Politics and tourism interface: The Case of Cyprus

The Cyprus tourism industry has had to be sensitive to the political problems between Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Federation is considered to be a partial solution to the problems. This paper evaluates the influence of politics and nationalism on the tourism planning and development under a possible federal constitution. The views of Turkish and Greek Cypriot participants from private and public organizations are studied through semistructured interviews. The findings suggest that any future planning and development is likely to be a complex undertaking, as the two societies tend to have different sets of objectives and expectations.     

Towards an ethics platform for tourism

Ethical distinctions inform all human actions and decisions. On inspection, however, dominant paradigms in tourism scholarship are imbued with the myth of objectivity and thus ignore the ethical dimension. Since the four platforms of scholarship were first published in 1990, a representation of one of the most value-based concepts of this time, sustainable development, has been embraced; a fifth platform has emerged to dominate the rhetoric of tourism praxis. However, this paper argues that a sixth platform, an ethics platform, is needed to interrogate the morality of the positions taken in policy, planning, development, and management. These platforms are proposed against a background of environmental ethics and global political economy.     

Testing theory of planned versus realized tourism behavior

This article probes how well one’s plans for doing, buying, and consuming discretionary tourism services relate to what is actually done. Using group level data, it includes an empirical study of hypotheses comparing planned and actual consumption behaviors. The main propositions tested are that realized consumption behaviors are greater in number than planned and that the level of matching between planned and realized actions varies as a function of contingency factors of composition of the tourist group, product experience, and motivations. Data from two large-scale surveys serve to examine the theory. The findings support the hypotheses partially and provide guidance for planning survey research and marketing management strategies.     

Shared decision-making in tourism land use planning

A Canadian government commission dealing with environmental resources attempted to incorporate several innovative approaches for shared decision-making into its strategic land use planning process for central British Columbia. This paper describes a framework of design and evaluative criteria for guiding such shared decision-making processes. It uses these criteria to assess the efficacy of the process from the perspective of those tourism stakeholders who participated in this planning exercise. The article offers recommendations to government as well as tourism sector organizations concerning the management of future public land use planning strategies designed to fully incorporate stakeholders into such processes.

Résumé

Les décisions partagées au sujet de la politique foncière du tourisme. Une commission du gouvernement canadien s'occupant des ressources environnementales a essayé d'incorporer plusieurs nouvelles méthodes de décisions partagées dans la planification des stratégies d'utilisation foncière pour la Colombie britannique centrale. Cet article décrit un cadre de critères pour la conception et l'évaluation des processus de décisions partagées. L'article utilise ces critères pour mesurer l'efficacité du processus du point de vue des planificateurs. Il fait des recommandations au gouvernement et aux organisations touristiques au sujet de la planification et de la future gestion de l'utilisation de la propriété publique pour que tous les intéressés soient compris dans ces processus.     

TERRITORIAL PLANNING AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TAX

An economic model of land taxation involving a local government and a private developer constitutes the theoretical framework in this research. The model hinges around a two-tier approach including both a conservation and an efficiency criterion. The analysis indicates that sustainable tourism calls for the use of land taxation and planning legislation simultaneously geared to the achievement of efficiency and the signaling of the government’s commitment to conservation policies. To provide support for the theoretical conclusions, an Italian case study is discussed, showing how the local government chose not to yield to a developer’s requests by not changing a norm prohibiting construction near of the coastline.     

Yugoslavia's tourist trade pot of gold or pig in a poke?

Yugoslavia's international tourist trade has expanded during the postwar period to the point where the country has become one of Europe's major tourist destinations. In common with many social-scientific students of tourism, Yugoslav development planners have stressed the value to the country of the inflow of convertible foreign exchange which this has stimulated. The article sets out to balance this argument by reference to four problems associated with the growth of tourism which have not been given adequate attention: the impact of tourism upon regional development; problems of sectoral balance; the structure of the labor force in tourism, particularly the problems which this structure potentially poses for the Yugoslav system of self-management; and the risks consequent upon the particular market structure of Yugoslav tourism.     

