Archaeological tourism: A creative approach

This theoretical paper conceptualises the role of tourism providers in facilitating creative tourism experiences by focusing on their ingenious enterprise, which we argue can help capture the tourism potential of intangible archaeological heritage. Intangible archaeological heritage can be understood as knowledge emanating from actors’ own interpretation of archaeological sites that have either become physically inaccessible or been destroyed since initial exploration. Archaeological heritage is often equated with tangibility, which results in an omission of experiences that intangible archaeological heritage can offer. By proposing a rethinking of the archaeological tourism framework, we argue that the touristic value of both tangible and intangible archaeological heritage is better realised and can be further utilised to study the easily overlooked aspect of providers’ ingenuity.     

Value orientations and heritage tourism management at Petra Archaeological Park,Jordan

Involving different stakeholders, including tourists, in managing tourism and understanding their value orientations are key concepts to achieve sustainability of heritage tourism. However, tourists have been mostly ignored in managing heritage attractions. Given the importance of values in heritage tourism management, and the different tourists' preferences toward management actions, this article aims to explore the value orientations of different types of tourists at Petra Archaeological Park, and how these values influence their management actions preferences. Majority of the tourists were preservation value oriented, and they preferred direct management actions rather than indirect actions. Results indicated that whenever the level of the importance of heritage tourism increases in tourists' trip motivations, tourists tend to be more preservation value oriented and support direct management actions.     

Equity restoration,the Holocaust and tourism of sacred sites

Distressing events perpetrated against specific ethnic and religious groups frequently have implications that stretch well beyond the cessation of violent activities. Many times the victims and their descendants manifest their animosity in the realm of tourism and consumption related activity. This paper, utilizing netnographic data, examines the reactions of some global Jewish citizens in relation to tourism activity surrounding historic Holocaust sites located in Eastern Europe. Related to the emergent themes of equity restoration, controllability, and discounting, this research examines why many tourists decide to avoid tourism to historic heritage sites, leading to an examination of the link between physical location, remembrance and relational work. Additionally, data indicate some Jewish tourists may avoid travel because of the paucity of Jewish life in the areas surrounding sacred sites, thereby creating the perception that anti-Semitism is still present. Our research calls to question the value of visual and physical evidence in relation to maintaining identity and facilitating remembrance.     

Policy communities,networks and issue cycles in tourism destination systems

This paper demonstrates how concepts derived from policy community, policy network and issues management theories can be used to understand the roles, activities and interactions of government, corporate and pressure group stakeholders engaged in tourism policy, planning and management in destination contexts. It shows the relevance and utility of an “integrated issue lifecycle approach” to trace the evolution of tourism policy, planning and destination management within specific destination contexts. The application of this approach is demonstrated through a case analysis of the tourism policy and planning system that underpins the destination system of Byron Bay, a significant domestic and international destination on the East Coast of Australia. The underlying premise adopted for this study is that the examination of the antecedents of tourism policy and planning processes, within particular destination contexts, can lead to an understanding of the driving values and ideas that have led to contemporary tourism policy issues and problems.     

Using virtual communities in tourism research

In the current paper, the validity of web-based surveys was examined. An online questionnaire was sent to members of tourism research and travel-related virtual communities. The results showed extremely low opening and response rates, leading to biased samples. Several possible explanations for the results as well as practical recommendations were given for implementation of web-based surveys.     

Analyzing co-authoring communities of tourism research collaboration

Research on collaboration relationships among researchers assists in understanding scientific information dissemination. Network analysis has been used in many studies on collaboration. However, understanding the co-authoring communities in collaboration networks and identifying their key researchers generally remain unexplored, although these insights can lead to an improved comprehension of collaboration relationships. The current study discovers and analyzes co-authoring communities in the collaboration networks of researchers in tourism research. Results indicate that productivities within co-authoring communities are high because of dense collaboration relationships. We also observe that location may be one of the formation reasons of co-authoring communities. Key researchers who are globally and locally important can be further identified by introducing the community centrality measure. The network robustness test demonstrates the effectiveness of this measure.     

Social conflict in communities impacted by tourism

This paper is based upon 12 months of ethnographic study while living among the Tuva and Kazakh people in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Based on observation, interviews, participation and secondary documents the paper uses Coser's theory of Social Conflict to suggest a four part model of how tourism engenders different forms of social conflict and fluctuating alliances between stakeholders in an environment where tourism has been introduced by agents external to the indigenous community. The actors are ethnic groupings and members of those groups, governmental officials at local, regional and national level, intermediaries of the tourism industry and private sector entrepreneurs drawn from the majority and minority ethnic groups. Tensions are identified as being based on beliefs, resources and power, and a sequential pattern of primacy is identified consistent with stages of the tourist area life cycle.     

