David G. Simmons

Community participation in tourism planning

Abstract Tourism planners are being asked to use greater community participation in tourism planning. There are two reasons for this. First, the impacts of tourism are felt most keenly at the local destination area and, second, community residents are being recognized as an essential ingredient in the ‘hospitality atmosphere’ of a destination. However, while many planners rush towards involving various publics in their work they do so without a full consideration of the progress of public participation techniques employed in other aspects of planning. Moreover, while many authors advocate greater public involvement few have tested or evaluated methods appropriate to secure local residents interest and support for tourism planning. This paper reports on a research programme for Huron County, Ontario (Canada), that sought to apply and evaluate a three-stage participation programme for county residents.

Energy consumption patterns in the accommodation sector—the New Zealand case ☆

Abstract The concept of sustainability is more and more established as an integral component in modern economies. A major threat to sustainability is the escalating demand for energy resulting in the depletion of natural resources and a concomitant threat to the global climate from the emissions produced. Although tourism and its sub-sectors, such as transport, accommodation, and attractions, constitute an increasingly important part of many economies, their contribution to energy use is not well researched. Particularly, in popular tourist destinations, such as New Zealand, tourism could be a significant contributor to energy consumption. As every tourist relies on the provision of accommodation, this is considered a core sub-sector within tourism. Previous case studies have indicated that accommodation is an energy-intense sector, however, comprehensive research on energy use patterns is missing. This paper contributes to the understanding of energy use within the accommodation sector by analysing the New Zealand scenario. The main objectives are the exploration of differences in energy consumption between hotel, bed and breakfast, motel, backpacker, and campground accommodation categories, and the role of factors such as business size in this consumption. Based on this analysis benchmarks are established for each category for total annual energy use and energy intensities, such as energy use per visitor night. When aggregated the total energy use of the accommodation sector in New Zealand is also estimated. The results reveal that hotels are the largest (net and per capita) energy consumers in the accommodation sector, making up 67% of the total 1.74 PJ consumed in 1999 in the accommodation sector. This constitutes 4.4% of the commercial sectors energy use and 0.4% of the total energy use in New Zealand.

Understanding energy consumption patterns of tourist attractions and activities in New Zealand

Abstract A major threat to the sustainability of tourism is the escalating demand for energy resulting in the depletion of natural resources and an associated threat to the global climate. It is argued that tourism, and particularly the recreational part of the product, may contribute considerably to a countrys ‘energy bill’. This study analyses tourist attractions and activities in New Zealand with the purpose to understanding the energy use of different categories, sub-categories, and operator types. The results of a survey across a wide range of tourism businesses ( N =107) show that tourist attractions, such as museums (10xa0MJ/visit), or experience centres (29xa0MJ/visit) generally consume less energy than tourist activities, such as scenic flights (344xa0MJ/flight) or jet boating (255xa0MJ/ride), on a per capita basis. Various factors influence the total energy cost of a business and the consumption per tourist, particularly when motorised travel is used to overcome physical barriers. Such factors include visitor numbers, management style, technical equipment, and fuel mix. A detailed examination of the energy use pattern of an operator can often improve the energy efficiency.

Environmental values and response to ecolabels among international visitors to New Zealand

The research reported here documents the awareness of ecolabels among visitors to Christchurch, one important visitor destination in New Zealand. Around the world there is a growing debate about ecolabels and how visitors respond to them. We propose to inform this debate by studying the relationship between visitor response to ecolabels and their environment values. In interviews with 295 visitors to Christchurch it was found that only one-fifth recalled any place with ecolabels, and only 13% had ever heard of any tourism ecolabel. However, 33% of visitors had some experience of ecolabels. Data were cluster analysed to find that 61% of respondents expressed biocentric values and 39% expressed ambivalent values but not anthropocentric values towards nature. Further analysis of the data showed that the clusters had different responses on many dimensions of ecolabels. Biocentric visitors were concerned with the environment in which they travel, believed that ecolabels are needed in New Zealand, and said they would choose accommodation with an ecolabel. Their reports of their actions were consistent with their expressions of concern for the environment. Results suggest that many visitors will favourably receive ecolabel developments in New Zealand and that ecolabel development and use should be supported.

Energy use associated with different travel choices.

