The Power of Tourism: A Metamorphosis of Community Culture

The commodification of culture for tourism can result in fundamentally changing a community's structure. Focusing on one rural Atlantic Canadian community, this article examines the transformation of longstanding stable forms of human and social capital that have bonded a local community over two centuries, and in so doing helped to ensure sustainability. Transformations induced by tourism development may dramatically transform such cultures. To avoid corrosive transformation of local culture, careful management plans that protect community values must become the focal point of the plan. This paper discusses the commodification of the culture process as it has unfolded and transformed local culture in a case study rural community. Results of the study show that while local culture may be a community's most valuable asset, the commodification of local culture for tourism may, in reality, impede a community's efforts to achieve sustainability. Cultural-based tourism development invokes transformation, whereas the traditional community culture dies away while attempting to simultaneously create a new culture based on the icons of the traditional one. This may be described, metaphorically, as a death–rebirth-like process. This research suggests that conventional notions of cultural tourism as a means of community sustainability without regard for traditional practices and values may not be appropriate.     

Excuses,Excuses: Rationalisations of Western Sex Tourists in Thailand

This paper focuses upon the behaviour of heterosexual Western male sex tourists in Thailand. It is based on a review of the sex tourism literature and attempts to analyse the rationalisations that are constructed by these men in order to assuage feelings of guilt that are often felt from participating in Third World sex tourism. Therefore, these rationalisations potentially serve to allow for the continued patronage of Western men in commercial sex in less developed nations and thus perpetuate the sex tourism industry as a whole.     

Destination Stakeholders' Perceptions of Volunteer Tourism: An Equity Theory Approach

This study explores destination stakeholders' perceptions of volunteer tourism (VT) using equity theory. In this paper, 26 semi‐structured interviews were conducted to understand individuals' needs, motivations, expectations and their assessments of inputs and outcomes. Equity theory sheds light on the micro‐level of interaction between residents and volunteers and demonstrates why and how residents of Cusco (Peru) with an active role in VT develop certain perceptions in direct encounters with volunteer tourists. The data reveal how perceptions differ according to the respondents' social roles within VT. Heterogeneity, dynamism and a fluctuation between materialities and affection are discussed as important outcomes of these interactions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Travelling with a Purpose: Understanding the Motives and Benefits of Volunteer Vacationers

With the growing trend of volunteer vacations, research has been warranted in regard to understanding the motivational factors of individuals who participate in such endeavors. With this understanding, the goal is to increase these travel offerings in the industry, which will bring better understanding between cultures. This study examines different travel motivation factors for someone who chooses to use part of their vacation participating in volunteer or humanitarian activities. Considering that ‘mission’ often has connotations of a religious purpose, the phrase ‘travelling with a purpose’ brings on even more significance as this concept expands. To understand travel motivation in general, a variety of scales and theories have been researched. Maslow, Dann, Iso-Ahola, Plog and Pearce are some included in the Literature Review. A qualitative focus group and semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted. The analysis of the data revealed that four main themes for why people traveled with a purpose emerged. Cultural immersion was a strong objective; the desire to give back; the camaraderie that occurs on volunteer vacations; and the fourth theme focused on family. Non-verbal communication and bonding occurs at several levels with the local people and family members. This is a good example of cultivating peace through tourism.     

Volunteer tourism impacts in Ghana: a practice approach

Relatively little empirical research has been conducted on impacts of volunteer tourism in local communities. This paper therefore focuses on the local consequences of volunteer tourism for two projects in Tamale, Ghana: Zion Primary School and Tamale Children's Home. A practice approach provides a useful theoretical framework to investigate how volunteers and local actors interact in these projects. In a practice approach, interactions become central to the analysis, highlighting the ways in which volunteers, local people and the local context mutually influence one another. Observations and interviews with volunteers and local actors were used to identify positive and negative consequences of their interactions, which are strongly interlinked and depend on routines, backgrounds and positions of the actors, and contextual conditions. The consequences of volunteer practices are also linked to other current and future practices. A practice approach provides insights into complex situations and may be more suited to analysing the impacts of volunteer tourism than a traditional mono-disciplinary focus.     

Place Attachment and Tourism Marketing: Investigating International Tourists in Singapore

The notion of place attachment has been evidenced impactful on enhancing the performance of tourism marketing. However, the theoretical development of place attachment characterizes obvious diversities. The current study integrates and reconfigures these diversities to propose the Strategic Management of Place Attachment model. According to the model, a comprehensive attachment‐nurturing foundation is constituted by holistic tourist experience, which contains emotional pleasure, cognitive stimulation, psychological growth, self‐expressiveness and communal awareness. Place attachment, nurtured upon such foundation, converts into a powerful driver of the tourist's revisit behavior. Noteworthy insights and implications are provided to put the notion of place attachment to best use for tourism marketing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring the Conservation Aptitude of Surf Beaches in Phuket,Thailand: An Application of the Surf Resource Sustainability Index

