S.A. Gillespie

Participation and retention in a green tourism certification scheme

ABSTRACT Tourism certification schemes offer a transitional procedure to a more transparent and sustainable tourism product. Engaging current and previous Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) members in Scotland, this research addresses issues of retention affecting progression of sustainable tourism supply. Quantitative analysis tracking GTBS members over three time points reveals 2% growth but conceals significant flux in membership. Retention was calculated at 66%, where business type analysis discloses distinct issues among accommodation providers with 42% departing the scheme. Decline is greatest among B&Bs and guesthouses (−61%), where poor and falling recruitment coincides with very poor retention (33%). Our analysis demonstrates that slow growth in membership is primarily a result of enterprises choosing to leave the scheme, rather than poor recruitment. Questionnaires from past and present GTBS members (n = 109) confirm the importance of personal pro-environmental philosophies and perceived business benefits in attracting members, yet anticipated benefits do not always materialise. The main reasons for leaving the GTBS relate to membership cost and unrealised benefits. Lack of scheme awareness, management, criteria, bureaucracy and time commitment were further departure factors. The paper offers some suggestions to address issues and enhance retention leading to sustainable growth among tourism certification schemes.

The Southern Upland Way: Exploring Landscape and Culture

This paper considers a research project conducted at the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries Campus, between 2004–5. This considered Scotland’s longest long‐distance walking route: the Southern Upland Way. Here, we consider its methodology and main findings, and then focus specifically on the contents of one of our most useful data sources: walkers’ diaries. Our research, ultimately, showed that the ‘Way’ was perceived, by those who walked it, in three main ways: as a source of ‘challenges’; as a resource of ‘open spaces’ and as a place of genuine ‘hospitality’. Furthermore, we consider the way in which the experience of conducting this research contributed to the development of an active research culture on our relatively new campus, founded in 1999, and also point to the concrete impacts our research had on developing tourism on the Southern Upland Way.