Tourism Governance Research Articles

Climate change and tourism futures: Responses by Australian tourism agencies

There is a growing body of knowledge about the impacts of climate change on tourism destinations and about tourism’s commitment to address these impacts. However, there has been limited research about climate change responses by national or sub-national tourism agencies and the role they play in providing information, incentives and leadership to encourage the uptake of climate change actions by the industry. This paper assesses the climate change responses of nine Australian government tourism agencies. Information on climate change, sustainability and green business practices is drawn from the corporate websites, annual reports, tourism plans, fact sheets, and case studies produced by one national, six state and two territory tourism agencies from 2007 to 2010. The paper focuses on how government tourism agencies are addressing climate change mitigation by promoting carbon reduction initiatives and carbon offsetting schemes. Climate change tourism responses are more developed in Australian states with climate change policies and in destinations vulnerable to the impacts of climate change or dependent on long haul travellers. To date, few government tourism agencies report on their own carbon footprint or mitigation and offset measures. This study highlights a range of mitigation options that will assist government tourism agencies to address climate change impacts through policies, strategic plans and green business advice for tourism operators.

Assessing tourism market potential in a dynamic emerging economy

PurposeCambodia's tourism sector has increasingly been playing a crucial role and is the key to the country's socio‐economic development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how value changes in Cambodian society affect development of the tourism industry and to evaluate the events having potential impact on tourism market development.Design/methodology/approachThe Delphi qualitative forecasting technique has been utilized in a variety of settings as a powerful market research tool. In this empirical study, the Delphi method is utilized to predict the future tourism and hospitality scenarios for Cambodia from 2005 through 2020, as well as their marketing policy implications at regional and national levels. A representative sample of diverse groups of Cambodia tourism and hospitality industry experts were pooled for data collection.FindingsThe study results indicate that experts predict more structural changes will be taking place in the tourism and hospitality industry. An interesting study finding is that most of the tourism and hospitality events will take place in the medium and long‐term horizon. It is predicted that there will not be much change in value orientations of Cambodians, except for significant change in high value of materialism and interactive learning and cultural exchanges.Practical implicationsThe research offers implications for tourism researchers, the Cambodian government tourism ministry, as well as tourism industry actors.Originality/valueThe paper offers greater insights into the working of qualitative forecasting in the development of tourism market planning in emerging markets.

THE DEVIL MAY CARE

As journalism scholars’ interest in the impact of public relations on hard news has grown in recent years, little attention has been paid to attempts by elite sources to influence soft journalism. In an effort to better understand what can, in fact, be complex interactions between travel journalists and public relations practitioners, this paper tracks one destination's brand over an extended period of cosmopolitan concern. It finds that in times of conflict, government tourism public relations may become politically instrumental, as public relations practitioners seek simultaneously to promote the destination and shield it from media scrutiny. At such times, travel journalists may subvert traditional expectations of their genre by exposing contradictions in the brand. The paper concludes that the power of travel journalism derives not only from its authors’ capacity to communicate through their texts but also from their tendency to be enmeshed in the interactivity of the brand.

Tourism and carbon foot prints in United Arab Emirates – challenges and solutions

The article brings into picture the tourism progression and its environmental consequences in a recently emerged international tourist destination, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The country attracted around 8 million tourists in the year 2008 and at the same time made to the news-lines for generating highest carbon footprints per capita in the world! The article intends to generate a comprehensive analysis on background of United Arab Emirates (UAE), its resources, infrastructure and relevance of developing tourism which is strongly emphasized on energy intensive “man made tourism resources”. The article is divided into three sections to assess the challenges and solutions related to tourism and environment in the country. In the first section, an analysis is drawn on the background of United Arab Emirates (UAE), its resources, infrastructure and progression made in the tourism sector. At the same time a discussion is made on the prevailing environment problems in the country and its status in terms of environment performance with regard to other countries. The second section of the paper throws light over the attempts made by the UAE government and major tourism stakeholders to deal with the current situation. A summary of these attempts and environmental laws is also taken into consideration under this section. In the last section, three carbon mitigation methodologies have been identified which best suit the prevailing condition and requirements in the UAE. A special investigation is also carried out to evaluate the business potential of these methodologies attracting the investors’ interest.