The research seeks to measure the conservation aptitude of nine surf beaches in Phuket, Thailand by employing the Surf Resource Sustainability Index, an assessment methodology comprising 27 social, economic, environmental and governance indicators used to frame and quantify attributes for conservation development. The research identifies and documents key areas of concern for the sustainability of the island's coastal surfing resources and distinguishes steps forward to address emergent issues. The study finds that by improving the awareness, legislative status and management of surfing sites, the overall conservation aptitude for the island could be raised considerably. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Forays into the backstage: volunteer tourism and the pursuit of object authenticity

Volunteer tourism is a form of travel that combines traditional leisure pursuits with opportunities to volunteer in an organized fashion. The popularity of volunteer tourism stems from many factors, but the one motivation that appears in virtually every study is a desire for object authenticity, defined as the authenticity of toured objects, people, and settings. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by object authenticity in the motivations and experiences of volunteer tourists in the province of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Based on interviews with 62 volunteers and 15 directors, managers, and staff members from volunteer tourism organizations based in Chiang Mai, this paper argues that volunteer tourists conceive of object authenticity both as a package of cultural stereotypes focused on authentic people, and as authentic backstage settings where ‘real’ Thai reside. Aside from demonstrating that the desire for object authenticity is the central motivation for international volunteers in northern Thailand, this study indicates that the pursuit of object authenticity is complicated by language barriers, the potential staging of authenticity on the part of locals, and the need to balance familiarity with alterity in the carefully selected ‘voluntourscapes’ in which volunteer tourism takes place.     

Residents' Attitudes Toward Rural Tourism in Taiwan: a Comparative Viewpoint

In this study, we first conclude two main patterns – community‐based rural tourism and theme farm – of rural tourism in Taiwan, then investigate and compare the impacts of rural tourism perceived by the residents, the frequency and quality of tourists‐residents interaction, and residents' attitudes toward rural tourism of the two chosen areas. Moreover, we discuss and conclude the differences of two patterns in terms of economic, socio‐cultural, and environmental impacts. As a whole, the development of rural tourism gains highly supports in both areas. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Floating markets in Thailand: same,same, but different

In the last 60 years floating markets in Thailand, traditionally serving as central places for trade and exchange of agricultural products, have disappeared, were displaced or reappeared as tourism destinations. By making use of insights from actor-network theory, this study shows how floating markets in Thailand reorganize people, canals, boats, homes, fruits, vegetables and souvenirs in certain and multiple ways. Our comparison of five floating markets (Damnernsaduak, Thaka, Amphawa, Bang Namphueng and Pattaya) illustrates that floating markets in Thailand differ in terms of actors, buyers and vendors, products and objects, time and space. They sustained over time because they were able to adapt to new circumstances.     

Tourism to a realm of memory: the case of a Thai royal craft

ABSTRACT

Modernisation brings the decline of traditional crafts and practices and thereby of their old, linked communities. Memories of these communities might survive though only for a time. A public policy dilemma presents – whether to conserve communities and their crafts as ‘living museums’ (akin to a milieu de mémoire in Pierre Nora’s terms) for tourist titillation; alternatively to merely retain the traces of that culture, as a museum more conventionally understood (lieux de mémoire); or, alternatively again, to accept the ephemerality of culture and its metamorphosis? And, if the last, then how is that to be presented to the discerning tourist? The paper mostly uses the case of the ancient goldsmith community of Wat Koh in Phetchaburi city, Thailand, to reflect on this dilemma. At stake academically are two sets of dialectic opposites: history against memory, and memory against nostalgia – also the contingent dichotomy of tourism and memory.     

Museums,exhibits and visitor satisfaction: a study of the Cham Museum,Danang, Vietnam

Museums have several functions as custodians of heritage and culture, disseminators of knowledge about heritage and as places that attract tourists as well as local residents. Arguably all these functions require visitors to be satisfied with the visit experience if museums are to achieve their objectives. This paper reports findings from 411 visitors to the Cham Museum, Danang, Vietnam. It describes the nature of the museum and argues that satisfaction involves the conative, which may be measured by the willingness of visitors to make recommendations to others. However, the study identifies that interpretation and displays are important determinants and simply adjuncts to the generation of satisfaction.     

The influence of foreign direct investment on accommodation patterns in Vietnam as a result of the open-door policy

Before the ‘open-door’ policy doi moi, the Vietnamese government had monopolised all sectors of tourism in the country. In 1987, one year after the beginning of doi moi, the state issued the Law on Foreign Investment, which encouraged foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, especially in the tourism industry. This article examines the influence of the resulting influx of FDI on tourism accommodation patterns in Vietnam. A synopsis of policy and background of FDI in Vietnam accommodation is followed by an examination of developments, projects and experiences in this field since doi moi. The article then investigates the effects of FDI in Vietnam tourism accommodation on developments and practices in Vietnam's accommodation market, including the traditional state-owned accommodation sub-sector. The article integrates insights gained from interviews with operators of joint venture and state-owned hotels in Vietnam.     

