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The turn of the twentieth century brought many progressive ideas in the field of architecture and urban planning that are also reflected in modernist urban residential estates. These modern structures and spatial compositions reflected the need for good quality of living in healthy urban, natural and social environment. The paper focuses on two estates of the German Werkbund located in Wrocław (WUWA, Poland) and Stuttgart (Weissenhof, Germany), which due to their uniqueness constitute tourist attractions of both cities. The main objective of the comparative analysis was to identify model solutions for making historic housing estates available to visitors, shaping an attractive tourist product from entire urban complexes based on architecture and open spaces, simultaneously maintaining the balance of their basic social and tourist functions and the principles of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical application of some recent developments in the social science of sustainability to understanding sustainable transport behaviour. We analyse talk about holidaymaking taken from interviews with self-defined "eco" or "sustainable" tourists. The focus of this paper explores the ways in which participants understand and reconcile the potential conflict of air transport and the notion of sustainable holidays. We identify a number of discursive strategies participants used to project and maintain positive self-representations in the context of complex, often incompatible constructions of sustainability derived from this particular dilemma. Such strategies are considered as concrete examples of the psychosocial organisation of denial and thus offer discursive barriers to sustainable transport futures. However, the analysis also demonstrates the ways in which some individuals were able to resist or challenge such forms of socially organised denial. The potential implications of these discursive barriers and strategies for sustainable transport futures and the tourism sector are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 3, good health and wellbeing, this paper reports on a study that examined how outdoor guides perceive their role in facilitating the psychological wellbeing of tourists who consume slow adventure experiences. These experiences, such as canoeing, stargazing or foraging, are characterised by a slower passage of time, immersion in the natural world and a sense of belonging to small social groups. Grounded in research on wellbeing from a positive psychology perspective, the study utilised semi-structured, in-depth, interviews with ten outdoor adventure guides in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Following a hermeneutic interpretive approach to analyse the interview transcripts, the findings revealed how perceptions of time, meaningful moments and a sense of togetherness are choreographed by slow adventure guides to shape tourists' psychological wellbeing through immersive guided experiences, ultimately helping tourists to re-establish a much-yearned-for connection with nature. The study adds to tourism, wellbeing and sustainability literature by providing new perspectives on psychological wellbeing through guided slow adventures. In particular the findings contribute to positive tourism, or tourism and positive psychology field of research, by revealing how mindful and eudaimonic visitor experiences are organised by adventure tour guides in natural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the use of event portfolios as a multi-purpose policy tool is increasing worldwide, academic attention on this phenomenon remains sparse. In response, the purpose of this review paper is to identify the major issues in the use of portfolios by host communities and destinations aspiring to become eventful and delineate the emergent development patterns and strategies. The paper postulates the core dynamics that can enable capacity-building in event portfolio development and suggests a network framework for setting up a holistic portfolio policy with systemic management properties. This framework provides a theoretical scaffolding to contextualize the first formalized city portfolio strategies. Based on this discussion, four major issues are identified: portfolio configurations, leveraging, sustainability, and community capacity-building. Policy implications are drawn that theorize the surfacing portfolio development models, design logics and strategic approaches. The effects on social structures are considered in terms of how they determine the longevity, legitimation, and institutional embeddedness of event portfolios. The paper proffers that event portfolios represent a multi-dimensional phenomenon and highly versatile policy tool with manifold configurations. Their sustainable growth requires a shift in event-tourism thinking from the hitherto focus on single major events to managing multiple events for achieving multiple purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current climate of intense turbulence, tourism must transform to a more sustainable development platform. Yet it remains unclear how the concept of sustainability is embedded at different levels of government policy and planning, and how this has evolved over time. This paper identifies the concept of sustainability as it is articulated in 339 Australian tourism strategic planning and policy documents published between 2000 and 2011. The paper examines the extent to which the concept of sustainable tourism is evident in the discourse of Australian tourism strategic planning documents at the national, state, regional and local levels, as well as the balance of the discourse in relation to sustainability objectives. The results show that the frequency of occurrence of sustainability as a concept has slightly increased in strategies over the past decade. At the same time, there has been a shift in the conceptualisation of sustainability, with thinking evolving from nature-based, social and triple bottom line concepts toward a focus on climate change, responsibility, adaption and transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite urgent sustainability imperatives, tourism providers and destination managers are slow to undertake initiatives that enable: (1) an informed public (tourists) and (2) an engaged citizenry (residents) to manage resource use, conservation and climate change. This paper draws on concepts from two renowned political theorists, Carole Pateman and Hannah Arendt, and especially from Arendt's theory of human action, which offers insights for a performative and pluralistic theory of civic engagement, multi-stakeholder learning and collaboration. It helps to explore emerging forms of participatory action and climate change pedagogy in the mountain resort of Canmore (Canada), facilitated by the Biosphere Institute, a local nongovernmental organization, that indicate a strong potential. The Mountain Air program involves schoolchildren and businesses in tackling clean air and idling impacts from local transport (including taxis used by visitors). The results of a door-to-door community social marketing campaign, Sustainable Action Canmore, are also discussed. Detailed and ongoing requirements of participatory action are described, and the results of the two programs are analyzed. Links between governance for tourists and residents are explained, and potential lessons for destination managers discussed. In addition, the paper notes the relevance of the Natural Step program, a comprehensive model for planning sustainable development in complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An improved understanding of both community attitudes toward tourism and host–guest interaction is vital for the sustainable development of tourism. However, there are significant research deficiencies and gaps in these two related research areas. This conceptual paper looks into these glaring research gaps through a review of literature and attempts to provide solutions suggested by an ongoing research project being conducted in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In particular, while this paper addresses the impacts of personality and ethnicity on community attitudes toward tourism and points to the urgent need for a well-established theoretical framework in order to understand and predict host–guest interaction, it also highlights the above issues in the context of the urban–rural fringe, the bordering region connecting neat ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how perceived crowding stimulates tourists' emotional reactions and affects their experience quality as well as satisfaction. Based on Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, it examined and verified relationship between perceived crowding and tourist satisfaction with mixed-methods approach. The qualitative study was conducted to establish research model, and multigroup analysis was conducted with data collected from hot springs and coastal destinations. The results indicated that human crowding is no longer a positive signal in both sites. Experience quality mediates relationship between emotional reactions aroused by perceived crowding and tourist satisfaction. The findings deepen understanding of crowding and provide effective management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although ecotourism has frequently been examined in the literature, a consensus has not yet been reached globally as to what constitutes ecotourism. This paper suggests an alternative to the continuing debates among tourism researchers regarding their own views on what ecotourism should be and on who ecotourists are. Instead, this paper contends that tourists’ own self-interpretations of ecotourism and self-identification of ecotourists may be a more meaningful and practical way forward. This study examines the ecotourism market for West Virginia by applying this self-identification approach. The results indicate that 39.4% of respondents knew about the term “ecotourism”, and that 22.2% or 12.0 million of the state's visitors in 2008 were ecotourists. By comparison to non-ecotourists, these self-identified ecotourists were found to be more environmentally concerned and responsible, more dedicated to nature, more supportive of tourism accreditation programs, and more likely to patronize businesses with good environmental practices, even at a higher cost. This has significant implications for sustainable tourism development in the state as these findings can help to convince tourism operators who may see the potential benefits through being involved in a certification program proposed by West Virginia Department of Protection. Research limitations and future research needs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on establishing the level of the gap in the perception of the importance of generic competencies among respondents from different regions within a tourism destination in transition. Montenegro and its tourism sector are taken as an example, with its three geographical regions: coastal, central and northern region. The research is based on a survey of respondents (employees in the tourism sector and students on internship) in hotels, travel agencies, tourism organisations, museums, national parks, ports of nautical tourism and business units of airline companies. The study seeks to establish the level of the gap in the perception of the importance of generic competencies of respondents among the aforementioned regions in the destination. In addition to identifying the differences, the study seeks to identify the strength of links between certain aggregate and individual generic competencies, among and within the coastal, central and northern region of Montenegro, a country whose tourism sector is in the transitional process of accession to the European Union. This survey can serve as a good example for future practical and theoretical research in the field of generic competencies and regional affiliation of human resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based tourism (CBT) promotes a model for enhancing communities' social, environmental, and economic needs upheld as a post-Covid-19 revival strategy. This study aimed to critically review the model following longitudinal fieldwork in Thailand. "Reflection-in-action" methodology exposes CBT failings against sustainable development goals (SDGs). CBT falsely assumes: communities possess necessary capability for effective implementation; structural equity exists among host, and hosts possess uninhibited local control over their tourism assets. Such expositions underpin the study's contributions: a supply-side focus on "community