Promoting sustainability from above: reflections on the influence of the European Union on tourism governance

Due to the long-standing absence of direct and legally binding competencies in tourism, European Union (EU) tourism policy has mainly influenced tourism governance through indirect interventions and non-binding instruments (Anastasiadou, 2006, 2008a, b; Halkier, 2010). For example, in October 2007 the European Commission adopted its ‘Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism’ (European Commission, 2007). This communication proposed measures aimed at complementing the EU policy interventions that have consequences for tourism and its sustainability throughout Europe. However, its overall impact on tourism structures has been miniscule; instead, impact on tourism governance has come from elsewhere.

Can community-based tourism contribute to development and poverty alleviation? Lessons from Nicaragua

Since the development of community-based tourism (CBT) governments, development agencies and NGOs have placed considerable emphasis on this development model. However, CBT has been strongly criticized with respect to low economic impact in terms of jobs and income, the result of small-scale interventions, its low life expectancy after external funding ends, the monopolisation of benefits by local elites, or the lack of business skills to make it operational. This article explores the viability of the CBT model to support socio-economic development and poverty alleviation via a Nicaraguan case study. The characteristics and effects of different modes of organising community tourism were examined, based on an impact assessment and lifecycle analysis of the CBT Nicaraguan Network. The results showed how traditional top-down CBT, created and fully funded by external organisations, reflected the general criticisms of the approach, while bottom-up CBT, borne as a result of a local initiative, demonstrated longer life expectancy, faster growth, and more positive impacts on the local economy. The findings suggest a shift is required in the attention of donors and policy-makers towards redistribution policies that strengthen the skills, resources, and conditions of micro, community-based and family entrepreneurship, together with a stronger orientation towards the domestic markets.

Modes of tourism governance: a comparison of Amsterdam and Antalya

There is a wide variety of ways in which different cities are governed, based on the different state type as well as the sectoral policies that are applied. This paper aims to show how theories on governance should pay more attention to different sectoral policies and state types when explaining modes of governance in cities. The study will make a comparative analysis of two cities from different countries in which tourism plays a leading role: Amsterdam and Antalya. These cities have followed very different paths under the influence of their respective state types. It is found that the type of state is not only influential in creating different modes of governance for both cities, but also in creating different forms of governance.

Experiência extraordinária na internet? Uma análise da oferta de experiência em portais de turismo governamentais

This article investigates, from the perspective of an expert, how theoretical dimensions of experience are being used in government tourism portals. The concept of experience according to Schmitt (1999) and Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) was used wherein it is considered to be an individual, emotional and meaningful occurrence based on the interaction with a stimulus. Focus on tourism portals was due to these two circumstances. Tourism has had a significant growth over the last few years and Brazil has a large potential that is not yet well exploited Tourism portals are seen in literature as forms of self-presentation, carefully constructed by localities and once elaborated, they can have an impact on travel and its relation to the economy of the tourist locality. The method adopted was of an exploratory nature using qualitative investigation procedures consisting of desk research and content analysis of portals selected from the predefined dimensions of experience and based on a review of literature related to the subject. It was found that the portals investigated did not yet explore the offer of experience in the form proposed by the theory investigated.

POLÍTICA PÚBLICA DE TURISMO E TERRITORIO NA REGIÃO TERMAL DO URUGUAI – O CASO DO CENTRO TERMAL GUAVIYÚ (1957-2007)

Este artigo descreve a transformação de um determinado espaço em territorio turístico (turistificação) e os estágios de desenvolvimento do turismo para o Centro Termal Guaviyú. O papel do governo condicionou fortemente a dinâmica e a evolução do Centro Termal Guaviyú. A intervenção da administração pública tem sido um elemento-chave de desenvolvimento histórico e espaciai do turismo no Centro Termal.

A Field Engages: Papers from the 6th International Coastal and Marine Tourism Congress

Coastal and marine tourism has the potential to radically transform natural and social systems. Responsibilities for the condition of complex natural and social systems are properly addressed in the context of sustainable development. Tourism governance—regarded as more than management—concerns structures and processes that can be described and improved in accordance with societal values. Papers from the 6th International Coastal and Marine Tourism Congress illustrate how the African ubuntu dynamic gives meaning to tourism and facilitates positive touristic outcomes. Maturation of the field will be stimulated with studies of such issues as globalization and environmental change, cultural and biological diversity, social and ecological health, governance, and social and environmental justice.

