Tourism, a Place-Based Activity

Abstract

The uniqueness of natural and cultural features constitutes a central aspect for a strategy of destination differentiation in contemporary tourism, requiring particular care, planning, and monitoring processes when integrated into products and services. This chapter analyzes the potential contribution of these sensitive resources for local sustainable development processes, along with a discussion on the potential negative impacts exerted by tourism activities. This can be observed for the possible degradation or destruction of natural resources and ecosystems and also when looking at questions related to the uniqueness, authenticity, and evolving character of local cultural heritage, taking into account the different perceptions, backgrounds, and motivations of each individual (resident or tourist), which implies a permanent process of negotiation between different perspectives and eventually conflictual values. In the context of tourism, the importance of interpretation is emphasized, as a tool to ensure the (co-)creation of different types of significant experiences for different types of tourists, stressing the importance of market segmentation processes as a complement to the strategies of territorial differentiation based on local uniqueness. The sensitiveness of these resources and their importance as structural aspects of the daily life of residents and local identities reinforce the importance of community involvement and participatory decision-making mechanisms for the management of natural and cultural resources in tourism activities.

Case study 3.1: Nature, Culture, and Tourism Demand

Romão J (2015) Culture or Nature: a space-time analysis on the determinants of tourism demand in European regions. Discussion Papers Spatial and Organizational Dynamics 14

Case study 3.2: Nature, Culture, and Value Added by Tourism

Romão J, Guerreiro J, Rodrigues PMM (2017) Territory and sustainable tourism development: a space-time analysis on European regions. Region 4(3):1–17

Case study 3.3: Motivations, Segmentation, Loyalty, and Urban Cultural Heritage

Romão J, Neuts B, Nijkamp P, Shikida A (2014) Determinants of trip choice, satisfaction and loyalty in an eco-tourism destination: A modeling study on the Shiretoko Peninsula, Japan. Ecological Economics 107:195–205

Case study 3.4: Motivations and Segmentation in Ecotourism

Romão J, Neuts B, Nijkamp P, Leeuwen ES van (2015) Culture, product differentiation and market segmentation: a structural analysis of the motivation and satisfaction of tourists in Amsterdam. Tourism Economics 21(3):455–474

Appendices

Case Study 3.1: Nature, Culture, and Tourism Demand

Romão J (2015) Culture or Nature: a space-time analysis on the determinants of tourism demand in European regions. Discussion Papers Spatial and Organizational Dynamics 14

Taking advantage of the existence of geo-referenced data at the European level, the development of adequate estimation methods, and the corresponding software tools, this work offers a global overview, at the European level, of the relations between tourism demand and the regional endowment in natural and cultural resources. By using spatial econometric techniques (a panel data model combining spatial and temporal information), the analysis leads to the identification of spatial clusters of regions with similar characteristics, along with relevant processes of spatial heterogeneity among European regions. Spillover effects between regions are also clearly identified by using this type of methodology.

The study includes 237 NUTS 2 regions, according to the Eurostat classification, corresponding to the level at which regional authorities define strategic development policies. All NUTS 2 regions from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom have been analyzed, with the exception of islands (as the distance or absence of contiguity imposes severe problems of estimation within spatial analysis).

The endowment in natural resources was measured according to the percentage of the regional territory of each region classified within the Natura 2000 network (European protected areas, due to their ecological characteristics). Although these are not necessarily tourism products or attractions, they offer a good proxy for the environmental characteristics of the places and the richness of their biodiversity. Moreover, due to the protective regulations applying to these regions, tourism activities are often highly conditioned.

On the other hand, cultural resources were measured according to another international standard classification: the number of World Heritage Sites classified by UNESCO within each region. Also, this indicator has some limitations, as there are other types of material (museums or monuments) and immaterial (traditions, local knowledge, events, etc.) cultural resources that may have a relevant role on tourism dynamics, not being considered in this analysis (due to the limitations related to available data for international comparisons). Nevertheless, the number of classified World Heritage Sites offers a reasonable proxy for the richness of cultural heritage in each region.