Sustainable forest management: heritage tourism,biodiversity, and upland communities in the Philippines

This paper discusses sustainable forest management in the context of forest-based tourism in the Philippines. Integrating heritage tourism in the implementation of forest management is paramount because the quality and sustainability of nature tourism depend on the ecological integrity of forests. The role of tourism in achieving the goals of sustainable forest management is crucial especially in countries such as the Philippines where the demands for forest resources for tourism and other purposes have been increasing. The tourism management strategies to achieve sustainable forest management in the Philippines include establishing recreational zones within protected forests; using different native fruit-bearing trees in reforestation to attract diverse wildlife, which is a drawcard in tourism; prohibiting illegal collections of threatened forest species for souvenirs; enhancing the tourism and conservation values of botanic gardens within forest reserves; providing supplementary livelihoods to upland dwellers via agroforestry projects; and respecting the culture and practices of indigenous upland people while supporting their economic and traditional subsistence.     

Promoting coastal communities through cultural tourism: the case of fishing communities in Brunswick County,North Carolina

Heritage tourism, if planned based on the needs and values of communities, can benefit both tourists and residents. In coastal areas especially, urban and industrial developments may create negative impacts on historic coastal communities and their traditional way of life. This research attempts to identify and highlight the value of coastal cultural heritage, in particular commercial fishing heritage, for the promotion of cultural tourism. This study investigates whether commercial fishing heritage can provide an authentic cultural tourism to benefit local fishing communities. Fishing communities in southeastern North Carolina are in decline due to different factors including the shortage of fish, new fishing legislation and restrictions and urban development. Therefore, their traditional environment is fading away. This research attempts to highlight the important role of fishing cultural heritage in promoting cultural tourism for sociocultural benefits. The present study examines the level of tourist interest in fishing heritage and cultural places in the four fishing towns of Varnamtown, Shallotte, Holden Beach, and Southport in Brunswick County, North Carolina.     

Reconstructed ethnicity tourism and cultural identity in third world communities

The thesis of this paper is that ethnicity is produced by group-level interactions and ethnic forms evolve as a result of changing structural relations between groups and rhetorical explanations and accounts of inter-group similarities and differences. The evidence for this argument is composed mainly of statements made by leaders and representatives of one group about other groups, and responses to such statements. These statements and associated behaviors are analyzed semiotically in that no distinction is made between the words of movement leaders and such matters as the wearing of an Afro hair style: they are both read as statements about group structure and the history of inter-group relations, although one may be in a more accessible idiom than the other. The paper concludes that the institutions associated with modern mass tourism also function as powerful shapers of ethnic identity.     

Mass tourism and the dilemmas of modernization in Pacific Island communities

This paper relates global discussions of tourism as a means of development to the history of cultural contacts in the Pacific. The paper reviews the relevance of the existing literature on social and cultural impacts of tourism to the Pacific and suggests implications for policy makers and community leaders. The existing literature is found to be methodologically suspect and does not provide helpful knowledge to policy-makers.     

Co-flourishing: Intertwining community resilience and tourism development in destination communities

This paper contributes to the understanding of community resilience in tourism development in the destination community. Accordingly, we propose a ‘co-flourishing’ framework integrating community resilience and tourism development by mobilising six types of community capital – human, social, natural, physical, financial, and psychological – which strengthen community capacity during disturbances or crises. We argue that the existing understanding of the tourism system tends to be resource-driven and market-oriented. Such approaches neglect the needs of the destination community, which should have adequate resources for its goal of providing a good life for its members. We first review the six forms of community capital and their implications for community resilience, and argue that tourism development has a negative impact on various kinds of community capital – particularly in destination communities. Hence, we propose a co-flourishing framework which advocates a paradigm change in tourism development to cater to the capital needs of the community. The proposed framework highlights practical long-term policy suggestions for tourism development and planning. We identify further necessary research is needed to accumulate empirical evidence to better apply the co-flourishing framework in various development scenarios in both developing and developed economies.     

