Keith Wilkes

The Perceived Social Impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup on Munich Residents

All major sporting events result in a variety of impacts upon the host community. To date, the majority of existing studies have focused upon the wider economic impacts, with few empirical studies of the social impacts upon local residents. This paper explores the perceived impacts of the 2006 Football World Cup upon residents of one of the host cities–Munich. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, 180 Munich residents were randomly selected. Of these, 132 agreed to participate in face-to-face interviews. Findings from the study suggested that the impacts were largely perceived as positive by residents, especially in terms of urban regeneration, increased sense of security, positive fan behaviour and the general atmosphere surrounding the event. Negative impacts, such as increased crime, prostitution, and displacement of local residents were perceived by fewer respondents. Further analysis demonstrates that such perceptions are not dependent upon socio-demographic factors such as age, gender or length of residence in the city.

Using grounded theory to model visitor experiences at heritage sites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present grounded theory as an alternative approach for conceptualizing and modelling the consumer experience. The basic theoretical tenets of the grounded theory approach are contrasted with more traditional assumptions and methods used in consumer research.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on qualitative methods and a series of systematic ethnographic procedures, which along with the simultaneous processes of data collection and analysis, lead to the development of an inductive derived grounded theory of the visitor experience. In order to develop a model of the interactive experience of visitors to heritage sites, case studies are conducted at three World Heritage Sites in Thailand.Findings – The findings indicate that the grounded theory approach has the potential to reveal a rich and deep understanding of visitor experiences, including the ways that visitors interact with the site, their interpretation of the site, and the meaning of the site...

British Wildlife Tourism Operators: Current Issues and Typologies

The UK wildlife outbound tourism sector is a relatively uncharted area of academic study both in terms of demand and supply. The purpose of this paper is first, to move towards a typology of British wildlife tour operators and their favoured destinations, and secondly, to introduce the relationship between satisfying the consumer and sustainable product/destination management. A systematic review of wildlife tourism brochures and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders indicate a gradual shift from a specialised market offering high involvement in a particular species (usually birds) to a more general market looking for an interesting, but pleasant and relaxing holiday based around a general interest in nature and the environment. Both markets coexist in a complex product and tourist spectrum with neither market being entirely inclusive. Instead there is a degree of movement between one and the other which has led to operators offering a wider range of products to suit the hard-core expert and the novice enthusiast. However, product development and satisfying the consumer implies some difficult management dilemmas such as the use of tape recordings, food provisioning and the constant search for new destinations to offer experienced tourists something different.

An evaluation of power relationships among stakeholders in the tourism industry networks of Agra, India

Tourism-related businesses require a multitude of resources in order to operate successfully and given these resources can be accrued from more than one source, bases of power become complex. This is an inductive study which critically evaluates the application of stakeholder theory to an analysis of the tourism destination networks of Agra, India. It examines the relationships of power and dependency that exist between individual and group organisations and the way in which they motivate their behaviour towards each other. The key findings show that resource-based power is formed from the power of individual businesses, the power of the ancillary services stakeholders and the power of the authorities and that network-based power is acquired from the power of agents and the power of groups.