Tourism Review International

A pretest/posttest design was used to investigate the experiences of participants on a university-sponsored ski/snowboard trip to Interlaken, Switzerland. Self-administered questionnaires measuring benefits sought, destination image, satisfaction, and risk perception were distributed during transit. Of the 90 participants, 55 (61%) completed the pretest questionnaire. Thirty-nine (43.3%) completed and returned the posttest questionnaires via e-mail. Additional data were provided by participant observation and open-ended responses within the questionnaire. Frequencies and t-tests revealed that students sought benefits related to novelty, excitement, and social opportunities. Images were of scenic beauty, unique skiing, and cultural attractions. Participants were unconcerned with risks involved in travel after September 11, 2001. Gender, involvement, and previous travel experience were also examined. Recommendations for planners of similar trips are to consider the interests of nonskiers and skiers in marketing, capitalizing on popular images of destinations.

The production and consumption of tourism knowledge has emerged as a vibrant research focus. This article extends this body of research by analysis of the production and consumption of tourism knowledge across the 15 countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for the period 2000-2010. Issues of concern in the production of tourism research are patterns of publishing, nature of journals (tourism vs. nontourism), and extent of local versus nonlocal scholarship. Using Google Scholar citations the consumption of tourism research discloses the most cited articles published in the period 2000-2010, most cited as published 2006-2010, and most cited for each country. In relation to international tourism scholarship as a whole, a key finding from the SADC is that the majority of tourism research is published outside of tourism-focused journals. This suggests that bibliometric studies that track tourism scholarship based only on the contents of major tourism journals fail to capture a key segment of tourism scholarship.

The relative lack of new thinking and writing in the area of alternative tourism since the early 1990s remains something of a mystery to this reviewer, given the early promise of that model to redress the systemic and widespread problems associated with conventional mass tourism. This may in part owe to the emergence of the ``sustainable tourism'' paradigm, which is more encompassing in its recognition of both small-scale and large-scale tourism (and everything in between) as legitimate expressions of development. Many academics and practitioners, apparently, are focusing on the pursuit of larger scale tourism that provides significant economic benefits to a destination without generating concomitant environmental and sociocultural costs. The same holds true for ecotourism, which started out essentially as a nature-based form of alternative tourism but is now also conceived as a form of mass tourism. Grand Canyon National Park, AustraliaÕs Great Barrier Reef, and numerous other sites attest to the possibilities of sustainable mass ecotourism.

Survey-based research explored the moderating effects of "exposure" to the Australian free-to-air telecast of Athens 2004 and "interest" in Olympic Games in developing behavioral intentions to visit Greece in the future. Differences were found between groups with low and high levels of exposure to the telecast, and also between groups with high levels of interest in the Olympic Games, but these were only marginal. When the combinatorial influences of these two variables were considered simultaneously, their effects were generally synergistic. The article calls for further research on this area of mega-events, as the results, while of significance, provide food to continue the broader debate on the role of mega-events in developing tourism to their host destinations after their staging.

The FIFA 2010 World Cup has provided a real opportunity to give life to the ninth recommendation of the UNWTO's 2009 roadmap to recovery, namely "to improve tourism promotion and capitalize on major events." Unfortunately, the developmental impacts of mega-events in the global periphery are frequently inflated and there is little guarantee that the realized effects will meet the expectations of one in every three South Africans to personally benefit from employment creation opportunities through the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This article reflects on the following. First, the existing body of knowledge on mega-sport events and the tangible and intangible benefits for host societies. Second, the inflated expectations of South Africans since winning the FIFA 2010 bid in May 2004. Third, 2009 as build-up phase toward hosting the FIFA 2010 World Cup, by using three other local mega-sport events and disclosing their contribution to the local economy. Fourth, the political will of the South African government to invest in long-term tourism developmental goals by exposing the size of investments made in large-scale superstructural and infrastructural projects. And last, unveiling the golden-egg contribution of this mega-sport event during tough economic times.

People have been fascinated with the cowgirl persona for decades. She is a part of the history, heritage, and popular culture of the US. Cowgirls are a phenomenon of the US and represent women of independent spirit, courage, and determination. The purpose of this study is to explore how women perceive cowgirls before and after a visit to the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas. Freelisting was used to elicit responses from participants regarding their feelings about the exhibits in the museum. Analysis revealed that the cowgirl persona is read by women as a complex and diverse phenomenon. It was also determined that a tour of the museum alters women's perceptions and awareness of cowgirls and their various accomplishments. The insights gained from this study could be used to develop an in-depth study on women's perceptions of female identities and what they take away from their museum experiences. The information can also be used to further women-centered scholarship with an eye toward gaining greater understanding of women's lives and potential.

