Professor Nigel Morgan
About
Biography
Nigel is an economic and social historian by doctoral training and has spent his career promoting inclusive, creative and responsible tourism research, education and academic community engagement. His research is encapsulated in two entwined strands: place marketing, power and identity; tourism and social sustainability.
He is perhaps best known for co-founding the Critical Tourism Studies Network in 2005 and co-chairing it until 2015. He has led consultancy projects for clients in the UK, Europe, the US and Asia and his research funders include the ESRC, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, the EU and the Norwegian Research Council.
Areas of specialism
University roles and responsibilities
- Co-Lead of the Institute for Sustainability's Governance, Equality & Sustainability Research Programme
My qualifications
Previous roles
Affiliations and memberships
News
ResearchResearch interests
Nigel researches the connections between inclusion and the visitor economy and the development of sustainable, resilient places that promote wellbeing and human flourishing for visitors and residents.
Research projects
Adequate infrastructure enhances the quality of life for individuals and communities. Access to reliable transportation, clean water, sanitation facilities, healthcare, and education improves living standards, promotes social inclusion, and reduces inequalities. Infrastructure thus plays a crucial role in the cohesive functioning of societies, economies, and nations, is vital for economic development and social sustainability and is the foundation of a successful tourism industry. I am involved in several projects that explore the connections between infrastructure, social sustainability and the tourism sector, including guest editing a Special Issue of Sustainability (Sustainability | Special Issue : Infrastructure and Tourism: A Social Sustainability Perspective (mdpi.com)), projects on age-friendly tourism transport services and facilities; and competition between tourism and low-carbon, renewable or clean energy developments, building on a British Academy Small Grant project.
Gender-Based Work-Place HarassmentThis project is a joint collaboration between Surrey, Swansea, Sunderland Universities and Copenhagen Business School. It explores the ways in which women who attempt to voice their experiences of gender-based harassment, bullying, discrimination, marginalisation and abuses of power can be silenced in the workplace.
Critical Tourism Studies HandbookThis Handbook will be co-edited by Nigel Morgan, Annette Pritchard, Jocelyn Finniear and Anita Zhao and will be published by Edward Elgar in 2025.
The Routledge Companion to Place Branding and SustainabilityThis will be co-edited by myself, with Profs Hong Fan and Mihalis Kavaratzis and Dr Magdalena Florek
Research collaborations
I am working as part of a Surrey-Aberystwyth-Lingnan University team exploring age-friendly tourism transport hubs.
Indicators of esteem
Honorary Adjunct Professor, Auckland University of Technology
Visiting Fellow, South Wales Business School, University of South Wales
Member of Wales Industrial Development Advisory Board
Chair of Tourism & Hospitality Sub-Panel, Hong Kong RAE 2020;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts;
Fellow of the Tourism Society;
Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute;
Recipient of the Shaw-Mannell Leisure Studies Prize, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2016;
Recipient of the Jim Whyte Fellowship, University of Queensland, Australia, 2019;
Visiting Professor, Sunderland University, 2015-2018;
Adjunct Professor, Tromso University, 2012-2017;
Board Member of International Place Branding Association, 2015-
Minister’s Advisory Board Visit Wales, 2014-2017.
Research interests
Nigel researches the connections between inclusion and the visitor economy and the development of sustainable, resilient places that promote wellbeing and human flourishing for visitors and residents.
Research projects
Adequate infrastructure enhances the quality of life for individuals and communities. Access to reliable transportation, clean water, sanitation facilities, healthcare, and education improves living standards, promotes social inclusion, and reduces inequalities. Infrastructure thus plays a crucial role in the cohesive functioning of societies, economies, and nations, is vital for economic development and social sustainability and is the foundation of a successful tourism industry. I am involved in several projects that explore the connections between infrastructure, social sustainability and the tourism sector, including guest editing a Special Issue of Sustainability (Sustainability | Special Issue : Infrastructure and Tourism: A Social Sustainability Perspective (mdpi.com)), projects on age-friendly tourism transport services and facilities; and competition between tourism and low-carbon, renewable or clean energy developments, building on a British Academy Small Grant project.
This project is a joint collaboration between Surrey, Swansea, Sunderland Universities and Copenhagen Business School. It explores the ways in which women who attempt to voice their experiences of gender-based harassment, bullying, discrimination, marginalisation and abuses of power can be silenced in the workplace.
This Handbook will be co-edited by Nigel Morgan, Annette Pritchard, Jocelyn Finniear and Anita Zhao and will be published by Edward Elgar in 2025.
This will be co-edited by myself, with Profs Hong Fan and Mihalis Kavaratzis and Dr Magdalena Florek
Research collaborations
I am working as part of a Surrey-Aberystwyth-Lingnan University team exploring age-friendly tourism transport hubs.
Indicators of esteem
Honorary Adjunct Professor, Auckland University of Technology
Visiting Fellow, South Wales Business School, University of South Wales
Member of Wales Industrial Development Advisory Board
Chair of Tourism & Hospitality Sub-Panel, Hong Kong RAE 2020;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts;
Fellow of the Tourism Society;
Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute;
Recipient of the Shaw-Mannell Leisure Studies Prize, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2016;
Recipient of the Jim Whyte Fellowship, University of Queensland, Australia, 2019;
Visiting Professor, Sunderland University, 2015-2018;
Adjunct Professor, Tromso University, 2012-2017;
Board Member of International Place Branding Association, 2015-
Minister’s Advisory Board Visit Wales, 2014-2017.
Supervision
Postgraduate research supervision
Alnabati Abdullah - Events Crowd Management
Marietta Fragkogianni - Place Image & Educational Migration
Katy Tse - Social Sustainability & Events
Molok Shaher - Pedagogic Innovation in Hospitality Education
Postgraduate research supervision
I am supervising doctoral students across a range of topics in marketing and social sustainability. I am particularly interested in supervising students who have an interest in issues of inequality and wellbeing, especially gender, ageing and disability.
Teaching
Nigel teaches and leads modules on: events management; destination management; strategic marketing and branding.
Publications
Highlights
Tourists are fascinated with myths and legends and countless destinations market themselves as the setting of famous stories but there remain untapped marketing opportunities, especially for small destinations with globally-known legends. See my latest publication in the Journal of Policy in Tourism, Leisure & Events https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2023.2263860
Increases in dog guardianship and the demand for dog-friendly travel services present an opportunity for tourism providers, but this market can still be undervalued or taken for granted. A better understanding of the social behavior and experiences of traveling with dogs is required to discern what impacts guardians' behavioral tendencies to travel with their dogs. Built on past literature and the reflective-impulsive model (RIM) of social behavior, a conceptual model was developed based on four social representations/perceptions (human–dog symbiotic relationship, dog well-being beliefs, information acquisition, and perceived risks) that influence guardians' motivational orientation (intrinsic motivation) and behavioral tendencies (intention and behavioral schema) to travel with their dogs. A mixed methods design, with an online survey (N = 611) to test the model using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and semi-structured interviews (N = 34), was used to develop a better understanding of the social representations and experiences of guardians traveling with their dogs. Results from the quantitative analysis show that dog well-being beliefs had the strongest positive impact, while both dog well-being beliefs and information acquisition impacted motivation and behavioral tendencies. Perceived risks had a negative effect only on behavioral schema, while the human–dog symbiotic relationship required intrinsic motivation to drive behavioral patterns. Qualitative findings highlight the lived experiences of those traveling with their dogs, emphasizing that human and dog well-being and enjoyment are important to guardians, while issues persist with guardians finding adequate dog-friendly travel information and concerns regarding risks remain. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided.
