Destination Communities Research Articles

Transnational Labour Migration and the place of Reproductive Labour: Trailing Wives and Community Support in Boddington

This article addresses the need for critical attention to families and place in the labour migration literature. Through examination of the experiences of trailing wives, it highlights the interconnected roles of state regulation, industry practice and destination communities in the gendering of transnational labour migration. Specifically, we attend to the experiences of trailing wives accompanying partners who migrated to Boddington in rural Western Australia to take up skilled work in the nearby gold mine, and incorporate (inter) related perspectives of local community members, in particular the provision of substantive migrant support by a key local figure. This research extends the labour migration literature in two ways. First, it develops understandings of how transnational labour migration fortifies gendered divisions of reproductive labour and, importantly, can encompass unpaid reproductive labour in local communities. Second, this article foregrounds the ways in which complex configurations of unpaid and paid reproductive labour – in households, community spaces and work-camp – underwrite economic globalization.

The centrality of social ties to climate migration and mental health

Climate change-related hazards and disasters, known to adversely impact physical and mental health outcomes, are also expected to result in human migration above current levels. Environmentally-motivated migration and displacement may lead to the disruption of existing social ties, with potentially adverse consequences for mobile populations as well as their family members who remain in places of origin. We propose that the disruption of social ties is a key mechanism by which climate-related migration may negatively impact mental health, in particular. Existing social ties may provide social and material resources that buffer mental health stressors related to both prolonged and acute climate events. Preparation for such events may also strengthen these same ties and protect mental health. Communities may leverage social ties, first to mitigate climate change, and second, to adapt and rebuild post-disaster in communities of origin. Additionally, social ties can inform migration decisions and destinations. For example, scholars have found that the drought-motivated adaptive migration of West African Fulbe herders only occurred because of the long-term development of social networks between migrants and non-migrants through trade and seasonal grazing. On the other hand, social ties do not always benefit mental health. Some migrants, including those from poor regions or communities with no formal safety net, may face considerable burden to provide financial and emotional resources to family members who remain in countries of origin. In destination communities, migrants often face significant social marginalization. Therefore, policies and programs that aim to maintain ongoing social ties among migrants and their family and community members may be critically important in efforts to enhance population resilience and adaptation to climate change and to improve mental health outcomes. Several online platforms, like Refugee Start Force, serve to integrate refugees by connecting migrants directly to people and services in destination communities. These efforts may increasingly draw upon novel technologies to support and maintain social networks in the context of population mobility due to climatic and other factors.

Ethnic labels, pride, and challenges: A qualitative study of Latinx youth living in a new Latinx destination community

Most of the literature on Latinx youths’ ethnic identity development has been conducted in communities with a large Latinx population. Fewer studies have examined Latinx youths’ ethnic identity in communities with a smaller yet rapidly growing Latinx population (i.e., new Latinx destination communities). Twenty-five Latinx youth (10-15 years)living in a new Latinx destination community participated in semi-structured interviews to identify the ethnic labels they use to describe themselves (i.e., ethnic-identity self-identification) and explore their feelings about being Latinx (i.e., ethnic-identity affirmation). Using an existing coding scheme, we found that most immigrant youth used a national origin label alone, while U.S.-born youth used a pan-ethnic term alone or in combination with an American term. Results of the thematic analysis exploring youths’ ethnic identity affirmation indicated three themes among youths’ account of their ethnic affirmation: (a) pride; (b) communication difficulties; and (c) discrimination. Study findings have implications for examining Latinx youth ethnic identity development in new destination communities.

Relationships between the Public and Crimmigration Entities in North Carolina: A 287(g) Program Focus

How does local law enforcement, with the aid of city and county governments, respond to racialized immigrant threat through policy implementation, namely, through adoption of intergovernmental agreements? More specifically, how is this response tailored for Latino immigrant communities, particularly in new destination communities? Across the country, scholars, activists, and politicians note the increasing use of local law enforcement to implement federal immigration enforcement measures through intergovernmental agreements, emphasizing the disproportionate impact on the Latino, more specifically the foreign-born Mexican, population. One such intergovernmental partnership is the 287(g) agreement between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Yet little is known about the process through which counties adopt, implement, and maintain such intergovernmental partnerships and the state actors that make it all possible.