outputs" rather than the demand-side "expectations" of tourists; contradictions to known asset-based development assumptions; and theoretical extension to the CBT literature through critique to onsite experiences against sustainable development goals. Such may assist communities to move beyond their current "constraints" focus to that of "contextual experts" in local community assets. The study demonstrates a need for research, practice, and policy stakeholders to move CBT beyond theorization to a genuine sustainability tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new line of research in international coastal mass tourism destinations. Such destinations have started to function in a more complex and potentially beneficial way, acting as transitional areas between the global city and local territory while at the same time developing their own unique characteristics. From this perspective, such destinations can potentially become environments for creativity and innovation, two factors that act as economic driving forces in the so-called “knowledge society”, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the destination from a socioeconomic perspective. The methodology used herein develops 10 indicators that are calculated and mapped out for two case studies which examine the same geographical context and comparable populations in order to demonstrate the creative capacity of a location whose economy is heavily reliant on tourism. The results show that tourist destinations have greater potential for generating creative capital than non-tourist destinations. Therefore, the consolidation of international mass tourism destinations as creative and innovative spaces which are capable of generating creative capital without losing their competitiveness as tourist destinations merits a reconception of their current role in global–local networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Beach certification schemes (BCSs) have been designed to bridge the gap between recreation and conservation. However, there is no evidence supporting their effectiveness as tools for achieving a high level of sustainability. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of nine BCSs in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on indicators of sustainable development and integrated coastal management. For this purpose, a list of 27 objectives with 62 indicators was compiled and each scheme's effectiveness was measured by testing 95 requirements found in BCSs against the indicators. The results indicate that the analyzed schemes have low levels of effectiveness. The most effective certification complies with 60% of the indicators, while the average compliance level is only 33%. The weak areas of beach certifications involve, monitoring, management and planning, stakeholder participation, and conflict resolution. A few of the schemes were found to be moderately successful in these areas, but the less effective BCSs focused primarily on amenities and visitor satisfaction. It was found that the effectiveness of the BCSs could be increased by addressing their main weaknesses in a cost-effective manner through the hybridization of environmental management systems and benchmark certifications, and by implementing compliance standards based on beach type. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

North Eastern Region (NER) of India has immense resource potential to develop tourism. Of late, tourism industry in North Eastern States (NESs) has taken a lead and has done fairly well in the last 12 years or so by attracting more tourists to the region. The study reveals that Assam is the leading state in terms of overall inflow of tourists' in the region while Sikkim proves to be preferred destination of foreign tourists among NESs. Present study also reveals that Sikkim is better prepared to host both domestic and foreign tourists in the NER. The paper makes an attempt to explore the reasons for Sikkim's popularity among foreign tourists visiting NESs and the effect of increased influx of visitors on tourism sustainability in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I question how representations of tourist destinations color and are colored by development. Presenting the results of ethnographic fieldwork conducted on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, I find that the authenticity of portrayals of place is important not for its veracity, but for the social work it performs. Authenticity is not merely socially constructed but expressive of social relations which value people and places. Tourist perceptions of thecaribe suras genuinely underdeveloped—gauged by an analysis of photos and guidebooks as well as surveys—produce an approach to resource use within the community that is limiting. Because the value of the place is its underdevelopment, development itself constrains the possibility of sustaining further growth. Ultimately, reading development via place can be a guide for critically appreciating contemporary patterns of tourism and sustainable development in thecaribe surand elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an alternative approach to rural tourism that returns to a more traditional model of development: large, flagship attractions that act as a ‘growth pole’ for the local economy and community. It questions some of the accepted beliefs about sustainable rural tourism development current in recent years. It is based on a case study of Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, England. It suggests that, under certain circumstances, flagship or mega-attractions can not only increase substantially the number of visitors to rural areas but also, through appropriate policies and processes, can underpin the longer-term, sustainable development of those areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agritourism is growing as a form of agricultural diversification in rural communities in the United States, as is research targeting the impact of agritourism on its various stakeholders. This paper examines the needs and obstacles of farm families acting as agritourism providers, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs), and agritourists, and develops a model to address each of these three stakeholder group's unique motivations and needs for participating in an agritourism system. The model features the