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Interpretive guides play an indispensable role in achieving tourism and sustainability outcomes. Although interpretation theory and best practice principles are supported by literature, they have been primarily developed in Western countries. Little work has been done to evaluate the cross-cultural applicability of using Western-based interpretation in training non-Western interpretive guides. This study evaluates the use of Western-based interpretive competencies in a Japanese training context. The efficacy of the training was assessed using quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-training data from all 42 trainees. Training programs were successful in improving trainees’ perceptions of the importance of links between individual roles and organisational goals, TORE (thematic / organised / relevant / enjoyable) qualities, story development, and reflection. They also improved trainees’ perceptions of their own capacity related to TORE. However, programs did not impact trainees’ ratings of their capacity to use storytelling or to foster reflection in their interpretive tours. These findings suggest that, when informed by the literature and research, Western-based interpretive competencies can successfully equip Japanese interpretive guides to utilise best practice principles to meet interpretive and organisational goals. Improvements, such as practice and reflective opportunities, are suggested for future training. More knowledge and evidence are needed to build a training framework that can help interpretive guides in other non-Western contexts to make use of best practice interpretation in their work.

Supplementary_Appendix for Examining service shortfalls: A case study of Chinese group package tours to Australia by Hanyu Chen, Betty Weiler, and Martin Young in Journal of Vacation Marketing

Two cruise-based nature-oriented tour operations, CruiseWest, operating along the Inside Passage of Alaska, and Lindblad Special Expeditions, operating in the Galapagos Islands, provided the data for this case study of nature-based guiding associated with the cruise industry. Both companies are leaders in the nature-based tourism industry, both offer upmarket weeklong cruise-based tours guided by both on-board expedition leaders and shore-based guides, and both operate relatively small ship-based ecotourism experiences to destinations known to be popular with tourists who want to view close-up and interact with wildlife. One-week excursions with each of the companies, in June 2000 (Alaska) and September 2000 (Galapagos), provided the case study material for the research. Using methods that were piloted as part of a previous research project, guides were systematically observed with the assistance of a standardised observation checksheet, and passengers completed a self-completed questionnaire on the final day of their one-week tour. In the end, data were collected on 12 guides (shore-based excursions) and 2 expedition leaders. Questionnaires were completed by 55 of the 68 adult passengers on-board the Spirit of Alaska (CruiseWest), and 21 of the 26 adult passengers on-board the Polaris (Lindblad). The focus was on the quality of the guiding and the elements of the guided activities that contributed to the success of the operation as an ecotourism experience, and to visitor satisfaction.

"Ecotourism" is increasing throughout the world, and in particular in less developed countries where it is seen as a strategic force for sustainable development. Although competent guides are widely agreed to play a pivotal role in this process, little systematic research has been undertaken to understand the process of competency development. This paper reports on an on-going research project that is monitoring the development, delivery and outcomes of training programs for ecotour guides in developing countries. It presents the fmdings of this first phase of the research in the form of "lessons learned" from the interpretive guiding component of a six-week training program conducted in April and May, 1999 in Panama. The context of the course is presented first, followed by a description of the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess the training. The findings are presented in the form of five lessons learned and their possible implications for guide training in developing countries.

This paper reports on selected methods and results of a year-long study, which sought to describe and explain the experience of Chinese tourists visiting the state of Victoria in Australia. The aims of the paper are to describe the temporal and spatial dimensions of the tourist experience, and to use the factors elicited from visitor responses to explain satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Evidence from multiple sources of data confirmed that visitor satisfaction is explained largely by intangible or "expressive" factors, while dissatisfaction is determined mainly by tangible or "functional" factors. The former provide important implications for marketing, while the latter suggest the need for product development strategies.

This paper outlines the methods and findings from phase one of a study examining the relationship between interpretation and the achievement of conservation outcomes in the context of captive wildlife attractions, with particular reference to Zoos Victoria. This study has the potential to contribute to theory construction by extending our understanding of the ways in which zoo interpretation leads to conservation outcomes. Such information is vital if zoos are to be managed as sustainable tourism/leisure sites that have the capacity to contribute to conservation. Phase One of the study examines, through a series of workshops, what is meant by terms such as 'positive action for the environment' and 'contribute to conservation', and identifies particular conservation outcomes that could be considered objectives of the education/interpretation programs at each Zoos Victoria property. Workshop responses were allocated to categories and tallied, resulting in some similarities but also some important differences across the three properties with respect to conservation outcomes that should be priorities for the zoo. The results provide some insight into the perspectives of staff and volunteers and lay the groundwork for the remainder of the study, which seeks to observe and quantify the actual conservation outcomes being achieved by zoo interpretation.

