Tourism Research Articles

Probing the Effect of Governance of Tourism Development, Economic Growth, and Foreign Direct Investment on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Africa: The African Experience

The environmental repercussions of extensive carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on the environment are crucial for policymakers and scholars. The repercussions of and connection between economic growth (ECG), tourism (TOUR), and foreign direct investment (FDI) on CO2 emission mitigation have been measured and argued from empirical and theoretical perspectives by scholars. Notwithstanding, the extant body of knowledge has failed to incorporate and investigate the function of governance in decarbonizing tourism activities and FDI from CO2 emissions to attain a healthy and quality environment in Africa. Hence, this current research investigates governance’s role in the reduction processes of CO2 emissions grounded in environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) conceptual assumptions for panel data spanning 2000 through 2020 for 27 African countries. This research utilized the Westerlund panel cointegration approach for the investigation of the cointegration of the selected variables. This study applied the Driscoll–Kraay regression approach for the long-term estimation. In addition, the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and the pooled mean group (PMG) were used for robustness checks. The findings of this research indicated that the governance (GOV) indicators employed have a statistically significant effect on the CO2 emission reduction. Besides, this study found that the appreciation of the income of the nations gives credence to the formation of the EKC theory and contributes to the decline in CO2 emissions within the selected African nations. The findings revealed that tourism, FDI, ECG, and GOV are positive and significant factors leading to increased CO2 emissions in Africa. Furthermore, the results showed that effective governance and control of FDI inflows and tourism activities can support decarbonization. These findings suggest the merits of governance in ensuring effective decarbonization policies of the environment, and policy suggestions are accordingly put forward.

Spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem services trade‐offs among ecosystem service bundles in an alpine mountainous region: A case‐ study in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China

AbstractIn mountainous areas with diverse climate, topography, and socio‐economic status, ecosystem services (ES) trade‐offs may differ largely in space. However, few researches have spatially identified the trade‐offs and influencing factors of ES in different regions. We selected the Qilian Mountains (QLM) as a study area and eight key ES [grain production (GP), livestock production (LP), water yield (WY), carbon sequestration (CS), water erosion prevention (WAEC), wind erosion prevention (WIEC), habitat quality (HQ), and sightseeing (SS)] were evaluated through spatially explicit models. K‐means clustering was used to identify the ES bundles. Trade‐offs between ES were identified using factor analysis. Natural and human drivers that influence the spatial differentiation of ES were explored through redundancy analysis. The results showed the eight ES had obvious spatial heterogeneity and could be clustered into three bundles. In the entire QLM, there were obvious synergies between most ES, especially GP, LP, CS, and SS. However, several trade‐offs existed in different bundles (e.g., HQ with GP, LP, CS, and SS in bundle 1; HQ with GP, LP, and SS in bundle 2; WIEC with WY and WAEC in bundle 3). Natural factors were the main factors affecting the spatial differentiation of ES, among which vegetation coverage, elevation, precipitation, and slope have higher explanatory degrees, but differences among three bundles were great. The influence of human factors on the provisioning and cultural services was relatively high in local areas. This study can provide references for formulating regional development strategies in the QLM and other mountainous regions.

The Ecotourism Hub: A joint cross-border marketing strategy for peripheral islands

Notwithstanding their ecotourism potential, small peripheral islands have been closely associated with the enjoyment of sun, sea and sand (3S) as their major tourism product. Fieldwork was conducted in a group of islands/archipelagos collectively known as the Maltese-Sicilian archipelago to identify marketing challenges. Interviews were held with stakeholders to assess their views on the use of a joint cross-border marketing strategy to overcome such challenges. Marketing challenges identified included limited promotion, mostly conducted indirectly, and spearheaded by 3S tourism operators owing to the limited resources of ecotourism operators. Results indicate that several joint marketing and cross- border initiatives are already in place and others are being developed. This approach has the potential to avoid a scenario where small islands are overshadowed by bigger islands and reduces futile competition. By pooling resources, islands will be in a better position to determine their brand, reach more markets and showcase their distinctiveness. Furthermore, products that promote cross-border island hopping increase the competitiveness of small peripheral islands and archipelagos which have experienced habitat fragmentation or islands which are too small to serve as an ecotourism destination on their own.

