Дисертації з теми "Leisure tourisms"

This study seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding of the tourist gaze and tourist photography. The original concept of the ‘tourist gaze as proposed by John Urry is inherently Western-centric and, as a consequence, it is arguably of limited value as a conceptual framework for appraising the tastes, gazes and, more generally, the visual practices of the increasing number of non-Western tourists’. At the same, despite the fact that, in recent years, smart phone cameras have become widely used by people both in their everyday lives in general and in their travels in particular, few attempts have been made to explore and analyse the potential transformations brought to the landscape of the tourist photography by the increasing use of smart phone cameras. The purpose of this thesis, therefore, is to re-conceptualise and study empirically the tourist gaze and tourist photographic behaviour, as influenced by a variety of social, cultural and technological factors, amongst non-Western tourists. More specifically, it aims to explore the visual preferences of Chinese tourists in the UK, to consider critically what and how they take photographs of, and to evaluate the extent to which their gazes, their performance of gazing and their photographic practices are shaped by social, cultural and technological factors. In order to meet this aim, the qualitative research method of visual autoethnography is employed during two field studies with Chinese tourists in the UK. More precisely, a first field study was based on a seven-day package tour undertaken with eighteen Chinese tourists, visiting a total of thirteen destinations around British destinations. The second field study, in contrast, involved the researcher undertaking a five-day holiday with six Chinese tourists to the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England. During these two field studies, the researcher adopted the role of ‘researcher-as-tourist’, engaging in travel with the respondents, staying in the same accommodation, joining in with their activities and taking photographs with them. These first-hand travel and photographic experiences conspired to become an integral part of the resultant data resources which were not only analysed but also shared with the respondents during interviews with them. From the data collected during the two field studies and, indeed, the autoethnographic experiences of the researcher, it became clearly evident that smart phone cameras had become the principal means of taking photographs amongst Chinese tourists. Moreover, smart phone cameras have also altered the landscape of tourist photography, primarily by de-exoticising this practice and further enhancing its ‘playfulness’ and increasing its social functions. During the field studies, the Chinese tourist respondents engaged in a variety of visual and photographic activities, purposefully including but by no means being confined to an interactive game of photo-taking and photo-sharing, imagining authenticity, sensing the passing of time from gazing on natural spectacles, and deliberately observing what they considered to be ‘advanced’ aspects of the toured destination. Based upon these identified performances and practices, this thesis proposes the concept and framework of the Chinese tourist gaze. That framework essentially establishes what Chinese tourists prefer to see during their travels and seeks to explain why and how they see certain specific spectacles or tourist objects. At the same time, it theoretically re-situates both their gazes and their ways of gazing within a network of influential social, cultural and technological factors, including: the travel patterns of the élite in pre-modern China; the cultural characteristics of Chinese people; the intertwining of contemporary communication and photography technologies; and, the fusion of the Chinese nation-state, its economic policies policies and the resultant social and environmental problems that have emerged over the last three decades. Moreover, the framework points to potential future transformations in the Chinese tourist gaze, such as the de-exoticisation of that tourist gaze. The principal contribution of this thesis to extant knowledge is the concept and framework of the Chinese tourist gaze, as this may provide future researchers with the foundation for continuing to study and more profoundly understand the tastes, gazes, practices of gazing and other visual activities, including photography, of Chinese tourists. Indeed, given the inherent Western-centric bias in the relevant literature, an appropriate theoretical framework enabling them to do has, arguably, not previously existed. In addition, the dimensions and characteristics of tourist smart-phone-photography revealed in this research are of much significance, contributing to a deeper, richer understanding of transformations in the practice of tourist photography and, in particular, of why and how contemporary Chinese tourists take photographs. Furthermore, through identifying and exploring how the Chinese respondents in this study shared their photographs, greater knowledge and understanding has emerged of Chinese tourists’ technological travel communication and connections as well as their attitudes towards and use of the multiplicity of social networking sites and mobile-apps.

This thesis focuses on cultural narratives and representations of Mexico, Mexicans, and Mexican culture prevalent in US travel books, tourist discourse, and Mexican tourist scapes. It examines US tourism to Mexico through the lens of the imaginative geographies it is informed by and serves to mobilize. After exploring the context onto which contemporary tourism and US tourism discourse to Mexico unfolds, this thesis traces the evolution of contemporary ideas of Mexico and Mexican culture found in popular tourist narratives by looking at US travel books from the nineteenth century to the contemporary period. It then draws from empirical research data gathered through multisited ethnographic fieldwork conducted at three of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, and Cancun/Mayan Riviera. Here, I examine the way in which particular tourist spaces – ranging from hotels, tours, expeditions, cultural courses and attractions – interweave elements of local culture into their surrounding, on-site exhibitions, and/or events programming. In addition to examining these spaces, I also consider the voices of individuals from the US who, at the time of my fieldwork, were visiting or living in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, or Cancun/Mayan Riviera. By triangulating the discursive tropes and conceptual frameworks mobilized by tourist books, tourist discourse, and tourist scapes, this thesis illustrates how culturalist readings and imaginative geographies premised on nationalist modes of understanding continue to be mobilized in the context of much of the discourse through which tourism operates.

Guidebooks are argued to be significant elements of the tourism infrastructure (Koshar, 1998), influencing the perception of destinations and the travel practices of millions of tourists (Gilbert, 1999). Guidebooks have been depicted as mediators, interpreters, and communicators of place and people, yet the examination of these texts as part of tourism has received little attention in the academic literature. There are few studies focusing on what information guidebooks are presenting to tourists (Bhattacharyya, 1997; Lew, 1991; McGregor, 2000).

In pursuit of cultural, environmental, and leisure experiences, tourists are going all over the world and there is increasing concern over the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of this activity. Information on these impacts can be found in academic literature and government reports, but rarely is it presented to tourists.

The purpose of this study is to analyse and describe how travel guidebooks communicate information on socio-cultural, environmental, and other destination specific issues. The republic of Peru was the case study area for this research.

Destination data was collected through interviews with tourism representatives in Perú, Destination Management Organisation (DMO) website analysis, and participant observation. This data was analysed to provide a coding scheme for the current issues and impacts in Peru relating to tourism. This coding scheme was used to analyse the content of the most commonly used commercial guidebooks for Peru (Lonely Planet, South American Handbook, Rough Guide) to understand if and how guidebooks are addressing current issues in Peru tourism.

Qualitative content analysis of destination data resulted in 29 emergent categories which were evaluated based on theme distributions (socio-cultural, environmental, and other) and source information. Categories were grouped based on importance values to allow for further examination of the main issues and impacts involved in Peru tourism.

Qualitative analysis of guidebook content resulted in 4 additional categories for a total of 33 items. This was followed by quantitative analysis of guidebook content to better understand theme distributions, statement types, marketing communication types, and relationships with original category intentions. Guidebook content was organised into groups based on importance values and compared with the importance groups found in the destination data to determine differences in category relevance.

The implications of this research in presenting information to tourists are discussed in terms of their relevance to socio-cultural and environmental interpretation, marketing and communication theory, and responsible tourism. Similarities and differences found in comparing destination and guidebook data are examined. Findings and discussions based on this research indicate that the role of the guidebook is multi-dimensional. These texts, juxtaposed between host and guest, mediate and interpret ecological, cultural, and social information. Findings of this research suggest that though guidebooks are involved in persuasive messaging which raises issues of power and representation, guidebooks are the only popular tourist information source in Peru attempting to influence tourists to reduce cultural and environmental impacts. This discussion is followed by suggestions for future research in this area.