Ecotourism is increasing throughout the world and in particular in less developed countries where it is often promoted in association with protected areas (Weaver 1998). Guides have important roles to perform in the ecotourism experience, such as ensuring the safety of the visitor, providing accurate and compelling interpretation of sites, and modelling appropriate environmental and cultural behaviour. To be able to serve this wide range of interests, guides need training that provides them with necessary knowledge and skills. A pilot study was carried out to determine what types of guide training are currently being delivered in less developed countries. The results of this study assisted in identifying some of the key issues and research priorities for future ecotour guide training in the 21f l century. The results suggest that although training is currently being delivered in various forms by a variety of providers in less developed countries, there is scope for the development and improvement of training in less developed countries, particularly in the areas of suitable training models, appropriate assessment, program content and program evaluation.

Phillip Island Nature Park`s (PINP) Mission and operational objectives include the conservation and protection of the flora and fauna of Phillip Island. This can only be achieved through economic success and working in partnership with various stakeholders. While PINP recognises the importance of communication with stakeholders, to date it has not systematically examined the extent to which stakeholders are receiving messages about how PINP contributes to sustainability of the park and of the Island. Using a mixed methods approach, the final outcome will be an exploration of the relationships between audiences (membership in a stakeholder group), communication media and sustainability messages received. Implications of the research will focus on how PINP and similar organisations might more precisely target important stakeholder groups with messages about their sustainability philosophy and practices.

The purpose of this paper is to profile visitors who attended Winter Wine Fest (WWFest) 2003 and their motivations for visiting the festival, as a basis for informing marketing and management recommendations aimed at improving the festival experience of visitors as well as contributing to the literature on special events in the wine tourism industry. The paper also provides a foundation for further research, including replication of this study's methods at other festivals and wine tourism events and suggestions for exploring variables not included in this study. In order to do this the study adopted a cross-sectional survey strategy, using a 35-item on-site self-completing questionnaire. The instrument included slightly adapted versions of existing motivational scales and subscales, as well as measured social group membership and several other socio-demographic variables, many of which were designed to facilitate comparisons with Bureau of Tourism Research data. Based on the 273 respondents to the survey, the paper provides a socio-demographic profile of the average respondent together with frequencies and percentages on a number of variables, with some multivariate analysis of motivational differences based on social group membership. The profile of the 'average' WWFest visitor was found to be female, working full-time, aged between 45 and 64 years old, and living in a household that has an annual income between $78,000 and $103,999. These demographics reflect the profile of the `average' wine enthusiast. The visitor, in all likelihood, is attending the festival for the first time, having decided to visit it only a week out from the event after hearing about it via word-of-mouth recommendations. Travelling from metropolitan Melbourne, the average visitor is primarily attending the festival to gain knowledge and expand his/her intellect about wine (that is, for cultural exploration purposes), and to a lesser extent, to socialise and because of the festival's novel premise. Visitors can be segmented based on the social group within which they visit the festival, the largest proportion visiting with friends (48%), followed by couples (33%), families (15%) and only four percent attending solo. There were significant differences between these segments in the motivations to attend the festival, with family groups more likely to be driven by kinship-related motives (e.g. the opportunity to do something the family could do together) in contrast to those who visited with friends, who were more likely to be express motives associated with known-group socialisation (e.g. to be with others who enjoy similar things). The visitor profile data together with the motivational results suggest that festival organisers should find ways to differentiate their product and improve their marketing to provide themselves with a competitive advantage over the plethora of leisure and recreation activities available to consumers. In order to survive the increasingly competitive tourism industry, festival marketing should be informed by an understanding of the consumer (target market). If a festival organiser can design a festival that targets particular markets based on their distinct differences (for example, targeting the differences between the social groupings of couples versus friendship groups versus families), then they are better positioned to facilitate favourable experiences and repeat visitation amongst its target audiences.

Business degree branding proves popular with employers, report Mahendra K. Goyal and Betty Weiler. Copyright 2006 Mahendra K. Goyal and Betty Weiler. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

The relationships between socio-demographic and trip characteristics and tourists' satisfaction with their park experiences are still relatively poorly understood. An objective of this study was to determine whether these relationships could be isolated and quantified in the experiences of 727 domestic and international tourists in the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW). Results determined that variations in both global satisfaction and item-specific satisfaction of PCW tourists were largely unrelated to variations in socio-demographic and trip characteristics, with the notable exceptions being group type, country of origin and the tourist's native language. There were significantly higher satisfaction levels among both international (as opposed to domestic) visitors and those in guided tour groups (as opposed to independent travellers). Moreover, tour group visitors had consistently higher satisfaction levels than independent travellers both with interpretive and non-interpretive services and setting attributes, regardless of whether they were domestic or international tourists.

