B. Bynum Boley

Measuring Geotourism: Developing and Testing the Geotraveler Tendency Scale (GTS)

Geotourism is tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a scale measuring geotraveler tendencies (GTS). The GTS consists of 35 items across eight subscales measuring both attitudes and behaviors of travelers. Confirmatory factor analysis tested each scale for construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity, and demonstrated that all eight scales of the GTS were valid and reliable measures of the dimensions of geotourism. Standardized factor loadings ranged from .52 to .92 and construct reliability scores ranged from .72 to .94 for the eight attitudinal and behavioral scales. For destinations interested in promoting geotourism, the GTS provides a tool to determine if visitors traveling to their area embrace geotourism values of sustaining and enhancing the geographical character of place.

Motivation-based transformative learning and potential volunteer tourists: facilitating more sustainable outcomes

Transformative learning (TL) is an important component of sustainable volunteer tourism experiences, potentially reducing unsustainable outcomes, and educating and enlightening volunteers. This paper reviews theories and issues about TL in volunteer tourism, and analyzes data from 1008 useable responses to an online survey of potential volunteer tourists. A factor–cluster analysis of potential volunteer tourists’ motivations identified key volunteer tourist segments and assessed differences in expectations of TL across each segment. Altruism remains the primary motivation, with personal development an expectation, but the study also found desires to experience different cultures, build relationships with family, and to escape ones daily life. Three motivation segments emerged: Volunteers, Voluntourists, and Tourists. Differences in the three clusters’ expectations for TL were assessed through multiple analysis of variance using items representing Taylors three elements of TL: self-reflection, engaging in dialogue, and intercultural experience. Differences in TL expectations varied significantly across the three segments. Potential Voluntourists were most likely to expect to participate in TL opportunities. The paper concludes with suggestions for maximizing TL for each segment. Volunteers and Tourists may require activities that include different, less obvious forms of TL. Volunteer tourism organizations need to invest significantly in staff training in TL.

Profiling geotravelers: an a priori segmentation identifying and defining sustainable travelers using the Geotraveler Tendency Scale (GTS)

This study expands research on geotourism by using the Geotraveler Tendency Scale (GTS) to profile geotravelers. The results demonstrate the GTSs ability to effectively identify different levels of geotravelers. An a priori segmentation was conducted using the respondents’ overall geotraveler score from the GTS as the segmenting criterion. The resulting three segments were labeled “minimal geotravelers”, “moderate geotravelers” and “strong geotravelers”. MANOVA and Pearson Chi-square analysis showed significant differences between the three groups on all items within the GTS as well as significant differences between the segments on the variables of gender, income, country of origin and likelihood to visit national parks. This study (1) confirms the usefulness of the GTS for identifying and segmenting travelers, and (2) provides the sustainable tourism field with a more holistic tool for measuring sustainable travelers. Destination managers interested in marketing to geotravelers can use this tool to identify how many geotravelers come to their area, their level of geotraveler tendencies and what the destination can focus on to attract more of this travel segment. Geotourism is positioned as a sustainable marketing strategy that attracts conscientious visitors whose impacts help promote the “character of place” rather than detract from it.

Deconstructing the ‘Crown of the Continent’: Power, Politics and the Process of Creating National Geographic's Geotourism Mapguides

Abstract Maps can take a variety of forms from simple symbols to complex, interactive layers of information. Given their widespread use and potency as symbols and tools, maps are often assumed to be objective representations of reality. However, map creation involves an implicit privileging of certain perspectives. That maps are actually socio-political constructions has implications for how they can be used, by whom and for what ends. This paper explores the process of creating National Geographics Crown of the Continent geotourism mapguide. Geotourism mapguides, like all maps, are influenced by social and political factors and thus act as a persuasive form of communication and an articulation of particular values despite being founded on scientific triangulation. In this paper we deconstruct the Crown of the Continent mapguide in order to shed light on why these maps should be viewed as socially constructed representations of space that are power-laden and have the potential to create a place-myth for the Crown of the Continent that is not representative of the values of the people of the region.

Doing sustainability: an application of an inter-disciplinary and mixed-method approach to a regional sustainable tourism project.

This paper describes and explains an interdisciplinary and mixed-method approach to a large-scale sustainable tourism development project. The research took place in a two-county area straddling the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, USA. It was commissioned in order to develop a sustainable tourism centerpiece to enhance the region and encourage visitor expenditures while maintaining the environment and quality of life of the community. In response to Hollinshead and Jamals 2007 call for a more bricoleur and third ear approach to tourism research, a gap analysis of the regions tourism offerings was performed using six interdisciplinary, mixed-method research phases seeking to identify discrepancies between the current regions tourism offerings, visitor preferences and community stakeholders. Phases included a Community Resource Assessment (GIS-based Inventory), Stakeholder Interviews, a Visitor Survey and GPS visitor tracking, the development of seven Potential Scenarios, a Potential Visitor Survey and an Economic Analysis. Subsequently, two potential tourism centerpieces were developed with the goal of showcasing the regions unique mountain and agricultural heritage. In addition to providing a detailed overview of the research project, the paper concludes with discussion of the practical and political challenges, time constraints and rewards that accompany this type of research.