Concern for the degradation of the environment has seen the emergence of a small but steadily increasing number of UK organisations. These organisations bring together paying volunteers and research projects to support sustainable development, which has given rise to an emerging niche within the sustainable tourism framework - Research Tourism. The study evaluates the dynamics between the organisations (Research Tourism Sector) and its customers (Research Volunteers). Independent studies were conducted of both the organisations and the volunteers. Seventy six interviews with research volunteers were undertaken and a survey was used for the organisations in the research tourism sector. The survey of organisations used a SPACE Analysis distributed to fifteen companies, of which nine were returned. The findings of the study on research volunteer's captures the socio-demographic profile that indicates sixty percent of the research volunteers are British, mainly single and are either currently studying or had previously studies at university. It continues by identifying a volunteer typology indicating three different types of volunteers and finally, a conceptual framework (research tourism systems model) which displays the components of travel in the sector. At the same time the analysis of the business environment suggests that the SPACE factors are not strong enough to depress profits and, therefore, the balance sheets should be healthy. The financial analysis suggests that this is not always the case. Organisations recognise that relying on volunteers' contributions could make them vulnerable and a growing number of alternatives are identified. It is argued that the sector has the potential to delivery the sustainable development agenda in terms of capacity building, policy advice and knowledge management the extent to which individual organisations deliver these concepts varies. Consequently, the 'sustainable difference' that the organisations in the research volunteer sector requires more consistent implication and therefore greater levels of monitoring. Evaluation of the dynamics between the organisations and colunteers identifies eight interrelated items. The framework of a spider's web demonstrates that when one dynamic is exposed, reverberations across all eight are inevitable. A connection between the eight dynamics and the volunteer typology indicate an even greater complexity. Further, when the strategic implications of the volunteer typologies were examined, it was found that the two discrete segments, Sepcific Research Volunteers and Corporate Research Volunteers, are not any more lucrative than the General Research Volunteer. The specialisation of these segments has largely come about through monopolisation of a particular funding source rather than the derivation of unique product offering. The thesis argues that a symbiotic relationship exists between the organisations and volunteers, in that volunteers contribute money that normally might not be spent on sustainability. However, this funding source is contingent on meeting a variety of non profit based criteria. This study is a contribution to the literature on volunteer tourism and further research directions are identified.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019
Growth in the tourism industry has been a global trend in the past decades. People are adopting a lifestyle of travel, which led South Africa and Cape Town to welcome many visitors as recorded in the background to the study. Amid the high figures of tourist arrivals to South Africa and the City of Cape Town, there has been a continuous rise in the crime rate in the country, including destination Cape Town over the same period. However, if this is to continuously remain unaddressed or unattended, the tourism figures are likely to be affected. Therefore, the primary research objective was seeking to determine tourist perceptions with regard to crime and its effect on visitors’ decision-making processes and the impact it concurrently has on destination marketing. The study was seeking to establish whether demographic factors have an influence on tourists’ perceptions on general safety and security safety information of the destination. Furthermore, the study was investigating how tourist perceived Cape Town crime prior (pre-visit), during and post-visiting stages including their willingness to revisit the destination given their experiences. Through conducting the study, it revealed the information sources that were used by tourists before travelling as well as those used during their stay within the destination. Lastly, the study aimed to find out if there are any significant differences between demographic factors and crime related factors. A post-positivist deductive research approach was used by conducting Individual Depth Interviews (IDIs) and surveys in Cape Town’s tourist attractions. A structured questionnaire was used for the surveys, while some interview schedules were used for IDIs both on the supply and demand side. A sample size of 140 tourists was issued with questionnaires to determine the participants’ perceptions of crime in Cape Town, while 15 additional in-depth interviews were also conducted. This sample size reflected an 8.1% margin of error at 95% level of confidence. The results of this study also reflected that prior to their visit, the visitors perceived the destination to have a higher crime rate. This resonates with some tourists who witnessed instances of criminal activities in the tourist attraction centres, while others became victims of crime. Importantly, most tourists indicated that they would not be deterred by crime to visit Cape Town as a destination in their future travel plans. Therefore, tourists’ perceptions of crime with regard to their destination appear to have little or no influence on their travelling decisions.

Young budget travellers who work as they travel the world have often escaped academic attention. This thesis will begin to correct this omission by illustrating how the working and travelling practices of these young budget travellers affects their perception and construction of self. Taking an empirically grounded approach, this research will build these views into wider theoretical debates around identity, work, place and transnationalism. The thesis is based on an intensive period of fieldwork undertaken in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews, participant observation and secondary sources, this thesis will suggest that it is through work and travel experiences that these young people construct a sense of self. It will be argued that working adds value and meaning to experiences, creating memories and stories in which to construct identity. Furthermore, company culture and ideas of adventure continuously complicate how these young people utilise their working and travelling experiences and so, how they (re)define their sense of self. Finally, the relationship between identity and place will be considered in connection to the emerging literature on backpacker enclaves. This research on these working tourists aims to provide insights into current debates on backpacker travel, identity and tourism, both within the academic community and across wider business and social arenas. The ways in which young working tourists use their experiences to increase cultural capital and gain informal qualifications in order to increase career and life chances will be explored. Thus this thesis will demonstrate the need to understand the motivations, travel patterns and travel careers of working tourists in order to better forecast future tourism demands and trends.

