship analysis, three research networks were producing most of the China tourism research output in English. A majority of the authors were based in Mainland China, the USA and Hong Kong. Trends and gaps in the literature on China's tourism were identified. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Informing tourism policy with statistical data: the case of the Icelandic Tourism Satellite Account†

The Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is a popular internationally recognized method for measuring tourism's contribution to the economy. The credibility and visibility of tourism as a distinct economic activity are, therefore, based on TSA data which have the power to show its macroeconomic importance. According to the most recent World Tourism Organization study, 60 countries around the world implemented TSA in one way or another in 2010. However, in the same year, a research carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development revealed that the usage of TSA for tourism policies is rather limited due to specific issues, such as the lack of knowledge about TSA, inadequate international comparability, and timeliness. This paper illustrates several possibilities of using enhanced TSA estimates in the Icelandic context for informing tourism policies. Specific examples are presented of developing data on tourism-related investment (Tourism Gross Fixed Capital Formation) and governmental consumption for selected collective services related to tourism (Tourism Collective Consumption). These improve the usefulness of the TSA as a statistical instrument for sound tourism policies.     

Pictures and prose: exploring the impact of literary and film tourism

While literary tourism has a long history traceable back to the seventeenth century, the considerable growth of interest and popularity in literary tourism research among academics and the tourism industry has been recognised only since the mid-1990s [Hebert, D. T. (1996). Artistic and literary places in France as tourist attractions. Tourism Management, 17(2), 77–85]; [Squire, S. J. (1993). Valuing countryside: Re?ections on Beatrix Potter tourism. Area, 24, 5–10]; [Squire, S. J. (1994). The cultural values of literary tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 21, 103–120]. With this in mind, this paper aims to investigate how tourism stakeholders can take advantage of the positive promotional impacts that a book and film linkage can have on specific destinations. It also examines how tourism patterns and trends in these destinations have been subsequently influenced and transformed. Within an exploratory case study mode, special emphasis will be placed on two international case studies (Ireland and Indonesia – in particular Bali) which have been associated with internationally recognised books and their subsequent blockbuster films. The findings suggest that both literary and film tourism have a positive effect on these destinations due to an increased growth in their tourism arrivals once the location was referred to in a book and afterwards used as the setting in the related film. This paper will add to the current knowledge base on film and literary tourism and create an awareness of the strength of this form of tourism for international tourism destinations.     

Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis of Impacts in the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) of a Mediterranean Resort

Tourism in Spain has evolved from being a residual sector in the economy during the 1950s to become at present the main source of wealth in the country. The Spanish Law of Centres and National Tourist Interest Areas of 1963 created numerous new resorts on the coast whose life cycle is now over 50 years. On the Mediterranean coast, urban development and tourism model processes have been developed with major feedback to each other. In this context, it is particularly interesting to evaluate the results obtained since the decade of the 1960s in order to achieve sustainable tourism. This paper analyses a paradigmatic case study located on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. A diagnosis that explains the evolution of the life cycle tourist destination as a consumer product is carried out using geographic information system analysis of the urban plot. The mutation of the target customer, the real estate overcrowding, or the seasonality of demand will be the variables to be evaluated in order to assess the final return of the managed product. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of yurt tourism on labor division in nomadic Kazakh families

ABSTRACT

Tourism’s impacts on ethnic cultures have received much attention, but few studies have been done on its impacts on nomadic people, especially for Kazakh nomads in China. Many Kazakh households are experiencing a transition from pastoralism to tourism, with yurt tourism being the popular Kazakh tourism products. This study takes Narat in China as a case to understand the impact of yurt tourism on the gendered labor division of Kazakh families, and the status of Kazakh women. Observations and semi-structured interviews were adopted. We find that the division of labor in yurt tourism is an extension of traditional nomad labor division and that the traditional gender statuses have been reinforced. Women are required to not only work but also face additional social pressure since they are considered to be going against customary rules when greeting tourists. Despite this, women’s self-confidence, business skills, and income have improved since the development of tourism. We argue that the form of tourism product, ideology of gender roles, and position of ethnic families in the tourism market account for this change. Diverse results of tourism impacts on the gender relationships of ethnic communities can be derived from the interactions of these three factors.