The first results of this work relate to the identification of spatial clusters, based on local indicators of spatial association (which compare the score for one region with the score obtained by its neighbors). Reflecting the importance of tourism demand, high shares of the territory within the Natura 2000 network and high number of heritage sites (within the European context) of Southern European regions, this exploratory spatial univariate analysis (considering only one variable) has shown that most of the spatial clusters related to these aspects are located in this area. Moreover, when performing a bivariate analysis (comparing the score of one region for one variable with the score of the neighbors for a different variable), the results have been similar, with Western regions of South Europe showing a clear link between tourism demand and the endowment on natural and cultural resources in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, many outliers (regions with very diverse patters of spatial association) have been identified for the relation between natural resources and tourism demand.

Finally, by using a spatial panel model, the correlation between tourism demand and natural and cultural resources, along with other variables, like the abundance of accommodation establishments, has been estimated. As a result of the diversity (outliers) of spatial patterns related to natural assets, the positive impact identified for this parameter was not statistically relevant. Nevertheless, all the other variables had significant statistical impacts, as expected.

Additionally, positive spatial spillovers were also identified, suggesting that the interaction between neighbor regions tends to generate more positive impacts than the potential negative impacts related to competitive processes. This has important implications in terms of interregional cooperation, stressing the importance of coordination of policies for resource and infrastructure management or for promotion and marketing policies. In fact, tourists tend to travel through different destinations during one trip, not being necessarily confined by the administrative boundaries of one region.

Case Study 3.2: Nature, Culture, and Value Added by Tourism

Romão J, Guerreiro J, Rodrigues PMM (2017) Territory and Sustainable Tourism Development: a Space-Time Analysis on European Regions. Region 4(3):1–17

This study focuses on the same wide set of European regions and uses the same spatial econometric methods as the work presented in Case Study 2.1. Also, natural resources (measured as the share of the regional territory classified under Natura 2000) and cultural assets (measured according the number of classified World Heritage Sites in each region) follow the same approach, while the contextual variables considered (number of beds available in accommodation establishments and gross fixed capital formation in the tourism sector) are also the same.

The difference here is that, instead of analyzing the impact of natural and cultural resources on tourism demand, the attention goes now to their economic impacts on regional gross value added. This focus on the economic impacts is closer to the idea of tourism competitiveness, as the gross value added is a better indicator to analyze the economic benefits arising from tourism activities in a destination or region. Thus, this analysis aims at identifying the impact of natural and cultural resources on regional tourism competitiveness at the European level.

In fact, tourism demand (as analyzed in Case Study 3.1) can be high because the prices are very low, which suggests a weak competitive position, while normally implying high environmental costs on sensitive natural or cultural resources. As it will be discussed in Chap. 5, the preservation of a competitive position in the long run also depends on the preservation of the core resources contributing for the attractiveness of a tourism destination.

Like in Case Study 3.1, an exploratory spatial analysis based on local indicators of spatial association has been conducted. Among the main results, it was observed that high values for the gross value added in tourism and high tourism demand tended to cluster in Southern regions of Europe, while low values for both variables were observed in Eastern Europe. Moreover, low value added in tourism spatially associated with high tourism demand was also found in clusters of regions in the South, suggesting the existence of large-scale tourism flows with low economic benefits and potential high negative environmental impacts.

In similar sense, spatial clusters of regions where high investment in tourism sector coexists with low value added by this sector tend also to occur in the Southern part of Europe, suggesting that tourism is seen as an economic priority, despite the low economic achievements. This aspect clearly shows the evolutionary path-dependence process discussed in Chap. 2, with the specialization in tourism imposing its own reinforcement.

Other path dependence aspects can also be seen when looking at the relations between gross value added in tourism and the endowment in natural and resources, as South Europe is again the place where abundance of these resources is often associated with a low gross value added by tourism activities. As these are also regions where tourism demand and investments are high, these results reveal an unsustainable process of tourism development – based on low-cost mass tourism with negative impacts on sensitive ecological and cultural resources – and still a tendency to reinforce the role of this sector within the regional economies (as it was also seen in Case Study 2.3, in Chap. 2).

This work also offers an explanatory regression model based on spatial econometric techniques, revealing (at the general European level) that tourism demand and investment tend to exert a positive impact on the gross value added generated by tourism in each region. Nevertheless – and combining this result with the exploratory spatial analysis – it is clear that different dynamics and spatial patterns are observed within European regions.