In this article the authors address a simple question: What will the already observable demographic changes mean for tourism in Japan, apart from the presence of older people? Indeed, if the population will be nearly halved in the next 50 years, one must actually address the question of whether many of the more peripheral communities in Japan will survive at all, or whether they resemble the ghost villages in Shiga prefecture to the east of Lake Biwa. Some pointers to the fate of these communities can already be discerned in a series of studies carried out in the last 20 years. On the basis of selected case studies this article projects this process over the next 50 years to see what the impact will be on the Japanese rural periphery and on patterns of tourism. Japan as a whole has an extraordinary concentration of theme parks and other tourist facilities based on notions of identity and heritage. The title of this article refers to the fact that many communities in Japan are already turning their landscapes into quasi, if not actual, theme parks in order to attract tourists, capital and, especially, more residents. Over the next 50 years this process of conversion could become a Darwinian struggle for survival as the population diminishes outside Japan's major cities.

Interest in travel constraints and access to tourism facilities by people with disabilities has been largely brought about in the UK with the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995. This article explores the impact of this legislation in terms of a wider debate on government ideas of social inclusion. In this setting, attention is given to the reactions of service providers to the disability legislation and of the needs of tourists. The article draws together the findings from a range of recent surveys of both providers and users.

For more than a decade theorizing around the concept of disability/disablement has utilized intrinsic versus extrinsic, personal versus social models. Within the intrinsic/personal model, codified by the World Health Organization, the facilitation of access to otherwise inaccessible sites and services has been a major focus of attention. In contrast, the social model situates physical access issues within a much wider context of more general structural denial of minority group access to “loot and clout.” The academic study of tourism so far largely has failed to address the implications for the industry of social theories of disability, concentrating rather on practical issues of dismantling barriers to physical access. This article situates the experience of disability in tourism within social models of disability and argues that the historical emphasis on improving physical access, although of value, has served to perpetuate person-centered models, and thus is itself potentially disabling. Consequently, the issue is raised of how far can and should tourism practice be informed by disability theory.

With the passage of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), civil rights protection was expanded for the 54 million Americans with disabilities. Tourism falls under Title III of this legislation. Yet, more than a decade after the passage of the ADA, people with disabilities still encounter barriers in travel and tourism industry sectors, both accessibility and staff attitudinal barriers. This study examined four industry sectors within US travel and tourism in terms of the accessibility and attitudinal barriers that travelers with physical disabilities encountered. The four sectors were transportation, accommodations, eating/drinking establishments, and attractions. Further, comparisons were conducted on gender, age, types of assistive devices used by travelers, income, and accessibility and attitudinal barriers. Results indicated that the four tourism sectors may not universally comply with the ADA and that tourism providers are not meeting the attitudinal needs of travelers. Gender, age, assistive devices, and income were not good indicators of accessibility barriers travelers encountered, but gender and age provided some indication of attitudinal barriers they encountered.

This study focuses on the rural images of rural accommodation operators, their motivations in terms of "lifestyle" aspirations, and their "brokering" role in the understanding of tourists' needs and experiences in rural areas. We know little about the rural image perceptions of tourism entrepreneurs, the importance that they place on a rural lifestyle, and how they influence their guests' experiences of rural life. Similarly, little is known about knowledge transfer between hosts and their guests. The study area for this research is in a rural region of small towns and villages in South Western Ontario, Canada. Through personal interviews, rural entrepreneurs showed a strong interaction with tourists, a sound knowledge of tourist motivations, and where tourists go in the region. They performed a role of validating and recommending tourist activities and thus influencing consumption patterns. Their role as tourism "brokers" is important because as well as recommending the tourism product, they can get feedback on the quality of tourist experiences in the region. This article supports the notion of lifestyle entrepreneurship as the norm in rural tourism, at least in this region, and emphasizes the importance of the rural landscape to quality of life for both hosts and guests.

Following its historical rise and fall, America's first industrialized polluted landscape garnered federal and local support to remedy its near destruction. Today, the Blackstone Valley is a pragmatic example of translating theory into practice. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, since its inception in 1985, has applied leadership, innovation, and commitment to its mission and innovative sustainable tourism place-making principles in its work. This dedication to its destination, aligned with principles from the World Tourism Organization, United Nations Environmental Programme & World Tourism Organization, and the Geotourism principles of the National Geographic Society, Center for Sustainable Destinations, has led the way for the Blackstone Valley to become a sustainable tourism destination. The Tourism Council has worked to preserve and enhance the Valley's environment, respect the sociocultural authenticity of the communities, and provide economic growth to all stakeholders. Social responsibility from all sectors of the community has led the Valley to find its direction, follow its vision, and share it with others along the way. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council continues to fulfill the vision of sustainable tourism through the Sustainable Tourism Planning and Development Laboratory. The Laboratory's purpose is to share the Tourism Council's experience in developing planned sustainable tourism with local, regional, state, provincial, and worldwide tourism leaders, and community stakeholders seeking to develop viable and successful destinations.