Drivers of community participation in heritage tourism planning: an empirical investigation

ABSTRACTDespite increased emphasis on community participation in tourism planning, our current knowledge of community attitudes and their motivations to engage in such collaborative governance is limited and fragmented. This paper explores the role of heritage values, tourism and community perceptions held by destination hosts as drivers to willingness to participate in heritage tourism development. Such enquiry aims to enhance our current knowledge of community views and their potential to influence involvement in participatory decision-making in order to inform policy approaches to collaborative heritage tourism strategies. Using a relatively inexperienced destination community (Kastoria, Greece), the study collects quantitative data via an attitudinal survey. Our findings suggest that intentions to participate are mainly driven by community ideals while their positive influence is more evident on community members with high place attachment. Heritage values play a significant role; however, their effects do not always favour participation as they can also act as barriers to involvement. On the other hand, tourism perceptions are found to be mainly insignificant in shaping intentions to participate. Finally, the paper presents and discusses variations between different demographic groups and draws implications for policy.

"He invited me and didn't ask anything in return" Migration and Mobility as Vulnerabilities for Sexual Exploitation among Female Adolescents in Mexico.

Although human trafficking is recognized as a major human rights violation, there is limited evidence regarding the vulnerabilities that contribute to female adolescents' risk of being forced or coerced into the sex trade. Vulnerabilities such as gender-based violence, economic and social inequalities have been shown to shape the risk of sexual exploitation among adolescents. In-depth interviews (n=18) with current sex workers who reported being deceived or forced into the sex trade as adolescents (<17 years old) were analysed to explore their experiences of migration and mobility in Mexico. Driven by socio-economic and vulnerabilities in home communities, adolescents often engaged in internal migration and mobility to other Mexican communities and states. Migration and mobility further predisposed them to social isolation, economic hardship and abuse, which were used as tools to trick them into the sex trade. Policies that support safer migration for adolescents in origin, transit, and destination communities are needed.

Use of pre-travel vaccine-preventable disease serology as a screening tool to identify patients in need of pre-travel vaccination: a retrospective audit.

Vaccination is a safe and effective public health intervention that not only protects individual travellers from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), but prevents them from becoming a source of disease in their destination and on their return. Obtaining an accurate vaccination history from travellers during a pre-travel review can be difficult; serology may be used to identify patients who are non-immune to specific diseases in order to guide vaccination requirements. Clinically relevant data about the usefulness of serology in this setting are lacking. We performed a retrospective audit of pre-travel VPD serology requested by practitioners of a busy community-based travel clinic. All serological results for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella zoster virus, hepatitis A and B requested over a 5-year period were extracted and analysed. Results were stratified by gender and year of birth and compared using Stata. Four thousand four hundred and fifty-one serological assays from 1445 individual were assessed. Overall, 47% of patients tested had at least one negative serological result. High rates of seropositivity for measles, mumps and rubella were seen in those born prior to 1966 but >10% of travellers born after 1966 lacked serological evidence of protection against these diseases. Hepatitis A and B serological results revealed broadly lower rates of immunity in our community likely reflecting the absence of these vaccines from historical vaccine protocols. Serology can be a useful tool in the identification of non-immune travellers to enable targeted vaccination prior to travel. We recommend that travel health clinicians assess patients' vaccination and infection histories, and strongly consider serology or vaccination where there is doubt about immunity. This will help protect the traveller and prevent importation of disease into destination or home communities.

How can migration serve adaptation to climate change? Challenges to fleshing out a policy ideal

Migration continues to be pictured in public debates as a failure to adapt to changes, while policymakers explore adaptation measures as a means to reduce migration pressures, and scholars have contended that migration processes exist within a larger framework of strategies for adapting to damaging climate change impacts. So what are the impacts of migration on the adaptive capacities and vulnerabilities of the origin and host communities, as well as of the migrants themselves? The objective of this conceptual and methodological paper is to identify possible different options for research into the consequences of migration for adaptation. The first section reviews how the migration–adaptation nexus has been addressed in the literature, confirming the potential of human mobility to build resilience and to increase adaptive capacities within complex and potentially maladaptive processes. The next section explores the potential impacts of migration that need to be studied, from three main vantage points: the migrants themselves, the community of origin, and the community of destination. A final section weighs the possible approaches and suggests solutions that may exist to advance empirical study of the migration–adaptation area nexus, so that it can address not just the causes, but also the consequences of migration in the context of environmental changes.

Tourism planning and place making: place-making or placemaking?

ABSTRACTTourism destination planning and marketing are fundamentally place making actions intended to shape the image and imageability of a place. Place making is an innate human behavior, ranging from the organic and unplanned actions of individuals, defined here as ‘place-making,’ to planned and intentional global theming by governments and tourism authorities, defined here as ‘placemaking.’ Place-making and placemaking are ends on a continuum of options, with most places have a mix of local and global elements. These elements also range from the tangible (base in urban design) to the intangible (peoplescapes and imaginations). The tools of place making are essentially the same for both organic place-making and planned placemaking, but the intentions and outcomes can vary enormously. Tourism development, as an economic activity, almost always has a neoliberal planned placemaking agenda. Organic place-making emerges through individual agency, which if allowed to proceed, will make its imprint even in a heavily master planned tourism landscape. An understanding of place-making and placemaking gives insight into research questions on the political economy of tourism and the roles of hosts and guest in co-producing tourism places. Examining the elements of place making in a tourism landscape can more clearly identify how different worldview perspectives have contribute over time to the making of tourism places, and thereby assist in planning for the future development of destination communities.

Corazón de Dixie: Mexicanos in the U.S. South since 1910 by Julie M. Weise

Reviewed by: Corazón de Dixie: Mexicanos in the U.S. South since 1910 by Julie M. Weise Bryan Moorefield (bio) Corazón de Dixie: Mexicanos in the U.S. South since 1910. By Julie M. Weise. ( Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015. Pp. 358. $32.50 paper; $29.99 ebook) Corazón de Dixie challenges scholarly and popular assumptions that the southern United States and its racial milieu constitute a “new destination” for people of Mexican origin. To the contrary, author Julie M. Weise demonstrates a century of “Mexicano” (her word for Mexican migrants and Mexican-Americans) presence in communities across the South. Weise recounts Mexicanos’ strategies for social mobility in southern communities, their acceptance and/or oppression by groups of local whites, and the influence of local African Americans. The book shows that Mexicanos did not fit predictably into existing matrices of black-white race relations. Moreover, Weise suggests that Mexicanos’ experiences of racialization in the South diverged significantly from those in the Southwest and West, regions that dominate the historiography of Mexican-Americans and Mexico–U.S. migration at the national scale. Weise arranges the book into five chapters, each focusing on one area of the South at a different period of the twentieth century. Chapter one looks at New Orleans (1910–1939), where Mexicanos were accepted in white society and enjoyed significant class mobility. Weise attributes this to the middle-class origins of early Mexican migrants, their performances of modernity through Mexican nationalism, and favorable public discourse surrounding the city’s trade with Mexico. Chapters two and three deal with Mississippi (1918–1939) and the Arkansas Delta (1939–1964), respectively. In both cases, Mexican nationals called on their foreign consulate for relief from racial discrimination in segregated southern communities. Chapter four focuses on rural Georgia (1965–2004) and white “pro-immigrant conservatism.” [End Page 444] Under this discourse, rural whites eschewed anti-immigrant politics and portrayed Mexicanos as moral community members who deserved white paternalism. Weise describes Mexicanos navigating this context through personal bonds, cultivating relationships with whites that could be economically strategic and socially fulfilling. Finally, Chapter five describes the extra-urban spaces surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina (1990–2012), and the influence of national anti-immigrant campaigns. There, Weise finds that exurban geography and lifestyles collude to isolate and silence Mexicanos, making them vulnerable to further political attacks. In each of these five chapters, Weise dedicates herself to thick description, proving that Mexicanos were near the heart of southern race relations in the times and communities she portrays. Missing, however, is a description of more recent historical memory and the continuity of Mexicanos within it, particularly for her earlier cases of New Orleans, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The fact that Weise must recover the region’s Mexican histories suggests significant rupture in that memory, providing a counterpoint to her critique of the “new destination” literature: given these ruptures, recent waves of Mexican migrants would be, in effect, new to southern destination communities (and vice-versa). Corazón de Dixie is a pathbreaking work, providing five points of reference in a mostly uncharted area of regional and transnational history. Weise does not claim that her cases represent a broader narrative of Mexicano experience in the South. Rather, she has demonstrated a range of possibilities for that history and developed an attentive vocabulary for future scholarship. Among the book’s broader strengths is Weise’s attention to historical developments in Mexico and their impact on the aspirations of each generation of Mexicano migrants. Weise is also creative in her use of sources, turning to Mexican consular communications and family photographs, reading the latter as a kind of text. Both help her to overcome scant records left by mobile subalterns. For these aspects, Corazón de Dixie is sure to be the standard starting point for all future work on Mexicanos, and other [End Page 445] migrants, in the U.S. South. Bryan Moorefield BRYAN MOOREFIELD is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Brown University. He studies migration from Mexico under the United States guestworker program. Copyright © 2017 Kentucky Historical Society

Residents’ perceptions of non-casino gaming in an urban destination: The case of Hong Kong

Abstract This study aimed to understand residents’ perceptions of the impacts of non-casino gaming on an urban destination. Executed in Hong Kong, the survey research found that the level of community support was determined by residents’ perceptions of gaming impacts, as well as their power, behavior, and attachment to their community. While positive impacts largely fell into the social domain, the negative ones were more often associated with the environment. Residents’ gaming behavior had significant effects on their level of support of the activity. Direct positive relationships were identified between residents’ attachment to the community and their level of support. Moreover, power relations were found to be strongly embedded in community perceptions of gaming impacts. The research contributes to literature on non-casino gaming and residents’ perceptions of its impacts on the destination community. Findings from the study provide useful information for the planning, management, and marketing of both the industry and of the urban destination.

Perceived in-group discrimination by first and second generation immigrants from different countries of origin in 27 EU member-states

This article analyses perceived in-group discrimination of 29,189 first and second generation immigrant respondents from 201 different countries of origin currently living in one of 27 EU countries. In addition to testing effects of individual factors, the article estimates the effects of macro-characteristics of both origin and destination countries and community variables. The migration history of these groups is relevant for perceived discrimination: immigrants with citizenship, who speak the majority language at home and have at least one native parent perceive less in-group discrimination, whereas religious respondents, especially from religions that differ more in comparison to the majority, perceive more in-group discrimination. Furthermore, macro-characteristics of the country of origin are most important in explaining differences between European countries. Immigrants from socio-economically more developed countries with higher living standards – and for that reason more comparable to the native population – are less likely to perceive in-group discrimination.

Promoting service excellence for tourist destinations

Purpose This paper aims to understand the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction and its impacts on the long-term sustainability of Hemsedal Ski Resort, Norway. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed method approach. Focusing on the case of Hemsedal, Norway, the authors employ survey design to measure employee service attitudes as well as guest satisfaction and loyalty. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is used to investigate the relationships between the constructs. Findings Results from the four-year programme reveal that the correlation between employee service attitude and customer experience is strongest for behavioural loyalty which was found to have a direct and observable effect for the customer and that working to teach and train employees is important. Further, results showed that guest satisfaction with service not only influenced loyalty to the company that provided the service, but also loyalty to the destination where the company was situated. In explaining the relationships between levels of employee service attitude, customer satisfaction and community sustainability at Hemsedal ski resort, results showed that through partnership and cooperation, training and development have benefitted the individual companies, the destination and local community at large. Practical implications Results suggest that managers of tourism destinations should focus on employee motivation and training to improve their guests’ satisfaction and loyalty, their competitiveness and sustainability for the future. Originality/value The Service Excellence Project at Hemsedal, Norway demonstrates that mountain destinations can have a positive influence on their competitiveness and their sustainability by instituting a programme that works with employees, customers and businesses to promote a climate of service excellence.