Responsibilities, recession and the tourism sector: perspectives on CSR among low-fares airlines during the economic downturn in the UK

Responsibility has featured prominently in recent discussions about tourism governance. Nevertheless, research into corporate social responsibility (CSR) among travel and tourism businesses is at a relatively early stage. This paper reports on external stakeholders' perceptions of CSR among low-fares airlines (LFAs) in peripheral regions of the UK in late 2008; that is, during the current global economic downturn. LFAs, their business plans and their ability to contribute towards sustainable development have been the source of much public discourse and media scrutiny in the last decade. This paper does not set out to reopen that debate per se. Rather, it contributes to a deeper understanding of CSR in the tourism sector by arguing for a more nuanced approach to external stakeholders, one which is also informed by primary empirical research from qualitative sources, and which is conceptually informed by the latest thinking from other sectors of economic activity. Important inter-regional variations exist in external stakeholders' perceptions and valorisations of CSR, they are context-specific, and they are not static as their responses to the recent downturn reveal.

O terceiro setor no Turismo: o caso da Câmara de Turismo de Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil)

This article summarizes a descriptive survey aimed to record the emergence, consolidation and the contribution of the Chamber of Tourism of Rio Grande do Sul to the development of tourism in the State and the challenges he faced as a pioneer of the third sector organizations in tourism in Brazil. This is a documentary research, which also utilized procedures of oral history and participant observation and which is based on new theories about the role of government and private initiative in tourism´s planning and managing. At the same time is intended to stimulate reflection on the importance of nonprofit organizations can have on tourism development in other states because it is a model widely used by other countries in Latin America.

Critical research on the governance of tourism and sustainability

Tailored and effective governance is a key requirement for implementing sustainable tourism: it can enhance democratic processes, provide direction and offer the means to make practical progress. This introduction explains how the papers in this collection provide critical assessments of the theory and practice of tourism governance and sustainability. It argues that theoretical frameworks are crucial to research on the subject as they affect the issues examined and the policy recommendations made. Several papers in the collection focus on relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts, while others consider governance at different geographical scales and the interconnections between those scales. The temporal dimensions of governance are also explored because sustainable development relates to long time horizons. Governance is also considered in relation to trade-offs, policy failures, learning processes, adaptive management, the public sphere and the principle of subsidiarity.

Governance, the state and sustainable tourism: a political economy approach

Collective actions are often needed to promote the objectives of sustainable tourism in destinations. Governance is the basis of these collective actions. This paper contends that research on the governance of tourism and sustainability would benefit from greater use of social theory. It shows how one social theory, a strategic-relational political economy approach, can offer insights into state interventions affecting tourism and sustainability in destinations. The paper uses a literature review and case studies incorporating ideas from this approach to understand the state's influences on tourism and sustainability. Case studies are taken from Germany, China, Malta, Turkey and the UK. A range of distinctive perspectives and themes associated with this approach are assessed. They include the approach's holistic, relational and dialectical perspective, its focus on the state's roles in regulating the economic and political systems, its concern with the interactions between agency and structure, and the adaptation of state activities at different spatial scales and at different times, together with the concepts of path dependence and path creation. These perspectives and themes are directions for future research on governance, the state and sustainable tourism.

Rethinking resort growth: understanding evolving governance strategies in Whistler, British Columbia

This paper examines shifts in governance and management strategies that have occurred in response to endogenous and exogenous pressures on the mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia. Since its inception in the mid-1970s, Whistler has pursued successive innovative management approaches that have emphasized growth. The most recent approach, integrated comprehensive sustainability planning, reflects a response to reaching the planned limits of resort development and suggests the emergence of a new “corporatist” governance model based on principles of sustainability. However, the complex effects associated with exogenous factors, such as the global economic crisis, hosting the Winter Olympic Games and the increasing political necessity of collaboration with local First Nations (indigenous peoples), raise questions concerning the degree to which Whistler is “locked-in” to the pro-growth model of governance. A path dependency framework is employed to explore and explain Whistler's evolving forms of governance. While briefly reviewing the earlier pro-growth path of Whistler's development, particular attention is paid to factors underlying the implementation and continuing challenges of the comprehensive sustainability governance model. Other issues explored include the viability of no-growth governance, the issues surrounding growth limits and the role of “The Natural Step” framework in tourism governance.

Exploring social representations of tourism planning: issues for governance

A major challenge for tourism as a social and economic activity and as an academic study is the integration of multiple perspectives into coherent frameworks. This paper explores this challenge and argues that a social representations approach allows for the critical analysis of formal approaches to tourism planning. Special attention is given to tourism development and governance in Africa and other emerging destinations. A content/semiotic analysis was conducted to examine figures summarising tourism planning models presented in the academic and government planning literature. This revealed a dominant social representation of tourism planning in which destination residents play only a minor role and are typically excluded from tourism governance and external agents, from both the private and public sectors, and their views of tourist needs are dominant. Most planning models were narrowly focused, had limited evaluation of all tourism benefits and costs, paid little attention to non-economic factors and did not integrate into wider development processes. The paper argues that this social representation assumes the core objective of tourism planning is to enhance outcomes for tourists and tourism businesses rather than for destination residents. Measures to enhance local governance capacity are suggested, with examples from the health, education and tourism sectors.