Within the tourism literature, studies of crisis and disaster management in the tourism industry are relatively numerous. However, not only are most research case studies based on a Western-oriented paradigm, but also relatively few studies pay attention to tourists’ perceptions in relation to tourism crisis management. China has experienced numerous crises related to tourism in recent years and eventually coped with them. However, until the SARS outbreak in 2003 there tended to be a lack of subsequent research of crisis management. Following the completion of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009 and the successful completion of the 175-meter experimental water storage of Three Gorges Reservoir in 2010, the debates surrounding the major negative impacts of the dam on the Three Gorges region have become more intense. The transformation of environment has impacted on tourists’ experiences and perceptions, and even the number of inbound tourists. From a Western perspective, therefore, the Dam has become a ‘self-induced’ crisis for the Three Gorges area in general and for Three Gorges tourism. However, the Chinese government stresses that the Dam provides significant benefits to China’s economic development. The aim of this study is to identify appropriate strategies, within a conceptual framework of crisis management and tourism policy development, for rebuilding Three Gorges tourism in China following the completion of the Dam. Therefore, the research critically reviews the development of the Dam and existing tourism policies as a foundation for the principal research question: what are inbound tourists’ attitudes towards the Dam, and how might these inform strategic responses to the consequences of the Dam on the Three Gorges tourism? Subsequently at Stage One of this study, in addition to the secondary data collection related specifically to tourism in the Three Gorges, scoping research was conducted to elicit primary data regarding both tourism policy and planning for the region and an overview of tourists’ perceptions of the experience of the Three Gorges. Thus, the research at this stage involved two in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the supply-side stakeholders, namely, an expert specializing in Three Gorges tourism research and a high-level official from Chongqing Tourism Bureau, and semi-structured interviews with nine tourists from western countries visiting the Three Gorges. Having elicited the initial data and an overview of tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges Dam and the Three Gorges, it became evident that more detailed, rich data were required to inform an analysis of tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and, hence, to underpin recommendations for future policy for Three Gorges tourism Therefore, an additional 17 semi-structured interviews with international tourists were conducted at Stage Two alongside a quantitative survey amongst international tourists who had just completed their trip in the Three Gorges region and were still on a cruise ship. In addition to these, an unstructured-interview with a senior tourist guide, as a supplementary source, was also conducted to further identify the international tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and the Dam. The findings reveal that, from the perspective of Chinese government, the Three Gorges Dam is not considered as a self-induced crisis. Similarly, from the perspective of international tourists, the Dam has no yet caused any perceived tourism crisis. However, international tourists’ perceptions of environmental pollution indicate that water pollution in particular in the Three Gorges region is becoming worse. Such problem, if no controlled effectively, is likely to become a serious water pollution crisis in the future, affecting not only the life of local residents, but also the development of new Three Gorges tourism. Thus, in response to international tourists’ perceptions of the Three Gorges and the Dam, this research makes a number of recommendations for the development of new Three Gorges tourism. Overall, the purpose of this research is to establish a link between strategic responses, Faulkner’s framework of tourism crisis management and tourists’ perceptions of the destination in order to expand present tourism crisis management theory and models. In so doing, it adds an additional dimension to the contemporary crisis management and tourism in China literatures. The research also demonstrates the uniqueness of the case: although the Dam has been thought as a self-induced crisis created by humans, it differs from many crises, as the possible negative consequences brought by the Dam were predicted and predictable.

L’objectif de cette thèse est de partir de l’observation de la danse séga pour étudier les enjeux des appropriations mémorielles et artistiques du passé colonial dans la société post-esclavagiste mauricienne. L’entrée par la danse a alors été heuristique pour appréhender la culture populaire du séga comme un processus. À différents moments de son histoire la requalification du séga a permis d’inscrire cet objet dans une culture tantôt envisagée comme noire, africaine, créole, multiculturelle, de lui attribuer des racines, et d’orienter les débats sur les circulations et branchements qui entourent cet objet, ou encore de légitimer certains emprunts tout en accusant les appropriations culturelles. Absent du marché global de la musique ou de celui des loisirs, c’est sous la forme du spectacle chorégraphique que le séga circule comme étendard national, principalement sur les marchés touristiques. La récente inscription du séga traditionnel sur la liste représentative du PCI à l’UNESCO vient s’inscrire dans ces formes hégémoniques de spectacularisation et de commercialisation. Le caractère innovant de ce travail de recherche a été d’examiner la place des danseurs – et surtout des danseuses –, qui cristallise la réputation ambivalente du séga, à la fois dénigré et admiré, et de montrer les enjeux de requalification qui se concentrent autour de la spectacularisation de cette culture populaire, révélant différents rapports de pouvoir
The objective of this thesis is to start from the observation of the sega dance to study the stakes of the memory and artistic appropriations of the colonial past in the Mauritian post-slavery society. The entry through dance was then heuristic to apprehend the popular culture of sega as a process. At different times in its history the requalification of the sega allowed to register this object in a culture sometimes considered as black, African, creole, multicultural, to attribute to it roots, and to direct the debates on the circulations and connections that surround this object, or to legitimize certain borrowings while accusing cultural appropriations. Absent from the global music or leisure market, it is in the form of the choreographic show that the sega circulates as a national standard, mainly on the tourist markets. The recent inscription of the traditional sega on the representative list of the ICH at UNESCO is part of these hegemonic forms of spectacularization and commercialization. The innovative nature of this research work was to examine the place of dancers – and especially women – which crystallizes the ambivalent reputation of sega, both denigrated and admired, and to show the challenges of requalification that focus on the spectacularization of this popular culture, revealing different power relations

