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Sustainable Tourism in Sensitive Environments: Mountains, Islands, Coastal and Polar Regions

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2018) | Viewed by 91502

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Adventure Culinary Arts and Tourism, Thompson Rivers University, 805 TRU Way, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
Interests: sustainable tourism; community and destination development; coastal tourism and decision making; special interest tourism management (mountain tourism, ecotourism, adventure tourism, cultural tourism, sport tourism); tourism in developing countries; tourism and hospitality innovation, marketing and small business

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this Special Issue is to show progress regarding current research and literature in the distinctive theme of sustainable tourism in sensitive environments. In particular, this Special Issue of the peer-reviewed international journal Sustainability aspires to expand the discussion and scholarship on the range of viewpoints, trends, approaches, cases, success factors, impacts, challenges, models and/or frameworks of relevance to tourism in sensitive regions affected by tourism.

The challenges and successes in the growth and development of tourism in sensitive regions of the world are perhaps of utmost importance to sustainable practices and future outcomes within these locals. A high diversity of interest in tourism development and sustainability within sensitive areas, both academically, as well as in more applied contexts is due, in part to: the growing diversity and interests of international travellers to visit sensitive tourism regions and destinations, the challenges within sensitive geographic areas of relevance to climate change, changing lifestyles creating further interest in regional and community development, and the increased variety of activities and offerings to both visitors and residents in distinctive and critically sensitive regions of the Earth. This Special Issue aims to explore further sustainable tourism practices, outcomes and success factors within sensitive areas in an interdisciplinary and multi-sectorial fashion. Potential areas of focus of relevance to mountains, islands, coastal, polar and other sensitive regions may include, but not be limited to the following within the context of sustainable tourism:

  • challenges and opportunities in sensitive areas regarding tourism development
  • experience based tourism in sensitive regions
  • mountain tourism
  • polar tourism
  • special interest and adventure tourism in sensitive areas
  • tourism and seasonality
  • tourism in developing countries
  • communities impacting or affected by tourism in sensitive areas
  • approaches to development and planning in sensitive tourism areas
  • climate change and tourism in sensitive regions
  • coastal tourism in less developed areas
  • island tourism in sensitive areas
  • community based tourism in sensitive areas (e.g., developing countries, remote areas)
  • merging of arts, culture, events and tourism
  • resort, hotel and destination development in sensitive areas
  • tourism in world heritage areas
  • innovation and futures thinking of tourism in sensitive areas
  • tourism products and customer experiences in sensitive regions
  • indigenous tourism
  • amenity migration and development in sensitive areas
  • community governance and decision-making models in sensitive areas
  • historic aspects of tourism in sensitive areas

Regional and international case studies, original research, theoretical frameworks and other relevant illustrations of the significance, importance of sustainable tourism in sensitive areas will be considered for this Special Issue. This may be provided through scholarly or professional synthesis and review, applicable theoretical models, case studies of relevance, systematic evaluation of specific issues, and/or through theoretically informed empirical qualitative or quantitative investigation.

Prof. Dr. Harold Richins
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • challenges and opportunities in sensitive areas regarding sustainable tourism
  • sustainable mountain tourism
  • coastal tourism in less developed areas
  • tourism products and customer experiences in sensitive regions
  • community based tourism in sensitive areas (e.g., developing countries, remote areas)
  • polar sustainable tourism
  • approaches to development and planning in sensitive tourism areas
  • island tourism in sensitive areas

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3244 KiB  
Article
Green to Gold: Beneficial Impacts of Sustainability Certification and Practice on Tour Enterprise Performance
by André Hellmeister and Harold Richins
Sustainability 2019, 11(3), 709; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030709 - 29 Jan 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6425
Abstract
A growing number of managers in tourism recognize the importance of sustainability to their business success. However, as the majority of tourism enterprises consist of small and medium-sized enterprises that are generally less likely to invest in sustainability practices due to a lack [...] Read more.
