Pauline J. Sheldon

Resident attitudes in a mature destination: the case of Waikiki

Abstract Sustainable tourism cannot be successfully implemented without the involvement of those affected by tourism. Therefore, evaluating residents’ attitudes towards tourism and involving them in as many aspects of development is an important step in creating sustainability. This paper summarizes work already done on resident inputs to the planning process and discusses the development and status of Waikiki, in the state of Hawaii, USA as a destination. Waikiki is one of the worlds premier resort destinations serving both as a resort and residential area. It currently faces stagnating visitor arrivals and increased revitalization efforts, commonly typified by mature destinations. Recommendations for Waikikis continued vitality are given based on a survey of Waikiki residents’ attitudes towards the redevelopment of their community. Results indicate residents’ close affinity towards Waikiki and favorable attitudes towards tourism. It is suggested that revitalization efforts be directed to residents’ desire for an improved pedestrian environment and adherence to their revealed preferences. Residents’ close attachment to Waikiki infers the need for resident endorsement of revitalization efforts.

The Demand For Package Tours: A Mode Choice Model

A model is presented to explain a travelers choice of vacation mode. The possible modes considered are independent travel, travel on an inclusive package tour, and travel on a basic package tour. The model is tested using logit analysis and survey data on travel to the Hawaiian Islands. The results indicate that purchasers ofpackage tours are likely to be elderly, be intent on visiting several destinations, contain few people in the party, intend to make short visits, and be first-time visitors to the destination.

Destination information systems

Abstract This paper discusses the role played by national and regional tourism offices in the provision and distribution of destination information. Issues in the structure and design of destination information systems using computer technology are discussed and contrasted with commercial computer reservation systems. Issues addressed include organizational and economic structure of the systems, typologies of information and data sources, quality control of the data, technologies used, and interfaces with other tourism industry electronic marketplaces. Five European destination information systems in Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and England are utilized to illustrate some of the important issues in the systems development.

An authorship analysis of tourism research

This article analyzes the authorship of tourism research published in Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, and Tourism Research during the decade of the 1980s. It reports on the academic and nonacademic contributions, the ranks and positions of the authors, and the proportion of authors from various geographic regions of the world. Institutions that produced the most research, and the repeat contributions of authors, are also investigated. The article also discusses trends over the decade that point to a maturing of the study of tourism — the most noticeable one being the overall increase in published research on tourism.

Tourism Education Futures, 2010–2030: Building the Capacity to Lead

ABSTRACT This paper reports on an initiative to examine the future of tourism education into the years 2010–2030. A group of 45 senior tourism educators and industry experts came together for a summit at Modul University, Vienna, Austria to discuss how tourism education needs to adapt to significant societal and industry changes. The theme of the summit was how to build the capacity for tourism students to lead the industry into the future as it faces increasing pressures for responsibility and stewardship. This paper discusses the pre-summit and summit processes and their outcomes, and explains future plans for this Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI). Among other outcomes was a listing of values that could create the foundation for future tourism education programs, and also five categories of skills that participants felt would be important for students of the future to master. These are destination stewardship skills, political skills, ethical skills, enhanced human resource skills, and dynamic business skills.

Forecasting Tourism: Expenditures versus Arrivals

This article examines issues relating to the measurement and forecasting of international tourist expenditures and tourism arrivals. It shows that the two series fluctuate differently, and examines the accuracy of six different forecasting techniques (time series and econometric causal models) to forecast tourism expenditures. The results show that the accuracy of the forecasts differs depending on the country being forecast, but that the no-change model and Browns double exponential smoothing are, overall, the two most accurate methods for forecasting international tourism expenditures.

The tour operator industry: An analysis

Abstract This paper analyzes the function and structure of the domestic tour operator industry which represents a large part of domestic tourism. The tour operator industry in the United States is polarized into a few large stable and many small less stable firms. Entry into and exit from the industry is easy, and the paper shows that from 1978 to 1985 only 34 percent of the firms remained in the industry. The tour operators main functions are primarily to reduce information and transaction costs for the consumer and to reduce promotional expenditures for suppliers. The second part of the paper analyzes different types of package tours to the Hawaiian Islands and shows that basic package tours (accommodation and transportation only) provide a bigger discount to the consumer (15% than do inclusive tours (—3%). Suggestions are made as to how the industry may become more stable in the future.

An Exploratory Study of Corporate Social Responsibility in the U.S. Travel Industry

The travel industry depends heavily on environmental and cultural resources, making responsible business practices essential to achieve sustainable tourism. This study aims to understand the U.S. travel industry’s opinions about and engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) by surveying the membership of Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). It examines the most common CSR activities and identifies drivers and inhibitors in achieving CSR. Results show an agreement among TIA members about the importance of CSR for the travel industry, now more than ever. The majority of respondents currently engage in some CSR and 24% have a person dedicated to CSR activities. The main drivers of CSR activities are enhanced reputation, and community-based issues. The main inhibitors are lack of resources and lack of understanding. The results show a predominance of environmental (rather than sociocultural) CSR projects. The findings imply an urgent need for clear conceptualization and directions for CSR engagement by the travel industry.

The Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI): Activating Change in Tourism Education

The Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI) seeks to provide vision, knowledge, and a framework for tourism education programs that promote global citizenship and optimism for a better world. This article provides background on TEFI, its inception, its development and its future. The article argues that a fundamental shift in tourism education is necessary to respond to global challenges impacting tourism at a fundamental level. These shifts demand higher levels of responsibility and stewardship by graduates and industry leaders. TEFI attempts to address the complexity and diversity of the shifts required by educational institutions and industry. TEFIs work began by defining a set of foundational values for tourism education programs worldwide (stewardship, ethics, knowledge, mutuality, professionalism). TEFI is now addressing other important shifts needed to provide an education of quality and relevance to tomorrows tourism industry.

Knowledge management for tourism crises and disasters.

This article focuses on the need for destinations to create a knowledge-based system to assist with crisis and disaster management. After laying out the unique needs of the tourism industry for knowledge when disaster strikes, the article describes a knowledge framework designed to assist in such situations. This framework suggests three separate knowledge bases to deal with the three stages of a disaster. Knowledge Base 1, the precrisis stage, deals with knowledge retrieval and storage; Knowledge Base 2, the stage during the crisis, deals with knowledge processing; and Knowledge Base 3, the postcrisis stage, deals with knowledge dissemination. The contents of each knowledge base are identified in detail and a recommendation for public sector leadership in implementation of such a system is discussed.