Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sustainable Tourism Framework'

This study aims to create a sustainable tourism stakeholder framework for hotels in Vlora, a popular tourist destination in southeast European country Albania. As tourism is one of the major driving forces towards better social and economical conditions in Albania but simultaneously poses threats towards nearby ecosystems and protected areas, local traditions and cultures and small suppliers, the importance of sustainability in the industry has risen as a top priority. Conducted on behalf of UNDP Albania, the stakeholder framework aims to function as an outline for a sustainable management plan, leading to future eco-certi cation for hotels. The stakeholder framework, which includes  five-key stakeholder categories; operational, employees, clients, suppliers and local community, each with well tested CSR-practices linked to them, aims to promote sustainable development for the entire destination. The hotel, placed in the center, isused as a driving force towards closer collaborations with other stakeholder categories. The framework was tested on Vlora's largest hotel actor, Regina Hotel Group, through a questionnaire and interviews with four top management executives. The key findings show that Regina Hotel Group has come far in their social sustainability, in particular regarding employees and local suppliers, but lack in sustainability training, leading to lower awareness and sustainability mainly being implemented for financial reasons. Lastly, a recommendation with examples of short- and long-term implementations is presented for the hotel, connected to each stakeholder category.
Denna studie kommer att undersoka hållbar turism i den populära turistdestinationen Vlora, i södra Albanien. Turism är en av två näringar som bidrar mest till socioekonomisk utveckling i regionen. Samtidigt kan alltför stor och oreglerad turistindustri hota bevarandet av omkringliggande natur, kultur, traditioner och små, lokala företag. Med detta i åtanke är hållbarhet en viktig aspekt för Vloras framtida turiststrategi. Genomförd på uppdrag av FN:s utvecklingsprogram, UNDP Albania, tar studien fram ett intressentramverk, som ska ligga till grund för ett eko-certiferingssystem för FN:sutvecklingsprogram. Fem kategorier av nyckelintressenter, teknik, anställda, kunder, leverantörer och lokalsamhälle, har intressentramverkets kopplat CSR-praktiker (Corporate Social Responsability), väl testade för hotells hållbarhet, till. Ramverket använder sedan hotellet, placerat i mitten, som drivkraft för att främja hållbar utveckling i hela destinationen. Genom ett frågeformulär och uppföljande intervjuer med fyra chefer från Vloras största hotellaktör, Regina Hotel Group, kristalliserades fem huvudslutsatser. Först, Regina Hotel Group har kommit låangt i sitt sociala hållbarhetsarbete, speciellt vad gäller anställda och lokala leverantörer, men de saknar utbildning i hållbarhet, vilket leder till låg medvetenhet och därför implementeras hållbara lösningar genom finansiella argument. Avslutningsvis, presenteras en rekommendation med exempel på kort- och långsiktiga lösningar som är kopplade till varje intressentkategori.

The concept of geopark was first proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999. After that, geotourism emerged as a novel strategy for sustainable development in rural areas. Tourism carrying capacity is a concept related to the optimum use of natural areas without creating environmental degradation. This concept has been widely employed in nature tourism in national parks. To apply the carrying capacity concept in global geoparks, the purpose of this study is to remodel existing tourism carrying capacity frameworks to foster sustainable use of global geoparks. A review of the development of carrying capacity concept and six tourism carrying capacity frameworks, namely, Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS), Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC), Visitor Impact Management (VIM), Visitor Experience and Resource Protection (VERP), Visitor Activity Management Process (VAMP), and Tourism Optimization Management Model (TOMM) in Chapter 2 demonstrates that tourism carrying capacity concept is able to raise the awareness on sustainable tourism in national parks but these traditional tourism carrying capacity frameworks commonly failed to address the interests of all stakeholders. Thus, this thesis adopts the definition of tourism carrying capacity for geoparks as the situation or condition of a geopark where there is reconciliation (i.e., having balance and harmony) of environmental conservation, social maintenance, and economic development. Based on the three aspects (i.e., environmental conservation, social maintenance, and economic development) of this concept, a tailor-made framework for global geoparks was built in Chapter 3, using confirmatory factor analysis and the revised importance-performance analysis to evaluate tourism carrying capacity in Global Geoparks. Then the modified tourism carrying capacity framework was applied in two UNESCO Global Geoparks, namely, Hong Kong Global Geopark and Danxiashan Global Geopark, to address the inherent tensions between resources conservation and sustainable development in both Geoparks in Chapters 4 and 5. It was found that 1) there was compatibility only among the three dimensions, namely, environmental conservation, social maintenance, and economic development in two Geoparks; 2) the structure of the framework and the compatibility of the three dimensions can only be confirmed in the local community model (Figure 3.3) by the importance data of factors, i.e., resource, human environment, and facility. No validity can be established in the construct of the GGN model on the local community's satisfaction of the overall environments in two Parks and neither is there an agreement between the visitors in both Parks with the GGN criteria; and 3) from the satisfaction data on the three factors of the visitor model (Figure 3.4), i.e., environmental carrying capacity, political-economic carrying capacity, and socio-demographic carrying capacity, it shows that HKGP appears to be more sustainably managed than DXSGP. Collectively, this study has provided a new framework for evaluating tourism carrying capacity in a geopark. I hope to advance the methodological innovation of sustainable geotourism management and supplement the lacuna of criteria and standards for Global Geoparks in future studies.