A growing number of managers in tourism recognize the importance of sustainability to their business success. However, as the majority of tourism enterprises consist of small and medium-sized enterprises that are generally less likely to invest in sustainability practices due to a lack of financial resources, time, and perceived cost-saving opportunities, an industry-wide dissemination of sustainability practices is hampered. This paper explores the benefits of adapting sustainability practices and provides evidence for making the case for incorporating sustainability practices to benefit business success. This study examined sustainability-certified tour enterprises, focusing on the perceived impact that the commitment to sustainable practices through certification has had on tangible financial aspects (potential benefits of increased revenue and decreased operational costs) and intangible benefits (customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction). Also explored were the influence of strategic choices related to sustainable practices (extent of commitment, product range, facilities and equipment, and the application of relevant marketing practices). Study findings were encouraging, identifying cost-savings, increased revenue, enhanced reputation, and customer and employee satisfaction. Energy-savings as well as a greater connection to the community were found to be beneficial outcomes of sustainable practices. Despite its acknowledged dependency on the natural environment as well as cultural assets nature and culture, the tourism industry is perhaps still in its infancy in moving towards industry-wide sustainability success. While academic literature has attributed this to the lack of awareness and low dedication to take action, this study found an indication of a positive relationship between sustainability commitment and financial and non-financial firm performance. The findings extend previous research that focused on larger and more facility-dependent enterprises and suggest that sustainability is a beneficial path to follow regardless of company size and budget. Full article
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16 pages, 470 KiB  
Article
Comparing Motivation-Based and Motivation-Attitude-Based Segmentation of Tourists Visiting Sensitive Destinations
by Yoonjeong Jeong, Seweryn Zielinski, Ji-soon Chang and Seong-il Kim
Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3615; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103615 - 10 Oct 2018
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3435
Abstract
This study aims to compare motivation-based and motivation-attitude-based segmentation of tourist markets, by identifying the heterogeneity of both solutions. A k-means cluster analysis was conducted to segment markets, using the data collected from 722 respondents, via an onsite survey of visitors to the [...] Read more.
This study aims to compare motivation-based and motivation-attitude-based segmentation of tourist markets, by identifying the heterogeneity of both solutions. A k-means cluster analysis was conducted to segment markets, using the data collected from 722 respondents, via an onsite survey of visitors to the Kuang Si Waterfall and Konglor Cave in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Subsequently, socio-demographic and trip-related characteristics among the segments were compared using ANOVA and Chi-square tests. Both motivation-based and motivation-attitude-based segmentation each generated four distinctive segments. Although both solutions are viable for segmentation, the latter was found to be more useful in separating segments than the former, as its segments were significantly more distinguishable from each other in terms of socio-demographic and trip-related characteristics. This result contributes to the body of research on the comparison of market segmentation techniques, which is a rarely investigated topic. Full article
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19 pages, 7474 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Tourism on Sustainable Development of Rural Areas: Evidence from Romania
by Bogdan-Constantin Ibănescu, Oana Mihaela Stoleriu, Alina Munteanu and Corneliu Iațu
Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3529; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103529 - 01 Oct 2018
Cited by 82 | Viewed by 12353
Abstract
Rural tourism has been seen during the last decades as a means for economic development of sensitive localities, especially in rural areas. However, little research has been conducted on the sustainability of the development induced by tourism activities in rural areas, and even [...] Read more.