The signalling effect of eco-labels in modern coastal tourism

As the demand for environmentally sustainable tourism grows, eco-labels are becoming increasingly popular as a signal of environmental quality. However, the existence of a causal link between awarding a seaside eco-label and the increase in tourism flows is still under discussion in the literature. In this article, we gauge the signalling impact of a specific eco-label, the Blue Flag award, using detailed data on tourism flows to seaside Italian destinations during the period 2008–2012. We adopt a recent econometric modelling strategy – the synthetic control method – in shaping estimation results and testing the sensitivity and robustness of our results. We find that being awarded the Blue Flag increases the flow of domestic tourists for up to three seasons after assignment. However, we find no effect for the flow of international tourists. Investigating the mechanisms driving the results, we find that the award of a Blue Flag only positively affects the flow of domestic tourists when it is used as a driver of organisation, coordination and integrated management of the tourism supply.     

Barriers to community capacity building for tourism development in communities in Shiraz,Iran

This paper illustrates barriers to community capacity building (CCB) in tourism development, based on a questionnaire survey of 175 community leaders carried out in the city of Shiraz in Iran. It builds on the work of other researchers who found that in developing countries, a lack of CCB is an influential barrier to tourism development. The study found that the main barriers to CCB are to be found at the organizational and community levels. The barriers did not manifest equally in every community and tend to exhibit higher intensity and greater persistence in the new district in comparison to the old historic district of Shiraz. Community members have restricted access to decision-making, a lack of resources, knowledge, skills and education and lack a sense of ownership with regard to tourism. The centralization of government is a further problem. This paper shows that concerned leaders, especially those involved in tourism industry, could utilize the results of this study in their efforts to resolve the barriers to tourism development in their communities.     

Application of appreciative inquiry in tourism research in rural communities

Appreciative inquiry is a participatory research method based on positive psychology. Founded upon grounded theory and the social constructivist paradigm, appreciative inquiry is a simple, effective, and epistemologically sound tool to understand the rural population’s knowledge, needs, and priorities without alienating them from research. Based on the study conducted to comprehend the interrelationships among conservation, livelihood, and tourism development in three rural communities located in the vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, this study argues that appreciative inquiry can be a useful tool for conducting tourism research in rural communities. This study employs five steps, including grounding, discovery, dream, design, and destiny.     

Nature-based tourism,resource dependence,and resilience of Arctic communities: framing complex issues in a changing environment

Current research on tourism in the Arctic has focused largely on the extent, location, and type of tourism activities that occur in the region. Recently, challenges have been identified that the tourism industry is likely to face in the wake of global changes, including climate change. Related research, conducted within and outside of the Arctic, suggests that rural communities can become economically dependent on natural resource extraction (e.g. oil, gas, timber harvesting, and mining of minerals) and non-extractive resources (e.g. nature-based recreation and tourism), limiting diversification and potentially threatening resilience of rural communities. In the western USA, communities have become dependent on both extractive and non-extractive natural resource activities including nature-based tourism; however, it is less clear whether a similar situation is occurring in Arctic communities. In this article, we propose a framework and indicators to analyze the potential dependence of Arctic communities on nature-based tourism and the resilience of Arctic communities to potential boom–bust cycles of nature-based tourism. To do so, we examine the current state-of-knowledge about tourism and nature-based tourism in the Arctic through the lens of boom–bust dynamics and social-ecological systems.     

Unpacking visitors' experiences at dark tourism sites of natural disasters

Visiting post-natural disaster sites has been burgeoning in recent years. Dark tourism at those settings has been utilised as part of relief and recovery strategies after natural disasters. This research, undertaken at four post-natural disaster sites, explores the onsite experience of 196 participants using semi-structured interviews and participant-generated photos. Findings indicate that experiencing a disaster context could be cognitive, emotional, introspective, sensory, relational and hedonic. Some experience dimensions, such as introspective and relational experiences, might help illuminate the value of promoting dark tourism at natural disasters. Experience discrepancy across multiple cases indicates the heterogeneity and malleability of visitors' experiences in the context. By depicting lived experiences of tourists, this study contributes to the understanding of the ways through which dark tourism sites at natural disasters are experienced and constructed as well as provides practical insights into tourist experience creation.     

Factors influencing social capital in rural tourism communities in South Korea

This study aimed to identify the factors influencing social capital as it affects community conflict management for community residents in rural tourism villages. An on-site survey consisting of self-administered questionnaires was conducted with residents of rural tourism communities. These self-administered surveys were obtained from 380 community residents in the study area. A factor-clustering method identified distinct segments: high social capital (52%) and low social capital (47.7%). The estimation of a binary logistic regression model determined the characteristics of community residents who were most likely to be associated with each type of social capital. Results indicated that fruit, vegetable and rice farmers who also operated farm-stay businesses and rural activity programmes for tourists had the most social. We suggest that certain types of government policy programmes are helpful for increasing social capital and managing community conflicts by means of involvement in the tourism business.