Jess Ponting

Building a decommodified research paradigm in tourism: the contribution of NGOs.

This paper argues for a shift in tourism research that challenges models which prioritise commodified tourism experiences over alternative decommodified products. We feel the distinction between commodified and decommodified tourism can be demonstrated using Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) as a case study. Commodifying processes occur when the final outcome is defined as the economic use-value of a product or service. Current directions in tourism research often favour the pursuit of a commodified tourism product in the search for increased efficiency and global profits using research paradigms that narrowly pursue this direction. We argue that the negative impacts of such a trajectory restrict our ability to understand and analyse the tourism experience requiring decommodifying actions in tourism research to move forward; these we feel are best informed by alternative theoretical and philosophical perspectives that include feminism, ecocentrism, community development and poststructuralism. NGOs are used in this paper to provide an example of how the broadening of research philosophies allows access to approaches that pursue decommodification in tourism as they move beyond the almost exclusive pursuit of industry profits and place social, cultural and ecological value on local environments and economics.

De-constructing Wonderland: Surfing Tourism in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct surfing tourist space (Wonderland) in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, and to show the distribution of wealth generated through foreign tourists accessing local resources is inequitable and unsustainable. The discovery of world-class surf in this region in the early 1990’s spawned the rapid development of a foreign-controlled surfing tourism industry. This paper seeks to establish the notion of ‘tourist space’ as a conceptual tool for analysing the rise of surfing tourism in Indonesia based on 50 years of narrative, surf exploration and idealized media representations of uncrowded surf breaks and high adventure – in short, Wonderland. In the Mentawai context, a marketing synergy between foreign surf-tour operators, the media, and surfwear manufacturers have written local populations, government, and NGOs out of the ‘Wonderland’ equation. This paper analyses the construction of surfing tourist space in Indonesia by unpacking its components to reveal foundations historically based in surfer mythology. We argue that through a comparison with best practice principles of tourism development, a re-evaluation of self and other, and empowerment of community based organizations that a re-conceptualisation of tourist space may allow new, more effective foundations to be laid in pursuit of sustainable tourism development.

Liberalizing Nirvana: an analysis of the consequences of common pool resource deregulation for the sustainability of Fiji's surf tourism industry

In July 2010, the Fijian government issued a decree that liberalized Fijis surf breaks and deregulated its surf tourism industry. It did this by canceling licenses that granted resorts exclusive use of surf breaks based on indigenous customary ownership of foreshore and fringing reef fishing areas as common pool resources. This paper analyses the sustainability of surf tourism in Fiji, utilizing a developing framework for sustainable surf tourism. Based on broader sustainable tourism theory and empirical research, the framework considers (1) the impact of economic neo-liberalism, (2) the need for coordinated planning and limits to growth, (3) the advantages of systematic attempts to foster cross-cultural understanding, and (4) the social benefits associated with the development of surfing at the village level. The study found that a lack of regulation is compromising the sustainability of Fijis surf tourism industry in each of these four dimensions. However, evidence of a growing acceptance of the need for regulation by most stakeholders offers a starting point for a transactive, participative process to find solutions. A fifth element to the framework is recommended for future analyses based on the need for surf tourism to contribute to poverty alleviation in destination communities.

Narcissism and Neo-Liberalism : Work, Leisure, and Alienation in an Era of Consumption

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to trace some of the links between neo-liberalism, narcissism and the influence of work, leisure and consumer culture on self-identity. By examining narcissism as an instrument of personality and social psychological analysis, we investigate the ways in which self-identity in neo-liberal societies is constructed and fulfilled through interactions with the marketplace, promoting self-interest and success in the form of wealth, admiration and bodily perfection. It is our contention that this process creates narcissistic identities, which attempt to defend the self against the degradation of work in neo-liberal societies, and where anxiety, emptiness and isolation are converted into pleasure and healing through leisure consumerism. In the final analysis we explore some of the links between narcissistic work and leisure, and psychological distress and disorders.

Waves of simulation: Arguing authenticity in an era of surfing the hyperreal

This article is an examination of the impact of new, technologically sophisticated wave pools upon the culture of surfers. Appropriating the concepts of simulation from the work of postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard, and mechanical reproduction from the critical theorist Walter Benjamin, we consider how the spectre of perfectly simulated waves in controlled environments has signaled a new era in the history of the social construction and contestation of authenticity within the surfing world. Through an examination of interview and survey data that reveals contrasting perspectives on wave pools, we consider the implications of the possibility that with the invention of the perfectly simulated wave, the experience of riding a wave will be detached from the domain of tradition that is known as the surfing lifestyle. Our article compliments previously published research on lifestyle sports that take place in artificial settings.

Riding waves of intra-seasonal demand in surf tourism: analysing the nexus of seasonality and 21st century surf forecasting technology

ABSTRACT This study examines the natural component of seasonality in surf tourism. Using survey responses collected globally, we first analyse how surfers report using forecasts to make travel decisions. Occupancy and head-count data were also collected in Pavones, Costa Rica and analyzed against surf forecast data to empirically assess intra-seasonal fluctuations. Despite a small and highly skilled subset of the surf population, most international travel is booked months in advance based on climatic factors. Case study results indicate, however, that intra-seasonal travel behaviour within a country is correlated to both mid-range (occupancy) and short range (head-counts in the water) forecasts. Combined, surf forecasts and observed natural conditions impact surf travel behaviours in nuanced ways that deserve further attention to better understand destination and hospitality management, as well as, host and guest satisfaction and how they relate to intra-seasonal and intra-regional travel patterns.