Erick T. Byrd

Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles: applying stakeholder theory to sustainable tourism development

Sustainability has become an important topic and concept in relation to tourism planning and development. For sustainable tourism development to be successful stakeholders must be involved in the process. The questions that should be considered though are: (1) who should be considered stakeholders in tourism development, and (2) how should planners and developers involve stakeholders in the development of tourism? In order to provide answers to these questions this paper investigated sustainable tourism development and how stakeholder inclusion and involvement are incorporated in the basic concept of sustainable tourism development. This investigation was accomplished by reviewing and drawing conclusions from the literature. The discussion includes thoughts from both management and public participation perspectives. So who should be involved in the sustainable tourism development process? Based on the definitions that are used for sustainability and sustainable tourism four distinct groups are identified; the present visitors, future visitors, present host community, and future host community.

Factors of stakeholder understanding of tourism: the case of Eastern North Carolina.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a tool to better understand a communitys knowledge of sustainable tourism principles. An assessment tool was developed to help identify factors of a communitys knowledge of sustainable tourism. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the latent structure of the set of variables. Five factors of a stakeholders understanding of sustainable tourism development were identified in this study. These factors were (1) natural resources, (2) planning, (3) economic concerns, (4) educational needs, and (5) awareness of tourism.

Using Decision Trees to Identify Tourism Stakeholders: The Case of Two Eastern North Carolina Counties

This paper explores stakeholder involvement in tourism planning, development, and management. For tourism planners to include stakeholders in the tourism planning process those stakeholders and their interests need to be identified. The research reported in this paper describes and applies an analytical technique that is not traditionally used to identify stakeholders. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to stakeholders in two rural communities in North Carolina. The data were analysed with an Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection decision tree. From the results of the decision tree, stakeholder groups were identified in relation to their support for sustainable tourism development in their community.

Using decision trees to identify tourism stakeholders

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of decision tree analysis in the identification of stakeholders based on their participation in tourism and political activities in a community.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was sent to tourism stakeholders in two rural counties. Responses were collected and analyzed using the exhaustive chi‐square automatic interaction detection decision tree analysis.Findings – Based on the results of the decision tree analysis four tourism stakeholder groups were identified based on their participation in tourism and political activities in a community: high participants, high‐moderate participants, low‐moderate participants, and low participants.Research limitations/implications – Owing to a low response rate, an issue of non‐response bias could exist, but the information from the respondents can give insight on stakeholders in these communities. Also, the specific results of this study can only be applied to eastern North Carolina and are not gene...

A Learning Theory Framework for Sustainability Education in Tourism

As efforts abound across tourism educator networks to craft plans for guiding educational responses to the threats of tourism to people and the planet, it is worth exploring areas in which such labors might be made more efficient, and thus more timely and productive. In this article, we examine how the concept of learning systems can serve as a useful tool for identifying opportunities to improve sustainability education planning in tourism. We provide a conceptual framework for sustainability education that moves beyond current models by incorporating additional concepts from learning theory and from a 2-year curricular revision process.

An exploratory study of community awareness of impacts and agreement to sustainable tourism development principles

Before informed, active, full, or meaningful participation can be achieved, tourism planners need to evaluate stakeholder level of awareness and perception of tourism, the tourism process, impacts, and principles of sustainability. Framed with stakeholder theory, this study developed and piloted the Stakeholder Understanding of Sustainable Tourism Development Index (SUSTDI), a tool that assesses awareness of tourism impacts and agreement to principles of sustainable tourism development. The results produced a six-factor solution (α = .93); resource preservation, environmental education, stakeholder inclusion, economic planning, cultural awareness, and community resource identification. Differences between community groups were also examined. Though continued validation of the SUSTDI is needed, this is an initial step in providing a tool for tourism planners to assess a community’s level of awareness and agreement as a precursor to developing education and training programs to increase understanding and knowledge of sustainable tourism development.