Over the last two decades, the concept of dark tourism has attracted ever-increasing attention in both academic and media circles. At the same time, not only has there been an apparent growth in the supply of ‘dark’ tourism sites and attractions, but also such demand for dark tourism experiences is also evidently on the increase. Hence, academic research has and continues to be concerned with both the consumption (demand) and development (supply) of dark tourism sites and experiences, reflected in a now extensive and diverse dark tourism literature. Nevertheless, significant issues with respect to dark tourism remain unresolved, not least the validity of the term itself. That is, dark tourism is considered by some to be a pejorative term, particularly in the context of the tourist experience. However, of greater concern is the lack of attention paid to the role of local communities in dark tourism destinations. In other words, there is limited understanding of how local communities respond to becoming the object of the dark tourist ‘gaze’, and the subsequent implications for the development and management of tourism in ‘dark’ destinations. The purpose of thesis, therefore, is to address the gap in the literature. Based on a case study of L’Aquila, a city in Italy that in 2009 was struck by a powerful and deadly earthquake and that subsequently became (and continues to be) a new dark tourism destination, it sets out to explore how ‘dark’ tourism has evolved and, in particular, the local community’s understanding of and responses to their city becoming a dark tourism destination as a result of the disaster it suffered. More specifically, in order to address these issues, the thesis focuses initially on relevant background theory, including a critical review of both the emergence of the concept of dark tourism and its wider application within the field of tourism studies and contemporary theory of host-tourist perceptions. Subsequently, the formal literature review explores critically contemporary approaches to theorising disasters, the disaster recovery process and disaster tourism, as well as broader theoretical constructs relating to the social construction of reality. Collectively, these inform the construction of two conceptual frameworks which are subsequently applied to guide two stages of empirical enquiry. The research in L’Aquila reveals that, overall there has been a lack of any significant guidance or leadership in tourism development within the city. As a consequence, the city has in effect become an unplanned open museum for tourists, whilst the residents themselves feel betrayed by the authorities for the lack of progress in the redevelopment of their city and feel exploited and or treated with a lack of understanding and respect by tourists who come to gaze on their misfortune. Thus, it is argued that a more recognised and established tourism presence on behalf of the local community might have ensured that the conduct of tourists was effectively controlled and managed, thereby reducing the negative impacts of tourism on the local community. That is, it is suggested that, had the local community been better placed to manage the influx of ‘dark’ tourists into their city, they would have been more accepting of tourism and tourists in the initial stages of tourism development following the disaster. Consequently, through a combination of stakeholder development theory and the empirical data generated by this research, the thesis proposes a ‘Post-disaster tourism development stakeholder model’. Of most significance, however, is the manner in which the city’s social and cultural environment has limited the individual and the collective attitude amongst the local community in L’Aquila towards tourism and tourists; that is, it is identified that L’Aquila’s collective social mentality has been a major barrier to the potential development of tourism since the disaster. With respect to the concept of dark tourism in particular, the research reveals that for, the local community in L’Aquila, tourism since the earthquake is best defined or thought of not as ‘dark tourism’ but as disaster tourism. Indeed, it became evident through the research that the labelling of L’Aquila as ‘dark’ not only stigmatised the location and the victims of the earthquake but, importantly, also influenced the residents’ perceptions of tourists. That is, tourists are seen as ‘dark’ by the local residents, heightening negative feelings towards them and consequently, reinforcing the unwillingness of many members of the community to support or engage in promoting dark tourism. Additionally, the research found that local residents experienced higher levels of negative emotions towards tourists in the initial stages following the disaster. Of significance, is that, over time, the local residents have become more willing to accept tourism and tourists who are engaging with ‘dark’ tourism practices relating to the earthquake that destroyed their city. This temporal element is recognised and proposed in a ‘Host-Reactions to Post-Disaster Tourists / Tourism Model’. This thesis also proposes a more rounded perspective of host-tourist attitudes to dark tourism, focusing on the individual attitude of a local, rather than that of a collective societal position. Overall, then, this research reveals that there are significant and varied implications in the development of dark tourism from the perspective of the local community, not least with respect to the term 'dark tourism' itself. That is, dark tourism is shown to be an inappropriate label to attach to either the destination of tourists who visit, enhancing as it does the negative perceptions towards tourists whilst stigmatising the local community as victims. Thus, use of the term 'dark tourism' may be best restricted to academic contexts. Nevertheless, the attitude or perceptions of the local community to becoming the object of the 'dark' tourist gaze can only be fully comprehended within a wider analysis of the local socio-cultural environment and, in particular, the disaster recovery process. In this case study, the local community's perceptions of tourism are influenced by failures in the disaster recovery process and, hence, the proposed frameworks offer a valid basis for future research in alternative dark or disaster tourism contexts.

