Arianne Carvalhedo Reis

Sociological barriers to developing sustainable discretionary air travel behaviour

Encouraging positive public behaviour change has been touted as a pathway for mitigating the climate impacts of air travel. There is, however, growing evidence that two gaps, one between attitudes and behaviour, and the other between practices of “home” and “away”, pose significant barriers to changing discretionary air travel behaviour. This paper uses both modern sociological theory on tourism as liminoid space, and postmodern theory that views identities as contextual, to provide a deeper understanding of why these gaps occur in the context of tourism spaces. Based on 50 in-depth consumer interviews in Australia, Norway and the United Kingdom, our findings confirm that tourism spaces are often subject to lower levels of environmental concern than daily domestic contexts. The majority of participants reduced, suppressed or abandoned their climate concern when in tourism spaces, and rationalised their resulting behavioural contradictions. Only a minority held there was no difference between the environmental sustainability of their practices in domestic situations versus those on holiday. These findings suggest that scope for voluntary positive behaviour change in the air travel context is limited and will not come without stronger intervention, which is a key finding for policy makers seeking reductions in air travels climate impacts.

Rio 2016 and the sport participation legacies

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions held by physical education professionals of the sport participation legacy associated with the 2016 Olympic Games (Rio 2016). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 professionals who resided in Rio de Janeiro at the time of the study. In general, apart from the tangible legacies, individuals were completely unaware of what is being proposed by the different levels of government and the organising committee to maximise the potential benefits of the event for the local community. According to participants, the local population was never consulted about, or properly informed of, what was involved in staging the event and its planned legacies. The perceptions of post-Games changes in sport participation, using the 2007 Rio de Janeiro Pan-American Games as a point of comparison, ranged from no impact to a short-term increase. The reason for this, according to participants, was the lack of long-term planning and policies to encourage and promote sport participation. In conclusion, in order for benefits of mega events to be leveraged, the different levels of government need to develop long-term actions and policies to encourage sports participation in conjunction with the employment of the infrastructural legacy towards this end.

Recreation Conflict and Sport Hunting: Moving beyond Goal Interference towards Social Sustainability

Sport and recreational conflict in natural areas arises from growth in the diversity of, and demand for, nature-based sport activities and recreation pursuits. The social sustainability of such activities within a tourism context should recognize that conflicts between different users are complex and dynamic, not simply the result of goal interference or competition for scarce resources. This paper critically explores the complexities of sport hunting and recreational conflict using quantitative and qualitative techniques implemented on Stewart Island, New Zealand. The empirical research points to an ambiguity of feelings and attitudes concerning the relationship and potential/real conflicts between sport hunters and recreational hikers. While some reportedly experienced actual conflict, quantitative methods did in fact highlight many common elements of motivation and environmental values that are shared by both hunters and hikers. Interviews and participant observations highlighted three key elements of the outdoor sport/recreation experience that provide potential for conflict. These included user group characteristics, hut behaviour/etiquette and the use of firearms/killing of animals. We propose that conflict is an integral part of society and hence considerable effort should focus on accurately understanding conflict situations. The results support the need for management based on integration rather than segregation, and may be viewed as a move away from reactive management based on relatively isolated instances of goal interference, towards a social sustainability paradigm founded upon a nuanced understanding of conflict phenomena.

The nature of tourism studies

Nature-based tourism activities are highly modulated by how Nature has been constructed in modern Western societies. The way we have come to perceive what is “other-than-human” impacts on how we engage with, and experience, a location, a place, or a tourism space that is based on/around the natural world. This review discusses how this construct has been formulated by different social scientists and philosophers, and how these constructions impact on nature-based tourism experiences in contemporary societies. In this review article, Reis and Shelton argue that in order to advance and refine our understandings of nature-based tourism practices, tourism scholars need to acknowledge, or, better, explore, how the different meanings attached to “nature,” or the different “natures” constructed by societies, intervene and sometimes dictate tourism practices and experiences. Likewise, practices and experiences in tourism management/development provide an everchanging context of human–nature relationships that highlight the worldmaking agency of tourism. Here, Reis and Shelton conclude by inviting scholars in Tourism Studies/Tourism Sciences to incorporate notions of embodiment, interagentivity, and indigenous perspectives, among others, into their discussions and analysis of nature-based tourism. (Review Editor’s abstract)

Australian climate concern and the ‘attitude–behaviour gap’

