Joanne Connell

'What's the story in Balamory?': the impacts of a children's TV programme on small tourism enterprises on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

Film- and television-induced tourism effects have been witnessed in a number of locations world-wide, creating a range of positive and negative impacts for host communities and environments. The children’s television programme Balamory, filmed on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has created a new tourism phenomenon for the island, leading to concern that Mull’s reputation as a green destination for the discerning might be displaced by a less desirable form of tourism. Through a questionnaire survey of tourism businesses on Mull, this paper explores the perceptions of television-induced tourism and the effect of Balamory on business activity during the 2003 season, exploring customer numbers, spending, turnover and profitability, along with attitudes to the new visitors. The research also explores the implications for sustainable tourism development, particularly recognising the limited life-span of film- and television-induced tourism and issues relating to displacement of traditional markets, with an emphasis on sustaining tourism as a means of generating revenue to support a rural island community.

Scenario planning as a tool to understand uncertainty in tourism: the example of transport and tourism in Scotland in 2025.

This paper discusses the use of scenario planning as a methodology to help understand the future of tourism. It reports on the results of a scenario planning exercise undertaken in 2007 in Scotland by VisitScotland, the National Tourism Organisation for Scotland, which seeks to understand how transport might shape tourism in 2025. The study followed an established methodology used by the UKs Office for Science and Technology [OfST. (2006). Transport – intelligent futures project. London: Author.] and how it set out to understand what transport provision might look like in 2055. The methodology used by the OfST study was modified and expanded by this study with a series of in-depth interviews with industry stakeholders to understand what the key drivers of change in the transport sector were in 2007 and would be in 2025. This was followed by the construction of two scenarios designed to look at two extreme cases of how transport and tourism would be interconnected to shape the destination and ability to access different types of tourism product and experience. These scenarios were then introduced to a workshop setting with key industry stakeholders to assess the reliability and validity of the scenarios. The paper also draws out wider implications for academic research of using scenario analysis in tourism, so that the value of this methodology can be understood and used more widely in appropriate settings. The study has to be viewed against the current tourism strategy for Scotland – the Tourism Framework for Change.

Analysing the Promotion of Adventure Tourism: A Case Study of Scotland

Adventure tourism promotion is now widely used a component of place imagery and product development in countries where this is a nascent industry sector. This paper presents a case study of the recent imagery and promotion of adventure tourism in Scotland in 2004 by the public sector. The case study highlights the interconnections between sport and tourism by the public sector and the way they have utilised this relationship as a strategy to tap the adventure tourism market. Using the promotional literature produced by Scotlands Area Tourist Boards (now part of VisitScotlands Tourism Network) and the National Tourism Organisation, VisitScotland, the paper reviews the type of imagery developed and used to attract visitors to Scotland. The paper examines the role of photographic material as a tool for tourism promotion and provides an analysis of this form of material using content analysis based on the research methodology used by Schellhorn and Perkins for holiday brochures in another context.

Modelling the Visitor Experience in the Gardens of Great Britain

Ensuring satisfactory visitor experiences forms a crucial role in determining the long-term viability and success of visitor attractions. However, identifying and managing the common features that unite visitors in enjoyment and appreciation of attractions, poses significant challenges for managers. While there is a growing literature on managing the visitor experience in attractions, methodological approaches to assessing visitor experiences are still at an early stage of development. This paper explores the nature and scope of the visitor experience within the context of gardens in Great Britain, drawing on the results of surveys of garden visitors and garden owners/managers. Comparisons of the perceptions of the importance of various elements of the visitor experience are made using structural equation modelling in order to identify differences between garden visitors (n = 593) and garden owners/managers (n = 546). The results indicate that there is reasonable consensus between the two groups, although implications for the future development of the garden visit experience exist for individual sites and the development of the garden attraction market.

Evaluating the Economic and Spatial Effects of an Event: The Case of the World Medical and Health Games

ABSTRACT This paper examines the spatial implications of the hosting of a special event in 2003 in the City of Stirling, the World Medical and Health Games. This was the first event hosted in the city since it received City status and was an attempt to assess the extent to which the city could accommodate a medium-sized event while utilizing the sport infrastructure in the wider region to support event development. The paper argues that the use of generalized multiplier analysis does not offer sufficient precision or detail when looking at the impact of events. This paper uses a business survey technique to assess the effects on local businesses to understand in detail how an event can affect the space economy of a region during an event.

The Scottish Highland Games: Evolution, Development and Role as a Community Event

This article provides an in-depth review of the Highland Games as an event that has achieved worldwide recognition, staged not just in Scotland but across the globe where Scottish Diasporas exist, although the focus here is on Scotland. Highland Games events are complex to categorise and conceptualise considering their multi-layered nature and scope, encompassing a multitude of activities each based on diverse local histories and traditions. The article commences with a detailed historical analysis of the Highland Games in Scotland to illustrate the distinctiveness and uniqueness of this type of event. A review of the event literature follows to illustrate the complexities and problems that conventional event typologies pose for seeking to classify or categorise the Highland Games, emphasising the community basis of such events as a starting point for understanding this phenomenon. The article reports the results of an empirical study of Highland Games events in Scotland and addresses a number of the current concerns and debates associated with the staging of Highland Games, including the challenges that non-profit Games organisations face in continuing the community tradition of event hosting. One particular issue that features is an acknowledgement of the dangers posed by the more commercial priorities of contemporary event management to the rich cultural heritage that underpins the Highland Games which could easily become neglected or even eradicated through more professional organisation.

Exploring attitudes to corporate fitness in Jersey: employer and employee perspectives

Corporate fitness or fitness promotion in the workplace, while well established in the United States and other industrialized countries, has been slow to develop in the United Kingdom. Health and business promotion organizations recognize the benefits of fitness initiatives in the workplace and throughout the 1990s have advocated the opportunities available to employers. This paper reports the results of an exploratory investigation using sample companies in Jersey to assess attitudes towards corporate fitness schemes. Empirical work focusing on both the company perspective and the employee view has been carried out and a positive reaction to corporate fitness was the predominant finding.