This research explores the socio-spatial impact of tourism in a central neighbourhood of Barcelona. Tourism is a significant cause of neighbourhood change in several places but research on the impact of urban tourism remains scarce. The research argues that a process of tourism gentrification is taking place. From a political economy perspective, the dissertation combines demographic analyses with ethnographic fieldwork and reveals that tourism leads to different forms of displacement. In addition, the research relates neighbourhood change driven by tourism with leisure migration. By doing so, it sheds light on understanding a growing process of transnational gentrification. By putting into conversation gentrification and tourism, the dissertation contributes to both strands of research. Firstly, it points to a geography of tourism gentrification that has been overlooked by research. This provides an alternative understanding of gentrification that differs from conceptualisations originating from the Anglo-Saxon world. Secondly, it shows why the leisure industry in cities should be understood as an example of accumulation by dispossession. In this regard, the research suggests the need to place tourism at the centre of critical urban theory. The demographic findings show (i) that lifestyle migrants represent the main group of gentrifiers in the area of the case study; and (ii) that the neighbourhood experiences a process of population flight led by the out-migration of Catalan-Spanish residents. The ethnographic fieldwork reveals that population flight results from a process of tourism-driven displacement and an unmistakable change in land use involving the conversion of residential space into a tourist district. Displacement is linked to the growth of holiday rentals and hotels as well as to daily disruptions caused by tourism. Tourism makes residential life increasingly unpleasant. The research identifies a process of place-based displacement in which the impact of tourism is experienced as a sense of expulsion from the place rather than as a process of spatial dislocation.

Visiting. a garden in England is a traditional leisure activity that continues to grow in popularity but curiously this sector of the visitor attraction market has received little attention from academics. The thesis seeks to understand participation in garden visiting from a number of perspectives but principally that of the visitor. It moves beyond the established approach of individual agency with its assumption of free choice to incorporate social and material agency. This movement requires a shift in theoretical perspective from the prevailing theories in the leisure literature (motivational theories) to the emerging theory of affordance. The study consisted of four phases of data collection. Two phases obtained quantitative data from surveys - first, of residents in Dorset and secondly, visitors in a garden. The aim was to identify garden visitors and to establish the importance of various factors in influencing a visit. The other two phases obtained qualitative data from a series of informal conversations with a small number of residents from the survey and a large number of visitors to several different types of horticultural attractions. These sought to establish the participants' explanations for visiting gardens. Analysing the participants' explanatory repertoires reveals the importance of the natural and the social in garden visitation. Their perception of the `natural' environment of the garden is a key element of the attraction for participants as gardens offer opportunities for both relaxation and hedonism. However, inseparable from the `natural' is the `social' environment. The proprietors and gardeners may afford some aspects whilst others are realised through the companionship of family or friends. Similarly, natural environmental features and social influences may prompt a visit or influence where it takes place. The participants also reveal the power of social norms in regard to their activities in a garden and what prompted them to visit. Furthermore they disclose the importance of temporal and spatial considerations. The connections between, on the one hand, having a domestic garden, or an interest in gardening and on the other, participation in garden visiting were perhaps predictable, but the influence of the media and particularly the television on recreational gardening and the indirect consequences this has for garden visiting was less foreseeable. The thesis concludes with a summary and discussion of the major findings and interprets them in the light of affordance theory. Building on this discussion, suggestions are made for future research to explore the issues raised in the thesis. The study therefore offers not only a significant contribution to the literature in leisure and tourism studies but also the analysis of social-material agency.