Progress in tourism and destination wellbeing research

A proliferation of research in recent years has revealed a myriad of relationships between tourism and the concept of wellbeing. These include health benefits of visiting tourist destinations, a product focus on wellness and maintaining good health. Broader interpretations emphasize the complex ways in which tourism can influence the emotional, psychological, cognitive and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing, both for tourists and for destination communities. This study reflects an emerging paradigm shift that incorporates a deeper appreciation of the benefits derived at the destination level from a focus on health and wellbeing. The study highlights three key perspectives, namely the tourist, the destination community and the destination itself. The study concludes that research in this area is critical to the future development, management and marketing of sustainable and competitive destinations with the wellbeing of tourists, their destination host communities, and the overall destination experience, critical to their ultimate success.

Internal Migration in Oaxaca: Its Role and Value to Rural Movers

The contemporary study of Mexican migration typically highlights international, cross-border, U.S.-bound movement. The rapid increase in migration to the United States in the 1980s and 1990s and its continued importance to movers and nonmovers as well as sending and destination communities is not in doubt, yet, the role of internal mobility—movement that takes migrants from their hometowns and communities to destinations within their country of origin—is not well documented. Internal migration in Mexico has a long history, follows unique pathways and motivations, and continues to be important in the present. Building on research in the southern state of Oaxaca we explore this overlooked topic and focus on three themes: (1) the history of internal migration for Oaxacan movers; (2) decision making for movers and nonmovers; and (3) the role that contemporary internal migration continues to play in Mexico.

Social entrepreneurship in tourism: applying sustainable livelihoods approaches

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) enables an analysis of the complex interrelations and interdependencies between social entrepreneurs (SEs), destination communities’ livelihood assets and related transforming structures and processes. SEs in tourism are regarded as drivers for linking destination communities with enterprises, aiming to create economic benefits and livelihoods. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through participatory action research at a tourism lodge and its foundation, which facilitated agricultural training, and by conducting in-depth interviews with ten key stakeholders. The sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF) served as the theoretical framework. Findings The SLA enables an analysis of interrelations and interdependencies between various stakeholders and to visualise the way SEs forge the impacts tourism has on livelihoods. The agricultural project did not reach its full potential because of, amongst other factors, competing aims between the profit and non-profit business, resulting in the lack of a clear vision and strategy. Additional challenges were dependency on external funding and a lack of reciprocal communication between the stakeholders involved. Research limitations/implications This research is based on one case study, and findings cannot be generalised. Future studies should develop the SLF further, possibly through adaptation and integration of other tools. Practical implications The SLF enables researchers to integrate local knowledge and participatory research methods, thus facilitating engagement and learning between different stakeholders. Originality/value Through empirical research, this paper adds valuable insights into the applicability of the SLF in the context of social entrepreneurship in tourism.

The attitudes of students and young professionals toward VolunTourism: a study abroad perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudes toward VolunTourism of students of Humber College, Toronto, Canada, who had engaged in VolunTourism excursions within the context of study abroad programmes or were about to embark on such a programme. The paper attempts to make a connection between altruistic travel motivations and the applicability of VolunTourism experiences on resumes in pursuit of differentiation in the job market. Design/methodology/approach The sample frame for this paper consisted of two groups of students who, at the time of the study, had participated in a curriculum-based study-abroad programme featuring VolunTourism components in the past five years (post-study) or were confirmed to embark on a trip shortly thereafter (pre-study). The surveys comprised a mixed-method approach. Quantitative and qualitative information was gathered through anonymous online surveys and personal interviews. Findings The responses obtained in personal interviews reflect the results obtained in the online surveys. Students who sat down for a personal interview were enthusiastic and supportive of VolunTourism. Three-quarters of the interviewees were 25 and younger. None of them had previously participated in study abroad programme, but they did have previous volunteering experience through high school curriculum or personal engagement. Besides their enthusiasm for doing good, students believed VolunTourism to enhance their image and increase their competitive advantage in the job market. Research limitations/implications The surveys do not explore the impact of short-term VolunTourism opportunities in general but are focused on specific curriculum-based programmes. The bulk of participants came from the Tourism Management programme, whose familiarity with Niche, Eco and VolunTourism products could potentially have created a bias towards their experience and the usefulness of such excursions with respect to their career aspirations. Participants had travelled to a variety of destinations, influencing the comparability of the impressions. Practical implications Commercial tour operators can direct their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts at giving back to its key profit generators, thereby offsetting the negative impacts that such vacation models entail. Students have pointed to the availability of many willing hands that populate the beaches of All-Inclusive Resorts, and it appears that they would happily participate, were pre-organized VolunTourism excursions readily available. The obligation for tour operators is clearly to maintain authenticity and integrity and not to capitalize on this new opportunity for pure revenue generation. Social implications Travellers are obligated to treat VolunTourism opportunities with respect and sincerity, to combat the negative stigma of careless self-gratification and self-promotion attributed to this type of travel. VolunTourists must be vigilant, demand transparency from VolunTourism providers and not fall prey to “green washing” strategies, allowing monies to subtly flow out of destinations and into the pockets of corporations. Originality/value This paper explores the complexities surrounding short-term VolunTourism experiences and their impact on students and young professionals. It narrowed in on the co-existence of altruistic motives in serving destination communities, and the expectation of acquiring skills to further expand resume credentials. The paper was inspired by recent market developments, wherein high-end tourism services providers were seen to be offering one-day volunteering excursions to their clientele. The question that presented itself was to investigate if there is an emerging trend towards personal social responsibility, whereby students and young professionals emulate behaviours modelled by industry leaders, and it appears that this is the case.