Rural tourism has been seen during the last decades as a means for economic development of sensitive localities, especially in rural areas. However, little research has been conducted on the sustainability of the development induced by tourism activities in rural areas, and even so, with contradictory results. Our paper investigated how tourism impacted on the sustainable development of rural localities, focusing on three composite indexes: demographic stability, public utilities, and socio-economic sustainability. Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine the differences on each of the above-mentioned indexes between the rural localities with tourist arrivals and those without. The results showed that there is a significant positive effect of tourism on rural areas translated into higher values of all the indexes analyzed. This study brings valuable contributions to both academics and policy-makers: on one hand, it provides new insights into the impact of tourism activities; on the other hand, it offers valuable information to decisional actors regarding development strategies. Full article
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14 pages, 653 KiB  
Article
Catalyst or Barrier? The Influence of Place Attachment on Perceived Community Resilience in Tourism Destinations
by Yongrui Guo, Jie Zhang, Yuling Zhang and Chunhui Zheng
Sustainability 2018, 10(7), 2347; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072347 - 06 Jul 2018
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 5946
Abstract
The concept of resilience has recently received a substantial amount of attention in sustainable tourism research. Nevertheless, empirical studies on the factors that may influence the perceived resilience of community residents in tourism destinations remain lacking. A thorough analysis is needed to examine [...] Read more.
The concept of resilience has recently received a substantial amount of attention in sustainable tourism research. Nevertheless, empirical studies on the factors that may influence the perceived resilience of community residents in tourism destinations remain lacking. A thorough analysis is needed to examine place attachment as a catalyst of or a barrier to community resilience in tourism destinations. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the influence of place attachment on perceived resilience based on data derived from 655 residents in two earthquake-affected tourism communities in Sichuan Province, China. The empirical results indicate that place identity and place dependence have a positive influence on the perceived resilience of community residents in tourism destinations. The equality test for the structural model demonstrates that the influence of place attachment on perceived community resilience is invariant across native residents and lifestyle tourism immigrants. Residents who develop strong place attachment to their communities exhibit greater resilience and adaptive capacity. Full article
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19 pages, 541 KiB  
Article
Cycle Tourism as a Driver for the Sustainable Development of Little-Known or Remote Territories: The Experience of the Apennine Regions of Northern Italy
by Patrizia Gazzola, Enrica Pavione, Daniele Grechi and Paola Ossola
Sustainability 2018, 10(6), 1863; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061863 - 04 Jun 2018
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 10543
Abstract
One form of cycle tourism can be represented features tourism that focuses on the relation between biking and the discovery of a territory. Geared toward forms of holiday that allow for the low consumption of natural resources and a connection with the landscape, [...] Read more.
One form of cycle tourism can be represented features tourism that focuses on the relation between biking and the discovery of a territory. Geared toward forms of holiday that allow for the low consumption of natural resources and a connection with the landscape, cycle tourism represents a concrete expression of sustainable tourism. As an emerging phenomenon in Italy, cycle tourism requires further understanding in order to identify methods of development and applicable business models. The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics of cycle tourism’s development in northern Italy in order to identify the links that exist between sustainability and the group of cycle tourists who prefer to spend their holidays discovering little-known or remote territories. For this study, we selected three different destinations in sensitive mountain areas that converge on the common goal to use cycling to rejuvenate the tourism sector. It has been found that the development of cycle tourism in areas not characterized by mass tourism, such as those considered here, is economically, socially, and environmentally beneficial. The business models through which cycle tourism usually develops include a bottom up approach or a top down approach, involving the cooperation of several local destination stakeholders. Full article
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18 pages, 13968 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Assessment for Post-Disaster Recovery Process in a Tourist Town
by Byungyun Yang and Israt Jahan
Sustainability 2018, 10(6), 1842; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061842 - 02 Jun 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4664
Abstract
This paper develops a comprehensive assessment of post-disaster housing and tourism resource recovery. It enables us to address how many natural and man-made features in a tourist town have recovered after a hurricane event. The assessment uses a variety of sources, at different [...] Read more.