The purpose of the study is to identify the tourism potential, examine the significance of tourism to the national economy and evaluate the marketing of Libya as a tourist destination. The effects of tourism development on several countries including Libya are considered. Concepts of tourism development including policies, planning and marketing for tourism are used to provide a theoretical basis for the study. Policy recommendations are produced to encompass a strategy framework to improve the performance of the tourism sector in Libya.

付記する学位プログラム名: 京都大学大学院思修館
Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(総合学術)
甲第22614号
総総博第14号
新制||総総||2(附属図書館)
京都大学大学院総合生存学館総合生存学専攻
(主査)教授 山敷 庸亮, 教授 柴田 昌三, 准教授 DEROCHE Marc-Henri Jean, 中山 幹康
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Place branding has grown in popularity since the late 1990s. In this regard, place branding is an endeavour to not only construct an image or message of a place but also to communicate and manage it. Place branding can be viewed from a functionalist point of view as a strategic instrument to be managed in a similar manner as a product or corporate brand in order to enhance competitiveness. The focus of place branding has overwhelmingly been on the customers who are mainly tourists. However, there have been recent calls to take into account the perspectives of others stakeholders, in particular internal residents, in the place branding process. It has been noted that place branding is effective through its ability to authentically represent the setting of its constituents and through it to reveal a compelling narrative of the place. This authentic setting is represented by the place identity, which can be discovered from the perspectives of the place‟s internal residents. The current study was anchored in stakeholder theory and set out to propose a simple exploratory model for understanding place identity through the perspectives of internal residents. The study explored various frameworks and models proposed in the literature up to date to understand place identity. The overarching variables were filtered out from the different frameworks and an exploratory place identity framework was proposed. A non-experimental study was carried out in the city of Nelson Mandela Bay. The study was exploratory and its variables had not been previously tested in the city. A questionnaire, which was partly self-administered and partly administered through face-to-face interviews, was distributed electronically and manually. The framework proposed variables were city role, cognitive evaluations, envisioned future as well as affective evaluations and they were operationalised from the literature. The relationship between the variables was confirmed through correlation analysis. The hypotheses in the study were tested through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ANOVA, t-tests and Chi-squared tests. A destination identity framework for Nelson Mandela Bay.

In recent decades, coastal tourism has grown significantly bringing enormous economic benefits to host communities, and causing many environmental and social impacts to the coastal environment. Beach resort development faces problems due to an inability on the part of stakeholders to make sound decisions about sustainable design due, in part, to the complexity of the sustainability issues and the lack of a comprehensive decision-making tool to assist them. In Egypt, design and planning regulations have not changed for decades, resulting in non-sustainable beach resort development. This study provides a "decision framework," a conceptual "Sustainable Design Model," which shifts the focus of stakeholders from the application of traditional physical carrying capacity procedures to a comprehensive approach linking sustainability indicators and carrying capacities. This approach includes an array of acceptable capacities based on the ecological, social, psychological, physical, economic, and managerial capacity thresholds of a site. This framework assists stakeholders in making rational decisions about what is to be built, where it is located, and how to build it. To test the model, a survey was conducted at 10 beach resort destinations (5 American, 5 Egyptian) to measure the difference in perceptions between stakeholders concerning sustainability indicators and carrying capacities. The instrument was determined valid and reliable using a test/retest procedure. A total of 276 responses were obtained for data analysis. Statistical analyses included frequency distribution, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), factor analysis, and a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Sample demographic information was also collected. Results revealed a strong link between sustainability indicators and carrying capacity thresholds. While both Egyptian and American respondents recognized the importance of sensitive environmental developments, there were significant differences due to differences in culture, environment, regulations, and priorities. The American sample placed greater importance on the ecological indicators, while the Egyptian sample placed greater importance on the social, psychological, and managerial indicators. The American sample conveyed a positive attitude toward government regulations, design, and management efforts to incorporate sustainability principles into the built environment, while the Egyptian respondents conveyed a more negative attitude. As a result of this study, future Egyptian policy may be better informed of the gap between the theoretical concepts of sustainability and real world coastal development implementation.
Ph. D.

This study establishes an initial understanding of the state of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Two specific objectives were fulfilled; a) to develop an understanding of the goals and operational procedures of current cruise ship operators, and b) to provide insight into the policies that may be necessary for Parks Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service to enhance management in parks and protected areas.

Cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is a relatively new industry. At present, there is a lack of inclusive government guidelines for the Canadian cruise tourism industry. The steady increase of cruise tourism traffic in the region since 1984 suggests the potential for environmental and social impacts to this fragile polar region. There is a need for the creation of guidelines to direct this tourism activity.

A literature review identified the current state of the cruise line industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic, Antarctic and Alaskan waters. The policy requirements pertaining to cruise tourism in parks and protected areas were identified including the current management strategies for tourism employed in Northern Canadian parks and protected areas.

Content analysis of current cruise tourism literature themes, which were used to create and conduct interviews that explored these themes. From these findings, data was used to create a policy formation framework that will assist in the planning and management of cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic.

The results indicated that cruise tourism in the Eastern Canadian Arctic is percevied as a safe and economically viable industry. The research found a high degree of coherence between the literature and the opinion of the stakeholders in regards to key issues that need to be addressed. Such issues include the need for greater academic research on this topic; the need for policies and guidelines to aid in the management of parks and protected areas in polar regions; a need for unity and cohesion in the Arctic Cruise Tourism Industry and finally, greater government awareness and assistance given to the cruise tourism industry in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. There was also a high degree of enthusiasm from the stakeholders for inter-group and interagency cooperation. This enthusiasm bodes well for the future of cruise tourism policy creation in the Eastern Canadian Arctic.

This thesis proposes a structure for the way forward.

Tourism has been increasingly used for, and directly linked with, rural poverty reduction in developing countries. In recent years, it has, however, been criticised by rural developers for its lack of concern for the rural poor and for being too increasingly focused on tourism specifically. Instead, it is argued that these inadequacies can be addressed by the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA), a widely used organising framework for facilitating poverty reduction. But the application, and to an extent the principles, of the SLA may not fully fit the tourism situation, and vice versa. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding about the relationship between the SLA and tourism needs to be explored. This thesis incorporates a review of the literature on rural and tourism development. Gaps between the SLA and tourism are identified. It is suggested that the SLA cannot fully address the issues when tourism is used as a rural livelihood strategy. New knowledge and thinking are needed. Based on the literature review, a Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for Tourism (SLFT) is proposed as a guiding tool in rural development when tourism is a livelihood strategy. For testing the applicability of the SLFT, a mixed methodology and case study research method was adopted. Three mountainous rural villages, respectively at involvement, development and rejuvenation Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) stages, in central China, were examined. Before implementation of the case study, SLFT indicators were firstly developed. Findings show that the SLFT provides an overall organising framework for the consideration of rural development using tourism as a livelihood strategy at all stages of TALC. Revisiting the SLFT, it is argued that an additional attraction capital should be added to the SLFT. Attraction capital includes natural, cultural, and other attractions, and is defined as all resources used to attract tourist arrivals from which local people benefit for better livelihood objectives. Based on the findings, the SLFT and its key elements are revised to offer a more complete insight and understanding of a tourism livelihood system for the purpose of tourism planning and management. Particular attention is drawn to the newly introduced concept of institutional capital, mainly evidenced in community participation practice. Appropriate institutional policies and practices can ensure local people share the benefits from tourism. The implication of a participatory approach is extended to access to tourist markets, benefit sharing, as well as participation in the decision-making. This research indicates that improvement of livelihood assets by tourism enhances local people’s resilience to vulnerability contexts. Institutional arrangements play an important role in mediating this process as well as the impact of vulnerability contexts through the planning portfolio (e.g., planning, policy-making, and legislation). Future research is suggested to evaluate and improve the SLFT’s applicability in multiple development contexts, and to explore ways of further developing SLFT indicators as a means for evaluating the usefulness of the SLFT.

D. Tech. Tourism Management
South Africa is widely regarded as one of the best adventure destinations on the African continent. However, here and elsewhere, sustainability is a pressing issue in any tourism context. Therefore, adventure tourism destinations need guidance on the best ways to succeed and to be sustainable. The objective of this study was to propose a framework of indicators that are specifically formulated for sustainable adventure tourism. In order to achieve this objective, a literature survey of pertinent issues in this field was conducted, followed by an empirical study. Firstly, profiling of the destination (Waterval Boven) was conducted followed by determining respondents' knowledge of a number of pertinent iconic sustainable tourism organisations. Hereafter the sustainable tourism indicators were categorised into economic, social and environmental groups.

碩士
輔仁大學
國際創業與經營管理學程碩士在職專班
107
There are many factors affecting the tourism industry, also depending in the Country of destiny. In this case, Ecuador seems to have the requirements needed for being an attractive destiny for travelers. On the other hand, in the decision making process for tourists there are also many other aspects influencing their decision, which is important to understand to define a target and covering the necessities of the market. Another key thing is how the industry is working, the traditional offer and concept of traveling, as well as new factors and trends that might change this concept or, what is more, make it progress. Sustainable tourism or “Integrated Rural Tourism” (Clark and Chabrel, 2007) might become a trend over the few next years, due to the importance of integrating the areas in which society must cooperate and personal traveling interest might lead to in the near future.