Beyond Sex Tourism: Gay Tourists and Male Sex Workers in Puerto Vallarta (Western Mexico)

Literature on sex tourism has largely focused on the experiences and opinions of heterosexual tourists. Filling a gap in the literature, this article gives voice to male sex workers, and it analyzes their reasons for engagement in sex services addressed to men in tourist‐oriented Puerto Vallarta (Mexico). By doing so, it explores the different layers of sex tourism that go beyond pure monetary transaction. This article also considers aspects regarding sexuality and identity in gay‐friendly Vallarta. It concludes that sexual practices are negotiated, but sexual identities do not. Rather than an identity based on sexual grounds, what binds the sex workers together is a common (gay) lifestyle. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourism,climate change and adaptation: a review

The relationship between tourism and changing climate has been discussed and studied for a relatively long time in tourism research. Over the past 15 years, more focused studies have begun to appear, and especially recently, the issue of adaptation has been emphasised as an urgent research need in tourism and climate change studies. This paper is based on a systematic review of the tourism and adaptation literature prior to 2012. It discusses adaptation challenges, the dimensions of vulnerability in a tourism context and the implications of such studies on communities. By dividing the current adaptation studies into business; consumer; destination; and policy- and framework-focused theme areas and traditions, the paper concludes that adaptation studies in tourism have so far had a limited focus on community perceptions, which in general has been an area of major interest in tourism research. More emphasis on community-based research in relation to tourism and climate change allows highly contextual adaptation challenges to be met in a more sustainable way.     

Integrated beach resorts,informal tourism commerce and the 2004 tsunami: Laguna Phuket in Thailand

Issues of importance related to informal tourism commerce are explored in this paper with particular reference to the case of Laguna Phuket, an integrated beach resort in Thailand. The extent and nature of informal trade at the destination is analysed before and after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, based upon data collected during fieldwork. The sector is shown to display distinctive qualities, including resilience in the face of a natural disaster, and to have a role in purpose‐built as well as conventional resorts. Its relationship with the formal tourism industry is also discussed and this emerges as close, yet with potential for both conflict and cooperation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Residents' Perceptions of Tourism Impacts on Island Destinations: A Comparative Analysis

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the resident's perception of tourisms impacts on two very successful major mature island destinations (Tenerife and Mallorca). To do so, we conducted a study based on the social exchange theory by using a scale that measures residents' perceptions of tourism's positive and negative impacts on the economy, culture, society and the environment. The results based on more than 1100 interviews show that similar opinions arise on both islands; however, significant differences in terms of the level of perception of the impacts in the two destinations have also been unveiled. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contradictions of Rural Tourism Initiatives in Rural Development Contexts: Finnish Rural Tourism Strategy Case Study

In Western countries rural areas have faced major changes and challenges in the past decades. The role of traditional economies has decreased rapidly and the economic transition of rural areas has turned increasingly towards tourism production. By using a Finnish national scale rural tourism strategy and development programme as a case example, this paper argues that, while tourism can provide development for rural areas, the unrealistic expectations and goals may cause problems for rural communities. Unfeasible development goals of rural tourism are seen as the results of insufficient understanding of tourism dynamics and the lack of research-based or otherwise valid knowledge in development plans. In addition the connection between the ideas of rural tourism and sustainability is challenged in high tourism development goals and the related processes.     

Tourism planning requirements from a private sector perspective: the case of Hong Kong

Government’s role in tourism planning has shifted from control to consultation, and many governments have adopted economic planning that move the responsibility for investment in infrastructure from the public to the private sector. In Hong Kong, the government has not articulated a clear tourism policy to guide tourism development but continues to assume responsibility for significant tourism infrastructure investment. This paper considers the views of the private sector towards tourism planning in Hong Kong, which gravitate towards the need for a formalized planning. The tourism sector supports the interventionist policies that have been a characteristic of the government’s relationship to the tourism industry in the past, believes that the current approach to planning needs to be replaced by a formal planning process, and that there is a need to include community groups in the policy determination process. The insights gained from the case of Hong Kong may serve as a reference for other destinations.     

War as a tourist attraction: the case of Vietnam

This paper considers the challenges involved in the presentation of war as a tourist attraction, using the example of recent conflicts in Vietnam and a particular site there to illustrate the issues which arise. It begins with a general discussion about war and tourism, and then moves on to examine the development of tourism in Vietnam and the place of wartime heritage. Various aproaches to interpretation are identified and the problems facing those responsible are highlighted. The dilemma is one of achieving a satisfactory balance between education and entertainment while providing an appropriate experience for visitors who come with different needs and expectations. Political circumstances represent an added complication. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.