Justin M. Taillon

Sustainable tourism pedagogy and academic-community collaboration: a progressive service-learning approach.

This article proposes a progressive, experiential and collaborative approach to sustainable tourism pedagogy (STP). Six core STP literacies (technical, analytical, ecological, multi-cultural, ethical, policy and political) are identified, which guide skill and knowledge development for the sustainability practitioner. These are facilitated through experiential education in the field that facilitates critical thinking, practical knowledge and participatory action. It is argued that a critical reflexive stance combined with a collaborative community service-learning approach in STP enables phronesis (practical wisdom) and praxis (social change). A case example is provided of an academic-community collaboration involving undergraduate students, local public and private sector stakeholders, plus diverse rural residents that came together temporarily to explore a cultural heritage issue and challenge. This collaboration facilitated collaborative learning, diverse community involvement and community service. The case overview illustrates a teaching opportunity that conveys how some of these STP priorities were undertaken, including the need for critical social action (to address not only environmental issues but also social-cultural sustainability issues related to the well-being of minority, marginalized and diverse populations).

Last chance tourism: adapting tourism opportunities in a changing world

Section I: Disappearing Landscapes/Seascapes and Vanishing Fauna Chapter 1. An Introduction to Last Chance Tourism Harvey Lemelin, Emma Stewart and Jackie Dawson Chapter 2. Firsts and Lasts in Arctic Tourism: Last Chance Tourism and the Dialectic of Change Margaret Johnston, Arvid Viken and Jackie Dawson Chapter 3. Last Chance tourism in Antarctica - Cruising for change? Machiel Lamers, Eke Eijgelaar, and Bas Amelung Chapter 4. Last Chance Tourism in Alpine Regions: last chance to ski? Robert Steiger, Jackie Dawson, and Johann Stotter Chapter 5. Vanishing Fauna of Tourism Interent David Newsome and Kate Rodger Chapter 6. Last Chance birding: Twitching to See it First or Last? Glen T. Hvenegaard Chapter 7. The Transformation of Polar Bear Viewing in the Hudson Bay Region, Canada Emma Stewart, Jackie Dawson, and Harvey Lemelin Section II: Media and Marketing Chapter 8. Last Chance Tourism? Public Sector Views of Marketing Endangered Tourism Destinations in North America Daniel H. Olsen, Rhonda L. Koster, Nicki Youroukos Chapter 9. Advertising World Heritage Sites: Tour Operators and Last Chance Destinations Elspeth Frew Chapter 10. Last Chance Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef Alexandra Coghlan Section III: Ethics, Culture and Management Chapter 11. Apres moi Le Deluge: Ethics, Empire, and the Biopolitics of Last Chance Tourism Mick Smith Chapter 12. Bringing the Gaze to the Masses. Taking the Gaze to the People: The Socio-cultural Dimensions of Last Chance Tourism Harvey Lemelin and Gary Baikie Chapter 13. Seeing it Off: Last-chance Tourism Opportunity Shagged by Rare Parrot! Eric J. Shelton Chapter 14. Last Chance Tourism in Canadas Protected Areas: Management Implications and Emerging Ethical Considerations Chris Lemieux and Paul Eagles Chapter 15. Last Chance Tourism: Conclusion Jackie Dawson, Emma Stewart, Harvey Lemelin

Understanding Tourism as an Academic Community, Study or Discipline

Tourism literature has shown there is a disagreement amongst academics conducting tourism research as to whether tourism is an academic community, academic study, and/or academic discipline. These three terms are used loosely and change in meaning depending upon the author, source, context, and discipline of the author(s). The following paper identifies tourism’s current position in academia using these three ideas of academic acceptance as tools to guide the discussion. Also guiding the discussion are ideas from tourism scholars and Kuhn’s ideas of what constitutes a discipline. The discussion leads to a debate about “truths” in tourism research. Recommendations regarding the advancement of tourism in academia via theory construction in the academic field of tourism are presented.

Towards understanding sustainable technology implementation: the barriers faced by IT professionals when implementing technologies as part of an EMS program.

A dominant trend in the hospitality industry is a focus on sustainability and “greening”. Much of sustainabilityfocus exists due to new technologies in accordance with and mandated by certification programs such as EMS (Environmental Management Systems). The implementation of new sustainable technologies is necessary to continue bettering the sustainability of hospitality organizations and their properties. Yet, there are numerous barriers to the implementation of sustainable technologies. These barriers and shortcomings are well-documented. The most knowledgeable individuals in an organization in regards to technology and the implementation of such technologies are the I.T. personnel. A study documenting the perceived barriers to the implementation of new sustainable technologies in the hospitality industry by I.T. managers has not been conducted. The following qualitative inquiry documents the perceptions of I.T. managers in the hospitality industry and their perception of the barriers to the implementation of sustainable technologies in the hospitality industry.