This paper seeks to rouse debate about the workings of tourism enquiry as a knowledge-generating system through its critical accounting of the sub-field of tourism gender research. This accounting includes a gender-aware bibliometeric analysis of 466 journal papers published during 1985–2012, which categorises the sub-field’s prevailing themes and methodologies and identifies its most prolific authors and popular journals. It contends that, despite three decades of study and a recent increase in papers, tourism gender research remains marginal to tourism enquiry, disarticulated from wider feminist and gender-aware initiatives and lacks the critical mass of research leaders, publications, citations and multi-institutional networks, which characterise other tourism sub-fields. The paper identifies two possible futures for gender-aware tourism research: stagnation or ignition.
This book explories the marketing trends for organic food products through the analysis of those elements that contribute to the expansion of the organic ...
Parents’ decisions about whether to breastfeed their infant, and when to introduce complementary foods, are important public health issues. Breastfeeding has beneficial health effects and is widely promoted. Leaflets and magazine articles on infant feeding were collected in 2005, in five European countries (England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain), and screened for statements that link feeding behaviours to infant health outcomes. A total of 127 leaflets contained 512 statements (0.38 / published page). Magazines contained approximately 1 article / month. Health outcomes were more intensively covered in England and Germany. Most statements referred to short term health implications. Lack of scientific agreement may underlie lack of cover of longer term health effects. Scope may exist to promote improved infant feeding practices by increasing the quantity and specificity of messages about health effects. Further research is required to evaluate the impact of alternative means of providing information on infant feeding practices.
This study utilizes Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory (CEST) to examine the underserved, but flourishing, market of travelers seeking dog-friendly accommodation. Extant hospitality research has not examinedthe evaluation/judgment of using specialty OTAs as an information source. CEST allows for an investigation of how experiential and analytic processing of emotion-driven and logic-driven dispositions impact affective and cognitive responses, resulting in the consumer behavioral tendency to use a specialty OTA. Results based on 697 questionnaires from people who had previously traveled with their dogs show that human well-being beliefs impact peoples’ attitude (affective response) and intention to use the specialty OTA. Interestingly expertise has no impact on attitude or usage intention. Further, institutional trust and risk attitude impact the perceived usefulness (cognitive response) and usage intention. A novel, empirically tested model to predict the specialty OTA usage of those wishing to book dog-friendly leisure accommodation is presented.Managerial implications are provided.
The concept of early nutrition programming is appearing in policy documents, leaflets and magazine articles with different types of statements. However, the level of representation and influence of this concept is unknown in the area of infant nutrition. We established the degree of reflection and the impact of the concept of nutrition programming among the different government stakeholders of infant nutrition in four European countries. In each country, a list of stakeholders in the area of infant feeding was established and key persons responsible for the remit of infant nutrition were identified. We conducted standardised face-to-face or phone interviews from January 2006 to January 2007. The interview guide included questions about the concept of nutrition programming. All interviews were digitally recorded and qualitative data analysis was done using QRS NVivo V2. In total, we analyzed 17 interviews from government organizations in England (5 interviews), Germany (4 interviews), Hungary (3 interviews) and Spain (5 interviews). The concept of nutrition programming was recognized from 4/5 English and 3/4 German interviewees, whereby one organisation reflected the concept in their documents in both countries. In Hungary, 1/3 interviewees recognised the concept and reflected it in their documents. All interviewed Spanish governmental bodies (5/5) recognised the concept of nutrition programming and three of them reflected the concept in their documents. The concept of early nutrition programming was widely recognized among the key persons of government bodies in all four European countries. However, the concept was not necessarily represented in the produced documents.
Aims: To identify and describe infant feeding policy documents in Hungary and compare them to the documents of other four European countries (England, Finland, Germany and Spain). The question was also addressed how the phenomenon of nutritional programming was represented in the documents. Subjects: Policy documents on infant feeding were identified and analyzed in the five European countries by using uniform methods for searching and coding. Results: Twenty-six documents were identified: 4 in England, 2 in Finland, 9 in Germany, 6 in Hungary and 5 in Spain. Altogether 203 statements linked to references were identified: benefits of breast-feeding in general (24%), protection against infections (32%), long-term advantages like the prevention of diabetes (31%) or allergy (12%). Considerable variations were found within and between countries in the evaluation of the duration and character of the positive effects. The majority of the statements in the Hungarian documents referred either to the role of breast-feeding in infection protection (n = 8), or to long-term protective effects (n = 13). Conclusion: Policy documents in the study countries varied both in their extent and in the description of the long-term effects of infant nutrition. Majority of the documents failed to contain evidence based discussion of the phenomenon of early nutritional programming.
An overview of estimates of price elasticities of demand (PED) and income elasticities of demand (YED) for tourists to destinations relevant to Scotland; price elasticities of supply (PES) of commercial accommodation relevant to Scotland and other factors influencing the demand and supply of tourism.
Shared outdoor leisure spaces (SOLS) such as parks, recreation grounds, woodlands, public footpaths, and beaches provide mental, physical, and social well-being benefits for multiple users including many people with their dogs. This study explores the importance of SOLS for dog guardians, which was highlighted during the UK’s first COVID-19 restrictions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with dog guardians (n = 34). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Five themes were generated: one related to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions; two related to the motivators to visit, namely human intrinsic motivation and dog wellbeingbenefits; and two related to the importance of SOLS as valuable community amenities and as places that provideopportunities for social interaction. Overall, results found that these spaces are very important to the daily lives of dog guardians and highly valued leisure spaces. These findings provide insights for stakeholders engaged in designing, managing, preserving, and promoting these spaces.
The impacts of companion animals on human well-being have been receiving increased media and research attention, especially in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, there have been calls for research to consider the major components of subjective well-being separately and for research designs to include assessments over time. In line with this suggestion, the purpose of this study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how being a dog guardian can impact affect and contribute to the overall assessment of subjective well-being. This study used a seven-day diary design to capture 31 dog guardians’ day-to- day feelings and thoughts during the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown—an example of a time of considerable stress and crisis. Closed-ended questions examined the impact of dog behavior, feelings toward dogs, participation in dog-related activities, and guardians’ subjective well-being, while open-ended prompts were used to explore guardians’ positive and negative affect. Results suggest that dog guardianship impacted subjective well-being during this time of stress and crisis. Findings indicate that dogs’ behavior, feelings toward dogs, and participation in dog-related activities impacted the overall day-to- day subjective well-being of guardians. Additionally, six themes emerged related to positive and negative affect: amusement, joy, calm, frustration, worry, and guilt. These positive and negative affect findings help to explain some of the previous inconsistencies in pet effect–related research confirming that companion animals do impact subjective well-being. However, the effect is not always positive or consistent, and may be transient. In times of stress and crisis, companion animal guardians can face unique circumstances and could benefit from preparation, guidance, and clear communication about caring for their companion animals.