The tourism industry shares with local residents, governments, and community the obligation to protect and maintain the natural and cultural heritage resources of our planet, both to sustain economies and to be passed on unimpaired to future generations. The most comprehensive approach to achieving sustainable operations (i.e., to integrate economic, environmental, and social thinking into core business activities) is the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), approach. TBL is a planning and reporting mechanism and decision-making framework used to achieve sustainable development in both private and public sector organizations—an internal management tool as well as an external reporting framework. This scoping article has several aims. First, it sets out the nature of the TBL approach and its key components. Second, the article identifies the potential benefits of the TBL approach to tourism organizations. Third, it will discuss the conditions necessary for integrating TBL into organization activities. Fourth, the article will discuss some challenges to tourism organizations in establishing TBL. Finally, some issues for further research will be highlighted.

One sign of the growing interest in student travel both from the tourism industry and academic researchers is the global independent travel survey conducted by the International Student Travel Confederation (ISTC) and the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS). The survey, conducted in 2002, covers the profile and travel behavior of 1630 students booking travel from student travel organizations in eight countries. This article reports the initial results of this research. The survey showed that students are frequent travel consumers with extensive previous experience of relatively long trips outside of their own world region. Most students see their travelstyle as that of ``traveler,'' but a significant proportion of the market characterized their travel as ``backpacking.'' Motivations reflecting a desire for experience are prevalent with student travelers, particularly in terms of exploring other cultures. Motivations tend to be differentiated by destination region and travelstyle and are distinct between students and other young travelers. In spite of these differences in motivation, however, the activities actually engaged in showed little differentiation between students and others. The most frequently mentioned activities were visiting historical sites, walking, sitting in cafés and restaurants, and shopping, which were practiced by over 70% of respondents. In this and other respects, the article argues that comparisons of motivation and actual activities indicate a gap between the ideology and practice of travel.

This study examines passengers' motivations for taking a cruise vacation, their travel-related activities while on vacation, and their preferences to return to each destination for a land-based vacation. The study is based on a survey of cruise passengers on a 10-day itinerary with six ports-of-call from Miami, Florida to the Caribbean. Five underlying dimensions of cruise passengers' motivations were found: Convenience/Ship Based, Exploration, Escape and Relaxation, Social, and Climate. The findings of the study indicate that while the majority of respondents participated in shore excursions and a diverse range of activities in port, they had mixed rankings of destinations on the itinerary. Generally, passengers ranked the more developed destinations higher, spent more money in port, and traveled further from the port area. Furthermore, destinations that were ranked high were also those that respondents indicated preference to return for land-based holidays, suggesting that the satisfaction with a port destination and the activities participated in could influence passengers' intent to return.

The new millennium encompasses an era of accelerating diversity and multicultural experience. Globalization, educational tourism, and international student growth has created the need for a greater understanding of the social and economic impacts of the tertiary education cross-cultural experience. The purpose of this article is to enhance this understanding, utilizing the social learning theory framework to compare local and international university students' international education experience with respect to cultural adaptation. The results show that cultural adaptation formed part of the multicultural experience for both student groups, although a key finding was that international students were subject to a greater degree of culture shock. These finding concur with previous academic literature and government reports that have discussed the issue.

This article presents initial proposals for utilizing qualitative research methods based on principles of analyzing uncertainty in the field of adventure tourism. It comprises three main sections: a description of fuzzy sets, a conceptualization of adventure tourism, and finally an initial synthesis of the first two sections. The conceptualization of adventure tourism is premised on concepts of flow, involvement, and nature of the product, and a fourfold categorization or ``typologies'' of adventure tourism are suggested. The final synthesis is presented as a model for possible implementation through future research.

This article discusses the gendered construction of adventure. It argues that adventurous women often find themselves “caught” in discursive confusion. One discourse allows them sanctioned access to arenas previously considered masculine territory. Yet, another discourse, equating adventure with masculinity, is still present in (adventure) travel texts and stories, forcing women to negotiate their way through the adventure. These negotiations appear as creative attempts to construct self-identities, in which compliance to norms, but also emancipative statements and irony, are important. The article also touches upon matters of epistemological concern. Acknowledging that women have to relate to discourses originating from and within masculine hegemonic conditions, gender studies into arenas considered masculine, such as independent traveling, must also account for the presence of feminine discourses. Only by granting women the capacity to carry their own stories can their presence in historic development be acknowledged. More research focusing entirely on women's tales of traveling will probably foster a perspective in which women deserve credit, as well as responsibility for the good and the bad within tourism practice. The arguments emanate from reading travel media, interviews, and fieldwork within a qualitative ethnographically inspired project focusing mainly on women solo travelers from Northern Europe to various backpacker destinations.

