Tourism means more than money to the host community.Many rural communities that are located near park and recreation areas are developing tourism to revitalize re·vi·tal·ize tr.v. re·vi·tal·ized, re·vi·tal·iz·ing, re·vi·tal·iz·es To impart new life or vigor to: plans to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods; tried to revitalize a flagging economy. their economies. Tourism development is often promoted for its potential to create jobs, tax revenues and income for these rural communities previously funded by natural resources. Most planning strategies focus on developing physical resources and amenities with the promise of local investment and employment opportunities. Development plans generally address carrying capacity carrying capacity the number of animal units that a farm or area will carry on a year round basis, including that needed for conservation of winter feed. Usually stated as dry cows or dry sheep equivalents per hectare. and multiple use issues and include strategies which focus on park and recreation areas. Less recognized are tourism's non-economic benefits. Development plans have often failed to consider these other benefits as well as the concerns of citizens who are not likely to benefit economically from tourism development. The recognition and promotion of the non-economic benefits of tourism may be a key to developing the support of the local community which is vital to the long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. success of tourism development. Planning a sustainable tourism There are many different definitions of sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism in its purest sense, is an industry which attempts to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income and employment for locals, as well as to promote the industry also requires the acknowledgment acknowledgment, in law, formal declaration or admission by a person who executed an instrument (e.g., a will or a deed) that the instrument is his. The acknowledgment is made before a court, a notary public, or any other authorized person. of those aspects of tourism which require sacrifice on the part of the residents. Benefits and Costs of Tourism Residents of tourist destinations A tourist destination is a city, town or other area the economy of which is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions or visitor attractions and possibly some "tourist traps". enjoy improved shopping and recreation facilities, increased opportunities for meeting and interacting with new people, the creation of an outlet for self-expression self-ex·pres·sion n. Expression of one's own personality, feelings, or ideas, as through speech or art: "Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment" Pearl S. Buck. , the development of community pride, and improvements to the physical attractiveness Physical attractiveness is the perception of the physical traits of an individual human person as pleasing or beautiful. It can include various implications, such as sexual attractiveness, cuteness, and physique. of the community as byproducts of the local tourism industry. Residents can also come to resent re·sent tr.v. re·sent·ed, re·sent·ing, re·sents To feel indignantly aggrieved at. [French ressentir, to be angry, from Old French resentir, tourism. Tourist destination residents often complain about crowding and congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. , increased criminal activity, an increase in the cost of living and changes in the natural environment. Figure 1 outlines the most common non-economic advantages and disadvantages of tourist development. However, the impacts of tourism are not the same for all residents. Their interests and values affect the way they perceive the benefits and costs. This article discusses the non-economic interests of three types of citizens whose values should be considered when tourism development is being planned. They are the Attached Resident, the Resource User, and the Environmentalist environmentalist a person with an interest and knowledge about the interaction of humans and animals with the environment. . The Attached Resident Community attachment refers to the affectionate feelings residents harbor toward their community. Attached residents enjoy where they live and have developed attachments either to the natural environment or to the people. This sense of community is expressed by a greater interest in local affairs and sadness when forced to think about leaving the community. Longer-term residents, those who have a higher social standing in the community, and those in a later stage of the life cycle are generally the most likely to feel attached. Positive feelings about the community may develop from the social bonds residents establish as members of local organizations. It is also common to find short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. residents of tourist destinations also emotionally attached. These newcomers may have decided to move into the community after having pleasurable pleas·ur·a·ble adj. Agreeable; gratifying. pleas  ur·a·bil tourist experiences. The emotional bond spawns a deep concern for improving the quality of life in their place of residence. Attached individuals are also concerned about developing economic opportunities for the youth who may otherwise be forced to move away in search of employment. Consequently, attached residents tend to see tourism more positively than those whose feelings toward their place of residence are more ambivalent am·biv·a·lent adj. Exhibiting or feeling ambivalence. am·biv  a·lent·ly adv.Adj. 1. . Projects that promise social and environmental benefits will get more support from attached citizens than those that promise only economic rewards. These constituents are most concerned with maintaining the character of their community. They may complain about congestion, traffic, longer lines, or losing their favorite spot in the local restaurant. The attached resident considers these impacts relatively minor irritants that they would be willing to endure if the end result was beneficial to the community as a whole. It is important that these residents perceive that they have control over the form and function of their own community. While attached residents support tourism development in general, they will object to certain types of tourism. Attached citizens are most likely to support projects which provide opportunities for self-expression. High-impact tourism-resort complexes, theme parks, and the like-will be opposed by this group. These types of ventures rarely express the nature of the community as seen by its citizens and most frequently require financial resources beyond the means of rural communities. The perceived threat of outsiders controlling their community fuels opposition for large-scale large-scale adj. 1. Large in scope or extent. 