The concept of early nutrition programming is appearing in policy documents, leaflets and magazine articles with different types of statements. However, the level of representation and influence of this concept is unknown in the area of infant nutrition. We established the degree of reflection and the impact of the concept of nutrition programming among the different government stakeholders of infant nutrition in four European countries. In each country, a list of stakeholders in the area of infant feeding was established and key persons responsible for the remit of infant nutrition were identified. We conducted standardised face-to-face or phone interviews from January 2006 to January 2007. The interview guide included questions about the concept of nutrition programming. All interviews were digitally recorded and qualitative data analysis was done using QRS NVivo V2. In total, we analyzed 17 interviews from government organizations in England (5 interviews), Germany (4 interviews), Hungary (3 interviews) and Spain (5 interviews). The concept of nutrition programming was recognized from 4/5 English and 3/4 German interviewees, whereby one organisation reflected the concept in their documents in both countries. In Hungary, 1/3 interviewees recognised the concept and reflected it in their documents. All interviewed Spanish governmental bodies (5/5) recognised the concept of nutrition programming and three of them reflected the concept in their documents. The concept of early nutrition programming was widely recognized among the key persons of government bodies in all four European countries. However, the concept was not necessarily represented in the produced documents.
The international tourism system is dependant on information technology for its future growth, competitiveness and long-term survival—particularly in terms of tourism marketing and distribution. This study evaluates consumer perceptions of two of the more prominent technological innovations impacting on these aspects of the tourism industry: the World Wide Web (WWW) and television shopping via digital television. The paper begins by reviewing extant work on the expansion of the WWW and television shopping into travel distribution, before focusing on the results of the consumer research and discussing the findings' implications for tourism marketers. Based on focus group discussions, the study suggests that while there remain a number of significant challenges to be faced by Web designers and marketers if the medium is to fulfil its promised potential as a channel for travel service distribution, television travel shopping is currently being readily embraced by consumers of all ages. The paper concludes by highlighting online tourism organisations' need to confront the problems of converting Web browsers into buyers, and outlines an agenda for future research.
Female migrants make an important contribution to the global tourism industry yet their employment experiences and histories are poorly understood. This paper draws on a phenomenological position to explore the life-world and ten-year employment trajectory of one highly skilled Polish immigrant to the UK as told through her own voice and artwork. It challenges prevailing de-personalised and gender-blind accounts of tourism migrant workers, and demonstrates the methodological potential of one-voice research to humanise the female migrant experience, document long-term employment trajectories and foreground complex working lives. The paper provides nuanced understanding of intersectional gendered and ethnic marginalisation in the labour market and explores the ways in which employment creates spaces for both oppression and self-determination for precarious workers. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This article is an exploratory investigation of the emergence of gay tourism. It briefly reviews the emergence of the gay consumer and discusses the development of gay-friendly travel products and destinations. In particular, it details the development of two European gay-friendly destinations, Manchester and Amsterdam, concentrating on the role of gay events and festivals in creating a gay identity for those cities. The article's substantive contribution to the tourism literature is, however, its focus on the importance of space and place to this community. Given that public space is contested, controlled and heterosexualised, the article suggests that whilst there are significant opportunities for tourism marketers to reach out to the gay consumer, the resultant touristification of gay space may ultimately degay spaces and events and erase their essentially gay identities.
Heritage hotels play a significant role in the hotel sector, preserving cultural heritage and delivering authentic and unique guest experiences and economic value to destinations. As such, they are an important but under-researched hotel operation. They range in size and star rating and can be boutique and/or upscale luxury hotels, independently owned and operated or managed by one of the large international hotel chains. There are three types of heritage hotels: original, simulated, and converted. The first are hotels whose purpose has remained unchanged since their inception and, despite modernization, retain their originality. The second are simulated heritage hotels, which are associated with symbolic heritage elements. The third are historic structures (castles, cathedrals, palaces, etc.) that have been repurposed and converted into hotels, imbuing them with new symbolic and economic meanings. This research note investigates the third type of heritage hotels. These are buildings rich in history, a sense of place and hold cultural meanings for their localities and communities. The note employs an exploratory, qualitative research strategy and reports data from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 customer-facing employees and managers in three independently owned and operated United Kingdom (UK) rural boutique heritage hotels. This qualitative approach provided an opportunity to attain depth in revealing the participants’ service experiences and encounters. The research note advances extant scholarship, which has examined employee interactions in small heritage accommodations as emotional and individualised guest experiences. It suggests that historic sites repurposed as heritage hotels have distinctive qualities, setting them apart from other hotels as hospitality environments. As such, their staff regard themselves as stewards and storytellers of local culture as much as receptionists, servers, etc. It concludes by advancing possibilities for further research on this conceptualization of heritage hotel employees.
This chapter provides an overview of research into the social tourism experiences of older people otherwise unable to take a holiday away from home. It discusses how studies have demonstrated the opportunities such holidays provide participants for escape, reminiscence, respite, companionship and reflection and the challenges they simultaneously present related to anxiety. The chapter does not define or discuss the origins, definitions and meaning of social tourism in depth (as this is done elsewhere in this volume). Instead, it opens by mapping the growth of the world’s older population, moves on to explore how social tourism has the potential to enhance older people’s quality of life, improve their well-being and enable them to better cope with everyday adversity, before concluding with reflections on future research avenues.
In the ever more competitive tourism marketplace, destinations — from resorts to countries — are increasingly adopting branding techniques in an effort to craft and differentiate an identity which emphasises the uniqueness of their product. This paper briefly discusses the role of branding in destination marketing and evaluates whether destinations can indeed be branded as other goods and services. It suggests that destinations seeking to brand themselves face three unique constraints — a lack of control over the total marketing mix, their relatively limited budgets, and often, over-arching political considerations. In such circumstances, some destinations are adopting strategies whose main goal could be described as the creation of brand saliency — the development of an emotional relationship with the consumer through highly choreographed and focused communications campaigns. To explore this strategy — which we term 'spiritual marketing' — the paper discusses a case study, evaluating how one destination is currently trying to brand itself, particularly in its prime overseas market of the USA. The paper concludes by arguing that such a targeted, multi-agency 'mood marketing' initiative is an effective and efficient way to overcome some of the problems facing destination marketers.