This investigation draws on a continued research program on understanding second homes in South Africa. Processes of mobility, migration, and circulation are explored within this type of tourism. Thereafter, a research agenda is proposed in terms of the same processes as recreational second home users, but the focus shifts to nonrecreational/tribal/rural second home users or low-income earners as second home tourists in South Africa. Some similarities and differences are highlighted between high-income and low-income earners' second home usage patterns, in terms of temporal and spatial dimensions, including seasonality, distances traveled, purpose of visit, place connection, and rural linkages. It is proposed that the research focus of second home tourism be broadened to "poor persons" (or low-income earners) nationally and internationally, as part of second home tourism to develop a richer and more inclusive focus of investigation.

Language travel has gone largely unnoticed as a key contributor of youth tourism. The global language travel market is dominated by the UK and the US, with Canada, Australia, Ireland, Malta, and New Zealand also recognizing the importance of language travel for tourism. Little attention has been paid to language travel in research, including in South Africa. This article reviews the organization and development of the language travel industry in South Africa as an important aspect of the country's youth tourism economy. South Africa's language travel industry is explored in terms of its global position, development, size, key role players, structure, operation, and significance for the broader tourism industry. It is shown significant differences exist in the operation and source markets between inland and coastal language schools.

This article explores how travel influences American attitudes to South Africa and Africa. It draws on long-term ethnographic relationships with American study abroad students in Cape Town, South Africa. Travel is often assumed to be an ideal way of changing how the ``other'' is perceived, but most research on travelers shows only how the traveler is changed. This article is a rare contribution to discussions of what travelers can learn about their destinations. Africa tends to be imagined in the US as a homogeneous entity either good in its primitiveness and wildness or bad in its violence, poverty, and disease. These perceptions color the expectations of students traveling to South Africa and frame their experiences there. Some of their preconceptions are shaken, especially the assumption that racial categories are the same everywhere. The students frequently assert, ``South Africa is not Africa.'' They also learn through their volunteer work, and conversations with South Africans, that poverty is not necessarily a homogenizing, debilitating force and that despite lack of material possessions, poor South Africans have ambitions and pride. The students' image of Africa is disturbed by the combination of their cosmopolitan experiences in South Africa and this unsettling of their preconceptions about poverty.

Despite a growth of scholarship in African tourism only limited work has been pursued on the accommodation sector in general and the hotel industry in Africa in particular. This article examines the phenomenon of the all-suite hotel. Against the backdrop of a review of the international development of the all-suite hotel, the article analyzes the growth and characteristics of all-suite hotels in South Africa. It is argued that while the trajectory of all-suite hotel development in South Africa exhibits certain common features with the US, Western Europe, and Australia, there are also certain distinctive local trends in the evolving all-suite sector.

The African continent is not well represented in international tourism scholarship. Nevertheless, tourism is afforded considerable policy importance in the region, not least South Africa, Africa's leading tourism destination. The number of investigatory voices interrogating the nexus of tourism and development in South Africa is small relative to other continents, but expanding. This article provides a review of the existing research paths and proposes new directions for scholarship focused on the South African tourism system.

Niche tourism is garnering an increasing critical international scholarship. After the 1994 democratic transition tourism appears as a strategic sector in South African economic planning and from 2004 initiatives emerge to promote niche tourism. Within the context of rising international policy discussions around niche tourism, the South African experience is analyzed. Niche tourism has become incorporated into national tourism planning for South Africa in order to contribute towards the goals of increased job creation, decent work, and geographical dispersal. Government is seeking to develop a set of strategic planning initiatives around niche tourism in order to support a competitive tourist destination. The article examines the definition, changing role, and strategic planning for niche tourism within the wider tourism policy environment of postapartheid South Africa. The findings disclose a struggle to define niche tourism sectors and subsequently to implement high-impact strategic policy interventions.

The significance of strengthening intersectoral linkages between tourism and agriculture is acknowledged. In particular, the building of local linkages is considered a potential vehicle for pro-poor development. Against the background of international scholarship on tourism-agriculture linkages this article presents findings from research on the food supply patterns of safari lodges in Zambia, a growing African tourism destination. It is concluded that while 60% of food supplies to these upmarket tourism establishments are sourced from within Zambia, the actual amount of food production for lodges that originates in neighboring communities is relatively small. Several factors that limit local linkages are highlighted.