This paper develops a comprehensive assessment of post-disaster housing and tourism resource recovery. It enables us to address how many natural and man-made features in a tourist town have recovered after a hurricane event. The assessment uses a variety of sources, at different spatial scales and at different points in time. Furthermore, this study develops a measurement scale to quantify damage and recovery appropriate for the available resources. In particular, the study focuses on the development of a methodological approach to tracking housing and tourism resource recovery and helping local communities recover faster the damaged areas after disaster. The effort uses multiple sources of data, including questionnaire data, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) damage data, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, and remote sensing satellite images. The data are quantitatively analyzed to fulfill the objectives of assessing housing recovery rate over time and are represented on maps. The maps are used to represent the status of damaged buildings (e.g., no damage, minor or major damage, affected or destroyed). Furthermore, repaired buildings in specified time intervals are represented on the maps. Eventually, this study develops two schematic diagrams illustrating the average damage and the weighed recovery from multiple data sources. The outcomes of this study will help decision makers emphasize on the locations identified as experiencing differential progress in the reconstruction, rebuilding, and repairing of houses or tourism resources. Full article
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11 pages, 198 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Tourism in Sensitive Environments: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?
by Richard Butler
Sustainability 2018, 10(6), 1789; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061789 - 29 May 2018
Cited by 59 | Viewed by 7441
Abstract
Sustainable tourism has become a widely adopted term that has allowed many tourism developments to take place under its rubric that are less than sustainable and have been located in sensitive areas that have not all been suitable for such development. The paper [...] Read more.
Sustainable tourism has become a widely adopted term that has allowed many tourism developments to take place under its rubric that are less than sustainable and have been located in sensitive areas that have not all been suitable for such development. The paper reviews the origin and shortcomings of the concept and some of the implications of the resulting problems. It argues for a more critical review of so-called sustainable forms of tourism and for a focus to shift towards increasing the resilience of destinations, particularly those in sensitive areas, in order to shield them from the effects of inappropriate or excessive tourism development. Full article
22 pages, 3466 KiB  
Article
Private Protection Initiatives in Mountain Areas of Southern Chile and Their Perceived Impact on Local Development—The Case of Pumalín Park
by Benedikt Hora
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1584; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051584 - 15 May 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4297
Abstract
This paper aims to identify the socio-economic impacts perceived by the local community to be caused by Pumalín Park, one of the biggest and most remarkable private protected areas in Chile. In recent years, the Pumalín Park project has had a tremendous influence [...] Read more.
This paper aims to identify the socio-economic impacts perceived by the local community to be caused by Pumalín Park, one of the biggest and most remarkable private protected areas in Chile. In recent years, the Pumalín Park project has had a tremendous influence on the local economy by providing job opportunities for local entrepreneurs, protecting native forest and strengthening social awareness, particularly in the nearby town of Chaitén, which was stricken in 2008 by a volcanic eruption. The methods used were secondary data review, semi-structured interviews with key informants and questionnaires aimed at assessing the local population’s perception of the park’s contribution to their community. The results indicate that Pumalín Park plays an important role in local development, enhancing not only conservation of fragile mountain ecosystems, but also revitalizing the economic base of this rural and marginalized area of southern Chile. Full article
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19 pages, 1321 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Tourism in Sensitive Areas: Bibliometric Characterisation and Content Analysis of Specialised Literature
by Sandra M. Sánchez-Cañizares, Ana M. Castillo-Canalejo and Luis Javier Cabeza-Ramírez
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1525; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051525 - 11 May 2018
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4631
Abstract
Thirty years after the emergence of the term “sustainable tourism” and in view of the proliferation of literature on the subject, it seems appropriate to carry out a bibliographical review, based on empirical bibliometric data, in order to find out who the leading [...] Read more.
Thirty years after the emergence of the term “sustainable tourism” and in view of the proliferation of literature on the subject, it seems appropriate to carry out a bibliographical review, based on empirical bibliometric data, in order to find out who the leading research pioneers are for this type of tourism, discover gaps in our understanding, and redefine the concept’s frontiers. This paper focuses specifically on sustainable tourism in sensitive areas, in a first attempt to provide understanding of the accumulated knowledge of the sub-theme by looking at research presented by impact publications. A total of 985 papers published on this topic on Web of Science were selected to this end, and after applying the H-Classics methodology, a content analysis of the forty papers with the greatest impact was carried out. This has led to the discovery of research trends, gaps in the analysis of polar and mountainous areas, and a lack of a core group of highly productive researchers in this area. Full article
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17 pages, 4882 KiB  
Article
GIS Assessment of Mass Tourism Anthropization in Sensitive Coastal Environments: Application to a Case Study in the Mar Menor Area
by Salvador García-Ayllón
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1344; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051344 - 26 Apr 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5144
Abstract
On the Mediterranean coast, the tourism activity which has developed since the 1950s has become a mass tourism industry in recent decades, cohabitating with natural spaces of high environmental value. These sensitive areas are thus subjected to a varied catalog of anthropizing actions [...] Read more.
