about your role as a semiotician?
References
Berger, A.A. (2007) Thailand Tourism. Haworth Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Caillois, R. (1988) Man and the Sacred. Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, USA.
Cohen, S. and Taylor, L. (1992) Escape Attempts: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Everyday Life.
Routledge, London, UK.
Couldry, N. (2001) Inside Culture: Re-imaging the Method of Cultural Studies. Sage, London, UK.
Crick, M. (1989) Representations of sun, sex, sights, savings and servility. International Tourism in the Social Sciences; Annual, Review of Anthropology, 18, 307–344.
Culler, J. (1981) Semiotics of tourism. American Journal of Semiotics, 1, 127–140.
Culler, J. (1988) Framing the Sign: Criticism and its Institutions. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Dann, G. (1996a) The people of tourist brochures. In: Selwyn, T. (ed.) The Tourist Image. Myths and Myth Making in Tourism. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK, pp. 61–82.
Dann, G. (1996b) The Language of Tourism: A Sociolinguistic Interpretation. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Davis, J. S. (2005) Representing place: deserted islands and the reproduction of Bikini Atoll. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 93, 607–25.
Durkheim, E (1995) The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912, Trans. Joseph Swain). Harper Collins, London, UK.
Echtner, C. (1999) The semiotic paradigm: implications for tourism research. Tourism Management. 20, 47–57
Emanuel, L. (1997) An investigation of visitor and resident place perception of mid Wales. Leisure Studies 2001, 199–214.
Frow, J. (1991) Tourism and the Semiotics of Nostalgia. October 57, 123–151.
Hall, S. (1997) Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. Sage and the Open University, London, UK.
Herbert, D. (1995) Heritage as a literary place. In: Herbert, D. (ed.) Heritage, Tourism and Society. Mansell, London, UK, pp. 212–221.
Hopkins, J. (1998) Signs of the post-rural: marketing myths of a symbolic countryside. Geografiska Annaler 80, 65–81.
Jenkins, O. (2003) Photography and travel brochures: the circle of representation. Tourism Geographies 5, 305–328.
Jokinen, E. and McKie, D. (1997) The disorientated tourist: the fi guration of the tourist in contemporary cultural critique. In: Rojek, C. and Urry, J. (eds) Touring Cultures. Routledge, London, UK, pp. 23–51.
Kress, G. and Van Leeuwen, T. (1996) Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge, London, UK.
Kress, G. and Van Leeuwen, T. (2001) Multimodal Discourse: The Modes and Media of Contemporary Communication. Arnold, London, UK.
Krippendorf, J. (1999) The Holiday Makers. Heinemann, Oxford, UK.
Lash, S. and Urry, J. (1994) Economies of Signs and Space. Sage, London, UK.
MacCannell, D. (1999) The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. University of California Press, Los Angeles, California.
Nelson, V. (2005) Representation and images of people, place and nature in Grenada’s tourism. Geografiska Annaler B 87, 131–143.
Robinson, M. and Andersen, H.C. (Eds.) (2002) Literature and Tourism: Essays in the Reading and Writing of Tourism. Thomson, London, UK.
Rojek, C. (1995) Decentring Leisure: Rethinking Leisure Theory. Theory, Culture and Society. Sage, London, UK.
Selby, M. (1996) Absurdity, phenomenology and place: an existential place marketing project. In: Liu, Z. and Botterill, D. (eds) Higher Degrees of Pleasure. Proceedings of the International Conference for Graduate Students of Leisure and Tourism, 15th July 1996. University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, UK, pp. 49–68.
Sheldrake, P. (2001) Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory and Identity. SCM Press, Cambridge UK.
Silverstone, R. (1988) Television, myth and culture. In: Carey, J. (ed.) Media, Myths and Narratives. Sage, Newbury Park, California, pp. 20–47.
Smith, A. (2005) Conceptualizing city image change: the ‘re-imaging’ of Barcelona; Tourism Geographies 7, 398–423.
Thurlow, C. and Aiello, G. (2007) National pride, global capital: a social semiotic analysis of transnational visual branding in the airline industry. Visual Communication 6, 305–344.
Tresidder, R. (1999) Sacred spaces. In: Crouch, D. (ed.) Leisure Tourism Geographies: Practices and Geographical Knowledge. Routledge, London, UK, pp. 137–145.
Turner, V. (1977) Process, Performance and Pilgrimage: A Study in Comparative Symbology. Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, India.
Urry, J. (2001) The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Society. TCS, London, UK.
Uzzell, D. (1984) An alternative structuralist approach to the psychology of tourism marketing. Annals of Tourism Research, 11, 87–99.
