Char-lee J. McLennan

Trends and patterns in sustainable tourism research: a 25-year bibliometric analysis

In the quarter of a century since the release of the 1987 Brundtland Report, sustainable tourism has emerged as the dominant paradigm in tourism development. However, the debate, discourse, and criticism of this subfield of tourism research continues. To address such concerns the purpose of this paper is to explore trends and patterns in sustainable tourism research over the past 25 years. A 25-year bibliometric analysis was conducted for the four highest ranked journals in the tourism field. Results indicate that the growth in sustainable tourism research has been remarkable, with 492 papers published in these four journals and almost half of these in the last two years of the analysis. The largest proportion of papers published on sustainable tourism was case studies, empirical studies, and critical reviews. This study found that while the theoretical and methodological approaches appear to have matured over time, the subjects and themes in sustainable tourism research, with some exceptions, have remained constant. However, the field is clearly maturing with a move away from definitional and conceptual papers to papers focused on testing and applying theory through empirical research.

Tracking the concept of sustainability in Australian tourism policy and planning documents

In the current climate of intense turbulence, tourism must transform to a more sustainable development platform. Yet it remains unclear how the concept of sustainability is embedded at different levels of government policy and planning, and how this has evolved over time. This paper identifies the concept of sustainability as it is articulated in 339 Australian tourism strategic planning and policy documents published between 2000 and 2011. The paper examines the extent to which the concept of sustainable tourism is evident in the discourse of Australian tourism strategic planning documents at the national, state, regional and local levels, as well as the balance of the discourse in relation to sustainability objectives. The results show that the frequency of occurrence of sustainability as a concept has slightly increased in strategies over the past decade. At the same time, there has been a shift in the conceptualisation of sustainability, with thinking evolving from nature-based, social and triple bottom line concepts toward a focus on climate change, responsibility, adaption and transformation.

Community resilience to long-term tourism decline and rejuvenation: a literature review and conceptual model

Studied for decades in disciplines such as ecology, psychology, engineering and sociology ‘resilience’ can be defined as a systems ability to withstand and respond to change. The tourism literature has embraced the concept of community resilience by harnessing concepts of adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Many of these studies have focused on the tourism systems ability to respond to short-term disasters and hazards. With the growth of resilience studies in tourism, it is timely to take stock of the core premise of resilience as it is applied to tourism and to identify key gaps in current research. Consequently, this research aims to identify the core concepts of community resilience, with a focus on its application within tourism. The findings reveal that many studies have been conceptual, although there are an increasing number of empirical studies underpinned by resilience theory. Therefore, a conceptual model is presented to broaden existing resilience research and to guide future research into community resilience to tourism decline and rejuvenation.

Developing and testing a suite of institutional indices to underpin the measurement and management of tourism destination transformation

Economic, social, and environmental transformation of destinations as a consequence of tourism has been observed and studied extensively within the tourism literature. transformation theory has evolved as a tool for understanding structural economic, social, or environmental change, which is driven by institutions. there is an emerging body of research that has sought to identify the institutional aspects of the tourism transformation process. Despite this, there has been limited development of tools that can measure institutions, inhibiting the development of long-run decision-making models that governments can use when developing policies for tourism destination development. As a result this research contributes a suite of institutional indices that can be used by tourism managers and planners to monitor, evaluate, and benchmark the tourism industrys institutions. Drawing from the organizational change literature, the proposed indices focus on competition, management processes, data and research capabilities, collaboration efforts, benchmarking processes, learning ability, and agility and adaptability. this research is an important step in developing combined structural and institutional models that will contribute to the development and implementation of decision-making tools to assist destinations seeking to achieve long-term sustainable tourism transformation.