Moreover, the model reveals a negative correlation between the endowment in natural resources and the gross value added by the tourism sector, confirming the observations made for Southern European regions and revealing relevant problems, both in terms of the sustainable use of resources and the competitive position (apparently more dependent on the low cost than on the quality of services and sophistication of tourism supply).

Case Study 3.3: Motivations, Segmentation, Loyalty, and Urban Cultural Heritage

Romão J, Neuts B, Nijkamp P, Leeuwen ES van (2015) Culture, product differentiation and market segmentation: a structural analysis of the motivation and satisfaction of tourists in Amsterdam. Tourism Economics 21(3):455–474

This work offers a conceptual model to analyze the relation between the characteristics, motivations, satisfaction, and loyalty of tourists (demand side) with the characteristics of an urban destination (supply side). With a particular focus on the role of cultural heritage, the analysis distinguishes between the immaterial (local knowledge, lifestyle, or events) and material (museums, monuments, or architecture) cultural aspects of the city of Amsterdam, with relevant implications on the results obtained. By using a structural equation model (SEM), the analysis includes a segmentation of the tourism demand, taking into account the characteristics of tourists, their motivations, the satisfaction achieved with each aspect of the city, and the implications on loyalty to the destination.

The characteristics of tourists taken into account were related to their age; sex; income; level of education; nationality (from the Netherlands or abroad), being a member of a heritage society; and also the purpose of the visit (business or leisure). Based on an exploratory factor analysis, the motivations were grouped into three types: culture (including archeology, museums, landscape, and urban atmosphere), entertainment (comprising shopping and nightlife), and business. Moreover, following a similar methodology, the levels of satisfaction were classified into two broad groups related to cultural heritage: material assets (archeology, monuments, museums, and landscape) and immaterial factors (traditions and local customs and knowledge).

Among the main results, important differences were observed between Dutch and foreign visitors, as the cultural motivation was not very relevant for tourists from the Netherlands, although they revealed clear intentions to revisit the city. This can be related with the business motives but also with personal connections motivating the visit to friends or relatives. On the other hand, young and low-income visitors revealed high levels of satisfaction and loyalty, revealing the attractiveness of the city for young travellers. Although their income is low and the economic impact tends to be limited, they will probably revisit the destination in the future.

The study also observed that tourists visiting Amsterdam for business have this activity as a primary motive, while revealing higher income levels and higher satisfaction with the intangible cultural aspects of the city. On the other hand, although visitors on holiday have culture and entertainment as the primary motives, they also achieve higher levels of satisfaction with the immaterial aspects of cultural heritage, even if their motivation relies both on the material and immaterial aspects. Nevertheless, as they show good satisfactory levels with these two aspects, it is possible to conclude that Amsterdam clearly fulfills the expectations of cultural tourists. The contrary was observed for the tourists with shopping and nightlife as their primary motivations, who do not seem satisfied with the material aspects of cultural heritage.

A very important conclusion arising from this analysis relates to the implications on loyalty arising with the satisfaction achieved with the different aspects of cultural heritage. Although the levels of satisfaction were generally very high both regarding the material and immaterial aspects of the cultural heritage of the city, visitors satisfied with the immaterial aspects appear to be more loyal to the destination (by expressing their intention to revisit and/or to recommend the visit to family and friends) than those who were more satisfied with the material aspects. In a similar vein, it was also observed that members of heritage societies tend to be less loyal to the city as a tourism destination, as their motivations were mostly focused on the material aspects of cultural heritage.

This result can be related with the fact that visiting and experiencing material aspects (monuments or museums) do not justify another visit, while the enjoyment of immaterial aspects (lifestyle, local traditions) motivates the intention to revisit. This conclusion has important implications in terms of tourism planning for urban destinations: despite the importance of the built environment and quality of cultural facilities to be visited, an enjoyable urban tourism destination also depends – even to a larger extent – on the immaterial aspects comprising daily live in the city.