Further exploration of subjective knowledge in the wine sector

Purpose This paper aims to discuss methodological issues with the measurement of subjective wine knowledge (SWK). The current study offers deeper insights into the relationship between SWK and consumer perceptions of benefits and purchase/consumption habits. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study of US winery visitors was conducted, comprising surveys using a structured self-administered written questionnaire and trained field researchers. A sample of 734 surveys was used in subsequent exploratory and confirmatory analysis of the relationships between SWK and an array of consumer perceptions and wine consumption behaviors. Findings The majority of respondents were older, female, more highly educated, of the professional or executive class and possessing higher incomes. Slightly over half of the sample professed no or basic knowledge of wine and grape types or wine regions and geography. In general, respondents rated personal benefits of wine consumption higher than they did symbolic or social benefits. The level of SWK, from novice to advanced, was significantly and positively associated with the frequency of visits to wineries (experience), with wine-focused published external information sources and with a majority of perceived benefits. Originality/value The primary value of the study is to support marketing strategy by addressing the measurement of SWK. Knowledgeable consumers recognize more types of benefits, i.e. personal, symbolic and social and, thus, can more readily attest to value in a wine offering.

Wine tourist valuation of information sources: the role of prior travel

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine winery visitors’ use of information sources in making decisions regarding the choice of wineries to visit. Enrichment theory is used as a framework for determining how previous experience influences the decision on how much and what type of information individuals will use when planning a trip using wine tourism as the context for the research. Design/methodology/approach A visitor study was conducted at 23 wineries in the US Southeast. Data were collected from winery visitors using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Findings Results from 832 consumers indicate that an individual’s previous travel systematically influences the number and type of information sources that they will seek out when making future consumer decisions. Findings confirmed the hypothesized expectations about wine tourist information search behavior and help to partially explain the nature of bounded rationality in the case of tourists’ winery visit decisions. Research limitations/implications Because the study focused only on winery visitors in the US Southeast, the research results may lack generalizability. Practical implications These findings can assist winery owners and destinations with wineries in their promotional efforts. Of major importance is the finding that increases in experiential knowledge from prior travel are monotonically associated with increases in the number of information sources marked to be valuable in selecting a winery. The influence of experience is particularly dramatic in that the mean number of information sources marked to be valuable moves from a low of 2.5 to a high of 10.0 out of 16 as travel experience increases. Originality/value The study contributed significant and useful findings that advance the application of enrichment theory to wine tourism. Enrichment theory does not currently differentiate between types of knowledge that enrich a consumer’s ability to more easily encode and use new information. The current study confirms that experiential knowledge is an important knowledge construct in models of bounded rationality.

Wine tourism signage programs in the USA

Purpose Highway signage programs are important to the success of winery tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the regulatory environment US wineries operate under in regards to highway signage programs. The goal then is to compare wine tourism-related highway signage programs in the USA and identify best practices for the programs. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-six programs from 13 US states are included in this study. Research collected both primary data (through interviews with 30 officials and representatives) and secondary data (from websites, government publications) to identify the costs, regulations and rules of each program. Findings A review of these programs shows that while there are many common elements in these programs, all are managed differently, have different operational and facility requirements for participation and vary in cost. Practical implications Highway signage programs related to winery tourism are best administered by a single state-wide governmental agency or foundations/trusts. Second, highway signage program should link with a separate certification program for the wineries which guarantees a certain minimum amount of local content. Winery owners and officials interviewed also emphasized the need for synergy among neighboring wineries to facilitate winery tourism. Originality/value Limited research has been conducted about the regulatory environment of signage programs that are specific to the wine industry in the USA. This study begins to address this gap in the literature by presenting an overview and best practices of 26 wine tourism-related highway signage programs from 13 different states across the USA.

An exploration of gendered systems theory on women-owned businesses in emerging tourism destinations: future directions

The impacts of tourism on host communities are numerous, complex, and at times nuanced. As a result, tourism researchers have placed heavy emphasis on the exploration and identification of these impacts, including how the community responds. Some of the more understated impacts, such as the role of women in tourism development, can be more difficult to understand. This is especially the case in emerging destinations, where communities in the primary stages of tourism development are beginning to consider the costs and benefits to their culture, social structure, and economy. This article uses ecological systems theory as a framework to examine existing literature related to resident attitudes toward the social impacts of women-owned businesses in tourism. Results from this examination determined the need for future, theory-based research regarding socio-cultural impacts, and more specifically, the impact of tourism on changing social roles and the role of women in emerging destinations.