The thesis looks into the under-researched phenomenon of ‘stasis’ that can be observed in many emerging tourist destinations in the world. Stasis—defined here as non-growth—has been essentially addressed in the tourism literature from the perspective of operational constraints. However, in this thesis it is argued that such an approach neglects to consider these constraints as outcomes of deeply sedimented and chronically reproduced structural properties. In other words, the study attempts to gain an understanding of why operational constraints fail to receive response in destinations experiencing stasis. With its focus on stasis rather than on change, the study adopts an innovative approach to tourism development, intending in this way to add to destination development theories.Accordingly, the examination of the research problem is integrated into the general reflection on the development of tourist areas, composing the theoretical background of the study. Moreover, two important methodological decisions are made with the aim to better grasp the dynamics of tourism development within stasis. A first decision is to dissociate the quantitative aspects of destination development from the qualitative ones, introducing two distinctive constructs named destination growth and destination shaping. A second decision is to address the research question from a strategic relational approach to structure and agency. The use of a structure-agency approach is decisive in appraising the extent to which structural constraints affect tourism stakeholders’ actions. The phenomenon is explored empirically from a critical theory perspective and a qualitative approach based on a single case study. The case under scrutiny is Gabon, a politically stable destination with acknowledged tourism assets and a tourism strategy adopted in the past decade. Gabon is examined essentially for its function as internal leisure travel destination. The analysis thus includes both domestic and international tourism, but limits itself to leisure travel. The study results indicate that, in the case of Gabon, structural properties and their rigidity explained a great deal of operational constraints and their continuity over time. However, and while structural properties adversely affect destination development, including growth, tourism initiatives are still able to emerge. These tourism initiatives are varied in that they are undertaken by different types of actors, they have different goals and take different forms. Yet, very few of these tourism stakeholders are in a position to modify the country’s structural properties due to a high centrality of social control. In such context, destination growth is primarily determined by the vested interest of a small circle of agents with social power. In conclusion, a country’s structural properties need to be regarded as spatialized and temporalized tendencies having a selective effect on actors but cannot fully explain action, hence destination development. In turn, action is intended—and strategic—but results do not necessarily match initial intentions. This implies that tourism development cannot be apprehended through the sole actions of tourism stakeholders, but need a combined analysis of the interrelationships between structure and agency.
Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Libya is a country with a rich heritage in terms of culture, archaeological and historical sites, and a long Mediterranean coastline of sandy beaches. However, unlike the neighbouring countries of Tunisia and Egypt, which have similar attractions and which have capitalised upon these to develop successful tourist industries, Libya has not devoted its efforts to expand in this area, and this is partly a reflection of the fact that Libya has been an oil economy for the last forty years, and there has been no real need to attempt diversification of the economy on a grand scale; and partly a result of the political isolation of Libya as a result of UN and US sanctions. However, in recent years, the overreliance on oil revenues, and the potential of tourism to contribute substantially towards the economy, have encouraged the government to look towards tourism as a way to sustain the economy in the long term, and consequently, moves have been made to launch Libya as a tourist destination, especially since the lifting of the international sanctions mentioned. This study has focused on the efforts to date by Libya to refocus its economic strategy, and after reviewing the relevant literature, the researcher constructed three research instruments for use during fieldwork in Libya with different populations, in an attempt to establish the current status of the Libyan tourism industry. A questionnaire survey to establish demographic information about international tourists, and levels of satisfaction with the Libyan tourism product overall, was carried out with 282 tourists to Libya. An interview exercise was conducted with tourism administrators, and two indepth interviews were held with the UnderSecretary of State for Tourism Affairs, and the UnderSecretary of State for Education and Training Affairs, respectively. The tourist data was analysed using SPSS and crosstabulations were performed in order to identify the background of tourists (country of origin, age, sex, tourist behaviour) and their predispositions and opinions, by sex and age, on a range of dimensions within the two broader aspects of Accommodation, and Tourism Attractions. The findings reveal that women in general are less critical of Libya’s tourism product than men, and that tourists in the older age groups, who have a greater experience of travel, are more realistic in their expectations of what a developing country can offer to tourists. However, whilst Libya has immense potential as a tourist destination, with the possibility of offering several different tourist products, thereby being of interest to various market segments, it is currently unable to pursue these opportunities because of shortcomings in tourist infrastructure, in particular its lack of accommodation, tourist information, and service quality. What is currently being delivered to tourists is a substandard product which begins and ends with bureaucratic procedures at entry/exit points to the country, and which is characterised by an experience in between that reflects the lack of planning. The thesis concludes that a proper planning framework, which includes appropriate levels of investment, is necessary for a tourism industry in Libya to thrive and contribute towards the economy to the extent that the government hopes, and envisages.