three stakeholders communicating successfully with each other and engaging in mutually beneficial relationships, primarily due to the application of Weber's formal and substantive rationality. Ultimately, the model will be applied in the field, and specific strategies recommended for improving the agritourism system's success. These strategies could serve as decision-support tools for entrepreneurial farms and firms leading to an improved quality of life and community as well as economic sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests 'management of demand' in the context of a careful target- marketing approach as an important instrument for the sustainable development of a tourist destination. Traditionally, destination areas plan and manage in a rather product and resource-centred way. An increased marketing effort is nowadays frequently demanded, but there are limits in adapting to the market, calling for a combined supply and market-led approach to destination marketing. In this context, 'management of demand' may contribute to more sustainable tourism development. This is shown using the example of the rural tourist market in North Portugal, which is segmented based on benefits sought. Segments are evaluated according to a set of criteria in terms of attractiveness and destination-fit. The careful selection of the target-market and its eventual differentiation in space and time may help a destination pursue its main development goals, which should further depend on the interests of all local stakeholders and consider preservation priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically confirms the nonlinear effects of banking sector development on the inbound tourism–income inequality nexus by adopting the panel smooth transition regression model for 102 economies. Findings for the full sample suggest that although inbound tourism can reduce income inequality, this effect gradually weakens as the banking sector develops. In high-income economies, an increase in international tourism receipts first exacerbates and then decreases income inequality as the banking sector develops. Moreover, a well-developed banking sector could improve income distribution. In low-income economies, the international tourism receipts–inequality nexus differs from the international tourist arrivals–inequality nexus under various levels of banking sector development. International tourism receipts initially decrease income inequality and then increase it when the banking sector develops to a certain degree. However, international tourist arrivals first deteriorate income distribution and then improve it as the banking sector develops. From a policy perspective, appropriate policies should be implemented to achieve a balance between the banking sector, inbound tourism, and income inequality in high-income and low-income economies and ensure sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study advances the bidirectional relationship between residents' perceived tourism impacts and subjective wellbeing, as well as examines the consequential effects on support for tourism development. The bottom-up formative and top-down reflective structural models were proposed based on the bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective wellbeing and Social Exchange Theory. The models were empirically tested with a sample of 466 residents in Macao. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was employed in data analysis. Results reveal the co-existence of the bottom-up and top-down effects, and also confirm the significant positive impacts of tourism benefits and wellbeing on attitudes toward tourism. Findings suggest the interplay of tourism impacts and wellbeing in forming a virtuous loop, thereby driving support for tourism through mutual enhancing effects. This study validates the bidirectionality between perceived tourism impacts and subjective wellbeing under the integrative framework of the bottom-up and top-down theories. The bidirectionality signifies that subjective wellbeing should be operationalized by scales following its formative or reflective nature under investigation. Furthermore, the bilateral linkages could be exploited by promoting perceived tourism benefits, mitigating perceived tourism costs and fostering subjective wellbeing in order to uphold residents' support for tourism for its sustainable development through the social exchange mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional village tourism development is influenced by cultural landscape authenticity and tourists' behavioural intentions. Data was collected from 347 tourists through field surveying. Structural equation modelling was used to explore interactions between traditional village cultural landscape (TVCL) authenticity, memorable tourism experiences (MTE) and place attachment (PA) in driving tourist behavioural intentions. TVCL authenticity, MTE and PA significantly affect behavioural intentions; MTE and PA have significant partial mediating effects on TVCL authenticity and behavioural intentions. The study emphasises the role of cultural landscape authenticity in traditional village tourism, enriches authenticity theory, and promotes rural tourism development and sustainable protection forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourists often travel to experience the natural beauty of a destination such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia. This nature-based destination attracts millions of tourists every year because of its outstanding underwater aesthetics. Recently, parts of the GBR have been degraded by warming sea temperatures and other local anthropogenic influences, threatening the Reef aesthetics and tourism in the region. In order to deal with this topical issue, the current research investigates tourists' aesthetic assessment of environmental changes in the GBR ecosystem. Research outcomes indicate that tourists' perceived beauty of the Reef is sensitive to environmental changes. The disappearance of sea animals (colourful fish, turtle), degrading coral and decreasing water quality negatively influence their aesthetic assessment, which can reduce tourist visitation in the long-term. Hence, sustainable tourism development in the GBR regions can only be achieved when government support for environmental management is strengthened. Conservation