Abstract Despite growing awareness of environmental issues related to tourism, the interface of tourism and energy use or climate change remains unexplored. However, tourism demands energy at various functions ranging from travel to catering, and the management of tourist attractions. Since a tourists holiday is composed of a broad selection of travel choices the associated energy use differs substantially. This paper shows how different travel choices within the transport, accommodation, and attraction and activity sub-sectors demand different amounts of energy, and how this adds up to the total ‘energy bill’ of international and domestic tourists in New Zealand. While the total energy use of international tourists (7318xa0MJ/trip within New Zealand) is four times that of domestic tourists, the energy use per day does not differ between these two types. Transportation clearly dominates the bill, with a contribution of 65–73% for international and domestic tourists, respectively, and is at the centre of energy saving measures. By altering ones’ travel style tourists can substantially influence their energy demand.

Community adaptation to tourism: comparisons between Rotorua and Kaikoura, New Zealand.

Abstract This paper compares the experiences of two New Zealand tourist destination communities (Rotorua and Kaikoura). Overall, Rotorua residents perceive less impact (both negative and positive) from tourism and its associated phenomena compared with people in Kaikoura. This arises for a number of reasons. In Rotorua the ratio of tourists to residents is lower and tourists are more spread around the district than is the case in Kaikoura. To residents of Rotorua, tourism is a source of stability and local people feel that the industry is locally controlled. In comparison, Kaikoura residents associate tourism with as series of rapid changes that have occurred since the mid-1980s. In Rotorua, there is a well-developed partnership between the public and private sector and most Rotorua residents appear to trust the management of tourism more than do the residents of Kaikoura. Using qualitative methods, community history and structure were found to be important in understanding how communities adapt to, and manage, tourism.

Behavioral conceptualization of tourism and leisure

Abstract Understanding the conceptual relationships between tourism and leisure is important, particularly if tourism is considered a “special” form of leisure. The paper begins with behavioral conceptualizations of tourism and leisure, followed by a comparative behavioral analysis of tourism and leisure, then an examination of social theoretical accounts of the two fields. It argues that tourism is not a special form of leisure and that differences in social theoretical analyses of tourism and leisure might result from different research ideologies. Finally, the article concludes with the presentation of a behavioral synthesis of the two fields, along with identification of areas for future research.

A quasi-experimental method for testing the effectiveness of ecolabel promotion.

Despite the existence of tourism ecolabels for more than 10 years, tourists’ decision making is still only marginally influenced by such labels and it appears that sustainability does not feature much in tourists’ general consumption behaviour. However, two recent studies found that tourists’ attitudes towards the Green Globe 21 (GG21) ecolabel in New Zealand were positive and the surveyed tourists appeared to have a high awareness of sustainability issues. Based on these findings, a quasiexperiment was conducted in the Christchurch Visitor Information Centre (CVIC) (main tourist hub of South Island) to investigate whether tourists’ positive attitudes towards ecolabels would result in increased observable interest of GG21 ecolabelled products. The purpose of this paper is to describe the complex quasi-experimental methodology that has been developed in an attempt to get further insight into tourist behaviour related to ecolabelled tourist products. During May and June 2003 the impact of a promotional campaign on tourists’ information search behaviour in the CVIC was tested. Observations of tourists and measurement of brochure up-take showed no increased interest in the ecolabel promotion campaign or the GG21 labelled products in the CVIC. The experimental methodology demonstrated that positive attitudes towards ecolabels are an unreliable predictor of responsible environmental tourist behaviour.

Segmenting Tourists by their Travel Pattern for Insights into Achieving Energy Efficiency

Tourists compose their trip of different travel choices across the transport, accommodation, and attractions/activities subsectors. Since these travel choices are characterized by different energy intensities, the energy use of a tourist trip as the combination of all travel choices varies for different tourists. To enable better management of energy use of tourism, the authors factor-cluster analyzed a set of travel choices of international tourists to New Zealand and aggregated tourists into types with similar travel patterns and energy consumption. Seven distinct clusters were obtained: a coach tourist, soft comfort traveler, auto tourist, camper, backpacker, tramper (hiker), and tourists who visit friends and relatives. These types were different both with regard to their total energy use and energy use per day within New Zealand. The understanding of different tourist types provides a basis for future energy conservation and efficiency strategies, which are briefly discussed.

A societal marketing approach to national tourism planning: evidence from the South Pacific

Abstract This paper provides a brief overview of the literature on the practice of tourism planning with particular reference to the South Pacific. It examines the tourism development challenges facing South Pacific Island countries and how these may be addressed using an innovative approach to planning. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of marketing and socio-cultural issues within the planning process. Drawing upon recent WTO practice in two Pacific Island countries, Vanuatu and Niue, a model is proposed which seeks to achieve an appropriate balance between community aspirations and destination marketing within a planning framework. The scope for collaboration between academics and freelance consultants as members of tourism development planning teams is explored. Whilst drawing upon the literature, the paper is substantially based upon the experience of the authors as participants in the tourism development planning process in South Pacific destinations.