Whose festival is it anyway? Analysis of festival stakeholder power,legitimacy, urgency,and the sustainability of local festivals

Abstract

The sustenance and institutionalization of local festivals hinge on the extent to which various stakeholders work together effectively. While all stakeholder relationships matter in this respect, research has often failed to focus on the various relationships between all stakeholders involved. This study uses the tenets of stakeholder theory (power, urgency, and legitimacy) to examine the differences between stakeholders in local festivals. It is based on a questionnaire survey of 1,092 festival stakeholders from eight groups in six local festivals in Ghana. The results indicate that festival organizers have the highest level of power, urgency, and legitimacy. The results also reveal varying levels of power, urgency, and legitimacy between government authorities, sponsors, vendors, volunteers, visitors, and the media. Given these differences, festival committees need to give the right priority each stakeholder group and properly respond to each based on their relationship with other stakeholders. Groups such as vendors with low legitimacy need to be actively included in planning committees and decision-making regarding the festivals. The involvement of the regional tourism offices, which is lacking, will help in providing training to festival organizers and other stakeholders in order to institutionalize the festivals.     

Examination of tourism undergraduates’ industry commitment,in the context of China

Grounded in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study developed a comprehensive research framework that encapsulated both personal and contextual factors in terms of tourism undergraduates’ commitment to career choice in the context of China’s social and vocational contexts. Applying structural equation modeling (SEM) to the data collected from 446 undergraduate students studying tourism in China, this study shows that “self-interest,” “others’ support,” “social status,” “outcome expectation” and “nature of work” exert significant effects on students’ commitment to career choice. Implications of the findings include suggested interventions in attracting tourism students to persist in their career path.     

Tourists’ perceptions of ethnic tourism in Lugu Lake,Yunnan, China

This paper examines tourists’ perceptions of ethnic tourism and satisfaction with their experiences based upon empirical research conducted in 2009 in Lugu Lake, Yunnan, China. The quest for romance and exoticism has inspired mass Han Chinese visits to the lake area. The tranquility of the lake and unique minority culture impress many urbanites and satisfy their nostalgia for the untouched, the simple, and the natural. Most tourists are satisfied with their overall experience and appreciate a packaged version of minority culture and tradition. However, a small number of visitors were disappointed about the commercial setting, inadequate tourist facilities, poor service, and limited tourism programs. Many tourists are concerned about cultural change and the loss of traditional customs. It is argued that maintaining authenticity and cultural integrity is essential for sustainable ethnic tourism development. Diverse and high-quality ethnic products should be developed to suit the different needs of the various types of tourists.     

The Impact of Tour Guides’ Physical Attractiveness,Sense of Humor,and Seniority on Guide Attention and Efficiency

In this study, we investigated whether tourists view attractive tour guides as more competent, humorous tour guides as more approachable, and experienced tour guides as more professional, and whether these three factors influence the effectiveness of tour guide interpretation. The results indicated that physical attractiveness and humor had additive effects on interpretation effectiveness when combined. Although some tour guides were not physically attractive, experience provided an additive effect on interpretation effectiveness. Thus, we recommend discarding stereotypes regarding physical attractiveness and improving education and training in humor for tour guides. Experienced tour guides wearing appropriate attire also increases interpretation effectiveness.     

Drivers of change in regional tourism governance: a case analysis of the influence of the New South Wales Government,Australia, 2007–2013

The study of governance and policy-making for tourism is an important area of academic scholarship. This paper reviews recent theoretical concepts and approaches to governance, policy-making, and sustainable and regional tourism. Practical application of these concepts is demonstrated through a case study analysis that traces and assesses the main policy and strategic initiatives of the New South Wales Government (Australia) directed at influencing change in regional tourism governance from 2007 to 2013. The analysis compares these main drivers influencing change at a regional scale to relevant themes, concepts and interpretations derived from literature on tourism governance. In particular, it uses Hall's (2011 Hall, C.M. (2011). A typology of governance and its implications for tourism policy analysis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(4–5), 437–457.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) typology of tourism governance as a framework to explore conceptualisations of the governance structures evident in the case. The paper demonstrates the complexity of the regional tourism governance space, including the ebb and flow of various policy initiatives that have been driven by the political agendas of consecutive governments and their election commitments, as well as a pro-growth mode of governance that does not emphasise sustainable tourism. Moreover, the case suggests the opportunity to use destination management planning as a framework to drive sustainable tourism outcomes.     