On the Mediterranean coast, the tourism activity which has developed since the 1950s has become a mass tourism industry in recent decades, cohabitating with natural spaces of high environmental value. These sensitive areas are thus subjected to a varied catalog of anthropizing actions (urbanization of the natural soil, modification of the dune balances by the construction of port infrastructures, alteration of marine ecosystems by recreational activities, etc.). All these inter-related elements are often difficult to analyze in a comprehensive way because of their diffuse nature. This paper proposes a methodology based on GIS analysis for the evaluation of diffuse anthropization associated to tourism in sensitive coastal environments. By using different indicators of territorial transformation, a complete method is proposed to establish the index of diffuse anthropization of a territory. This methodology, which is easily applicable in a generalized manner in different cases for developed countries, will be applied in the Mar Menor, a coastal lagoon area in the Mediterranean that has been suffering from mass tourism during recent decades. The results will show the important impact of several actions linked to tourism and the worrying inertia that the current trend can cause in the lagoon’s ecosystem. Full article
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26 pages, 3120 KiB  
Article
Management Implications for the Most Attractive Scenic Sites along the Andalusia Coast (SW Spain)
by Alexis Mooser, Giorgio Anfuso, Carlos Mestanza and Allan Thomas Williams
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1328; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051328 - 25 Apr 2018
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 6304
Abstract
A coastal scenery assessment was carried out at 50 sites along the 910 km long Andalusia coast (SW Spain) using a checklist of 26 natural and human parameters, parameter weighting matrices, and fuzzy logic. A scenic classification was utilised that can rate sites [...] Read more.
A coastal scenery assessment was carried out at 50 sites along the 910 km long Andalusia coast (SW Spain) using a checklist of 26 natural and human parameters, parameter weighting matrices, and fuzzy logic. A scenic classification was utilised that can rate sites as Class I (natural areas of great scenic beauty) to Class V (urbanised areas of poor scenic interest), but, for this study, only natural sites of great scenic value were investigated; 41 sites were included in Class I, 9 in Class II and, apart from four, all of the sites were under some feature of protection—managed by the Andalusia Environmental Agency (RENPA, in Spanish). Sites belong to the Natural Park Cabo de Gata-Nijar (24% of sites), the Natural Park of Gibraltar Strait (18%), the Natural Place Acantilado de Maro-Cerro Gordo (12%), and the Natural and National parks of Doñana (8%). Results obtained by means of scenic evaluation constitute a sound scientific basis for any envisaged management plan for investigated coastal areas preservation/conservation and responsible future developments, especially for natural protected areas, which represent the most attractive coastal tourist destinations. With respect to natural parameters, excellent scenic values appeared to be linked to the geological setting and the presence of mountainous landscapes related to the Betic Chain. Human parameters usually show good scores because null or extremely reduced human impacts are recorded, but, at places, conflicts arose between conservation and recreational activities because visitors are often interested in beach activities more so than ecotourism. Low scores of human parameters were often related to litter presence or the unsuitable emplacement of utilities, such as informative panels, litter bins, etc. Full article
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15 pages, 998 KiB  
Article
Exploring Environmental Awareness and Behavior among Guests at Hotels That Apply Water-Saving Measures
by Ariadna Gabarda-Mallorquí, Rosa Maria Fraguell and Anna Ribas
Sustainability 2018, 10(5), 1305; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051305 - 24 Apr 2018
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 6282
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate guest profiles at a hotel that has created a best-practices water management model to determine how different types of guests contribute to saving water during their stay. To do this, we analyzed levels of environmental [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate guest profiles at a hotel that has created a best-practices water management model to determine how different types of guests contribute to saving water during their stay. To do this, we analyzed levels of environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior among the guests. Information was gathered through 648 structured surveys with guests at Hotel Samba in the Spanish seaside resort of Lloret de Mar between September 2015 and August 2016. Cluster analysis revealed four profiles of guests with different sociodemographic characteristics and different levels of awareness and proactivity in relation to water conservation. We combined our findings to develop a framework that illustrates how the two dimensions of environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior are related in this setting. This article provides new insights into how hotel guests’ environmental awareness and engagement can influence a hotel’s water-saving efforts. These insights should help hotel operators to devise new, guest-centered strategies for saving water. Full article