碩士
龍華科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
105
Sustainable tourism has been aware as a significant goal that is recently receiving concerns from both academic and practical fields. Vietnamese tourism industry, due to the phenomenon of uncertainty, environmental pollution, tourism products without much creativity, fragmented, temporary, inadequate services; collaboration becomes a critical attribute for the industry to enhance its sustainability. Although there are many attributes which were addressed in literature, the comprehensive structure and the position of collaboration in this issue still remain unexplored. Therefore, this study attempts to evaluate the causal inter-relationship between collaboration and sustainable tourism, explore hierarchical inter-relationship and identify the driving - dependence powers among attributes to improve the sustainable performance by employing a combined method of fuzzy set theory, decision making trial and evaluation laboratory and interpretive structural modeling. A set of four aspects of socio-cultures, economics, environments, and collaborations including 24 criteria are introduced from literature and experts opinions. The result presented that collaboration has the strongest causal attribute drives others in sustainable tourism and indicated that community wellbeing, guest culture, information sharing, transparency, incentive alignment have had highest driving and dependence power in the structure of the industry. These attributes are the most effective ones to enhance the industry sustainable performance. In addition, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Thesis (DTech: Tourism Management)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2012.
Attempts to develop a framework for sustainable development of Lake Fundudzi catchment area in Soutpansberg. It also looks at how Lake Fundudzi can be used to attract tourists.

International tourism is rapidly becoming the world's fastest growing industry. The industry has generated growth and investment in many countries. However, this growth has frequently been achieved at the expense of the human and physical environment in many countries, particularly in the developing world. These impacts have been manifested in the form of social, cultural and environmental degradation. Disillusionment with mass tourism and the problems associated with it have led many researchers and planners to question the past unplanned approach to tourism development. Organizations such as the World Tourism Organization and the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (ECTWT) are calling for an "alternative tourism," broadly defined as a form of tourism which is consistent with social, cultural, economic and environmental values of destination areas. The case study outlines a policy framework for adopting an alternative approach to tourism development for one Commonwealth Caribbean country, Trinidad and Tobago. Implicit in this approach is the need to ensure that tourism development emphasizes community involvement, distributional equity, respect for local cultures, and protection and enhancement of the human and physical environment on which tourism is based. The general purpose of the case study is to make a contribution to the development of a sustainable tourism industry in Trinidad and Tobago by emphasizing the need for effective planning, and by providing a policy framework within which sustainable tourism can take place. The focus will be on how policy and planning approaches can facilitate a move towards a more sustainable form of tourism development.

碩士
國立成功大學
都市計劃學系碩博士班
93
Coastal zone used for tourism destinations often has the characteristics with friability and sensibility, and therefore it is easy to cause the environment to be influenced by tourists. So, the most important subject of coastal tourism is to confirm the most appropriate activities and to promote the coastal tourism resources in order to gain the best benefits from the concept of sustainable way. 　　In the past, there are few researches considering the sustainable tourism and the coastal tourism at the same time. They also have not considered the relations between resource features and tourism activities. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to develop a framework of tourism resources evaluation. The systematic evaluation framework considers environment conservation, tourism industry development and harmonious society-culture at the same time. It is also based on sustainable development, and has the concept of activities development, and focuses on the development of the coastal tourism. The systematic evaluation framework is to provide local authorities and stakeholders for the reference material when drawing up strategies. We hope that it can develop activities, satisfy the tourists and make the coastal zone sustainable at the same time. 　　The systematic evaluation framework could be divided into three parts: (1) The relevant literatures are considered in establishing the indicator system. In this study, we suggest three dimensions, including the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions. Each dimension employs a number of indicators, amounting to 23. (2) We use the matrix which increases the concept of activities planning into our evaluation framework for considering the relations between activity types and indicators. (3) According to the dimensions which indicator system established, we develop four scenarios, including sustainable scenarios, environmental scenarios, economic development scenarios, and society-culture harmonious scenarios. In order to emphasize the possible developments when the stakeholders or the backgrounds changes. 　　The Haumeiliao wetland in Budai Township, Chiayi County is analyzed and investigated by using the evaluation framework.The results show that the activity type one is the most appropriate activity in the Haumeiliao wetland, and those from this research would be presented to the government authorities and incorporated into the planning process.