Issues concerning postproductivism have seen limited direct systematic research attention within South African tourism studies. However, it has recently been proposed that postproductivism as part of tourism development, although difficult to discern in its early stages, has as a process gathered sufficient momentum to warrant scholarly attention in the local context. This article develops this contention by focusing on the role of second home tourism as a contributor to developing a South African postproductivist countryside. The investigation tracks the development of a postproductivist countryside in one of South Africa's main agricultural regions: the eastern Free State. Drawing on the experiences of the rural town of Clarens and its hinterland, the diversification of economic activities away from classic productivist functions to those of postproductivism linked to consumptive activities, such as second home tourism, is outlined.

A critical overview of the state of the art of research on urban tourism in South Africa is undertaken. Conceptually, the investigation is framed by the contention that calls for growing theorization of urban tourism in the developed North are not tenable without reference to the empirical and policy realities of Southern urban tourism systems. It is demonstrated urban tourism figures strongly in the South African tourism landscape. An overview of urban tourism niches and associated research literature is presented. It is shown that while historically urban tourism was largely ignored by urban scholars, since the early 1990s a range of urban tourism products has developed, many of them parallels of urban tourism products found in advanced postindustrial economies. The conclusion suggests that urban tourism in South Africa offers fertile ground for future empirical, theoretical, and policy research.

This article examines the attitudes and behaviors of New Zealand travel agents in relation to providing travel advice for destinations that have known human rights abuses. A postal survey was undertaken of travel agencies throughout New Zealand. Generally, while supportive in principle of ethical travel, travel agents do not operationalize this concern in terms of their workplace behavior (e.g., continuing to sell products for destinations that have known human rights issues). A range of workplace and personal factors appear to be influential in the way in which travel agents behave. However, the primary obstacle acting against travel agents participating more actively in ethical travel is the ethical dissonance imposed on the ethical decision-making situation through the agent's obligation to give credence to their clients' rights of freedom of choice over where they travel.

Smaller US farms, such as those in Michigan where the average farm size is 215 acres, have been disproportionately impacted by declining agricultural commodity prices; the competition-driven need to adopt capital-intensive, large-scale production; and the globalization of agriculture. Niche production and agritourism can provide Michigan farmers with the means to differentiate their products from cheaper out-of-state or imported produce. Using focus groups, this article illustrates how agritourism helps Michigan farmers sell their locally produced food at a premium, and thus deal with declining commodity prices. Firstly, agritourism provides a venue for demonstrating how food is produced locally, which can help assure customers of its quality and safety. Secondly, it provides a means of sharing declining culinary knowledge and showing customers how to use their locally produced fresh fruits and vegetables. Finally, agritourism fosters the positive reputation and branding of Michigan agricultural products, which, in addition to reinforcing current state agriculture and tourism marketing programs that emphasize Michigan's natural bounty, helps keep land in production.

Airlines increasingly use their own websites to sell products directly to customers. Because Internet-based distribution is low cost, this means lower prices for the consumer. To compete with such sales channels, global distribution systems (GDS) firms have made ready-made online booking tools available for conventional walk-in travel agencies. This presents such agencies with a choice—to use online or more traditional offline methods in dealing with their customers. This study has two goals: to identify a small set of predictive factors that effectively forecast customer preferences, and to demonstrate the utility of such factors for predicting customer choices. We began by designing and executing a detailed questionnaire fielding some 300 respondents, then applied hypothesis testing to extract important factors from the data, and finally, used the logistic regression methods applied with these factors to efficiently predict customer choices. The findings indicate that the majority of customers believe that online booking is cheaper and faster than offline. However, booking choice is strongly influenced by whether cost or service is the paramount emphasis. If customers want lower prices, they will typically book online. If they want service—such as help making special travel arrangements—they will usually choose offline.

The devolution of natural resource management to local government institutions is a dominant theme in contemporary discussion of common property natural resource management. However, much has not been researched on what levels of local government ought to receive devolutionary powers. The objective of this article, therefore, is to assess the effects of CBNRM integration into local government structures and its contribution to poverty alleviation and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Kgalagadi and Ngamiland Districts. This article is informed by the decentralization theory. Using primary and secondary data sources, results indicate that CBNRM is not integrated into local government structures in the two districts. At the village level are community-based organizations (CBOs) whose role within the local government structure is unspecified and unclear. Interestingly, CBOs are the units of local-level governance that received devolutionary powers of natural resource management in Botswana under the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) program. The role of local government (District Councils) in CBNRM development is not integrated. This study concludes by stating that CBNRM has potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and contribute to MDGs in Ngamiland and Kgalagadi Districts. However, this is possible if CBNRM can be integrated into local government structures and recognized as one of the strategies that seek to reduce poverty and contribute to MDGs in Botswana.

