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Local Participation for a Higher Commitment to Destination Development

  • Nicola Palmer , Amartuvshin Dorjsuren and Nipon Chuamuangphan
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Tourism Destination Development
This chapter is in the book Tourism Destination Development

Abstract

The idea of involving local communities in destination development is far from new. However, the extent to which participation is inclusive, active and voluntary remains worthy of further investigation. Literature to date has continued to place a heavy focus on resident attitudes and has highlighted place attachment and cultural values in resource evaluation that often accompany destination development appraisal activities. Despite this, there has been a dearth of attention paid to the influence of wider socio-political factors and contexts on development outcomes and levels of commitment or ‘buy-in’. The way in which destination development is understood and the extent to which it is open to challenge inevitably impact on the measurement of levels of commitment towards it. Despite acknowledgement of the value of increased participatory approaches to tourism development, there have been few attempts to reflect on the nature of actor behaviours and factors of influence that impact on responses to proposed and enacted change. In this chapter we consider the extent to which local participation in destination development in lesser developed contexts might be more deeply understood, drawing on Western and Eastern academic literature source materials. We harness our collective and differentiated experiences of researching and working in tourism environments within Central Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia to provide case examples that relate to aspects of local commitment to destination development and document how and why change happens. A particular focus is placed on the representation of diverse ethnic positions as we explore potential power-driven gaps or space between policydriven destination development inputs and desired change and note the influence of actor-based contexts that impact upon types and levels of commitment to destination development. Through this lens we identify a future research agenda to study local participation in tourism and sustainable, inclusive and equitable destination-based community development initiatives.

Abstract

The idea of involving local communities in destination development is far from new. However, the extent to which participation is inclusive, active and voluntary remains worthy of further investigation. Literature to date has continued to place a heavy focus on resident attitudes and has highlighted place attachment and cultural values in resource evaluation that often accompany destination development appraisal activities. Despite this, there has been a dearth of attention paid to the influence of wider socio-political factors and contexts on development outcomes and levels of commitment or ‘buy-in’. The way in which destination development is understood and the extent to which it is open to challenge inevitably impact on the measurement of levels of commitment towards it. Despite acknowledgement of the value of increased participatory approaches to tourism development, there have been few attempts to reflect on the nature of actor behaviours and factors of influence that impact on responses to proposed and enacted change. In this chapter we consider the extent to which local participation in destination development in lesser developed contexts might be more deeply understood, drawing on Western and Eastern academic literature source materials. We harness our collective and differentiated experiences of researching and working in tourism environments within Central Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia to provide case examples that relate to aspects of local commitment to destination development and document how and why change happens. A particular focus is placed on the representation of diverse ethnic positions as we explore potential power-driven gaps or space between policydriven destination development inputs and desired change and note the influence of actor-based contexts that impact upon types and levels of commitment to destination development. Through this lens we identify a future research agenda to study local participation in tourism and sustainable, inclusive and equitable destination-based community development initiatives.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Foreword VII
  3. Preface IX
  4. Contents XI
  5. The Need to Engage with Destination Development 1
  6. Part I: Developing Competitive Destinations
  7. Tourism Destinations: Risk, Management and Communication 11
  8. Destination Competitiveness and AI-based Methods 33
  9. Change Management Approaches to Encounter Rural Overtourism 55
  10. Visitor Management in Tourism Destinations: Current Challenges in Measuring and Managing Visitors’ Spatio-Temporal Behaviour 81
  11. Supporting Economically and Socially Sustainable Destination Development through Branding: Opportunities and Challenges 105
  12. Part II: Developing Sustainable Destinations
  13. From Global Frameworks to Local Meanings: Assessing Resilience for Sustainable Destinations through the Lens of Transdisciplinary Research 127
  14. Destination Resilience in the Context of COVID-19 and Its Hysteretic Impact on the Tourism System of South Tyrol 149
  15. Local Participation for a Higher Commitment to Destination Development 173
  16. Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score 197
  17. Dogs, Frogs and Degrowth: Sustainable Development and Arctification as a Destination Development Dilemma in Northern Sweden 219
  18. Part III: Developing Accessible Destinations
  19. Principles and Practices of Effective Inclusive Stakeholder Community Engagement 243
  20. The Role of Universal Design in the Future of Tourism Planning and Development 261
  21. Developing Social Sustainable Tourism for and with People with Hidden Disabilities: Reflections from Fyn, Denmark 287
  22. Tourism Promotional Materials: Examining the Intersections of Accessibility and Inclusion 309
  23. Inclusive Destination Management Strategies 333
  24. Part IV: Developing Future-Proof Destinations
  25. Business as Usual or Completely Different? COVID-19 and Its Influence on the Participation in Tourism of the German Population 361
  26. Beyond Overtourism, Undertourism, the End of Tourism: New Perspectives for Urban Tourism 381
  27. Flight and Migration in the Context of Destinations: Conceptional Approaches and Empirical Insights Based on the Repurposing of Tourist Accommodation as Accommodation for Refugees – Case Study Bavaria 405
  28. The Challenge of Climate Change and Net-Zero Emissions for Destinations 425
  29. Techno-Utopia or Techno-Dystopia: Current and Future Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Developments in Destinations 453
  30. The Contribution of Academia to Destination Development 473
  31. List of Figures 483
  32. List of Tables 487
  33. List of Contributors 489
  34. Index 497
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110794090-009

