Kelly S. Bricker

An interpretation of special place meanings whitewater recreationists attach to the South Fork of the American River.

South Fork of the American River corridor. The results also bring into question traditional methods of assessing place, especially when the data are used in managing natural resources.

Relationship Between Carrying Capacity of Small Island Tourism Destinations and Quality-of-Life

This chapter is divided into four sections. In the first section, the carrying capacity literature is reviewed. In the second section, quality-of-life research in general and as it pertains to residents of island destinations, especially those that are dependent on tourism, is discussed. Then, in the third section, the fragility of quality-of-life for island residents is introduced through an example drawn from the Republic of Fiji. In the fourth section, the authors summarize their thoughts and recognize the importance of utilizing a sustainable tourism lens when addressing the carrying capacity of small island destinations.

Vanua and the people of the Fijian Highlands: understanding sense of place in the context of nature-based tourism development

Sense of place meanings were addressed with Fijian Highlanders experiencing nature-based tourism development. Using cultural consensus analysis we found that sense of place was represented through multiple themes, yet Fijian Highlanders did not show a high degree of consensus or homogeneity with respect to sense of place. This lack of homogeneity may be due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, the introduction of a new economic option into the villages, inherent differences between individuals who were born in the village versus those who have moved into the village due to marriage, spatial scale differences, and/or the transitory nature of younger residents. Looking toward the future, the authors explore the potential outcomes of additional research with similar populations and/or methods.

Tourism in protected areas: Developing meaningful standards:

In response to research revealing only 21% of protected areas worldwide have ‘sound’ management practices, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has introduced The Green List for Protected Areas. A system of certification that has resulted from recognition of the need for global standards for protected area management. While not focused specifically on tourism, visitation and visitor management practices where relevant to the overall management of a park are important components. For many protected areas, tourism is integral, relying on visitors and tourism for financial support. Increasingly, partnerships between conservation and tourism are contributing to changes in attitudes around the issues of biodiversity conservation and environmentally responsible business practices. This paper discusses The Green List concept and a case study of one of the successful pilot sites, Arakwal National Park in Australia. The paper also explores partnerships between conservation and tourism and how these partnerships could unfold through the work of The Green List. The work of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council which encourages such partnerships is also discussed, focused on sustainable tourism criteria.

Managers’ Perceptions of Illegal Marijuana Cultivation on U.S. Federal Lands

Illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands is a complex social and ecological concern increasingly encountered by managers and federal officials. The negative ecological impacts of remote marijuana grow sites are in the nascent stages of scientific understanding; therefore, systematic inquiry into management perspectives about this issue lacks examination. Using purposive sampling, researchers interviewed a diversity of administrators, ecologists, and law enforcement professionals (n = 29) from U.S. federal agencies involved in preventing and responding to illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands. Interview data were analyzed using common pool resource design principles (Ostrom 1990) to (a) understand managers’ challenges, successes, ideas, and experiences regarding illegal marijuana cultivation, and (b) highlight specific drivers that prohibit, assist, and influence the prevention, mitigation, and response to this issue. Salient themes from the interviews include management complexity, adequate funding, agency collaboration, ecological impacts, and unknown future challenges associated with legality.

Modelling travellers’ philanthropy: tourists’ motivations to donate at Sweetwater Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Parks and protected areas are often charged with addressing pressing conservation issues, but frequently face financial constraints. Travellers’ philanthropy is recognised as one form of ecotourism that can increase funding for conservation efforts, such as biodiversity preservation, within protected areas. While recent research has enumerated various factors that influence on-site donations in travellers’ philanthropy programmes, the strength of and relationships between these factors (e.g. messaging, trust, and caring) in influencing donation behaviour have not been studied. This exploratory mixed-methods study investigated factors influencing tourists’ motivations to donate to travellers’ philanthropy programmes, specifically at Sweetwater Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya. Researchers examined the relationships between on-site messaging, trust in an organisation, feelings of caring for chimpanzees, on-site donation behaviour, and intentions to donate in the future. Results indicate that not all factors have equal influence on donation behaviour, and certain factors led to visitors’ future donation intentions, as opposed to actual on-site donations. These findings have implications for park and sanctuary managers in diverse settings seeking to implement and assess travellers’ philanthropy programmes, as well as design effective fundraising and outreach efforts.

