Myths can be part of the established narratives of tourist destinations: they offer a perspective on reality that may alter it but that makes it also more insightful by highlighting its inner contradictions and idiosyncrasies and challenging the universal values underlying it. This altered perspective on a place ensures visitors will feel touched by the myth and connected to the place, and the myth itself will be retold. In this paper, we discuss how we have connected narrative to story and story to myth to (re)tell the narratives of people and places and to enhance, in this way, the overall visitor experience in (tourist) destinations. We review two storytelling/placemaking projects that were commissioned to us by several regional, tourism organizations in Brabant, a province in the South of the Netherlands. The projects are: Becoming Vincent, a project about Vincent van Gogh; and Crossroads, a project about heritage from WWII. The aim of these projects was to draft a unique, narrative concept and design storylines that would link and upgrade the sites related to that heritage to eventually attract tourists there, and/or to stimulate visitors to visit more sites connected to the same theme. Finally, we draw lessons we learnt from these projects and highlight the insights we gained in the use of storytelling for mythmaking in tourist destinations
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Why people conduct different sharing about their travel is unclear. Understudied areas include the roles of tourism activity type, tourist well-being, and social context. Under the framework of construal level theory, three studies which combined secondary data and experiments revealed that: 1) challenging (relaxing) tourism activities lead to more desirability (feasibility) sharing; 2) eudaimonia (hedonia) occupy the dominant position and mediate the relationship between challenging (relaxing) tourism activity and desirability (feasibility) sharing; and 3) social context induces the transformation of the relationship between eudaimonia and hedonia, and has a significant moderating impact on the mechanism of travel experience sharing type. Theoretical and managerial implications of travel experience sharing type and mutual transformation between eudaimonia and hedonia are discussed.
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This article examines the ethics of tourism and cross-cultural communication between Western tourists and the local community in a Muslim country. Communicating with people who have different value systems and communication styles can contribute to various "culture shock situations" and to an increase in stereotypes and "stigma." The main goal of this research is to analyze the dress behavior of cruise tourists, applying the concept of "mindfulness" and secondly to analyze the voices and values of the resident community and of other tourists. Any apparent contradictions will be identified between local values, pretravel information, media social constructions, and tourist dress behaviors, and suggestions will be proposed about how to avoid culture shock situations. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted with German-speaking cruise tourists visiting two different destinations in the Sultanate of Oman during 2012 (N = 830) and 2013 (N = 235). In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with members of the local community and cultural brokers as well as with tourists, onboard tour guides, and an onboard pastor. Moreover, government officials and the Assistant Grand Mufti were interviewed and pretravel information was studied. The results indicate that a mindless dress behavior has been facilitated by the type of information that is provided prior to travel and by cultural brokers, both on shore and on board, who do not make explicit reference to local dress codes. This approach promotes a concept of tolerance towards the tourist and an "accommodationist" and "laissez faire" attitude. On the other hand, tourist dress behaviors can be seen as a reflection of the posttourist, who is seeking individual authenticity and freedom. For the local community the increase in the number of mindless cruise tourists exceeds the level of acceptable tolerance in both places and has created "culture shock" situations. This research fills a major gap in applied research on the cruise tourist behaviors in a Muslim country and on crosscultural communication.
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This book explores inspirational entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry of Ladakh, India. It particularly looks at ways to develop an entrepreneurial yet environment-friendly tourist destination. The book starts off with in-depth historical reflections of entrepreneurship and tourism in one of India’s fastest growing tourist destinations. Subsequently, the book studies the unique entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities in Ladakh’s extreme resource-scarcity and remote context based on empirical evidence from entrepreneurs and stakeholders in the tourism industry. In addition, a broad overview of contemporary entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry in Ladakh is presented, underscoring the importance of indigenous knowledge and cultural traditions for developing sustainable tourism. Based on qualitative data analyses and literature reflections, this book provides scholars, students, professionals and policymakers an alternative view on entrepreneurial activities in the tourism industry of an ecologically jeopardized region.
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In the troubled times in which we currently live, the tourism industry has called into question a need for more responsible social practices and more mindful utilisation of natural environments. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, has not only become a new wellness trend, but also a great potential for deeply immersive tourist experiences. While there is a wealth of studies examining the positive effects of forest bathing focussing principally on its medical benefits, this qualitative study extends these debates through documenting lived experiences of forest bathers. In so doing forest bathing suggests its latent potential to offer a profoundly mindful experience, and aims to situate this practice more prominently within the tourism discourse.
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Purpose: Little is known about how tourists’ eating habits change between everyday life and holidays. This study aims to identify market segments based on changes in food consumption and experiences of a sun-and-sea destination’s local food. The authors evaluate to what extent tourists consume local food and assess the contribution of local food experiences to the tourists’ overall experience. Design/methodology/approach: The target population was all tourists visiting the Algarve in the Summer 2018 and included both domestic and international sun-and-sea tourists. A sample of 378 valid questionnaires was collected. Data analysis included descriptive analysis, statistical tests and cluster analysis. Findings: Cluster analysis identified three segments: non-foodies, selective foodies and local gastronomy foodies. Results indicate that tourists change their eating habits during holidays, eating significantly more seafood and fish and less legumes, meat, fast food and cereals and their derivatives. International and domestic sun-and-sea tourists reported that eating local food contributes significantly to their overall tourism experience. Practical implications: Sun-and-sea destinations should promote the offer of local dishes, especially those that include locally produced fish and seafood, to improve the tourist experience, differentiate the destination and increase sustainability. Originality/value: The authors address three identified research gaps: a posteriori segmentation based on tourists’ food consumption behaviour; measurement of changes in eating practices between home and in a sun-and-sea destination; and assessment of the role of food experiences to overall tourism experience of tourists visiting a sun-and-sea destination.
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This chapter identifies whether the communicated brand promise of Vancouver's new established destination brand is in line with the brand experience perceived by the tourists visiting the city, in order to determine possible discrepancies. It compares Vancouver's destination brand identity, expressed in the brand promise, with the brand experience as perceived by tourists visiting the city. Vancouver's new destination brand is broken down into seven building blocks: embracing the core identity or the essence, the extended identity is composed of the mission, vision, values, voice, distinguishing features and emotional benefits. In order to ensure correctness and consistency within the industry, as well as to position the new destination brand successfully, Tourism Vancouver is focused on educating and informing the various industry players.
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In reflecting on Dutch Christmas shoppers, this article will discuss environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), postmaterialist values hypothesis, and ecological modernization theory. According to the EKC hypothesis, while at the initial stages of industrialization material resources are often used unsustainably, continuing industrialization leads to a threshold after which lead to progressively more sustainable technologies. According to the postmaterialist values hypothesis, only wealthier societies can ‘afford’ to care about the environment, assuming that wealth will lead to development of greater concern about and valuation of environment. Finally, ecological modernization theory postulates that environmental conditions improve with advanced technological development and suggests that enlightened self-interest, economy and ecology can be favourably combined and that productive use of natural resources can be a source of future growth. In generalizing economic, political and social trends in relation to consumption in The Netherlands, the aim of this article is to consider the consequences of Western-style consumption for the enterprise of global development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2013.05.004 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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