Perceptions of place,modernity and the impacts of tourism – Differences among rural and urban residents of Ankang,China: A likelihood ratio analysis

This paper reports results from a survey of urban and rural residents’ of the perceived impacts of change induced by tourism in Ankang, China. The paper will initially indicate the literature that informed the research and the geographical context of the study. Second, results derived from a questionnaire that incorporated both open-ended and closed questions will be presented. The concepts that informed the research were derived from past similar studies, place attachment and senses of modernity. Initial analysis showed no differences between urban and rural residents, both on impact assessment scales and categorical data derived from the coding of responses to open-ended questions. Overall it was found that residents had favourable attitudes toward tourism. The use of comparison based likelihood ratios did reveal some nuanced differences between ‘high’ and ‘low scorers’ relating to the issues of economic development and pollution independent of place of residence but based on a sense of that place of residence being ‘special’. The total number of respondents was 474. Implications for future studies are discussed and include comments on the need for direct contact and observation.     

The Monasteries of Putuoshan,China: Sites of Secular or Religious Tourism?

The article reports an analysis derived from a sample of 640 respondents visiting the Buddhist site of Putuoshan that is sacred to the Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokitesvara. Drawing on literature and observation over a 12-month period, the article adopts a fourfold designation of visitors: Xiankes, Sushi, Sightseers, and Cultural/Heritage Visitors. Three scales are developed and exploratory factor analysis supports distinctions between the clusters with reference to motives, activities and beliefs, and the categorization is supported by logistic regression analysis. The findings are discussed in the context of destination management with reference to two considerations—namely: (a) sites of religious importance often possess secular as well as religious significance; and (b) the numbers of tourists appear to be growing, thereby raising concerns of future negative tourism impacts.     

Meeting Planners’ Competency,Motivation, and Benefits: The Case of Korea

The role of meeting planners is essential to the successful completion of a meeting. Their involvement includes coordinating every detail of a meeting, such as budgeting, solicitation of sponsorship, preparation of request for proposals, reservation of facilities or services, translation, and interpretation. Despite meeting planners’ significance, no real effort has been made to identify their competencies, motivations, and benefits. In this study, six competency, four motivation, and two benefit domains were identified. The most important competency domain was the “ability to understand social trends and good manners,” whereas the “ability to perform foreign languages” domain was a relatively low-importance competency. Regarding the benefits, the respondents showed appreciation for opportunities to globalize and gain social recognition by becoming a meeting planner. Compared with the female respondents, the male respondents believed that they had a higher level of evaluative knowledge regarding current competency and specialized expertise.     

A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Leisure,the Tool of Racecraft

Abstract

The pernicious existence of race serves as the underlying force in modern societies. As such, the aim of this discussion is to postulate that leisure is a tool of racecraft: 1) the articulation of power, 2) the erection of places of demarcation, and 3) reification of the racial order. What is presented here is in one part a re-examination of seminal texts on Race in leisure studies and another part a case study of the 1919 Chicago race riots and the Biloxi wade-ins from 1959 to 1963. Both of these historical cases illustrate the simple act of recreational swimming in legally or socially segregated waters and pools outraged the White social order in the United States. This history is mirrored in the present day, not as another isolated horrible aside that arises from time-to-time in leisure but rather as the seemingly perpetual role of leisure to maintain the proper racial order, racecraft.     

Why the tripartite relationship of place attachment,loyalty, and pro-environmental behaviour matter?

The tripartite relationship among loyalty, pro-environmental (PEB) behaviour, and place attachment (PA) was explored to capture the variability and complexity of both loyalty and PEB dynamics. Further, the tripartite model was extended to another precedent variable of destination image to more broadly explain the process of tourist behavioural change in nature-based tourism (NBT) destinations. The study found that PA is the critical factor beneficial to sustainable management of NBT context and cognitive destination image increases the psychological attachment to destinations. Particularly, this study suggests that the reciprocal synergy between loyalty and PEB intentions can be achieved by strengthening PA for the destination.     