On the Nonlinear Impact of Tourism on Environment Quality in South Asia: Evidence from the NARDL Approach

The current study inspects the nonlinear effects of tourism (TOR), energy use, and output growth on carbon emissions in the selected South Asian (SA) countries, namely Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India. The empirical results are obtained by implementing the recently developed nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag (NARDL) technique covering the data spanning from 1990 to 2019. The empirical findings suggest the nonlinear effect of TOR on carbon emissions in the long run. Further, the results revealed that positive shocks in TOR have a positive and significant effect on carbon emissions in the SA region. In contrast, negative shocks in TOR mitigate carbon emissions in all SA economies except Nepal. Moreover, the results demonstrate that energy use and output growth also have a meaningful impact on carbon emissions. Based on the findings, the directions for future research and policy implications are proposed.

Motivations and constraints of developing agritourism under the challenges of climate change: The case of Samoa

AbstractAgritourism has the potential to link agriculture with culture and tourism, as an alternative to 3S tourism. This study examines motivations, opportunities, and challenges of agritourism development in Samoa using a qualitative approach, under the challenges of climate change. The love of the land, education, culture, employment, additional income, and farming sustainability are the main motivations. Constraints were predominantly structural, which include excessive business regulations, a lack of funds to expand their agricultural activities, a limited labor force, and a lack of coordination between the public and private sectors. The ever‐present threat of climate change jeopardizes agriculture, tourism, and agritourism.

Temporary migration: category of analysis or category of practice?

ABSTRACT Temporariness has become an increasingly salient feature in international migration that presents itself as fragmented, non-linear, including different intermediate stops and multiple returns and new departures. This special issue proposes a new analytical framework that brings together the role of policies defining migrants as temporary and the role of migrant’s own agency in perceiving their migration project as temporary or permanent. The proposed analytical framework covers both low- and high-skilled, legal and irregular migratory flows, and different visa and citizenship regimes. This introduction starts by discussing the relationship between migration and time pointing to its multiple facets. The second section discusses temporary migration as a policy category looking at how it is regulated in more or less flexible regimes, including categories of temporary migrants that are not usually included in temporary migration debates, notably international students or working holiday makers. Section three turns to the lived experiences of migrants and the ways in which they conceptualise their migration (or their migration plans) as temporary or more long term, emphasising how these views can be also changing over time and through the actual migration experience. The final section brings the two strands together and presents the contents of this special issue.

Digital togetherness as everyday resistance: The use of new media in addressing work exploitation in rural areas

The literature on spatial-temporal barriers shows that temporary migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation and has concentrated on how they utilize new media to address underpayment and exploitation. These studies, however, have left unexplored the agency, temporality, and spatial considerations that underpin why workers prefer to activate “informal” mechanisms of complaint rather than accessing “formal” channels of redress, such as the Fair Work Ombudsman or labor unions. Using Working Holiday Makers in Australia as an example, this article focuses on digital togetherness generated through new media. I argue that digital interactions on new media platforms not only change the spatial-temporal limit of temporary migrant workers, but also create digital togetherness and connect workers with different imagined others (customers, arriving migrant workers, and workers who are facing exploitation). This connection can become an everyday resistance strategy, a remedy to space–time limits, and potentially challenge asymmetrical power relations between workers and employers.