Competitive synergy through practicing triple bottom line sustainability: Evidence from three hospitality case studies

This study advances the discussion of sustainability within the hospitality literature through the introduction of the concept of triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability and the potential synergistic benefits to competitiveness hospitality firms can achieve from practicing it. TBL sustainability transitions a firm’s attention away from solely focusing on short-term profits to a concentration on the firm’s long-term environmental, social, and economic performance. The study suggests that this transition to practicing TBL sustainability can result in “competitive synergy” for hospitality firms. The term “competitive synergy” is used to describe the phenomenon of when the anticipated benefits (e.g. reduced energy costs) from focusing on sustainability coalesce with the unanticipated benefits (e.g. increased employee job satisfaction) to make hospitality firms more competitive. One interviewee describes this synergy as a “resonant harmonic” because of the multiple benefits gained that were not part of the original motivations for engaging in sustainability. In an attempt to demonstrate industry examples of competitive synergy, three hospitality case studies practicing TBL sustainability are presented. These cases studies range from a small boutique hotel in Floyd, VA (Hotel Floyd), to a Caribbean resort in the Dominican Republic (Puntacana), and even to one of the world’s largest hotel groups (InterContinental). Findings from the interviews highlight the many tangential benefits discovered from implementing sustainable initiatives aimed at environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

Destination Management, Competitiveness, and Quality-of-Life: A Review of Literature and Research Agenda

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a review of the destination competitiveness literature and to articulate an agenda for future research on the interface between destination competitiveness and sustainability, with specific focus on the associated resident quality-of-life issues. The chapter is predicated on two beliefs. First, tourism destination development and management in the future will continue to focus more and more on sustainability and contributing to local resident quality-of-life. Second, destination management organizations (DMO) will continue to be the leaders for destination tourism planning and strategy implementation. The current DMO management philosophy is largely focused on destination competitiveness. Hence, there is an important need to examine the interfaces of sustainability and destination competitiveness concluding with suggestions for how DMOs will be evaluated in the future and the research needed to support those evaluation structures. This chapter suggests that an increased focus on destination sustainability and/or destination competitiveness will result in increased resident quality-of-life.

Empowerment and resident support for tourism in rural Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): the case of Pomerania, Poland

ABSTRACT Despite empowerment being a crucial component of sustainable tourism, few scholars have quantitatively operationalized empowerment and looked at how it applies to rural societies within the post-communist European Union (EU) member states. Knowing the high priority of sustainable rural development goals within the EU, empowering residents within these post-communist societies has become a pertinent issue especially where those societies appear more reluctant to engaging in democratic ways of decision-making. In response to this gap, this study tests the cross-cultural validity of the Resident Empowerment through Tourism Scale, and then evaluates how empowerment predicts residents’ support for tourism within the municipality of Choczewo, Pomerania, Poland. Using a theoretical perspective that blends Social Exchange Theory with Webers Theory of Formal and Substantive Rationality, these non-economic empowerment dimensions are coupled with a measure of resident perceptions of economically benefiting from tourism to see if rural residents in Choczewo, Poland, are more swayed by the economic or non-economic benefits of tourism. Results show that residents within this Central and Eastern Europe setting are more influenced by the pride and self-esteem boost associated with psychological empowerment and the perceptions of increased community cohesion (i.e. social empowerment) than the economic promises of tourism.

Comparing levels of resident empowerment among two culturally diverse resident populations in Oizumi, Gunma, Japan

ABSTRACT While resident empowerment has been a central aspect of the sustainable tourism literature, difficulties of putting the concept into practice have been noted given the heterogeneous nature of communities. “Community” is often divided by kinship, age, gender and ethnicity, and such division may influence the perceptions of empowerment. The goal of this study was to better understand heterogeneous perceptions of empowerment by administering the Resident Empowerment through Tourism Scale within the community of Oizumi, Japan. Oizumi has the highest concentration of Brazilian immigrants in Japan, and the town has embraced “ethnic neighborhood tourism” centered on Brazilian culture as a strategy for economic development. Oizumis demographic makeup allowed for testing differences in perceived empowerment between members of the dominant ethnic group (Japanese) and members of the ethnic minority group (Japanese Brazilians). Analysis of 650 completed questionnaires revealed that Brazilians felt more psychologically and socially empowered than Japanese residents, indicating a shift in the balance of power between the ethnic groups. Results also revealed that the political dimension of empowerment was rated relatively low among both groups, suggesting a general lack of opportunities to participate in the planning process. Implications for both practice and theory are presented.

Gender and empowerment: assessing discrepancies using the resident empowerment through tourism scale

ABSTRACT While gender equality and empowerment are core components of sustainable tourism, most of the literature has approached the concepts from qualitative perspectives, thus limiting the ability to empirically test for empowerment discrepancies between men and women. With this gap in mind, this study sought to test the widely held notion that empowerment discrepancies exist between men and women in tourism development. Discrepancies in psychological, social and political empowerment were tested for using the 12-item Resident Empowerment through Tourism Scale (RETS). The RETS was administered across five sample populations, with results revealing that gender discrepancies were present, but surprisingly, not in the direction suggested in previous literature. In all three US samples, there was evidence that women were more likely to perceive themselves being empowered than men. The results from the two Japanese samples did not find any significant differences, which is of interest because Japan is traditionally seen a very patriarchal society. Applications of the RETS can be paired with qualitative research to better understand empowerment success stories and then to apply these best practices to other destinations where empowerment discrepancies are present. Future applications of the RETS are suggested to help initiate “gender mainstreaming” within the sustainable tourism literature.