Travel philanthropy is an evolving phenomenon. It owes its origins to rising frustrations with conventional aid and traditional philanthropic giving and is seen as development assistance enabling resources to flow directly from the tourism industry into community development and conservation initiatives. Philanthropists have long sought to achieve social transformation, and travel philanthropy in all its forms has evolved through the democratization of charity, as a kind of "doing good" through "giving back" whilst travelling. This paper evaluates values, practices and impacts of traditional, modern and post-modern philanthropy. Drawing upon evidence emerging from a longitudinal study, which involved the retrospective evaluation of personal diary entries, participant observations and semi-structured interviews about the transcontinental Plymouth-Banjul (car) Challenge (PBC), it exemplifies how an initiative can evolve across all three philanthropic approaches. It further debates critical understandings of the problematic travel philanthropy concept and its role in stimulating sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa.
This paper analyses how folklore can be harnessed by destination management organizations (DMOs) and related agencies through story-telling, screen tourism and product development. It presents a two-stage study, which explores policy suggestions proposed at a United Kingdom Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into Wales’s international marketing. An online survey was conducted with international students, as representative of tourists open to less familiar destinations and well-represented amongst fantasy fans, to test the appeal of a differentiation strategy for Wales incorporating folklore. Having established the market potential of folklore, a co-design workshop was held with 36 tourism and creative sector stakeholders to discuss the challenges of leveraging legends and fantasy film locations to attract international visitors. The paper discusses the tourism policy and practice opportunities of adopting this strategy for the folklore-rich but resource-constrained small destination of Wales. It concludes with insights, which have relevance for similar national DMOs and related agencies.
Today's airlines are competing for an increased share of the lucrative business travel market by means of product enhancement, innovation and concentration on a consumer-orientated approach. This article suggests, however, that the airline industry is failing to effectively cater for businesswomen — the fastest growing segment of the business travel market. Based on telephone interviews, in-depth interviews and focus groups, it argues that although the number of women business travellers has increased dramatically in the 1990s, their needs are not being adequately met by an airline industry which regards the airline experience as a gender-neutral product. Arguing that gender-neutral marketing is framed by the dominant male perspective, the paper's substantive contribution to the tourism gender literature is its exploration of the perceived needs of UK male and female business airline travellers; in particular, it discusses women's concerns over the inadequacy of levels of comfort and safety and of sexist staff attitudes. The article concludes that despite some isolated moves to appeal to the female business market, the airline industry as a whole needs to address its currently male-oriented service attitudes and facility provision if it is to more effectively cater for businesswomen.
This paper provides insights into the motivations and experiences of tourists who visit sites associated with war and conflict, specifically 25 individuals who participated in a tour of the World War One battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. The paper discusses the narratives of four of these individuals to illustrate in detail how such battlefield tours offer opportunities for pilgrimage, collective and personal remembrance and event validation. All of the participants had a prior interest in warfare, which was a key influence on their battlefield tour experiences. For the study participants battlefield tours emerge as complex, deeply meaningful and in some cases life-changing experiences. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This article integrates cultural theory and marketing strategy to examine the complex relationship between on-screen popular culture and tourism destination place-making. Its review of the literature results in the development of an interdisciplinary conceptual framework (termed ‘on-screen dollying’) that provides a culturally grounded and contextually driven theorisation of the means by which on-screen popular culture place-making can foster destination development. In developing the conceptual framework, the article classifies the characteristics of on-screen tourism affecting destination development and identifies six strategies for leveraging on-screen tourism. Based on our interdisciplinary analysis, we propose a research agenda that integrates on-screen tourism and destination place-making and which has implications for policy and theory.
This chapter presents a critical synthesis of a range of literature from tourism studies, organization studies and the wider social sciences, and has two interrelated aims. First, to locate gender-based harassment (GBH) as an issue in the tourism academy and thereby de-isolate, empower and reassure victims/survivors that they are not alone in experiencing such ordeals. Second, by discussing the issue, to create a lexicon for resistance and recovery for those subjected to GBH, which may help them to name and share their experiences. It is argued that higher education (HE) institutions must recognize that they inherently organize in ways that support orderings and behaviours that go unchecked and nurture harassment. The chapter then discusses how, in our neoliberal age, women and other underrepresented groups tend to be isolated and marginalized in HE hierarchies, before examining how GBH occurs in the tourism academy and concluding with an agenda for future enquiry.
Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) are under increasing pressure to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and evidence the additional value which accrues from their marketing interventions. This article reviews traditional destination marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) and suggests they largely evaluate what can be measured not what should be measured. It is argued that these KPIs are particularly unsuited for assessing the impact of DMO digital platforms and provide little strategic direction for brand development in today's disintermediated marketing environment. The article analyses the process by which one DMO (Visit Wales) responded by developing new KPIs within a marketing evaluation framework and discusses the pilot year of their operation. The outcome of collaboration between tourism's academic and industry knowledge communities, the article thus transforms organisationally held knowledge into publicly available explicit knowledge, which has the potential to inform sectoral innovation and increase competitiveness. © SAGE Publications 2011.
Diasporas result from the scattering of populations and cultures across geographical space and time. Transnational in nature and unbounded by space, they cut across the static, territorial boundaries more usually deployed to govern tourism. In a vibrant inter-disciplinary collection of essays from leading scholars in the field, this book introduces the main features and constructs of diasporas, and explores their implications for the consumption, production and practices of tourism. Three sets of mutually reinforcing relationships are explored: experiences of diaspora tourists the settings and spaces of diaspora tourism the production of diaspora tourism. Addressing the relationship between diasporic groups and tourism from both a consumer and producer perspective, examples are drawn from a wide spectrum of diasporic groups including the Chinese, Jewish, Southeast Asian, Croatian, Dutch and Welsh. Until now, there has been no systematic and detailed treatment of the relationships between diasporas, their consumptions and the tourist experience. However, here, Coles and Timothy provide a unique navigation of the nature of these inter-connections which is ideal for students of tourism, sociology, cultural studies.
► Discusses the methodological potential of arts-based participatory approaches. ► Explores participant involvement and empowerment in an arts-based participatory project. ► Addresses public engagement and (co)transformation in tourism enquiry. ► Engages with the ethics of data ownership and anonymity in tourism. This paper contributes to tourism’s conceptual, methodological and ethical debates by discussing the potential offered by arts-based participatory approaches to enrich tourism knowledge and promote co-transformation at a number of levels. To demonstrate the value of this approach, we discuss how a group of Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrant women engaged with a research project and created artworks to represent their trajectories, mobilities, identities and tourism employment experiences. We outline the benefits and limitations of the methodology and explore how it impacts on: participant involvement and empowerment; voices, self-representation and public engagement; participant, researcher and community (co)transformation; ownership and anonymity.
Informed by modern marketing theory this book offers a unique approach by taking a comprehensive, synthesised and integrated sociological and cultural approach to tourism marketing.
