Jim Macbeth

This chapter explores the complexities of hosting motorised events in green spaces, highlighting the conflicting values involved. It uses social capital theory and environmental science to examine the social, political, and ecological impacts of these events. The chapter emphasises the need for a nuanced understanding of value conflicts and the importance of adopting sustainable event planning practices. It calls for a more critical approach to evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of motorised events in protected areas, considering issues of diversity, equity, and environmental sustainability.

This story is about protected area managers and commercial tour operators and how they interact with each other in the Shark Bay World Heritage area in Western Australia. The focus of this case study is to illustrate the role power plays between these two parties with both offering nature-based tourism activities in the area. This story is the respondents’ story, as portrayed by them, and is formed around their views, perceptions and opinions.

This story is about protected area managers and commercial tour operators and how they interact with each other in the Shark BAy World Heritage area in Western Australia. The focus of this case study is to illustrate the role power plays between these two parties with both offering nature-based tourism activities in the area. This story is the respondents' story, as portrayed by them, and is formed around their views, perceptions and opinions.

This chapter presents a case study of Global Gypsies, a four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle tour company based in Western Australia. The firm is an example of a successful small-scale tourism enterprise that operates on the ethic of using the local physical, natural, social and cultural resources of a place to deliver the tourism product, while being meticulously attentive to the demands of environmental sustainability that touring through the fragile remote Australian ecosystem requires. This chapter examines the founding motives of the entrepreneurs, their initial and current product mix, and the steps they have taken to ensure their firm is also environmentally responsible.

Forecasts of high tourism growth in developing nations, where widespread poverty exists, has led to considerable interest in tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation. Powerful bureaucratic and business alliances have been forged to expand this programme. International development agencies are also turning to tourism as a way of alleviating poverty. This is sometimes termed ‘pro-poor tourism’ (PPT). Distinguished from other forms of ‘alternative tourisms’ such as ecotourism and community-based tourism, the stakeholders involved in this enterprise are no less divided. Ideological divisions manifest themselves in the political struggle over how tourism in developing countries should unfold. This paper identifies the different sustainability positions of prominent pro-poor tourism stakeholders and considers the implications for meeting pro-poor and sustainability objectives. Generally, tourism is too often regarded a panacea without an attendant recognition that, like any other industrial activity, tourism is highly political. As a global industry, tourism operates within a neo-liberal market economy which presents severe challenges to meeting pro-poor and sustainable development objectives. This paper therefore recommends a fundamental re-evaluation of tourism's pro-poor potential in the absence of significant commitment to directly address structural inequities which exacerbate poverty and constrain pro-poor attempts.

This case study illustrates some of the difficulties and potentials involved in tourism planning and development in rural areas lacking obvious major tourism assets.The dynamics of cooperation between local government, state agencies and businesses are all too obvious. Things are never simple in 'the bush' and here we see the difficulties of dealing with conflicting agendas along with limited human and financial resources.Some aspects of social capital are strong while others are not. Six of the elements of innovation are especially relevant. The material in this chapter developed from application of the innovation assessment models developed through the Sustainable Tourism CRC Prosper project.

The purpose of this book is to examine the ways in which regional tourism destinations use change and innovation to access the economic, social and environmental benefits of tourism while minimising the potential negative impacts. The case studies that feature in this book provide research into the nature of change in regional tourism destinations and the structures and processes that may be employed to help destinations manage change.