Strategic Issues in the Australian Tourism Industry: A 10-year Analysis of National Strategies and Plans

Predicting future events, trends and issues that may affect the tourism industry is not an exact science. Already the 21st century has seen a number of significant, radical and unexpected events, including September 11, SARS and, more recently, the worldwide economic downturn and natural disasters, such as earthquakes and cyclonic activity. Within this increasingly volatile global landscape, more than ever there is a need for the tourism industry to embrace a disciplined, structured and continuous approach to identifying and monitoring future trends and issues to inform policymaking and strategic planning. Yet in Australia it has been claimed that a preoccupation with marketing and short-term tactical planning, at the expense of long-term, strategic thinking, has led to limited planning perspectives for tourism. To explore these claims, this paper reports on a content analysis of 28 Australian national-level tourism strategic planning documents across a 10-year period (2000–2009 inclusive).

Framing in a contested space: media reporting on tourism and mining in Australia

The last decade has seen Australias economy undertake a significant transformation, with a rapid resurgence in mining. The high exchange rate that has arisen as a consequence of this boom has resulted in a number of other Australian industries becoming less competitive, leading to a two-speed economy. For the tourism industry, the result has been declining visitation, with some commentators attributing this decline directly to the mining boom. This paper explores how the media frames tourism- and mining-related issues regarding the current mining boom in Australia by undertaking a content analysis of 265 online newspaper articles relating to tourism and mining in Australia. The impact of mining on the tourism sector was frequently identified as a key issue, with the rapid expansion of mining increasing competition for labour, resources and infrastructure, as well as having the propensity to destroy certain tourism products. Journalistic techniques, such as hedging, were found to be prevalent in the media reporting, potentially leading to confusion surrounding key issues relating to tourism and mining in the public forum. Future research should seek to explore strategies that could be used by government and businesses to build sustainable, resilient regions through tourism and mining.

A Water-Use Model For The Tourism Industry In The Asia-Pacific Region: The Impact Of Water-Saving Measures On Water Use

The Asia-Pacific region is a hot spot for population and tourism growth, both key drivers of water demand. Already, more than 75% of countries in this region are experiencing water stress. The management of water is becoming increasingly pressing, including for the tourism industry. Yet there has been little research into the predictors of water use in tourism in the Asia-Pacific region and opportunities for water saving. Therefore, this article develops both total and per guest night water-use models to determine the drivers of water use in accommodation in the Asia-Pacific region, delves into the differences between regions, and assesses the effectiveness of different water-saving measures. The results suggest geographical differences in water use that are influenced by climate zone and pool facilities. Importantly, the per guest night water-use model indicates that there are economies of scale to water use and that low/dual-flush toilets can significantly conserve water.

Contested images, place meaning and potential tourists ’ responses to an iconic nature-based attraction ‘ at risk ’ : the case of the Great Barrier Reef

ABSTRACT This study explores images of an attraction that is simultaneously tagged as the ‘greatest reef in the world’, the ‘best managed reef’ and potentially a ‘world heritage site in danger’. Combining research in conservation psychology, place identity and visual communication, this study analysed a sample of images (n = 45) of the Great Barrier Reef to explore the complexity of messages being conveyed with regard to the status and health of the world heritage site and their impact on emotions and behavioural intentions of potential tourists (n = 1249). The results reveal three very different image types: tourism promotion, government support and conservation-oriented. Few of the images portray messaging underpinned by the science of conservation psychology, with most images portraying a negative or ambivalent message. The emotions elicited by the images significantly differed across the three different image types, resulting in different behavioural intentions in response. The overall finding is that there are often contradictory messages about the Reef, arguably impeding conservation efforts to protect the Reef, and a need for an integrated place identity management communication strategy. We propose the notion of care as one value that drives all three major stakeholders and that could underpin an integrated strategy.

Tourism Futures Conference: Redefining the Future

Information about redefining the future of tourism at the Seventh National Tourism Futures Conference on the Gold Coast, Australia, from August 17-19, 2009 is presented. Topics include the effects of a global financial crisis on the industry, best practices, the challenges of the Australian tourism industry, and Australias relative safety, natural environment, and culture. The conference featured several key note speakers including Anthony Hayes and Sofie Formica.