Our on-going research on ecotour guide training in Latin America is exploring tourism's potential role in stimulating professional growth and employment opportunities in peripheral communities through the training of local guides. Guide training programs, which target residents of peripheral or rural communities help ensure that the same local communities that endure the impacts of tourism also reap the economic benefits. Research into effective training of guides is needed, and in particular research into the development, delivery and outcomes of training programs for ecotour guides in developing countries. This paper reports on the most recent phase of a research project that examines the interpretive guiding component of a six-week training program delivered in April and May, 1999 in Panama and later delivered as two shorter, more focused interpretive guiding courses, one in Patagonia, Argentina (March 2000) and one in Galapagos Islands (Ecuador, September 2000). The context for the courses is presented first, followed by six principles for designing and implementing guide training in developing countries. It is posited that guide training initiatives that adhere to these six principles are more likely to make positive contributions to longterm conservation and sustainable development.

This paper provides highlights of the progress to date of a two-year Australia-wide study that seeks to identify the attributes, both process and outcome-related, characterizing successful tourism-protected area partnerships. A wide range of literature is used to develop a list of partner-, process- and context-related factors that contribute to successful partnerships. Utilizing this theory-driven approach to analyse the Australian Alps National Parks trans-border partnership, the paper provides preliminary explanations of how and why this particular partnership, in spite of very limited funding, has been successful in achieving desired outcomes. Notably, the partnership has strengthened agency efficiency, helped build organizational, community and tourism industry capacity, enhanced social capital and goodwill, and stimulated innovation. Economic, social, cultural, and ecological sustainability outcomes have been achieved, overcoming legislative and administrative impediments, insufficient resources, and lack of legal authority to implement the activities of the partnership.

Guides have many important roles to perform in the ecotourism experience, such as ensuring the safety of the visitor, providing accurate and compelling interpretation of sites, and modelling appropriate environmental and cultural behaviour. High guiding standards assist in serving this wide range of interests, although there are few examples to date of enforcement of guiding standards in ecotourism. Recent interest in accreditation and professional certification within the tourism industry can be attributed in part to recognition that consumers' expectations are higher, and they have a heightened awareness of service quality, improved safety and sustainable environmental issues. An ecotour guide certification program known as the EcoGuide Program has recently been developed in Australia. This program is a voluntary, industry initiative developed to provide recognition and reward best practice nature/ecotour guiding. As the EcoGuide Program matures it is envisaged that it will achieve its aim of maintaining and improving the quality of ecotour guiding, as well as raising the profile of guides as an integral part of the ecotourism experience. Using the analogy of the human life cycle, this paper outlines the background to and development of this professional certification program. This chronological review of the EcoGuide Program reflects the successes and challenges of developing an ecotour guide certification, and serves as a model for others exploring tour guide certification.

While scholars have reflected on the roles played by psychology in tourism studies, there has been only limited exploration of the contributions of this discipline to tourism doctoral research. The aim of this study is to examine how psychology features in tourism-focused doctoral dissertations completed in the United States (US), Canada, Australia and New Zealand from 1974 to 2013. A content analysis was conducted on the 359 tourism doctoral theses identified during that four-decade period as drawing directly on theory informed by psychology and/or employing psychological concepts. The results indicate that motivation/destination choice, tourist behaviour/experiences, and attitudes/satisfaction are the most prevalent conceptual themes studied and expectancy-value theory the most frequently-invoked theory by psychology-informed doctoral research in tourism. Although collectively drawing on a wide range of methods throughout this period, an increase in the use of mixed and qualitative methodologies in recent decades was evident. This paper adds to a suite of studies exploring the scholarly contributions and trends in the application of psychology to the study of tourism. It serves to highlight gaps and avenues for further research, including the need for a more strategic and documented approach to the selection and application of psychology-informed theory, theoretical frameworks and models. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This study examined the effects of both cognitive and affective tour guide interpretation outcomes on tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention in a heritage tourism context. Data were collected via a survey of 282 inbound mainland Chinese tourists to Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, a heritage tourism site in Victoria, Australia. A hierarchical structural model was constructed based on a comprehensive literature review of tour guiding, interpretation, and tourist satisfaction and was tested applying partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results show that cognitive interpretation outcome has a greater impact on tourist satisfaction and sustaining visitor arrivals than affective interpretation outcome, whereas satisfaction with the guided tour experience directly affects behavioral intention and largely mediates the effect of cognitive interpretation outcome on behavioral intention. The study offers both theoretical insights in relation to interpretation and tourist satisfaction and practical implications for interpretive tour guiding. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The purpose of this study was to examine visitors' attitudes towards an environmentally-responsible tourist behaviour – fossil collecting – and towards the visitor management strategies for managing this behaviour at an environmentally sensitive tourism destination. In particular, a market segmentation approach based on environmental attitudes was applied to identify distinct types of tourist groups and understand differences between segments in terms of demographic, attitudinal and behavioural characteristics. Data from 453 visitors were collected from the Charmouth coastal area, located in the South West of England, which is popular for fossil collection. The results of the research highlight that such nature-based areas tend to attract tourists who have favourable environmental attitudes and support management approaches related to responsible fossil collection. However, further analysis reveals that two distinct types of environmental attitude-based market segments exist that are significantly different in terms of gender, age and usage patterns of on-site interpretation. This study suggests that targeting the two segments (namely, the “high environmental attitude” versus “low environmental attitude” groups) with different on-site communication strategies is not only possible, but may prove to be a more efficient and effective approach to visitor and site management. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The Health Tourism in Australia: Supply, demand and opportunities scoping studywas conducted by a team of academic researchers from the University of South Australia,Monash University and Southern Cross University in 2009 to investigate a range of issuesrelating to the demand for, and supply of, wellness and medical services to domestic andinternational tourists in Australia.The research methodology included an extensive review of the literature relating to wellnessand medical tourism in Australia and overseas; a total of 18 in-depth stakeholder interviews;five in-depth case studies; analysis of data relating to health and wellness tourism demandderived from the National Visitor Survey and International Visitor Survey and other secondarysources; and a quantitative survey of suppliers of wellness tourism services (n=152).

