Sustainable tourism development including the enhancement of cultural heritage in the city of Nafpaktos – Western Greece

ABSTRACT

The application of a sustainable tourism management and development framework, including the enhancement of cultural heritage is presented for the city of Nafpaktos (Western Greece) and the surrounding area. Through a qualitative SWOT analysis and a quantitative Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC)–Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC) framework, an attempt is made to establish thresholds, monitor current conditions, and upgrade tourism activities, with simultaneous development of the tourism-associated economic sectors and the cultural heritage of the city. Activity zones are identified and 18 indicators are selected to describe the environmental/cultural, economic, and social conditions of the area. Reference conditions for each indicator are established either as measured or negotiated thresholds and indicators are accordingly scored to depict the current divergence from reference. The Leopold matrix is used to compare scores and identify restrictions of development. Results reveal high potential for sustainable tourism development of the area, as 9 of 18 indicators received high scores, indicating sustainable conditions, and a variety of underdeveloped tourism endpoints were identified, including the castle of the city, which could potentially support a 90-fold increase in tourism flow. However, restricting factors of development were detected, related to the lack of a tourism management plan, the weak on-site protection of the natural and cultural heritage and the lack of awareness for sustainability among the local people. A strategic plan is finally proposed to provide managers, stakeholders, and the local communities with a guiding framework to upgrade the tourism flow in and around the city within a step-by-step sustainable process.     

京福高铁对旅游目的地区域空间结构的影响——以黄山市为例

随着高速铁路网络化发展,旅游发展新要素的介入,目的地旅游发展产生新变化。以黄山市为案例地,京福高铁开通前后为时间分割点,通过实地调研和网络检索获取旅游者空间流动轨迹及相关出行属性数据,利用Excel、SPSS、SNA、GIS和CorelDraw等方法,探析京福高铁对黄山市旅游目的地区域空间结构的影响。结果显示：1）高铁开通后,国内客源市场半径向外延伸,且高铁沿线福建、山东、北京等省市客流量出现“逆衰减”现象。2）高铁开通后,旅游目的地区域节点数量改变,空间范围扩展。整体网络流量在高铁开通前后都呈现高频节点对以区域间组合（黄山+长三角、黄山+江西省域）为主、区域内组合为辅（黄山+合肥、池州、宣城）的空间分布特征。整体网络功能发育欠完善,网络结构分层明显。高铁开通后,整体网络核心区发生改变,核心节点空间分布由集中趋向分散,核心区与边缘区联系松散,旅游辐射效应较弱。目的地区域核心节点和重要节点的程度中心性值变化较大,核心中介节点较少,核心节点结构洞水平较高,功能突出。3）高铁开通前后,黄山市旅游目的地区域空间结构呈现“板块式”的发展格局,包括黄山+长三角地区,皖南旅游区（黄山+池州、宣城）、黄山+江西省域三个板块,目的地区域整体空间结构由“单核-外围”向“双核-外围”变化,由凝聚趋向扩展,空间发展模式发生改变。探析高铁对黄山市旅游发展的影响,可为黄山市及周边地区的旅游地发展提供借鉴价值。     

Ecology-based tourism potential of Altindere Valley (Trabzon-Turkey) in regards to the natural,historical and cultural factors

The study was carried out in the Altindere Valley, which is an area appropriate for tourism activities with natural, historical and cultural values through all four seasons, with Yazlik Village in the centre and including the surrounding sites Cosandere village, Altindere village, hamlets (The Hamlets) and plateau areas. In this study, the goal is to set forth the ecological-based tourism potential in line with the concepts of intactness; conservation-use balance; and sustainability at natural, historical and cultural sites through a determined planning approach. In this respect, assessments have been made on the study area on the basis of the ‘Ecological Evaluation Method’, which has been developed for urban areas. Through the determination of quotients, classification and quantitative assessment of unweighted values were found for natural and cultural elements that show percentage (%) dispersion at the area (slope, exposition, soil, forest, vegetation, existing areas use, historical and cultural structure). ‘Weighted values’ were calculated by multiplying the determined factor weights and the unweighted inside grid values of the factors. With the results of grid values obtained, 10.58% Very Good, 48.82% Good, 19.7% Average, 8.82% Weak, and 12.05% Very Weak, ‘Ecological Based Tourism Potential Areas According to Natural, Historical and Cultural Factors’ have been identified.     

赛里木湖旅游开发与生态环境保护

近年来,随着旅游业的快速发展,赛里木湖旅游开发活动产生的生态环境问题越来越突出.本文对赛里木湖旅游资源开发过程中引发的环境问题进行分析和探讨,针对目前赛里木湖自然资源破坏严重的现状,提出了合理的开发利用和保护对策.     