This article explores how picture postcards contribute to the cultural production, performance and consumption of landscapes, places and identities. Drawing on cultural and critical studies, it scrutinises the postcard as a cultural text and as a site of cultural production. It begins by briefly reviewing the concepts of ethnicity and identity in relation to its case study country of Wales and suggests how its imagined communities and landscapes have a broad mythical structure that can be mapped across a series of discourses. It then outlines the study's approach to postcard analysis and locates the visual in social science research, confronting issues of interpretation, validity, sampling and reflexivity. The article subsequently presents a discourse analysis of a dozen contemporary Welsh-produced postcards from the archives of the National Library of Wales. In particular, it navigates the visual narratives that are privileging particular stories of place, culture and nationhood and analyses what is being invoked to epitomise contemporary Wales and what is being set aside in these postcard representations. It suggests these visual texts reflect an internal re-mapping of Wales that is celebrating the capital city of Cardiff as its metropolitan cultural core and marginalising alternative imagined communities of Wales, redefining them through spectacle and theatricality. Finally, the article concludes by suggesting how further analysis of such visual touristic texts could offer insights into the cultural production and consumption of identities, landscapes, and places.
Providing a synthesis of tourism as a source of injustice and as a means to address inequality throughout the world, this book addresses a wide range of interrelated forms of inequality and routes towards social justice. It includes relations of class, nation, ethnicity, race, gender, disability and age to social justice initiatives such as poverty alleviation, fair trade, ethics and human rights
Despite the size, economic importance and interest value of the tourism industry with its multifaceted nature, there is a dearth of brandingrelated research on the sector. Taking a qualitative approach (based on interviews and focus groups), this paper explores the role and significance of brands in the UK air tour operating market, with the focus on the process of consumer choice and decision making. Its aim is to extend the scope of existing research and pave the way for further study in this important and underaddressed area. The paper argues that the special characteristics of the tour operating industry add an extra dimension to any marketing strategy involving the building of a strong, identifiable brand. After contextualising branding by briefly reviewing its development, general application, and its emotional and symbolic associations, it looks at some specific characteristics of the inclusive air tour within the framework of the consumer ‘holiday experience’. The paper concludes that — despite their clear recognition of branding as a potent marketing weapon — UK tour operators are currently failing to build a meaningful and lasting brand-based relationship with their customers.
This paper makes a philosophical and ontological contribution to tourism knowledge. It discusses emergent perspectives and paradigms, identifies major omissions in tourism knowledge and challenges its dominant assumptions, reviewing the imperatives for a regime change in the field. The paper argues that the new hopeful tourism perspective which combines co-transformative learning and action offers a distinctive approach to tourism study. It defines the characteristics of this values-led humanist perspective and presents a reflexive accounting of its evolution. It concludes with a three part agenda for tourism educators and researchers concerned to embrace co-transformative learning, which responds to the challenges of creating just and sustainable tourism worlds.
Managing a destination brand presents many challenges, and this paper opens by briefly reviewing the destination brand management context. It focuses particularly on the political processes involved in successful brand management and on the vital role of public and private sector stakeholders. Critical to the creation of a durable destination brand is the identification of the brand’s values, the translation of those into a suitably emotionally appealing personality and the targeted and efficient delivery of that message. While this is difficult to achieve in destination marketing, it is not impossible and, having reviewed some of the key issues in brand management, the paper explores the context and creation of the New Zealand brand. It identifies the stakeholders crucial to the delivery of this destination brand and examines the positioning process and the creation of its largely web-driven strategy. The paper suggests that through stakeholder partnerships and the harnessing of non-traditional media, Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) has been able to create a powerful travel destination brand, positioned as an appealing niche player in the global tourism industry. Finally, the paper concludes by suggesting an agenda for future research on destination brand management.
This paper draws on cultural studies and cultural geography in its examination of hotels as remarkable, but under-explored spaces in postmodern travel and tourism. It is argued that discourses of liminality and the carnivalesque can be read to frame the spatial construction of contemporary hotels and that these peculiar configurations of open, closed and negotiable abstracted spaces can offer a range of opportunities for transgressive behaviour and sexual adventure. The paper thus foregrounds the potential liminality of the hotel in a wider discussion of its spatiality. In other words, it argues for a more critical consideration of how hotel space and social relations are made through each other and explores the hotel as a complex, culturally contested and ideologically laden liminal place, where dominant discourses of space and wider hegemonic socio-cultural relations are resisted, contested or affirmed. The paper also attempts to contribute to the putative critical perspective in hospitality studies through this conceptualisation and through its call to augment the hospitality research agenda to encompass detailed research into issues of power, identity and sexuality in hospitality spaces—places which, whilst on one level are operational entities, can also be interpreted as liminal thresholds of transition and transgression. The paper is firmly positioned as an exploratory one since it is based on secondary sources and its contribution lies not in any presentation of empirical work, but in its conceptualisation of hotels as hybrid, multi-dimensional spaces and in its advocacy of further research into the hotel as a sociological construct.
This paper provides insights into the motivations and experiences of tourists who visit sites associated with war and conflict, specifically 25 individuals who participated in a tour of the World War One battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. The paper discusses the narratives of four of these individuals to illustrate in detail how such battlefield tours offer opportunities for pilgrimage, collective and personal remembrance and event validation. All of the participants had a prior interest in warfare, which was a key influence on their battlefield tour experiences. For the study participants battlefield tours emerge as complex, deeply meaningful and in some cases life-changing experiences.
Higher education is increasingly engaged with diversity initiatives, especially those focused on women in academic leadership, whilst there is an evolving literature across the humanities and the social, management and natural sciences, critiquing academia’s gendered hierarchies. In contrast, senior academics in the field of tourism management have largely eluded similar sustained analysis. The paper builds on recent gender-aware studies of tourism’s leading academics with three aims. Firstly, to widen evidence of gendering in tourism’s academic leadership by scrutinizing and contextualizing performance indicators, which make and mark its leaders and shape its knowledge canon. Secondly, since critique alone cannot lead to transformation, the paper seeks to ‘undo’ gender in tourism’s academy. Thirdly the paper presents interventions to accelerate academic gender equity.
This article attempts to engage and advance tourism’s epistemological and methodological discussions. It explores how the transformative paradigm offers an opportunity to feminist tourism researchers to broaden their methods base and obtain nuanced understandings of systematic and localised oppression without compromising research principles, such as positionality and reflexivity. To illustrate the value of this approach, we combine a qualitative study of midlife (35–55 years) single women’s holiday experiences with a follow-up quantitative study of young (18–30 years) single women’s experiences. We argue that merging these studies creates new understandings of intersecting power relations related to gender, age and singlehood and that in a broader sense working within the transformative paradigm has the potential to promote paradigm peace in feminist tourism research.