York, M. (2001) New age commodifi cation and appropriation of spirituality. Journal of Contemporary Religion 6, 12–27.
Young, M. (1999) The relationship between place meanings and tourist motivation. Tourism Geographies 1, 35–60.
© CAB International 2011. Research Themes for Tourism
(eds P. Robinson, S. Heitmann and P.U.C. Dieke) 69
6 Sustainable and Alternative Tourism
Ade Oriade and Mike Evans
Introduction
There is no doubt that sustainable tourism both as a concept and goal is a vital area in tourism management. Sustainability in relation to tourism in a basic sense may be regarded as the application of sustainable development ideas to the tourism sector (Weaver, 2006). Obviously the term is one of the most controversial con- cepts in the study and management of tourism.
However, despite the non-consensus among academics and practitioners on this defi nition, the majority of writers in the fi eld agree that a combination of eff ective policy, planning and management decisions is the secret key that unlocks the door to sustainable tourism develop- ment. Most of the time ideas that revolve around alternative kinds of tourism as opposed to mass tourism are advocated; even then, this is also controversial as it has been observed in many quarters that all forms of tourism tend towards mass tourism, as discussed in Chapter 1.
Often in the recent past in developing tourism, managers, planners and developers annex and exploit the unique sociocultural, economic and physical environment of a given destination. In modern day tourism, the concept of sustainable tourism has stimulated a prominent concern for equity and fairness. It has been suggested that the majority, if not all, stakeholders should be involved in decision making in order to determine the type and level of development that is acceptable to all. While this is a laudable idea in principle, it has proved to be challenging in practice. Nevertheless,
developing tourism is no more the sole decision of a group of technocrats or the benefi t of a group of few people who have fi nancial and political interest. At least this is the case in most developed countries; tourism development and decision making in less developed countries is still the domain of a few powerful or privileged people.
Most of the tools and techniques advocated for the achievement of sustainable tourism development have been based on trade-off s and compromises, some of which are examined later in this chapter. Given the multidimensional nature of tourism and the multitude of stakeholders involved in planning, decision making becomes a complex task that requires rigorous assessment of the costs and benefi ts. In addition, an understanding of market eco- nomics and organizational attitudes and rea- lities should not be under-emphasized. It should be noted that this area is not dealt with in this chapter, but is discussed in Chapter 7.
This chapter examines and analyses varying views, issues and prospects for sus- tainable tourism. Discussion and analysis is structured as follows: discussion of the basis for defi nitions of sustainable tourism and an analysis of defi nitional and conceptual issues.
This is followed by the creation of understanding the trend of tourism development and the necessity for rethinking the philosophy of past development. The chapter also goes further to examine key theories and ideas and explore a range of management and planning principles associated with sustainable tourism develop - ment.
Defi nitions
The concept of sustainable tourism may be regarded most basically as the application of sustainable development ideas to the tourism sector (Weaver, 2006). The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) described sustainable development as a form of development that ‘meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.
The application of sustainable development principles to tourism management, according to the English Tourism Council (ETC, 2001), encompasses visitor satisfaction, industry profi t- ability, community acceptance and benefi t, as well as environmental conservation. To this end, Swarbrooke (1998) defi ned sustainable tourism as the ‘forms of tourism which meet the needs of tourists, the tourism industry and host communities today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. This defi nition is in line with most authors’ view. It is safe to say that this defi nition adopts a generalist view; hence it is open to many interpretations. Again, it is safe to say that sustainable tourism has been embraced more as an industry than an ideal.
Early defi nitions of sustainable tourism placed emphasis on physical environment. To a very large extent it is commonplace to see terms such as ecotourism and green tourism used interchangeably with sustainability. However, the late 1980s and early 1990s witnessed a shift in which the social and cultural dynamics of a destination were closely linked to the concept. A further shift was seen by the last decade of the 20th century, including economic and organizational perspectives in the explanation of the concept (Mason, 2008). In light of this, Inskeep (1991) saw the principle of sustainable tourism as encompassing the management of all resources in a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfi lled while cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, bio- logical diversity and life support systems are maintained. Mason (2008) interpreted Inskeep’s (1991) view of sustainable tourism thus: ‘Non- intrusive, non-depleting and renewable, scaled to the particular environment, natural in material make-up and presentation and well
integrated into the local physical, social cultural and economic environment.’ Although the picture painted by Inskeep (1991) and sup- ported by Mason (2008) is an attractive one, the practicality of the model is questionable.
