Guidelines For Tourism Research Articles

Frigatebirds on Aldabra Atoll: population census, recommended monitoring protocol and sustainable tourism guidelines

SummaryWe report the results of a survey of breeding Greater Frigatebird Fregata minor and Lesser Frigatebird F. ariel on Aldabra Atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Seychelles archipelago, which hosts the largest breeding population of frigatebirds in the Indian Ocean. All four colonies across the atoll were surveyed in 2011 and 2012 by counting adults on nests and chicks, and calculating the number of fledged birds. The breeding population in 2011 consisted of approximately 4,400 pairs of Greater Frigatebird and 6,600 pairs of Lesser Frigatebird. This is a potential increase of at least 10% since the last comparable surveys in 1976/77 and 2000. However, 2012 populations were considerably less than in 2011, highlighting significant annual variation and the need for more data. We also report a new breeding colony on the island of Picard, which was last reported to host breeding frigatebirds a century ago. We outline recommendations for future frigatebird monitoring on Aldabra and elsewhere and revisions to tourist regulations resulting from the census.

European Charter parks—A growing network for sustainable tourism development in protected areas

Currently there are 107 protected areas in 13 European countries certified and working under the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas (ECST). Annually, some 10-15 new candidates strive for the Charter Award Certificate. The Charter methodology has been under continuous development since 2000 including definition of the criteria, harmonisation of the target and action standards, and giving more attention to the benefit opportunities and options of the Charter process. In this development process, the common framework has been the CBD sustainable tourism guidelines and their application in the European context. The other major focus has been in developing benefit indicators. This study analyses how the ECST criteria cover the basic CBD framework expressed in the CBD Aichi Targets, how successfully the sustainable development indicators have been developed, and how they can be used for verifying the system benefits. According to our analyses the ECST methodology strongly supports most of the Aichi Targets, out of 20 Targets, 11 directly and five indirectly. The analyses of key indicators for the social and economic benefits are based on case studies from the European Charter Network, especially in the Baltic Sea Region in Europe.

An investigation into responsible tourism practices in the South African hotel industry

This paper sheds light on the reasons for the limited uptake of responsible tourism initiative memberships by hotels in South Africa, despite South Africa being regarded as a leader in the field of responsible tourism policy, with the drafting of responsible tourism guidelines by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). The International Centre for Responsible Tourism’s conference (hosted in South Africa) preceding the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 resulted in the Cape Town Declaration, which was based on the guidelines developed by DEAT. There are currently two responsible tourism membership initiatives in South Africa. Non-experimental survey research was conducted among hotels about their understanding and implementation of responsible tourism practices. Sixty hotels responded to the survey, and it would appear that these hotels implement Corporate Social Responsibility/responsible tourism, though to varying extents. Many responding hotels do not participate in responsible tourism initiatives because of - amongst others - confusion about what the concept means, and a lack of awareness of such initiatives. This paper raises questions about the effectiveness of membership initiatives in promoting the implementation of responsible tourism practices and questions the importance of a common understanding and awareness of what responsible tourism entails in ensuring that policy is implemented.

Tourism Codes of Conduct in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic Region

This article investigates the nature and use of tourism codes of conduct in the Arctic and sub-Arctic region within the context of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and the recently created Arctic Council. The article also considers tourism codes in relation to the World Wide Fund for Nature initiative to develop Arctic tourism guidelines. The scale and nature of tourism activities in the region and the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of tourism are discussed. A selection of Arctic and sub-Arctic tourism codes of conduct is reviewed with particular reference to aims, authorship, audience and content. There is particular focus on visitor codes for Svalbard and visitor regulations in Canadas Yukon and Northwest Territories and tourism industry codes produced for use in Finland and Sweden. Comparisons are also drawn between the Arctic and Antarctic. A number of issues are highlighted in relation to the use, limitations and potential for codes of conduct and the article makes suggestions on ways on which some of these issues could be overcome.

Green Guidelines for Tourism

(1994). Green Guidelines for Tourism. Tourism Recreation Research: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 72-72.

Environmental guidelines for tourism in Antarctica

Commercial tourism in Antarctica began in the late 50s, and by mid- to late 80s, the tour operators were actively engaged in bringing tourists to the continent. Nearly 6,600 tourists visited Antarctica in the 1992–1993 austral summer, and nearly all by cruiseships. Recognizing the value and importance of the continent for scientific research, as well as a place to be shared and enjoyed by others, commercial tour operators formed the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) in 1991. The 12 members (in 1993) pledge to abide by the US Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978, and the succeeding Environmental Protocol of 1991, and to adhere to the industry-generated Antarctic Visitor and Tour Operator Guidelines.