Spaces and places are increasingly regarded as socio-cultural constructions rather than physical locations, yet little of this emergent work in cultural and feminist geography has been incorporated into tourism research. The central theme of this article is an articulation of gender relations in the construction, production and consumption of tourism sites and images. It begins by briefly discussing the gendered nature of society and tourism processes. It then further develops the concept of the social and cultural representation of space, focusing on the construction of the 'male' gaze by examining the nature of the Western-dominated global advertising industry and assessing its implications for destination self-presentation. The article contends that the shaping of gendered tourism landscapes and the interrelationship between the language of (hetero)sexuality and the language of tourism promotion reflects a privileged white, male, heterosexual gaze. It concludes by suggesting an agenda for future research in feminist tourist geographies. Espaces et locations sont davantage considerées comme interprétations socioculturels plutot que des lieux physiques jusqu'à présent peux de cet oeuvre émergente dans la géographie culturelle et féministe, était incorporé dans la recherche du tourisme. Le sujet central de l'article est l'articulation des relations entre sexes dans l'interprétation, la production et la consommation des sites et images touristiques. L'article brièvement discuter la nature de sexe dans le context des processus de société et de tourisme. De plus alors l'article développe le concept de l'interprétation socio-culturelle de l'éspace, avec point focal l'interprétation du contemplation du 'male' par éxaminer la nature la publicité mondiale dominée par l'Occident et évaluer ses répercussions sur le présentation de la destination. L'article soutient que la formation des paysages touristiques et et les relations entre la langue (hétéro) sexualité et la langue de la promotion du tourisme reflètent l'homme, blanc, hétérosexuel et privilegié. L'article conclue par suggérer des sujets de recherches dans le domaine la géographie du tourisme féministe.
The paper discusses the curent tourism promotional activities targeting the youth package market. It argues that marketing messages which use sexual imagery are an example of the successful targeting of Generation X. The marketing strategies of the UK youth tourism operator Club 18-30 form the case study although the discussion is relevant for all tourism marketers interested in appealing to the youth market segment. The paper briefly discusses market segmentation and then reviews some of the recent literature which highlights the lifestyle characteristics of today's young consumers. Its main focus, however, is to highlight the role of sexual imagery in tourism marketing and to assess the success of a particular campaign which clearly uses sex to sell torrrism products. It concludes that this is an effective campaign aimed at younger consumers, especially in view of recent arguments that many market-
Whilst there are studies of tourism development in sub-Saharan Africa, almost none explicitly explore tourism in post-conflict societies. This study, co-authored between an African 'insider' and European 'outsiders', analyses tourism development challenges in Burundi, a 'situation of fragility' emerging from a 12-year civil war. Framed by hopeful tourism's co-created knowledge, the field research had unique access to powerful elites and remote communities and encompasses interviews with a wide range of stakeholders (including the President of the Republic), field observations, and a feedback workshop. The paper identifies challenges to sustainable tourism development in one of the world's poorest countries and evaluates tourism in a post-conflict situation of fragility under the themes of institution- and state-building and post-conflict challenges and transitional justice. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Diaspora tourism is now a significant market niche and many destinations design and market tourism products to hyphenated communities around the globe. This paper describes and analyses the marketing activities underpinning the Wales Tourist Board's 'Homecoming 2000 - Hiraeth 2000' initiative, focusing on the target market, the marketing objectives, the campaign appeals and the implementation and evaluation of the marketing programme. The first campaign of this kind targeting the Welsh diaspora, the initiative was launched to exploit the millennium celebrations and can be seen as an integral element of the newly established Welsh Assembly's political and cultural agenda. The paper concludes that diaspora tourism is a viable and highly reachable market segment for niche travel destinations, especially as such consumers are already emotionally drawn to such destinations (the home country) and can be cost-effectively identified and reached via non-traditional marketing communications such as database marketing, public relations and word of mouth. It also cautions destination marketers of the need to maintain momentum in relationship marketing and to regard their diasporas as long-term stakeholders in the home country - as ambassadors and repeat visitors. © Henry Stewart Publications,1356-7667.
Motorsport has long been a very male-oriented sport, its events synonymous with conventionally attractive, provocatively dressed ‘grid girls’. This research note examines the issue of sexual objectification in the male-dominated motorsport industry, shedding light on its prevalence and impact through findings from an online survey. While previous studies have focused on objectification in service industries, such as airlines, sports and events environments remain underexplored. The study highlights the mental health implications of employees’ objectification, emphasizing the harmful effects of stereotyping individuals, reducing them to objects of desire, and perpetuating gender inequality. Our exploratory study advocates for promoting inclusivity, respect, and empowerment within the industry to combat sexism and objectification, calling for increased awareness and understanding in the broader events sector and specifically in motorsports.
Measuring the relationship between stress, mood and tourism in natural settings is problematic in terms of the ability to undertake detailed, systematic and accurate monitoring. This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation into the use of an immersive simulated tourism environment to measure tourisms' potential to alleviate physiological and psychological stress and enhance mood. The objectives of the study were to record and analyse participants' heart-rate data before, during and after three experiences (workplace setting, TV-watching setting and simulated tourism setting) and to undertake completion of mood questionnaires before and after each of these three experiences, allowing comparative pre- and post-mood analysis. Qualitative data was also gathered from the participants about these three experiences, in particular the simulated tourism environment. The preliminary results demonstrate that PEL effectively creates a simulated tourism environment which can be used for measuring stress and mood as signifiers of hedonic wellbeing.
This article scrutinizes souvenirs as highly significant, but underexplored material objects of contemporary travel and tourism. It adopts a reflexive interpretive approach to explore the relationship between materiality, tourism and constructions of self-identity and examines how individuals reflexively use souvenirs as touchstones of memory, (re)creating polysensual tourism experiences, self-aware of their roles of ‘tourists’. It pays particular attention to the ways in which souvenirs are objects mediating experiences in time and space and argues for more experiential and reflexive study of the roles of materiality and memory in the construction of tourist identities and performances. It concludes by suggesting how further interpretive studies could offer unique insights into how the absorption of souvenirs into the realm of the mundane and the domestic transforms the home space, fusing tourism and contemporary everyday life.
Tourism scholarship has failed to engage seriously with disability issues. This paper presents a critical analysis of the tourism encounters of individuals with vision problems and the positive impacts these can have on their emotional well-being, as well as the challenges they encounter whilst travelling. Eight focus groups were conducted with four social and support groups for people with visual impairment. Their tourism experiences are discussed under the themes of: embodied tourism encounters; inhospitable tourism spaces; navigating tourism environments. The study is located within the emerging hopeful tourism scholarship paradigm and underpinned by a research philosophy which promotes dignity, respect, equality and social justice in and through tourism scholarship and practice.
The development of affinities between the production and consumption of people and place is crucial for tourism development. We trouble front and backstage distinctions to examine how destinations are framed and critically explore the power of the imaginary in shaping how individuals apprehend and in turn create social worlds. Combining critical discourse analysis with stakeholder interviews, we scrutinise an influential television travel documentary as an instrument of cultural pedagogy, which recycles, recreates and re-enacts the tourism imaginary. The paper’s distinctive contribution is to show the multiple means through which travel journalism enrols tourists through imagined portrayals of people and place within globalised cultural texts by highlighting the multi-dimensional workings of power in and through a framing of Northern Norway.
