Dean B. Carson

Blogs in tourism: Changing approaches to information exchange:

The continuing rise of the internet as a communications tool for travel and tourism presents challenges for destination marketing organizations and tourism enterprises. Previous research has suggested that the internet contributes to five key functions — promotion, product distribution, communication, management and research. This paper examines how Web 2.0 applications, and specifically the increasing number of travel blogs, might influence these functions. The research reviewed the published literature and real-life examples of destination marketing organizations and tourism enterprises using blogs as part of their business strategy. Some interesting examples were found for each of the functions, which may point the way to more effective use of user generated content by the tourism industry, while also revealing challenges to achieving this.

Social Capital, Tourism and Regional Development: SPCC as a Basis for Innovation and Sustainability

Traditional views of regional development have focused on economic factors and potential innovation in technical and resource exploitation processes. Similarly, regional tourism development is usually couched in economic terms, such as number of jobs and increasing land values. This approach usually ignores the social and community aspects of tourism development; thus an alternative view argues that the community needs to be factored into our planning and development strategies to balance the traditional economic view. It is argued in this paper that fostering innovation in regional development is much more than a process of community consultation. Rather, what needs to be factored in is SPCC – social, political and cultural capital. This works in both directions; tourism development depends on a level of social, political and cultural capital in order to be a successful regional development tool (even in economic terms) while at the same time tourism development can be undertaken in a way that contributes to SPCC in the region. The paper outlines the key concepts of social capital, political capital and cultural capital. It does so within the context of regional tourism development and the concepts of systems of innovation and sustainable development.

Is tourism just another staple? A new perspective on tourism in remote regions.

Staples thesis describes the development paths of remote economies that have been reliant on the export of relatively unprocessed natural resources – the staples. These economies tend to be overdependent on external markets, are susceptible to boom and bust cycles, and can ultimately become ‘trapped’ in their development paths because they fail to convert initial staples export-driven economic growth into more sustainable and diversified local industries. Tourism has often been described as a potential way to escape such a ‘staples trap’ but, so far, has never been examined from a staples thesis perspective. This paper analyses the case of Central Australia and shows that tourism in remote areas can exhibit similar characteristics as traditional staples industries. If remote regions are to harness tourism for economic and social development, there needs to be a better understanding of the conditions under which remote economies (including tourism) can become locked into a continuous export-dependency development path. The paper concludes that using staples thesis as a conceptual framework offers considerable potential to enhance the understanding of tourism development in remote regions. Finally, it proposes a research agenda for tourism in remote areas to facilitate more targeted future research.

A framework for increasing understanding of self-drive tourism markets.

This paper aims to identify a framework for analysis of case study research into self-drive tourism and its associated markets. The history and significance of drive tourism markets around the world are briefly identified, and statistics are provided to support increased attention being paid to these markets. The lack of existing research is identified, with significant recent exceptions being this special issue of the Journal of Vacation Marketing and a collection of articles edited as a book by Carson et al.1 In order to gain greater understanding of the diversity of self-drive tourism markets and their behaviour in destinations, the framework for analysis suggests attention be paid to location (destination) description; visitor characteristics; access, including distance aspects; nature of visitor flows; expenditure patterns; attractions; accommodation; promotion; history; investment; physical infrastructure; cooperation between stakeholders; level of public sector involvement; and economic impacts and innovation.

National Online Tourism Policy Initiatives for Australia

The benefits of online technologies for the tourism industry include increased efficiencies in communications, research, marketing, financial transactions, and enterprise management. Australia has a history of public sector policy initiatives designed to encourage economic development. Tourism is seen as a key industry for economic development, and the perceived benefits of online technologies for tourism have led to a strong role within the policy context for encouraging technology uptake. There has been some concern on the part of the Australian government that a lack of a national policy to this point means that full benefits to the industry of the online technologies may not have been realized. As a result, the government initiated a program of research and industry consultation in 1999 to develop a national online tourism policy. This process identified five key initiatives that were to form the foundation of an online tourism policy. It is expected that implementation of these initiatives as part of a national online tourism policy will advance the goal of achieving a sustainable tourism industry for Australia.