Case Study 3.4: Motivations and Segmentation in Ecotourism

Romão J, Neuts B, Nijkamp P, Shikida A (2014) Determinants of trip choice, satisfaction and loyalty in an eco-tourism destination: A modeling study on the Shiretoko Peninsula, Japan. Ecological Economics 107:195–205

Ecotourism has experienced a sustainable growth in the last decades, with the ecological characteristics of non-urban areas attracting travellers interested in the natural features of the territories. Also, natural heritage has been recently seen as an important asset to be preserved, with the creation of a list of sites classified by UNESCO as World Heritage. Nevertheless, if the presence of a site in this list ensures that more resources and specific measures are oriented to its protection, it also reinforces the attractiveness of the place, potentially contributing to increase the number of visitors and the pressure on sensitive resources.

In this context, the tourism attractiveness and competitiveness of an ecological site requires its promotion as a valuable natural resource but also the definition of limits to its utilization, according to its carrying capacity. As the number of visitors is necessarily limited, it is crucial for an eco-tourism destination to identify the most suitable segments of the tourism market, taking into account their awareness of the ecological relevance of the concerned resources, the importance of their preservation, and also the economic impacts that can make economically viable the construction and maintenance of the infrastructures and services required for the visit. In this sense, also loyal visitors are of extreme importance, as they tend to know better the characteristics of each site, using it in an adequate way and promoting the place in accordance with its sensitive characteristics.

The work focuses on the development of specific tourism services (different types of boat trips) to visit the World Heritage Site of Shiretoko Peninsula, in Hokkaido (North of Japan). The study takes into account the characteristics and motivations of visitors, their satisfaction with the trip, and the implications of their option for a specific kind of boat trip for their loyalty toward the destination, assuming that these marketing tools are essential elements for the management of a sensitive site like this one. The analysis is divided into two stages, starting with the analysis of the relation between the characteristics of the visitors (motivations, source of information used, eventual previous experiences, or season) and the boat trip selected (type of boat and route). In a second stage, the authors analyze the implications of this trip choice on the satisfaction with different aspects of the visit and also on the loyalty to the destination (the intention to repeat the visit or to recommend it).

It was observed that 84.4% of the visitors came from other areas of Japan than the Hokkaido Prefecture, mostly travelling with family (61.2%) or groups (29.5%) and generally (79,4%) staying at least one night in the area. Almost two thirds (61.2%) were visiting Shiretoko for the first time and almost half of them (47%) collected the information on the Internet or guidebooks, while one third (33,2%) was informed through the acquisition of tour package to Hokkaido.

Regarding the type of boat, large vessels were chosen by a majority of visitors (49,4%), while one third opted for a small boat (32,3%) and the remaining used a sea kayak (18,3%). In terms of routes, Cape Shiretoko was the most popular (61.8%), while Kamuiwakka Fall (26.8%) and Rusha Bay (10.9%) also had relevant scores (the other three routes were almost not mentioned). It was also observed that 77,6% of the tourists visited the paths near the lakes (revealing the importance of water-related resources for the attractiveness of the site).

By using an exploratory factor analysis, three main motivations for the visit were identified: the landscape (87.9%), wildlife (65.5%), and the boat experience itself (20%). It is noteworthy that only 39.3% of the visitors expressed their satisfaction with the observation of wildlife, which suggests the existence of unrealistic expectations regarding the effective experience to be undertaken. In fact, a major element of dissatisfaction was not seeing the things that were expected, pointed out by 23% of the visitors. Nevertheless, 95% of the visitors still revealed the intention to revisit and to recommend the visit, showing that there was a very high satisfaction with the visit as a whole.

It was also observed that large groups tend to prefer large boats to Cape Shiretoko (66.9%) or to Kamuiwakka Fall (30.7%), which is related to the option for a fixed tour program. On the other hand, solo travellers seem to prefer a sea kayak (40.3%), which is a tendency also observed for the young visitors or by persons primarily motivated by the boating experience in itself. Tourists essentially motivated by wildlife tend to prefer tours on small boats (mostly to Rusha Bay and Cape Shiretoko), so that they travel more close to the shoreline and it can be possible to observe the bears. For the marine animals, observing whales and dolphins is mostly related to the option for a large boat (travelling more far from the coastline).

The lack of satisfaction with wildlife encounters is one of the few problems identified in this study. As this is an aspect that cannot be controlled by the managers of the site, it is important to provide adequate information about the expectation related to each type of boat and route, so that the visitors can chose in accordance with their specific motivations. The role of information within this context of matching the needs of particular groups of tourists with the resources, products, and services available in each destination will be discussed with more detail in Chap. 4.