Tagged / tourism

Bournemouth Researcher returns from field work in Brazil

Research news

Dr Miguel Moital of the School of Tourism has just returned from Brazil having undertaken the first block of fieldwork for a Santander funded project entitled, 

“The internationalisation of the Brazilian tourism, hospitality and events research: Barriers and opportunities to publishing in international (English language) journals”  

The economic growth of the past 15 years in Brazil has had a profound impact on the country’s tourism industry, further establishing tourism as an important economic activity. While Brazil attracted only just over five million international tourists in 2010, the country has a substantial tourism industry which is driven by a buoyant domestic market. The Tourism Ministry estimates that in 2009 there were 175 million domestic trips. 

As the tourist industry matures, so does the need to develop a more in-depth understanding of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the tourism phenomenon. There has been substantial growth in terms of education provision, but academic research has remained somewhat parochial, with much being published in the growing number of Brazilian tourism journals and some in foreign journals, whether Portuguese or Spanish language journals (mainly South American, but also Spanish). Very few have been published in English language journals. The end result is that Brazilian research and researchers are little known by the International community. 

Therefore the aim of this research is to examine the barriers and look for opportunities to expand the international audience for research based on the Brazilian tourism, hospitality and events industries and in so doing develop a valuable international partnership.

 

Looking to recruit a potential Post Doc – Food and Tourism

We are looking for a potential overseas Post Doc to work in the area of Food and Tourism.  In the first instance the candidate would work with collegues to secure the funding for this one or two year post, though we are looking at a funding route with a good success rate.

The specific package of work for the two years will be negotiated depending on the research interests of the candidate and the research team.

So if you have any connections with an individual that might fit the bill please get back to Sean for a chat. (sbeer@bournemouth.ac.uk )

Launch of Elsevier’s Journal of Destination Marketing & Management

BU research, Research news

In response to the significant growth in the number of publications emerging in the field and an increase in interest from policymakers and practitioners in academic research on the theme of tourist destinations, Professor Alan Fyall (School of Tourism, Bournemouth University), Dr Brian Garrod (Aberystwyth University, UK) and Dr Youcheng Wang (University of Central Florida, USA) have recently launched Elsevier’s new Journal of Destination Marketing & Management (JDMM). The ambitions of the journal are such that it aims to be the leading international journal for the study of tourist destinations by providing a critical understanding of all aspects of their marketing and management, as situated in their particular policy, planning, economic, geographical and historical contexts.

The objective of JDMM is to publish up-to-date, high-quality and original research papers alongside relevant and insightful reviews. As such, the journal aspires to be vibrant, engaging and accessible, and at the same time integrative and challenging. The journal will be of particular interest to those involved in the interdisciplinary approach of marketing and management, economic development and planning, geography, sociology, psychology, anthropology, retailing, policy making and public administration of tourist destinations.

Professor Fyall said: “This new journal provides a really exciting opportunity to consider the truly interdisciplinary nature of tourism destination research. JDMM is the first new journal from Elsevier in the area of tourism studies for more than 30 years which is testament to the increasing interest in the study of tourist destinations and the excellent quality and experience of the journal’s international editorial board”.

As if to confirm this prediction submissions for the first edition look like they will be both an interesting read and of the very highest quality while the journals first special issue on destination experiences (to be published in Spring 2013) has attracted widespread interest from around the world.

Find out more here: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-destination-marketing-and-management/

The British host: just how welcoming are we? New research by the School of Tourism

BU research

Despite the rise in international education, there is a lack of literature on the domestic student perspective of the international class room. A study by School of Tourism lecturers Lorraine Brown and Steven Richards redresses the balance somewhat. Their paper, The British host: just how welcoming are we?, has just been published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education.

This paper reports findings from a qualitative study of British student attitudes to the presence in large numbers of international students on their tourism management programme. Analysis revealed home students to be empathetic, flexible and eager to learn about new cultures. This mindset was attributed by participants to their desire to work in the international tourism industry and their understanding that tourist satisfaction increases in line with host receptivity. This is shown in the quotes below:

“Studying alongside international students meant that we would get a completely diverse cultural input. The more the merrier!” Bianca 

“It was going to be really interesting learning about people’s backgrounds and cultures.” Natalie

“It does change you just in little ways, just in how you are with people, you don’t even realise it at first I don’t think. I guess it taught me that you sort of judge people a bit quick, and that you shouldn’t really.” Laura

“Any prejudices are challenged, and its no bad thing for me and my fellow students to all have to develop some cultural awareness if not sensitivity.” Bianca

The nature of the subject, tourism, has a massive international element to it; if you are doing tourism, you are quite likely to be interested in other cultures.