Some authors and researchers have argued that tour guides are well-placed to foster sustainable tourism outcomes by, for example, communicating about and connecting clients with the natural and cultural environment and its values (via nature and heritage interpretation), and conveying, monitoring and role-modelling appropriate visitor behaviour in these environments. However, research that has contributed to assessing or enhancing the sustainability outcomes of tour guiding has been limited. Moreover, tour guides have had limited exposure to the use of theory, tools and techniques for optimizing the visitor experience and visitor-environment interaction within a sustainability framework. Not surprisingly, then, findings to date suggest that guides may not be fully realizing their potential to communicate and role-model sustainability in their tour content and practice. With the ever increasing pressure for tourism to enhance its cultural and ecological sustainability, this paper presents a timely examination of the theories and research that have been and can be used to harness tour guides as agents of sustainability. After examining some of the challenges that constrain research in this area, avenues for future research are presented that are both theory-driven and responsive to the realities and expectations placed on tour guides. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This paper addresses the importance of a systematic approach to researching the inter‐relationship between tour guiding performance and sustainable tourism outcomes. Toward this end, the application of sustainability indicators to tour guiding practice is proposed in order to extend the contribution of tour guides beyond service quality to the broader sustainability agenda. It is noted that previous research on tour guiding practice often focuses on the economic and environmental management roles of tour guides in order to meet the needs of tourists while managing tourists’ behaviour. This appears to be a narrow approach which limits tour guides’ contribution to a destination’s long‐term sustainability. The larger interests of all stakeholders need to be considered to extend the role of tour guides in achieving the wider environmental, political and socio‐cultural dimensions of sustainability. The sustainability indicators literature provides a strong basis upon which to rethink the various roles of tour guides and in turn the redesign of training programs in order to move toward this more holistic perspective. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of China's tour guiding quality assurance system as an instrument for sustainable tourism. It notes the importance of China's 131,000 tour guides for inbound, outbound and domestic tourism. China's tour guiding quality assurance and regulatory mechanisms are then reviewed, including qualification examination, licensing, professional certification, training, awards for excellence, professional associations and codes of conduct. Structurally, China's comprehensive and comparatively regulated system may be recommendable to other countries, particularly its certification and licensing systems. However, the findings suggest that tour guide quality assurance in China may be constrained by an over-reliance on government and the absence of industry-driven mechanisms for some elements such as monitoring, enforcement and rewarding excellence. Most importantly, the focus of China's quality assurance system is on a limited number of tour guiding roles and tends to overlook those most critical to harnessing the guide as a vehicle for sustainable tourism. Key future development areas could extend recognition and reward for the guide's performance as a role model, advocate, mentor, interpreter, cultural broker and environmental monitor. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The strong growth of medical and wellness tourism around the globe is the result of a number of factors, such as the desire of many travellers to try new experiences and escape from increasingly busy lives, the rising health costs in the developed world and the number and diversity of medical and wellness tourism products now available. Australia is no exception to this trend, with the realisation that there is great potential for promoting the destination around the medical and wellness tourist experience or as a supplement to the traditional attractions of the Outback, the Reef and food and wine. However, the paucity of research that currently exists in relation to this industry needs to be addressed, if full advantage is to be taken of this worldwide growth. To this end, a scoping study of Australian medical and wellness tourism was commissioned by the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre, to analyse the current state of play and identify future research needs requiring more in-depth investigation. A secondary aim was to compare Australia's current offerings with international examples. Key findings of this study include identification of the broad range of Australian medical and wellness tourism products in existence, exploration of the potential of Australia to provide niche medical tourism offerings, and identification of key success factors and barriers for the Australian medical and wellness and medical tourism industries. The paper concludes by suggesting some future research avenues.