MNP is one of the smallest and youngest national parks in the portfolio of South African National Parks (SANParks). The park is also a World Heritage Site because it contains the remnants of the ancient Kingdom of Mapungubwe, which was one of the first sophisticated southern African societies. The park currently faces challenges associated with mining in the area, the development of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, the presence of private and agricultural lands that split the park into two parts as well as management issues. The management of national parks in South Africa is guided by a number of principles, one of which is strategic adaptive management, which is used by South African National Parks (SANParks) as the foundation of all the organisation’s management plans. In addition, guidelines and legislation set by various international organisations and national government departments provide structures according to which protected areas, World Heritage Sites and national parks should function. Sustainable tourism is the desired state for tourism. This means that tourism services should be managed towards achieving sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is considered a form of tourism that is strategic and that promotes the long-term integrity of natural and cultural resources, so that these resources are maintained as durable, permanent landscapes for future generations. Sustainable tourism strives to achieve economic viability without compromising the integrity of socio-cultural and natural environments. Therefore, sustainable tourism rests on three main pillars, namely socio-cultural integrity, economic integrity and environmental integrity. The primary objective of this study was to develop a tourism management framework for the Mapungubwe National Park (MNP). It is a young national park that faces a unique set of management challenges. Currently the tourism management plan of the park is contained within the overall management plan of the park and it does not address the major management challenges of the park. For this reason it is imperative to develop a management framework in this regard that takes into account the management challenges that face the park in order to ensure that sustainable tourism is achieved. The research approach used in this study included both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. An explorative research approach was followed through a self-administered online questionnaire with the aim of determining the perceptions of visitors about the importance of various management and sustainable tourism tasks and how effectively they perceived those tasks to be executed at MNP. Fifty-four constructs pertaining to aspects of park management and sustainable tourism were measured on a five-point Likert scale. These constructs were determined through a literature review. The sources consulted included the following: Saayman (2009), Swarbrooke (2002), George (2007), Mancini (2013), SANParks (2010), Keyser, (2002:351), Coetzee (2004:184), Himbira, Saarinen, Atlhopheng and Manwa (2010:278), Borges, Carbone, Bushell, and Jäger (2011:8), Sebele (2010:146), Vanhove, (2011:223), Logar (2010:130) and Pedersen (2002:34). The questionnaire was distributed electronically to a database of visitors who had stayed at MNP over a period of 12 months. The researcher also distributed questionnaires manually at the park. Data collection took place during March and April 2013. A total of 486 responses were received during the period of data collection. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the management of MNP and with surrounding land owners in the data-collection period. The results of the empirical quantitative data were processed at the Statistical Consultation Services at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University. The data was analysed using version 21 of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software. The statistical methods utilised included descriptive statistics through frequencies and means, exploratory factor analysis and t-tests. The interviews conducted were transcribed using F4 software and analysed by means of the ATLAS.ti software package. Data analysis included the use of data coding in order to identify underlying themes in the data. The results of the descriptive data indicated that the following five management constructs were seen as most important from a visitor perspective: the cleanliness of ablution facilities, the cleanliness of accommodation facilities, the reintroduction of indigenous game species, the control of domestic animals in the park, and the professionalism of reception staff. In terms of the management effectiveness, the following five constructs were rated the highest: the cleanliness of ablution facilities, the performance of housekeeping staff, hours of operation of park reception, the value for money of accommodation at MNP, and the professional operation of tours to Mapungubwe Hill. The exploratory factor analysis identified 11 factors related to management and sustainable tourism, namely (1) information and accessibility, (2) accommodation and ablution facilities, (3) food and beverages, (4) leisure facilities, (5) professionalism of tours, (6) conservation, (7) concessions, (8) human resources, (9) regulations and marketing, (10) socio-economic impacts and (11) environmental impacts. These factors were compared through a t-test and gaps in management effectiveness were identified in all factors with the exception of concessions. Qualitative data analysis of the interviews with local land owners revealed a number of themes that highlighted the concerns experienced by these stakeholders. These themes were local land owner issues, mining issues, management issues, transfrontier conservation area issues and world heritage issues. The main themes arising from interviews with management included local land owner issues, mining issues, MNP management issues, transfrontier conservation area issues, tourism issues and world heritage issues. This research made the following contributions to the field of sustainable tourism management in protected areas: * This study contributed a critical assessment of literature based on park and protected area management frameworks. These frameworks were presented in chronological order and provide a theoretical basis for the future development of management frameworks for parks and protected areas. * This study proved that tourism management frameworks should be park specific and not generic in nature as all national parks have their own unique set of environmental conditions. * This study developed the first integrated framework for the management of tourism services at MNP. * This study has proved that SANParks has to manage all three spheres of management, namely conservation, ecotourism and constituency building, effectively in order to bring about the effective management of national parks in South Africa. In the case of MNP, management does not engage successfully with visitors (tourists) and the local community (local land owners), which has led to a mutual aversion and to misunderstandings between the parties. This highlights the necessity of involving all stakeholders in park management in order to stimulate greater cooperation and mutual understanding between all parties. * This study is the first to analyse the management effectiveness of tourism service provision at MNP and in the northern region of SANParks. This fulfils a gap, which may lead to future linear studies at other national parks in the region. * The results of this research will provide much needed input towards the overall strategic management of tourism services at MNP and SANParks by identifying ten gaps in management effectiveness. * This study is the first study to analyse the perceptions of the management of tourism in a World Heritage Site inside a national park in South Africa. * The findings of this study have been presented at various forums, including The Greater Mapungubwe Network (Musina, 26 July 2013) and the Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists Conference (Potchefstroom, 15-17 September 2013). * Finally, this study contributed to the database of research concerning national parks, heritage management and protected area management in terms of tourism management.
PhD (Tourism Management)|cNorth-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Ecotourism is often viewed as a sustainable form of tourism, but has the potential to impart negative environmental and social impacts if not well managed. When planning tourism, ex ante assessments can provide a contextual understanding of the ecological, economic, and socio-cultural forces that shape the prospects for sustainable tourism development. Underlying conditions can suggest 'limits' to acceptable change levels incurred by tourism development, which respect socio-cultural expectations and biophysical realities. Pulau Banggi is a relatively remote island on the brink of tourism development in the Malaysian state of Sabah. I conduct an ex ante biophysical study that evaluates how existing conditions of the island's marine biodiversity, seasonality, and infrastructure might influence options for sustainable tourism development. Through interviews, I also assess local residents' perceptions and trade-off preferences towards environmental and socio-economic change associated with tourism growth. I find that human expectations of economic benefits might demand tourism development on a scale not compatible with existing biophysical capacity. Persistent use of destructive fishing techniques, uncertainty over groundwater capacity, and inadequate waste infrastructure are major ecological constraints to growth. I conclude that prospects for sustainable tourism in Pulau Banggi can be enhanced through small scale development operating under a community based approach, and institutionalised within a Marine Protected Area framework.
Science, Faculty of
Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for
Graduate