Hotel pet policies: an assessment of willingness to pay for travelling with a pet.

Friedmans property rights argument stated decision-makers failing to maximize shareholder wealth violate shareholder agreements (Phillips, 2004). For this reason, hoteliers focus on profit maximiz...

Turning the tune: traditional music, tourism, and social change in an Irish village

I originally approached Turning the tune as a heritage festival text. The available materials on festivals in the tourism literature are heavily steeped in event management, which led me to believe I would be reading something along the lines of the books by Getz, Yeoman and Ali-Knight. I also thought of heritage festivals, predominantly those associated with music such as Greenwood’s chapter on Fuenterrabia in Valene Smith’s seminal text Hosts and guests. However, Kaul’s book takes a different approach from the mainstream tourism literature I have become familiar with through my education and academic interests. My expectations were different from the reality of this text, but I have come to the conclusion that this was the result of my social construction and not a shortcoming of Kaul in any way. I simply state my incorrect approach because I believe other students, practitioners and academics would view the title of this book, read the jacket, read online reviews and believe they would be receiving an education in something different then they will by reading the book. I found three primary differences from existing tourism literature discussing the intersection between music, heritage and tourism. First, this is deep ethnography. Second, the text maintains a focus on social change in lieu of music and tourism, which are depicted as the agents of the social change. Third, this is a book rather than a journal publication, which provides Kaul an opportunity for a far more holistic construction of the case study on which he has chosen to focus. So this is deep ethnography. I am admittedly a social constructivist at the far end of the spectrum – someone who quite often has difficulty finding philosophical reasons to use even a mixed-methods approach – and I am thus excited by the chosen methodology and manner in which lessons are conveyed. This book uses ethnography beautifully, from the prose dictated by emotion and the personal relationship Kaul built over 14 months in the field to the trustworthiness and deep understanding he is able to convey academically and emotionally. For example, when conveying how music is felt, Kaul writes that:

Critical debates in tourism

This edited text is unique. Tej Vir Singh, the text’s editor, describes Critical Debates in Tourism in the Preface as the compilation of an approximately 15-year project, where as chief editor of the journal Tourism Recreation Research he became interested in a certain type of manuscript. These manuscripts were projects he and others in the field of tourism deemed worthwhile as building blocks of the academic literature in tourism research while also being works-in-progress rather than completed studies. In fact, some of the chapters in this book are actually extensive literature reviews recommending new directions for research within tourism rather than being an empirical study. Many of the works-in-progress were originally presented as pseudo-publications in a section of Tourism Recreation Research Singh created for these types of papers called Research Probes. According to Singh, these papers were published as Research Probes rather than journal articles primarily because the writings “ . . . did not fit into a research format, lacked research rigour, and was generally descriptive and qualitative in tone” (Singh, 2012, p. xvii). Singh writes, “We should base our scientific proposition on quantitative methods but when adopting an experimental approach for studying humans we would need qualitative tools” (Singh, 2012, p. xvii). While I disagree with the negative perception of qualitative research being less publishable, I do agree this is a collection of works that are of a high quality and worthy of publication. While some authors may feel uncomfortable submitting a Research Probe in lieu of a peer-reviewed submission, perhaps due to tenure and promotion constraints, these authors seem to relish the forwarding of their research in this format. Some of the most respected and prolific authors in the field of tourism author chapters in this text. For example, David Weaver, Bill Bramwell, Ralf Buckley, Richard Sharpley, Michael Hall, Joan Henderson and many other authors I studied extensively while working on my PhD have agreed to publish a chapter in this text. This book does truly example our field’s most respected academics. Critical Debates in Tourism lacks a singular focus within the literature, which is by and large a purpose of the book in the first place. There is a theme to the text though. I believe the discourse running through this book is precisely what the title conveys: Critical debates in tourism. Each chapter forwards critical thoughts towards seminal aspects of tourism. This includes mass tourism, sustainability, small-scale tourism, community participation in tourism, neoliberalism, pro-poor tourism, voluntourism, education, postcolonialism, heritage tourism, nature tourism, authenticity, climate change and more. The discourse weaving the text together is new trends and critical thoughts in the tourism literature. This is evidenced in nearly every chapter. Some of my favourite examples include: