Diane Lee

Despite the proliferation of interest in regenerative tourism among tourism scholars, the concept remains shrouded in ambiguity, hindering the adaptation of regenerative tourism approaches within tourism planning globally. Through a semi-systematic literature review approach, this study explores the contextual landscape of regenerative tourism literature and consolidates its existing conceptualisations to create a shared sense of understanding of the regenerative tourism paradigm. The review findings suggest that the conceptual pillars of community centrism, possessing an ecological worldview and viewing tourism as a living system, meaningful multi-stakeholder collaboration, and creating net positive effects are fundamental in a regenerative tourism approach. However, the geographical distribution of existing regenerative tourism studies showcases discrepancies, revealing the need for further research from developing countries to facilitate the concept’s scholarly progression globally. The study further synthesises the review findings to develop a conceptual framework charting a pathway towards interlinking regenerative tourism theory within tourism planning.

This working paper presents lessons learnt based on the lived experiences of delivering a short-term student mobility program in Hokkaido, Japan, through applying the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). Academic staff from four culturally diverse backgrounds reported on Critical Incidents (CIs) observed during the program. The result was 38 CIs analysed, which suggest six themes for consideration by those planning study abroad programs. These six themes are: (1) Student preparedness, attitude and mindset, (2) Moments of recognition, celebration and success and lightbulb moments, (3) Cross-cultural issues, (4) Challenging physical conditions, external factors and the program’s logistical constraints, (5) Institutional policy and infrastructure issues, (6) Language and communication issues, and (7) Divergent stakeholder expectations. The findings of this study create an empirically supported, pedagogical approach to the development and evaluation of study abroad programs.

Following increased awareness that the economic impacts alone do not justify support for tourism, studies on residents' perceptions have gained importance. Most early studies of tourism that used social exchange theory (SET) to study residents' perceptions were in advanced countries rather than African countries. This paper provides an empirical discussion of how SET can be used to explore residents’ perceptions of tourism in Southeastern Nigeria to contribute to research on the topic. In-depth interviews were conducted with 208 residents. Results of this study indicated that residents' perceptions of tourism could be influenced by creating opportunities for gender equity, community development and cultural preservation, fear of copying new behaviour from tourists, and local perceptions of foreign white tourists. The study concluded that a theoretical understanding of residents' perceptions of tourism requires identifying and addressing issues that influence such perceptions, which is essential for developing the industry in the area.

There is a shortage of literature on the nature of tourism development and the socio-cultural impacts in Nigeria, making it challenging to identify and discuss strategies for building on positive aspects. Unplanned tourism leaves local people aggrieved, whilst planned tourism may provide economic benefits and help to revive their culture. Although tourism development in Nigeria is affected by terrorism and insecurity, the government is willing to develop the industry. Therefore, research is needed to understand tourism development and socio-cultural consequences. This paper reports on a study conducted in Southeastern Nigeria, which confirmed that tourism is in the early development stage, and the local people noted that significant adverse impacts are not observable. The paper proposes strategies for addressing potential negative socio-cultural impacts, including being realistic, working together, creating equal opportunities and education/awareness. This paper provides valuable information for planners and developers on possible ways of developing resident-friendly tourism destination.

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative inquiry into the integration of spirituality in tourism higher education from the perspectives of tourism academics. A thematic approach was employed to develop a nuanced understanding of the ways in which the spiritual worldviews of 22 tourism academics informed their pedagogy. Analysis of the academics’ narratives gained through semi-structured interviews revealed that their spiritual worldviews influenced their roles as tourism educators in significant ways, including their pedagogy, scholarship, student interactions, and agency. Their spiritually-based pedagogy was grounded on the principles of humanizing the educational experience, engaged learning, and authenticity. Their pedagogy was transformative and included stories, reflection, the arts, mindfulness, dialogic discourse, and service learning. This study advances a stronger conceptual understanding for the inclusion of spirituality in tourism higher education and provides some possibilities and challenges for the use of spirituality as an approach to enhance tourism higher education.

Advocacy for the responsible development of tourism continues to attract attention from scholars. The emergence of responsible tourism in the 1990s was a call to action, and for a move from setting agendas (sustainable tourism) to stakeholder accountability. As tourism is still developing in Nigeria, this paper discusses strategies for supporting responsible tourism development in the Southeastern region of the country. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were organized with 166 stakeholders, including staff of tourism parastatals, traditional rulers, the representatives of men, women and youth and local security agencies. Findings identified possible strategies for determining if, when and how responsible tourism development might occur. These strategies include stakeholder empowerment, funding for tourism supporting facilities, boosting security and capacity for implementing tourism policies. The findings suggest that if well implemented, the tourism strategies are central to achieving future resident and tourist friendly development.

Weber’s theory of formal and substantive rationality (WFSR) explains the range of people’s motivations when engaging in different forms of economic activity. Human rationality is driven by formal rationality, which focuses on economic gains, and substantive rationality which considers non-economic factors such as power, trust, and cultural values that could offset the shortcomings of social exchange theory (SET). The study used the exploratory sequential mixed method including semi-structured interviews with key tourism stakeholders and follow-up survey. Most stakeholders from both groups agreed that tourism brings about economic benefits and employment opportunities; however, tourism results in adverse environmental and cultural impacts. Sapa stakeholders generally support tourism development for both economic and non-economic reasons. The findings of this study do support that the SET and Weber’s theory explain the contradictory perspectives of multiple ethnic groups in the community. Specifically, in this study, the perspectives of Kinh respondents regarding impacts of tourism development were found to be quite contradictory compared to those of the ethnic minority groups. Such contradictions could present a challenge to the application of participatory approaches in tourism development and the development of a “shared vision” among tourism stakeholders. Implications for tourism planners and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Purpose

This study utilises a case study approach to explore how local tourism providers in the Shire of Collie, Western Australia (Collie), a coal-mining region, use social media to promote the providers' businesses and the destination.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews with 11 local, small business tourism providers were conducted. These interviews explored the use of social media from local tourism providers' perspectives.

Findings

The findings show that local tourism providers in Collie recognise the benefits of using social media for promotion, although there are some barriers when using social media. Barriers included insufficient time, difficulty in measuring the impact of social media and a lack of knowledge on how to use social media effectively. Participant benefits included reaching a wider audience and a “younger” demographic.

Research limitations/implications

As a small regional destination case study, a limited number of tourism businesses were included in the study. Therefore, this study utilised Dickman's 5 A's of a successful tourism destination to encapsulate a robust representation of tourism businesses.

Social implications

This study details the experiences of local tourism providers in a rural destination, providing insight into using social media to market a rural tourist destination. The study provides a methodology for application to other rural tourist destinations, particularly emerging tourism destinations, in order to understand how local tourism providers use social media.

Originality/value

This study provides insights on local tourism providers' perspectives by detailing their experiences in a town and region transforming their tourism offering. The introduction of small-scale renewable energy sees mining communities' economic landscape changing. Further, opportunities for employment within the coal mining sector are declining and there is a need to develop new industry to support the economy. Tourism is an integral part of this transition in Collie. This study offers insights into how local tourism providers are adapting and utilising social media to promote the town's newly established tourism offerings.