American households spend over $30 billion on tourism and take over 177 million long-distance leisure trips each year. These trips, and the subsequent vehicle miles traveled, have a significant impact on the transportation systems at major destinations across the country, especially those destinations that are still improving their transportation systems. Surprisingly, not much is known related to this type of travel. This dissertation expands the current knowledge of tourism travel behavior, in terms of how people make decisions regarding long-distance leisure activities and time use. Specifically, this dissertation develops and comprehensively examines a behavioral framework for household tourism time use and activity patterns. This framework combines (and builds upon) theory and methods from both transportation and tourism research fields such that it can be used to improve tourism demand modeling. This framework takes an interdisciplinary approach to describe how long distance leisure travelers allocate and maximize their time use across various types of activities. It also considers the many levels of tourism time use and activity patterns, including the structuring the broad annual leisure activity and time budget, forming individual tourism trips within the defined budget, and selecting specific activities and timing during each distinct tourism trip. Subsequently, this dissertation will additionally apply the time use and activity participation behavioral framework to four critical tourism research topics to demonstrate how the tourism behavioral framework can effectively be used to provide behavioral insights into some of the most commonly studied critical tourism issues. These application topics include household participation in broad tourism travel activities, travel parties’ tourism destination and travel mode selection, individuals’ loyalty towards daily and tourism activities, and travel parties’ participation in combinations of specific tourism trip activities. These application studies incorporate a variety of data sources, decision makers, study scales, situation-appropriate modeling techniques, and economic/individual/environmental factors to capture all aspects of the decision and travel activity-making process.
text

Inadequate attention has been paid to the complexity of rural livelihoods and the dimensions of poverty. Although progress has been achieved in poverty reduction in many countries over the years, statistics indicate that there is still much to be done. Nearly half of the population of South Africa is poor. Sustainable Livelihood Approaches see poverty reduction as achievable through diversification of livelihood strategies. Communities can benefit from the development of tourism through employment, financial gains, infrastructure creation and cultural revitalisation. While fees charged for tourism activities have the potential to contribute to locals, they are rarely controlled by them. The aim of this study was to formulate a Sustainable Livelihood Framework for Tourism (SLFT) along the African Ivory Route. The study involved fourteen villages near Fundudzi, Mtomeni and Nthubu camps which were purposively selected as they represented the three main ethnic groups in the province. Mixed method research design was used and included qualitative and quantitative approaches. A 10% sample was selected from the total number of households. Questionnaires, focus group and key informant interviews were used to collect data. The data was analysed and presented in tables, graphs and maps. The perceptions of the communities towards the African Ivory Route were both positive and negative. The benefits included, improved network, community empowerment and development of infrastructure. The constraints included, conflicts, mistrust, political interference and power struggle among the various institutions. The study concluded that the African Ivory Route has not achieved sustainable livelihoods outcomes for the concerned communities. The recommendation was that frameworks for maximising benefits from tourism were necessary to directly support community development. Communities, Institutions, Tourists and Environment (CITE) framework was conceptualised to assess the best way for attaining positive sustainable livelihoods outcomes.
Geography
Ph. D. (Geography)