Older women's group travel is a neglected research topic in tourism studies. Furthermore, research into the sociopsychological benefits of travel is in its infancy. The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of a group tour leisure experience for older women. Using self-directed photography, 30 members of the Red Hat Society, an all-women's social leisure group, took photographs during their vacation. Later, they expanded on their photographic selections through personal narratives. Findings suggested that the group tour afforded "Red Hattishness," a multidimensional context to have fun, to be self-expressive, and to develop social relationships. Participants articulated that Red Hattishness fostered positive emotions, which in turn led to expressions of well-being. Results are discussed by extending current conceptualizations of group travel for older women and the role of positive emotions in the travel experience, and by exploring possible links between older women's group travel and their well-being.

Understanding the impact of bushfires on tourism operations in Australian national parks and regional communities is of growing importance, with evidence of their increased frequency and severity linked, in part, to climate change. This is particularly critical for Australian alpine regions, given their greater emphasis on the summer season in the wake of lighter winter snowfalls. This article focuses on management issues and challenges of maintaining tourist operations within the Victorian Alps post-bushfire, including operator reactions to the bushfires and their subsequent implementation (or not) of crisis management and disaster recovery strategies. It is based on a qualitative study involving semistructured interviews with 13 tour operators based in the Mt. Buller and Alpine National Parks. Findings of this study suggest that the majority of operators will experience some impact on their business after the fires, albeit to different degrees, and point to a paucity of forward recovery planning. Operators expressed their concerns about prolonged negative media attention about the fires, but did not have strategies in place to deal with this issue proactively. There appears to be scope for assisting operators on the ground with disaster recovery, including the provision of more positive and timely media communication.

The temporal relationship between mass tourism and alternative tourism has received little attention in the tourism literature. This article seeks to address this gap by exploring how the emergence of "soft ecotourism" in Phuket, southern Thailand's preeminent resort destination, challenges the notion that alternative tourism can only precede but never follow the establishment of mass tourism. Based on survey and interview data collected over a 1-year span, this article argues that while Phuket's tourism growth over the past several decades does confirm existing models of the movement from alternative to mass tourism, the activities of sea kayaking operators also illustrate that mass tourism and alternative tourism can coexist at the same time and in the same destination. Further, certain syncretic or hybrid forms of alternative tourism, such as soft ecotourism, may serve as one of the many reasons for the continuing growth of tourism in Phuket, in spite of natural disasters, national political instability, and ample evidence of unsustainable development.

This article describes a case study of one Anglo-American village in Mexico that has become a salient personal heritage tourism destination for its émigrés and the descendents of its early pioneers. Several characteristics of personal heritage tourism are established and used to interpret the tourism situation in Colonia Juárez, Mexico, which involves varying elements of visiting friends and relatives, attending local celebrations, visiting cemeteries and doing genealogy research, undertaking religious activities, visiting historic sites, participating in ancestral livelihood activities, and developing a bond to the community. In addition, visitors' perceptions of the potential for future tourism development are described, together with their perceived constraints to visiting the village.

That film can induce viewers to visit a specific destination or to take into consideration a certain type of tourism (cultural, entertaining, or sportive, etc.) instead of another, is something that is widely agreed upon. However, there is still some doubt on how to consider this phenomenon: whether the effects produced by a film are limited due to the very short-term life of a film, or whether they can be made to last for a longer period, or even for an indefinite time. This article analyzes a singular Italian case that can illustrate some ways of how films can be exploited as a push factor by tourism bodies to promote tourism to an identifiable destination. It regards the long-lasting effects of a series of five old films of the 1950s that still produce a considerable effect on tourism in brescello, a small and anonymous town on the Po River, in the north of Italy. It would never become a touristic destination had it not been for the fact that it was the location of those films.

Approximately 2000 thru-hikers attempt to complete the 2160-mile Appalachian Trail in its entirety each year; among them are hikers with specialized needs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of long-distance hikers with specialized needs on the Appalachian Trail and in the surrounding towns. Seven hikers were interviewed for an understanding of their experience, constraints, and motivations. Five salient themes emerged: (1) importance of people as support; (2) use of adaptations; (3) knowing oneself; (4) determination; and (5) viewing the Appalachian Trail as a challenge. Constraint and motivational theories were then applied to these themes for better understanding of the hikers' experiences. Results suggest that intrinsic motivation and lack of intrapersonal constraints were strong determinants for success. Recommendations for further research are provided in the areas of tourism, individuals with specialized needs, and leisure.

