Heike A. Schänzel

An Insight into the Personal and Emotive Context of Wildlife Viewing at the Penguin Place, Otago Peninsula, New Zealand

The personal and emotive context of visitors’ experiences has been neglected in much sustainable tourist attraction management. This paper applies ASEB demi-grid analysis as a consumer-orientated management tool to facilitate an understanding of the beneficial experiences gained by international visitors to a penguin-watching tourism attraction on the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. Forty in-depth interviews with visitors showed that the main beneficial experiences gained included reported enhanced environmental awareness (cognition) and ‘mood’ benefits (affection). In addition, several consistent themes emerged from the beneficial experiences reported by tourists, including issues related to viewing, proximity, authenticity and wonder. Findings thus included the perceived importance of visitors to be able to view endangered penguins ‘up close’ in their natural habitat to elicit feelings of exploration and privilege, to appreciate the simplicity and naturalness of the setting and to increase their knowledge of the species through interaction with an experienced guide.

The Socialization of Families Away from Home: Group Dynamics and Family Functioning on Holiday

The focus on individuals in tourism research has led to limited and fragmented research on family groups and their leisure experiences away from home. This article extends conceptual and theoretical understandings within family tourism research by offering a three-dimensional framework inclusive of group perspectives. A whole-family methodology was used with 10 families (10 fathers, 10 mothers, and 20 children) in New Zealand as a more critical and holistic approach to tourism concepts. Empirical findings illustrate group dynamics along with the underrepresented generational perspectives of children and gender perspectives of fathers to provide insights into family functioning. This resulted in a three-layered model of family holiday experiences inclusive of group sociality. The collective intentionality of family togetherness on holiday is contrasted with more balanced modes in own time, highlighting the complexity of socialization within tourism theory and practice.

Trends in family tourism

Purpose – Families represent a large and growing market for the tourism industry. Family tourism is driven by the increasing importance placed on promoting family togetherness, keeping family bonds alive and creating family memories. Predictions for the future of family travel are shaped by changes in demography and social structures. With global mobility families are increasingly geographically dispersed and new family markets are emerging. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the trends that shape the understanding of families and family tourism. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines ten trends that the authors as experts in the field identify of importance and significance for the future of family tourism. Findings – What emerges is that the future of family tourism lies in capturing the increasing heterogeneity, fluidity and mobility of the family market. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding about the changes taking place in family tourism and what it means to the tourism industry in the future.

Family Holidays: A Research Review and Application to New Zealand

Abstract Holidays with children have largely been marginalised in research that examines leisure travel. This paper is a critical review of the available literature and presents a summary of themes relevant for the study of family holidays. Most tourism work is market-driven and from an adult perspective, with children treated as passive members of the family. Neglected areas include the social and cultural dimensions of the family holiday experience, such as social interactions and relationships, and the tangible and intangible benefits of holidays for family members. This discussion is contextualised within the current trends and issues relating to families in New Zealand. A research agenda is proposed that seeks to address the gaps in the tourism and travel literature, and particularly the need to lend a voice to children themselves, and recognise the experiences of all family members.

The Future of Family Tourism

Abstract This paper situates current knowledge on family tourism with pointers to the future by drawing on multidisciplinary contributions to a recent consolidative book. Research in family tourism is limited, fragmented and individualized, thus not accounting for the diversity of family forms, sociality of family groups and multidimensionality of family experiences. Integration of thinking about and understanding the changing nature of families in tourism is needed. The key concepts of change are captured through a cognitive mapping perspective. This research process allows an exploration and systemic tool for constructivism interpretation. The cognitive model resulted in nine main themes that represent emerging and changing trends in family tourism. The key purpose here is the identification of the slow moving changes and trends that are occurring in family tourism based upon cognitive modelling of current research and their significance for predicting the future. This demonstrates connectivity between concepts providing a more holistic and critical interpretation of the future of families and tourism.

Photography and Children: Auto-driven Photo-elicitation

This Department is devoted to research reports, notes, conference résumés and other significant research events. Two copies of write-ups, not exceeding 3,000 words, may be mailed to the Section Editor, Professor David A. Fetmell, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1; e-mail. david.fennell@brocku.ca. In all cases, one copy of the report should be mailed to the Chief Editor, TRR.