That employability was increased by exposure to different cultures was commonly stated, as shown in the following typical comments:

“I feel confident that I can go to some of these countries now because I am aware of what to expect, behaviour patterns, culture patterns, I can try some of the skills I have learnt from being here.” Diana

“The main benefit for me is that never before could I imagine working abroad. I would definitely feel more confident now.” John

“I definitely think I could get used to working with different cultures, even if it’s in London! London is going to be multinational and international. You get used to dealing with different cultures, just trying to understand people talking different languages. Now I know that even if at first it might be a bit difficult, you can always communicate and work it out.” Laura

Lorraine and Steve’s study has just received coverage in the Times Higher Education Supplement – http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=419037&c=1

Research into public health and tourism strategies

BU research

Watch this excellent short video from BU’s Dr Heather Hartwell (School of Tourism and School of Health and Social Care) who describes unique research facilitating strategic direction for public health, in alignment with tourism strategies, aimed at creating conversation and collaboration

To see other BU videos on YouTube go to the BU YouTube page.

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv8DM9zKU1c

Tourism, Climate Change & Sustainability top of BU’s agenda

BU research

BU’s International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research (ICTHR) is delighted to be hosting the second global conference to explore real-world issues.

The international conference: ‘Tourism, Climate Change and Sustainability’ will take place from 13-14 September 2012. The emphasis of the event is to discuss and disseminate conceptual ideas and contested relationships between climate change, sustainability and tourism and examine worldwide responses and exchange cutting-edge research.

Dr Maharaj Vijay Reddy and Dr Keith Wilkes are the organisers of this conference, who are also editing a book jointly on this title for Earthscan London. The book launch will also take place during the conference next year.

This conference will feature keynote presentations from high-level policy makers from international agencies UNWTO and UNESCO MAB, the European Commission, leading research institutions and the private sector. Among these distinguished speakers are:

  • Mr Luigi Cabrini, Director UNWTO Sustainable Tourism, Madrid.
  • Dr Ishwaran Natarajan, Director UNESCO Division for Earth & Ecological Sciences, Paris.
  • Dr Richard Butler, Emeritus Professor, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
  • Dr Stephan Harrison, University of Exeter & Oxford University Centre for the Environment.

Breakout sessions are planned to enable speakers to interact on a more personal level with delegates as well as for attendees to present their research on these important topics. In addition, leading publishers will be present throughout the duration of the conference to meet with delegates and discuss future publishing opportunities.

Dr Maharaj Vijay Reddy commented “we are pleased to announce this event on a globally crucial title. It will facilitate cutting-edge debates, timely knowledge exchange and networking”.

Dr Keith Wilkes says hosting the second ‘Tourism, Climate Change and Sustainability’ conference is “very exciting and, coupled with the high-calibre keynote speakers, is further evidence of the position of BU as a driving force at the forefront of global tourism research, teaching and professional practice”.

The first call for abstracts was released recently.

PhD Success in the School of Tourism

BU research, PG research

Congratulations are due to Viachaslau Filimonau of the School of Tourism who successfully defended his thesis this September. Dr Filimonau, who was in receipt of a BU studentship, conducted research titled: Reviewing the carbon footprint assessment of tourism: developing and evaluating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to introduce a more holistic approach to existing methodologies.

Dr Filimonau (known to many of us as Slava) not only completed his PhD within three years but was also awarded the PhD with no corrections. The external examiner, Professor Andrew Holden, commented: “This was one of the best thesis I have examined. To have completed a PhD within three years and have two journal articles in print is a significant achievement.” His supervisors (Dr Janet Dickinson, Derek Robbins and Dr Vijay Reddy) are very proud of his achievement.

Tourism Week – Co-locating a tourism and public health strategy

BU research

There are new and exciting developments within the School of Tourism with ground breaking research identifying the fusion between recreation, leisure and wellbeing. The rationale for co-locating a tourism and public health strategy is based on the recognition that creating a community culture where a tourist destination is seen to enhance and promote physical and mental health for both locals and tourists is desirable. A community that supports health creation can be a re-branding opportunity within a destination management approach, dovetailing health and wellbeing alongside a marketing and economic positioning. The concept of wellness tourism is emerging and is an area where strategic priority is being given in many European destinations. It is estimated that the market is currently worth $106.0 globally1 with predictions of major growth in the coming 5-10 years2.

Figures show that there are about 289 million wellness consumers’1 and trends due to an aging world population, failing conventional medical systems and increased globalization will ensure continued growth. Policy documents from the WHO, Health 2020 and data from the British Leisure Trends and Slow Tourism Report, 2011, the World Travel Market Global Trends Report, 2010,  VisitBritain Foresight, 2010 plus the launch of the international trade alliance, Wellness Tourism Worldwide (2011) dedicated to the development and promotion of wellness tourism, all adds corroborating evidence of currency.