Tourism Development
The rapid development of tourism, after World War II, into a formidable industry has been argued to be as a result of increases in house- hold income that subsequently aff orded families more discretionary income to be spent on leisure. Other factors such as paid holiday, a better educated population that is willing to learn and explore and increased business travel have also been identifi ed. Perhaps the major driver has been acknowledged to advances in technology, most importantly transportation.
With increased travel resulting in tourist numbers doubling in most destinations, the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2010) has reported that international tourist arrivals rose from 534 million in 1995 to 920 million in 2008, before declining to 880 million in 2009 as a result of the deepest economic crisis ever experienced in most parts of the Western world.
The implication of these increased tourist numbers was that destinations had to meet demand with supply, hence the sporadic development of facilities to accommodate growing demand, particularly in the 1980s.
Tourism is generally considered to be the provider of a substantial proportion of income required to supplement the primary economy in some countries and the main source in some few others. It has been seen as providing capital investment opportunities for public and private sectors and both generates employment and enhances quality of life within the local community (see Chapter 2 for further discus- sion).
Alternative forms of Tourism The term ‘alternative tourism’ emerged from the ideology that unregulated tourism development will result in undesirable high economic, environmental and sociocultural
Sustainable and Alternative Tourism 71
Case Study 6.1. Tourism development in Ghana.
Following Ghana’s independence on March 6, 1957, the tourism industry emerged. This was regarded as a socioeconomic phenomenon that could be enhanced for the development of the country. Ghana was the fi rst country south of the Sahara to have gained independence. Kwame Nkrumah, the Ghanaian Prime Minister who championed the African emancipation struggles, turned Ghana into a destination for international conferences and meetings for other African and African Americans leaders fi ghting for freedom and independence. The country subsequently began to attract Europeans and Americans.
The tourism industry has suffered failures in its development since independence, which can be attributed to Ghana’s approach to tourism development and its over-zealous attempt to meet the mass tourism demand. Adu-Febiri (1994) conceded that mass tourism as envisaged was inconsistent with the country’s low domestic investment and capital accumulation capacity to support the basic tourism infrastructure, untrained and unskilled labour force, indigenous entrepreneurial skills and inexperienced local residents.
Tourism growth started to decline rapidly following the fall of Nkrumah’s government when he was deposed in 1966 by a military coup de état. The attraction of tourists, foreign capital and investment opportunities became severely constrained due to the country’s volatile and unstable governments, with one coup after another until 1992.
Meanwhile, the formal development of tourism in Ghana actually occurred in 1972 after an assessment and evaluation of the country’s tourism resources by the Obuan Com mittee in 1970. The objective of the committee was to identify the potential tourism resources to kick-start a 5-year development plan covering the period 1972–1976.
The late 1980s saw a renewed effort put into tourism. This was given a considerable attention as part of the economic development strategy of Ghana, and has enabled Ghana’s tourism to move up to be among the top 20 leading tourism revenue earners in Africa (World Tourism Organization, 1999). Table 6.1 shows a steady increase in the number of international visitor arrivals in Ghana from approximately
Table 6.1. Ghana: international tourist arrivals and average trip travel spend.
Year Total international arrivals (000s) Average trip travel spend (US$)
1988 114 482
1989 125 576
1990 146 555
1991 172 686
1992 213 784
1993 257 802
1994 271 841
1995 286 815
1996 305 816
1997 325 818
1998 348 816
1999 373 815
2000 399 838
2001 439 800
2002 483 742
2003 531 780
2004 584 798
2005 429 1949
2006 497 1733
2007 625 1453
2008 670 1541
2009 695 1512
Source: WTTC (2009).
costs. With the realization of the impact of mass tourism and conventional tourism development, many destinations and authors have advocated caution in the scale and pace of tourism development. Alternative tourism may therefore be regarded as an early form of recognition and adoption of sustainability ideals (Weaver, 2006). The term is usually used to describe products and activities that are considered to be more suited to the environment than conven- tional mass tourism (Fig. 6.1). The following sections present discussions on some forms of
tourism that are thought to be more desirable than conventional mass tourism.
Case Study 6.1. Continued.
114,000 in 1988 to about 695,000 in 2009. Average visitor spend has grown steadily from US$482 in 1988 to US$1512 in 2009, albeit with a slight decrease in 2002. In Ghana’s economic activities, tourism is ranked as the third largest earner of foreign exchange behind mineral and cocoa exports.