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Foreword VII
  3. Preface IX
  4. Contents XI
  5. The Need to Engage with Destination Development 1
  6. Part I: Developing Competitive Destinations
  7. Tourism Destinations: Risk, Management and Communication 11
  8. Destination Competitiveness and AI-based Methods 33
  9. Change Management Approaches to Encounter Rural Overtourism 55
  10. Visitor Management in Tourism Destinations: Current Challenges in Measuring and Managing Visitors’ Spatio-Temporal Behaviour 81
  11. Supporting Economically and Socially Sustainable Destination Development through Branding: Opportunities and Challenges 105
  12. Part II: Developing Sustainable Destinations
  13. From Global Frameworks to Local Meanings: Assessing Resilience for Sustainable Destinations through the Lens of Transdisciplinary Research 127
  14. Destination Resilience in the Context of COVID-19 and Its Hysteretic Impact on the Tourism System of South Tyrol 149
  15. Local Participation for a Higher Commitment to Destination Development 173
  16. Residents’ Attitudes and Sustainable Destination Development: Introducing the Tourism Acceptance Score 197
  17. Dogs, Frogs and Degrowth: Sustainable Development and Arctification as a Destination Development Dilemma in Northern Sweden 219
  18. Part III: Developing Accessible Destinations
  19. Principles and Practices of Effective Inclusive Stakeholder Community Engagement 243
  20. The Role of Universal Design in the Future of Tourism Planning and Development 261
  21. Developing Social Sustainable Tourism for and with People with Hidden Disabilities: Reflections from Fyn, Denmark 287
  22. Tourism Promotional Materials: Examining the Intersections of Accessibility and Inclusion 309
  23. Inclusive Destination Management Strategies 333
  24. Part IV: Developing Future-Proof Destinations
  25. Business as Usual or Completely Different? COVID-19 and Its Influence on the Participation in Tourism of the German Population 361
  26. Beyond Overtourism, Undertourism, the End of Tourism: New Perspectives for Urban Tourism 381
  27. Flight and Migration in the Context of Destinations: Conceptional Approaches and Empirical Insights Based on the Repurposing of Tourist Accommodation as Accommodation for Refugees – Case Study Bavaria 405
  28. The Challenge of Climate Change and Net-Zero Emissions for Destinations 425
  29. Techno-Utopia or Techno-Dystopia: Current and Future Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Developments in Destinations 453
  30. The Contribution of Academia to Destination Development 473
  31. List of Figures 483
  32. List of Tables 487
  33. List of Contributors 489
  34. Index 497
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