2. Drawn or made large to show detail. large-scale Adjective 1. wide-ranging or extensive 2. projects. These citizens may also object to such projects because they are more likely to reflect the nature of outside developers or a tourist's conception of what the community should be, rather than the ideas or culture of the host community. Opposition may be minimized if the residents can be shown that significant social and/or environmental benefits will be derived for the community from the proposed development. Developers who focus purely on economic benefits may not gain the support they seek. Instead, attached residents prefer cultural or event-based tourism. Programs designed to restore and/or preserve historically important structures, customs, traditions or artifacts artifacts see specimen artifacts. will gain significant support from this group. The first step in soliciting the support of the attached residents is to determine how they view the character of their community, i.e., determine who they are culturally. An inexpensive way to get a feel for how the community members see their home is to sponsor a contest in which citizens are asked to contribute proposals for a town slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. Slogans vary from the written and the visual to the chanted and the vulgar. , flag, motto, or mural mural Painting applied to and made integral with the surface of a wall or ceiling. Its roots can be found in the universal desire that led prehistoric peoples to create cave paintings—the desire to decorate their surroundings and express their ideas and beliefs. . The entries can give planners a clearer picture of what citizens consider to be the character of their home town. To get a more representative sample of resident feelings, develop a survey teased tease v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es v.tr. 1. To annoy or pester; vex. 2. To make fun of; mock playfully. 3. on the contest entries. The results of the contest and survey will provide information that can be developed into themes for events, design architectural schemes and/or focus entrepreneurial en·tre·pre·neur n. A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. [French, from Old French, from entreprendre, to undertake; see enterprise. incentives. Figure 2 describes actions which have helped other communities reduce conflict and create citizen ownership of tourism development projects. The Resource User Individuals within a tourist destination community who use the same facilities and services as the tourists evaluate the benefits and costs of tourism differently than non-users do. For example, local fishermen and water skiers are more concerned about an increase in the number of people who use the local water-based resource than those who have no interest in water sports water sports Urophilia, see there . The tourism resource user balances the positive and negative effects of increasing the number of people who use the same resources with his/her own interests in mind. The more likely they believe that an increase in tourism will result in improved facilities, the more they will support it. When they view tourists as competition for a scarce resource, they may oppose new development unless their interests are protected. Users evenly balance the positive effect of improved facilities with the negative effect of crowding. This group is relatively ambivalent to the economic impacts of tourism. Their support can be gained by focusing on improvements to the physical environment. Recreationists, shoppers or culture champions will be the best source of volunteer help for festivals and events which are centered around their hobbies It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome. This is a list of hobbies. . Furthermore, users will support nature and culture-based tourism activities if they believe potential positive social or environmental benefits can be derived from such activities. The strongest reaction against tourism development will be towards large-scale projects. The first step in soliciting the support of users is to determine their interests, hobbies and activities. The least expensive method is observation. A simple participant count for activities that would be affected by an increase in usage will yield important information. It is important to determine if the activities will become more or less enjoyable when the number of participants is increased. Next, make an assessment--a random sampling of users is one of the most effective methods--of what facilities and services users would like to see improved. Once you discover the extent of potential conflicts and advantages, you will know the best way to gain the support of the resource user. Involving the local bass club in fishing tournaments, cyclists This is an incomplete list. Please add to this list if you are aware of an omission. This is a list of cyclists by decade. Cyclists by decade Cyclists before the 1880s
It is equally important to recognize areas that are considered sacred to the local resource user. It is common for recreationists to consider certain areas special or unique and want them protected from intruders. Consider limiting the type or number of users permitted in these special areas. Another means of soliciting the support of the user is to allocate To reserve a resource such as memory or disk. See memory allocation. a portion of the funds collected from tourism to the development of facilities or services that they desire. Figure 3 lists activities which may help planners gain the support of the resource user. The Environmentalists Residents who are concerned about protecting and preserving the natural environment tend to focus on the negative impacts of tourism. They do not believe that the Earth is an endless supply of natural resources, nor do they believe that the balance of nature is strong enough to cope with the impacts of human encroachment An illegal intrusion in a highway or navigable river, with or without obstruction. An encroachment upon a street or highway is a fixture, such as a wall or fence, which illegally intrudes into or invades the highway or encloses a portion of it, diminishing its width or area, but . They oppose the attitude that humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs. Even though media coverage of environmentalists' activities suggest that this group of people would oppose all development plans, there are certain types of tourism development they will support. When asked to evaluate the benefits and costs of tourism development, environmentalists generally perceive more costs than benefits. They tend to anticipate that traffic, congestion, crime, and cost of living increases will be more severe than other groups do. They find the preservation of the local culture important and their perception of the economic impact of tourism is negative. They tend to believe that an increase in employment opportunities and revenues for local services is not worth the economic costs of providing services for visitors. As might be expected, the environmentalists--unlike