Tourism is a significant foreign currency earner for Nepal and during the 1990s its tourism industry enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth. During 2001-2002, however, international arrivals fell by over 20 per cent in the wake of a highly publicised airline hijacking in 1999, a series of internal political crises culminating in a declaration of a state of emergency in 2001 and the aftermath of 11th September. This paper discusses the damaging consequences of the resultant media coverage of Nepal as an unsafe destination and examines how the Nepal Tourism Board is currently addressing the image challenge.
This paper contributes to tourism’s conceptual, methodological and ethical debates by discussing the potential offered by arts-based participatory approaches to enrich tourism knowledge and promote co-transformation at a number of levels. To demonstrate the value of this approach, we discuss how a group of Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrant women engaged with a research project and created artworks to represent their trajectories, mobilities, identities and tourism employment experiences. We outline the benefits and limitations of the methodology and explore how it impacts on: participant involvement and empowerment; voices, self-representation and public engagement; participant, researcher and community (co)transformation; data ownership and anonymity.
This paper describes the development of a best practice managerial model for Welsh cultural events. A theoretical model, comprising four stages: decision; planning; implementation; evaluation, was synthesized from an extensive review of the literature. The theoretical model was then used as a projective instrument for in-depth interviews with managers of three Welsh cultural events: Llangollen International Music Festival, the May Fair at the Museum of Welsh Life, and the Urdd Eisteddfod. From the interviews, three reasonably similar practical models were developed. These late models were then unified in a single best practice model, through the use of Delphi technique. The initial decision phase for the first year of each event differed markedly between events. However, the event managers were able to achieve consensus on a best practice annual managerial model for cultural events.
Despite increased social science engagement with the body, its sensuousness and everyday performativity, the tourism-ageing-embodiment nexus remains under-served, with the older female Asian body particularly neglected. Adopting a feminist participatory approach and employing audio-video diaries and in-depth semi-structured interviews, our study examines the embodied travel experiences of 24 older Chinese women. Our findings reveal how their travel experiences are constrained within an evolving Chinese ideology on gender, age and femininity and shaped by their life trajectories and experiences and social and family roles. At the same time, however, we reveal how tourism provides an empowering space, where they negotiate and subvert constraining conceptualizations of femininity. The study advances understandings of ageing, embodiment and tourism and challenges their Western dominance.(c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
'Dance culture' is the term now used to describe a large number of connected, inter-related and overlapping music scenes that have emerged from the warehouse, acid house and rave scenes, and are characterised by electronic music, dancing and the consumption of illicit drugs. This paper examines the construction and consumption of these dance music spaces and experiences. The study adopted a reflexive anthropological methodological package, including participant observation, field trips, interviews and focus groups. It argues that discourses of liminality and rites of passage frame the spatial construction of contemporary large dance music festivals and that travelling to these peculiar configurations of open, closed and negotiable abstracted spaces is both an act of journey and pilgrimage.
This paper evaluates the extent to which the marketing objectives of three similar destinations competing in the same market are reflected in their projected brochure images. Its principal contribution to the destination image literature, however, is its focus on the roles of brand imagery and 'destination specific icons' in the marketing of emerging, established and mature destinations. It is argued that in the increasingly competitive tourism world, emerging destinations will attempt to carve out a niche and to create images emphasising the uniqueness of their product. In order to achieve this individuality destinations use images which are specifically associated with themselves both to create and to reinforce their destination image, projected images which are here termed 'destination specific icons'. The paper examines the vacation brochure images of Ireland, Scotland and Wales using a content analysis which categorises images into seven groups: heritage; scenery and wild-life; activities; people; urban and rural life; consumption activities and destination specific icons. Specifically, the paper examines brochures targeted at the US market, the largest single source of overseas visitors for each of the three destinations. In view of their differing positions in this market, these three destinations provide excellent case studies for a comparative evaluation of their marketing objectives and the projected brochure images produced by their national tourism agencies. The paper concludes that Wales, a 'new' destination, is using imagery to commmunate a unique identity to a target audience, while Scotland, as an established destination, is using imagery to reinforce its brand identity. Ireland, in marked contrast, as a mature destination, does not need to use 'destination specific imagery' to reinforce its existing, strong identity. Evaluating imagery in this way has implications for tourism marketing planners both in the case study countries and in other destinations which may be attempting to establish or enhance an identity as a vacation destination. © Henry Stewart Publications.
New approaches to tourism study demonstrate a notable 'critical turn' - a shift in thought that emphasises interpretative and critical modes of tourism inquiry. The chapters in this volume reflect this emerging critical school of tourism studies and represent a coordinated effort of tourism scholars whose work engages innovative research methodologies. Since such work has been dispersed across a variety of tourism-related and other research fields, this book responds to a pressing need to consolidate recent advances in a single text. Adopting a broad definition of 'criticality', the contributors seek to find 'fresh' ways of theorising tourism by locating the phenomenon in its wider political, economic, cultural and social contexts. The collection addresses the power relations underpinning the production of academic knowledge; presents a range of qualitative data collection methods which confront the field's dominant (post)positivist approaches; foregrounds the emotional dynamics of research relations and explores the personal, the political and the situated nature of research journeys. The book has been divided into two parts, with the essays in the first part establishing a context-specific framework for engaging philosophical and theoretical debates in contemporary tourism enquiry. The second set of essays then present, discuss and critique specific methodologies, research techniques, methods of interpretation and writing strategies, all of which are in some sense illustrative of 'critical' tourism research. Contributors range from postgraduate students to established academics and are drawn from both the geopolitical margins and the 'powerbases' of the tourism academy. Their various relationships with the English-speaking academy thus range from relative 'outsider' to well-positioned 'insider' and as a result, their essays are reflective of a range of locations within the complexly spun web of academic power relations and social divisions.
Much of the extant work on gender and tourism concerns employment patterns and sex tourism. However, any feminist analysis of tourism must encompass a critique of gender relations in the production and consumption of tourism experiences and images; this is the central theme of this article. It begins by discussing the gendered nature of society and then reviews work on tourism and gender. It further develops the concept of gendered tourism landscapes and discusses the interrelationship between the language of patriarchy and (hetero)sexuality and the language of tourism promotion. The article concludes that the language and imagery of promotion privileges the male, heterosexual gaze. Le privilège du regard mâle: paysages pour hommes et pour femmes dans le tourisme. Une grande partie de la recherche sur le décalage entre hommes et femmes dans le tourisme focalise sur les emplois et sur le tourisme de sexe. Mais il faut que toute analyse féministe comprenne une critique des relations entre hommes et femmes dans la production et consommation des expériences et des images du tourisme; ceci est le sujet de cet article. Il commence par une discussion de la division sexuelle de la société, puis dresse un bilan de la recherche sur le sexe et le tourisme. Ensuite, il développe la notion des paysages pour hommes ou femmes dans le tourisme et discute de la corrélation entre le langage patriarcal et (hétéro-)sexuel et le langage publicitaire du tourisme. L’article conclut que le langage et les images publicitaires privilègent le regard mâle et hétérosexuel.