Seniors are a growing segment among Japanese outbound travelers. Given that Hawaii is one of the most visited destinations by Japanese travelers, it is expected that the proportion of seniors will continue to grow in accordance with social trends of aging adults in Japan. The purpose of this article is to examine the satisfaction of Japanese senior travelers based on their expectations of important destination attributes of the Hawaiian Islands in relation to the travelers' performance judgment of these attributes. This study employs an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) to determine critical attributes of this destination. A focus group with tourism industry professionals resulted in 15 distinct attributes of Hawaii as a tourist destination. Respondents rated the importance level of each attribute on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = not important to 6 = extremely important. In addition, respondents evaluated Hawaii's performance of these same destination attributes on another 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = very poor to 6 = excellent. Questions also focused on the travelers' trip-related characteristics and demographics. Respondents were selected from Japanese travelers who were 20 years or older, and had visited Hawaii for pleasure travel. Of the 211 questionnaires collected, 73 of the surveys were completed by Japanese travelers over the age of 50. Of this group, senior travelers were mostly satisfied with the destination attributes of Hawaii, specifically those factors that were related to Hawaii's natural resources as well as the characteristics related to a comfortable trip. Interestingly, the features related to physical activities such as golfing, water sports, and outdoor activities were not viewed as important travel destination attributes for Hawaii for both seniors and the younger Japanese travelers. On the other hand, improvement in local transportation and accommodations were destination attributes that travelers felt needed attention. These results provide some useful insights for developing effective marketing strategies to attract Japanese senior travelers to Hawaii, as well as the usefulness of using the IPA methodology.

Ski tourism is an economically and culturally important industry in many parts of Europe. A growing number of studies in Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia have concluded that climate change has potentially serious implications for the sustainability of ski operations by reducing the average length of ski seasons and, where applicable, increasing snowmaking costs. To date, however, the climate change risk awareness and adaptive responses of stakeholders in the ski industry have not been examined. A survey of managers at low elevation ski areas in Austria was undertaken to explore their perceptions of climate change (past and future), how climate change had/will affect their operations, and their adaptive responses (past and planned). The results indicate that climate change is not perceived to be a serious threat to ski operations and that with technological adaptation, principally snowmaking, ski area managers believe they will be able to effectively cope with climate change in the 21st century. The consequences of these perceptions for the future operation of these ski areas are discussed and conclusions drawn for the future of ski tourism in Austria.

Drawing on Herzberg's two-factor theory, this article suggests that visitors to attractions base their overall evaluation or satisfaction with an experience on their consideration of two types of aspects referred to as either "motivators" or "hygienes." The application of Herzberg's two-factor theory to an attraction context suggests "motivators" to come from the experience itself (e.g., entertainment, educational events, socializing), while more peripheral elements like parking, eating, and toilet facilities may constitute "hygiene" factors. A conceptual model and corresponding hypotheses are proposed. The conceptual model is translated into a LISREL model, and the hypotheses are tested using survey data from visitors to a zoo and an aquarium in Denmark. The findings show that negative experiences with hygiene factors have a negative effect on the visitors' perceived quality of the core experience, thereby indirectly creating less satisfied customers with less intention to revisit the attraction or recommend friends and relatives to visit the attraction. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed at the end of the article.

The world's urban population has few opportunities for contact with real wild nature and little chance to develop a connection with nature in everyday life. To redress this problem in Western culture, major urban zoos are attempting to bridge the deficit in nature experience by constructing more simulated nature experiences as part of the animal viewing opportunity. The tourist value proposition in urban zoos, however, may not be in the simulated experience of artificial nature, but in the very real and authentic encounter with live "wild" animals and the contemplation of how our human society relates to the biological world. This article explores how zoo visitors describe their engagement with wildlife, how zoos provoke consideration of personal ethical relationships to nature, and how zoos connect an urban public to the natural world. This article builds on the biophilia hypothesis by considering the sociological attributes of zoo visiting and how the novel experience of encountering captive wild animals helps to develop environmental awareness. The article explores how a poetry installation at one urban zoo served to evidence this awareness in visitor comments, about conservation, personal connections to nature, and one aspect of the restorative role zoos offer. It is suggested that the uniqueness of live animals in the zoo is a forum for individuals to question the continuity between self and the natural world.

We estimate a demand equation using cross-sectional data from accredited zoos and aquariums in the US supplied by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums augmented with data from federal government sources. Among the most important findings is that demand is price inelastic, particularly among the not-for-profit institutions. Also, the size of the institution matters. The institutions with the largest budgets draw the most visitors. We argue that, in spite of changes in income, population, leisure activities, and other variables that affect the quantity demanded, the structure of demand has been remarkably stable during more than three decades of significant supply-side change. Finally, using information from visitor surveys, we argue that the most common visitors are families with young children, a finding that has ramifications for these institutions' collection, education, and construction strategies.

Testing for the nonstationarity hypothesis is important in tourism research. If a visitor arrivals series is nonstationary, the occurrence of a shock will have a permanent effect on the series. This research note tests the nonstationary hypothesis on the monthly data of visitor arrivals in Singapore from seven main source countries with Zivot and Andrews unit root test. This unit root test is used in this study because it allows for one endogenous break in the series. The obtained results suggest that each of these series is nonstationary, indicating that shocks to visitor arrivals in Singapore are permanent.

