Simon Milne

Participatory Approaches and Geographical Information Systems (PAGIS) in Tourism Planning

Abstract Tourism researchers and planners continue to grapple with the problem of how to achieve more sustainable forms of tourism development; community participation and stakeholder interaction are increasingly seen as central to achieving desired outcomes. This paper explores how participatory approaches (PA) and geographical information systems (GIS) – PAGIS – can be blended to provide a framework that can facilitate a better understanding of attitudes towards tourism and enhance participation and stakeholder interaction in tourism planning. The paper demonstrates the initial development process of PAGIS by focusing on the case of Marahau, a small community in New Zealand. Marahau lies at the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park, one of New Zealands tourism icons. The community is facing considerable changes that impact on their quality of life. This is, in part, due to increasing visitor numbers and tourism developments resulting in growing conflicts over common resource use. There are multiple stakeholders (community, Maori, local government, industry, developers) involved in deciding the future of Marahau and this paper suggests that PAGIS has the potential to play an important role in enhancing sustainable tourism development outcomes.

Multiple stakeholder perspectives on cultural events: Auckland's Pasifika Festival.

Cultural festivals can assist local communities in showcasing cultural attributes and can offer the chance to strengthen a sense of identity. The Pasifika Festival, held annually in Auckland, New Zealand, is a celebration of the citys Pacific Island communities. Drawing on audience and stallholder surveys, and interviews/meetings with festival organizers, this article provides a multiple stakeholder perspective on the festival experience and what it means to those who are part of it. The article also addresses the important question of how to conduct robust, cost-effective research in large festival settings, focusing on the use of online survey tools.

MICE, ICT and Local Economic Development

Abstract This paper investigates how information and communication technologies (ICT), and particularly the World Wide Web (Web), can enhance the role that Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) properties play in local economic development (LED). The complex linkages between MICE, ICT and LED are explored through a literature review, a website audit, in-depth interviews, and a case study of Te Kahurangi (TK) in New Zealand (NZ). Our findings reveal that the Web has considerable (but as yet largely untapped) potential to facilitate linkages between MICE and local economies. Such potential can only be reached, however, through careful planning, and the realization on the part of managers, developers and planners, that the Web is not only simply a marketing tool but also an integral part of attempts to improve internal MICE performance and external links to local development.

New Zealand Travel Agents in the Internet Era: Spatial Differences in ICT Impact, Adoption and Perception

This study empirically investigates the perception, adoption and impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by travel agencies in New Zealand. In particular we examine the difference that location makes in influencing these themes. Our work is based on an on-line national survey of travel agent businesses. We review the current pressures facing travel agents, emphasizing the pivotal role played by ICT. A notable finding of the national online survey is the marked heterogeneity of the New Zealand travel agent sector in terms of pressure factors on their businesses, attitudes towards technology, relationships with the consumer, and business successes. Major spatial differences exist between travel agents (TAs) located in Auckland and other major cities and those in smaller, more rural, towns. TAs from the Auckland region are early internet and ICT adopters who are orientated towards quality customer service and niche markets in contrast to rural travel agents who are not prepared to invest in ICT and do not perceive customerorientated services as an advantage.

Current Human Resource Management Practices in the New Zealand Hotel Sector

This article reports on the status of the use of human resources management (HRM) practices in the hotel sector, more specifically, the strategic positioning of human resources (HR) as perceived by the hotels’ senior management, in New Zealand. A web survey was sent to 174 senior managers of 184 selected hotels throughout the country; 47 managers responded. The findings indicate that HRM practices are well adopted by hotels and, more importantly, the strategic potential of HR is well recognized by the senior management, although there is some way to go before the potential can be fully captured.

Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) and Its Work Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Gender

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of leader–member exchange (LMX) on frontline employees’ turnover intentions and their levels of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mediated by organizational justice in the New Zealand hospitality industry. Adopting cognitive learning theory, the study investigates whether gender moderates the relationships between LMX and its consequences among frontline workers. A self-administered survey that investigated the work relationship between hospitality workers and their immediate supervisor/manager, as well as its impact on various work outcomes, was completed by 118 frontline employees in hospitality businesses in New Zealand. The findings of the study indicate that organizational justice fully mediates between LMX and OCB, and that there is a significant moderating impact of gender on the relationships of LMX with organizational justice and OCB, and the organizational justice and OCB relationship. The implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Backpacker Use of User-Generated Content: A Consumer Empowerment Study

This study examines the importance of the proposed components of Consumer Empowerment through User-Generated Content (UGC) in the travel industry. Researchers have argued that a single common conception of Empowerment is not appropriate across all disciplines and across all contexts. By employing the Uses & Gratifications and Dual-Process Theories, we propose that Consumer Empowerment in the context of UGC can be formed through Content Empowerment, Social Empowerment and Process Empowerment. A focus group discussion session with international tourist backpackers was conducted to gather qualitative data and to verify the importance of the proposed components of Consumer Empowerment. Results indicate that international backpackers identified with all three proposed components of Consumer Empowerment in the context of UGC: Content, Social, and Process.

Tourism, ICT and Regional Economic Development: The Case of kiwitrails

Governments around the world are adopting ICT-enabled strategies to enhance tourisms business and regional economic performance. This paper examines the implementation of a one such project designed to support tourism and local economic development in the East Coast region of New Zealands North Island. A review is presented of the past five years of the development of ‘Kiwitrails’, a web-based virtual community of businesses and communities who are defining their own internet presence through ‘web-raising,’ and the use of open-source web development software. The latter part of the paper reflects on the key issues that have emerged during the implementation and early operation of the project. It is argued that many of the lessons learnt from this particular case are of relevance to community informatics-oriented tourism development programs elsewhere.

Sustainable Surfing Tourism Development in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia: Local Stakeholder Perspectives

ABSTRACT This paper detects and explores how relevant stakeholder groups perceive surfing tourism development in the Mentawai Islands and examine the processes that shape tourism in the region. The paper draws on semi-structured interviews conducted in the Mentawai Islands, Indonesia between July and September 2010. The paper indicates the overall perception among stakeholders is that the surfing tourism industry in the Mentawai Islands needs to be developed in a more sustainable fashion through more operative governance and active government involvement. Stakeholders identified a range of adverse impacts associated with surfing tourism development ranging from the negative influence of Western culture on local communities to the uncontrolled development of resorts and homestays. A key finding of this paper is that there are differing opinions within groups as to how surfing tourism had developed. Responses from community members at the villages highly exposed to the surfing tourism industry were far more positive than those more removed. One significant theme to emerge from the study is the creation of an effective management strategy is crucial to the development of a sustainable surfing tourism industry in the Mentawais Islands.

Empowering the traveler: an examination of the impact of user-generated content on travel planning

ABSTRACT In order to understand the role of user-generated content (UGC) in travel planning, this study integrates Psychological Empowerment with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), to develop a model of UGC-enabled empowerment and its impact on intention to use UGC when making travel plans. Survey data from 268 backpacker tourists revealed that perceived empowerment and perceived usefulness are significant drivers of attitude and intention to use UGC for travel planning. The findings provide the travel industry with a better understanding of how travelers’ perceptions of and use of UGC is empowering them to take greater control of the travel planning process.