Janne J. Liburd

Developing a Research Agenda for Tourism Crisis Management, Market Recovery and Communications

SUMMARY This article focuses on the need to develop a comprehensive research agenda for crisis management and market recovery in tourism. A review of the literature on research into risk, crisis and disaster management indicates that research has emerged on an ad hoc basis. Analysis of a database of over 2400 relevant references supports the need for a research agenda that will focus on crisis management and market recovery and communications, rather than prevention. The BEST Education Network research agenda on risk and crisis management for sustainable tourism is then presented as a basis for further development of a crisis management and market recovery research agenda. In particular, it elaborates on research issues related to the communication during tourism crises, assessing strategies for market recovery and understanding these issues from the DMOs perspective.

Exploring the future of tourism and quality of life

Few studies to date have examined the impact of tourism on quality of life (QoL) as conventional research has tended to focus, instead, on resident attitudes towards tourism and tourism ’s impacts in particular (Smith, 1977; 1989). Even less research has addressed whether tourism can drive or facilitate sustainable development (Miller and Twining-Ward, 2005) or whether tourism can contribute to the subjective wellbeing of those involved in travel and tourism. Impact studies generally ask residents to agree or disagree with statements regarding perceived impacts from tourism on their community. By contrast, QoL research aims to understand how these impacts are internalised and influence an individual’s overall life satisfaction (Andereck et al, 2007). With terms used interchangeably QoL, happiness and well-being refer to one’s satisfaction with life, and feelings of contentment or fulfilment with one’s experiences in the world (ibid.). Whether tourism as phenomena and practice may support the growing body of evidence that demonstrates a positive relationship between existential factors such as life purpose / meaning, personal growth and wellbeing (Vella-Brodrick, 2007) was the topic of intense debate during the 2008 Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel Education Network (BEST EN) Think Tank VIII.

Tourism and Quality-of-Life: How Does Tourism Measure Up?

This chapter reviews and analyzes the contribution that tourism development makes to quality-of-life (QOL). The chapter commences with a review of the sociocultural, economic, and environmental effects of tourism development as it relates to QOL. It will be argued that tourism studies have generally relied on observations and measurement by researchers, who have explored residents’ perceived impacts of tourism on their community. In contrast to community-centric impact studies, this chapter is concerned with how economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism are manifested and how tourism is contributing to QOL and overall life satisfaction. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) is used to achieve this goal. The opinions of experts in tourism development are used as a basis for identifying the importance of 45 attributes of QOL and for assessing how well tourism performs on each. The literature review, analysis, and findings indicate that tourism has the potential to contribute to enhanced QOL through economic benefits, but this can be at the expense of social equity, cultural identity, and environmental sustainability. There is also considerable room for improvement in tourism’s performance with respect to contributing to local communities and provision of leadership and corporate social responsibility as they relate to the key attributes of QOL in tourism destinations. Research propositions emerging from the findings could inform the future direction of inquiry into the complex relationships and interdependencies between tourism, QOL, and the well-being of both tourists and the communities they visit.

Valuing Tourism Education 2.0

This article reports on learning experiences from the INNOTOUR project that aims to raise the quality of tourism education by use of Web 2.0 technology, new pedagogy, and values-based education. The article describes the main areas of the INNOTOUR platform, associated teacher training, and examples of course implementation. A discussion on key challenges sets into perspective handling of formal requirements, which incorporation of Web 2.0 tools and learning poses to participants, and alignment of curricula and exam forms to reflect new teaching methods and the Web 2.0 philosophy. In conclusion, reflections are provided on Web 2.0, the forming of identity and contestation of current university practice.

Emic perspectives on quality of life: the case of the Danish Wadden Sea Festival

This paper sets out to probe how a cultural festival can enhance quality of life (QoL) and identifies possible drivers in the process. The Wadden Sea Festival in Denmark is based on the idea of integrating the coastal environment in the presentation of contemporary art. Specifically, unique tidal differences are utilised to stage a range of performances. The Wadden Sea Festival was designed to create regional, national and international liaisons between artists and cultural institutions and to enhance local residentssense of place and collective identity while also attracting visitors to the region. Recognising the articulated aims of the festival, we explore how a cultural festival, and more specifically contemporary art, may positively influence the QoL of participants, residents and visitors alike. Participant-observation and in-depth interviews formed the basis for this exploratory research. We elicit and illustrate how the festival generated feelings of positive energy and integrity among individual artists and discuss these elements in relation to theoretical conceptualisations of QoL. Adopting a highly contextualised and qualitative approach, we argue that emic perspectives are needed to understand the immaterial elements of QoL. Further, an emic approach allows for deep narratives and opens up for multidimensional perspectives that could be applied in different cultural settings.