Despite there being general agreement that SMEs are valuable in the global and South African economy to aid in creating jobs and in growing the economy, few benefits accrue to these enterprises as they endure a number of challenges which make them unsustainable. This research aimed to investigate the sustainability of SMEs in Tshwane townships, with an aim to design a framework that could be used by other SMEs that intend to enter the tourism industry, to ensure that they are sustainable and can contribute towards the expansion of the South African economy. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire, which was used to obtain information on Tshwane township tourism SMEs, as a way of detecting whether they were sustainable or not. The results indicated that the Tshwane township tourism SMEs were very small enterprises created by owners who were passionate about the tourism product. These enterprises have not been able to grow and employ more people but have provided employment and survival income for the owner and, in some cases, two additional people. SMEs face various challenges relating to sustainability, one of the main challenges being financial stability. SMEs are therefore unable to play their intended role in the creation of employment as well as in contributing to the economy as a whole. In an attempt to assist the owners and/or managers of SMEs to fulfil their roles, an SME framework was developed in the course of the present research. This framework comprises a step-by-step guide that asks all the relevant questions aimed at getting to know the business and culminating in a range of recommendations that could assist in making these SMEs sustainable.
Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain, Transport, Tourism and Logistics Management
M. Com. (Tourism Management)

This thesis discusses the role of small tourism enterprises in contributing to a destination's delineated long-term sustainability objectives, appraising the critical success factors responsible for the thriving of a small-sized tourism venture towards long-term sustainability goals. To develop this research, an indicator-backed framework is developed and validated through a comparative study of the impacts of tourism practices in three different areas in the island of Bali (Indonesia). The framework’s selection of indicators has as a reference point the ‘Green Growth 2050 Roadmap for Bali (Indonesia) Sustainable Tourism Development's strategic policy framework – this means that the selected indicators were done in a way that would attend to the needs established by the foregoing Roadmap, and subsequently tested through an application in six different small tourism enterprises. The insights gathered from the results were condensed into a set of best practices highlighting the key factors that need to be held into consideration when pondering about opening a small tourism venture in this island.
Esta tese avalia o papel de pequenas empresas turísticas no que toca ao seu contributo aos objectivos de sustentabilidade a longo prazo delineados por um destino turístico, o que leva a adicionalmente aferir os fatores críticos de sucesso responsáveis pelo alinhamento de uma pequena e/ou média empresa turística com objetivos de sustentabilidade a longo prazo. Para propósitos de desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, foi realizado um quadro de aferição composto por indicadores, o qual foi posteriormente validado através da sua utilização num estudo comparativo sobre impactos de práticas detidas neste setor. O estudo foi realizado em três regiões distintas na ilha de Bali (Indonésia). O processo de seleção de indicadores adotado neste estudo utilizou o quadro de políticas estratégicas para o desenvolvimento de turismo sustentável:‘Green Growth 2050 Roadmap for Bali (Indonesia) como o seu principal ponto de referência – isto foi realizado de forma a que o quadro de aferição proposto pudesse estar alinhado com as necessidades estipuladas pelo 'Roadmap' supramencionado. Após este processo de seleção, foi possível testá-lo através da sua aplicação em seis pequenas empresas de turismo. A informação retirada dos resultados obtidos foi com densada num conjunto de 'melhores práticas', as quais representam uma curadoria dos fatores-chave que devem ser tomados em consideração por qualquer indíviduo que equacione abrir um pequeno negócio de turismo nesta ilha.

The main research objective of this master thesis paper is discovering links between ecotourism and sustainability. The paper is specifically focusing on theoretical potential of ecotourism and its ability to create conditions for long-term sustainability. The theoretical potential of ecotourism is confronted with opinion of experts within semi-structured interviews, which are analysed using framework analysis. The compatibility of ecotourism and sustainability is then closely examined in a case study of Slavkovsky les protected area. The case study shows that development of sustainability through ecotourism (or tourism) can be expected under certain conditions. The case study results also indicate that it is possible to create a simplified theoretical model, which can be applied to other suitable protected areas in the Czech Republic if appropriate modifications take place. More detailed research of individual sustainability aspects recognized in ecotourism could possibly deliver a more precise and specific model. This model could then provide a more reliable framework to estimate the potential of individual protected areas to use ecotourism as its development tool. Key words: tourism, ecotourism, sustainable tourism, sustainability, sustainable development, protected areas, framework analysis