Understanding local innovation systems in peripheral tourism destinations

Tourism destinations in peripheral areas are often large regions established by centralised government agencies to encourage collaboration between dispersed communities and foster innovation. Relatively little research attention has been paid to the impact that centrally defined destination boundaries have on whether and how small communities contribute to innovation at a regional level. This paper examines the case of Burra, a small town in rural South Australia. It analyses the networking, collaboration and knowledge exchange behaviour of tourism stakeholders in the context of the state-government-defined ‘Clare Valley’ tourism region. Data were drawn from a web-based social network analysis, in-depth interviews, historic document analysis and field observations. The study found that the local tourism system had limited aspirations and capabilities to collaborate with other towns in the region. Lack of regional engagement was only partially due to intra-regional competition and resistance to regional boundaries. More significant barriers included a local culture of operating in isolation, an embedded reliance on public sector leadership to manage systemic interactions, an aging system with limited ambition to change and an inability to harness in-migrants and externally based stakeholders to stimulate knowledge transfer. Changing the imposed destination boundaries would have limited impact on the operation of the local system. The paper concludes that effective regional destination development in peripheral areas needs to be better informed by more detailed understandings of local tourism systems and their capacities to engage.

Destination image projection on consumer-generated content websites: a case study of the flinders ranges.

This article examines destination image projection on consumer-generated content (CGC) websites. A case study of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia was conducted to assess the destination images presented by two different markets. Blogs, review sites, and special interest forums were analyzed against a common destination image framework. The retrieved images were then compared to official images promoted by the destination marketing organization (DMO). The research revealed considerable differences between consumer images and DMO images. The results suggest that different types of CGC websites encourage different levels of information exchange. Future research will need to focus on the impact that various types of CGC websites can have on consumers as a form of word of mouth.

A city for the temporary? Political economy and urban planning in Darwin, Australia

Darwin, in Australias Northern Territory, faces urban planning challenges consistent with those reported in ‘resource peripheries’ around the world. The city has recently experienced strong population growth associated with resources and construction projects, and an increase in public sector workers sent to address the challenges faced by remote (particularly Indigenous) populations. The Northern Territory Government is determined to foster further growth, and promotes ‘major projects’ in urban development as the key. Analysis of the public debates about two recent major projects (the Waterfront Development and the Lyons residential development) reveal a planning process consistent with the clientelism observed by Rayner and Howlett (2009) in resource peripheries in Canada. The risks of clientelism are both the marginalisation of important internal publics and the institutionalisation of ‘temporariness’ as the driver of growth. Shifting to a more consultative planning process might help stimulate internal development, but could also put at risk the relationships that the Northern Territory Government has established with external investors.

Public sector initiatives for Aboriginal small business development in tourism

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism Industry Strategy (ATSIC 1997) recognised the potential for tourism to generate economic benefits for Indigenous people and help overcome their disadvantaged position in Australia. This view is supported by federal and state governments and various Indigenous communities and individuals throughout Australia. However, for indigenous people to become successfully engaged with the tourism industry there needs to be development of entrepreneurship and capacity building amongst Indigenous communities and individuals. In addition, aspiring and existing tourism businesses need to access start up and developmental capital. The public sector can and should play an important role in helping communities build capacity as well as providing venture capital. This chapter examines the funding and assistance packages provided by federal and state governments to Indigenous communities and individuals interested in establishing or expanding a tourism enterprise. The findings indicate that there is generally poor coordination between programs within and across jurisdictions; the focus of many programs is on promoting the idea of Indigenous participation in tourism rather than providing resources to realise this participation; many programs may be difficult to access for Indigenous enterprises in regional areas due to poor support services and lack of access to technology; programs provide little assistance in “visioning” and applying techniques of market research to feasibility assessment; and programs provide little ongoing support for businesses beyond the business planning phase, despite the heightened pressures on Indigenous enterprises to succeed over the long term.

Heritage as a motivation for four-wheel-drive tourism in desert Australia

Desert Australia is a vast, largely unpopulated area serviced by few roads. In recent years, tourism has been identified as an industry that has some potential to generate employment and investment opportunities in the region. Because of the distances involved and the largely unsealed road network that radiates off the main north-south highway much of the region is inaccessible to conventional vehicles. As a consequence, interest in four-wheel-drive (4WD) tourism has grown and a number of desert regions have identified this group as a potential market that could be further developed. One of the experiences that is associated with parts of desert Australia is its heritage values, both natural and built. This paper explores the role of heritage as a motivation to travel to desert Australia by four-wheel-drivers and the subsequent proportion of visitor expenditure that can be attributed to heritage tourism consumption. It concludes that while heritage is just one of many components of a 4WD trip, there may be substantial potential for increasing its economic contribution.