Geographical Information and Landscape History in Tourism Communication in the Age of Web 2.0. The Case of the Salt River Bay National Park in St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Maps and other location‐based information have traditionally played an important role in the choice of holiday destination and the selection of sites to visit. Recently new technologies have changed the pattern of tourist information search and use, notably the Internet, mobile communications—foremost cellular telephony—and Global Positioning System (GPS). Focusing on a national park in the U.S. Virgin Islands, we take stock of available geographic data and their potential use in tourist communication. It is argued that Internet‐based neogeography offers strong potential for multilayered interpretation and dissemination to specific visitor groups. Due to a contested history and controversial designation of the area as a national park it is argued that caution must be taken in the interpretation and communication of especially historical maps and population data. Three possible user scenarios centered on visitor activities and information needs are presented. Finally, we conclude that there is a compelling need to develop quality content to satisfy visitor demands and thereby enable competitive advantage. This article results from the Danish Galathea 3 project “St. Croix in Past and Present” and has number P10 in the Galathea publication series.

Values in nature conservation, tourism and UNESCO World Heritage site stewardship

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to understand the complex values held by those involved in Protected Area and World Heritage stewardship. Using IUCN Protected Area categories, a values framework is developed and applied to demonstrate how values guide stewardship in protected areas. In-depth interviews with key tourism operators, public sector managers and other stakeholders from the iconic World Heritage Site and tourism destination, Australias Great Barrier Reef (GBR) reveal how shifting ideologies and government policies increased pressures on nature, resulting in new alliances between stewards from the tourism sector and national and international organisations. These alliances were built on shared nature conservation values and successfully reduced increasing development pressures. Three distinct phases in this process emerged at the GBR, which were driven by personal values held by tourism industry representatives, and their recognition of tourisms reliance on nature for business success. Changing mainstream ideologies and political values can erode World Heritage and Protected Areas, and recalibrate values – including the universal values on which World Heritage Sites depend – towards more anthropocentric interpretations. The values framework presented here could be a powerful tool for stewards involved in conservation to remind those who merely manage and govern of the original nature-focused values.

NGOs in Tourism and Preservation Democratic Accountability and Sustainability in Question

This section has been specifically introduced to include findings of special significance and problem areas of subtle nuances in tourism research. Insightful contributions presenting the state-of-the-art preferably from the developing societies will be appreciated. It will also encourage scholars and authors to think against the grain, probing the consistency of theoretical notions and research trends whose heuristic value is all too often taken for granted. For details contact section editor, Professor Julio Aramberri, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. e-mail: jraramberri@hotmail.com

Stakeholders, High Stakes and High Tides: Quality of Life in a Small Island Festival Context

The aim of this chapter is to reflect on some of the implications in doing fieldwork in a small and relatively isolated island community. In 2009, a Danish island in the Wadden Sea National Park, only reachable by motor vehicles when the tide is out, was selected to host one of the many events taking place during the biannual Wadden Sea Festival. The aim of the project was to create vanishing art depicting the quality of life (QoL) on the island by use of materials found in the islands natural environment. Prior to the implementation of the event and as a part of the project, the authors were invited to qualitatively investigate the QoL among island residents, specifically focusing on subjective well-being. Through a description of stakeholder connections and conflicts, a number of lessons are discerned and pondered upon. In addition to applying the case to demonstrate and discuss how researchers can investigate QoL in tourism and how research(ers) impact small communities, we also reflect on the unforeseen consequences and entanglements of a seemingly (because of its size) ‘straightforward’ field of research. It is argued that field studies in very small communities more easily expose not only ‘outside’ interference, but also controversies and conflicts between neighbours, within families and between dwellers and professions of multiple sorts. Consequently we argue that researchers must continuously reflect on their own role in and relations to the places and communities – the ‘cases’ – which they investigate.

BEST Education Network Think Tank IX: ‘The Importance of Values in Sustainable Tourism’:

© 2010 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1467-3584 Tourism and Hospitality Research Vol. 10, 2, 152–155 Business Enterprises for Sustainable Travel Education Network (BEST EN) held its ninth Think Tank on Sustainable Travel and Tourism in Singapore on the 15 – 18 of June 2009. The conference was held in conjunction with the School of Business at James Cook University in Singapore. Founded in 1998, BEST EN is an international consortium of educators committed to furthering the development and dissemination of knowledge and is dedicated to developing innovative sustainable travel and tourism practices that enhance and develop current industry, academic and traveller practices. A major focus of BEST EN is the dissemination of such knowledge and this is accomplished through the annual Think Tank that takes place over 3 – 4 days at various universities around the world. At the Think Tanks, research is presented, sustainable tourism topics are addressed and a research agenda and curriculum modules for use in undergraduate education are developed. Therefore, the success of BEST EN Think tanks arises not only from the high-quality academic papers that are presented, but importantly in providing the opportunity to work closely with others to share and create new knowledge in this fi eld. The BEST EN is chaired by Dr Janne Liburd, Associate Professor from the University of Southern Denmark, and the executive committee is comprised of professors from undergraduate and graduate departments from around the world. Before reporting on the Think Tank, this year BEST EN also hosted the fi rst international symposium of Volunteering and Tourism, held at James Cook University the day before Think Tank IX commenced. Delegates were welcomed by Dr Deborah Edwards, University of Technology, Sydney and Dr Angela Benson from the University of Brighton, United Kingdom. The fi rst keynote was delivered by Conference Review