Anthropogenic climate change poses considerable challenges to all societies and economies. One significant contributor to human-induced climate change is tourism transportation, particularly aviation. This paper addresses the relationship between climate change concerns, the energy-intensive nature of tourist consumption, and unrestrained tourist air travel behaviour in the context of Australia. Following Barr et al. [(2010). “A holiday is a holiday”: Practicing sustainability, home and away. Journal of Transport Geography, 18(3), 474–481], it seeks to understand public climate concern within the context of routine everyday (‘home’) lives and occasional tourist (‘away’) decision-making, with a specific focus on air travel. It draws upon 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted in Australia between March and June 2011. The findings highlight the contradictory nature of environmental concerns and consumption decisions in everyday and tourist contexts. This is evident in widespread domestic consumer practices that are motivated, all or in large part, by climate concerns, set against almost complete disregard and neglect of responsibility to modify existing air travel practices. Our results highlight the magnitude of the challenge involved in shifting deeply entrenched air travel behaviours despite the growing urgency of radical emission reductions. It also highlights the need to consider consumer responses to climate change not in isolation, but in relation to industry drivers and strong government policy interventions.

Experiences of commodified nature: Performances and narratives of nature-based tourists on Stewart Island, New Zealand

This article explores the performances and narratives of nature-based tourists, more specifically of trampers, on Stewart Island, a remote tourism destination located in the southern waters of Aotearoa/New Zealand. It does so by reflecting on the concepts of commodification and of spectacle and how these may influence the experiences of tourists on the wild landscapes of Stewart Island. The study used an interpretive and embedded methodology, where the author was able to engage with the experiences of Others while tramping for extended periods of time on the island. This article concludes that the trampers’ experience of nature on Stewart Island is modulated by a media-constructed and media-sold tourism concept that fits well in a cultural and physical landscape that is able to provide an experience associated with a produced ‘nature’. Nature is therefore constructed to allow for an experience that is designed prior to the actual performance.

Rail trail development: a conceptual model for sustainable tourism

Notwithstanding the contemporary significance of rail trails as recreational and tourism assets, studies focusing particularly on these multi-use trails have been sparse. This paper presents a contribution to this gap, proposing a model of rail trails as tourism products in an attempt to provide a conceptual basis for rail trail management, planning and research. Examining the Otago Central Rail Trail using this model indicates a potential for rail trails to be established as sustainable tourism products and assets to the adjacent communities. We conclude that the model, despite its limitations, provides useful information that may help managers to better understand and further develop the benefits derived from rail trails.

Parks and families: addressing management facilitators and constraints to outdoor recreation participation

Families face real challenges when engaging in active forms of leisure. Apart from issues of time and money, other barriers often prevent families from engaging in leisure activities outside the home. One particular form of active leisure that has been shown to provide benefits for family life is outdoor recreation. However, outdoor recreation activities may pose further challenges for family engagement as they often require specific skills and knowledge for safe participation. The purpose of this paper is to examine how management of outdoor recreation spaces, such as national parks or regional parks, contributes to general family outdoor recreation participation. This research presents findings from interviews with 22 families and 10 outdoor park managers from the New Zealand cities of Wellington and Dunedin. The findings indicate that family-oriented marketing practices and information strategies could improve participation when lack of finances, time and energy prevent family recreation activities.

Public policies and sports in marginalised communities: the case of Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Significant economic development has been experienced by Brazilian society in recent years, leading to important changes in its social structures. The countrys success in attracting sport mega-events has resulted in the media increasingly portraying the current period as Brazils “sport decade.” This paper considers the phenomenon of sport participation in Brazil in the context of significant investments in sport mega-events. In particular, it considers how the Brazilian government has been delivering sport and physical activity opportunities for low socio-economic groups and the extent to which people living in a marginalised community have benefited from these developments. This involves an analysis of sport and physical activity projects and programmes supported by the Brazilian federal government in the community of Cidade de Deus, one of the most densely populated favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The area is located close to the Olympic Park, which will host most of the key facilities for the 2016 Olympic Games and so is a community that could be significantly impacted, positively or negatively, by the hosting of the event. The results of the investigation provide insights into the developments that have occurred in the provision of sport and physical activity opportunities to this marginalised community and the role public policies play in facilitating access to sport and physical activity.

World Rally Championships 2009 and 2011 Assessing the tourism value in Australia

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is an international event, staged in 12 different countries and attracting up to 225,000 spectators in some of its European stages. However, while WRC events provide opportunities for destinations around the world, there is a lack of empirical research on the impacts of these events on host communities, or their contribution to tourism. The purpose of this article is to provide a case study of the WRC stages held in Australia in 2009 and 2011. The study examines the event in terms of its perceived tourism value, its promotional value and the resultant opportunities for local business within the context of regional tourism in Australia. Issues for measuring the media value of events are discussed in relation to the two WRC events, along with implications for maximising local business and media opportunities. The analysis in this study has shown that the WRC does have the capacity to attract visitors, provide opportunities for local business and generate international media attention, but there are limits and restrictions to the efficacy of these outcomes.