The increase in visitor arrivals and spend can be attributed to the aggressive tourism marketing effort by democratically elected governments since 1992. Ghana Tourism (2008) states that even though there have been signifi cant gains in visitor numbers and increased visitor spend, there are some problematic areas that need immediate attention if Ghana’s tourism is to be sustainable. The areas identifi ed are: (i) poor infrastructure (bad road network, especially leading to tourist sites, inadequate supply of water and sewage system, electricity supplies in remote regions); (ii) inadequate positioning and targeting of Ghana’s tourism products in the marketplace; (iii) poor internal and external service quality delivery; and (iv) poor business relationships between the public and private sectors and lack of capital investment in the tourism industry.
In view of these problems, the Ghanaian government has initiated a 5-year Strategic Tourism Action Plan, which is to address the negative aspects of tourism development and growth in the country. The aim of the action plan is to hasten growth and make Ghana a serious competitor in Africa’s tourism destinations by providing high-quality products and services to tourists within the framework of respect for the Ghana’s cultural, historical and environmental heritage. The plan’s objectives include: (i) overall improvement of tourism infrastructure; (ii) train ing and manpower development; (iii) opening up investment avenues; and (iv) improving the tourism product and ensuring standards in facilities at tourist destinations (Ghana Tourism, 2008).
Fig. 6.1. Forms of alternative tourism.
Table 6.2. Broad categories of adventure tourism
Soft Hard
Noticeable growth Reduction of risk Packages
Aimed at broad market Tend towards mass
tourism
High-cost product Small market volume Require advanced or prior
skills
Greater individual risks Adapted from Buckley, 2004.
Alternative tourism
Cultural/heritage Fair trade Science and
education Adventure Farm-based
Volunteer tourism Nature tourism Pro-poor tourism
Sustainable and Alternative Tourism 73
Adventure tourism
The Canadian Tourism Commission (1995;
cited in Newsome et al., 2002) has defi ned adventure tourism as an outdoor leisure activity that takes place in an unusual, exotic, remote or wilderness destination, involves some form of unconventional means of transportation, and tends to be associated with low or high levels of activity. Muller and Cleaver (2000) posited that adventure tourism provides tourists with a relatively high level of sensory stimulation, which is usually achieved through a mixture of physically challenging experiential elements and typical tourist experiences.
Adventure tourism may be on a large (mass tourism safari), medium (rafting) or small (bird- watching) scale in terms of the intensity of the activity and number of tourist involved. There- fore, it may be justifi able to conclude that the environmental sustainability of a given type of adventure tourism will depend on its position on the continuum. Despite this realization, most travel marketers often advertise their products as green irrespective of their position on the scale. This is discussed further in Chapter 11.
Agro-tourism (or agritourism)
Agro-tourism is a long-standing sector of the tourism industry and an important source of diversifi cation for rural economy. This type of tourism makes use of local knowledge and facilities, which mostly are not primarily developed for tourism. It mainly derives its income from agriculture and agro-allied products, such as farming, fi shing and forestry practices. It is sometimes referred to as farm- based tourism, although there has been debate about what constitutes these two or each type of tourism. Henderson (2009) submitted that farm tourism can be conceived as a vital constituent of agro-tourism as it relies on farm and farmers in its conceptualization.
While the main argument for the development of farm-based tourism has been economic, there has also been doubt about the extent of the positive economic contribution of this form of tourism (see Oppermann, 1996).
Volunteer tourism
This denotes the type of tourism where travellers, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized manner to undertake a holiday that may involve aiding or reducing material poverty of some group of people within a given society;
it may also involve restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of the society or the environment. It often takes place in developing countries and is linked to charitable organizations that recruit their volunteers from developed countries. This form of tourism may also be applicable to academia, for example those in the fi eld of archaeology, history and medicine.
Pro-poor tourism
Pro-poor tourism (PPT) is not a specifi c product, but an approach to managing the industry in order to alleviate hardship and poverty for poor people, particularly those living in rural and developing areas and who are sometimes seen as ‘victims’ of tourism. The idea of PPT is to increase the positive impacts of tourism on poor people. It is an approach that aims to encourage the participation of poor people at many points in the industry. It also seeks to increase social benefi ts accruable from tourism to people who are otherwise deemed to not have had the opportunity to benefi t. Charitable organizations in countries in the eastern and southern parts of Africa (e.g. Kenya, Uganda, Namibia) are notable for programmes directed at encouraging PPT. Arguably, any form of tourism can be PPT insofar that the aim is to bring economic benefi t to ‘marginalized communities’. In essence, one may be tempted to ask the following questions:
what about environmental sustainability? What about sociocultural sustainability? What about intergenerational equity?
Fair-trade tourism
Like PPT, fair-trade tourism is not a product.
The aim of fair-trade tourism is to address