Geographical consciousness and tourism experience

Scholars of many persuasions have recognized the experiential features of geography, such as the consciousness arising from the spatial and temporal bonds between people and places. Until recently, however, tourism researchers have largely overlooked those features. In partial response to this omission, this article presents a phenomenological exploration of leisure tourism experience. By describing the lived experiences of Canadian tourists traveling to and within China on two separate package tours, this article discusses if and how geographical consciousness influences the tourists’ experiences. Its main purpose is to provide insights for research and application.     

Integrated strategy for tourism education/training

Tourism is in need of a comprehensive framework within which to design and deliver education and training programs in a more effective manner. This paper reports the efforts of two provincial governments in Canada to formulate an integrated strategy on which to base the planning and development of a tourism education and training system. The goal of such integration is to ensure a greater degree of interdependence among different levels of the total education system so as to provide well-defined alternative career paths for present and future students. Initial results of the strategy on the development of the education infrastructure are reviewed.     

Beyond authenticity and commodification

Authenticity and commodification are central to academic debates in tourism. Previous analyses suggest that the commercialization of local identities leads to negative consequences. Based on a long-term study in Eastern Indonesia, this paper examines authenticity from three perspectives: government, tourists, and villagers. While the former two reflect views highlighted in the literature, the villagers’ interpretation is different: tourism brings a sense of pride and identity and also a political resource to manipulate. Seen in this context, the debates about authenticity should examine how the notion is articulated, by whom and for what purposes, to reveal in what circumstances cultural tourism leads to positive responses and empowerment.     

Geographic factors affecting tourism in Zambia

This paper discusses several geographical factors critical to tourism planning and development in Zambia. The paper focuses on the size, seasonality of climate, and population distribution of the country as well as the location of tourism resources and distances between tourist attractions. Individually and collectively, these factors have a major influence on the levels of occupancy in hotels and game lodges, and air and land transportation. The infrastructural development and its utilization for tourism are evaluated, and a number of constraints to tourism development are also examined. A discussion of appropriate tourism policies highlights the delicate relationship between economic and environmental factors. This study concludes that Tourism Master Plans should be more cognizant of geographic as well as economic factors when developing destinations such as Zambia.     

Domestic tourism in FRG : Trends and problems

Participation on tourism of the population of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) has enormously increased. Domestic tourism, however, stagnates. The German tourist regions have to expect a significant decrease in visitors, since an increasing segment of the German holiday-makers (now two thirds) travels abroad. The German domestic tourism providers and vacation travel organizers have not yet fully realized the new trends in the travel behavior. The unfavorable trend can only be met through a continually increasing supply with vacation homes and apartments. Moreover, the various resort towns need to join regional tourism associations which are able to achieve a more effective regional marketing for smaller tourist regions. Preparations for the establishment of regional tourism associations and programs for a subsidization of regional marketing plans are imminent.     

The convergence process in heritage tourism

The theoretical background behind heritage tourism is conventionally categorized in terms of two stages: the demand and supply side approaches. This has resulted in a fragmented and usually conflicting framework. The purpose of this paper is to devise a model, which will substantiate the existence of both a continuum and a lateral relationship between the contrasting theoretical approaches to heritage tourism. The value added proffered here stems from the incorporation of authenticity as a linking device in each of the two approaches, unifying them into a single theoretical paradigm. The role of authenticity as a contemporary marketing tool, on tourism motivation and the image of the attraction is shown to be pivotal.     

Partnership and regional tourism in Brazil

Partnerships in planning for regional development can bring together stakeholders representing interests at national, regional, and local geographical scales. This paper examines a regional tourism development partnership in Northeast Brazil. It explores the effects of socioeconomic and political contexts on this collaborative arrangement, the processes of joint working, and how participation was extended to parties not attending the regular meetings. The partnership focused on coordination among government organizations at different spatial scales and with various functions, with participants largely confined to the public sector. Using this assessment, an analytical framework is presented to assist other researchers interested in this theme.     

