Degrowing tourism: rethinking tourism

Abstract

Concerns with growth have steadily advanced since the Limits to Growth report due particularly to human impacts on the natural environment. Since that time, neoliberal capitalism has become increasingly reliant on growth exacerbating these problems. The destructive outcomes of these strategies has led to a growing interest in degrowth. Analysts are examining how we can create economies that eschew a growth imperative while still supporting human thriving. Tourism as a key facet of capitalism is implicated in these issues and recent concerns with “overtourism” are only one symptom of the problem. This article presents a conceptual consideration of issues of degrowth in tourism. It examines current tensions in international mobility and argues just and sustainable degrowth will require greater attention to equity. This analysis suggests that essential to such an agenda is redefining tourism to focus on the rights of local communities and a rebuilding of the social capacities of tourism. This article argues for the redefinition of tourism in order to place the rights of local communities above the rights of tourists for holidays and the rights of tourism corporates to make profits.     

Green and non-green outcomes of green human resource management (GHRM) in the tourism context

Globally, organizational espousal of green and sustainable operations has been critically facilitated by green human resource management (GHRM) initiatives, especially in the tourism and hospitality sector. This research is an effort to examine the nuances of employees' responses to GHRM and contribute to this field by examining how narcissism, an individual trait and boundary condition, influences GHRM's relationship with employees' green (voluntary and task-related practices) and non-green outcomes (task performance and job satisfaction). Our hypotheses, grounded in social identity and trait activation theories, were tested with data obtained through a time-lagged two-wave survey of 219 UK-based hotel employees via the Prolific Academic platform. Analysis revealed significant associations between GHRM and all employee outcomes. Narcissism was shown to have a significant moderating effect on GHRM's associations with both green and non-green (task performance) behaviors. Our results imply important understandings for the advancement of theoretical knowledge and practical implementation of GHRM.     

绿色产业or黑色产业：旅游业碳排放统计边界的反思与重构

科学界定旅游业碳排放统计边界既是低碳旅游研究的难点,也是制定旅游业碳减排政策与措施的关键。已有研究在统计指标选取上多以借鉴和优化为主,计算结果难以相互佐证。文章基于经济学和法学相关领域溯源,逐一评价了现行统计指标,研究发现：（1）影响旅游业碳排放统计边界的主要因素是研究视角不同、统计口径混用,导致研究结果之间"横向不可比,纵向不可加";（2）"狭义"和"广义"统计边界的主要区别是后者在"污染者付费"的基础上兼顾"受益者负担"原则;（3）基于"属地责任原则",外部交通不属于旅游目的地碳源,而应计入"广义"的统计边界。研究指出：旅游业碳减排措施应明晰责任边界和外部性,兼顾经济收益和环境代价;在边界相对统一的前提下,不同研究对象的碳强度不同,旅游业是否为绿色产业应视具体情况而定。     

Sex tourism

This article reviews the existing literature on sex tourism and prostitution. The review reveals a relatively narrow definition of what the subject constitutes. This paper proposes a holistic framework that moves beyond the traditional use of monetary exchange as the defining criterion of sex tourism. Besides pecuniary aspects, the framework incorporates several parameters, including intention and opportunity, tourism, length of time, prostitute–tourist relationship, sexual encounter, and who travels. These are used as important criteria in establishing what constitutes sex tourism and/or identifying sex tourists. By adopting this new perspective it is hoped that existing double standards towards sex tourism and its workers are recognized and overcome.     

Unobserved tourism

Having more reliable statistics is essential for policy-makers to be able to make effective decisions. Nevertheless, measuring the number of tourists in a given destination is not an easy task. After reviewing the main problems affecting official statistics on tourism, this paper proposes a general framework by formalizing a theoretical model in which tourism nights and trips in a given destination are broken down into observed and unobserved components, according to the European system of tourism statistics. The main approaches related to the measurement of unobserved tourism are discussed, and some empirical findings in Sicily (Italy) are presented in order to highlight the actual magnitude of unobserved tourism.     

Language and tourism

The sociolinguistic study of verbal encounters in touristic situations provides an opportunity to exanine communication between different linguistic groups under unusual circumstances: the high temporariness of the foreigners and the high degree of linguistic accommodation of the locals to them. This state of affairs stands in marked contrast to the tendency of guestworkers and immigrants who are less temporary and usually of lower status, to accommodate linguistically to the locals. While accommodation by locals is common to virtually all touristic situations, the degree of proficiency of locals in the tourists' language varies considerably and hence also the extent to which tourists are forced to accommodate linguistically. In an effort to organize the linguistic variation in tourism, a typology of tourist roles is used as the principal framework. The notion of “language brokerage” is introduced. The integration of sociological and sociolinguistic analyses is illustrated by incidental data from the literature on tourism and from fieldwork in Thailand.     

Convention tourism modelling

This paper introduces an approach for identifying the determinants of convention attendance at alternative cities. This approach permits planners to evaluate the relative importance of accessibility and attractiveness variables as determinants of convention attendance for each site. Four major convention sites in the USA are analysed to illustrate the procedure. In this example, accessibility was found to be far more important than attractiveness.     

Forecasting tourism revisited

This article examines the accuracy and efficiency of forecasting techniques by applying time series regression to forecasting visitor arrivals. Past studies have shown that simpler time series techniques perform as well or better than complex forecasting models. An assessment of visitor forecasts developed at regional, destination and individual market levels suggests that time series regression performs well in producing annual forecasts of visitors which can also serve as a baseline for evaluating the net returns from applying more complex techniques. Tourism managers should appreciate the usefulness of simpler formal methods in developing forecasts of visitors.     

English educational tourism

Public sector attractions in the UK are becoming more consumer orientated and special attention is being paid to the needs of children. Chris Cooper and John Latham, Lecturers in the Department of Management Studies for Tourism and Hotel Industries at the University of Surrey, UK, have carried out a survey of educational visits to tourist attractions in England leading to more detailed research aimed at determining various parameters of the English educational market.