Tourism governance and sustainable national development in China: a macro-level synthesis

This paper explores the macro-governance of the growth of China's tourism industry into the world's largest domestic tourist industry and the fourth largest international destination. It explains distinctive aspects of the political and economic changes that have driven China's tourism over the last 30 years. These include a gradualist approach to transition/transformation, the re-birth of entrepreneurship and the market economy, structural change and the retention but evolution of governance by the Chinese Communist Party. It also explains the power of China's 4000-year-old cultural and philosophical heritage that plays a key role in contemporary tourism governance and planning, with a special emphasis on Confucian/Daoist thought, shan shui, feng shui and te-zhi, and the Chinese search for harmony and a middle way. The paper charts the emergence of the concept of sustainable development for the economy as a whole, and since 1995, for tourism development, despite significant tensions between China's drive for “modernization” and “progress” rather than sustainable development. Sustainable tourism development is shown to have had positive influences on transport, wildlife and natural heritage conservation and regional development. The concept of tourism as a “keystone industry”, analogous to ecology's concept of a “keystone species”, is explored.

Rethinking regional tourism governance: the principle of subsidiarity

This paper examines the governance of regional tourism organisations (RTOs) and relates governance to the principle of subsidiarity. The principle maintains that tasks and responsibilities should be accomplished by the lowest and most basic elements of any social organisation, and it is an injustice to assign to a larger and higher association what the lesser and subordinate associations can do. There is little research on understanding RTO governance, on how governance may contribute to RTO instability or on the application of the principle of subsidiarity in a tourism context. A New Zealand case study demonstrates a series of fundamental problems with typical RTO governance structures, linked to problems found in many tourism partnerships. Data collection methods for the case study of the Waikato RTO included observation, interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The paper concludes that the principle of subsidiarity can underpin an RTO governance system if the RTO adopts an ethos of service to the tourism sector and the wider community. This governance style requires open communication and consultation, must foster trust and legitimacy and contribute to securing the RTO's ongoing required resources. Such a governance structure would align well with the principles of sustainable tourism.

Policy learning and policy failure in sustainable tourism governance: from first- and second-order to third-order change?

Sustainable tourism presents a paradox. At one level sustainable tourism is a success given the concept's diffusion among industry, government, academics and policy actors. Yet, it is simultaneously a policy failure given the continued growth in the environmental impacts of tourism in absolute terms. This paper analyses sustainable tourism, and the governance systems for sustainable tourism, via the concepts of policy learning and failure. The tractability of sustainable tourism policy problems is identified. Policy learning is discussed in instrumental, conceptual/paradigmatic and political learning/strategic terms. Although policy failure should encourage learning with respect to sustainable tourism this has only related to first- and second-order change which focus on changes to indicators and settings rather than the dominant policy paradigm. This is despite the dominant paradigm of “balanced” sustainable development that promotes economic growth failing on a number of indicators. A reason for this may be the unwillingness of key actors in tourism policy networks to acknowledge policy failure. The paper concludes that although exogenous factors such as a crisis event may lead to policy paradigmatic change, there is insufficient evidence that such a shift in sustainable tourism policy will necessarily occur given the entrenched dominance of the existing paradigm.

Event tourism governance and the public sphere

Political and sociological shifts have profoundly affected state, business and civil society relationships. This paper explores governance as a new form of public–private policymaking wherein stakeholders deliberate on and take action to achieve common goals. It examines how different public spheres facilitate (or not) sustainability debates, and specifically facilitate (or not) discussion about sustainable tourism. Using a case study of the 2009 Australian World Rally Championship, the paper explores the development of the public sphere. Tuckman's group development process – forming, storming, norming and performing – is employed as a lens to understand these processes. Key findings include: the way the public sphere is constituted has a major influence on the dialogue that takes place; citizens are currently reactive, rather than strategic and creative in their engagement; the “third way” project, seeking to empower communities, requires government commitment; there is a blurring of public–private interests; control of knowledge and expertise within the public sphere is largely controlled by corporate and state interests; fast action to secure events prevents debate and engagement; and a discursive public sphere is essential for transparent and accountable governance, and sustainable development, and to move beyond government by powerful corporate interests and extra-local rule systems.