Museums and art museums make a significant contribution to the tourism and leisure industries. In Australia they contribute to the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the communities and regions in which they are located. However, museums are facing challenges that are leading them to rethink their products and services, to improve their economic position, and to remain competitive in the marketplace. In this climate of change, the role of the volunteer is growing increasingly important to the operation of museums and art museums. However, why persons choose to volunteer for these attractions is not well understood. This article reports on initial findings from a wider study of volunteers in museums and art museums that was designed to explore volunteer motivation, expectations, values, and commitment. Factor analysis identified eight underlying dimensions to volunteer motivation for individuals in this field. This article has three objectives: first, to set the sustainable context in which museums and art museums operate; secondly, to present the initial findings of volunteer motivation; and thirdly, to discuss the implications they have for sustainable volunteer management.

This article deals with the subject of casinos as a tourist attraction and tourism development tool within an Asian context. It focuses on the case of Singapore, where approval has been granted for two new integrated resorts that will include casino facilities, reversing a long-standing ban. The decision, its underlying imperatives, and implications are discussed with reference to wider regional trends. These suggest that the number of casino resorts will increase and feature more prominently in tourism development and marketing strategies. However, concerns are also identified about the limitations of casino tourism and its adverse impacts. Careful planning and management are essential in order to realize potential rewards and mitigate possible damage. These questions and other aspects of casino tourism warrant further study in view of the sector's anticipated expansion and a research agenda for the future is proposed.

This article is concerned with healthcare tourism and recent initiatives in the Southeast Asian destinations of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. The spectrum of provision is considered from medical tourism through cosmetic surgery to spas and alternative therapies, all areas of increasing commercial interest with considerable competition regionally and worldwide. The sector's development and marketing in the selected countries are assessed, revealing problems and opportunities, and it is shown to be highly distinctive in terms of both demand and supply. Those responsible for the management and promotion of healthcare tourism are seen to confront particular challenges and there are wider concerns that must be addressed if it is to realize its potential.

The purpose of this study was to examine the possibility of a structural change in Hong Kong's inbound tourism demand model as a consequence of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Specifically, the study investigated the differences manifested in the model parameters before and after the crisis using pooled time-series and cross-sectional data. Both tourist arrivals and tourism receipts were used as the indicators for tourism demand, and the major economic factors included in the model were income and price. The Wald test procedure was used to examine the possibility of a structural change in tourism demand for Hong Kong between the pre- and postcrisis periods. The results support the hypothesis that structural shift was prevalent in Hong Kong's inbound tourism demand model. Thus, important marketing implications for the tourism industry in Hong Kong were discussed.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published its fourth assessment report (AR4), representing the current state of knowledge about the causes and impacts of climate change as well as possible options for adaptation and mitigation. This article reviews the place of tourism in the AR4. Clearly, tourism has been given more space in comparison to the previous report. Nevertheless, substantial regional imbalances in available knowledge are revealed, as well as a virtual absence of information about the contribution of tourism to climate change. The article ends with a discussion of several issues that demand a priority position for tourism on the research agenda for the coming years.

This article stems from the assumption that researching Japanese inns (ryokan) located in Atami (45,000 inhabitants, Shizuoka Prefecture) would allow the reader to understand what happens elsewhere among other ryokan in Japanese spas (onsen). After briefly introducing the history of spas in Japan, three different approaches constitute an attempt to explore the development of ryokan in Atami. From its historical origin to its most prosperous economic period between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, Atami has taken advantage of its location close to the capital to develop mainly as a recreational place, based on the spas' (onsen) function. Historically, lodging associated with this function came to take the form of Japanese inns (ryokan), characterized today by a great variety of scales and shapes. The several international hotels that have also been developed still represent a minority, as is the case in most of the recreational cities of Japan. The main historical periods of development are emphasized in order to understand the different layers of history to which the present inns belong. From the approximately 68 ryokan still in business compared to the 361 in 1972, three case studies are introduced to describe their diversity. The economic difficulties encountered nowadays by this kind of lodging in Atami and the different solutions sought show a tendency to create new patterns of lodging. In the new economic environment, they may offer opportunities to keep a balance between preserving some historical aspects of ryokan and creating new models for the future.

The Trail of the Elephants (ToE) exhibit at Melbourne Zoo in Australia is an example of a new immersion-style exhibit where visitors are immersed in surroundings that represent the type of environment where the observed animal is found in nature. One of the key objectives of ToE is to provide visitors with multiple learning opportunities, particularly about conservation issues. As such, ToE was chosen as a case study to explore the relationship between delivery of conservation messages and how visitors direct their attention to these messages. Analysis revealed that exhibit stay and attention times in ToE were substantially longer than other stay and attention times reported at similar exhibits, and suggestions were made to explain the differences.