大连市旅游与环境协调发展度分析

良好的城市环境是旅游业发展的基础,但旅游超载也会导致城市环境的恶化,所以旅游业与城市环境必须做到协调发展才能达到“双赢”。本文以协调发展为理论基础,应用协调发展度计算公式,采用相应的标准和指标对大连市旅游与环境协调发展度进行了计算,分析结果是大连市属于良好协调发展类的生态环境滞后型,旅游与环境的协调发展度呈上升势态。最后提出了大连市今后发展旅游业在环境方面应注意的问题。     

Participatory integrated assessment of adaptation to climate change in Alpine tourism and mountain agriculture

Winter tourism and mountain agriculture are the most important economic sectors in a major part of the Swiss Alps. Both are highly sensitive to changing climatic conditions. In the framework of the CLEAR project, results from climate impact research in the field of tourism and agricultural production were used to investigate the perception of climatic change by stakeholders and to assess possible adaptations. We used a participatory integrated assessment (PIA) to involve the knowledge, values and experiences of the various social actors in tourism and agriculture (e.g., skiers, tourism managers, farmers) in the research process. Whereas climate change may have various severe direct impacts on the tourism industry, depending on the region, agricultural production may generally benefit from changed climatic conditions. But because of the dependence of farmers on “off-farm” income, the loss due to declining winter tourism in specific areas may cause more important indirect effects. However, the two sectors may adapt actively by choosing from a variety of strategies, and the loss of income from the tourism industry may support the re-evaluation of the various functions agriculture plays in mountain regions, beyond the production of food. The study demonstrates the suitability of the PIA approach to elucidate the interactions between different stakeholders and their perception of the climate change phenomena. A similar participatory approach could be a useful tool to transfer research results and expert knowledge to the political process addressing adaptations to climate change. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Managing Endangered Species Within the Use–Preservation Paradox: The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) as a Tourism Attraction

A significant challenge to wildlife managers in tourism settings is to provide visitors with opportunities to observe rare and endangered wildlife while simultaneously protecting the target species from deleterious impacts. Nearly 100,000 people annually visit Crystal River, Florida, USA to observe and swim with the Florida manatee, an endangered species. This research aimed to investigate and describe human-manatee interactions in a tourism context, to understand the salient issues related to such interactions as identified by stakeholders, and to recommend a course of action to address multiple interests in the planning and management of human-manatee interactions. Five issues were identified by all stakeholder groups: water quality, harassment, density and crowding, education, and enforcement. Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for manatee management, does not have mechanisms in place to manage the tourism component of the manatee encounter. Although a regulatory approach can be taken, a better approach would be to create an organization of tour operators to establish "best practices" that reflect the goal of the managing agency to enhance manatee protection (and thus ensure their livelihood) and to enhance the visitor experience.     

Differences in Perceptions of Communication,Tourism Benefits,and Management Issues in a Protected Area of Rural Kenya

With record-breaking tourist visits in Kenya in 2005–2006, communities near the country’s renowned protected areas must undertake or revisit planning efforts to conserve and enhance the region’s natural, social, and economic resources. This article examines the differences between two stakeholder groups in the Samburu region of central Kenya: (1) protected area leadership and staff; and (2) members of the communities adjacent to the protected areas. Based on the results and analysis of 30 in-depth interviews, the authors identify differences between protected area staff and their community members regarding perceptions about communication between the two groups, and the economic benefits of tourism. The different stakeholders agreed, however, about challenges related to equitable distribution of tourism-based employment and revenue. The results indicate a need to reach consensus about what constitutes sufficient communication between national reserves and their community, and to what extent tourism-related revenue and employment should be distributed within the region. A discussion of the potential role of indicators and standards to make such decisions is presented.     

Assessing visitor satisfaction with tourism rejuvenation policies: the case of Rimini,Italy

This paper assesses the appeal of potential interventions on the tourism offer of Rimini, a popular Italian seaside holiday destination, by means of a choice modelling analysis. Tourism can be viewed as a composite good, its overall utility depending on the arrangement of the component characteristics. The discrete choice experiments here incorporate as attributes a number of possible changes to current tourist activities (the subject of public debate), including them in hypothetical alternative holiday packages. The conditional logit analysis indicates that tourists show lesser preference for interventions aimed at protecting the environmental integrity of the beach and greater preference for those, such as the creation of a pedestrianised seafront with late-night opening of amenities and facilities, that are likely to diminish the role of the traditional sea, sun and sand component of the overall holiday experience.     

SWOT量化分析古村落旅游可持续发展战略

目前国内普遍应用传统的SWOT分析法来制定发展战略,而传统SWOT分析法只是进行定性的分析,分析的结果过于随意和主观。本文提出结合AHP法、专家评分法和四维坐标系战略重心定位法,对传统SWOT分析法进行改进,并结合苏州太湖国家旅游度假区古村落旅游可持续发展战略制定的实例来阐述该方法的应用。