Regulacja prawna timesharingu w Hiszpanii

Timeshare purchasing has become an increasingly popular method of holiday planning. Timesharing is generally described and understood by lay purchasers as the purchase of a week or more stay in a recreational or resort property. The purchaser of such a right is entitled to use, occupy and possess the property during those weeks and for the corresponding weeks in subsequent years. Notwithstanding this general understanding of timeshare right by lay purchasers, timesharing presents some unique and interesting problems. This legal and business problems arise because timesharing is a relatively new industry and focuses mainly on time. Timeshare right intends to convert time into a tangible marketable commodity – a commodity sold in fifty-two week slices. This form of holiday planning appeals both to developers and vacationers because of the steady demand for vacation housing and the flexibility offered by this institution. This flexibility can be achieved because purchasers of such a timeshare right may exchange blocks of time with other timeshare purchasers – not only within their own resort, but also with timeshare holiday makers from resorts in other areas and even countries. As the timeshare industry has developed, some particular problems have been identified. Deceptive sales practices, inept management, and a shortage of buyer protection instruments have destroyed the industry’s image and encouraged the public pressure for increased regulation in many European countries and on the European level. As a result, the European Parliament and the Council put forward Directive 94/47/EC of 26 October 1994 on the protection of purchasers in respect of certain aspects of contracts relating to the purchase of the right to use immovable properties on a timeshare basis. Directive 94/47 has been transposed in Spain with Law 42/98 of December 15, on timesharing rights on immovable goods for tourist use and taxation norms. The aim of this article is to present Spanish Law 42/98 of December 15, on timesharing rights on immovable goods for tourist use and taxation norms. The article begins with the reference to the scope of application, the description of the purchaser and the vendor, and the legislative techniques to introduce them. Next, there is a definition of the contracts falling into the scope of Law 42/98 and the basic assumptions of them (the length of time, the payment of a certain global price, a real property right or any other right relating to the use of one or more immovable properties for a specified or specifiable period of the year.) Spanish law differs on one essential point: it establishes two ways of creating the right: a right in rem, or as rent of a house for some seasons under some special conditions. The next part focuses on the consumer protection instruments. Firstly, they are information duties with the information document. The vendor must be required to provide any person asking for information with a document, which contains a general description of the immovable property along with at least brief and accurate information on certain details listed in Law 42/98. Secondly, there are also some obligatory items which the contract must include. Thirdly, reference is made to the requirements with regard to form and language of the information document and the contract, together with the sanctions for non-compliance of them. Fourthly, the right of withdrawal is discussed, that the contract must include information on the right to withdraw from the contract, on the withdrawal period and formal requirements for exercising this right. Fifthly, the issue of prohibition of advance payments before the end of the withdrawal period is addressed. The article also provides some information with regard to private international law. Finally, there is a comparison of the legal solutions adapted in Polish Law transposing directive 94/47 with the solutions offered by Spanish Law. The last part of the article gives an overview of the new directive 2008/122 replacing the directive 94/47 and explains how the new directive differs from the old one.

Addressing Economic Fragmentation: Modelling Regional Gambling Tourism In The Context Of Social Fields Theory

Abstract The trend in development is going from slow withdrawal from mass tourism to a growing demand for small-scale local, customer-tailored travel experiences. The main question is balancing two main tourism development models: mass tourism connected to gambling, on the one hand, and customer-oriented local experience on the other. How should policymakers proceed in shaping the development of policies supporting both models? We discuss case studies proposed to build a qualitative multi-criteria decision model to evaluate the appropriateness of the development of new models encompassing the two mentioned. Therefore, the multi-criteria decision method DEX and the DEXi software tool are practical options for decision support in gambling tourism management. This study quickly analyses basic concepts of the DEX method and possible applications on actual life decisions and valuation problems.

Asymmetrical understandings of the value of time between Taiwanese Working Holiday Makers and the Australian government: Cultural exchange or serving time?

The impact temporary visa status has on the lives of migrants and their experience of time has been widely discussed. Fewer studies, however, focus discussion on the competing interpretations of the value of Working Holiday Makers’ (WHMs) time and the complexities of disruption and (un)certainties: more specifically the contrast between the value the Australian government places on time spent doing agricultural work in rural areas to become eligible for a second visa, and how this time is perceived by WHMs. This article seeks to fill this gap by comparing data drawn from the government’s rhetoric and interviews with Taiwanese WHMs who had worked in regional areas of Australia for three months. I argue that the government selectively highlights to prospective WHMs the value of cultural exchange and tourism (life-value) while downplaying the labor value (money-value) to WHMs’ time. Furthermore, the government and WHMs are not always talking about the same ‘time units’ (working time and holiday time) when applying these values. This article demonstrates that WHMs are conscious of how their time is spent and perceive the three months of specified work as being ‘suspended’, ‘immobile’, and ‘disrupted’, which undermines their life-values and migration flow in Australia.

English

Pakistan is rich in cultural and natural resources and these resources proved to be helpful for the promotion of the tourism sector in the country. This sector does not only contribute to the national economy but also generates thousands of job opportunities in the country. Apart from economic development, Tourism affects adversely the environment. According to the previous studies, there is a relationship between TM and the degradation of the environment. We design this study to find the linkages between Tourism (TM), CO2 emissions (CEs), GDP per capita (GDPPC) and Energy Use (EU). The annual data from 1995 to 2014 is used to examine the relationship among factors. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) approach is used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between TM and CEs but not significant at 5%. Moreover, the results indicate that the GDPPC and EU have a positive and significant relationship with CEs because the P-values of both variables’ coefficients are lesser than 5%. This study reveals that energy, used by the industrial sector, enhances CEs, validating that CEs registered a substantial rise because the industrial sector was using more energy rather than other sectors like tourism.