Where Does Location Affordability Drive Residential Mobility? An Analysis of Origin and Destination Communities

Despite an overall decrease in residential mobility after the 2007 housing crisis, many households, particularly those that are low income, continue to move in pursuit of a better life. Traditional theories of residential mobility suggest that mobility will occur when housing and transportation costs are cumulatively greater than the cost of moving to a new location. At the same time, the influence of these factors is not likely to be uniform across geographic contexts or for moves up or down the metropolitan hierarchy. Our analysis examines how well affordability measures explain patterns of county-level residential mobility. Specifically, we contrast conventional measures of affordability focused on the ratio of income to housing expense with measures of location affordability that factor in both housing and transportation costs. We find that whereas households tend to move from lower to higher cost locations, transit affordability at the destination plays an important role in mobility decisions.

Between the heat and the hardships. Climate change and mixed migration flows in Morocco

As a sending, transit and destination country, Morocco is in many regards a hot spot of human migration. Moroccan emigrants living abroad strongly contribute to the country’s economy, supported by emigration policy. In regions stricken by droughts, migrant social networks can be resourceful in increasing resilience and adaptive capacities of the communities of origin. Migrants can trigger innovations across regions through co-development activities and the transfer of knowledge, technology and remittances, preventing conflicts by linking strategies for development in the communities of origin and destination. Incoming migrants from West Africa and the Sahel, whose livelihoods are at stake due to a complex nexus of cultural, economic, political, environmental and climatic factors, are facing major hurdles in Morocco, with additional challenges in the aftermath of the ‘Arab Spring’. The transitory settlement of West Africans in Moroccan cities has led to noticeable changes in the appropriation and degradation of spaces and places in the absence of interventions by the Moroccan government to offer legal protection and institutional support for most of African immigrants, while Europe increases its measures to prevent them from entering. West African immigrants become trapped in this situation and most often experience hostility, racism and violence. This paper addresses the multiple challenges, with a particular focus on ex-fishermen who, because of resource depletion in their origin countries due to climate variability and overfishing, have decided to migrate to Morocco. It also examines the initiatives and capacity development undertaken by West African migrants in Morocco to protect themselves in the absence of effective legal and social systems. To diminish the hardships, reduce environmental vulnerability and create new opportunities, West African immigrants in Morocco take issues in their own hands, build resilience to transform their realities and improve their livelihoods.

The host–guest interactions in ethnic tourism, Lijiang, China

One key way to understand the influences of tourism on destination communities is through host–guest interactions. Yet most current studies on host–guest interactions focus on their nature and outcomes, and rarely on the microscopic process. This study focuses on one local resident’s home located in Baisha Town, Lijiang, China, and investigates in depth the interaction processes there. By focusing on the intense interactions at the micro level, this study finds that locals and tourists often shifted the roles they played in the interactions between them. Also, the locals seem to be more active in the role shifting. The power of locals arises from their control of local knowledge and their usage of their private houses for business.