With much debate on aspects of wellbeing, social tourism and inclusion prevalent at both national and local levels, most notably in Bournemouth with the town’s 2026 vision group, there is momentum building in this area3. Promoting public health is a complex task but one than can be aided by other professionals. The whole can be greater than the sum of the parts and where a lack of co-ordination can bring confusion and disharmony. People do not lead their lives in a vacuum; we are all products of our culture, media influences, and the services we consume. There is a complex interrelationship between the individual and wider society, sometimes for good, but often leading to poor health. Much interest was stimulated by our appearance in the Big Ideas for the Future Report4, where Bournemouth University’s research linking tourism and public health was featured. We intend to capitalise on this interest particularly as it represents pan-School collaboration with the School of Health and Social Care and therefore builds on current strengths and expertise. The research output will be of interest to those responsible for policy, strategy and operational practice within the tourism industry and will lead to a greater understanding of this discipline engaging with the wellbeing agenda.  Consequently, the societal impact extends beyond a public health perspective to also impact the ability of destinations to leverage health creation in re-branding and marketing, a potential synergy that can contribute to both sustainable health and economic gain.

References

1SRI International (2010) Spas and the Global Wellness Market, http://csted.sri.com/projects/spas-and-global-wellness-market-synergies-and-opportunities  (accessed 07 September 2011)

 2 Wellness Tourism Worldwide (2011) Wellness for whom, where and what? Wellness Tourism 2020 http://www.wellnesstourismworldwide.com/uploads/7/2/1/6/7216110/wtw_4wr_phase2_web.pdf (accessed 07 September 2011)

3 Hartwell H., (2011) Can we bring tourism and public health strategy together?, Guardian Professional, Thursday 28 July

4 Research Councils UK (RCUK) and Universities UK (2011) http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/Publications/reports/Pages/BigIdeas.aspx

Tourism Week – Tourism and Disaster Management

BU research

Professor John Fletcher from the School of Tourism highlights the role of the tourism industry in emergency planning.

Tourism throughout much of the 20th Century following World War II was characterised by strong growth and an ever-reaching spread of countries. However, since the mid-1990s and throughout this first part of the 21st century tourism has been beset by an ever-increasing number of obstacles ranging from health issues, such as SARS, Avian and Swine Flu, natural disasters such as the 2004 Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and human-induced crises such as the events of 9/11 in the USA, 7/7 in London and the Bali bombings, not to mention the myriad of events related to the Middle East and pressures created by the current global financial crisis.

It is against this backcloth that the world’s largest export industry is being re-moulded and, to some extent finding its strong growth pattern to be faltering, like many other industries. In an attempt to mitigate the damage that crises bring to the tourism industry it is vital that emergency planning agencies and the tourism industry are closely integrated in their approaches to planning for, responding to and recovering from disasters, this way they can implement technologies such as a community notification system that helps send push notifications about safety alerts, weather updates, and emergency information.

This is perhaps more true for the tourism industry than any other, because the tourists, the consumers, have to travel out of their normal environment in order to enjoy the output of the industry. The Disaster Management wing of the International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research is currently helping the UN WTO develop a framework which will facilitate this integration. In addition to reviewing the literature on emergency planning and tourism crises, the team are currently engaging more than 120 Ministries, Airlines, Tourist Authorities, Tour Operators, Hotel Chains and academics in a Delphi Panel Exercise to establish which functions should be undertaken from a integrated platform.  The results of the study will be presented to the UN WTO early next year.

Tourism comes of age…

BU research

Although a major contributor to life at BU, the study of Tourism is often wrongly maligned as being a niche subject on the periphery of more established areas of study such as Business & Management and Geography. Well, in the UK alone over 100 institutions offer HE courses at undergraduate level including “top tier” universities such as Exeter, Surrey, Strathclyde and Stirling with many more competing for students and staff across Europe and beyond with major concentrations of activity in North America, the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia and New Zealand where tourism is not only a significant area of academic interest but also of valuable income, foreign exchange earnings and employment.

Returning to the UK one of the most significant “coming of age” moments has been the explicit inclusion of Tourism for the very first time in a Unit of Assessment in the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework. Unit 26, Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism is one of only a few new units in the REF, a fact which clearly reflects its growing maturity as an area of academic investigation and the widespread positive recognition with which it is now held across the sector. This recognition really took hold 2 to 3 years ago when the ESRC awarded colleagues at the University of Exeter £1.5 million to set up its research cluster in Sport, Leisure and Tourism, an award which would have been unthinkable only a few years before. Since then, staff from the School of Tourism at BU have been attracting funds from the ESRC, the European Union and the United Nations World Tourism Organization and others while the significant award recently won by colleagues from the School from the EPSRC on sustainable patterns of travel demonstrates the collaborative and inter-disciplinary opportunities offered by Tourism. This latter point was again highlighted recently with the inclusion in the RCUK publication Big Ideas for the Future of a project looking at the fusion between public health and tourism policies at the local level. This was BU’s only entry in this prestigious publication, testament if it were ever needed that the industry that is widely acclaimed as the world’s largest has now also come of age in the academic arena!