Lessons Learnt from the Westgate Shopping Mall Terrorist Attack in Nairobi, Kenya: Involving the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions Sector in Crisis Communications

The terrorist attacks in Nairobi Kenya have been widely disseminated by the world media, thus, affecting the long-term interests of stakeholders. The tourism industry is made up of a vast number of these stakeholders, with the operating sector alone including the accommodation, tourism services, transportation, entertainment, food services, adventure and outdoor recreation, attractions, meetings, incentive, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE), and travel trade sectors. Within each operating sector, there is also a variety of different stakeholders in various segments and organizations. The purpose of this manuscript is to examine tourism crisis communications surrounding the Westgate Shopping Mall attacks in Kenya. The main research question which guided this study was: Did tourism communications surrounding the Westgate Shopping Mall attacks follow best practices for tourism crisis communications? Accordingly, this paper used participant observation to highlight communications surrounding the attacks from the perspective of a conference planner and a conference attendee.

Lessons from the Legends: America’s Expanding Liberal Democratic Tradition

“Lessons from the Legends” is a series of 10 inspirational videos created for park and recreation classroom and staff training purposes. Each video depicts an important theme uncovered in a larger content analysis of a cross section of in depth interviews with park and recreation practitioners and educators selected as “Legends in Parks and Recreation” by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. We present each video’s script as an article with a link to its accompanying video that brings the story to life. Readers are invited to access the link and download the video for educational purposes as each article appears in “Legends and Legacies.” Subscribe to JPRA

Effecting positive change – an introduction

‘The future we want: Effecting positive change through ecotourism’ special issue is designed to engage theory to practice through innovation, programmatic application, and knowledge-based case studies. This is reflected in research focused on socio-economics of community development; the value of a systems approach to community and natural resources tourism relationships; and capacity building and training for facilitators of ecotourism (i.e. guides) and education of visitors through experiences. This issue supports the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism Development through critical evaluation of systems approaches and strategies that improve ecotourism’s effectiveness in attaining the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. It also attempts to document the extent to which ecotourism affects socio-ecological processes. The contributions within this special issue emphasize the importance of systematic approaches to complex phenomena such as ecotourism. Duffy et al. explore agroecotourism and ecotourism principles by exploring interrelationships between agroecology and sustainable tourism development goals. Using the socialist nation of Cuba as a backdrop, they explore the complementary nature of agroectourism with ecotourism by utilizing the Community Capitals Framework (CCF). Their findings contribute to our understanding of mechanisms that improve health in its broadest sense thereby contributing to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and enhancing our understanding of ecotourism’s contribution to them. Stone and Nyaupane also support CCF by exploring the complex relationship between ecotourism, protected areas, and community livelihoods within Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust. The focus of their research is understanding ecotourism’s role in community capital dynamics, which includes decision making, financial benefits, and collaboration amongst tourism stakeholders. Their results reinforce the importance of accounting for the physical, cultural, social, political, economic, and ecological contexts in rural development. They highlight the benefit of using the CCF to reveal ecotourism’s influence on community needs and functions of protected areas. Snyman’s contribution to this special issue elucidates the private sector’s potential negative and positive impacts to socio-economic development. Through her research in South Africa, Snyman illustrates that while positive impact exist, they can be dependent on several factors, including the benefits enjoyed, which are often linked to direct employment within ecotourism. As a result, how employment is structured becomes a key factor in benefits sustained by the wider community. She also highlights structural components essential to engaging in successful private sector partnerships – which are important in community development and ecotourism.

Framework for Understanding Sustainability in the Context of Tourism Operators

Tour operators are an important component of the tourism system. They link tourists and destinations, and as a result have influence on sustainability within destinations. Tour operators are also part of a larger system that include direct involvement in all aspects of a tourist experience, such as accommodations, attractions, food services, and transportation. The scale of tourism operators span from very localized to international and deliver a diverse array of services. However, increasingly tour operators face challenges in controlling aspects of the tourism product. Because tour operators influence many aspects of a destination and how visitors might perceive the destination, the can maximize aspects of sustainability including: social and economic benefits; benefits to cultural heritage; benefits to the environment; and enable partnerships. A framework for sustainable tourism operators captures the variability and potential role and influence tour operations have within the industry overall.