The environment‐community symbiosis: A case for collaborative tourism planning

This article advances the proposition that sustainable tourism can be achieved through recognition that the public and private sector, the host communities and the natural environment are interdependent stakeholders in a complex tourism ‘domain’, where no single individual, agency or group can resolve strategic tourism issues by acting alone. The planning and management of this domain for the purpose of achieving sustainability requires moving away from traditional approaches towards dynamic collaboration among the stakeholders of the tourism development and planning domain. Collaboration provides a flexible process which evolves over time, enabling stakeholders to disseminate and manage problems or issues on an interactive basis. It offers an attractive alternative to adversarial problem solving methods in tourism planning and management, when inter or multi‐sectoral participation is required. The paper commences with a discussion of the shortfalls of traditional tourism planning processes and models, followed by an overview of collaboration ‘theory’. Examples are given which illustrate collaborative approaches in several mountain resort areas. An exploratory case study of tourism development and planning issues in the mountain community of Canmore, Alberta (Canada) is then presented, leading to a discussion and conclusion regarding the theoretical and practical applications of collaboration toward achieving sustainable tourism.     

Characteristics and goals of family and owner-operated businesses in the rural tourism and hospitality sectors

This research examines goals pertaining to start-up, operations, the family, and ultimate disposition of the enterprise by family and owner-operated businesses in the rural tourism and hospitality sectors. The sample is from a survey in rural Western Australia. A large majority of respondents were from middle-aged couples, new to the business, with strong motivation to live and work in the countryside. Lifestyle and family-related goals were predominant, but there was also recognition that the business had to be profitable. Most respondents were uncertain about the ultimate disposition of their business; only about one-third had definite succession plans to involve children or other family members. Implications are drawn for business and destination development.     

Sensation seeking and the prediction of attitudes and behaviours of wine tourists

Although socio-economic variables are commonly used for market segmentation and are widely applied in describing winery visitors, increasing awareness is evident in the literature that personality might also be useful for that purpose. The present study examined whether, compared with socio-economic variables (age, gender, education level, personal income, and household income), the personality variable sensation seeking adds to the ability to predict differences in various attitudes and behaviours of wine tourists. With the effects of the former controlled, sensation seeking was observed to be significantly related to spending on wine, and wine drinking, as well as to the frequency of visits to wineries and the number of activities engaged in at wineries, the use of the internet as a source of information about wineries, venturing off the beaten track during a visit to a wine region, and the strength of opportunity for learning, stimulation, or indulgence as incentives to visit a wine region. Sensation seeking was also observed to be significantly related to all but one of those variables when the effects of another variable which is receiving increasing attention as a means by which to characterize wine tourists, “involvement”, were controlled. The practical significance of the results for winery and wine region marketing and management is discussed, and several requirements for further research are identified.     

Tourism as a mixed industry: Differences between private, public and not-for-profit festivals

This paper discusses important policy and management implications of tourism as a mixed industry in which public, not-for-profit, and private organisations such as festivals both compete and collaborate in creating the tourist product. To illustrate, four samples of festivals from the UK, Australia, Norway and Sweden are systematically compared in terms of their ownership, governance, structure, and content. Although the festivals offered a similar product and had similar mandates, they differed considerably in terms of revenue sources, cost structure, use of volunteers, corporate sponsorship, and decision-making. These differences are potentially important to destinations that view festivals as attractions and use them in place marketing. Implications are drawn for festival management and tourism policy, and recommendations are made for extending this line of inquiry to the tourism industry as a whole.     

International codes of conduct: An analysis of ethical reasoning

Four international codes of conduct (those of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Labor Organization, and the United Nations Commission on Transnational Corporations) are analyzed to determine the ethical bases of the behaviors they prescribe for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Although the four codes emphasize different aspects of business behavior, there is substantial agreement regarding many of the moral duties of MNEs. It is suggested that MNEs are morally bound to recognize the codes and to take them into account when engaging in international business.Kathleen A. Getz is a doctoral candidate at the Katz Graduate School of Business of the University of Pittsburgh.For another interpretation, see William C. Frederick's current paper, Multilateral Compacts as a Source of Normative Corporate Guidelines: The Emergence of a Transcultural Corporate Ethic.     

Capacity to absorb tourism: Concepts and implications for strategic planning

The concept of capacity to absorb tourism has received considerable attention, but measures of capacity have seldom been applied to tourism plans. This void can be attributed to varying interpretations of the meaning of capacity, the complexity of assessing and predicting impacts, and opposition to the imposition of limits on growth. In this paper, different interpretations of tourism capacity are discussed, including inherent assumptions and potential applications. It is concluded that the concept can best be applied in a systematic planning process which includes no a priori assumption of optimality or ultimate limits on growth or change. A strategic planning model is recommended which includes the establishment of goals, ongoing evaluation of impacts, and the optional use of limits.