Search results

Tourism planning is an important issue for destination management organizations to satisfy both local community and tourists. This chapter attempts to explain the process and outcomes of a strategic and participative tourism planning project through a case study in Patagonia, Argentina. The general framework of the study, principles of cooperation throughout the project, the geographical information, stages of planning and implementation strategies will be discussed.

In parallel to the rising popularity of the sustainability paradigm, the idea that tourism may contribute to development and poverty alleviation has also received increased acceptance. The literature questions whether sustainability could act as a barrier to development or whether conservation and development are two different goals that should be implemented in unison. This chapter maintains the second view and discusses the ways in which sustainability and development support each other by drawing from both streams of research. A sustainability viewpoint can address some of the challenges that the use of tourism for development faces.

The first part of the book is dedicated to the complex issue of development and the role tourism can play in its achievement. In the first chapter, Fayos-Solà, Fuentes, and Muñoz Mazón set the stage by examining various development theories and approaches from the last 50 years. It becomes evident that the intensely pro-development policies following the end of World War II and the emergence of the United Nations group of organizations were replaced, beginning in the 1970s, with a surge of institutional theory and practice advocating the market as the almost sole purveyor of prosperity, or, supposedly, development. In this context, it was argued, all tourism needs is a free-market environment to create employment, income, modernization, and economic growth, and these all were equated with development.

Even though the idea of citizen participation in tourism planning and policy-making is anything but new (Keogh, 1990; Murphy, 1985) its implementation becomes increasingly important as citizens play a key role for a socially sustainable tourism development (Bramwell & Lane, 2011; Moscardo, 2011; Papachristou & Rosas-Casals, 2019; Spil et al., 2017). Nonetheless, despite the consensus on the importance and urgency, the plethora of collaborative concepts has hardly been translated into reality. In this chapter, it will be questioned why citizen involvement in tourism policy is such a wicked problem. Further, the issue will be framed with the 10 characteristics of wicked problems by Rittel and Webber (1973) as well as Head’s (2022) governmental responses to wicked problems. Based on empirical data of two urban case studies, namely Munich (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark), citizens’ perspectives on their role in tourism have been disclosed to expand the past debate. Contrasting empirical findings and the outlined theoretical frame, various solution approaches could be identified from the so far neglected perspective of those at the heart of the wicked problem – the destination citizens.

Destination management is in urgent need of analytical and policy tools, and even more so in the context of tourism for development programs. Understanding both structural elements and dynamic processes are essential. This chapter describes a model of destinations which considers three types of structural components: factors/resources, attractors (of tourism demand), and support systems. It analyzes as well the optimizing behavior of destination stakeholders, both endogenous and exogenous, as a way to understand destination dynamics. The model can be applied in the strategic positioning of destinations as well as in achieving competitiveness and sustainability—ultimately contributing to development—through tourism policy plans and governance processes. The model was born in the context of a European Eureka–ComTur research project, and has been tested in a variety of destinations.

Purpose – The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss cultural norms in the process of handing down traditional folk music. In doing so, I focus on learning what successors of the tradition think about the orthodoxy of their music and what they think is the ideal way to pass down cultural heritage. In addition, considering that cultural norms are socially constructed in the moment, it should be also examined what leads people to have such notions.

Design/methodology/approach – To achieve these purposes, I look at practices of handing down traditional folk music in Japan, developing five case studies of various ohayashi. I also analyze yosakoi, which is modernly arranged local folk music that is widely spread across the country in the form of community festivals.

Findings – The successors of traditions tend to consider tracing the roots of their music as an obligation. On the other hand, in the case of music with no exact origin, its successors seek to find their identities by learning lessons from local anonymous ancestors. Meanwhile, there are people who consider its economic value as a raison d’être for traditional music.

Originality/value – What gives originality to this chapter is that I adopt an approach, employing regional and urban sociology methods, of comparing the characteristics of the regions in which local folk music is based. Along with perspectives on macro social changes and the principle of music group formation, I also discuss the transformation of expertise in folk culture associated with the rise of institutional reflexivity.

This chapter proposes a methodology to determine tourism policies that are effective in addressing the challenges of tourism as an instrument for development. A three-step process is proposed, including the preparation of a Green Paper that defines the different actors in the tourism system, as well as their functions vis-à-vis policy options; a White Paper that determines strategic positioning and a roadmap for action based on the diagnosis and analysis of the destination; and a Tourism Policy Plan that delineates the different governance actions. The model is examined from the perspective of the use of tourism as an instrument for development, with a consideration of the destination’s human, social capital, and participative governance systems.

This chapter aims to share practical experiences in creative tourism management, in order to propose some basic guidelines for DMOs and DMCs interested in designing activities that cater to this new demand. Specifically, our intention is to analyze and highlight the basic criteria that most weighs to fit such a singular demand.

As practitioners, most of the examples, observations, and analyses are based on our daily management of the Creative Tourism Network® (CTN) and the solutions found by our members in the development of their creative tourism programs all over the world. These observations rely also on surveys and literature references.

(i) The emergence of the experiential tourism in general, and the creative one in particular, is only the visible part of the paradigm shift that is affecting the tourist industry, leading to the appearance of new opportunities and challenges. (ii) Amidst such a new and versatile context, it’s important to analyze the factors that contribute to the experience achievement, in order to adapt them and guarantee the best practices. (iii) This enables to list down some guidelines and practical advises for managers to cater this new demand.

This chapter is written simultaneously with the paradigm shift and thus limits the distance we can have on its evolution as well as on the study’s completeness. It thus just pretends to provide a provisional balance of the current situation, contrasted with literature reviews.

The emergence of creative tourism implies a completely new form of management for both cultural and tourist fields that leads to the creation of specific skills and general guidelines to be adapted for different contexts.

The study, based on examples proposed by the CTN, offers a transversal overview of creative tourism, a sector that has not been deeply analyzed yet given its increasing growth. It is thus a novel approach, close to the practitioners’ daily challenges.