The Precariousness of Young Chinese Being Working Holiday Makers in New Zealand

ABSTRACT This study explores the precariousness experienced and perceived by Chinese working holiday makers in New Zealand, and thereby challenges the more commonly and broadly disseminated positive narratives about long-term travel such as backpacking and working holidays. Whilst young Chinese have participated in the working holiday scheme in New Zealand for over a decade, this nascent phenomenon is still under-represented in the literature. Based on in-depth interviews with Chinese working holiday makers, three themes relating to the precariousness they experienced or perceived have been identified: Working holiday makers being caught in co-ethnic communities, their having limited employment opportunities, and their facing inherent insecurities. Findings of this study extend current understandings of the inherently precarious status of Chinese working holiday makers, as well as provide practical recommendations to the working holiday scheme.

Economic complexity, tourism, energy prices, and environmental degradation in the top economic complexity countries: fresh panel evidence.

The study explores the association between economic complexity index (ECI), tourism (TR), gross domestic products (GDP), gross domestic products per capita (GPC), and energy prices indices (EPI) on CO2e using the top 18 economic complexity index countries data from 1990 to 2019. We employ the second-generation cointegration methods and cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) to analyze the short- and long-term association alsoDumitrescu and Hurlin Granger causality test applied. The results of Pesaran and Yamagata slope heterogeneity and Pesaran CD test confirm the presence of cross-sectional unit relationship and slope heterogeneity across countries, while positive long- and short-term associations were found among ECI, GDP, and CO2e. Also, TR, GPC, and EPI decrease carbon emissions both in the longand short term . Moreover, Augmented Mean Group (AMG) techniques verified and support these findings. The outcomes of the Dumitrescu and Hurlin Granger causality test showed that any policy aim at ECI, TR, GDP, GPC, and EPI has a considerable impact on CO2e. Based on the rigorous empirical analysis, we suggest that economic complexity, tourism, GDP, GPC, and energy prices would help alleviate high economic complexity countries' environmental degradation challenges.

Actual Self-Image Versus Ideal Self-Image: An Exploratory Study of Self-Congruity Effects on Gambling Tourism.

This study aims to apply self-congruity theory to examine the relationship between self-congruity of tourists and their perceived image of a gambling destination. This study employs the Euclidean distance model and extends Malhotra's pars of adjectives with five new items about gambling motives. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was used, and a total of 152 samples were collected from tourists in Macau. The results show that the actual self-image of tourists is more related to their perception of Macau image. For actual congruence, tourists exhibit a greater tendency to match the informal, liberal, and emotional image of Macau. For ideal congruence, they have a tendency to match the contemporary, organized, and pleasant image of Macau. This study makes up for the deficiency of self-congruity theory in tourism research. This study helps tourism departments to develop appropriate strategies to promote gambling tourism and disseminate relevant information that can bring gambling destinations closer to tourists.

Taiwanese Working holiday makers in rural and regional Australia: temporary transnational identities and employment challenges

ABSTRACT Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) from overseas have been a valuable source of employment in rural and regional Australia. This is one significant part of a growing resort to temporary migration to meet employment problems especially in regional areas. Little is known about the experience and contribution of Asian WHMs despite the presence of significant numbers, especially from Taiwan. Most Taiwanese WHMs are young educated women who have moved in search of cultural experiences and reasonable incomes. Analysis of media reports in Australia and Taiwan reveals an entirely negative perception of such migrants and their everyday circumstances that denies diversity, agency and contribution to regional economies. Taiwanese media are more likely to focus on exploitation. Being a WHM provides a distinctive transnational experience balancing travel as a cultural experience with a marginal employment experiences. New research is required to redress this limited context and evaluate the actual significance of these substantial temporary migrant flows.

