In a matter of weeks last year, discussions regarding tourism in cities changed from how to deal with overtourism to how to deal with ‘no tourism’. Shortly thereafter, a great number of posts on LinkedIn, websites, and blogs highlighted how the tourism crisis that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic could help reinvent tourism, into something more equal, inclusive, and sustainable. And so, online – at leastin mypersonalonlinebubble – there seemedtobe a real momentum for proper, transformative changes in (urban) tourism. How can we rebuild urban tourism in a sustainable and resilient way?
DOCUMENT
· As a platform for interdisciplinary applied research in the community setting, the living lab model offers a unique environment for the imagination of tourism interventions that can recast the activity as a force for good. Mandating a quadruple helix ecosystem, living labs encourage participation of a wide group of stakeholders, as a conduit for situated knowledge collected through deep engagement with a local context. An inherent feature of the living lab is that it is place-based, which is important for generating impactful solutions for sustainable tourism. This chapter describes a case study in the Netherlands, where the world's first tourism living labs were founded in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This contribution informs on how the Urban Leisure and Tourism labs have cultivated an environment for open innovation and impactful collaboration, where students are seen as key partners in building an ecosystem from the ground up. It offers high-level descriptions of the route to growing a suitable learning environment with public, private and community sector partners – and emphasises the importance of joint problematisation and readying a fertile ground for experimentation. The chapter shares opportunities and challenges from the embryonic, early years of the labs, and showcases some of the most impactful ideas and outputs with transformative potential, such as the BMX-routes Zuidpleinen and the Inclusive Welcome Path. It reports on overarching themes for research, including how to embed a regenerative design perspective – in order to bring about social innovation in urban tourism. Sharing critical reflections from the lived experience of leading living lab research, it reports on the complexity of collaborative design, and the difficulties of embracing uncertainty and ambiguity in education and practice. Concrete reflections on what makes or breaks an intervention are shared at the end of the chapter, and touch upon the importance of holding space, continual fresh ideas, long-term presence and frequent feedback loops. These are in opposition to getting stuck in ideation phases, lack of ownership over outcomes – which can yield resentment in the community. the book can be ordered at https://www.routledge.com/Tourism-Interventions-Making-or-Breaking-Places/Isaac-Nawijn-Farkic-Klijs/p/book/9781003449027
DOCUMENT
The debate on tourism in cities, both academically and in practice, has for a long time taken place in relative isolation from urban studies. Tourism is mostly addressed as an external agent and economic force that puts pressure on cities rather than as an interdependent part of city systems. The recent debate on city touristification and excessive dependence on the visitor economy, as well as the associated processes of exclusion, and displacement of local city users, serves to highlight how tourism is an integral part of urban developments. A wider urban perspective is needed to understand the processes underlying the tourism phenomena and more transdisciplinary perspectives are required to analyze the urban (tourism) practices. The current article seeks to contribute to such a perspective through a discussion of the literature on urban and tourism studies, and related fields such as gentrification, mobilities, and touristification. Based on this, theoretical reflections are provided regarding a more integral perspective to tourism and urban development in order to engage with a transversal urban tourism research agenda.
MULTIFILE
DOCUMENT
This paper presents four Destination Stewardship scenarios based on different levels of engagement from the public and private sector. The scenarios serve to support destination stakeholders in assessing their current context and the pathway towards greater stewardship. A Destination Stewardship Governance Diagnostic framework is built on the scenarios to support its stakeholders in considering how to move along that pathway, identifying the key aspects of governance that are either facilitating or frustrating a destination stewardship approach, and the required actions and resources to achieve an improved scenario. Moreover, the scenarios and diagnostic framework support stakeholders to come together to debate and scrutinise how tourism is managed in a way that meets the needs of the destination, casting new light on the barriers and opportunities for greater destination stewardship.
DOCUMENT
DOCUMENT
Keynote speech
DOCUMENT