programs of the GBR should expand beyond coral restoration for controlling water quality, reducing pollution and protecting aesthetically appealing sea animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holidaying is an important leisure pursuit and, for a growing minority, air travel is the default mode for holiday mobility. However, the current trend of increasing demand for air travel runs contrary to climate-related sustainability goals. Efforts to motivate reductions in consumption of holiday air travel must contend with the embeddedness of flying as a social practice and should be informed by an understanding of how people prioritize air travel for holidays relative to other forms of consumption. Using data drawn from a survey of 2066 British adults, this exploratory study uses a novel method to assess the willingness of individuals to sacrifice holiday air travel relative to their willingness to make changes to their daily consumption patterns. We find a greater readiness to undertake additional expense (of time, effort, or money) than to retrench incumbent consumption patterns in order to fly for holidays. Reluctance to sacrifice for the sake of flying was greatest with regards to those items that are most associated with the basic infrastructure of modern life (e.g. mobile phones). Examining product-specific pro-environmental sacrifice in relative terms, our findings suggest that voluntary reductions in flying are more plausible than other modes of pro-environmental sacrifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the impacts of climate disasters on the behavior of tourists in Bangladesh, this study makes an initial attempt to investigate tourists’ adaptation behavior in response to climate disasters. A questionnaire survey was developed and administered to address both tourists’ previous adaptation behavior and their stated adaptation behavior in response to different future climate disasters. The choice modeling analysis of tourists’ previous behavior revealed that a cyclone is more likely to result in the cancellation of a trip, and a flood is more likely to result in a change in trip timing. As for the stated behavior analysis, it was confirmed that most variables related to disaster severity show significant influence on adaptation behavior. The results also indicate that construction of disaster-resilient transportation networks is essential to avoid trip cancellations. In addition, improving market-oriented tourism service quality in Bangladesh could play a significant role in reducing the probability of both trip cancellations and changes of destination. The findings of this study can provide the tourism industry in Bangladesh with critical insights for future disaster management and sustainable development of the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Radical theories from political economy assert that capitalism is founded on the creation and appropriation of surplus value through exploiting human labor and nature. Such exploitative social and social–ecological relations are generally understood as contradictory to Indigenous worldviews, which tend to emphasize community well-being and environmental reciprocity over maximizing private accumulation. Enter tourism, tantalizing in its promise as a “silver bullet” for Indigenous sustainable development. When done “right”, tourism can generate capitalist economic activity without drastically damaging cultural and ecological systems. This study examines spaces of confluence and divergence in Barrow, Alaska, between current tourism and the values of its Indigenous people, the Iñupiat. It considers the scenario of increased tourism in the future and identifies local visions for expanding tourism in a culturally appropriate manner. Key ideas for future development include increasing regulation of cruise ship tourists and enhancing capacity to host high-end tourists. The study reveals conflicting views about using subsistence hunting, fishing and whaling activities as tourism attractions, and concludes that the ability of leaders in Barrow to support Indigenous values through tourism highlights an opportunity and need for a research agenda focused on exploring the relationship between capitalism and its alternatives within tourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of urban tourism over the last decades has led to an increasing demand to develop sustainable strategies and measures that cope better with large numbers of visitors. A good knowledge of visitors’ spatial movement patterns is key to an efficient and successful destination management. Despite a considerable body of research focusing on visitors’ spatial behaviour and practices, the influence of visitors’ travel preparation has been widely neglected in tourism research on spatial behaviour and mobility practices. On the basis of a sample of 330 questionnaires and 162 GPS tracks, we explore mobility paths of same-day visitors in Freiburg, Germany. We show that well-prepared and not well-prepared visitors are two distinct types of tourists with specific mobility patterns. The former tend to carry out a wider range of activities, while the latter stroll through the inner city. Drawing upon the concept of motility, we discuss the implications for addressing information and recommendations to both types of visitors in order to channel their activities and mobility practices during their stay. Knowledge of these specific characteristics and mobility patterns allows tourism professionals to develop and offer target-oriented services which may help to avoid overcrowding effects by fostering a slight spatial deconcentration of visitor activities. In particular, online information services and signage can help to direct visitor activities of less-prepared visitors temporally and spatially. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tourism is a dynamically complex system. Planning for sustainability is therefore difficult because past system behaviour is often not a good indicator of future behaviour. Despite this, tourism planning is mainly based on forecasting methods that rely on historical data to predict future trends with the assumption that tomorrow's world will be much like today's. To properly manage dynamically complex systems it is necessary to understand the underlying system structures that influence current as well as future system behaviour. This is the domain of systems thinking, which is not a forecasting method, rather a method used to understand the feedback mechanisms that influence system behaviour over time. This study describes the link between tourism development and systems thinking theory, and uses this to identify underlying systems structures likely to influence tourism development and sustainability within Cat Ba Island, Vietnam. We show that current policies promoting rapid tourism growth on Cat Ba Island are likely to be fixes that fail due to unintended consequences that ultimately undermine sustainability. To ensure sustainability, the policy focus must switch from growth to planning for limits to growth before tourism carrying capacity is undermined, which could ultimately lead to tourism decline. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A significant number of tourists now wish to combine their concern for the degradation of the environment with their vacation activities. This concern, together with the need for educated people to work on ecological and scientific projects, has led to the emergence of a small but growing number of UK organisations that bring together paying volunteers and research projects to support research into sustainable development. There is little academic literature on the organisations that provide this travel service. The article examines key dynamics of the research volunteer market examined with data from questionnaire responses, interviews and observation. The article uses Porter's five forces model and the Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) framework to strategically analyse this sector. The findings suggest that none of the five forces are strong enough to depress profits and therefore, the balance sheets should be healthy; however, this is not always the case. Consequently, the SPACE factors that appear related to the financial viability of the firms are explored. In conclusion, firms have the ability to make a substantial contribution to environmental sustainability and their survival is important; however, the risks of operating in this sector are relatively high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lugu Lake region not only has a plateau lake, which has important ecological functions, but also a unique matriarchal culture and Axia marriage. The natural ecology and water quality in Lugu Lake region have remained good for generations, not only because of the relatively closed geography and local economic underdevelopment but also because of the local Mosuo culture. To understand the relationship between the Mosuo culture and protection of the local environment, it is necessary to understand current Mosuo ideology and life styles in relation to potential environmental change. We undertook an investigation from 2004-2006 in the Lugu Lake region, talking to many Mosuo families and tourists. A questionnaire survey was conducted, with 136 questions for Mosuo families and 72 questions for tourists. Analysis of the results indicates that the Mosuo matriarchal families, Axia marriage, traditional religious beliefs and life style have played an important role in natural resources use, population control and environmental protection. Recently, with the rapid development of transportation and tourism, communication between Lugu Lake region and the outside has increased, leading to changes in traditional Mosuo culture and ideology that affect their roles in environmental protection. Changes in Mosuo ideology, family, marriage form, production system, life style, environmental consciousness and protection motivation may profoundly impact the local environment. Thus, careful development of Mosuo culture is essential to harmonise its relationship with the environment and regional sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors worldwide. Across the world the number of tourists seeking close interaction with wildlife in their natural environment is growing. Understanding the interface between visitors (social) and wildlife (environmental) can make a critical contribution to the sustainability of this industry. This study examined wildlife tours in Australia. Questionnaires were posted to wildlife tour operators in Tasmania, Western Australia and Northern Territory, seeking information on the characteristics of tours, and the place of science and monitoring in their business. The results illustrate several similarities between wildlife and ecotourism, suggesting the benefits of increasing education and interpretation, both central features of ecotourism, to enhancing the sustainability of wildlife tourism. For tour operators, interactive activities included feeding, swimming with and touching wildlife, and the level of interaction was identified as high, making it imperative to better define interaction and develop species or group-specific protocols for sustainably managing these interactions. Lastly, this study showed a low level of engagement of scientists in protecting the wildlife of interest to tours. Given the centrality of science to sustainability, mechanisms for increasing this involvement particularly in impact research, through partnerships and other means, are critical for the long term sustainability of this industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visitors to wildlife tourism attractions can provide valuable insights into the sustainability of the businesses that they visit. Qualitative data collection employing participant observations and visitor interviews was conducted at 12 ecotourism operations that offer wildlife tourism experiences in New Zealand. The objective was to develop insights into the visitor experience and to understand the viewpoints of visitors regarding the sustainability of those experiences. Although other dimensions of the wildlife tourism experience exist, important social and ecological dimensions of the visitor experience emerged from this research. Four prominent themes, which were identified within these dimensions, are presented and discussed. The results provide insights into sustainable wildlife tourism development in New Zealand, with implications for the design of interpretation programs, visitor management, and the delivery of several defining aspects of sustainable wildlife tourism experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]