РОЗВИТОК ТУРИСТИЧНОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ УКРАЇНИ: СВІТОВИЙ ДОСВІД ТА ВІТЧИЗНЯНІ РЕАЛІЇ

This paper seeks to explore the tourism potential as a broad multifaceted concept that covers a range of natural recreational, cultural, historical, organizational and economic indicators that lay the foundation for the development of different types of tourism and the tourism industry overall. The study identifies a set of indicators contributing to the national tourism potential realization and development which specify the geographical location, historical, spatial, natural, economic, political, legal, environmental, demographic, social, cultural, infrastructural, technological, organizational, managerial, innovative and human resources potential. According to the selected indicators, Ukraine has great prospects for boosting its tourism potential, so a SWOT analysis has been delivered. Given the due regard to each of the SWOT analysis component consideration (strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Ukrainian tourism sector), a conclusion was made that the long-term development of the national tourism should rely on the following critical elements: ensuring investment and innovation in tourism and hospitality; enhancing the transport industry support; training of qualified personnel; normalization of the political, economic and legislative climate; digitalization of communications, etc. that will facilitate effective performance in the tourism sector. It is argued that implementation of innovations and progressive European standards in providing guest and recreational services are crucial in developing a competitive national tourism sector in the international market environment. Among the key strategic goals in enhancing the tourism potential of Ukraine by 2026 are the following: creating a quality tourism product based on effective marketing activities; effective and integrated use of existing tourism capacities and its potential by addressing the issues of nature management and environmental protection as well as improving the tourism infrastructure; updating technical resources and materials; ensuring the compliance between price and quality of tourist products by building a framework to optimize the organizational and economic structure of small and medium-sized businesses, granting tax holidays, green corridors, etc. The study also provides insights into the system of training and advanced training of specialists in the area of tourism and resort management. The findings demonstrate that according to the assessment of tourism and resort development indicators in Ukraine, the current potential in the national tourism sector can ensure raising the flow of international tourists arriving to Ukraine, increasing the number of tourism business entities, growth of revenues to local budgets from tourist tax payments as well as to the consolidated government budget of Ukraine from tourism activities, increasing the number of jobs in the tourism sector along with boosting the number of domestic tourists and holiday makers.

Tourism in the COVID-19 context in mesotidal beaches: Carrying capacity for the 2020/2021 summer season in Pehuén Co, Argentina

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an evident decrease in economic activity, especially in the tourism sector. On the southwest coast of the Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), coastal cities base their economy on 3S tourism. In this context, the analysis of social views is crucial for participatory coastal management. As well as the forecast of beach use areas in semi-diurnal mesotidal and low-slope beach conditions, wherein few hours the available beach can double or disappear. Therefore, our objective was to determine the beach's optimal use according to its tides, socio-environmental characteristics, and the perception of the interested parties about the 2020/2021 summer season in the pandemic context in Pehuén Co Beach. We employed camera images (January 2019 and 2020) to obtain the behaviour of normal, spring and neap tides, beach geomorphology, and daily and hourly beach use curves. Online surveys were also conducted with residents, second homeowners, and Pehuén Co visitors about their perception for the 2020/2021 summer season. With this analysis, we were able to divide the beach into four areas according to its potential carrying capacity. During low tide, users' maximum capacity on the beach, respecting sanitary distances, may be 6400 people. Meanwhile, at low tide, this number may rise to 34,000. This information is essential for coastal management after the COVID-19 irruption to ensure maximum efficiency in using the beach maintaining a safe social distance.

Need Analysis: English Language Use by Students in the Tourism and Hospitality and Industry

This research had 3 objectives. First, to discover the main skills students studying in Tourism (TR) and Hospitality Industry (HI) need to successfully use English. Second, to ascertain the essential skills that students need in English language acquisition. Last, to investigate which skills students found to be the most problematic in English language learning. The informants of 160 students were split by the quota sampling method into two equally sized groups of 80 learners each; i.e., 80 were placed into the Tourism group and 80 into the Hospitably group. Twenty participants were selected equally from each academic year - from first year students to fourth year students - for placement into each category of TR and HI. To acquire relevant data a learner’s perception questionnaire was employed as well as interview questions. Average and standard deviation were used to examine the questionnaire data and content analysis for the interview data. There was a .05 difference statistically between the hospitality industry and tourism students’ English scores. The hospitality industry students scored slightly higher. Conversely, when comparing the different levels of students' attitudes in the 5 language skills, the tourism students scored higher than the hospitality industry students, yet the difference of .05 was also not statistically significant. Additionally, the outcome from a comparison of student satisfaction levels toward English teaching and learning, found that tourism students reported higher satisfaction levels than those of the hospitality industry students. However, the .05 degree of difference was not statistically significant. Also, neither of the student groups were significantly different in terms of enhancing their English skills. Additionally, the interview results showed that improving English language skills and grammatical structures were the skills the students' reported needing the most assistance with in their studies. Neither of the student groups were significantly different in terms of enhancing their English skills. The study found that the main reason that students of both majors desired to improve their English language skills was to improve their grades. The obstacles faced by the students in these two sample groups in using the English language are not very different, since most of the interviewed people reported that the skills of listening and speaking as being the greatest problems in their communication. Another similarity between the two sample groups was that students of both majors expressed a positive attitude toward their English language learning.

Editorial introduction

Editorial introduction

A Study on the Life Cycle of Tourism by the Value Recognition of Tourists

A Study on the Life Cycle of Tourism by the Value Recognition of Tourists