The attitudes, perceptions and environmentally responsible behaviour of delegates (tourists) at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an area in which little or no academic research was undertaken from an academic, tourism perspective. This dissertation presents the results of a Green Survey undertaken during this climate change conference, focusing on the attitudes, perceptions and responsible practices of delegates in order to obtain a better understanding of tourism related impacts. Forms of tourism used as the conceptual basis were MICE, event tourism, sustainable tourism and responsible tourism integrated with socio-psychological behavioural theories. COP 17 was held in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) from the 28 November to 8 December, 2011 over 14 days. It was one of the many high-level international meetings on climate change, sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Delegates involved in the formal discussions included representatives of the world's governments, international organisations and civil society. Several thousand attendees (visitors and local residents) participated in separate discussions and events organised by civil society to highlight environmental and climate injustices and the concerns of the poor. Interviews were conducted at the conference venues, where COP 17 was held, that is, the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC). The study endeavoured to understand the socio-economic and demographic profile of delegates. An additional objective was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of delegates on various environmental issues related to climate change and its impact on tourism. An attempt was also made to determine whether there were any significant relationships between socio- demographic variables, knowledge and attitudes/ perceptions, and the behaviour of delegates. A structured questionnaire survey of 825 official delegates was undertaken and face-to-face interviews were conducted. The research survey used a non-probability, purposive, spatially-based systematic sampling techniques. The interviews were conducted in the ICC precinct (open spaces) and the first delegate was purposively selected. Subsequently, every fifteenth respondent was interviewed. The results indicate that despite delegates’ awareness of environmental best practices and having a good knowledge of environmental issues, there was inconsistency in behaviour due to a range of factors such as situational, internal and external aspects. Moreover, there was a gap in environmental behaviour practiced at home and whilst travelling. The majority of the delegates agreed that COP 17 had major environmental impacts in terms of energy consumption, air pollution, solid waste and overconsumption of water. Most respondents also stated that they engaged in environmentally responsible practices sometimes or always. It was also found that education had a significant relationship (p=0.000) on all environmental best practices whilst age and gender was only related to certain best practices. Additionally, knowledge of a few environment issues was significantly related to certain environmental best practices. Lastly, age was strongly related to the most number of behavioural practices and knowledge had significant relationships to numerous behavioural practices at home and while at the tourist destination. The study shows that socio-demographic variables, such as level of education, were important determinants of COP 17 delegates’ attitudes and environmentally friendly practices whilst traveling and at home.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

In studying organisational change in Air Seychelles, the context, content and process of change together with the interconnections of the airline and the tourism industry in Seychelles through time is explored. The literature review shows that the substantive issues of interest to this study, contextualism as a theory of methods in management research, requires a case based research in particular with regards to the following gaps in the literature: the integration of inner and outer perspectives on sustaining competitive advantage, and conceptual insights on how strategy links firms and their environment. The study adopted a contextual and processual framework to build a theoretical perspective of competitive advantage. The study contributes to the field of strategic management and tourism development in Seychelles in the following ways: firstly, the development of a contextual and processual framework to explain the transformation of firms over time; secondly, the development of an understanding of the historical context of the tourism industry and its interactions with other sectors of the Seychelles economy; thirdly, developing an understanding of how Air Seychelles developed its resources and capabilities to sustain competitive advantage; fourthly, linking change processes and action to performance and in a sense developing an understanding on strategy implementation of strategic management practice in Air Seychelles. The study sheds some light on strategy formation and implementation at the firm level, and the dynamics between the firm and the industry. The findings suggest that firms respond opportunistically to external discontinuities in a dynamic environment - the entrepreneurial leadership of a firm prepares and support managers to operate under conditions of great uncertainty and ambiguity and allows them to behave opportunistically.
Graduate School of Business Leadership
DBL
Thesis (D. B. L.)

South Africa and the rest of the world currently face an exacerbating threat of environmental degradation, which can be partly ascribed to the fact that some parts of society still place economic growth as a priority over environmental conservation. This study shows that such an approach is only profitable over the short term and actually causes more harm than good. On the other hand, the world is still recovering from the major 2008 global financial crisis. To tip the scale back into balance, it is crucial that economic -, social -, and environmental development be sustainable; from now and into the future. This study recognises that, to achieve sustainable development at all three levels, a transition to a green economy is needed. In essence a green economy requires investment in the environment for the benefit of both society and the economy. This study then goes on to show that ecotourism can be used as a manner to invest in the environment, whilst at the same time uplifting society and improving the economy. Subsequently it is identified as a key driver of a green economy. However, a daunting reality is that ecotourism developments and - activities also threaten the environment. This study therefore argues that ecotourism has to be regulated effectively; otherwise it will not live up to its purpose and may, as a result, curtail South Africa’s efforts of a transition to a green economy, instead of positively contributing to it. This study asks the question: Does South Africa’s environmental legislation provide for the effective regulation of ecotourism? This question is answered by considering whether various relevant pieces of national environmental legislation measure up to certain criteria that is inherent to the effective regulation of ecotourism. Finally this study serves to show that; from an environmental law perspective, and to the extent that this study investigated the ecotourism environment, ecotourism as a phenomenon is regulated effectively in South Africa. However, it appears that there still remains tremendous scope for improvement.
LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014