the attached residents or the recreationists--perceive that an increase in tourists would worsen wors·en tr. & intr.v. wors·ened, wors·en·ing, wors·ens To make or become worse. worsen Verb to make or become worse worsening adjn the quality of the natural environment. However, this negative evaluation does not lead to opposition of all types of tourism. Environmentalists will strongly oppose any high-impact tourism proposals aimed at attracting a large number of visitors. They are more ambivalent toward culture- and historic-based tourism, such as museums and visitor centers. Similarly, they only mildly object to projects based on the natural environment such as cabins in the forest or cross-country ski trails. Their opposition generally increases in direct proportion to the extent of proposed changes to the natural environment. Event-based tourism, on the other hand, may receive considerable support from environmentalists who view short-term, minimum-impact events as a positive means of self expression for the community. To reduce conflict with environmentalists, development organizations should take specific actions, beginning with a determination of the level of environmental concern within the community. The next step is to conduct a study that determines the type of development projects whose environmental impacts are acceptable to the community. Figure 4 offers a few suggestions which may help to gain the support of those concerned about the environmental impacts of tourism. The way people feel about their community, the use they make of the resources shared with tourists, and their environmental attitudes will bias their perceptions of the value of tourism. Residents who are attached to their community hold more favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. attitudes toward tourism in general. On the other hand, sensitivity to environmental issues precipitates general opposition to tourism. Those who use the tourism base have mixed feelings about tourism and fall in the middle area. Most residents oppose large-scale tourism projects and almost all favor event-based attractions. Projects that reflect the interests and concerns of the community generally stimulate volunteer activity and minimize conflict. With all of this in mind, tourism developers will be more successful in creating a sustainable economic base if their proposals reflect the interests of the residents. For tourism to be a successful development strategy, the concerns of the entire community should be identified and considered. FIGURE 1. NON-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF TOURISM Residents support tourism because it: * Creates more opportunities for shopping * Improves recreational facilities Noun 1. recreational facility - a public facility for recreation recreation facility facility, installation - a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry; "the assembly plant is an enormous facility" * Provides opportunities to meet and interact with new people * Offers a direction for self-expression * Develops pride in the community * Creates a demand for local arts, crafts and culture * Improves the physical appearance of the community Residents oppose tourism because it: * Creates congestion in stores, restaurants and highways * Potentially increases criminal activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution prostitution, act of granting sexual access for payment. Although most commonly conducted by females for males, it may be performed by females or males for either females or males. and theft * Puts increased pressure on local services (i.e., fire, police, etc.) * Increases the cost of living * Results in more vandalism The intentional and malicious destruction of or damage to the property of another. The intentional destruction of property is popularly referred to as vandalism. It includes behavior such as breaking windows, slashing tires, spray painting a wall with graffiti, and and litter litter /lit·ter/ (lit´er) stretcher. lit·ter n. 1. A flat supporting framework, such as a piece of canvas stretched between parallel shafts, for carrying a disabled or dead person; a * Changes the natural environment FIGURE 2: ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO GAIN SUPPORT FROM ATTACHED CITIZENS 1. Involve citizens in the planning process. 2. Establish a focal point focal point n. See focus. and common theme. 3. Develop projects which provide a means for residents to express their heritage, culture or who they think they are, such as: A Community Photo Exhibit: Encourage citizens to share photos of community events in a specific decade. Feature a new decade each month. Display photos in prominent gathering places in town. Ask the local newspaper to feature selected photos and a story. Portable photo displays can be taken to club and organization meetings. Oral History Recordings: Gather oral histories from the oldest citizens in town. A local history teacher may wish to take this on as a project for high school classes. Print the most interesting stories in the local newspaper. Image Formation: Develop a logo and theme. Use the theme on bumper stickers bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m , local government stationary Stationary can mean:
4. Protect citizens from crowding by encouraging restaurants to reserve tables for locals. 5. Reduce the effects of rising costs by offering discount prices in restaurants or tourist attractions Noun 1. tourist attraction - a characteristic that attracts tourists attractive feature, magnet, attractor, attracter, attraction - a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts; "flowers are an attractor for bees" for citizens. 6. Sponsor an annual locals' day, week or even month where citizens can tour/or enjoy facilities free. FIGURE 3: ACTIVITIES TO GAIN THE SUPPORT FROM RESOURCE USERS 1. Provide opportunities for local youth to build skills or knowledge concerning the affected activity. 2. Involve users in events which feature their interests, for example, bow shooting contests, camp-a-thong, bike races, fishing tournaments, water-ski shows. 3. Set aside specific areas for "club" members only to protect "sacred" sites. 4. Allocate funds to develop facilities favored by the local user. FIGURE 4: ACTIVITIES TO GAIN SUPPORT FROM ENVIRONMENTALISTS 1. Provide continuous information about how the project is designed to protect the environment. 2. Include ecological ecological emanating from or pertaining to ecology. ecological biome see biome. ecological climax the state of balance in an ecosystem when its inhabitants have established their permanent relationships with each education programs as part of the development scheme. 3. Encourage participation of environmentalists in the development of events. 4. Develop events based on environmental issues. 5. Encourage environmentally concerned citizens to develop educational programs for tourists. |
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