The paper evaluates whether tour operators' current promotional activities are effectively targeting the increasingly important seniors market. It provides an overview of recent research on senior lifestyle and leisure characteristics and uses this research as a basis for evaluating whether current marketing messages and images are reflecting the changing reality of seniors' lives. The empirical data are drawn from the UK and a range of tourism operators' vacation brochures are examined using exploratory, qualitative content analysis techniques. The findings, however, may have some relevance for all marketers interested in targeting this segment. The paper concludes that there is a notable mismatch between the narrow range of consumer images projected by mainstream tourism marketers and the increasingly active and varied consumption experiences of seniors. © Henry Stewart Publications.
The interconnected and globalized industries of tourism, fashion and the media are profound and unsuspected agents of cultural pedagogy and investigation of travel-fashion iconographies from a tourism studies perspective is overdue. In this article we explore discourses of tourism, place and gender as articulated in the lifestyle magazine Condé Nast Traveller. Based on a critical textual analysis, the article premises that the fashion features of such magazines form an element in the circle of representation and that their narratives are rooted in heteropatriarchal discourses embedded in imperialist conceptions of desire and the exotic. Analysis of a fashion feature photographed in Hong Kong reveals how the myths and fantasies privileged within the discourses of both the tourism and the fashion industries entwine, so that sexualized and stereotypical representations of women are seen to exoticize and eroticize tourism destinations, particularly Asia.
The paper demonstrates a method for analysing destination brochure images as a means to asking evaluative questions. First, it discusses the match, or mismatch, between product images and the separate findings of consumer attribute research. Secondly, it questions the efficacy of marketing practices that are liable to over-arching political influences and finally, it considers the extent of integration of destination image promotion across comparable tiers of a geopolitical system and between levels of local and national government. The empirical data are drawn from Wales in the United Kingdom. Local authority vacation brochures are examined using a content analysis and a methodology for examining brochure images is developed which categorises images into six major groups: scenery; activities ; people; heritage; urban and rural; and iconic destination images. Categorising images in this may reveals some interesting findings that have implications for tourism marketing planners both in the case study area and in other destinations which may be attempting to establish an identity as a vacation destination.
This textbook shows how cities, regions and countries adopt branding strategies similar to those of leading household brand names in an effort to differentiate themselves and emotionally connect with potential tourists.
Arranged in three parts, the book introduces the role of advertising, evaluating its relationship within other aspects of tourism and leisure marketing; the techniques used: advertising a range of products to key market segments; and new ...
Tourism enquiry continues to be dominated by western, masculinist approaches. This collection of studies seeks to advance feminist and gender tourism studies with its focus on embodiment.
Electronic dance music and its associated cultures have experienced significant growth and diversification in recent decades, evolving from their origins in the warehouse, acid house and rave ‘scenes’. The myriad of interrelated scenes under the umbrella term ‘dance culture’ provides a range of aesthetic and social event experiences, where participants can experiment with and perform multiple identities. This paper explores the significance of dress and identity within dance culture, drawing on an autoethnographic study which included participant observation, field trips, online research, focus groups and interviews. It investigates performance and presentation of identity within these commodified places, in particular how participants negotiate and traverse various credible roles. It suggests that the performance metaphor is useful in conceptualising event spaces and demonstrates the hugely significant role that dress and identity play in the construction and consumption of these events.
Most European DMO stakeholders are typically advocates of growth. This regional spotlight on Europe asks whether government policy-makers responsible for destination management and marketing organisations are engaging sufficiently with the global social responsibility, stewardship and sustainability agenda. It suggests that whilst destination management and marketing might be largely focused on enhancing how the outside world sees tourism destinations, their long-term success hinges on productive and ethical internal coalitions between civil society, government and business. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
There is an evolving tourism literature around psychological wellbeing, social exclusion and disability. This paper advances tourism knowledge into the terrain of psychological health and developmental complexities, and psychological distress. It draws on a phenomenological position to understand the lived experiences of mothers of children with developmental difficulties, in this case diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It discusses the emotional and everyday challenges of caring for a child diagnosed with ASD on holiday, discusses the perceived benefits holidays offer and outlines care-giving strategies adopted by mothers to manage their children’s tourism experiences. The paper discusses the uniqueness of the context of autism and problematizes popular discourses, which predominantly frame tourism as pleasurable settings of escape, stimulation, novelty and relaxation.
The UNWTO notes that the successful management of tourist congestion is highly dependent on controlling travel demand. It is surprising, therefore, that demand management has been largely overlooked in the tourism literature, as have the roles of both tour operators and package tours in contributing to congestion or overtourism. Tour operators wield considerable power in 'channelling' customers to certain destinations and consequently play a major role in contributing to unsustainable mass tourist congestion. This research visualizes the spatial patterns of People's Republic of China package tour itineraries at peak season to the UK, which is then confirmed by statistical tests. The study confirms the important role of tour operators and package tours in distributing tourists in the UK and in confirming and accentuating its 'hotspots'. It highlights the power relationships and the spatial dynamism in the formation of overtourism. The study makes recommendations for managing tourist congestion in the post-pandemic world in the UK and elsewhere, largely related to encouraging tour operators and travel agencies to diversify their tourist product offerings.
The ‘East meets West’ concept has been widely used by tourism promotion agencies and destination management organizations engaged in marketing postcolonial tourism destinations in Asia. However, the decolonized identity-making process behind this tourism promotion concept is neglected in the literature. This paper explores the identity-making behind the ‘East meets West’ tourism promotion of the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of China. Through critical discourse analysis of tourism promotional texts and in-depth interviews with tourism and cultural experts, the findings reveal that, although tourism has been used effectively as a tool to decolonize Hong Kong and Macau and reposition them as Chinese cities, power struggles influence the repositioning of the two cities as ‘East meets West’, with very distinct impacts on the cities' identities and tourism promotion. Tourism management implications are outlined for both destinations as well as future research avenues related to the study findings and limitations.
Promoting tourism destination brands presents many challenges and this article opens by briefly reviewing the destination brand management context. Critical to the creation and promotion of a durable destination brand is the identification of the brand's values, the translation of those into a suitably emotionally appealing personality and the targeted and efficient promotion of that message. While this is difficult, it is not impossible to achieve in destination marketing, and, having reviewed some of the key issues in brand management, the article explores the context and creation of the New Zealand and Wales tourism brands. The recent initiatives of both Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and the Wales Tourist Board (WTB) represent the first ever-global branding strategies for both destinations and the article examines how innovative promotion can showcase landscapes, peoples, cultures and tourism activities. The article concludes that through effective marketing research and partnerships, and by harnessing the World Wide Web (WWW) and public relations opportunities, both TNZ and WTB are creating strong travel destination brands, positioned as appealing niche players in today's global tourism industry. © 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.