Bill Bramwell

Collaboration in local tourism policymaking

Abstract Collaborations among stakeholders to develop policies for a destination are the subject of growing interest among researchers and managers. This paper presents an analytical framework to assess whether local collaborative arrangements are inclusionary and involve collective learning and consensus-building. The framework considers whether or not specific collaborations reduce the power imbalances between stakeholders, and it develops the concept of partial consensus. The practical value of the framework is suggested in an examination of local collaborative arrangements to develop a visitor management plan for the Hope Valley in Britains Peak District National Park.

Tourism marketing images of industrial cities

Abstract This paper examines the extent to which, and why, places project either similar or different images in their tourism marketing. Specific consideration is given to the similarities and differences in the place images for tourism marketing used by five old industrial English cities: Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Sheffield, and Stoke-on-Trent. It is found that, while there was some standardization in their overall marketing imagery, there were also significant differences. Consideration is also given to some of the influences shaping the images projected by these cities using insights from geographical studies, marketing, and critical sociology. An integrated, multidisciplinary research agenda is outlined for future work on city tourism images.

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 states 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 approachs holistic, relational and dialectical perspective, its focus on the states 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.

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.

Stakeholder interviews and tourism planning at Pamukkale, Turkey.

Abstract This study examines the use of interviews to identify stakeholders’ views on the implementation of proposals contained in a tourism and conservation plan. The authors conducted interviews with stakeholders representing interests affected by the implementation of the Preservation and Development Plan for Pamukkale, a World Heritage Site in Turkey. The site contains dramatic travertine terraces and also ancient city ruins, with both threatened by tourism. Analysis of the interviews identified broad social representations and more specific views concerning the planning issues. Consideration is given to the value of stakeholder interviews for a continuous planning process, including for monitoring views on tourism and conservation issues, plan proposals and on progress in plan implementation. The findings could be of considerable help to Pamukkale’s planning authorities, although such stakeholder views may be ignored in the institutional context of Turkey’s centralised planning system.

Strategic planning before and after a mega-event.

Abstract This paper examines strategic planning in Sheffield, England around its hosting of the 1991 World Student Games, considering this before and after the mega-event. Aspects of strategic planning considered in this case study were identified from three theoretical perspectives on strategy: the classical, processual and systemic. The paper focuses on three aspects of Sheffields strategic planning around the 1991 Games. The first aspect is the extent to which strategic planning was effective in linking the Games investment with the development of tourism for urban regeneration. The second is the degree to which there was a clear strategy around the Games investment both in advance of, and following, the Games. The third aspect is whether strategy emerged from formal analysis and decision-making or by learning, accident and political processes. The social and political circumstances affecting Sheffields planning are also central to this assessment of strategy. The final part of the paper examines potential lessons from Sheffields strategic planning.

User satisfaction and product development in urban tourism

Abstract The paper examines how greater understanding of the satisfaction of users with the tourism products in cities and elsewhere may improve planning for the development of these products. First, there is discussion of how a place marketing framework assists in understanding this connection. Second, a review is provided of aspects of user satisfaction with tourism products in cities which may be measured in surveys in order to assist in the planned development of these products. Lastly, survey results are reported for selected aspects of satisfaction with tourism products in the city of Sheffield, UK, and the implications of these findings are evaluated for tourism planning in the city. The surveys examined views about a range of Sheffields tourism products for visitors and residents and also for one market segment, sport event visitors. The findings are assessed for implications for the planned development of the citys tourism products.

Partnership and regional tourism in Brazil.

Partnerships in planning for regional development can bring together stakeholders representing interests at national, regional, and local geographical scales. This paper examines a regional tourism development partnership in Northeast Brazil. It explores the effects of socioeconomic and political contexts on this collaborative arrangement, the processes of joint working, and how participation was extended to parties not attending the regular meetings. The partnership focused on coordination among government organizations at different spatial scales and with various functions, with participants largely confined to the public sector. Using this assessment, an analytical framework is presented to assist other researchers interested in this theme.

Stakeholder Assessment and Collaborative Tourism Planning: The Case of Brazil's Costa Dourada Project

The paper reviews approaches to identifying the stakeholders who are affected by a tourism project and who might participate in collaborative tourism planning. Two such approaches are discussed and analysed based on research carried out on stakeholders affected by the Costa Dourada project, a regional tourism planning initiative in north-east Brazil. The first approach involves assessing the stakeholders who had participated in the project planning by attending local workshops or project meetings intended to promote collaborative planning. The second involves interviewing a sample of stakeholders affected by the project and also stakeholders directly involved in the project planning, asking them for their views on stakeholders they consider relevant to the project but who were not participants in the planning process. These two approaches are used to examine whether the range of stakeholders participating in the planning process was representative of the stakeholders affected by the project and was also l...

Rural tourism and sustainable rural tourism

This theme issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism is devoted to the issues surrounding the development of rural tourism and of more sustainable forms of rural tourism. They are examined in the context of rural areas in the developed nations of Western Europe. Earlier versions of these papers were presented at the Second International School on Rural Development, held in Galway, Ireland in July 1993, which took rural and sustainable rural tourism as its themes. Consideration is given to developing rural tourism in ways where the supply of tourist facilities and experiences is appropriate to the needs of the host community, the environment and the local suppliers, and where it also matches the requirements of tourists on the demand side. Concern is expressed that rural tourism should not develop as the hapless outcome of inexorable, external forces, and hence prominence is given to the role of local communities and local businesses in shaping rural tourism.