Integrated rural tourism:: Concepts and Practice

A model of integrated rural tourism, which took account of the various resources (cultural, social, environmental, economic), their use, and the role of pertinent stakeholders, was developed to explore effective methods of promoting tourism as part of a rural development strategy. “Strategic fit” was used to assess the effectiveness of the model in adding value locally in the context of an established tourism area in western Ireland. The model reveals considerable robustness in identifying features that promote the adding of value in a holistic way and in identifying the pertinent stakeholders and issues that require attention to meet objectives more effectively.     

International tourism model for developing economies

This article considers international tourism as an open system consisting of four essential components: demand, marketing, transportation, and accomodation. It examines each component and its relationship to the system. The proposed international tourism model facilitates detection of positive and negative determinants of the system so that a relevant marketing strategy can be developed. The major strategies include a mass-marketing approach for public through tourism intermediaries, and a focused strategy requiring careful analysis of the target market and its needs for unique services. More specifically, the article suggests extensive market analysis with geographic concentration on present and potential tourist generating countries. The model is intended as a comprehensive frame for policy makers and practitioners to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of international tourism.     

Social impacts of tourism : Host perceptions

This study investigates the pergeptions of the residents of Nadi, Fiji, towards the impacts of tourism. A survey of 199 households revealed that residents (most of whom were dependent on the industry for their livelihood) supported the current magnitude of tourism and favored its expansion. Despite this very clear and generally positive view, the respondents identified specific negative and positive impacts that, in their view, affected the community. The results suggest that residents of communities dependent on tourism can clearly differentiate between its economic benefits and the social costs, and that awareness of certain negative consequences does not lead to opposition towards further tourism development.     

Liberation wars and tourism development in Africa : The case of Zambia

Development of Africa's immense tourism potential is severely limited for reasons including lack of capital, distance from the large North American and European markets, the cost of travel to Africa, and Africa's poor image abroad. A key factor contributing to this image problem is political instability. Since World War II, almost all African countries have achieved independence. In several countries, this decolonization process has taken the form of long and often bloody liberation wars. This paper examines the impact of Zimbabwe's protracted liberation war on tourism development in Zambia and suggests that a detailed examination of major internal and external political events associated with the decolonization process in Zimbabwe could provide important perspectives on the obstacles to tourism development in other African countries.     

Representative dissonance: India’s Self and Western Image

Western media have often been criticized for portraying Third World destinations through a colonial prism via images of primitiveness and exoticism. Contrastingly, some destinations have begun to resist those representations with media campaigns of their own. The purpose of this study was to critically construe the differences between ways that India is represented in American tourism media and how it is represented by the Indian government itself. The findings revealed that these two representations are different in ways that reflect the colonial nature of international tourism and the postcolonial stage of India’s nationalism. Moreover, the study of representative dissonance is proposed as a tool for understanding the conflicting ideological forces that shape destination images.     

Traditions of sustainability in tourism studies

As sustainability has become an important policy issue in tourism, it is arousing growing discussion and criticism, and an increasing need to understand the nature of the limits of growth. This paper analyzes how these limits are approached and evaluated in discussions on a local scale. The purpose is to recognize that behind the different understandings of them lie distinct traditions that are different in their focuses. These are referred to as resource-, activity-, and community-based traditions of sustainability. Further, the relationship between sustainable tourism and sustainable development is critically discussed.     

Rural tourism and gendered nuances

Research findings on rural residents’ attitudes towards tourism are often contradictory, in part due to a lack of data examining the often divergent perspectives of particular subgroups. Regional survey data from the Intermountain Western United States is used to provide an improved understanding of rural tourism attitudes as they are linked to community involvement and changes, while also exploring both intragender and intergender differences. Group differences in levels of community involvement, perceptions of tourism and various other issues are observed. While differences emerge, there is also widespread agreement on the importance of preserving local culture and the opposition to sale of agricultural land for development.