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16 pages, 434 KiB  
Article
Identification and Prediction of Latent Classes of Hikers Based on Specialization and Place Attachment
by Hwasung Song, Alan R. Graefe, Kyungmin Kim and Chanyul Park
Sustainability 2018, 10(4), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041163 - 13 Apr 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2860
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to extend previous research by combining the specialization and place attachment concepts. Applying a latent profile analysis (LPA) to data from hikers on the Olle Trail of Jeju Island in South Korea (N = 428), we [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study is to extend previous research by combining the specialization and place attachment concepts. Applying a latent profile analysis (LPA) to data from hikers on the Olle Trail of Jeju Island in South Korea (N = 428), we classified hikers who share similar profiles based on multiple dimensions of specialization and place attachment, and examined correlates of the derived typologies for drawing managerial implications. We also explored associations between these typologies and outcome variables of hikers. LPA identified three subgroups: “novice” (38%), “affection-driven” (40%), and “expert” (22%). The findings indicated that these groups differed in their past experience and socio-demographic characteristics, such that the “affection-driven” and “expert” groups have more experience in the setting than the “novice” group. These typologies also showed significant associations with hikers’ satisfaction and revisit intention; thus, “novice” hikers tended to be less satisfied with their hiking and the setting. Furthermore, the “novice” group reported lower intention to revisit the setting. Our findings reveal that LPA can be a useful tool for identifying subgroups of individuals who have engaged in particular sets of strategies by incorporating multiple activity-place dimensions. Full article
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16 pages, 2517 KiB  
Article
Possibilities of Using the Tourism Area Life Cycle Model to Understand and Provide Sustainable Solution for Tourism Development in the Antarctic Region
by Zygmunt Kruczek, Zygmunt Kruczek, Michał Kruczek and Adam R. Szromek
Sustainability 2018, 10(1), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/su10010089 - 01 Jan 2018
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 10352
Abstract
An important problem for the development of tourism in the polar regions is the determination of the limit of tourist traffic that these regions can accept, without risking the degradation of the environment. One such region is Antarctica. This article describes the environmental [...] Read more.
An important problem for the development of tourism in the polar regions is the determination of the limit of tourist traffic that these regions can accept, without risking the degradation of the environment. One such region is Antarctica. This article describes the environmental conditions of Antarctica that decide its attractiveness for tourists, as well as its political and legal status. The factors that determine a tourist reception area of increasing intensity are analyzed. Based on the data of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), the volume of tourist traffic was determined, and environmental problems identified, which result from tourism development in Antarctica. The model of R.W. Butler—Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC)—was used to analyze the development of tourism. By the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, the number of tourists in the Antarctic region exceeded 40 thousand, which seems to be the largest figure (the “boom phase” in the Butler cycle) in sheer numbers, and which resulted in the introduction of less tourist-friendly behavior, from the point of view of environmental protection. On the basis of IAATO data, the environmental problems that are a consequence of the development of tourism in Antarctica are identified. Reference is made to climate change affecting the area, and on the basis of the Butler cycle, the hypothetical limits of the further development of tourism are described. Full article
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