Tourists’ perceptions of crowding,attractiveness, and satisfaction: a second-order structural model

Drawing on theories of stimulus overload and social interference, this study proposes a multidimensional way to measure tourists’ perceptions of crowding. Three dimensions of crowding are discussed: neutral, personal, and social. A second-order structural equation model is used to analyze the relationships among crowding perceptions, destination attractiveness, and satisfaction by surveying tourists at Mount Sanqingshan National Park (n?=?424). The results of a covariance-based SEM show that tourists’ perception of crowding (TPC) has negative effects on reported attractiveness of the destination. However, TPC dose not directly affects their satisfaction. Results of this study refine the multidimensional connotation of TPC and provide another dimension to evaluate the quality of tourists’ experiences apart from the universal construct of satisfaction. The paper then goes on to discuss the importance of managing TPC.     

Can ecotourism deliver real economic,social, and environmental benefits? A study of the Osa Peninsula,Costa Rica

Doubt persists about ecotourism's ability to make tangible contributions to conservation and deliver benefits for host communities. This work in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula tests the hypothesis that ecotourism in this region is more effective at improving well-being for local residents, at enhancing their access to key resources and information, and at supporting biodiversity conservation than other locally available economic sectors. Data from 128 semi-structured interviews with local workers, both in ecotourism and in other occupations, together with associated research, indicate that ecotourism offers the best currently available employment opportunities, double the earnings of other livelihoods, and other linked benefits. Locally, ecotourism is viewed as the activity contributing most to improvements in residents’ quality of life in the Osa Peninsula and to increased levels of financial and attitudinal support for parks and environmental conservation. Ecolodge ownership by local people is substantial, and many local ecotourism workers plan to launch their own businesses. The data offer a convincing rebuttal to arguments that ecotourism does little to address poverty or disparities in access to resources and equally rebuts claims that ecotourism is simply a part of the “neoliberal conservation toolkit” that cannot help but exacerbate the very inequalities it purports to address.     

An examination of organisational culture — the Regent Hotel,Sydney

The traditional approaches to strategy that are adopted by managers do not recognise the importance and power of culture as an integrating and unifying “driver” of action within organisations. Culture and its main elements can be defined using Johnson's (Long Range Planning 25 (1) (1992) 28) cultural web as a framework. The cultural web has been applied to The Regent Hotel, Sydney in order to explain how cultural influences on behaviour within an organisation come about and their impact on the organisation. Conclusions are drawn regarding the use of culture to increase organisational performance, and particular reference is made to the web's usefulness in respect of strategic analysis of hospitality organisations.     

Stopover destination image – perceptions of Dubai,United Arab Emirates,among French and Australian travellers

ABSTRACT

This study reports a rare investigation into the phenomenon of stopovers during long-haul international travel. Although destination image has been one of the most popular topics in the tourism literature, there has been a lack of attention by researchers regarding the context of stopover destination image for long-haul international air travellers. Indeed most studies have measured destination image without explicitly stating any travel context. A mixed methods approach in two geographically distant markets yielded externally valid findings. This study commenced with a qualitative stage in two countries to elicit attributes deemed salient to individuals when considering an international stopover. Attributes elicited from the two samples were triangulated with the most common themes reported in the destination image literature. A set of 29 attributes was then tested in two online surveys involving 777 consumers in Australia and France. The study highlights the value of engaging with consumers in a qualitative stage, to design a context-specific destination image questionnaire. By using this approach, 12 potentially determinant attributes of stopover destination attractiveness were identified, eight of which have not been commonly used in destination image studies, and one of which represents a new destination image attribute in the literature.     

Why do Visitors Go to Museums? The Case of 921 Earthquake Museum,Wufong, Taichung

The paper examines the motives and sources of satisfaction of 286 respondents relating to the 921 Earthquake Museum in Taichung, Taiwan. In concludes that income, age and education remain statistically significant determinants of at\titudes, and notes the existence of four clusters derived from k-means analysis but supported by a cross-tabulation of cluster types and categories derived from themes identified in responses to open-ended questions. The paper lends some support to the continuum of the authentic to “pure essentialism” while arguing that the latter is a logical corollary of the concept, but in practice will be rare. In that respect the Museum represents a negotiated essentialism in that the core of the Museum is the damaged school, but it has been sanitized. Reference is also made to differing concepts of museums and the literature relating to competing understandings of the roles of museums and why people visit them.