Tourism Week – highlighting stories from BU’s School of Tourism

BU research

Tomorrow, Tuesday 27th September 2011, is World Tourism Day and to celebrate this week on the research blog is Tourism Week.  Every day the research blog will be highlighting stories about the excellent work going on in Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism.

World Tourism Day was instigated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic values.

“The message on this World Tourism Day is that, thanks to tourism, millions of people from different cultures are being brought together around the world like never before,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “This interaction between people of different backgrounds and ways of life represents an enormous opportunity to advance tolerance, respect and mutual understanding”.

In 2010, 940 million tourists travelled to a different country, coming into direct contact with tangible – art, monuments – and intangible – music, food, traditions – culture. World Tourism Day 2011 is a celebration of this unique interaction and aims at furthering understanding of the values of cultural diversity.

Funding for Tourism Research

EU

European Cultural Routes: Believing that in the “niche” market of cultural tourism there is a lot of potential for growth, and believing that EU action could really add  value to national, regional and local policies in this field, the overall objective of the present call for proposals is twofold: to contribute to differentiating the European tourism offer, capitalising on the shared cultural heritage; and to contribute integrating both horizontally and vertically the cultural tourism sector, facilitating clusters/networks of both cultural tourism products and enterprises of the cultural tourism sector. Deadline: 07.10.11

Promoting Social Tourism in Europe: The overall objective of this call for proposals is  to support the creation of a web-based platform as a mechanism intended to facilitate transnational tourism, particularly within the CALYPSO target groups; to valorise the potential of off-season availability of accommodation; and to increase the competitiveness of tourism SME’s. Deadline: 14.10.11

EU Funding for Culture, Tourism and Sport collaborations

EU

The Culture Programme promotes transnational mobility of people working in the cultural sector and to promote intercultural dialogue. If you have contacts in this sector, this could be a key opportunity to collaborate and introduce yourself to EU funding. Calls for proposals are released on an annual basis and 3 calls are currently open under the ‘Cultural Service Teams, Youth Workers’

Multinational Cooperation Projects: Funds groups of cultural organisations to develop joint cultural activities over a period of three to five years. Projects will involve a minimum of 6 cultural operators from at least 6 eligible countries. The maximum funding per project is €500k and the deadline is 03.10.11
Cooperation Measures: Funds shorter and smaller-scale joint projects involving cultural organisations from at least three European countries. Projects can last up to 2 years and should involve at least 3 different European countries. Deadline 03.10.11
Support to European Cultural Festivals: funds festivals that support the circulation of cultural works from other European countries. Projects up to €100k are supported and the deadline is 15.11.11

The advantages of winning EU funding: BU’s Dimitrios Buhalis shares his experiences

EU

Over the last 10 years I have had the privilege to work on half a dozen European Commission funded projects with a total income of about £1m. Most of them are relating to technology innovations and advantages with a primary focus to tourism and hospitality organisations and regional regions as well as cultural heritage. Getting European funding is complex and requires a lot of work, networking and innovative thinking. Success rates are low and it is quite demanding. Nevertheless there is a great number of benefits that comes with success. These include:

  • Cutting edge knowledge of the most cutting edge research problems
  • Research that it is relevant to society and has an impact on a European level
  • Networking across different disciplines
  • Working with colleagues from around Europe
  • Funding for research assistants, equipment and travel
  • And yes you can travel around and sample the Belgian and not only beers ….

Perhaps the project I enjoyed most as it made me realise the impact that research can do is a recent project which I did when I was still at the University of Surrey. This was about accessible/disabled tourism and I was called to provide expertise on how to deal with information for people with disability that wanted to travel. The project lasted for 2 years and provided a series of key success factor for facilities to use and also guidelines on how those should be systematised for dissemination over the internet. Getting closely involved with people with disabilities and working out on potential solutions opened a whole world for me a

The immediate results of the projects and the other initiatives that emerged are equally impressive:

Although not always easy, involvement with European funded projects are incredibly rewarding for their intellectual stimulation, the exposure to knowledge and networking as well as access to resources. They are also fantastic for impact to society at an international and global scale. We are about to start a new project on Electronic Marketing, mobile phones, location based services, small business and tourism and look forward to cutting edge research.