Family experiences of visitor attractions in New Zealand: differing opportunities for ‘family time’ and ‘own time’

Studies of family leisure and holidays reveal that an important goal of these experiences is the fostering of family togetherness and social connectedness away from usual work/life pressures. As outlined by [Schänzel, H. A., and K. A. Smith. 2014. “The Socialization of Families Away from Home: Group Dynamics and Family Functioning on Holiday.” Leisure Sciences 36 (2): 126–143], however, family experiences of leisure include opportunities for both ‘family time’ and ‘own time’. Family time incorporates opportunities for strengthening family bonds by creating family memories and allowing learning to occur. By contrast, own time encapsulates freedom from those family commitments to pursue ones own interests and to seek respite from the obligatory commitments of family life. Using data collected in face-to-face questionnaires completed with 221 New Zealand family groups, this paper seeks to explore the extent to which family time and own time experiences are differently perceived by parents accompanying their children to three family-friendly visitor attractions in Christchurch, New Zealand. In particular, the paper explores the motivations and experiences sought by fathers visiting with their child/ren at these attractions and compares these with mothers’ motivations and experiences. Findings show that fathers have differing motivations and seek different experiences than mothers at these attractions, and that these motivations vary based on whether they are attending visitor attractions as sole parents or accompanied by a co-parent.

Introduction: Special issue on children, families and leisure – part three

As editors, we initially anticipated only one special issue to showcase the changing definitions and conceptualisations of families, children and leisure. Little did we know that we would end up accepting 18 papers and creating a three-part special issue on this topic. On reflection, and without repeating our earlier editorials from parts one and two of the issue and the subsequent book publication (Schänzel and Carr 2016), much can be gained from the diversity of the families studied, and the innovative research approaches taken. No doubt there is much room for further advancement, but the seeds have been sown for family, children and leisure studies to spread into more diverse research areas. The papers in this special issue have been global in their reach, encompassing Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. However, they have mainly been based on research undertaken in relatively wealthy and ‘Western’ countries. This may reflect both the history of leisure studies and the location of the authors. However, it also clearly highlights the need for new work that examines the leisure experiences of families and children outside of the West and in less wealthy countries where the social and cultural conditions may be different. While the papers in all the parts of this special issue have predominantly focused on ‘middle class’ and ‘traditional’ nuclear families, a trend towards recognizing a wider diversity of families is apparent. For example, in this part of the special issue, the leisure of youth with disabilities has been examined by Duquette et al., while the leisure of LGB young people (Trussell, Xing, and Oswald 2015) was examined in part two and the travel motivations and destination choices of gay and lesbian parented families was examined in part one by Lucena, Jarvis, and Weeden (2015). Papers in this special issue by Mikkelsen and Blichfeldt (2015), and Karsten and Felder (2015) also break away from the middle class focus to examine the leisure of working class families. Future research in the field of families, children and leisure needs to explore the social, cultural and economic diversity of families and the lives of the people who inhabit them in the twenty-first century. It needs to recognize that leisure is not restricted to the middle classes or traditional nuclear families. The voices presented within families are becoming more inclusive, reflecting the more active participation of children and adolescents within research and family life. Three of the five contributions in this part of the special issue are either solely focused on children as active social agents or are inclusive of their active voices, something that would not have been probable only a decade ago when, almost exclusively, across the social sciences adults (mainly mothers) were asked to speak on behalf, supposedly, of their children (Blichfeldt et al. 2010; Corsaro 2005; Gram 2007). Changes in the way family and children-oriented research is conducted in leisure studies and the foci of this work are signs that the study area has reached a level of maturity in terms of its paradigmatic approach, scale, depth and reach. While signs of maturity in the research field are apparent something is still puzzling and is reflected in this part of the special issue: who is doing the research on children and families in leisure in general but especially in tourism? In particular, what is the gender of the researchers?

Special issue on children, families and leisure – second of two issues

This special issue of Annals of Leisure Research aims to further academic debate within the leisure studies community about the role of ‘families’ in contemporary life and the experiences of famili...

A sclerosis of demography: how ageing populations lead to the incremental decline of New Zealand tourism.

The future of tourism is dominated by discussions on sustainability, but the single biggest issue that is largely ignored is demography. As a key driver for future tourism demand, demography needs a strategic planning approach. This article takes a scenario planning perspective and examines the future of tourism in New Zealand and how it will be shaped by demography. This article, as part of a wider study on the future of tourism, focuses on a scenario–sclerosis of demography–where the tourism industry is in a downward spiral of decline with tourists spending less monies year on year because of ageing populations, resulting in falling productivity and less disposable income in future years. This scenario is based upon two key issues. First, as populations age, the pressure on New Zealand’s public purse is contested and second, older consumers extend their healthy years resulting in an ageless society. The scenario raises four key questions for the future. First, what is the role of tourism in an ageing society? Second, if the New Zealand tourism sector fails and as a consequence government is forced to intervene, what does this mean? Third, what is the impact on future immigration policies as a consequence of a decline in traditional labour supplies? Finally, what is the future of youth tourism if future generations are stifled by debt and lack of purchasing power? The article concludes with a conceptual map as a strategic planning device that considers these questions and offers answers around the themes of lifestyle, the role of government, economic aspects, and trends in employment.