A feminist point of view is used in this study of gay men living in a small, collegiate community who use leisure travel as a negotiation strategy to achieve freedom of expression. Feminism is concerned with equality, empowerment, social change, the elimination of invisibility and the distortion of situated experiences. Feminist research is no more defined by the sex of the researcher than by the sex of the researched. Several in-depth interviews were conducted with key informants who revealed the complex nature of how many gay men pursue leisure experiences that are affirming to their gay self-identities in "Soledad." While gay meeting places and people exist in this small community, they remain mostly covert and invisible. Leisure travel to larger cities was a major negotiation strategy used to escape the stifling, hetero-normative community in which they lived. Escaping perceived hostilities was essential for gay men to feel comfortable exploring their homosexuality in a positive, affirming manner. Furthermore, the benefits of leisure travel bled into the daily lives of gay men after leisure travel was performed. For instance, leisure travel helped gay men make other gay friends who helped them cope with their homosexuality, and, in the process, they helped them "learn" how to be gay. The skills and experiences these gay men acquired while pursuing leisure in other places helped them transform their daily lives and home community into a more bearable place to live, thereby making home an easier place to negotiate. Gay men were able to discover a whole new set of possibilities of how to express themselves and discovered a new "gaze" by which to view the world. This research adds to the literature on travel and tourism, while expanding the information we have concerning the gay subculture that is becoming more socially and politically efficacious and economically powerful. Likewise, some of the gaps in the literature concerning leisure constraints and negotiation are also filled by this research.

Analizuoti miesto marketingo bei laisvalaikio truzimo konceptai, išskirti miesto marketingo strateginiai ir taktiniai sprendimai, miesto marketingo planavimas, vartotojų poreikius tenkinantys laisvalaikio turizmo paslaugų teikėjai. Nustatyta marketingo vieta, tenkinant turisto poreikius. Miesto marketingo studijomis daugiausia domisi užsienio mokslininkai, lietuvių mokslininkų patirtis šia tema nepakankama. Tikslas - atlikus miesto marketingo bei laisvalaikio turizmo teorinių aspektų analizę, parengti miesto marketingo, orientuoto į laisvalaikio turizmą, modelį ir patikrinti jį empiriškai. Tyrimo metodai – kokybinis ir kiekybinis, kokybinis – content analizė, kiekybinis – anketinė turistų apklausa.
Concepts of city marketing and leisure tourism, strategical and tactical decisions of city marketing, city marketing planning, different types of leisure tourism organizations arranged by category, marketing place on purpose to satisfy the needs of tourist, were analyzed in theoretical part. These domains are not enough analyzed in theoretical and practical dimension in Lithuania. Scholastic articles are presented by initiative of foreign authors, not Lithuanian. The thesis should be helpful for local governance.The aim. To formulate the model of city marketing, orientated to leisure tourism by theoretical aspects of city marketing and leisure tourism.The methods of research. Quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative method – content analysis, quantitative – questionnaire of tourists.

This study examines psychological determinants of the suppressed demand for recreational tourism. Its broad aim is to develop existing theoretical perspectives in order to throw light upon free choice non-holidaymaking. Part one uses structured interviews, and a supporting attitude survey, to contrast the perceptions and environmental circumstances of more and less vociferous participants. Specifically the interviewees' disclose perceived non-holidaymaking determinants and opportunity costs. Part two utilises questionnaires with personality items and non-parametric hypothesis testing, critically evaluating Nickerson and Ellis' (1991) postulated yet unsubstantiated predisposition to non-participation (introversion, low arousal seeking tendency and external locus of control). A cognitive mapping procedure then reveals evaluative criteria relevant to the holiday/no holiday decision. The explorative analysis demonstrates that suppressed demand has a non-permanent composition. Also the perceived opportunity costs of holidaymaking are invariably connected with homemaking expenditures (eg decorating and DIY). People moreover differentially prioritise holidaymaking 'per se'. Regarding the personality affects on non-participation, the analysis finds no evidence to support Nickerson and Ellis' assertions about introversion and low arousal seeking. On the other hand, an external locus of control does to dispose to non-holidaymaking (p=